[Add starts shouting, and…Wolfwood honestly can’t say he wasn’t expecting it to come to this. They just cannot talk without it, but better to happen behind closed doors in private than as a knock-down, drag-out scuffle in the middle of the god damn family meeting. He lets Add say his piece, and it’s nothing kind. But…it does tell Wolfwood a lot about where Add has been mentally this whole time. When Add screams that his concern is fake, it finally clicks that Add doesn’t actually mean it the way he says it. It’s just easier to process when it’s hurled like an insult, spat like venom, because at least this he can control. Maybe, if he can put Wolfwood down, he’ll feel just a little bit better, somehow.
He gets that. It’s easier for him to handle fighting, and anger, and all of that than it is to deal with real feelings. But, he’s also been here long enough- through enough awful fights- to know that if you want any relationship to work, you have to talk real shit eventually. It even came to this with Flamebringer, and now look where they are.
So he stands still, letting Add go until he has nothing else left to say. Then, he works his jaw, bringing a hand up to rub over his stubble as he sighs through his fingers.]
I don’t want to win. None of this has ever been about “winning”.
[Wolfwood closes his eyes for a moment, then leans back a little heavier against the wall. If they’re working…any of this out, they have to be honest, right? If Add is doing it, Wolfwood needs to meet him in the middle.]
Ain has done nothing but miss you and your friends since the day he got here. You showin’ up made him…so fucking happy. [He shakes his head a little.] But you’d say shit to upset him, and it’d make me…defensive, I guess. Not ‘cause I think I’m better than you, but because I’ve been the guy on that end plenty of times now. You just ain’t been here to see how many times I’ve fucked it with my partners. I ain’t some all-knowing relationship guru who knows exactly what to say or do. Half the time, I open my mouth and say the wrong thing even if I ain’t tryin’ to. I’m an asshole. I lie, I hurt people…and unlike you and Ain, I ain’t the hero of my story.
[He glances off to the side, then, brows furrowing.]
So yeah, you’ve been right about one thing. I ain’t a good boyfriend. But that don’t mean I haven’t been tryin’. […] And I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t care to make things right. I’m not tryin’ to take him away from you. I want him to be happy. Not much in this place makes him happy anymore.
no subject
He gets that. It’s easier for him to handle fighting, and anger, and all of that than it is to deal with real feelings. But, he’s also been here long enough- through enough awful fights- to know that if you want any relationship to work, you have to talk real shit eventually. It even came to this with Flamebringer, and now look where they are.
So he stands still, letting Add go until he has nothing else left to say. Then, he works his jaw, bringing a hand up to rub over his stubble as he sighs through his fingers.]
I don’t want to win. None of this has ever been about “winning”.
[Wolfwood closes his eyes for a moment, then leans back a little heavier against the wall. If they’re working…any of this out, they have to be honest, right? If Add is doing it, Wolfwood needs to meet him in the middle.]
Ain has done nothing but miss you and your friends since the day he got here. You showin’ up made him…so fucking happy. [He shakes his head a little.] But you’d say shit to upset him, and it’d make me…defensive, I guess. Not ‘cause I think I’m better than you, but because I’ve been the guy on that end plenty of times now. You just ain’t been here to see how many times I’ve fucked it with my partners. I ain’t some all-knowing relationship guru who knows exactly what to say or do. Half the time, I open my mouth and say the wrong thing even if I ain’t tryin’ to. I’m an asshole. I lie, I hurt people…and unlike you and Ain, I ain’t the hero of my story.
[He glances off to the side, then, brows furrowing.]
So yeah, you’ve been right about one thing. I ain’t a good boyfriend. But that don’t mean I haven’t been tryin’. […] And I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t care to make things right. I’m not tryin’ to take him away from you. I want him to be happy. Not much in this place makes him happy anymore.
And, honestly, I want you to be happy too.