Thankfully, Roland doesn't think anything of Inigo's hesitations to accept his words. Perhaps a part of him already expected it wasn't going to be that easy anyway, such that when he draws back, Roland relents and allows him to gain that distance in more ways than one. He watches him intently, eyes never leaving his, even when he denies it again and again; a loop that will take a long time to break.
Roland's thumbs caress the skin under Inigo's eyes, where he sees the build up unshed emotion. Tears he is holding back, refusing to fall; an act meant only to comfort, and reassure. "You're Olivia's son, Inigo. And you're important to me." He draws him back into an embrace, now his turn to bury his nose against the crook of Inigo's neck, eyes closing tight. He doesn't want to think about it. He doesn't want to think about the reality they are all facing away from the void. Coming from Tidus's own admittance the other day, a world destroyed and now existing only through the mercy of a watch keeping him solid - Roland detests it. The fates of children born into lives that they did not deserve; where they should have been happy from the start.
"But that's okay," he adds hushed, breath against Inigo's shirt muffling his words. He knows it will be heard. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't have to be now. One thing at a time. One step at a time. You're not letting him get away with hurting anyone anymore."
Till then, I'll believe it for you. That you're worth standing up for. Inigo promised him, after all. That day, in the bathrooms, elbows deep in cleaning; that he would try, hard as it is to believe he was worth defending. Because he is his mother's son, the one she loved more than anything. Roland knows how strong a mother's sadness and love can drive a child - and he hopes that in Inigo's darkest nights, he remembers that to bring him back under the light.
For now, they are here in this moment, a promise once again made by a president whose heart has broken more times than he can bother to count. For now, it all boils down to taking that leap and getting Inigo the support he needs to overcome the beast that was his living nightmare packaged in snark and red-hair.
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Roland's thumbs caress the skin under Inigo's eyes, where he sees the build up unshed emotion. Tears he is holding back, refusing to fall; an act meant only to comfort, and reassure. "You're Olivia's son, Inigo. And you're important to me." He draws him back into an embrace, now his turn to bury his nose against the crook of Inigo's neck, eyes closing tight. He doesn't want to think about it. He doesn't want to think about the reality they are all facing away from the void. Coming from Tidus's own admittance the other day, a world destroyed and now existing only through the mercy of a watch keeping him solid - Roland detests it. The fates of children born into lives that they did not deserve; where they should have been happy from the start.
"But that's okay," he adds hushed, breath against Inigo's shirt muffling his words. He knows it will be heard. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't have to be now. One thing at a time. One step at a time. You're not letting him get away with hurting anyone anymore."
Till then, I'll believe it for you. That you're worth standing up for. Inigo promised him, after all. That day, in the bathrooms, elbows deep in cleaning; that he would try, hard as it is to believe he was worth defending. Because he is his mother's son, the one she loved more than anything. Roland knows how strong a mother's sadness and love can drive a child - and he hopes that in Inigo's darkest nights, he remembers that to bring him back under the light.
For now, they are here in this moment, a promise once again made by a president whose heart has broken more times than he can bother to count. For now, it all boils down to taking that leap and getting Inigo the support he needs to overcome the beast that was his living nightmare packaged in snark and red-hair.