[It isn't the reaction he expected but when she hugs him, his eyes shut and he presses into it. The way she touches his hair soothes him somehow, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.
What gets him the most, though, is how angry she seems on his behalf. Before, no matter where he looked, there was no one who would have validated the pain he felt. Ironically, Shido always seemed the closest to validating it, as if he knew everything. Well. He probably did always know. That only made it worse.
But Kaede believes him and she tells him he didn't deserve that. It's enough to make him hug her back, holding tight for a moment as he feels something close to relief. She listened and she agrees, in a way, that he should have been the one in pain instead.]
I think... I have far too many grievances with him to do that easily.
[And truthfully, even if he dumped them all on him, they weren't all him. The other caregivers who hurt him and abandoned him, the kids who taunted him, the adults who blamed him for his mother's death, the society that let it all happen without care...
Even if he does hate the world, it was easier to just hate one man for it all.]
no subject
What gets him the most, though, is how angry she seems on his behalf. Before, no matter where he looked, there was no one who would have validated the pain he felt. Ironically, Shido always seemed the closest to validating it, as if he knew everything. Well. He probably did always know. That only made it worse.
But Kaede believes him and she tells him he didn't deserve that. It's enough to make him hug her back, holding tight for a moment as he feels something close to relief. She listened and she agrees, in a way, that he should have been the one in pain instead.]
I think... I have far too many grievances with him to do that easily.
[And truthfully, even if he dumped them all on him, they weren't all him. The other caregivers who hurt him and abandoned him, the kids who taunted him, the adults who blamed him for his mother's death, the society that let it all happen without care...
Even if he does hate the world, it was easier to just hate one man for it all.]