She stares at him, uncomprehending as he tries to accept what she's saying, as he muddles through it. Why would he ask that? As if he thinks he could ever disappoint her, as if he thinks she would ever...make a rule about what happens when he's disappointing?
What, like punishing him?
Her stomach twists uncomfortably. Oh.
Some names surface. Tricia. Morgan. Custis. Waverly. His stepmother. His father.
A bad moment means he's been disappointing, doesn't it? And all of those people in his life like to find reasons to fuck with him, reasons to break him down just a little bit more, so they invent penalties for all the contrived disappointments he's meant to have caused.
Katrina sucks in a breath, slow and steadying, and her thumb brushes a slow arc across his cheek. ]
You have to listen to this. This is the most important rule. It's a rule that goes for every game we ever play, okay?
[ She lets that linger, lets him absorb how important this is, how he needs to listen, no matter how drunk or sad or sunken into himself he might be. ]
You are not disappointing. You're the best Fish. You're the best Treavor, and I am never disappointed in you. There are never going to be rules or penalties or punishments for when you're disappointing, because you don't disappoint me. I know who you are, and I'm proud of you. I'm proud you're my husband.
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She stares at him, uncomprehending as he tries to accept what she's saying, as he muddles through it. Why would he ask that? As if he thinks he could ever disappoint her, as if he thinks she would ever...make a rule about what happens when he's disappointing?
What, like punishing him?
Her stomach twists uncomfortably. Oh.
Some names surface. Tricia. Morgan. Custis. Waverly. His stepmother. His father.
A bad moment means he's been disappointing, doesn't it? And all of those people in his life like to find reasons to fuck with him, reasons to break him down just a little bit more, so they invent penalties for all the contrived disappointments he's meant to have caused.
Katrina sucks in a breath, slow and steadying, and her thumb brushes a slow arc across his cheek. ]
You have to listen to this. This is the most important rule. It's a rule that goes for every game we ever play, okay?
[ She lets that linger, lets him absorb how important this is, how he needs to listen, no matter how drunk or sad or sunken into himself he might be. ]
You are not disappointing. You're the best Fish. You're the best Treavor, and I am never disappointed in you. There are never going to be rules or penalties or punishments for when you're disappointing, because you don't disappoint me. I know who you are, and I'm proud of you. I'm proud you're my husband.