We all did it together. I couldn't have done it alone.
[The next question has his expression faltering for a second.
After a moment, he goes with:]
Heh... not as great as I'd like to be.
[He doesn't want to be false with Cater after everything, but there's also a strong desire to not let him see too much. He had enough weighing on his mind without having to worry about Trey.]
[But joking aside, he looks at Trey with an even, understanding expression. Being the master of pretending everything is fine, he knows how hard it is to open up--wouldn't judge Trey for not wanting to. But being where their relationship is now, he'd be remiss not to be there for his friend now that the shoe seems to be on the other foot.]
If you want to talk about it, I'm here--but only if you want. Just don't hold yourself back for my sake.
[Cater doesn't intend to waste a bunch of time regretting the years he kept Trey at arm's distance. Still, it's hard not to wish that he had more experience with this kind of thing. Bad enough to be comforted, but being the one to do the comforting? It's a whole different wheelhouse. He pulls Trey over so they're leaning together shoulder-to-shoulder.]
You'll drive yourself crazy thinking like that. You've known Riddle longer than any of us, so tell me: do you think he would have listened? He strikes me as the kind of person who really needed to hit his breaking point before he'd be able to face the facts no matter how many people had tried to get through to him sooner.
[For not having much experience, Cater does a good job. Trey leans into that tug, and then much heavier after Cater finishes speaking.]
... yeah, you're probably right.
[What if, what if, what if. Cater's right, it will drive him crazy. It still hurts him deep in his soul to see just how much hurt Riddle was in. And not that long after Cater showed his own pain.
It's a lot to take in... But... Cater has been improving by leaps and bounds. Maybe now Riddle could, too.
After a moment, a hand comes up to rest on the opposite shoulder, giving him a little side-hug.]
Thanks, Cater.
[He looks to him.]
Riddle's going to depend on us more than ever now to make sure he doesn't go too far. Think you're up to the task?
Hey, just call me second in command to the second in command.
[He squeezes Trey in that one-armed hug before his stance relaxes.]
What're friends for, right? If I can count on you, you can count on me.
[But he knows that these kind of doubts aren't so easy to shake. Cater isn't going to act like everything's cleaned up and tidy.]
He has a lot of learning to do, and he'll probably backslide...and when that happens, it's not on you. I'm right here with you to keep things moving forward.
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[He claps Cater's shoulder.]
We all did it together. I couldn't have done it alone.
[The next question has his expression faltering for a second.
After a moment, he goes with:]
Heh... not as great as I'd like to be.
[He doesn't want to be false with Cater after everything, but there's also a strong desire to not let him see too much. He had enough weighing on his mind without having to worry about Trey.]
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[But joking aside, he looks at Trey with an even, understanding expression. Being the master of pretending everything is fine, he knows how hard it is to open up--wouldn't judge Trey for not wanting to. But being where their relationship is now, he'd be remiss not to be there for his friend now that the shoe seems to be on the other foot.]
If you want to talk about it, I'm here--but only if you want. Just don't hold yourself back for my sake.
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His arm slides off of Cater and he goes and sits rather heavily on the bed, slouching forward instead of sitting up as he normally does.]
... Ace was right about me.
[That pretty much says it all.]
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Ace barely knows you.
[Yeah, so, Ace might have not been totally wrong or off base in his assertion, but that also didn't mean he was totally right, either.]
He may have had a point, but this wasn't your fault.
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It may not have been my fault, but... what if I hadn't enabled him so much? What if I had stepped in instead of aside sooner?
Maybe I could've prevented this whole thing from happening. Maybe... he wouldn't have had to stew in all that pain for so long.
[His hand comes up to take his glasses off, and the other comes up to bridge his nose.]
Damnit...
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You'll drive yourself crazy thinking like that. You've known Riddle longer than any of us, so tell me: do you think he would have listened? He strikes me as the kind of person who really needed to hit his breaking point before he'd be able to face the facts no matter how many people had tried to get through to him sooner.
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... yeah, you're probably right.
[What if, what if, what if. Cater's right, it will drive him crazy. It still hurts him deep in his soul to see just how much hurt Riddle was in. And not that long after Cater showed his own pain.
It's a lot to take in... But... Cater has been improving by leaps and bounds. Maybe now Riddle could, too.
After a moment, a hand comes up to rest on the opposite shoulder, giving him a little side-hug.]
Thanks, Cater.
[He looks to him.]
Riddle's going to depend on us more than ever now to make sure he doesn't go too far. Think you're up to the task?
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[He squeezes Trey in that one-armed hug before his stance relaxes.]
What're friends for, right? If I can count on you, you can count on me.
[But he knows that these kind of doubts aren't so easy to shake. Cater isn't going to act like everything's cleaned up and tidy.]
He has a lot of learning to do, and he'll probably backslide...and when that happens, it's not on you. I'm right here with you to keep things moving forward.
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We're both counting on you.
[And he means that. Cater's help would truly be invaluable.]