[ They both don't have very high opinions of themselves or their own worth to each other, when it comes down to it. In some respects it's easier for her to understand what she means to him because there's more tangible evidence of it, the obvious effect that she has on him when his senses are flaring or something's going wrong and she can soothe it because her mind is designed to do that for his.
Her own improvement is quieter, less obvious. In part because she's had years to become used to the idea of being broken and to learn to hide it from people very effectively, so the change is not marked. It is simply her day to day existence changing from a mask that keeps her hidden from scrutiny to something that is true and happy and herself. And when she does such a very good job of faking it, it becoming simply the truth is - perhaps less evident than she'd like it to be. She's told him that she's happy, but then he has no real way to measure that in comparison because he never saw how very unhappy she had been. When she still was so very thoroughly unhappy, she didn't know him well enough to let him see it ever, wasn't close enough to consider the possibility that he could help. And then he had anyways, without even knowing, without necessarily specific intentions to. Just by being. She's still not sure how he's changed how she feels about things so very thoroughly.
It's taken her some time to really realize the discrepancy in their ability to understand what the other person is doing for them. Time and having caught the impression in his mind more than once of one sidedness, of not reciprocating well enough, and that is something she refuses to let continue. She's tried to tell him subtly, to mention her happiness and her appreciation of him, but she's fairly certain he still doesn't actually get it, doesn't really understand how much he means to her and how much everything he has done for her means to her.
So she's going to make that clear, and it took a little bit to come up with this but now that she has she just waits for the next time they've idly kissed their way to the bedroom, slides her hands down his arms to wrap around his wrists and whispers against his mouth inbetween kisses. ] I'd like to tie you down. [ It's possible, of course, he's not in the mood for this and she'll just have to delay until the next time he is. But she can generally convince him to do what she wants, and what she wants right now is him in a position that he has to listen to her, can't brush it off as something she's just saying or doesn't actually hold meaning. What she has to say isn't the sort of thing she would ever just say without absolutely meaning it, and she won't let him try to take it as anything else. ]
but once you read this you should sleep okay
Her own improvement is quieter, less obvious. In part because she's had years to become used to the idea of being broken and to learn to hide it from people very effectively, so the change is not marked. It is simply her day to day existence changing from a mask that keeps her hidden from scrutiny to something that is true and happy and herself. And when she does such a very good job of faking it, it becoming simply the truth is - perhaps less evident than she'd like it to be. She's told him that she's happy, but then he has no real way to measure that in comparison because he never saw how very unhappy she had been. When she still was so very thoroughly unhappy, she didn't know him well enough to let him see it ever, wasn't close enough to consider the possibility that he could help. And then he had anyways, without even knowing, without necessarily specific intentions to. Just by being. She's still not sure how he's changed how she feels about things so very thoroughly.
It's taken her some time to really realize the discrepancy in their ability to understand what the other person is doing for them. Time and having caught the impression in his mind more than once of one sidedness, of not reciprocating well enough, and that is something she refuses to let continue. She's tried to tell him subtly, to mention her happiness and her appreciation of him, but she's fairly certain he still doesn't actually get it, doesn't really understand how much he means to her and how much everything he has done for her means to her.
So she's going to make that clear, and it took a little bit to come up with this but now that she has she just waits for the next time they've idly kissed their way to the bedroom, slides her hands down his arms to wrap around his wrists and whispers against his mouth inbetween kisses. ] I'd like to tie you down. [ It's possible, of course, he's not in the mood for this and she'll just have to delay until the next time he is. But she can generally convince him to do what she wants, and what she wants right now is him in a position that he has to listen to her, can't brush it off as something she's just saying or doesn't actually hold meaning. What she has to say isn't the sort of thing she would ever just say without absolutely meaning it, and she won't let him try to take it as anything else. ]