Ianto doesn't try to follow her. He can't. He can't move--he can barely breathe.
He has a thousand times a thousand words to say, to explain...he can't utter a one. He can't see the point, can't find any meaning in betraying queen, country, and friendship for Lisa--betraying the man he loved for the woman he loved.
He sold his soul so many times--it's not like he has one left to lose.
It's a good ten minutes, standing there, before he can muster the wherewithal to rip a page from his notebook and scribble a note, then stalk up to the door she slammed behind her. He crouches, can hear her tears...
He folds the note very deliberately, and raises his voice just loud enough to be heard.
"Jane. Japhet. Alice. Emily."
The names she'd rattled off that first night on the beach, as they remembered their dead together.
"Oscar. Violet. Henry. Jasper. Samuel."
"...I don't expect you to remember all of those names, but... It's nice to speak of them again."
"Adelaide. Esther. Abel. Harriet. Jonah."
"...I shall remember...It's important to know you'll be remembered--it's the only kind of true immortality."
He shoves the note under the door, then lays his hand against the wood.
"...Dahlia."
Because he's convinced that, to her, he's dead now--but she isn't. Not to him.
Not ever.
Ianto leaves without notifying anyone in the house. If she chooses to read the note, it simply says:
I never said I was right. I know I'm not right. All I gave was a reason. And I know that it doesn't matter, but I AM sorry.
This won't mean anything to you, but every one of them--I would steal them back from the universe for you if I could. And I shall spend the rest of time, tortured unto madness with the agony of a broken heart.
Dahlia does read the note, and she lets out a long sigh. He did apologize... But it's frustrating that it took this long. And she got much more heated than she would have liked, which is not only draining, but embarrassing.
She spends a long time wondering if he really understands why it hurt. But emotions are high... Maybe both of them need time to cool their heels. If he wants to leave a note and disappear, that's his prerogative. He knows Dahlia's too ill to go chasing him. So she'll wait. Or she'll attend another Merrymeet alone. Not like it matters.
Well, she told him she'd disappoint him eventually. Not like he wasn't warned.
Spent and numb, she peels herself off the floor and trudges off to bed.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-02-05 10:42 pm (UTC)He has a thousand times a thousand words to say, to explain...he can't utter a one. He can't see the point, can't find any meaning in betraying queen, country, and friendship for Lisa--betraying the man he loved for the woman he loved.
He sold his soul so many times--it's not like he has one left to lose.
It's a good ten minutes, standing there, before he can muster the wherewithal to rip a page from his notebook and scribble a note, then stalk up to the door she slammed behind her. He crouches, can hear her tears...
He folds the note very deliberately, and raises his voice just loud enough to be heard.
"Jane. Japhet. Alice. Emily."
The names she'd rattled off that first night on the beach, as they remembered their dead together.
"Oscar. Violet. Henry. Jasper. Samuel."
"...I don't expect you to remember all of those names, but... It's nice to speak of them again."
"Adelaide. Esther. Abel. Harriet. Jonah."
"...I shall remember...It's important to know you'll be remembered--it's the only kind of true immortality."
He shoves the note under the door, then lays his hand against the wood.
"...Dahlia."
Because he's convinced that, to her, he's dead now--but she isn't. Not to him.
Not ever.
Ianto leaves without notifying anyone in the house. If she chooses to read the note, it simply says:
I never said I was right. I know I'm not right. All I gave was a reason. And I know that it doesn't matter, but I AM sorry.
This won't mean anything to you, but every one of them--I would steal them back from the universe for you if I could. And I shall spend the rest of time, tortured unto madness with the agony of a broken heart.
I love you.
If I don't belong to you, I belong to no one.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-06 12:05 am (UTC)She spends a long time wondering if he really understands why it hurt. But emotions are high... Maybe both of them need time to cool their heels. If he wants to leave a note and disappear, that's his prerogative. He knows Dahlia's too ill to go chasing him. So she'll wait. Or she'll attend another Merrymeet alone. Not like it matters.
Well, she told him she'd disappoint him eventually. Not like he wasn't warned.
Spent and numb, she peels herself off the floor and trudges off to bed.