Re: [Outside Vade: Atticus/Steve]
Steve frowned when Atticus pointed out that he, Steve, didn't talk anymore. He'd always been private. And he'd probably gotten more private over time. Mostly, he felt alone. He wasn't. He wasn't, but he was. He felt like he was. He made connections, but the gulf of life experience was hard to bridge, which was no one's fault. But, Atticus wasn't wrong. He, Steve, probably had been more open in the beginning. He rubbed a hand over his mouth, down his chin, and sighed. "Yeah." He rolled his lips together and looked at the table. "I'm sorry about that. I've been finding it hard to—" He looked up. "—connect. This whole thing, with Janus, that made it harder. I've never not said what needs saying because someone might get uncomfortable before. I did that. With us, and Janus. And it felt wrong, but I did it. Why? I don't know."
Atticus told Steve he was shutdown, and he wasn't necessarily wrong, but he shook his head at the suggestions when they came. "Now you're being dramatic," was his dry response. "Look. Atticus." He sat forward too, thighs spread, his elbows taking up the other half of the small tabletop. "I don't want to just fuck." Steve recognized a second too late that he wasn't being as careful with his words as he should, but no one around them seemed to react. "Or just sleep in your bed. I don't want anyone else. I want you, and to see where things go with you. I don't know what your version of a relationship is. Tell me."