His confidence in her made Rikki feel a warmth that she hadn't felt since Cleo and Emma first took her in as their third and started treating her like she wasn't a superfluous addition to their pair. It was nice to feel like someone believed she could get better at something, whether that something was being around people, in the girls' case, or learning self-defense.
That confidence he had in her was why she was deferring to his judgment. He saw something in her that she didn't, yet, and she wanted to trust his gut. So when Ben suggested the chokehold, Rikki trusted that and nodded, waiting for him to approach.
The little smirk on his face as he approached surprised a little laugh out of Rikki as he positioned himself behind her, pulling her closer with an arm hooked around her neck. Reflexively, her hands went to his arm, curling fingers around his forearm and pausing when she heard his soft voice in her ear. Her eyes closed in a slow blink and she pushed away the attention she felt drifting toward the unexpected flutter in her stomach and the sudden closeness and the way she'd felt his words against her skin as much as she'd heard them.
"Right," she said, partially trying to draw her focus back to the task at hand. Obviously, she pulled on his arm. She kicked a foot out behind her, trying to catch his knee or leg to knock him off kilter, but she missed and he was able to lift her off her feet for it, dragging her backward. The impulse to use her powers flared up again — splash the water again, turn into a mermaid so you're too heavy to drag — and she grunted with the frustration that came with knowing she shouldn't indulge it if she wanted to learn.
Rikki thrashed against him, trying again to find his leg behind her to kick it out from under him, but she failed again. Maybe she went on a big longer than she ought to have, but she wanted to find the weak spot he'd mentioned on her own. A minute or so later, though, she'd tired herself out, slumping back against him with defeat and fatigue. "You win," she conceded, frowning. "Show me how."
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That confidence he had in her was why she was deferring to his judgment. He saw something in her that she didn't, yet, and she wanted to trust his gut. So when Ben suggested the chokehold, Rikki trusted that and nodded, waiting for him to approach.
The little smirk on his face as he approached surprised a little laugh out of Rikki as he positioned himself behind her, pulling her closer with an arm hooked around her neck. Reflexively, her hands went to his arm, curling fingers around his forearm and pausing when she heard his soft voice in her ear. Her eyes closed in a slow blink and she pushed away the attention she felt drifting toward the unexpected flutter in her stomach and the sudden closeness and the way she'd felt his words against her skin as much as she'd heard them.
"Right," she said, partially trying to draw her focus back to the task at hand. Obviously, she pulled on his arm. She kicked a foot out behind her, trying to catch his knee or leg to knock him off kilter, but she missed and he was able to lift her off her feet for it, dragging her backward. The impulse to use her powers flared up again — splash the water again, turn into a mermaid so you're too heavy to drag — and she grunted with the frustration that came with knowing she shouldn't indulge it if she wanted to learn.
Rikki thrashed against him, trying again to find his leg behind her to kick it out from under him, but she failed again. Maybe she went on a big longer than she ought to have, but she wanted to find the weak spot he'd mentioned on her own. A minute or so later, though, she'd tired herself out, slumping back against him with defeat and fatigue. "You win," she conceded, frowning. "Show me how."