after he spoke to cloud, he decided to resume his tour of the city, getting a feel for the land. it's a strange, eerie world, almost reminiscent of a graveyard. no signs of life within the deteriorating infrastructures or empty streets, all seemingly abandoned years ago.
he's curious as to how it has reached this desolate state and how the augur ties into its history, but he has yet to come across anything useful.
without the need for sleep, it doesn't take long for vincent to reach the edge of the city where only wasteland greets him. he could travel further, of course; but cloud and zack are both here. at least one of them will need him. so, he turns around and starts to make his way back. when dawn slowly begins to break through the cover of an evening sky, vincent replaces dark alleyways and the shadows of looming buildings for the security of rooftops and fire escapes.
it doesn't take him long to reach the heart of the city when a loud greeting penetrates his ears and captures his immediate attention. eyes finding the blond instantaneously, he stops on the brink of a ledge he has just landed on and, without so much as a nod of his head, he leaps off of it, disappearing from view.
within a few minutes, vincent will be slipping onto the rooftop where prompto is, silent as the nameless city itself. ]
......... [ and, naturally, he just remembered that he never asked for the blond's name, so... he isn't going to say anything until he notices him. ]
[surely, if Prompto calls, Vincent will come roof spelunking from miles away. it's probably not the best thing in the world to reinforce with the blond, as this is a power no mere mortal should have in their possession. he'll have to use it seldom, an abuse of power like this can only end in tragedy. but for a moment, he's a little unsure. Prompto has crippling fears that people will eventually walk out of his life for something that he's said or done, or worse, for who, er- what- he actually is. maybe Vincent just wants nothing to do with him? he vanishes out of sight, and he thinks to himself: "that's completely fair," and thinks about descending the staircase back down and trying to find something more useful to do with his life on this lonely island.
and on his turn to go do exactly that, he's met with the same chilling scene of a man who can move without so much as a trace of the wind around him, and Prompt stumbles, vividly tripping over himself in the weird aftermath of being set upon by an IRL vampire. well, maybe not, but you can't convince him that the impression is necessarily wrong, either. once his heart stops racing out of his chest like an overexcited hummingbird, he gains composure and cool, watery blue eyes with peaks of violet crescents meet up with a pair of violently warm, and dangerous looking red. he almost can't believe he peed in front of this guy.]
Uh, h-hey. Nice of you to, uh, drop in? [oof size: big.] Can we work on, like, maybe not trying to make me go into coronary arrest next time?
[ prompto shouldn't let it get to his little chocobo head.
vincent is only humoring him because he managed to drop a ton of information on him last night with barely any explanation. he wants to learn more about the deathless project and the daemons the kid carries inside of him, and he gets the distinct impression that is why he has been sought out so early in the morning.
watching the blond startle at the sight of him, vincent doesn't look the least bit apologetic as he responds with a curt: ]
[he always lets everything get to his head, that's, like, unavoidable. the only thing that can stop him is being so unbearably mean that it brings into question why someone would want to kick a puppy straight in the face like that.
but now that he's here, and completely ignoring the request to not startle him moving forward, he breathes outward, coming to his senses. as much as Vincent wants to know more, Prompto is in a perfectly primed position to pull back.]
Hey, so I might've said some really heavy stuff last night.
[like how he can't pee when other people are watching.]
[ah, a perfect display of such qualities, right here.
the entire bottom half of Prompto's jaw becomes ajar, in that sort of "I'm wincing and in pain, please send help," sort of way. he was worried about this. not that there were memory lapses from overindulging on the vittles, but he wasn't sure he was ready to hear another human being (questionable) repeat those words out loud to him.]
Look, I, uh.
[he scratches the back of his head.]
I don't really tell people about that stuff. About me. It's hard enough to form decent relationships with people, never mind leading in with "hey, I'm actually a clone of an evil mad scientist, 'sup."
[ he understands the desire to keep it a secret from others. it isn't like he goes around informing people that he is the result of forced human experimentation either. but since prompto was the one who'd volunteered it to him of his own volition, then he is just going to have to live with the consequences. ]
I know. [ he understands what it's like personally. ] It's fine.
[ he isn't here to judge him. ]
Tell me about the daemons. [ a beat and then: ] Can you control them?
[imagine, being held accountable for doing dumb shit. Prompto's appalled that this has finally caught up to him!!!
the line of questioning that Vincent asks him though- it's peculiar. and not in the "let's sit down and have tea" sort of way. just a little... uncomfortable, honestly. there's so much that he doesn't know about himself, about the project. a lot of things died with his "father," Verstael.]
