[ sam knows that there is...a lot about geralt, about jaskier, and about ciri's lives that he has no idea about. knows that they have years, decades, of time between them that he probably will never know. it's not the first time he's been here, not the first time he's found a place amongst those who know each other's ins and outs. steve and bucky had been complicated, yes, but they also had decades of friendship too. undying loyalty. numerous experiences that sam would only hear partial comments about, but could feel the weight of in the room.
it doesn't bother him - he supposed that must have been what it was like with him and riley, even if they didn't have the years to back them up. or even if not, it's the fact of where he's found himself for most of his life. he can roll with it, does roll with it, and now when geralt says things like her home was ashes and she killed men and sam just. nods. it builds more of a picture, more of an understanding - who ciri is, what made her the way she is. I just... geralt trails off, and sam fills in. ]
You want better for her. More for her. Right?
[ it's not so hard a jump to make. he feels like he can see it in the line of geralt's shoulders. but what else is there to say? what else can he do? so sam just nods, because while he knows he'll never fully get it, he thinks he might be able to catch the shape. might be able to see the shadow. but it doesn't matter any more than that, because geralt is hurting and isn't sure what to do and yennefer is a part of that, ciri a bigger one, and sam can only just. be there when geralt glances over, catches his eyes before he turns away. he doesn't have to acknowledge it, sam can hear it somewhere in the silence, the pain and the disappointment and just how much it hurts when it's someone that close. who ends up just...letting you down.
( he does think of steve, briefly. it's a flash of a face, of an old man handing off the shield. it seizes up in sam's chest and he has to force himself to breathe around it. )
he snorts, though, at the comment. shakes his head a bit. ah yes, and there is the topic of it, isn't it? the fact that despite his best efforts, ciri still hasn't warmed up to him. ]
Is she? [ sam asks with some honest curiosity intermixed with faux disbelief. he does know geralt is joking, does sense the fondness in it, and sam can meet him there in ways. in others, though, he has genuinely been confused by it - not quite sure what it is he's doing wrong. ] See- the alcohol has never been the issue. She'll take that from me whenever. It's her being okay with me buying it for her.
[ he downs the rest of his cup with a kind of laugh, shaking his head as he reaches it out for geralt to refill. ]
no subject
it doesn't bother him - he supposed that must have been what it was like with him and riley, even if they didn't have the years to back them up. or even if not, it's the fact of where he's found himself for most of his life. he can roll with it, does roll with it, and now when geralt says things like her home was ashes and she killed men and sam just. nods. it builds more of a picture, more of an understanding - who ciri is, what made her the way she is. I just... geralt trails off, and sam fills in. ]
You want better for her. More for her. Right?
[ it's not so hard a jump to make. he feels like he can see it in the line of geralt's shoulders. but what else is there to say? what else can he do? so sam just nods, because while he knows he'll never fully get it, he thinks he might be able to catch the shape. might be able to see the shadow. but it doesn't matter any more than that, because geralt is hurting and isn't sure what to do and yennefer is a part of that, ciri a bigger one, and sam can only just. be there when geralt glances over, catches his eyes before he turns away. he doesn't have to acknowledge it, sam can hear it somewhere in the silence, the pain and the disappointment and just how much it hurts when it's someone that close. who ends up just...letting you down.
( he does think of steve, briefly. it's a flash of a face, of an old man handing off the shield. it seizes up in sam's chest and he has to force himself to breathe around it. )
he snorts, though, at the comment. shakes his head a bit. ah yes, and there is the topic of it, isn't it? the fact that despite his best efforts, ciri still hasn't warmed up to him. ]
Is she? [ sam asks with some honest curiosity intermixed with faux disbelief. he does know geralt is joking, does sense the fondness in it, and sam can meet him there in ways. in others, though, he has genuinely been confused by it - not quite sure what it is he's doing wrong. ] See- the alcohol has never been the issue. She'll take that from me whenever. It's her being okay with me buying it for her.
[ he downs the rest of his cup with a kind of laugh, shaking his head as he reaches it out for geralt to refill. ]
You were so much easier to win over.