[It feels unkind, but his first thought is then what is? You won't tell me. He doesn't say that. He wants reassurance, not to fight. He wants to believe Marco right now. He closes his eyes, breathes in, breathes out. Opens them again.]
Okay.
I know I ought to take everythin' he says with a truckload of salt but... I don't know. It's hard to tell what he means and what he doesn't.
He must have been trying to make you upset. [... Must have been trying to get back at him. It's... immature, but Marco can see where it's coming from.]
I'm sorry. But I promise, I'm not going anywhere without you.
I'll just bet he was. I don't know why I expected anythin' different.
[There's a bitterness in his voice that he doesn't like. His mouth thins and he swallows it back.]
I was just tryin' to apologize. I really didn't mean to hurt him by what I did. You know that, right? I can disagree with a lot of what he does and still not want to hurt him.
I know that. [Even at his most worried, back when Fiddleford told him what he intended to do, he hoped Fiddleford truly didn't mean any harm.] But I don't think he sees it that way.
[And, fundamentally... He can't blame him, can he? Things had gone wrong, and part of him still wonders if they're lucky the consequences hadn't been even worse.]
Maybe...
[Marco hesitates, unsure of how much he actually believes what he's about to propose. It doesn't feel... wrong, exactly.]
If you'd told me sooner, I might have been able to... I don't know. Obviously, I wouldn't bring it up directly with Elias, but I could have... tried to understand what might happen as a result. Maybe.
[... Or maybe he would have done all he could to stop the plan from coming to fruition. He can acknowledge that's about as likely as the other option.]
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Okay.
I know I ought to take everythin' he says with a truckload of salt but... I don't know. It's hard to tell what he means and what he doesn't.
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I'm sorry. But I promise, I'm not going anywhere without you.
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[There's a bitterness in his voice that he doesn't like. His mouth thins and he swallows it back.]
I was just tryin' to apologize. I really didn't mean to hurt him by what I did. You know that, right? I can disagree with a lot of what he does and still not want to hurt him.
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[And, fundamentally... He can't blame him, can he? Things had gone wrong, and part of him still wonders if they're lucky the consequences hadn't been even worse.]
Maybe...
[Marco hesitates, unsure of how much he actually believes what he's about to propose. It doesn't feel... wrong, exactly.]
If you'd told me sooner, I might have been able to... I don't know. Obviously, I wouldn't bring it up directly with Elias, but I could have... tried to understand what might happen as a result. Maybe.
[... Or maybe he would have done all he could to stop the plan from coming to fruition. He can acknowledge that's about as likely as the other option.]