"i can't lose you. you know that."
claus glares down at the coin that lays in the palm before him, as if a small circle of silver could consciously betray him. he’s of half a mind to accuse the other of some sleight of hand, some trick, but he knows better. claude wouldn’t, not about something this significant. not to him (as if they were capable of lying to each other in the first place).
he looks away instead, deciding to ignore when his uninvited guest prompts him:
while the result of your wager frustrates me so, a covenant must be honored, when made.
he pays no heed to the flash of indignance in the back of his mind at the lack of response (but even she can concede this is a matter for family alone), tearing his gaze away from the traitorous silver piece to meet an identical pair of eyes.
then claude speaks.
“ i can’t lose you. you know that. ”
that earns his brother an incredulous scoff.
“ you can’t lose me? you can’t lose me? ” his tone is sharper than he intends, but claus is scared. surely he’s earned the right to be afraid? not for himself, but for what this scheme of theirs entails? “ that’s unfair, and you know it. i can’t lose you either. that’s not– you can’t just– ”
he has to look away, shut his eyes, breathe in sharply, drag fingers through already messy locks (it’s not an easy thing, getting him to lose his composure, but this–). his hand remains there as holds the air in his lungs for a moment before expelling it in a slow breath. when he opens his eyes once more to continue speaking, his voice no longer has that keening edge that he hadn’t realized crept into his words.
(he’s actually pretty surprised by how steady it is, himself.)
“ you don’t get to justify it to me. i’m not going to stop you, so let me be upset. ” swallows, hard.
“ please. ”
