[ Adrian wants to argue that he had it under control, but the truth is that he really didn't. He could defend from a stab wound, but it would leave him vulnerable. He had no way to counter the hypnosis. Even Morgan wouldn't last long as a distraction. He's never been much for fighting, but he can see how it would have played out, and he has no counter for Eliot's point.
Fern would have been furious, and worse than that she would have been upset. Finding his body in an alley would have been one last disappointment.
Apparently, she isn't the only one.
He lets Eliot slap his hand away, his halo finally flickering out like a light as he burns through the last of his healing. He doesn't resist when he's pushed back against the brick wall again. Eliot seems to tower over him, but he's not afraid of Eliot's anger. It feels good, in a strange way, to have him say it out loud.
This is just the conclusion of the dance they've been doing since that night in the motel room. All of Adrian's non-answers and Eliot's careful prodding for answers that he already knows — it's led to this. It always leads to this. Inevitably, everyone is violently disappointed. Inevitably, it just ends.
He grabs the front of Eliot's shirt in turn, dragging him perilously close. Despite the tears streaking his face, his heart is hammering in his chest. ]
You want me to be honest? Fine. I don't want to be saved if it means putting your life at risk. There's no point in living i-if the people I care about die. I hate hurting people and I hate seeing them hurt. [ His grip tightens on Eliot's shirt. ] Even you, and your ridiculous kindness and your misplaced guilt over something that wasn't even your fault. So what if I lied about it? What does it matter? You were better off hating me. It was easier for both of us.
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Fern would have been furious, and worse than that she would have been upset. Finding his body in an alley would have been one last disappointment.
Apparently, she isn't the only one.
He lets Eliot slap his hand away, his halo finally flickering out like a light as he burns through the last of his healing. He doesn't resist when he's pushed back against the brick wall again. Eliot seems to tower over him, but he's not afraid of Eliot's anger. It feels good, in a strange way, to have him say it out loud.
This is just the conclusion of the dance they've been doing since that night in the motel room. All of Adrian's non-answers and Eliot's careful prodding for answers that he already knows — it's led to this. It always leads to this. Inevitably, everyone is violently disappointed. Inevitably, it just ends.
He grabs the front of Eliot's shirt in turn, dragging him perilously close. Despite the tears streaking his face, his heart is hammering in his chest. ]
You want me to be honest? Fine. I don't want to be saved if it means putting your life at risk. There's no point in living i-if the people I care about die. I hate hurting people and I hate seeing them hurt. [ His grip tightens on Eliot's shirt. ] Even you, and your ridiculous kindness and your misplaced guilt over something that wasn't even your fault. So what if I lied about it? What does it matter? You were better off hating me. It was easier for both of us.