He watches her closely as she moves, stuck between fascination at her grace and a studying concern. James is looking for signs of the cracks in her but, he thinks, maybe he can't see any because she's not trying to hide behind anything.

Sure, she might be using this to forget or distract herself, but seeing Skip so vulnerable and human has brought an odd sense of peace to this.

It might not end well, but James can't resist cupping her jaw in his hands and returning the kiss with a solid and pointed gentleness.