There are people here who are tenderhearted that I want to protect from what may come next. I know it's impossible to keep them shielded from everything that may happen, but Jayce and Viktor... Their dreams are fragile here. They've worked so hard. Jayce balances the world on his shoulders.
[ And so if the world breaks apart, he will only blame himself, and she cannot see him broken again. Viktor is an extension of this, his own person, but he is intrinsically tied to that dream for however long they may have him. ]
Many among us want to see the best outcome. I don't begrudge them that. It's their hope that will keep us going. But what this place is doing, the cruelty enacted upon them... They don't need to get their hands dirty either.
[ And while she doesn't think of Pom as tenderhearted in the slightest, she does want to protect his heart as well for as long as she can manage. ]
They can leave it to us, then. We'll do what we have to do to keep them going.
[It wouldn't be the first time for Pom, who once gave everything up for a single person. While he's never considered himself fragile, even he recognizes that he hides so much of his fears behind his persona - who he has to be, what he wants people to see rather than the fragmented man beneath. Doing cruel things changes a person: he's sure Mel knows, even if he doesn't want that for her.]
Just... make sure you take care of yourself, okay? With what might be coming, with what we might have to face down the road as a consequence. There are folks here who care about you.
[ She shouldn't have said anything. Pom follows up with 'we' and she realizes that telling him has just secured his cooperation and his sacrifice even if that's not what she wanted for him. He even turns the worry around on her. Every instinct tells her to try to push him away or...or at least insist he shouldn't be worried and shouldn't care, and that it would be easier for him down the road.
But they promised, didn't they? To learn to be friends with one another, to watch one another's backs. And she's already tried pushing Jayce away, with poor enough results; can she afford to do that to Pom as well?
...Can she manage to put him at arms' length at this point without tearing her heart in two? ]
I know. I know you do.
[ It's said gently, similarly quiet, like a secret. ]
I care for you too. I know you wish to protect me, as I want to do the same for you. It's not the Imprint. [ She has to believe it's not. ] You have to take care of yourself as well. You think people don't care but I know they do.
Hold me accountable, and I'll do the same for you.
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I lost this somehow???
[ And so if the world breaks apart, he will only blame himself, and she cannot see him broken again. Viktor is an extension of this, his own person, but he is intrinsically tied to that dream for however long they may have him. ]
Many among us want to see the best outcome. I don't begrudge them that. It's their hope that will keep us going. But what this place is doing, the cruelty enacted upon them... They don't need to get their hands dirty either.
[ And while she doesn't think of Pom as tenderhearted in the slightest, she does want to protect his heart as well for as long as she can manage. ]
No worries at all! Notifs have been a m e s s
[It wouldn't be the first time for Pom, who once gave everything up for a single person. While he's never considered himself fragile, even he recognizes that he hides so much of his fears behind his persona - who he has to be, what he wants people to see rather than the fragmented man beneath. Doing cruel things changes a person: he's sure Mel knows, even if he doesn't want that for her.]
Just... make sure you take care of yourself, okay? With what might be coming, with what we might have to face down the road as a consequence. There are folks here who care about you.
[A beat, and then quieter:]
I care about you.
no subject
But they promised, didn't they? To learn to be friends with one another, to watch one another's backs. And she's already tried pushing Jayce away, with poor enough results; can she afford to do that to Pom as well?
...Can she manage to put him at arms' length at this point without tearing her heart in two? ]
I know. I know you do.
[ It's said gently, similarly quiet, like a secret. ]
I care for you too. I know you wish to protect me, as I want to do the same for you. It's not the Imprint. [ She has to believe it's not. ] You have to take care of yourself as well. You think people don't care but I know they do.
Hold me accountable, and I'll do the same for you.