[ firm. maybe the first time he’s been that way, with embry. ]
I don’t think it’s you. I don’t want to put somebody innocent away and let more people die. And I don’t — even if I did think it was you or Yelena, I couldn’t do it. [ he lets that sit, pathetic as the rest of his answers. he doesn’t have the stomach for duplicity. for doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. ] I can’t put you up there with that freak or where you could get strung up like Saber. We can do this for hours, and it’ll still be a no. You could stab me, and it’d still be a no.
[ unsurprising, that bob’s morals won’t let him be saved. that he’s a better man than embry ever could be, unwilling to tell a lie to protect himself. it’s like going up against ash, only bob doesn’t realize he has all the qualities that make a hero of legends. a king. and embry has never once won against that.
i already like you too much. a complicated flutter in his chest. ]
Stabbing you would be like stabbing one of those squeaky dogs that cost a thousand dollars and can’t even do tricks. [ his voice a gentle rumble. ] If it starts looking bad, and you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for Yelena.
[ he is not above manipulation, if yelena is the thing that carries the most weight. ]
[ choked out, because he knows it’s both a manipulation and a gesture of care. he can see how it might play out. embry, in his place. embry, in yelena’s. embry, splitting the vote to protect them both. how can you think you’re a bad person, when you’d do that for me? ]
You’re killing me here. [ groaning. ] We need — we gotta find someone we think did it. If we can’t, if we’re here Sunday, I’ll see what people think. Stephen, maybe. He didn’t — he didn’t want it to be me, either. [ a beat. ] I don’t know. I’m not built for this, man. [ the scheming and plotting on top of the pain and suffering. it’s doing his head in. ] The Yellowjackets. They’re the big numbers with Homelander on Yelena. Anything nonviolent you can do about that, I am way more into than this shit.
Fine. We'll do it your way. But just know that the day is coming when we go with one of my plans, even if I have to tie you up again to agree with me.
[ smh. do you know who he is? ]
Something nonviolent. Got it. I'll ask Ash for help when he's back. You'll have all three of us in your corner — me, him, and Greer. And stop talking like we're not all gonna be here. We will. And Bobby? [ a soft inhale. ] All your friends that you got to look into Ash's death. The ones that don't even know me, or him. Thank you. That meant a lot to me, and I'm not gonna forget it.
[ embry’s stupid joke-flirtation-admonishment skims off the top of the surface tension. it makes his bunched up shoulders relax. okay. bob takes a breath. steadies.
he’d rather work with embry than against him, and having more numbers in his and yelena’s corner — that’s a real, tangible thing he can count on. ]
Right. Got it.
[ biting the instinctive apology for being a downer, well, down since it’s also a bummer. he wants to believe they’ll all be here, too. and bobby — ]
‘Course, Embry. [ every wall back down, every edge sanded soft, as he hushes his answer. ] Hopefully next time we help each other out, it’s not, like, CSI Survivor.
[ but there’s the implicit promise it’ll happen again, in his words. not the hurt, but the helping. just like in the woods, he plans on sticking around. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ firm. maybe the first time he’s been that way, with embry. ]
I don’t think it’s you. I don’t want to put somebody innocent away and let more people die. And I don’t — even if I did think it was you or Yelena, I couldn’t do it. [ he lets that sit, pathetic as the rest of his answers. he doesn’t have the stomach for duplicity. for doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. ] I can’t put you up there with that freak or where you could get strung up like Saber. We can do this for hours, and it’ll still be a no. You could stab me, and it’d still be a no.
[ quieter. ]
I already like you too much. Sorry.
no subject
i already like you too much. a complicated flutter in his chest. ]
Stabbing you would be like stabbing one of those squeaky dogs that cost a thousand dollars and can’t even do tricks. [ his voice a gentle rumble. ] If it starts looking bad, and you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for Yelena.
[ he is not above manipulation, if yelena is the thing that carries the most weight. ]
no subject
[ choked out, because he knows it’s both a manipulation and a gesture of care. he can see how it might play out. embry, in his place. embry, in yelena’s. embry, splitting the vote to protect them both. how can you think you’re a bad person, when you’d do that for me? ]
You’re killing me here. [ groaning. ] We need — we gotta find someone we think did it. If we can’t, if we’re here Sunday, I’ll see what people think. Stephen, maybe. He didn’t — he didn’t want it to be me, either. [ a beat. ] I don’t know. I’m not built for this, man. [ the scheming and plotting on top of the pain and suffering. it’s doing his head in. ] The Yellowjackets. They’re the big numbers with Homelander on Yelena. Anything nonviolent you can do about that, I am way more into than this shit.
no subject
[ smh. do you know who he is? ]
Something nonviolent. Got it. I'll ask Ash for help when he's back. You'll have all three of us in your corner — me, him, and Greer. And stop talking like we're not all gonna be here. We will. And Bobby? [ a soft inhale. ] All your friends that you got to look into Ash's death. The ones that don't even know me, or him. Thank you. That meant a lot to me, and I'm not gonna forget it.
no subject
he’d rather work with embry than against him, and having more numbers in his and yelena’s corner — that’s a real, tangible thing he can count on. ]
Right. Got it.
[ biting the instinctive apology for being a downer, well, down since it’s also a bummer. he wants to believe they’ll all be here, too. and bobby — ]
‘Course, Embry. [ every wall back down, every edge sanded soft, as he hushes his answer. ] Hopefully next time we help each other out, it’s not, like, CSI Survivor.
[ but there’s the implicit promise it’ll happen again, in his words. not the hurt, but the helping. just like in the woods, he plans on sticking around. ]