[in progress]

[exchevalier]

Who: Charles and Riku
When: Evening of October 19
Where: Their house
Rating: PG?
Warnings: None
Summary: Riku finally makes the effort to confront Charles about what he did and attempt to understand what happened.

Comments

[seinemotte]

Riku wanted to understand

[exchevalier]

Charles didn't move, made no effort to provide a comfortable atmosphere for either of them. His eyes were on Riku, looking into his, and yet there was no focus; he looked beyond him, avoidant.

"Yes," he answered curtly, keeping his voice cool and steady.

Even now, Charles could never see Riku as a chiropteran. Not as a monster like him. He was still human even if every cell of his being said otherwise.

"I can hardly expect you to understand."

[seinemotte]

"I'd like to," Riku replied quietly, trying his hardest to keep his tone even.

He looked directly at Charles, felt every cut from his coldness, but not in offense, or hurt for his own sake; Riku saw the harsh distance in those liquid violet eyes, flinched at the short, dismissive sentences, and felt pain, because it was the same way Charles had looked and sounded when he had locked Riku in the cell. Charles was trying to cut himself off - for reasons Riku only vaguely understood, wanted to understand - pretending he didn't care when everything about him screamed of his suffering.

None of this excused Charles's behavior, of course, but it strengthened Riku's determination to hear his explanation for it. To try to forgive him.

"If you'll tell me why."

[exchevalier]

There was a short pause, and then Charles turned away with a scoff. "I already explained it."

Nearly everything in life was complicated, but for all his poor planning and judgment, Charles's reasoning had been simple. Solomon had deserved any pain that could possibly be dealt to him, and Charles had done all he could to see that Solomon got every bit of it. It had been far from perfect -- he'd known that going in -- but he had needed that payback, and if he could do it over, he wasn't sure he wouldn't proceed in exactly the same way.

And if no one else could understand that--

"I'm sure you didn't forget," he added coldly. "Did you just come here with the vain hope that I'd give you a better story this time, then? One that meets your moral standards?"