Theo watched, his own face twisted in concern and longing. He wanted nothing more than to leap from his chair and drag Fletcher into his arms, to crush him close and beg him to wait until they found another way. But that wasn't what they had agreed on doing. And so Theodore Archer was glued to his chair in anguish as the man he adored paces in self-torment before him.
"Jack," he breathed, his voice filled with gentle compassion. "You can't tell me off for trying to shoulder everything alone and expect me to let you do the same. All these things small and big are adding up and it's crushing you. Can you even live with yourself when everything is over? That is what I'm trying to ask you. Or will you just be a shell drowning himself in alcohol every night to feel something again?"
Tears welled in his eyes that he quickly squeezed away but his brows remained furrowed tightly with his concern. "I worry...," Theo sighed and shook his head. "Do what you think best. I know it's not my place to ask the impossible of you," he swallowed thickly his eyes glassy and vision blurred again. "I am trying very hard to not make decisions for you and smother you. But is this really what you want to do? Or is this what you've decided you must do?"
"Jack," he breathed, his voice filled with gentle compassion. "You can't tell me off for trying to shoulder everything alone and expect me to let you do the same. All these things small and big are adding up and it's crushing you. Can you even live with yourself when everything is over? That is what I'm trying to ask you. Or will you just be a shell drowning himself in alcohol every night to feel something again?"
Tears welled in his eyes that he quickly squeezed away but his brows remained furrowed tightly with his concern. "I worry...," Theo sighed and shook his head. "Do what you think best. I know it's not my place to ask the impossible of you," he swallowed thickly his eyes glassy and vision blurred again. "I am trying very hard to not make decisions for you and smother you. But is this really what you want to do? Or is this what you've decided you must do?"