Bert didn't sit down, electing instead to lean his back up against the tree, one foot against its trunk and his thumbs tucked in his gunbelts. Again, there was that unfamiliar moment's quiet. He wasn't one to think things through before he said them, but on this occasion...
Looking up at the sky, awkward with the need to say things so vulnerable and teenaged, he cleared his throat a couple of times. "It," he started, then pulled a face, scraped his hair back off his face, and started again. "I did really believe it. But only because I was pissy and I wanted to be left alone. Or at least for it to be Ro' or Al. Someone I could lay out flat and not feel like shit for doing it." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he looked down at her. "You're just about the only person around here at the moment who I don't want to kick in the kneecaps. Ro's an ass, Al's an idiot, Nariko took our dinh, and I'm a total dumbfuck who spoils everything he touches. And it doesn't sound like you're planning on coming back with us, and I don't blame you, but fuck, if you left, I'd have to miss you. And I'm sick of missing people."
He pulled a face, looking away again. "Look, what I'm trying to say is I cry your pardon. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't true either. I like you. I like having you around. Plus, you saved my life and Al's, and that's not nothing." With another grimace, he added quickly, "Don't tell anyone I've got feelings. Got a reputation to maintain."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2015-03-09 10:37 pm (UTC)Looking up at the sky, awkward with the need to say things so vulnerable and teenaged, he cleared his throat a couple of times. "It," he started, then pulled a face, scraped his hair back off his face, and started again. "I did really believe it. But only because I was pissy and I wanted to be left alone. Or at least for it to be Ro' or Al. Someone I could lay out flat and not feel like shit for doing it." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he looked down at her. "You're just about the only person around here at the moment who I don't want to kick in the kneecaps. Ro's an ass, Al's an idiot, Nariko took our dinh, and I'm a total dumbfuck who spoils everything he touches. And it doesn't sound like you're planning on coming back with us, and I don't blame you, but fuck, if you left, I'd have to miss you. And I'm sick of missing people."
He pulled a face, looking away again. "Look, what I'm trying to say is I cry your pardon. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't true either. I like you. I like having you around. Plus, you saved my life and Al's, and that's not nothing." With another grimace, he added quickly, "Don't tell anyone I've got feelings. Got a reputation to maintain."