Uhm.
[he looks down at the floor of the roof, trying to dissect himself in a way that makes plausible sense. this really shouldn't, at all. he should never have been born.]
The soldiers that he created... they're meant to be empty vessels. It's honestly, kind of confusing to me, so I don't really know all the details, or even understand a lot of it myself.
But it's the other way around. The empire controls the person that's been contaminated. They inject material from the starscourge into an empty clone, turning them into a daemon... a monster, kinda. And then they're used to fight wars where no one on their side has to die.
[which is a harsh way of putting it- because even then, Prompto subconsciously admits that he was meant to be one of those "no ones" - barely even above board as far as humans are to be classified.]
But I'm one of the failures. Contaminated, but not daemonized.
vincent waits for the kid to gather his thoughts, giving him as much time as he needs. it isn't an easy subject to disclose to others, especially with a stranger. he almost expects him to withdraw from the conversation and refuse to divulge any more information now that he's sober.
but it seems the blond is the trusting sort.
he is soon apprised of the role prompto was meant to play back in his world, created by those of a higher power who needed enhanced soldiers to fight their battles. the parallel between the deathless project and shinra's SOLDIER program is not lost on him. his lips thin into a grave line as he listens to him quietly.
it's only when prompto is done talking that vincent speaks up again. ]
[Prompto is, in fact, way too easy to trust other people. even if it ends up hurting him, he'd rather live this way than go back to the loneliness of his childhood. he's been told it before, but he can't change who he is at the core. he can just hope that people have, in the end, good intentions.
there were... some exceptions to the rule, though. and if Prompto's gut is saying not to engage with someone, that's usually a good sign not to.
and as for the blond himself, he looks rather uncomfortable with talking at all. at times, his body language is all off, unlike the night prior, when he was gregarious and free-spirited. he intermittently, and even without knowing it, keeps touching his wrist, where his fingers move along the lines of a barcode. limited edition, a joke. he had a serial number.]
But I was kidnapped as a baby by a Lucian spy. I grew up there, and... I guess that's all there is to it.
something that vincent could have— no, should have done for someone long passed. he can't explain why the thought suddenly crosses his mind at this moment, but perhaps, prompto reminds him of another child who couldn't cope with what he had learned of his origins and, therefore, lost his way. but whereas that child was driven to anger and madness, this one seems to have avoided a similar fate. aside from what he can only perceive to be certain insecurities, the blond appears to have turned out fine, possibly due to the lack of a daemon within him. good for him. ]
Your childhood — it was good then?
[ he doesn't know why he's asking him that. it throws him off a little, but he regroups quickly enough. ] The contamination. What is it? Does it affect you?
[while Prompto didn't decide to burn down an entire village over it, he's pretty well adjusted, all things considered. if anything, he doesn't take to anger nearly as much as he diverts inward. he remembers being told what he was when he was young, his adoptive parents telling him to hide his barcode and explaining the situation. it just made him depressed, if anything. but he has good friends, and they've been more of his family than anyone else in the world has been to him. he will never be grateful enough to what they've given him.
he tilts his head, smiling softly in a way that betrays his better judgment. his childhood... it wasn't really that great, but he couldn't complain too much about it. he doesn't have much time to reply, either way, and he's kind of grateful for it. he had never really felt love from the couple who adopted him. it was almost a business transaction of sorts and they were never home, working in some official capacity for the Lucian government. mostly, his childhood was filled with learning how to cope with loneliness.]
I dunno. I never... really got the chance to find out. When me and my friends were separated, I wound up traveling to where I was born. [that's a weird concept.] I guess. Uh. I mean... you know what I mean. I found out there, but.
[he looks down at the ground. this is actually getting a little too hard to keep going like this, and he breathes outward, figuring this is probably good enough. right?]
I had to kill... my real father. Or, the guy I was cloned after. It's kinda hard to know... like, how. You... call it.
well, maybe it's for the best. sometimes the truth does more than damage than good. it isn't something for him to delve into any further. as much as it has aroused his interest, he doesn't have the time to take on the problems of someone who belongs to a different planet.
he has enough shit on his own hands to take care of, which includes two kids from his own world.
besides, they're all stuck on this island now, so each of their lives have come to a screeching halt for the time being. they won't be able to solve or dive deeper into any mysteries they've taken with them from their individual planets — not until they can find a way to escape and return to where they belong. ]
You shouldn't have told me that so easily. [ he sounds almost exasperated. ] Too trusting. [ he gives a disapproving shake of his head. ] I don't care why you had to kill him. The man whose DNA you derived from. But not everyone here can accept something like that.
