( she doesn't defuse his anger so much as step deftly around it, but hearing that the accusation didn't come from ben does... well. his shoulders sag a little at the admission, and he rubs a hand over his face. takes a drink of his beer as he, too, reconsiders his stance.
he doesn't owe her anything. not one damn thing. he could get up and leave and forget he ever tried to offer comfort to someone just because ben and rey were close to her. he's tired of people trying to get into his head and tear him apart from the inside out. vader did that once. it's one of the reasons that no matter what luke ever said, no matter how the fall of the empire came about, han's never scraped up even a modicum of forgiveness for him. he tortured leia. destroyed her planet and made her watch. what he did to han himself was secondary, but he still remembers bespin. it was maybe the first time in his life that his preference would have been to die for someone else, because he knew the whole point was to lean into luke's compassion and love for him. but vader knew better than to go that far. you want to talk about monsters?
he takes a long draught of his beer. lets the silence seethe between them like a black hole in space, swallowing sound.
in a considering sort of tone, almost like one used to barter: )
How much did he tell you?
( maybe he can use that as a starting point. he won't give up anything ben hasn't already given her, he'll guard the secrets his son chose to keep more closely than his own. he still doesn't give a shit about her opinion, and has little interest in trying to change her mind — but he acknowledges that at least part of that is grief warring with anger at the tack she chose to take. )
no subject
he doesn't owe her anything. not one damn thing. he could get up and leave and forget he ever tried to offer comfort to someone just because ben and rey were close to her. he's tired of people trying to get into his head and tear him apart from the inside out. vader did that once. it's one of the reasons that no matter what luke ever said, no matter how the fall of the empire came about, han's never scraped up even a modicum of forgiveness for him. he tortured leia. destroyed her planet and made her watch. what he did to han himself was secondary, but he still remembers bespin. it was maybe the first time in his life that his preference would have been to die for someone else, because he knew the whole point was to lean into luke's compassion and love for him. but vader knew better than to go that far. you want to talk about monsters?
he takes a long draught of his beer. lets the silence seethe between them like a black hole in space, swallowing sound.
in a considering sort of tone, almost like one used to barter: )
How much did he tell you?
( maybe he can use that as a starting point. he won't give up anything ben hasn't already given her, he'll guard the secrets his son chose to keep more closely than his own. he still doesn't give a shit about her opinion, and has little interest in trying to change her mind — but he acknowledges that at least part of that is grief warring with anger at the tack she chose to take. )