“It doesn’t sound like it was easier for you,” Babs says slowly, laying the bottle of whiskey aside on the floor. She sits still for a moment and doesn’t move, as if staying completely motionless will help her to better process the information.
Hanging her head, she slowly rubs her hands over her face and lets out a long sputter of a breath into her palms, doing her best to somehow expell all of the confusing and conflicting thoughts running through her head as she tries to understand.
She only looks up when she hears Rory’s breath hitch with oncoming tears; she was familiar with the sound, and it always called her attention like a dog hearing a whistle on a frequency too high for human ears.
“Hey, no, come on,” she says, her breath a tired croak as she pushes herself up from the floor and moves to join him on the couch.
“We’re good, okay? We’re always gonna be good, nothin’ is changin’ that,” she promises as she pulls him into her arms.
“You don’t have to apologize t’me, okay? You were in survival mode back then, you were just tryin’ to get through, I know that.”
“Nothing was really easy back then, I guess. It was giving into my feelings and having my dad… god I don’t know what I would have done, or there was staying silent. I had to do everything 100%, you know? I either had to take a stand or shut up, and I made the choice I did.”
And when the tears come, they just can’t stop. He’s always been this way… crying was a point of catharsis for Rory. But with the sheer thought that Babs could be upset with him? With the knowledge that she might feel betrayed? It was enough to send him into a tailspin.
But then she was being reassuring as usual, as she climbed over to the couch. The closeness already made him feel safer, and then she was pulling him into her arms. And as sad as he felt with all of the secrets he had been keeping for years, spilling out of him, it felt as though a weight was lifted.
“Are you sure? I just… I feel so fuckin’ bad, Babs. For puttin’ you through this now, after all these years. I never wanted to hide anythin’ from you, ever. It was just… and god, sneakin’ around was so scary. Don’t know how you didn’t figure out, but… I always thought Roy would find us.”