[Leo doesn’t break the hug or pull away, letting Huvrye hold on as long as he needs to. He can feel him shaking, and it worries Leo, but he thinks all Huvrye needs is to breathe through it. He’s healed from the gunshots, physically, but maybe not emotionally.
Or maybe this is about a wound that goes deeper than the gunshots.
I’ve had nightmares like that before.
So he lets Huvrye hug him and he hugs him back, and he doesn’t ask any questions. He just waits for Huvrye to finish coming back from wherever his mind took him.]
[It's quiet - as quiet as an apartment in the city ever gets, at least. Leo says nothing, lets Huvrye hug him, lets him breathe until his breath is back under control and the shaking subsides.]
[Leo shouldn't have to deal with his breakdowns. Leo shouldn't have to worry about him like this. Leo has enough to deal with - throwing Huvrye's problems onto his plate is unfair to him at best.]
[So Huvrye pulls himself together, squeezes Leo gently, and lets go. He's fine. He has to be, because he knows just how heavy the burden of his problems is, and he refuses to put any more of it on Leo. He's done too much already.]
[Huvrye is a liar, out of necessity. They both know he's not okay, but that's not going to stop him from trying to sell it in order to keep the burden of his problems off Leo's shoulders.]
[He doesn't say anything to Leo's reassurance - there's little he could say without running into the argument lying in wait there, and he's not sure it's one he could win, so no-selling it from the start is the way to go. But the question-]
[There's a right answer here, and it's probably not the one Leo's looking for. Talking about it just puts his problems on Leo, accomplishing exactly what Huvrye is trying to avoid. Just saying no probably leads to another unwinnable argument.]
[(He can't win anything, can he. Not tonight, not ever - not when Kyriena and Effiom are involved, and they have their fingers in everything.)]
[But if he gives Leo something else to work with...]
[He sighs and steadies himself.]
No. Just- If you ever see anything from my world here-
[That is not specific enough, and Kyriena looks inviting if you've never seen the poison in her smile-]
If you ever see a woman with red hair and rainbow wings, run. Don't talk to her, don't let her see you, just- run.
[Maybe, if the worst comes to pass and his past follows him here, he can at least prevent his nightmares from playing out in the waking world. He can at least keep his family alive.]
[Leo can agree to that easily enough. He'd want Huvrye to do the same if the Krang ever showed up here, after all.
Though that makes him wonder if this woman with red hair and rainbow wings is really like the Krang - cruel, heartless, and powerful. From the way Huvrye is warning him about her, it sounds like she is, and that makes a chill run down Leo's shell.]
[He's a little surprised that the redirect had worked - well enough to keep Leo from pursuing getting Huvrye to talk about it. It's the smallest of successes, but he'll take it.]
[Sure, admitting that his nightmares are about Kyriena is still talking about it, but not to the depth that the initial question had entailed. Good enough.]
Yeah. If I never see her again, it'll be too soon.
[Leo debates that answer, shifting a bit on the spot. How much is he supposed to ask? Huvrye said he doesn't want to talk about it, and Leo gets that, but at the same time...
He's still worried about it.]
Did she hurt you?
[He'll start with that question - it feels easy enough to answer, to Leo.
(Though, with the way Huvrye was checking his shell, maybe she hurt someone else.)
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no subject
Or maybe this is about a wound that goes deeper than the gunshots.
I’ve had nightmares like that before.
So he lets Huvrye hug him and he hugs him back, and he doesn’t ask any questions. He just waits for Huvrye to finish coming back from wherever his mind took him.]
no subject
[Leo shouldn't have to deal with his breakdowns. Leo shouldn't have to worry about him like this. Leo has enough to deal with - throwing Huvrye's problems onto his plate is unfair to him at best.]
[So Huvrye pulls himself together, squeezes Leo gently, and lets go. He's fine. He has to be, because he knows just how heavy the burden of his problems is, and he refuses to put any more of it on Leo. He's done too much already.]
I'm okay.
[He should be saying thank you, but-]
Sorry for waking you.
no subject
At the apology, he shrugs.]
Not like I haven’t done the same to you. …A lot.
[More than just once.]
You wanna talk about it?
[The question comes to him easily, because it’s obvious to him now, isn’t it? You talk about it, and that makes it better.
If it can work for him it can work for Huvrye, right?]
no subject
[He doesn't say anything to Leo's reassurance - there's little he could say without running into the argument lying in wait there, and he's not sure it's one he could win, so no-selling it from the start is the way to go. But the question-]
[There's a right answer here, and it's probably not the one Leo's looking for. Talking about it just puts his problems on Leo, accomplishing exactly what Huvrye is trying to avoid. Just saying no probably leads to another unwinnable argument.]
[(He can't win anything, can he. Not tonight, not ever - not when Kyriena and Effiom are involved, and they have their fingers in everything.)]
[But if he gives Leo something else to work with...]
[He sighs and steadies himself.]
No. Just- If you ever see anything from my world here-
[That is not specific enough, and Kyriena looks inviting if you've never seen the poison in her smile-]
If you ever see a woman with red hair and rainbow wings, run. Don't talk to her, don't let her see you, just- run.
[Maybe, if the worst comes to pass and his past follows him here, he can at least prevent his nightmares from playing out in the waking world. He can at least keep his family alive.]
no subject
[Leo can agree to that easily enough. He'd want Huvrye to do the same if the Krang ever showed up here, after all.
Though that makes him wonder if this woman with red hair and rainbow wings is really like the Krang - cruel, heartless, and powerful. From the way Huvrye is warning him about her, it sounds like she is, and that makes a chill run down Leo's shell.]
Is she who you're having nightmares about?
[What did she do to hurt Huvrye that badly?]
no subject
[Sure, admitting that his nightmares are about Kyriena is still talking about it, but not to the depth that the initial question had entailed. Good enough.]
Yeah. If I never see her again, it'll be too soon.
no subject
He's still worried about it.]
Did she hurt you?
[He'll start with that question - it feels easy enough to answer, to Leo.
(Though, with the way Huvrye was checking his shell, maybe she hurt someone else.)
(Or both. Both is always a possibility.)]