The corners of Alex's mouth lifted unconsciously at the thought that he would be able to live a normal life like his friend someday. Claire suddenly gasped and he was immediately on the alert again, tense and ready to fight whatever alarmed her.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he demanded.
"You just smiled! An actual smile even though you didn't show teeth! I've never seen you do that before," she said in disbelief.
Had he really? He supposed he had gotten used to seeing her smile and had unconsciously begun copying her in that way too. He had never once smiled before coming here; there had been absolutely no reason to even if it hadn't gone against his training.
"Is that a good thing?" Alex asked.
She crawled around to his side of the game board on her hands and knees and gave him an awkwardly positioned side hug. "That's a great thing! I'm so proud of you!"
