"If people look to me to make sense of their lives, then they deserve to have their lives fucked up," Myer says, mercilessly. "I am not anyone's keeper. I'll protect them against others when it's necessary--and I have--but otherwise, their decisions are their responsibility."
He feels the frown tug at his mouth. "And I've disappointed you. You shouldn't be--I've never claimed to be anything other than what I am, and I'm a self-admitted, equal-opportunity bastard. I treat everyone pretty much the same, regardless of age or sex or clothing size."
Myer's annoyed, and he's not quite certain why. He's never given anyone any reason to assume he's sweet and kind and gentle, because he's not. And he's not required to justify his behavior or opinions. As a group, they have no idea how often he's bitten his tongue, nor how often he's arranged things to their benefit, for Austin probably more often than anyone. It would have been easy to let others berate and kick him, but Austin is one of them, and he's never allowed anyone to shit on them. He's not going to enumerate all those times now just to gain back favor.