Derek is not a man who possesses the virtue of patience and his is, unfortunately, beginning to wear thin. It takes an effort, but he bites back a response akin to reminding Adam that he doesn't have to know him to be in tune with common human emotional responses. He might be a werewolf, but that also means that he, too, is half human. It wouldn't be productive and making enemies in this place isn't worth it when the rest of the Alphas are already against them. So he's quiet. Adam isn't being confrontational, just politely defensive, so Derek lets it go. He's been on the receiving end of much, much less dignified responses to his opinions and behavior than he is right now, that's for sure. That much, at least, he can give Adam credit for, if not aloud then in thought.
"Good, I'm glad. We've all got enough problems here without turning on one another in response to the bullshit Friend Computer throws in our direction," he says, a sarcasm dripping from the word Friend so thickly that it almost sticks to his tongue.
"We'll both do what we need to do and honestly, Adam, I wouldn't have it any other way. At the end of the day, all of us can only really count on ourselves. You might trust Ronan and that's great, I envy you having a person like that in this nightmare, but be careful, because Ronan might not always be in charge of Ronan and that's not his fault. We never know when The Computer is going to alter us against our wills — look at us right now. I know things about you now that I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to have to share with a stranger and vise versa. I'll go my direction and you two can go yours. Everyone wins that way, in the end, in this case, more than likely. You don't have to fester, I don't hand off a reason on a silver platter ticking like a time bomb, and Ronan gets off the hook on something I don't think he was entirely keen on in the first place. I'm willing to bet he took pity because I caught him at a particularly good time for it.
"Your secret is safe with me and I hope that you take care of yourself. What little I do know suggests to me that you deserve a lot better than the hand you got dealt, so I really hope you don't let this place push you down. It takes a lot more strength than a werewolf to endure what you did and to stand up for yourself in the end. I knew someone like you back home, someone who'd been through something similar. He was always my favorite. I always respected the shit out of him because everything I've been through nearly broke me and he never fell down. I still don't know how he did it and I don't know how you did. Do, maybe, I don't know. So I do sincerely mean that: take care of yourself. I'm just sorry we had to meet like this. Genuinely," Derek says. His hands lift from the table in a gentle defensive gesture to suggest he means no harm before he gets to his feet. "We're going to be late for the briefing," he explains his movement so it can't be, hopefully, mistaken as a step in the direction of aggression.
Derek lifts his tray and steps clear of the chair he'd been sitting in. "...everyone around me gets hurt, Adam. It's always been that way," he says with a frown that looks as sincerely upset as he actually is by that fact. "I'm doing you both, him especially, a favor walking away. Trust me."
With that, he gives the other man a small nod, hopes to hell that he hasn't unwittingly given Adam a reason to change his stance on keeping the secret or telling, and he turns to toss his unfinished breakfast before heading to the briefing. What a way to start the day...
no subject
"Good, I'm glad. We've all got enough problems here without turning on one another in response to the bullshit Friend Computer throws in our direction," he says, a sarcasm dripping from the word Friend so thickly that it almost sticks to his tongue.
"We'll both do what we need to do and honestly, Adam, I wouldn't have it any other way. At the end of the day, all of us can only really count on ourselves. You might trust Ronan and that's great, I envy you having a person like that in this nightmare, but be careful, because Ronan might not always be in charge of Ronan and that's not his fault. We never know when The Computer is going to alter us against our wills — look at us right now. I know things about you now that I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to have to share with a stranger and vise versa. I'll go my direction and you two can go yours. Everyone wins that way, in the end, in this case, more than likely. You don't have to fester, I don't hand off a reason on a silver platter ticking like a time bomb, and Ronan gets off the hook on something I don't think he was entirely keen on in the first place. I'm willing to bet he took pity because I caught him at a particularly good time for it.
"Your secret is safe with me and I hope that you take care of yourself. What little I do know suggests to me that you deserve a lot better than the hand you got dealt, so I really hope you don't let this place push you down. It takes a lot more strength than a werewolf to endure what you did and to stand up for yourself in the end. I knew someone like you back home, someone who'd been through something similar. He was always my favorite. I always respected the shit out of him because everything I've been through nearly broke me and he never fell down. I still don't know how he did it and I don't know how you did. Do, maybe, I don't know. So I do sincerely mean that: take care of yourself. I'm just sorry we had to meet like this. Genuinely," Derek says. His hands lift from the table in a gentle defensive gesture to suggest he means no harm before he gets to his feet. "We're going to be late for the briefing," he explains his movement so it can't be, hopefully, mistaken as a step in the direction of aggression.
Derek lifts his tray and steps clear of the chair he'd been sitting in. "...everyone around me gets hurt, Adam. It's always been that way," he says with a frown that looks as sincerely upset as he actually is by that fact. "I'm doing you both, him especially, a favor walking away. Trust me."
With that, he gives the other man a small nod, hopes to hell that he hasn't unwittingly given Adam a reason to change his stance on keeping the secret or telling, and he turns to toss his unfinished breakfast before heading to the briefing. What a way to start the day...