he flinches slightly at the speed miecz moves to cup his cheeks. he’s not afraid of miecz , not in the slightest , but when he’s so vulnerable it’s only natural that his youth comes out in such a way. the lab always hangs heavy over his shoulders , the physical torment he’d been put through in that place will always be strong in his mind. that’s without even thinking about the little things on the streets that remind him of the lab , a grabbing of his arm or a harsh shove out of the way , little things that make him spiral into the pain of his past , push him to delve even further into the substances that will take his mind off of it all. doe eyes are wide as he watches miecz , takes in every little movement of his face. but as always , his dad is telling the truth. jason can tell. holding back his emotions is hard at the best of times , his sadness heavy on his chest any time he isn’t high out of his mind. trembling is a mixture of his attempts not to break down and his body’s desperate craving for everything he’s being kept away from right now. a small whimper escapes him as miecz reinforces that he’s his son , crouching to his level. god , jason wants to break down. he’s trying not to , but he’s not even sure why. some part of him knows miecz will comfort him , won’t turn him away , and yet some part of him is terrified of the rejection , terrified that he’s not the boy that miecz adopted , that he’ll decide that this version of him is someone he doesn’t want around. he gives a gentle nod , the day miecz found him one that plays in his mind a lot. he’d been so scared , so exhausted. that boy felt like worlds away from who he was now , and yet he still felt just as small , just as helpless. he hates that he made his dad feel that way , hates that it’s his fault. tears fall as his dad tells him he loves him , unable to hold back all the overwhelming things going on inside of him. he practically falls forward into miecz’s arms , clings to his dad for dear life. he wants to get better , he does , but he doesn’t think it’ll be as easy as his dad makes it sound. ” i love you. “ its a promise and a desperate plea rolled into one. his dad means the world to him , so terrified to lose him , so desperate for miecz to fix him. but it’s not that easy , he knows it isn’t.
eyes are desperate as they search the youngsters for any form of understanding. but in it's place is fear. was it so terrible of him to be relieved to see it ? fear meant that there was still a part of the boy miecz found lurking somewhere inside and that gave miecz that glimmer of hope he has been needing. if he's still in there then he hasn't lost him yet ( which only fuels his desire to turn this around. ) before he can say anything more , jason has all but collapsed against him and miecz brings his arms around jason's body , instantly lifting him up to hold him against him. he's nineteen now and yet he holds his son like he was still the pre-teen that he stumbled upon way back when. even if he has to let jason's legs hang. with one arm around his back he lets the other rest against the back of his head , his own face buried into jason's shoulder. if he could keep him here like this forever he would. here he was loved and here he was safe. " i know , kid. " it's such a simple response but it holds so much within it. it's not just an answer but a promise that no matter what jason did , he would always know that. slowly , miecz lowers him back to the ground and steps back just enough that he can look at him , using thumbs to wipe the tears from his cheeks. " but right now i don't need you to love me. i need you to trust me. can you do that for me ? " can he open himself up just enough to let him in , can he trust that he loves him enough not to let him drown. he knows people , doctors. they can help. tj has a group that he can take jason along with him to , there's a whole spectrum of help out there and if jason is willing to trust him enough , to work with him instead of against him , miecz is sure that as a family they can find the best way for jason to let go of the aching need for the things that will destroy him and replace them with something else. something that will help him grow into the man miecz knows he's capable of being. " so what do you say , jace ? you going to let me help you ? "