[ sharp red eyes bore into soft blue as he continues coolly: ] Don't be too naive or else you will end up paying for it.
[he doesn't really know why he had kept on talking, but maybe it was one of those things that once he started, he couldn't really stop himself. there are so many horrible things attached to all of this, and it's festered within him... his entire life. maybe part of him wanted to reach out to someone, to hear someone say something reassuring about it. but wanting to be validated by other people, to prove his existence is real, is a pretty bad behavior, and he's caught in a cycle of wanting it and knowing it's wrong.
Prompto stands there, hearing Vincent admonish him, and honestly. his heart kind of sinks even deeper than it was before. he felt vulnerable in telling him to begin with, and he knows now, for sure, that he shouldn't have. which was why he came here, actually. to ask Vincent to keep whatever he told him close to heart, but when he asked questions, he talked himself into a corner, like he usually does.
but it affirms something his adopted parents had told him. keep it a secret. they probably knew how hard his life was going to be for it and only wanted him to have a chance at normalcy.
it's just. kind of hard to feel normal when you know you're empty.
he purses his lips, breathes into his mouth to let his cheeks expand, and exhales.]
Sorry. [it's not a defensive sounding apology that comes out of his mouth, but rather, regret.] I, uh. Yeah, you're right.
Just... don't know how to keep my mouth shut sometimes. But s'all good. I'll just. Hah, you know. Lock it up. [he motions and mimics like he's turning a key over his mouth.]
So, we're cool. I was gonna ask you maybe... if you could not tell anyone, but I don't think I really gotta ask that, and. Uh. I'll just. Catch ya round, yeah?
don't end the conversation with him when he isn't even finished here. stg why are people so sensitive?
admittedly, he might have been too harsh, but sugarcoating his words isn't going to help the blond learn better. he shouldn't be too trusting because the world is filled with people who would take advantage of it. given where they are now and what they're expected to do, he isn't confident that the kid can protect himself properly, not if he is so willing to divulge such sensitive information without a second thought.
they're strangers — two people who met by chance not even a day ago.
he may not have any ill intention towards him, but it can't be said for the other inhabitants of this island. ]
No, that's— [ with a quiet inhale, he closes his eyes for a moment before he lowers his head, his shoulders dropping ever so slightly. ] That's not what I meant. [ he really isn't good at this. even after his exposure to cloud and the rest of the party, his communication skills is still severely lacking. ] You can talk about it. [ a beat. ] You should talk about it. Just— [ a small shrug of his shoulder. ] Just with people you trust. People you know won't hurt you.
[ splaying open his gloved right hand, his voice softens a tad, ] It's... not bad. To open up. If you can do it. [ not everyone can. he is one example. ] So, [ he hesitates slightly, ] thank you for telling me. I know... it must have been hard for you. I understand, so I'll keep it safe.
[he wanted to peace out of this conversation, needing a few minutes to reassemble himself. trust is such a weird concept for Prompto. having no friends growing up, and then becoming the closest person to his country's prince, and going on a road trip with them to take him to meet his fiance... he doesn't want to think he's naive, but in some ways he definitely is. he knows how the world works, he knows that there's darkness lurking out there everywhere you look. but he tries to see the light and earnestly believes that people aren't wired to try and fuck others over.
Vincent definitely has a good point, overall. it's good to be weary of others and guarded with things that can be used to twist you. but the opposite is true, too. it's not good to be so distanced from other people that you can't really express how you feel. he looks down at the ground, as Vincent talks. two opposing people, at the core of things, shaped by their life experiences.
but he didn't expect this. Vincent Valentine is filled with surprises, and even though he doesn't know his name at all, he's one of the most intriguing people to figure out that he's met here. as he sees him struggle to get the words out, even though they're stilted, he takes it to heart just as strongly as he did the scolding.
admittedly, there's not a lot of things he can be sure about in this world. but he has some confidence in knowing the person in front of him doesn't want to see something bad to happen to him.
he takes a moment, the fight or flight response dying down a little as he realigns.]
I... [what's left to say, really?]
