[The reiteration of his promise makes Octavian smile, and he shifts his arm pressed against Viktor's to loop around it loosely, since he can't see his face at the moment. It's comfortable like this; he has no intention of pulling away anytime soon.
He can't relate to Viktor's talk of his home, he finds, and he did kind of expect that much; they clearly come from very different worlds, not just literally, and Octavian knows that he has, hm, nothing particularly adept to say about the specific differences. He's never had to think about that before, not really, not in a way that permanently mattered.
So instead, the thing he thinks he can pick out that he can understand,] Your family?
[Or perhaps just the yearning for childhood, life before adult complexities, no matter the specific backdrop.]
I would hear what you have to share, [he says, the same sentiment Viktor had given about his own memories of Sterling; maybe not here, but someday. And,] Any part. The 'yes' and the 'no'.
[Which is frankly herculean for him, considering how little interest he manages to muster up for other people; but he would have the whole of Viktor, if he can—not just the glittering brilliance of his intellect, the lovely things that drew him into this particular orbit. Viktor would rather he not make those jokes at his own expense, so Octavian would rather Viktor not hold back on his account.
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He can't relate to Viktor's talk of his home, he finds, and he did kind of expect that much; they clearly come from very different worlds, not just literally, and Octavian knows that he has, hm, nothing particularly adept to say about the specific differences. He's never had to think about that before, not really, not in a way that permanently mattered.
So instead, the thing he thinks he can pick out that he can understand,] Your family?
[Or perhaps just the yearning for childhood, life before adult complexities, no matter the specific backdrop.]
I would hear what you have to share, [he says, the same sentiment Viktor had given about his own memories of Sterling; maybe not here, but someday. And,] Any part. The 'yes' and the 'no'.
[Which is frankly herculean for him, considering how little interest he manages to muster up for other people; but he would have the whole of Viktor, if he can—not just the glittering brilliance of his intellect, the lovely things that drew him into this particular orbit. Viktor would rather he not make those jokes at his own expense, so Octavian would rather Viktor not hold back on his account.
That is,] Someday.