[ Well, maybe after the adrenaline has subsided and the entirety of the protective instincts have worn off. There's likely to be a void there anyway that will beg to be filled - right now he still has a job to do.

The sheer amount of complacency there does give him pause for a moment, but he continues on without too much noticeable delay. ] Thanks. [ And okay, maybe he holds her a little tighter in return too, a little higher on his chest, because fuck, if she's okay with just agreeing to whatever he wants to do - they have a lot of trust here obviously, but he's thinking of what it would take to get him to just give her free reign like that, and even with trust and their relationship freestanding it isn't that cheap a decision. ] I'm seriously - honest, I'm not going anywhere. I might have to put you down for a minute, but I'm not leaving. I'm going to stay as close as you want as soon as I make sure you're not actually dying, okay? [ hah hah right no ] It'll be fast.