Damian stares at him at the first part, then looks away, crossing his arms before his body in a gesture that's just this side of hugging himself.
"Why? Other than the facts that it's a distraction when you should be focused, a vulnerability - both to the people you care for and through them - a weight when you need to be agile and flexible, and all sorts of complications? It makes you act illogically, less than optimally. Maybe that's why."
Beat.
"The opposite doesn't have to be wanting to conquer." Crossly. Because, no, he doesn't. And it has nothing to do with caring, but what is needed... as he sees it.
The question, on the other hand? Gets silence, for a stretch.
"Maybe."
Yes. He does. Not because of his own flesh and blood, though. Because of people who shouldn't have, in the first place. And yet... they somehow did. Or faked it better than his Mother, anyway.
no subject
"Why? Other than the facts that it's a distraction when you should be focused, a vulnerability - both to the people you care for and through them - a weight when you need to be agile and flexible, and all sorts of complications? It makes you act illogically, less than optimally. Maybe that's why."
Beat.
"The opposite doesn't have to be wanting to conquer." Crossly. Because, no, he doesn't. And it has nothing to do with caring, but what is needed... as he sees it.
The question, on the other hand? Gets silence, for a stretch.
"Maybe."
Yes. He does. Not because of his own flesh and blood, though. Because of people who shouldn't have, in the first place. And yet... they somehow did. Or faked it better than his Mother, anyway.