[Of course Basil knew, too, even back then. Maybe he didn't know it for sure because he'd only been there for four days, and the fact of their lives here hadn't had enough time to sink in. But he could assume plenty, just from how Max was behaving.
It would have been so easy. The thought rattles Basil to his very core, despite knowing he has no business to judge Max now for any of it. It's exactly what he thought, when he was stalking humans on the street, seeking prey but lacking the ability to take them out on his own. It's the only thought he had on his mind when he'd attacked Bakugo, trying desperately to rip his flesh from his bones with a fervor he never thought could be possible.
Max is crying, and it hurts to see just as much as it did back in the Pale. And then...the thoughts return.
It's his fault she's upset. If he could have kept his mouth shut, they could have just sat here together in silence. They would have been suffering still, maybe, but at least they would have just had each other for company and nothing more.
Feeling helpless, Basil searches Max's expression for something- anything- he can latch onto, where he might be able to find the words to fix this. Instead, he finds himself glancing over to the shelf, where the secateurs still lay near a potted daisy. He's only forced to look back because it's still watching him, daring him to make a move.]
B-but you didn't! You didn't because you'd never.
[It's easier for Basil to tell a half-truth when it's not about himself, he's suddenly finding. Or...maybe it's because he wholeheartedly believes that.]
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timeasmymeasure
cw: cannibalism/self depreciation/brief suicidal ideation
Date: 2023-04-22 10:21 pm (UTC)It would have been so easy. The thought rattles Basil to his very core, despite knowing he has no business to judge Max now for any of it. It's exactly what he thought, when he was stalking humans on the street, seeking prey but lacking the ability to take them out on his own. It's the only thought he had on his mind when he'd attacked Bakugo, trying desperately to rip his flesh from his bones with a fervor he never thought could be possible.
Max is crying, and it hurts to see just as much as it did back in the Pale. And then...the thoughts return.
It's his fault she's upset. If he could have kept his mouth shut, they could have just sat here together in silence. They would have been suffering still, maybe, but at least they would have just had each other for company and nothing more.
Feeling helpless, Basil searches Max's expression for something- anything- he can latch onto, where he might be able to find the words to fix this. Instead, he finds himself glancing over to the shelf, where the secateurs still lay near a potted daisy. He's only forced to look back because it's still watching him, daring him to make a move.]
B-but you didn't! You didn't because you'd never.
[It's easier for Basil to tell a half-truth when it's not about himself, he's suddenly finding. Or...maybe it's because he wholeheartedly believes that.]
I trust you, Max...I do.