I mean, my Mom kind of had to figure it out. She's my Mom.
[ And that right there is the sticking point between friends and family, as Riz knows it. His Mom loves him, he knows, and she's endlessly proud and supportive of him, and he hasn't felt a day in which he hasn't been able to rely on that source of uncompromising acceptance. But he knows, too, that his Mom would do this for any kid she wound up with, and that Riz in particular was never an easy child to raise. But he's who she got stuck with, so that was that.
The same can't be said for Fabian. Friendships can be built on unconditional acceptance, sure. But that acceptance can be revoked at any time. It's not like Fabian's just stuck with Riz -- he's made the choice to be with him, and as heartening as that is, it means that the terrifying prospect that he could choose not to be with him looms overhead. He's confident in himself while he's adventuring. He's useful. He figures out the clues. He hides, and disarms traps, and conjures up strategies and gameplans. He's confident when there's a mission at hand.
What they're doing here, seeing each other more than just at school and on missions, actually living together? That's different. It's not as though the Bad Kids aren't already well aware of his foibles, but now Fabian gets to see them laid bare, when all of these ramblings probably won't amount to anything useful in the long-run. It's a little scary.
But Fabian's right here, cracking a joke and doing his damnedest to get Riz to stick around (even though having an office wouldn't mean moving out; come on, Fabian!), so maybe he'll do the scary thing anyway. ]
But -- yeah. If you wanna make it work, we can make it work. [ He looks up at Fabian, heavy brows wrinkled in -- something. Touched and confused in equal measures, maybe. ]
no subject
[ And that right there is the sticking point between friends and family, as Riz knows it. His Mom loves him, he knows, and she's endlessly proud and supportive of him, and he hasn't felt a day in which he hasn't been able to rely on that source of uncompromising acceptance. But he knows, too, that his Mom would do this for any kid she wound up with, and that Riz in particular was never an easy child to raise. But he's who she got stuck with, so that was that.
The same can't be said for Fabian. Friendships can be built on unconditional acceptance, sure. But that acceptance can be revoked at any time. It's not like Fabian's just stuck with Riz -- he's made the choice to be with him, and as heartening as that is, it means that the terrifying prospect that he could choose not to be with him looms overhead. He's confident in himself while he's adventuring. He's useful. He figures out the clues. He hides, and disarms traps, and conjures up strategies and gameplans. He's confident when there's a mission at hand.
What they're doing here, seeing each other more than just at school and on missions, actually living together? That's different. It's not as though the Bad Kids aren't already well aware of his foibles, but now Fabian gets to see them laid bare, when all of these ramblings probably won't amount to anything useful in the long-run. It's a little scary.
But Fabian's right here, cracking a joke and doing his damnedest to get Riz to stick around (even though having an office wouldn't mean moving out; come on, Fabian!), so maybe he'll do the scary thing anyway. ]
But -- yeah. If you wanna make it work, we can make it work. [ He looks up at Fabian, heavy brows wrinkled in -- something. Touched and confused in equal measures, maybe. ]
...thanks, man.