morality

[duke_of_illusions]

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?"

Comments

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"I would never, ever, do a thing like that to you."

Barma swears to him.

"On my life."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

He's not past the point of never trusting anyone ever yet, and the promise instantly reassures him.

"...I'm sorry, I was just..." He looks down at his hands. "...sorry."

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"No. It was a silly thing to bring up."

He lowers his head.

"I owe you an apology."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

He's the first person ever to say that, to him, and Jack smiles a little as he crawls back over to the other side of the bed.

"If it's Sir Rufus, it's okay! Because you're really smart. So you must've asked it because it was...important."

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Think about the question, though. You're more likely to want to be friends with people who don't hurt you."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

"That would be nice."

He sits back on his haunches.

"Are other people not supposed to hurt each other too?"

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"That's it exactly. The more people you don't hurt, the more friends you'll have."

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?"

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

Understanding dawns on him, and he relaxes a little. It made sense, didn't it? He really did want a lot of friends --

"No, I would be scared of you," he answers.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Just like anyone else would be of you, if they caught you doing something terrible, or if word of it got out."

He explains, helpfully.

"And this- this is where it gets really tricky. If you make friends with someone, you put your trust in them."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

"Oh."

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?"

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"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."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

Jack tilts his head after a moment of processing that.

"Does Sir Rufus know how it feels, too?"

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"I do. And I think making someone feel like that- you, me, anyone. I think you know in your heart that that is wrong."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

He's not that far gone to lose that sense of wrongness, and Jack nods.

"I think I understand now." He smiles at the older man. "I should trust you, because you're my friend, right?"

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"You should let me earn your trust."

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?"

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

"...how do you do that?"

He doesn't know that it was something to be earned.

"Okay, I promise I won't hurt anyone unless they hurt me first."

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Let me prove my promises to you. I swore I would never hurt you- now we'll just keep going, and you'll see that it's true."

He explains.

"Just like I'll see that this is true."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

"Oh."

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!"

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"And I'll do anything I can to help."

He promises him.

"Now let me braid that hair of yours."

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

He beams up, brightly, at Rufus.

"Mmmkay," Jack starts, trying to find a hair tie on the bedside table.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

Empathy, Barma suspects, is a little too much to really try to instill in him, so this will have to be enough for now.

"Do you have a brush?"

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

"I found one here!"

He roots around in the desk drawer for one, biting his lip as his hands sift through vaguely pointed objects.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

Barma doesn't tell him to be careful- he knows.

"All right. Your usual braid?"

[surfacage.livejournal.com]

"...uh-huh," he answered, sitting properly on the edge of the bed and staring up at the duke. "How'd you know I have a braid, sir?"

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"I know other versions of you, remember?"

He takes the brush from him and sets to work.