[Between the tension thick in the air between them and what the day has thrown at him, he isn't prepared for the well-meaning afterthought and blinks back like someone who hasn't heard a nice word in his life, at loss for what to say while being tugged back and forth between stubborn anger and awkwardness and guilt. He studies Firo at length, the lines of his chest and shoulders stiff as if he's expecting to be struck at. But the look in his darkened eyes is softer and more unguarded than it has been in the past few minutes.
He swallows, lips pursing.]
You too.
[And though his tone is heavy and flat and he looks every bit like death warmed over, he means it. He knows he means it, deep down. Because, at the end of the day, Firo is someone he cares for and will always find a way to try and understand, at best, and make excuses for, at worst. Someone who he'll never feel sorry he met.
But against every fierce instinct to pair up and find safety in numbers he finds himself turning away, his need for emotional space greater than his need for the company of a friend. Even if, up until now, he had dealt with gnawing loneliness, his voice hoarse from disuse.
And as he moves away, placing a greater distance between them with every half-reluctant step, some part of him at the very back of his mind can only wonder how much he’ll come to regret his choice.]
no subject
He swallows, lips pursing.]
You too.
[And though his tone is heavy and flat and he looks every bit like death warmed over, he means it. He knows he means it, deep down. Because, at the end of the day, Firo is someone he cares for and will always find a way to try and understand, at best, and make excuses for, at worst. Someone who he'll never feel sorry he met.
But against every fierce instinct to pair up and find safety in numbers he finds himself turning away, his need for emotional space greater than his need for the company of a friend. Even if, up until now, he had dealt with gnawing loneliness, his voice hoarse from disuse.
And as he moves away, placing a greater distance between them with every half-reluctant step, some part of him at the very back of his mind can only wonder how much he’ll come to regret his choice.]