[ Bastien smiles, amused and appreciative and still a little worried-eyed above it. He has an excuse, put together without any effort the same way all three of them probably know where every room's exits are without deliberately deciding to note them. I need to go write down what I remember, he could say, retreating back into the irreproachable cowardice of thinking of the world instead. Before I forget.
But he won't forget. And he won't leave, because before he begins to say anything he looks at Byerly, whose mind gave him—what? A world where they'd both loved him and both left him, one way or another, and a world where being in a room with both of them meant nothing but pain and cruelty and indifference. Even if he thinks Alexandrie might feel better if he left, even if she hadn't just encouraged him to stay, Bastien couldn't have walked out now.
So. ]
Why don't you sit up next to By, [ he says, taking his unwound scarf all the way off before crouching to unfasten his boots. ] We can make him hold the tray.
[ Between them, where he ought to be—an idea Bastien can't take credit for, and while it's still muted by concern, he gives Alexandrie a shared-secret sort of look. Two cheeks. ]
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-02-15 09:45 pm (UTC)But he won't forget. And he won't leave, because before he begins to say anything he looks at Byerly, whose mind gave him—what? A world where they'd both loved him and both left him, one way or another, and a world where being in a room with both of them meant nothing but pain and cruelty and indifference. Even if he thinks Alexandrie might feel better if he left, even if she hadn't just encouraged him to stay, Bastien couldn't have walked out now.
So. ]
Why don't you sit up next to By, [ he says, taking his unwound scarf all the way off before crouching to unfasten his boots. ] We can make him hold the tray.
[ Between them, where he ought to be—an idea Bastien can't take credit for, and while it's still muted by concern, he gives Alexandrie a shared-secret sort of look. Two cheeks. ]