The knot deflates slowly, and the moment Bael pulls out, my legs decide they're done working.
I would have gone straight to the floor if he hadn't caught me.
He turns me around, kisses me once, brief and almost businesslike, then tries to deposit me on the desk like I'm something he's finished with.
I don't let go.
My arms wrap around his waist before I even decide to do it, my face pressing against his chest, and I just... stay there. Listening to his heartbeat, which is still not entirely steady, which makes me feel marginally better about the state I'm in.
He's quiet for a moment.
I can feel him deciding whether to bother arguing about it.
"What now," he says finally, and it's not really a question. His hand comes up anyway, patting my head with the particular patience of someone who has accepted their situation. "You've already taken half my day. You're still not going to let me work?"
"N... no."
A pause.
Then his hand moves through my hair, once, unhurried.
"Runze."
