His hands still at the tone of her voice, that haunted and traumatised distance he’s heard before.
She makes it so very hard to stay angry at her.
He stares at her bared back, at her soft skin and mottled scales, such a small and delicate woman… it wasn’t treachery. It was shame. She’s ashamed.
He strokes her plait around to his reach and delicately unplucks her hair, coming up the lovely curls.
“…When you come to know Suzaku better, you should tell him about this too.” There are echoes there, similarities. “When my father conquered his country, he…” That’s not his story to tell. “He eventually accepted his lot as the conquered and sought to prove himself over and over, to show that the Japanese were as worthy as any Britannian. He played the game perfectly within the rules - and he got further than anyone of his people ever managed. But he was fundamentally unable to perceive that true political games being played around him, the ones that would prevent a man of his race ever raising to true equality.”
As he talks he runs his fingers through her hair.
“He too carries around a weight of shame. Eventually, powerless in the face of powerful puppeteers, most people break. One has to, in order to survive. One needs to justify the brutal unfairness in order to carry on.”
no subject
She makes it so very hard to stay angry at her.
He stares at her bared back, at her soft skin and mottled scales, such a small and delicate woman… it wasn’t treachery. It was shame. She’s ashamed.
He strokes her plait around to his reach and delicately unplucks her hair, coming up the lovely curls.
“…When you come to know Suzaku better, you should tell him about this too.” There are echoes there, similarities. “When my father conquered his country, he…” That’s not his story to tell. “He eventually accepted his lot as the conquered and sought to prove himself over and over, to show that the Japanese were as worthy as any Britannian. He played the game perfectly within the rules - and he got further than anyone of his people ever managed. But he was fundamentally unable to perceive that true political games being played around him, the ones that would prevent a man of his race ever raising to true equality.”
As he talks he runs his fingers through her hair.
“He too carries around a weight of shame. Eventually, powerless in the face of powerful puppeteers, most people break. One has to, in order to survive. One needs to justify the brutal unfairness in order to carry on.”