[No Luke thinks they should make it about her actually
He doesn't say that, but his expression does shutter closed instantly. It's not anywhere near that same coldness from earlier, but there's definitely a wall there. It's shoddier than usual, though--the fact that it's so obvious he's put one up is enough of a sign that he's off his game, when he's normally so smooth about deflecting.
He can't say "nothing," because that would be a stupid lie. So, after a brief pause--]
...I don't think it was too different from some of our past groups. Memories were turned against us.
[This feels wretched. She likes Luke, in spite of his unchecked stubbornness and tight-lipped tendencies. He has a good heart, and he's effortlessly charming. To have him go stone faced in front of her is more unsettling than he knows. She feels like she ought to apologize again. Sorry for intruding, sorry for speaking.
Instead she swallows the apologies down. It helps no one in this moment, least of all him.]
So...were they made into something more ideal? Or more horrifying?
[The observant detective in him notices, even now, how uncomfortable she looks. It makes him want to say something gentler, to dig up his kindness and his caring from the mountain of misery they're buried under, even though it would only be a different form of retreat. She's been so kind to him (and, more importantly, to people he cares about more than himself)--but Luke has never been fair, and to him, that kindness is all the more reason to protect her from painful truths.
But he knows her better than he once did. He doesn't think she'll be satisfied or turned away so easily. So... he considers, deciding how to share just enough to keep them both afloat.]
...They weren't happy experiences, no. [...] We were pitted against each other.
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no subject
He doesn't say that, but his expression does shutter closed instantly. It's not anywhere near that same coldness from earlier, but there's definitely a wall there. It's shoddier than usual, though--the fact that it's so obvious he's put one up is enough of a sign that he's off his game, when he's normally so smooth about deflecting.
He can't say "nothing," because that would be a stupid lie. So, after a brief pause--]
...I don't think it was too different from some of our past groups. Memories were turned against us.
no subject
[This feels wretched. She likes Luke, in spite of his unchecked stubbornness and tight-lipped tendencies. He has a good heart, and he's effortlessly charming. To have him go stone faced in front of her is more unsettling than he knows. She feels like she ought to apologize again. Sorry for intruding, sorry for speaking.
Instead she swallows the apologies down. It helps no one in this moment, least of all him.]
So...were they made into something more ideal? Or more horrifying?
no subject
But he knows her better than he once did. He doesn't think she'll be satisfied or turned away so easily. So... he considers, deciding how to share just enough to keep them both afloat.]
...They weren't happy experiences, no. [...] We were pitted against each other.