k28ph

[splittinghares]

@the-actor-himself asked: 🤝 + 51 (random) [ fifty reasons to touch someone ]

6. ACTOR touches HARE ... on a falling tear.

playing at kindness doesn't suit you, and yet it's what you so love to do. you build a world where you can be the hero, but your bricks are the loved ones you have betrayed — the strangers you have imposed your self-important whims upon. no utopia is free, and yours is especially bloody.

whenever the mask slips, it does not end well for anyone who has the rotten luck of being within your company. hare has seen you at your worst — they have seen more than most, in truth. they carry a metaphorical backstage pass to the most despicable moments of your life. and yet, it is difficult to prepare. they can never truly be ready.

who or what opened the door that brought them here matters not. what does matter is the throbbing of their head, the way the floor is spinning and making the patterning of the carpet multiply endlessly within their swimming vision. one hand has curled around the quickly-growing lump on their brow, while the other struggles to support their weight as their stomach threatens to rebel.

the tears are not of sadness, but of pain, stinging at their eyes and smearing their reddening cheeks. the shock of it all has them completely at a loss — while they have experienced quite a bit of violence in their time, they were unprepared to be assaulted with a book over the sin of making a floorboard creak.

their next inhale burns with the scent of whiskey. hare's body jolts under your touch, though their disorientation gives you the advantage. you're able to nudge their hand out of the way, and all they can do is loosely grab onto your wrist. a paltry attempt at keeping you away, and it doesn't do anything to stop you. one of your hands cups their cheek, keeping their head steady so you can inspect the damage. they hiss in a breath as you move snowy tresses around. they would do anything to make you let go. don'ttouchmedon'ttouchmedon'ttouchme.

once you're satisfied, your move to hold hare's face in both hands, tipping it upright so you can look them in the eyes. their pupils are blown, and though they're bleary, there is obvious fury smoldering within them. you smile in a way that comes off as purely patronizing, exhaling a sigh that spills the stink of alcohol into hare's nose.

your thumbs stroke at the tears that continue to fall. "you really should know better," you say, and hare's lips twist into a bit of a snarl. the pounding within their skull still has their vision playing tricks on them. they see copies of you, all looking down at them with that holier-than-thou look on your face. "i would never hurt you. i couldn't hurt you. why must you always put yourself in harm's way? is it just so you'll have another thing to blame me for?"

hare bares their teeth. you afford them what is meant to be a very tolerant shake of the head, then release them, causing them to stumble forward. they release your wrist so they can catch themselves, bent hand-and-knee as you rise to your feet. "i suppose we all have to have a villain in our stories. on that, we can agree."