To make a very long story short, where I grew up, we were told it was the last bastion for humanity. That ended up not being true, though. I was only introduced to the concept of planets four years ago - if they have a name for where I'm from, I don't know it.
[ So it could be Earth! But it might not be. ]
I know whenever I talk about what I've encountered at home, no one is familiar with it.
[Neil doesn't quite understand, at first. He has to walk through the facts again in his mind - last bastion, not true, only four years ago. Based on that alone, Jean's world sounds...horrific. How could anyone keep a bunch of people in the dark like that?
[He really has no idea how to respond at all, but he doesn't want Jean to think that he isn't listening, or worse, that he's judging him.]
[ Of all the responses he's had about his home, Neil's feels the most genuine and thus, most surprising. It steals Jean's words away for a moment, and he raises a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it awkwardly. ]
Ah, you don't have to apologize. There's plenty of places that are worse off, and it's old news to me.
[Neil's voice trails off. He supposes it won't do any good to keep driving home that Jean seems to have come from a terrible place, but...he just resents that fact so much.]
I'm glad you're here instead.
leaves this on a wrappable tag bc i know this event is old now aghls
[He does, of course, but even if he didn't, he'd let Jean tell him anyway. He's glad he's met him too, ever curious to learn. He'll probably come to the conclusion that living in a barracks with a bunch of boys isn't all that different than living in a dorm with them. He's not sure how to feel about that...]
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[ He shrugs a little, smiling thinly. ]
To make a very long story short, where I grew up, we were told it was the last bastion for humanity. That ended up not being true, though. I was only introduced to the concept of planets four years ago - if they have a name for where I'm from, I don't know it.
[ So it could be Earth! But it might not be. ]
I know whenever I talk about what I've encountered at home, no one is familiar with it.
no subject
[He really has no idea how to respond at all, but he doesn't want Jean to think that he isn't listening, or worse, that he's judging him.]
Jean. That's terrible. I'm sorry.
no subject
Ah, you don't have to apologize. There's plenty of places that are worse off, and it's old news to me.
no subject
[Neil's voice trails off. He supposes it won't do any good to keep driving home that Jean seems to have come from a terrible place, but...he just resents that fact so much.]
I'm glad you're here instead.
leaves this on a wrappable tag bc i know this event is old now aghls
I don't know what it's like where you're from, but I'm glad you're here too - just so I could get to meet you.
Now, want to hear some funny stories about the guys I trained with?
[ If Neil can stand it, Jean will keep him entertained for a bit before he has to go. ]
WRAPT