[McCrane doesn't let go. He went into this imagining that it would be a quick hug. A small gesture to mean 'I'm here for you, if you need it.']
...
[That changed. It changed almost instantly, and he could tell the change in the way Gunmax's fingers tightened on him, the way he, himself shifted protectively around the other, the way a second engine felt pressed up against his. Without a conscious thought to do so, his optics had dimmed, his senses focusing on the touches or armor against armor, the warmth of another body nearby, and the sounds of a chain jingling between them. It isn't familiar.]
You'll have to teach me how.
[He shivers just a little at the newness of it, and rests his head against Gunmax's.]
ACTION;
...
[That changed. It changed almost instantly, and he could tell the change in the way Gunmax's fingers tightened on him, the way he, himself shifted protectively around the other, the way a second engine felt pressed up against his. Without a conscious thought to do so, his optics had dimmed, his senses focusing on the touches or armor against armor, the warmth of another body nearby, and the sounds of a chain jingling between them. It isn't familiar.]
You'll have to teach me how.
[He shivers just a little at the newness of it, and rests his head against Gunmax's.]
This is as close as I've come yet.