It is kinda hard. I've never really had a lot of people in my life that I could talk to that stuff about. I just.
I'll do better, in the future. I promise.
[he looks up and over at Vincent, who had just postured a speech about opening up to people while practically talking to his hand.
and then, in a somewhat smaller voice, tentative and unknowing.]
Thanks. For keeping my secret safe and. For being a person that won't hurt me because of it.
[ they are two very opposing personalities, almost night and day in both their takes and approaches to life. whereas prompto desires the companionship and approval of others, vincent closes himself off to everyone he meets, even the ones who he have come to call friends. asking him to open up is like trying to move a sunken boulder. he only gives way when he wants and how he wants to with little to no concern over the opinions of others.
his trust is hard won; his past is a burden he must carry alone. he sees no point in developing his relationships beyond a certain point, choosing to keep people at arm's length. but it's different, for him. he doesn't deserve what most crave, so he doesn't spare them more than a passing thought.
he responds with a small nod, jerky in motion, before he falls into an uncomfortable silence and then— ]
You... [ he lets his arm drop back down to his side as his lashes lower over his eyes. quietly, he sets forth an unrefined, ] I'm here. To listen.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no
after he spoke to cloud, he decided to resume his tour of the city, getting a feel for the land. it's a strange, eerie world, almost reminiscent of a graveyard. no signs of life within the deteriorating infrastructures or empty streets, all seemingly abandoned years ago.
he's curious as to how it has reached this desolate state and how the augur ties into its history, but he has yet to come across anything useful.
without the need for sleep, it doesn't take long for vincent to reach the edge of the city where only wasteland greets him. he could travel further, of course; but cloud and zack are both here. at least one of them will need him. so, he turns around and starts to make his way back. when dawn slowly begins to break through the cover of an evening sky, vincent replaces dark alleyways and the shadows of looming buildings for the security of rooftops and fire escapes.
it doesn't take him long to reach the heart of the city when a loud greeting penetrates his ears and captures his immediate attention. eyes finding the blond instantaneously, he stops on the brink of a ledge he has just landed on and, without so much as a nod of his head, he leaps off of it, disappearing from view.
within a few minutes, vincent will be slipping onto the rooftop where prompto is, silent as the nameless city itself. ]
......... [ and, naturally, he just remembered that he never asked for the blond's name, so... he isn't going to say anything until he notices him. ]
but have you considered.... "yes"?
and on his turn to go do exactly that, he's met with the same chilling scene of a man who can move without so much as a trace of the wind around him, and Prompt stumbles, vividly tripping over himself in the weird aftermath of being set upon by an IRL vampire. well, maybe not, but you can't convince him that the impression is necessarily wrong, either. once his heart stops racing out of his chest like an overexcited hummingbird, he gains composure and cool, watery blue eyes with peaks of violet crescents meet up with a pair of violently warm, and dangerous looking red. he almost can't believe he peed in front of this guy.]
Uh, h-hey. Nice of you to, uh, drop in? [oof size: big.] Can we work on, like, maybe not trying to make me go into coronary arrest next time?
no
vincent is only humoring him because he managed to drop a ton of information on him last night with barely any explanation. he wants to learn more about the deathless project and the daemons the kid carries inside of him, and he gets the distinct impression that is why he has been sought out so early in the morning.
watching the blond startle at the sight of him, vincent doesn't look the least bit apologetic as he responds with a curt: ]
What do you want?
tough crowd
but now that he's here, and completely ignoring the request to not startle him moving forward, he breathes outward, coming to his senses. as much as Vincent wants to know more, Prompto is in a perfectly primed position to pull back.]
Hey, so I might've said some really heavy stuff last night.
[like how he can't pee when other people are watching.]
toughest
vincent can be a real asshole sometimes. ]
You did. [ "might have" — who is he trying to kid? ] Lab experiment. Project Deathless. "One of a kind, limited edition."
[ and he can't piss when someone else is around. or follow direction signs to locate a restroom. ]
no subject
the entire bottom half of Prompto's jaw becomes ajar, in that sort of "I'm wincing and in pain, please send help," sort of way. he was worried about this. not that there were memory lapses from overindulging on the vittles, but he wasn't sure he was ready to hear another human being (questionable) repeat those words out loud to him.]
Look, I, uh.
[he scratches the back of his head.]
I don't really tell people about that stuff. About me. It's hard enough to form decent relationships with people, never mind leading in with "hey, I'm actually a clone of an evil mad scientist, 'sup."
no subject
I know. [ he understands what it's like personally. ] It's fine.
