[ The whiplash of Byerly's you don't need to stay—a dismissal? he doesn't have time to decide—and Alexandrie's stay, which makes him feel like a prop being posed to hold Byerly up in her absence, left with instructions to be kind—it all squares Bastien's shoulders and lifts his chin after all, on the verge of telling them he'll be going or staying, whichever he chooses, because he wants to, and he doesn't need either of their assistance deciding.
He doesn't say it. They're moving on too quickly; first he is thinking of Byerly, that first night in his bed, cracked and crumbling over how many people in his life have so quickly thought the worst of him, ever since he was a child. And before that can properly turn into irritation at Alexandrie for adding to that mountain of hurt, she's quiet and crying.
So Bastien's straight-backed impetus to speak up channels elsewhere. ]
That is not what she means, Byerly.
[ He thinks. He hopes. He says it like he's sure, though, with confidence that's more gentle than scolding. ]
And I don't know what happened this morning— [ to Alexandrie ] —but before—he had me. Before he said yes to you. We weren't deciding whether to start something, we were deciding whether to continue it. [ An oversimplification, perhaps, but now's not the time for details. ] And you were missing and necessary enough then to make it a question, so—so cross that one off of your list, at least, please.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-02-16 09:14 pm (UTC)He doesn't say it. They're moving on too quickly; first he is thinking of Byerly, that first night in his bed, cracked and crumbling over how many people in his life have so quickly thought the worst of him, ever since he was a child. And before that can properly turn into irritation at Alexandrie for adding to that mountain of hurt, she's quiet and crying.
So Bastien's straight-backed impetus to speak up channels elsewhere. ]
That is not what she means, Byerly.
[ He thinks. He hopes. He says it like he's sure, though, with confidence that's more gentle than scolding. ]
And I don't know what happened this morning— [ to Alexandrie ] —but before—he had me. Before he said yes to you. We weren't deciding whether to start something, we were deciding whether to continue it. [ An oversimplification, perhaps, but now's not the time for details. ] And you were missing and necessary enough then to make it a question, so—so cross that one off of your list, at least, please.