Time and time again, Geneva had told him that something lay beneath the tough, spiked exterior he maintained. She had always defended that the monster he believed himself to be was not what she saw nor what he needed to be. Jefferson had never believed her. He'd never tried to believe he was anything more than a reluctant leader, a stand-in until something better came along. Nothing had come along. Phoenix Valley was still being led by a one-eyed rapist and murderer, and yet the pack of dreamers knew nothing of it and went on with their lives blissfully unaware. Geneva, who knew the worst of his crimes, could only smile and say she'd fallen for him. It made no sense, and yet for once the scars in his flesh were forgotten. For once, he felt as if he was not quite so ugly both in appearance and in manner, and one way or another, she'd brought out yet another side of him.
...Love?
But he wasn't supposed to know how to love. Addison was some sort of exception; the pup had fallen into his lap. He'd had no other choice but to father her and foster her growth into adulthood. Love had squeezed its way into his relationship with the child rather understandably, considering its presence would have been hard to avoid. But with Geneva, he was given a choice. There was no blood relation to her, nor any obligation to watch over her as he'd had with Addison. Instead, Jefferson felt himself unconsciously pulled towards that olive-eyed goddess. He knew his affections for Addison well, but he didn't know how to love. The feeling was still foreign to him when it came to another adult, but the emotions that suddenly dragged his attention back to Geneva so strongly and tenderly bore similarities to the feelings he had for his adopted daughter. But... love? "Geneva," he said quietly, eye wandering up to the night sky. "What does it feel like?" Love, of course. Peace? Happiness? He could have guessed that. But he was still Jefferson, and he needed to analyze and decipher every question and every obstacle. The one-eyed man breathed comfortably against her, mind spinning infinitely though his thoughts of her stood clear.