[ he isn't here to judge him. ]
Tell me about the daemons. [ a beat and then: ] Can you control them?
no subject
the line of questioning that Vincent asks him though- it's peculiar. and not in the "let's sit down and have tea" sort of way. just a little... uncomfortable, honestly. there's so much that he doesn't know about himself, about the project. a lot of things died with his "father," Verstael.]
Uhm.
[he looks down at the floor of the roof, trying to dissect himself in a way that makes plausible sense. this really shouldn't, at all. he should never have been born.]
The soldiers that he created... they're meant to be empty vessels. It's honestly, kind of confusing to me, so I don't really know all the details, or even understand a lot of it myself.
But it's the other way around. The empire controls the person that's been contaminated. They inject material from the starscourge into an empty clone, turning them into a daemon... a monster, kinda. And then they're used to fight wars where no one on their side has to die.
[which is a harsh way of putting it- because even then, Prompto subconsciously admits that he was meant to be one of those "no ones" - barely even above board as far as humans are to be classified.]
But I'm one of the failures. Contaminated, but not daemonized.
no subject
vincent waits for the kid to gather his thoughts, giving him as much time as he needs. it isn't an easy subject to disclose to others, especially with a stranger. he almost expects him to withdraw from the conversation and refuse to divulge any more information now that he's sober.
but it seems the blond is the trusting sort.
he is soon apprised of the role prompto was meant to play back in his world, created by those of a higher power who needed enhanced soldiers to fight their battles. the parallel between the deathless project and shinra's SOLDIER program is not lost on him. his lips thin into a grave line as he listens to him quietly.
it's only when prompto is done talking that vincent speaks up again. ]
Why weren't you daemonized?
no subject
[Prompto is, in fact, way too easy to trust other people. even if it ends up hurting him, he'd rather live this way than go back to the loneliness of his childhood. he's been told it before, but he can't change who he is at the core. he can just hope that people have, in the end, good intentions.
there were... some exceptions to the rule, though. and if Prompto's gut is saying not to engage with someone, that's usually a good sign not to.
and as for the blond himself, he looks rather uncomfortable with talking at all. at times, his body language is all off, unlike the night prior, when he was gregarious and free-spirited. he intermittently, and even without knowing it, keeps touching his wrist, where his fingers move along the lines of a barcode. limited edition, a joke. he had a serial number.]
But I was kidnapped as a baby by a Lucian spy. I grew up there, and... I guess that's all there is to it.
no subject
something that vincent could have— no, should have done for someone long passed. he can't explain why the thought suddenly crosses his mind at this moment, but perhaps, prompto reminds him of another child who couldn't cope with what he had learned of his origins and, therefore, lost his way. but whereas that child was driven to anger and madness, this one seems to have avoided a similar fate. aside from what he can only perceive to be certain insecurities, the blond appears to have turned out fine, possibly due to the lack of a daemon within him. good for him. ]
Your childhood — it was good then?
[ he doesn't know why he's asking him that. it throws him off a little, but he regroups quickly enough. ] The contamination. What is it? Does it affect you?
no subject
he tilts his head, smiling softly in a way that betrays his better judgment. his childhood... it wasn't really that great, but he couldn't complain too much about it. he doesn't have much time to reply, either way, and he's kind of grateful for it. he had never really felt love from the couple who adopted him. it was almost a business transaction of sorts and they were never home, working in some official capacity for the Lucian government. mostly, his childhood was filled with learning how to cope with loneliness.]
I dunno. I never... really got the chance to find out. When me and my friends were separated, I wound up traveling to where I was born. [that's a weird concept.] I guess. Uh. I mean... you know what I mean. I found out there, but.
[he looks down at the ground. this is actually getting a little too hard to keep going like this, and he breathes outward, figuring this is probably good enough. right?]
I had to kill... my real father. Or, the guy I was cloned after. It's kinda hard to know... like, how. You... call it.
no subject
well, maybe it's for the best. sometimes the truth does more than damage than good. it isn't something for him to delve into any further. as much as it has aroused his interest, he doesn't have the time to take on the problems of someone who belongs to a different planet.
he has enough shit on his own hands to take care of, which includes two kids from his own world.
besides, they're all stuck on this island now, so each of their lives have come to a screeching halt for the time being. they won't be able to solve or dive deeper into any mysteries they've taken with them from their individual planets — not until they can find a way to escape and return to where they belong. ]
You shouldn't have told me that so easily. [ he sounds almost exasperated. ] Too trusting. [ he gives a disapproving shake of his head. ] I don't care why you had to kill him. The man whose DNA you derived from. But not everyone here can accept something like that.
