[LOOK. THAT'S DIFFERENT. But he doesn't say as much aloud, instead just skipping over to the second part.]
Sadistic of him.
[To tell her he'd draw it out if she struggled. Terrible man. It ignites a tiny bit of his temper - the temper that's satisfied to kill those who wrong him and his.]
also does but she'll just run fastly if this happens it's fine]
...I knew what he was going to do. I just didn't think it would be - like that. [...] I don't want to feel that scared again. I would just leave him alone.
He didn't even want to talk to me the last time we did, so yeah. They're done with me or whatever, I guess.
[There's a good deal of missing context there, but the deep bitterness in her voice is really as simple as that last sentence implies: whoever they are, they've moved on from what happened, something that's not quite as easy for her. Maybe she should be glad to know that they don't care any longer, but—
It would be nice, maybe, to know they were even a fraction as haunted as she still is.]
[He doesn't think he needs that missing context to understand, at least in the vaguest of terms, what happened here. And maybe he should also be glad that they've moved on and won't give her trouble, presumably. He's never met them. He doesn't know the circumstances.
But he's never been a very fair person when it comes to who he decides he likes. He likes Natalie, so he won't judge those who wrong her fairly.]
Mm. To put you through that and then move on is an unkindness in a way, too.
[But what can be done about it? He huffs.]
People like that can only cling to what they have. He doesn't deserve you.
[Then she would be a sociopath too and that's just no good!!
But he sighs, expression understanding all the same.]
You don't need to apologize. We don't have to keep talking about it if it bothers you either, but I don't mind. If you weren't even able to talk to him properly later, you must not have taken any time to work through what happened, mm?
[WELL. HE CAN'T, LIKE. ARGUE WITH THAT. Death generally is very traumatizing for most people, and sometimes the best thing to do - or at least the thing that feels the best - is to just pretend like hell it isn't a thing and move on. The look he gives her is a quiet, understanding one.]
--Probably not. Not in a way that's straightforward and clean, at least. It's not like you'll ever really be able to leave something like that behind you - truly, truly behind you. Most people wouldn't, anyway. [A beat.] But - mm. Well. If you ever decide you have anything to say about it, and that you want someone else to listen to you say it, you have my ear any time you'd like.
...I don't really know what to say about it, either.
[It's just feelings, things she's never been good at putting words to. Anger, betrayal, bitterness... Things that never really fade for her, even if she tries to keep that fire deeper inside nowadays.]
[That's a fair point, honestly, and he just hums in understanding. Sometimes there's nothing to say. Nothing that matters in any big, important way, at least. He gets it.
As for the thanks, he just smiles, soft and sincere.]
We're friends, after all. [She is his radish child now, whether she wants it or not.] It's the least I can do.
[It speaks a lot to how brittle she's probably feeling that she actually says this aloud without spontaneously combusting. He smiles, gently bumping his shoulder against her side.]
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[Just! Saying! She nods, though.]
Yeah, it was.
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Sadistic of him.
[To tell her he'd draw it out if she struggled. Terrible man. It ignites a tiny bit of his temper - the temper that's satisfied to kill those who wrong him and his.]
He returned home too, at the end?
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[She takes a breath, rubbing at her eyes for just a second, before she nods.]
I think so. We only... talked once after that.
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[With whatever she said to him in their last talk, after. Before they had to leave.]
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It doesn't matter. I don't have to see him again, it's - over.
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What if you did have to see him again, though?
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also does but she'll just run fastly if this happens it's fine]
...I knew what he was going to do. I just didn't think it would be - like that. [...] I don't want to feel that scared again. I would just leave him alone.
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And he wouldn't give you any trouble if you were to do that, I take it?
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[There's a good deal of missing context there, but the deep bitterness in her voice is really as simple as that last sentence implies: whoever they are, they've moved on from what happened, something that's not quite as easy for her. Maybe she should be glad to know that they don't care any longer, but—
It would be nice, maybe, to know they were even a fraction as haunted as she still is.]
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But he's never been a very fair person when it comes to who he decides he likes. He likes Natalie, so he won't judge those who wrong her fairly.]
Mm. To put you through that and then move on is an unkindness in a way, too.
[But what can be done about it? He huffs.]
People like that can only cling to what they have. He doesn't deserve you.
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[To forget, to stop caring the way they did. Whatever the case, she shakes her head.]
Sorry. We don't have to talk about this.
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But he sighs, expression understanding all the same.]
You don't need to apologize. We don't have to keep talking about it if it bothers you either, but I don't mind. If you weren't even able to talk to him properly later, you must not have taken any time to work through what happened, mm?
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...I'm not really sure there's a way to work through something like that.
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--Probably not. Not in a way that's straightforward and clean, at least. It's not like you'll ever really be able to leave something like that behind you - truly, truly behind you. Most people wouldn't, anyway. [A beat.] But - mm. Well. If you ever decide you have anything to say about it, and that you want someone else to listen to you say it, you have my ear any time you'd like.
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[It's just feelings, things she's never been good at putting words to. Anger, betrayal, bitterness... Things that never really fade for her, even if she tries to keep that fire deeper inside nowadays.]
But, um... You know. Just - thanks.
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As for the thanks, he just smiles, soft and sincere.]
We're friends, after all. [She is his radish child now, whether she wants it or not.] It's the least I can do.
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Yeah. I know.
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You're a good kid, you know that?
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...Thanks.
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Mm. [Just a little hum and a nod and he lets it go. He knows not to push his luck with tsuns.]
...How are you feeling? Physically.
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[She tilts her head.]
Fine. Why?
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[AFTER THAT BAD TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE...]
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[Much, much more physically painful than hers.]
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It's fine. I have a very high pain tolerance, you know! [LIKE IT'S SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF.] And it's a memory I'm used to.
[Compared to Natalie who not only had to get a fresh new bad memory but also relive her own stabbings.]