[ He can't put Ian through the paces of a betrayal so sharp and unexpected that Nate felt all the air leave his lungs when it came to light. He can't show him how stupid he was to believe his brother without reservation, to not ask questions, to not fact-check the information. He twisted his own life to ruin out of a desperate need to help Sam because he owed him, he was indebted, and he can't let Ian see the look on Sam's face when he all but confirmed the story Rafe fed him.
It wasn't the sky, the trees, and a peaceful death. It was a last-ditch effort to keep a psychopath from putting bullets in the Brothers Drake, the panic that swelled when the barrel of a gun leveled at a vulnerable opening, and the lurching fear as he shut his eyes to take the hit before he was knocked over the edge.
It's too much. ]
It was worse. [ He emphasizes firmly, setting a boundary. ] But I don't want to talk about it.
[ Nate gives Ian's wrist a little squeeze before retreating, and maybe it's enough to satisfy his curiosity for now. God knows he means well, he cares, but these still aren't easy asks. They were never going to be, even as he adds a clarifying addendum before he can think better of it: ]
no subject
It wasn't the sky, the trees, and a peaceful death. It was a last-ditch effort to keep a psychopath from putting bullets in the Brothers Drake, the panic that swelled when the barrel of a gun leveled at a vulnerable opening, and the lurching fear as he shut his eyes to take the hit before he was knocked over the edge.
It's too much. ]
It was worse. [ He emphasizes firmly, setting a boundary. ] But I don't want to talk about it.
[ Nate gives Ian's wrist a little squeeze before retreating, and maybe it's enough to satisfy his curiosity for now. God knows he means well, he cares, but these still aren't easy asks. They were never going to be, even as he adds a clarifying addendum before he can think better of it: ]
Today.