[ sharp red eyes bore into soft blue as he continues coolly: ] Don't be too naive or else you will end up paying for it.
no subject
Prompto stands there, hearing Vincent admonish him, and honestly. his heart kind of sinks even deeper than it was before. he felt vulnerable in telling him to begin with, and he knows now, for sure, that he shouldn't have. which was why he came here, actually. to ask Vincent to keep whatever he told him close to heart, but when he asked questions, he talked himself into a corner, like he usually does.
but it affirms something his adopted parents had told him. keep it a secret. they probably knew how hard his life was going to be for it and only wanted him to have a chance at normalcy.
it's just. kind of hard to feel normal when you know you're empty.
he purses his lips, breathes into his mouth to let his cheeks expand, and exhales.]
Sorry. [it's not a defensive sounding apology that comes out of his mouth, but rather, regret.] I, uh. Yeah, you're right.
Just... don't know how to keep my mouth shut sometimes. But s'all good. I'll just. Hah, you know. Lock it up. [he motions and mimics like he's turning a key over his mouth.]
So, we're cool. I was gonna ask you maybe... if you could not tell anyone, but I don't think I really gotta ask that, and. Uh. I'll just. Catch ya round, yeah?
no subject
don't end the conversation with him when he isn't even finished here. stg why are people so sensitive?
admittedly, he might have been too harsh, but sugarcoating his words isn't going to help the blond learn better. he shouldn't be too trusting because the world is filled with people who would take advantage of it. given where they are now and what they're expected to do, he isn't confident that the kid can protect himself properly, not if he is so willing to divulge such sensitive information without a second thought.
they're strangers — two people who met by chance not even a day ago.
he may not have any ill intention towards him, but it can't be said for the other inhabitants of this island. ]
No, that's— [ with a quiet inhale, he closes his eyes for a moment before he lowers his head, his shoulders dropping ever so slightly. ] That's not what I meant. [ he really isn't good at this. even after his exposure to cloud and the rest of the party, his communication skills is still severely lacking. ] You can talk about it. [ a beat. ] You should talk about it. Just— [ a small shrug of his shoulder. ] Just with people you trust. People you know won't hurt you.
[ splaying open his gloved right hand, his voice softens a tad, ] It's... not bad. To open up. If you can do it. [ not everyone can. he is one example. ] So, [ he hesitates slightly, ] thank you for telling me. I know... it must have been hard for you. I understand, so I'll keep it safe.
no subject
Vincent definitely has a good point, overall. it's good to be weary of others and guarded with things that can be used to twist you. but the opposite is true, too. it's not good to be so distanced from other people that you can't really express how you feel. he looks down at the ground, as Vincent talks. two opposing people, at the core of things, shaped by their life experiences.
but he didn't expect this. Vincent Valentine is filled with surprises, and even though he doesn't know his name at all, he's one of the most intriguing people to figure out that he's met here. as he sees him struggle to get the words out, even though they're stilted, he takes it to heart just as strongly as he did the scolding.
admittedly, there's not a lot of things he can be sure about in this world. but he has some confidence in knowing the person in front of him doesn't want to see something bad to happen to him.
he takes a moment, the fight or flight response dying down a little as he realigns.]
I... [what's left to say, really?]
It is kinda hard. I've never really had a lot of people in my life that I could talk to that stuff about. I just.
I'll do better, in the future. I promise.
[he looks up and over at Vincent, who had just postured a speech about opening up to people while practically talking to his hand.
and then, in a somewhat smaller voice, tentative and unknowing.]
Thanks. For keeping my secret safe and. For being a person that won't hurt me because of it.
no subject
his trust is hard won; his past is a burden he must carry alone. he sees no point in developing his relationships beyond a certain point, choosing to keep people at arm's length. but it's different, for him. he doesn't deserve what most crave, so he doesn't spare them more than a passing thought.
he responds with a small nod, jerky in motion, before he falls into an uncomfortable silence and then— ]
You... [ he lets his arm drop back down to his side as his lashes lower over his eyes. quietly, he sets forth an unrefined, ] I'm here. To listen.