a_sin_for_him | IC Contact

I believed it for longer than I should. And even then...

[Lust pauses, thoughtful. It's not that it's difficult to speak on these things, it's just that she often doesn't. People get upset, uncomfortable, deeply saddened on her behalf. And it makes her uncomfortable.]

[But they've shared enough, by now, for Lust to know he understands where she's coming from.]

I stayed with my master. I knew what she was. I knew what we were doing was wrong, what the things she'd used me to do were wrong. But...I tried to run once. And I was dragged back, and punished, and it would only happen again if I ran again. I was frightened of her. And I was...tired. Fourteen years is a long time.

But even then...I aligned myself with those working against her. I'd lost everything by then. My...attempt at running had resulted in the death of someone I...cared about. But by then, there was no one left to put at risk. Except myself. It lasted all of a day, and then...

[Lust's eyes drop from the screen, looking down at the shivering cat in her arms. She's sharing all of this for a reason, and she hopes he understands.]

I have no life beyond the one I have here.

[Tim stays quiet as he just... listens to her talk. And of course it's upsetting to hear, it would be upsetting no matter who it was about. But he doesn't say anything about that, because that's not what this is about. Any sympathy he offers about the whole thing would just be obvious.

Far more important are the parallels here.

Staying with a horrible master even knowing that it was all wrong, all because of fear.

It's funny. He'd been so focused on the part about his identity, finally finding people who could relate to that, that he hadn't even thought about... well, all the rest.

It's an understanding he almost, briefly, thought he had with Athena, but then everything had fallen apart.

But this isn't an almost at all.]

Fear's a powerful thing...

[He's saying that to himself as much as to her. More so, maybe. He's not entirely sure what to say. There's a lot of thoughts to sort out here.]

Has she... ever been here?

[He understands.]

[Lust's eyes return to the screen, and she nods, briefly.]

Not like you and I are here. It was for only a handful of days. I was in the other region at the time. I'm...thankful for that. I don't know what I would have done. I always say I'd kill her, if I saw her again, but it's easy to say. If she stared into my eyes and snapped her fingers, I can't honestly say I wouldn't find myself sitting at her feet.

You aren't alone here...

[She almost says his name and then she falters. Is that even his name? It's unlikely that both he and the man he'd been remade in the image of would have the same name.]

[Her heart goes to him. She knows this fear, this self doubt, this internal conflict.]

You aren't alone.

...Yeah. Easy to say you'll do something, but it's impossible to really know until it's actually... happening.

[He can only think of how he told Athena he'd stick with her, that he wouldn't go back to Jack. Hell, how he told Jack himself that. But the second Jack was really talking to him... well...

...

It's easy to say things.]

I... [...] Thank you.

Seriously.

[Hearing that from someone who gets it makes it so much more meaningful. He was always grateful that Lust is around, for the simple reason that she's a good friend. But now...

Even though this subject is so hard to talk about, he's glad he brought it up.]

Conditioning goes deeper than we'd like to think.

[And so do old wounds. And fears. And all those things that make the night seem longer and colder. It's all been stirred up this evening, hasn't it?]

Would you like to come over?

[His first instinct is to ask if she's sure, but, well, she wouldn't have offered if she wasn't. Especially after this whole conversation.

He really only needs to think about it for a moment.]

...Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that.

I thought as much. I'll put on a pot of cocoa.

I...don't like being alone when I've been thinking about these sorts of things, either. Let alone talking about them.

[Ignoring everything else, this man has been used badly and needs a friend. Lust knows that feeling all too well.]

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