The last thing Liam expected entering this conversation was to hug it out, and he responds to Gladio's embrace with a startled, shallow gasp - yet even in the heat, Liam lingers there willingly. Breathing slowly to vent out his bitterness, forehead pressed against Gladio's chest to hide his face, Liam closes his eyes. It had been a long time since he'd needed to be held like this.
When Gladio releases him, Liam's expression is as tired as his, age lines creased in misery and exhaustion. Would he have shot Gladio? He doesn't know. He doesn't think so (doesn't want to think so)- but the truth of it is that his temper had been pulled as taut as an unravelling thread, and in that moment, he'd looked at Gladio and saw the enemy. But when the dust cleared, it would have been horribly clear that he had lost two friends instead of one. To what end? To be the hero again? To feel anything again? Liam feels a familiar self-loathing stirring in his chest. He leans into Gladio's support, the very recent memory of his heartbeat a comfort.
Finally, Liam sighs, low and long. "We're lucky to have you, Gladio." That was the ultimate truth of it. "I've always been sure of that. And if you trust Ardyn- well, I can't fight with you anymore." The argument was over. So deep was his trust in Gladio that he was willing to call an uneasy truce with a man he was sure he hated, a man so unpredictable, dangerous and tyrannical that being locked up with him was viscerally disgusting. Ardyn had dominated him, humiliated him, and injured him so effectively that he'd suffered through something he should have been able to shrug off. This was more than a leap of faith. This was letting Gladio blindfold and leave him adrift with a promise. "But I can't face Ardyn. One way or another, I can't talk to him." Perhaps indefinitely, for both of their protection. Could Gladio and his friends accept that and still let Liam live within reach? Liam was terrified that the answer was 'no'.
no subject
When Gladio releases him, Liam's expression is as tired as his, age lines creased in misery and exhaustion. Would he have shot Gladio? He doesn't know. He doesn't think so (doesn't want to think so)- but the truth of it is that his temper had been pulled as taut as an unravelling thread, and in that moment, he'd looked at Gladio and saw the enemy. But when the dust cleared, it would have been horribly clear that he had lost two friends instead of one. To what end? To be the hero again? To feel anything again? Liam feels a familiar self-loathing stirring in his chest. He leans into Gladio's support, the very recent memory of his heartbeat a comfort.
Finally, Liam sighs, low and long. "We're lucky to have you, Gladio." That was the ultimate truth of it. "I've always been sure of that. And if you trust Ardyn- well, I can't fight with you anymore." The argument was over. So deep was his trust in Gladio that he was willing to call an uneasy truce with a man he was sure he hated, a man so unpredictable, dangerous and tyrannical that being locked up with him was viscerally disgusting. Ardyn had dominated him, humiliated him, and injured him so effectively that he'd suffered through something he should have been able to shrug off. This was more than a leap of faith. This was letting Gladio blindfold and leave him adrift with a promise. "But I can't face Ardyn. One way or another, I can't talk to him." Perhaps indefinitely, for both of their protection. Could Gladio and his friends accept that and still let Liam live within reach? Liam was terrified that the answer was 'no'.