[The feeling of a hand pressing on his chest shocks him out of his panic spiral, making him practically jump out of his skin. No one outside of another speedster had ever managed to put a hand osn him without him seeing it coming, but he'd been so caught up in his own head that he hadn't even heard her get closer, let alone noticed her reaching a hand out until it was on him.
Physical contact had always been...difficult. Going from a life of complete solitude, to being thrown into Bart's life where casual physical contact was common had been one of the harder things to get used to. It had taken every ounce of self-control to not jerk away from it at first, and took nearly the whole month to start to become comfortable with it.
That now ingrained instinct to just accept it is the only thing that keeps him from lashing out or pulling back beyond that first initial flinch.
Combined with the blunt instruction to breath, the consistent presser guiding him through his breathing cycle is grounding, even if his skin does still crawl a little under the pressure of the contact.
When he's calmed enough to breathe at a normal pace he finally pulls away, replacing her hand at his chest with one of his own.]
Thank you.
[The words are stiff and quiet, coming out with an odd accent that adds a sharp click to his consonants, but he can at least get them out.]
no subject
Physical contact had always been...difficult. Going from a life of complete solitude, to being thrown into Bart's life where casual physical contact was common had been one of the harder things to get used to. It had taken every ounce of self-control to not jerk away from it at first, and took nearly the whole month to start to become comfortable with it.
That now ingrained instinct to just accept it is the only thing that keeps him from lashing out or pulling back beyond that first initial flinch.
Combined with the blunt instruction to breath, the consistent presser guiding him through his breathing cycle is grounding, even if his skin does still crawl a little under the pressure of the contact.
When he's calmed enough to breathe at a normal pace he finally pulls away, replacing her hand at his chest with one of his own.]
Thank you.
[The words are stiff and quiet, coming out with an odd accent that adds a sharp click to his consonants, but he can at least get them out.]