Seeing Red by SecondGuess

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Devon was raising her hand against the glare of the sun, in the hopes of spotting Uly, when they collided.

Something that was about the size of a Grendler slammed Devon to the dirt, though the cursing and the strangled “Stop. It. Now!” told her differently. She looked up just in time to see Danziger, shirtless and toting his daughter over his shoulder like a sack of flour, loose his balance and list dangerously to the left. She watched, caught between anger and fear, as he tossed the hygiene kits away and pulled True in against his chest, knowingly letting his back take the impact as both father and daughter hit the ground.

“Danziger, what is going on?” She asked, scrambling over to help True untangle herself. She easily lifted the girl’s weight off the winded mechanic. “John, you okay?” She asked, when he didn’t immediately respond.

“Daddy?” True piped up, full of dread. There were no possible ‘pleasant’ outcomes of this situation, and Devon knew True was smart enough to have already figured that out for herself.

“Fine.” He grunted, feebly raising himself into a slouch. “Just got the wind knocked out of me. You okay?” Rubbing a hand across the back of his skull, he looked up at Devon sheepishly.

“I’m fine, not a scratch. You two just caught me by surprise!” She assured him with a nervous laugh. A moment of strained silence ticked by before he took a full breath, simultaneously meeting his daughter’s gaze with a glare that could freeze lava.

"You hurt, True?" He asked in a chillingly deep tone.

"No, Sir." True whispered in response, fingers laced tightly behind her back, elbows akimbo.

“Apologize.”

“I’m sorry Devon!” True burst out even before the last syllable of her father’s quiet demand had left his lips. “I’m really, really sorry!”

“Tell her why.” Growling threateningly, John quickly stood, completely recovered and suddenly more than a little too close to ensure True’s comfort.

“I’m sorry I was fighting with my dad and acting like a baby and made us crash into you,” she pleaded in a rush. She hazarded a quick glance at her father’s stony expression before erupting with platitudes a second time, realizing instantly that he wasn’t anything close to satisfied. “I didn’t mean to knock you over, Devon! And I’m sorry I was being a jerk and made my dad physically drag my behind to the water, because we shouldn’t be horsing around where we could hurt someone…and I should have more respect.”

Devon couldn’t help but smile at her last minute addition. She could easily envision John, diligently coaxing True’s moral compass with words like responsibility, pride, respect.

“I’m fine, Danziger.” She whispered again, as a gentle reminder that there wasn’t much more his errant child could apologize for at the moment.

“Take your bath.” He nearly hummed, a gentle gust of breath across a quivering reed of anger.

True darted to where their bath kits had landed with an explosion of tubes and packets, and only then did Devon realize her own had suffered a similar fate, her meager supplies strewn amongst Danziger’s shaving set and True’s prized collection of hair ties.

Danziger slowly turned himself in a furious circle, in an amusing gesture of frustration that Devon found balletically pugilistic.

She smiled again, realizing she was the only one receptive to the humor of the situation, as she bent to gather her own belongings. True’s prized yellow ribbon, a gift from Bess, zipped past her hands like a colorful snake as True grabbed it quickly. Taking one last look around, the girl took off at a run for the river. Devon glanced at Danziger, who was currently scrubbing at his face with work-roughened hands.

“Be careful, True!” She called, aware that she was probably the only fully functioning parent for the time being. “No climbing on the rocks unless there’s an adult watching you, okay?”

True had made it far enough away with her newly developed, coltish gait that Devon couldn’t actually understand her reply, but her material instincts told her True would be doing exactly as she was told for at least a few weeks, this time around.

“Dev, I’m really sorry.“ Only when they were alone did Danziger speak, quickly kneeling at her side amongst their unmentionables. His tone had completely transformed; there wasn’t a trace of his previous exasperation in his gentle, embarrassed timbre. “The kid’s right, we shouldn’t have been horsing around. Aww, hell!”

Catching her hand in his own, he brushed his thumb across her a hairline scratch on her palm. Pin prick spots of blood had welled through in a few places, and as he wiped it away she felt her hand begin to tingle and sting. Intently studying the muscles working in the divot between his thumb and wrist, she swallowed hard. Maybe the sensation had nothing to do with the scratch.

“It’s nothing, Danziger,“ She assured him, attempting to meet his gaze. The sight of his bare chest startled her as though she’d somehow missed it before, and she quickly returned her sights downward.

“She’s been raising my hackles all morning, I just don’t know what to say about anything these days.” He continued absently, turning his attention to the nail on her index finger, which hadn’t quite survived her tumble. It suddenly occurred to Devon that she was in danger of being intimately exposed by his innocent gesture.

When she’d been only a child, Great Granny Adair had taken Devon’s hands in her own, studying the lines and ridges and spinning tales of riches and happiness and true love. Shivering as though she was suddenly naked, Devon was terrified her hands would betray her. In an effort to act natural, she attempted to keep her tone light and unwavering.

“It’s that age, I guess. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Uly puts me through my paces.” The air between them seemed suddenly thin, void of all natural motion. She watched, rapt, as he ran the tip of his thumb across the nail, as though his touch could restore the broken ridges, holding her entire hand in the center of his palm.

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean to bulldoze ya.” He chuckled breathily, his fingers falling still, suddenly, self consciously.

Startled, she looked up to meet his eyes, and found he was much closer than she supposed. With the tip of his nose not even an inch from her own, she watched his pupils dilate and constrict before he gasped and dropped her hand as though it was searing his skin.

Devon nearly lost her balance, but managed to catch herself. Embarrassed, she quickly subscribed to Danziger’s method of diffusing the situation, which consisted mainly of collecting toiletry supplies like her life depended on it and stuffing them into her kit.

“I’d better find Uly.”
“True shouldn’t be alone.”

Devon wished she could laugh at their overlapping outcries of parental concern, but her insides were still fluttering uneasily. Danziger had already blindly grabbed his belongings and was making a bee line for the water by the time located her hair foam and managed to catch a deep breath.

Her hand raised--chipped nail and all--against the sun once again, she stood to face the water only to find he’d already fled her line of vision.

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