[ he doesn't get to talk to cats because he's not dead, key thing there —
anyway, yes, definitely unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and even more specifically in the context of this conversation; and it's not a conversation that's over, either, because despite charles' lack of a follow-up question, junpei continues to speak, prefacing his words with a quiet warning and charles braces himself, then... a good thing, too, because the bluntness of it, when junpei finally manages to wrench the words out, well — it stabs right at the center of him in a completely different way than the craziness of everything he's just learned did.
because this is about junpei himself, again, and charles wants nothing more than for him to be okay — and he knows that that's just not the way things are, would have known it even without junpei spelling it out like this, and can his heart break for the third time in, what, an hour? it's certainly making its best effort to do just that.
gently, he lifts his hand, runs it through junpei's hair. ]
There's nothing wrong with you, sweetheart. I mean — [ a breath, then, because he needs to rephrase this, ] There is, but that's what's not wrong, yeah? What you've been through would've fucked anyone up. What would be wrong would be... expecting you to just be fine after all of that.
[ with a sad, small smile that's the barest twist of his lips, ] I've seen this a couple of times, over the years. When stuff just gets so much that you — I don't know, lock it away, I guess? When feeling anything about it hurts so much it's easier to not feel anything.
[ he sighs, because those have been — well, cases he'd much prefer not to remember, and to think junpei's feeling that exact same thing, now... but no, he can hold himself together. he can't afford anything else, right now. ] So my best guess is that's what you're doing.
no subject
anyway, yes, definitely unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and even more specifically in the context of this conversation; and it's not a conversation that's over, either, because despite charles' lack of a follow-up question, junpei continues to speak, prefacing his words with a quiet warning and charles braces himself, then... a good thing, too, because the bluntness of it, when junpei finally manages to wrench the words out, well — it stabs right at the center of him in a completely different way than the craziness of everything he's just learned did.
because this is about junpei himself, again, and charles wants nothing more than for him to be okay — and he knows that that's just not the way things are, would have known it even without junpei spelling it out like this, and can his heart break for the third time in, what, an hour? it's certainly making its best effort to do just that.
gently, he lifts his hand, runs it through junpei's hair. ]
There's nothing wrong with you, sweetheart. I mean — [ a breath, then, because he needs to rephrase this, ] There is, but that's what's not wrong, yeah? What you've been through would've fucked anyone up. What would be wrong would be... expecting you to just be fine after all of that.
[ with a sad, small smile that's the barest twist of his lips, ] I've seen this a couple of times, over the years. When stuff just gets so much that you — I don't know, lock it away, I guess? When feeling anything about it hurts so much it's easier to not feel anything.
[ he sighs, because those have been — well, cases he'd much prefer not to remember, and to think junpei's feeling that exact same thing, now... but no, he can hold himself together. he can't afford anything else, right now. ] So my best guess is that's what you're doing.