#im GNAWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE GDI

[corignem]

“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I don’t need your help, and I definitely don’t need your pity. Fuck off.” // @unheald ( elijah ♥ )

sebastian had been around elijah long enough now to know a few things-- to have picked up things in either the unsaid, or the quick, passing comments. it didn't even have to be about being able to share thoughts-- sebastian was just always good at learning people. it certainly came to be important in his job, but it was especially important now, in knowing someone like elijah. someone who liked to talk but didn't actually like to say much. he had to read between the lines-- pick up on things that way.

one of those main things he'd come to learn, was how distant he could be in times like this. sebastian had rarely seen elijah hurt. in fact, he could count on one hand and have fingers to spare. and those times he had seen it, it had almost been intentional or at the very least, expected. fighting together... purposely going out of their way sometimes to cause trouble, if only because of how riled up it got them...

but this was different. seeing elijah like... this. he knew it wasn't going to go well at all. because in spite of how far they'd come-- drawing together, there was still this wall, wasn't there? this great, vast gap between them. while they certainly both held more memories now-- recalling their last time together, how they'd died for one another, died for... love, it still didn't help. they still both had their own lifetimes worth of pain and manipulation to work through. and he knew how deeply it went with elijah. how fucked up it all was.

sebastian would typically be understanding... would be kind, even. would let elijah get away with the attempts to push him away. it didn't work, of course. sebastian was here. he wasn't going anywhere. but usually he'd give elijah his space. but something felt different this time and sebastian ends up feeling more stubborn than his usual.

arms cross over his chest as he looks to elijah-- elijah who had turned his back on him now, and sebastian just raised an eyebrow at his form before shaking his head.

"you seriously think this is fucking pity? you think i'd give you that? honestly?" he remains staring at the mans back, eyes sweeping down and even without seeing, he can sense the pain elijah is in. the injuries. and while he knows they're both more than capable of patching themselves up-- literally, or magically-- he also knows this is more than just simple battle injuries.

"i really thought we could be past all this bullshit by now, elijah. i thought we trusted one another. but you're still their fucking toy, aren't you? you're still playing by their rules. hide away when you're hurt, don't let anyone close, don't let anyone see because then it makes you weak. it's crap. i thought you were done bowing to their ways of thinking?"

he knows it's not fair. he knows it's not right, because it takes a lot more than just a simple change of mind for those things to adapt. it's not that quick. but he can't let elijah just... continue. get away with it. keep pushing when sebastian had proven time and time again that he was dedicated. that he was loyal to him-- to them. to what they had together-- whatever that was.

"so take your fucking shirt off already and let me see what they did. i'm not going anywhere."