[ This is what he wants to hear, what helps him reel himself back from that desperate outburst. But he wrestles again with how uneven this feels at times - with Viktor always offering him so much more than he's able to do for him in return, how that feeling is magnified in this place where Viktor must belong to all these people in his community.
Viktor offers him choice, though in the end it doesn't matter where they go - just like it never mattered so much exploring the Free Cities, only that they were able to enjoy it together for a time. ]
Yes. Okay. [ He meets his gaze again, finding his fears of what he would find unwarranted, and studies the strange, shifting colors of his irises a little longer this time. A hand lifts to touch his face, tracing over where the metal blends with his cheek, down his neck. Whatever took hold of him a moment ago seems to have passed, though there's still tension across his features: ]
Will you at least take... some advice, about how you've let this place grow?
[ It seems he can't give this up entirely, even if it's not exactly time dependent. If he were mixing dangerous chemicals unknowingly, he would expect Viktor to intercede. ]
no subject
Viktor offers him choice, though in the end it doesn't matter where they go - just like it never mattered so much exploring the Free Cities, only that they were able to enjoy it together for a time. ]
Yes. Okay. [ He meets his gaze again, finding his fears of what he would find unwarranted, and studies the strange, shifting colors of his irises a little longer this time. A hand lifts to touch his face, tracing over where the metal blends with his cheek, down his neck. Whatever took hold of him a moment ago seems to have passed, though there's still tension across his features: ]
Will you at least take... some advice, about how you've let this place grow?
[ It seems he can't give this up entirely, even if it's not exactly time dependent. If he were mixing dangerous chemicals unknowingly, he would expect Viktor to intercede. ]