As Barma promised, he returns the next morning, ready to help poor Jack acclimatize to the mansion. He knocks on the door gently, reluctant to wake him if he's sleeping.
Jack stares at him for a full minute, and his face falls. He doesn't understand any of it, and he's taking it as being reprimanded for one of the rules that older people always liked to impose on him.
The thought makes him flinch, and he scrambles back on the bed, away from Rufus. He did wake up with his hands already that way, and the man was there, and --
"A lot of reasons. One is that you're together to make each other feel good- there's an implicit trust that that won't change. And the things people do as friends- trusts naturally form. You talk about your family, about the little things in life that have hurt you."
He explains, quietly.
"And trust- trust hurts when it's broken, Jack. I know you know how that feels."
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Date: 2010-06-26 05:49 am (UTC)"...'kay, sir."
Not that he's going to follow Barma anyway.
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Date: 2010-06-26 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-26 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-26 06:00 am (UTC)They'll get this.
"Would you say you liked me, when you first met me?"
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:07 am (UTC)He sits up properly for this, hair all over the place.
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:08 am (UTC)Barma smiles, and moves forward.
"Sit up, I'll braid."
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:12 am (UTC)He shakes his head, terrified.
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:16 am (UTC)Barma swears to him.
"On my life."
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:20 am (UTC)"...I'm sorry, I was just..." He looks down at his hands. "...sorry."
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:21 am (UTC)He lowers his head.
"I owe you an apology."
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:24 am (UTC)"If it's Sir Rufus, it's okay! Because you're really smart. So you must've asked it because it was...important."
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-26 06:28 am (UTC)He sits back on his haunches.
"Are other people not supposed to hurt each other too?"
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:31 am (UTC)Which simplifies things a little, but.
"And if when you'd first met me, if I'd been beating someone up, do you think you would have wanted to be my friend then?"
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:34 am (UTC)"No, I would be scared of you," he answers.
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:36 am (UTC)He explains, helpfully.
"And this- this is where it gets really tricky. If you make friends with someone, you put your trust in them."
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:41 am (UTC)It makes a lot of sense that way. However, the trust thing does not. He knows what trust is, even at his age, but.
"...isn't that..." He searches for the right word, and he can't find it. "Why?"
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:43 am (UTC)He explains, quietly.
"And trust- trust hurts when it's broken, Jack. I know you know how that feels."
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:50 am (UTC)"Does Sir Rufus know how it feels, too?"
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-26 06:56 am (UTC)"I think I understand now." He smiles at the older man. "I should trust you, because you're my friend, right?"
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Date: 2010-06-26 06:57 am (UTC)He corrects him freely.
"And I'm going to trust you not to take violent action against anyone here, Jack, unless you're defending yourself. All right?"
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Date: 2010-06-26 07:00 am (UTC)He doesn't know that it was something to be earned.
"Okay, I promise I won't hurt anyone unless they hurt me first."
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Date: 2010-06-26 07:02 am (UTC)He explains.
"Just like I'll see that this is true."
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Date: 2010-06-26 07:05 am (UTC)He'll have to do a lot of remembering not to hurt other people - and probably find a hobby or two. But still, if it helped him make more friends...!
"I'll do my best!"
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