"He totally hero worships you, you know," Rae told Elliot, though she knew that he was probably completely aware. But it was still cute to think about and talk about. "Thinks you're the smartest, bravest, best person there is." Her smile was soft like her tone now as they navigated through the sleeping-bag-strewn floors of the Liberty Island safehouse. "I've gotta say, I'm inclined to agree with him on that one." To most, it might have seemed like flattery, but Rae meant every word and she was sure Elliot would be able to tell.
"I was always jealous of people with siblings. That's a bond that's never broken," she added, her thoughts going to her father and how he still seemed content to push her away. And how she missed him.
Realistically, she knew it wasn't fair of her to ask Elliot to set time aside for her. He had his brother and his work, but… "Good, because I miss you," she admitted. "I mean, I know we both have stuff to do but it's like…" she trailed off, trying to think of a way to say that it wasn't enough without being blatantly obvious about her feelings. The conversation at hand was a reminder of exactly why she shouldn't. There was just… no time. "I just wish more of that stuff coincided, I guess."
Even now, on their trip back to the mainland, Rae had things to do. She had to see Allie and Laney, and while she normally would have asked Elliot to go with her, she knew that he had things to do, too.
She heard his slight laugh (an attempt to cover something louder, she could tell) in response to her slightly ridiculous joke and her own smile widened. She was glad that, no matter how little time they had to spend together, she could still make him laugh like that. He questioned the nickname and she nodded seriously. "Absolutely Blue Steel. You get this seriously cute expression on your face when you're focusing on something where like, you pout your lips and make a serious face. That's totally a Blue Steel face," she teased him. Of course, he was infinitely sexier than Ben Stiller, but she didn't feel the need to add that just yet. "And no, no secret handshakes. Just a lot of hugs and inside jokes. Oh and a secret password. But you have to agree to the nickname before I tell you that."
"I know just the place," she said, moving to start off in that direction when she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders. Her smile increased exponentially, and she slid her arm between them, wrapping it around his waist and leaning slightly against him. Even just this made a big difference, and it was only partially because of the body heat. Part of it likely had to do with the fact that he touched her and pretty much all negative thought drained from her mind. Cold included. "Better already…" she muttered, pushing the envelope a little bit with revealing feelings. How was she ever going to confess if she didn't start small?
She smirked a bit. "Oh man, if you were a bear, I would probably cuddle you all the time and steal your warmth. Just so you know."