True to form Jon was beginning to do what he'd feared all along - balking like a mule that most certainly did not want to take another heavy pack-laden step further, and all the tugging and exasperated fussing in the world wouldn't convince stubborn lover otherwise. It made Robb want to huff and throw a bit of a squawking wobbly, his M.O. of choice but he quashed sudden need to flail and whinge with all the over-the-top drama of Ophelia dancing at water's edge. Why must you always do this, man? Whhhhhhyyyy?!?
Unfortunately, rewiring Jon's damaged psyche would, literally, take years to fully accomplish. Precious turn of the calendar page Robb did not possess today, so he made the best of what he'd been given, doing the complete opposite of what he normally would when forced into such an altogether frustrating position.
He stayed put. Didn't budge a ruddy inch. Didn't flap or sulk or even raise his voice above calm, mature, indoor volume setting. Pretty amazing when you considered Robb’s dubious track record when dealing with situations that didn’t go exactly his way.
"Jon. Love. How far do you reckon we'd get if we decided to strike out on our own right now?"
The question posed to Jon was purposely voiced slow and steady. Not judgemental or demanding in any way, simply one person asking of another to honestly look inside themselves to see and understand that this wasn’t an ambush at all. This was, in truth, getting to the meat of a matter they’d only been slapping sticking plasters on to stop the bleeding when stitches and suturing was a far more appropriate procedure.
In less time than it took for second hand to make a full rotation of the clock, Robb’s ever-changing visage had morphed from happy, carefree lad to quite serious. And while his mouth had flattened and a thoughtful pucker appeared between gingery eyebrows, the ‘We are both on common ground here. Remember that.’ squeeze he gave lover’s fingers was meant to reassure that nothing would change or come between them.
"No offense but you're not mentally prepared yet to take my place. And you know what always ends up happening when we do try to switch - you hit a roadblock because of lack of experience then I have to tell you what to do then you think I'm being bossy and controlling when I'm really not. We become a circular argument and I don't want that for us anymore. Ever."