[Gobbet's hands curl into fists. Her fingernails bite into her palms and the pain is dull and bitter, like the irritation bubbling in her chest. Understanding? No, maybe she hasn't been.]
[But she's not good at this. Not...not good at making space for other people. Her world contains her and a handful of people that know better than to try and change her. One person who succeeded in leading her to change herself. And here was this man - practically a stranger, really - who whether he knew it or not was asking her to be a different person for him.]
[Humor is her bandage. Aloofness is her painkiller. Dismissal is her shield. And to be understanding, sincerely understanding, she'd need to drop all of that and let herself hurt. For his sake.]
[No, no she won't do that. That's insane.]
I tried.
[She stands up abruptly, turning her back on him as she makes her way to the next person she wants to talk to.]
Come find me when you're done, Timbo. I'll wait.
[Done. It's nice and vague and means whatever he wants it to, exactly as Gobbet intends it. Is she done with him? Maybe. That's up to him, she tells herself. She's still willing to walk you to a better end, Tim. And failing that, a different one than the one you've chosen.]
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[But she's not good at this. Not...not good at making space for other people. Her world contains her and a handful of people that know better than to try and change her. One person who succeeded in leading her to change herself. And here was this man - practically a stranger, really - who whether he knew it or not was asking her to be a different person for him.]
[Humor is her bandage. Aloofness is her painkiller. Dismissal is her shield. And to be understanding, sincerely understanding, she'd need to drop all of that and let herself hurt. For his sake.]
[No, no she won't do that. That's insane.]
I tried.
[She stands up abruptly, turning her back on him as she makes her way to the next person she wants to talk to.]
Come find me when you're done, Timbo. I'll wait.
[Done. It's nice and vague and means whatever he wants it to, exactly as Gobbet intends it. Is she done with him? Maybe. That's up to him, she tells herself. She's still willing to walk you to a better end, Tim. And failing that, a different one than the one you've chosen.]