@sixtacles,Ā ā how is it youāre never scared? ā
heās wrong.Ā luther is scared way more than he allows himself to show,Ā always too afraid that if he shows any bit of weakness,Ā then his team will lose all faith in him.Ā father raised him to be strong,Ā to be a role model ā- to be the person that his siblings look to for inspiration, hope, whatever it was to get them through.Ā luther was sure that if they ever saw their number one falter,Ā theyād have no reason to keep pushing themselves.he swallows that fear for the sake of everyone else,Ā heās strong so that he can help the others be strong, too. Ā but trying so hard to bury all of that usually only makes it even more harder for him to really connect with them. Ā
he scoffs at first,Ā a smug smile starting to tug at his lips.Ā itās a mask.Ā āĀ ācause iām number one,Ā ben.Ā leaders donāt get scared.Ā only better.Ā āĀ and heās ready and committed to keep that up,Ā keep telling ben that heās never been afraid of anything and that he can handle anything.Ā but after all the time heās spent with ben lately,Ā when his eyes meet his,Ā he immediately starts to falter,Ā that smile slipping away and his features softening.Ā as easy as it has always been to lie and pretend like heās fearless for the sake of everyone else ā- it feels harder to lie to ben now. Ā
he looks down,Ā almost debating whether or not to change the subject,Ā but then he remembers that thereās a reason that ben confides in him,Ā and maybe,Ā he deserves some kind of real open honesty from luther.
he takes a deep breath,Ā shoulders shrugging before he lifts his head to look up at him.Ā āĀ ā-Ā butĀ .Ā .Ā . Ā i do,Ā ā Ā he says quietly.Ā āĀ i do get scared,Ā sometimes.Ā i just know everyone else is, too, andāĀ and i donāt want to be.Ā ā Ā for all of you.Ā āĀ i believe in all of us,Ā and when weāre out there on missions,Ā i trust you all,Ā even when iām hard on you,Ā you know?Ā butā-Ā i guess sometimes,Ā itās dangerous,Ā and i know anything could happen that weāre not prepared for.Ā so,Ā yeah,Ā i get scared then,Ā thinking about something happening to one of us,Ā ā Ā he admits,Ā shaking his head almost instantly because he has to deflectĀ (Ā he canāt handle the thought of losing any of them.Ā )Ā āĀ ā- but i know nothing will. Ā so being scared feels dumb,Ā ā Ā he insists.Ā of course itās valid; theyāve already lost a brother,Ā but luther still wants to believe that it wasnāt something tragic that stole him away,Ā it was fiveās stubbornness that did.Ā
āĀ ā-Ā donāt tell anyone i said that. āĀ it comes out strict,Ā but itās his way of telling ben that heās willing to be a little vulnerable with him in a way he isnāt with the others.