Gazing down at his phone screen, thumb absently moving over it before he starts typing. Specifically not looking over at Bob himself. ]
He'd cut his hand. I offered to heal it for him, but he declined. He enjoys the pain. Having the wound to press against. He'll use you like that shard of glass, driving you into his skin to hurt himself.
[ another moment where it feels like armand is in his head, even when he isn’t. he said the exact same thing to embry that awful night. that’s what you want, from danny, from ani, from me.
he reads the message and pockets his phone. doesn’t respond until the party’s over, when he returns to his suite with adrian. ]
[ For Lestat, he let his Children go. For Louis, he let his coven burn. For Daniel, he gave up half his soul, and the only rule he had left. For Set, he put a collar around his own throat.
What is blood, to a vampire? What is pain? What is death? Nothing. Less than nothing. ]
You can't protect me. But you don't need to.
Allow me this. Please.
[ Standing in the ashes of the theatre, letting Louis kiss him; knowing, in that moment, how much he hates him for what happened. How much he resents him. Wondering if it's worth it.
Letting it happen anyway, for 70 years. Everything built on a lie. But it hadn't been his lie, not only his lie. ]
[ it hurts to hear it — to see it written out, so he can return to the message when he next makes the mistake of thinking he could be more. you can’t. you’re incapable. you’d only make things worse. an echo of his last conversation with embry. the inevitably of his role as a source of pain, not relief, at the nexus of all his connections here.
he’ll use you like a shard of glass. is that what armand is doing, too? ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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you were eavesdropping
[ possibly fair, given what happened the last time he spent quality time with embry. ]
not exactly
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[ One learns to gossip to survive in the theatre. ]
He's very sensitive.
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once you heard what we were saying
[ hmm. ]
yeah
we’re similar like that
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He came to visit you, after you had the argument with him. While you were asleep.
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[ he’s never had someone interested in his comings and goings. it’s a new experience, requiring a little recalibration.
— ! ]
he did?
he didn’t say anything about that
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i told him to shove it up his ass anyway
[ normal. ]
i’m seeing him again
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Gazing down at his phone screen, thumb absently moving over it before he starts typing. Specifically not looking over at Bob himself. ]
He'd cut his hand. I offered to heal it for him, but he declined. He enjoys the pain. Having the wound to press against. He'll use you like that shard of glass, driving you into his skin to hurt himself.
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he reads the message and pockets his phone. doesn’t respond until the party’s over, when he returns to his suite with adrian. ]
not if i don’t let him
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He won't stop until he gets what he wants.
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[ not more than this. he knows that. ]
i’m not leaving him alone with this, armand
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[ It's what he does; looking after everyone else. It's why Armand loves him.
But -- ]
Be careful.
[ It's his job to worry. ]
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[ new year’s resolution to be mentally sound in progress. ]
i won’t put you through that again
[ the pain of rescuing him. the risk of it. ]
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[ that has to count for something. ]
i’m gonna figure it out
i’ve been reading all these books
i know a guy who like
saps power
we’re gonna try that
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A wait of minutes, long minutes. Maybe half an hour. Then: ]
You don't want to rely on me.
[ History repeats. Without the coven, without the job. Without him, I'm nothing. ]
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you were bleeding
you weren’t holding back but it almost wasn’t enough
i felt it
nobody else knows what happened, but i do
[ it wasn’t easy, for the all-powerful, ancient vampire who everyone feared in october. it was close. ]
how am i supposed to protect you if i’m the thing that’s dangerous
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What is blood, to a vampire? What is pain? What is death? Nothing. Less than nothing. ]
You can't protect me. But you don't need to.
Allow me this. Please.
[ Standing in the ashes of the theatre, letting Louis kiss him; knowing, in that moment, how much he hates him for what happened. How much he resents him. Wondering if it's worth it.
Letting it happen anyway, for 70 years. Everything built on a lie. But it hadn't been his lie, not only his lie. ]
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he’ll use you like a shard of glass. is that what armand is doing, too? ]
okay
[ defeated, at least for the night. ]