He knew they couldn't ignore the rest of the world forever - her father would worry - and he had pulled himself through worse than this. But another moment of respite, if he could have it... would be invaluable. He needed just a little longer to process, just a little longer with Summer here to reassure himself of his sanity, of her love, that nothing had been lost, only gained.
He shook his head, though, unable to stop smiling at her words. "No - I mean, I am, too. I guess... getting it all back slowly would have been easier, but... this is better. This is good. RIght?" He didn't have to wait to be the man she wanted - he was him, he could do that now - or, at least, very soon, because he might need a little time to settle, to recuperate a little more first. But like Summer had said before, he was here, and now he was whole, and what that meant for the future could only be good. But that was only about as far as his thoughts got before she moved to kiss him, and he might have said something else about how she didn't need to pay him back but he was too busy kissing her back, losing himself in that feeling, that gesture, because it was so warm and comforting and familiar not only from the distant past, but the recent past too, and the joy, the relief he could feel in her kiss was undeniable. And he'd been waiting to feel that for months.
But of course, it prompted him to say something horribly unorthodox, but suddenly the words were spilling out of his mouth, fueled by a desire he remembered feeling for years now, coupled with a new, parallel desire that he'd felt for months. "I love you, Summer - I've fallen hard for you, twice, and I have to wait to ask you, I can't do it right now, but I promise you... someday soon I am going to ask you to be my wife, and I hope you'll consider saying yes."
He remembered, now, almost writing something very much like that in a letter, once, when they'd told them that Peleliu would be fast and easy to take, that it would make a big difference, send the Japs running and how. But he never had, and then his memory of it had been gone, but now it was back and it seemed too important to ignore.
oh god tl;dr D:
He shook his head, though, unable to stop smiling at her words. "No - I mean, I am, too. I guess... getting it all back slowly would have been easier, but... this is better. This is good. RIght?" He didn't have to wait to be the man she wanted - he was him, he could do that now - or, at least, very soon, because he might need a little time to settle, to recuperate a little more first. But like Summer had said before, he was here, and now he was whole, and what that meant for the future could only be good. But that was only about as far as his thoughts got before she moved to kiss him, and he might have said something else about how she didn't need to pay him back but he was too busy kissing her back, losing himself in that feeling, that gesture, because it was so warm and comforting and familiar not only from the distant past, but the recent past too, and the joy, the relief he could feel in her kiss was undeniable. And he'd been waiting to feel that for months.
But of course, it prompted him to say something horribly unorthodox, but suddenly the words were spilling out of his mouth, fueled by a desire he remembered feeling for years now, coupled with a new, parallel desire that he'd felt for months. "I love you, Summer - I've fallen hard for you, twice, and I have to wait to ask you, I can't do it right now, but I promise you... someday soon I am going to ask you to be my wife, and I hope you'll consider saying yes."
He remembered, now, almost writing something very much like that in a letter, once, when they'd told them that Peleliu would be fast and easy to take, that it would make a big difference, send the Japs running and how. But he never had, and then his memory of it had been gone, but now it was back and it seemed too important to ignore.