City of Smoke // Brian 'Otis' Zvonecek ✔️

21 || FURLOUGH

"Sh, it's okay." He whispered soothingly, tightening his hold on her as she shaked against him, feeling the warmth of her tears soaking through his t-shirt. "You're okay now."

"I can't stop thinking about it." Rory sobbed, her throat and chest aching from how much she was crying. "Every time I close my eyes all I can see is the bodies... That little boy. He had his whole... His whole life ahead of him and now he's gone. Lying in the morgue instead of at home with his family."

"I know." Otis said softly, continuing to gently stroke the back of Rory's head, wishing he could do more to ease the pain and the hurt she felt. "But you did everything you could, Rory, you know that."

"I know but I just..." Rory hiccuped, pulling back a little to look up at him. "I wish I could have done more."

"You did plenty." Otis told her, taking her face in his hands and lightly wiping below her eyes with his thumb. "The way you took control of the moment... It was incredible. We heard your voice on the radio, calling out orders and trust me when I say, I've never seen the guys look so proud.

"You could have freaked out, could have panicked, but you didn't. You took command and you got everyone where they needed to be and it's because of you that so many others survived... Rory, you were amazing out there and you did fifty-one proud." He said softly, noticing the way Rory's lip began to tremble again.

Sniffling a little more, Rory leaned forward, resting the side of her head on Otis's shoulder, her mouth so close to him that he could feel her breath against his skin, the warmth of which which sent a shiver across his entire body. He could still feel her tears hitting him, soaking his t-shirt, which in this moment he didn't care about, all he cared about was making sure she knew how proud they all were of her.

"You made me proud." He added in a whisper, glancing down at her as best he could, watching as she wiped her still watering eyes whilst slowly lifting her head. Her gaze met his, the lights of the apartment glistening in the tears that lingered there. He knew what was coming, what she was thinking of doing and whilst on any other given day he'd have jumped on the chance to kiss her, he didn't think now, whilst she was crying, was the appropriate time.

Rory leaned in, her lips almost touching his before he turned his head, the kiss she'd been aiming at his own lips meeting his cheek instead. She drew back from him, flushing with embarrassment as she wiped the remainder of her tears away, finding that, for once, she wasn't feeling quite like crying anymore.

"I shouldn't have come here." She whispered, shaking her head as she avoided looking in his direction. "I shouldn't have... I'm sorry."

"Rory, wait..." Otis pleaded, grabbing her wrist as she made for the door, her fingers gripping tightly around the handle. She pulled from his grasp, which was easy enough given how lightly he'd taken it. "Rory!"

Otis's voice echoed throughout the hallway as she exited the apartment, running towards the stairwell as Otis fumbled his feet into his shoes, cursing how long it took for him to get them on as he was wasting precious time. He needed to explain to her that he wasn't turning her down, not this time. It just wasn't the right moment for that, not yet anyway.

Grabbing his coat from the hook, Otis allowed the apartment door to slam shut behind him, mentally thanking God that his keys were still in his coat pocket. He made for the stairwell, hoping to catch Rory somewhere between his apartment and the lobby, but she was fast and by the time he reached the ground floor and headed outside, she'd already flagged down a cab.

"Rory, wait!" Otis called towards her, quickly checking to make sure no cars were coming before he crossed the street towards her. "Will you just listen to me, please?"