Tch... if I had a mind to do that, I wouldn't have agreed to meet you in the first place.
[While Alhaitham will always be quick to remove himself from situations he no longer wants to be in, he will also avoid putting himself in them to begin with if he can.]
Have I done something to make you believe that is the kind of behaviour you can expect from me?
Well, you make me a little nervous. I don't have much experience with this sort of thing either beyond my husband and I know for a fact nothing I do will ever bother him into leaving.
[ He is, despite being very forward about his wants, also very self-conscious and inherently unsure of himself with anyone but Hua Cheng. Bringing a hand up to hesitantly tuck Alhaitham's hair behind an ear, Xie Lian smiles through a sigh. ]
[He shrugs one shoulder lightly in acknowledgement. It's a fact, one that he is well aware of and one that he does not try to do anything to mitigate. It works well for him, after all.]
It's not about pretending. Isn't this nice, spending time with someone you like and knowing they feel comfortable around you? So, why not give them more of a reason to feel that way and be as happy as you can possibly make them? If you like a person, you should want to be the one who inspires those feelings and not simply let them happen.
Regardless of what you think, you would still be asking me to change my personality for the sake of someone else. I'm not going to do that, Xie Lian, and I don't expect anyone to do it for me either. I enjoy your company because you have seemed content enough to be around me without expecting me to be anything other than who I am. [He tilts his head slightly, looking down at his companion.]
I think you would have a nicer time if you could see how much people miss you, that's all. It's a stressful place to be, after all, and the friends we make are all we have.
[ He shrugs, falling quiet as he tries to avoid getting into a deeper subject. ]
[Nor does he expect people to miss him, and he does not tend to call anyone 'friend'. But he doesn't say this out loud, having already covered similar topics before.]
I've been honest with you from the start about my personality. What you can expect from me. I'm not trying to argue with you, but you need to understand... this is who I am.
[And Alhaitham likely will just put it to one side, as easily as that. The question has him shaking his head, though not entirely in denial of it. More in... patient disbelief.]
If you're asking me if I pine for you when you're not with me, or if I think about you and wish you were there when I'm otherwise occupied with a task, then no. [But surely Xie Lian would know this. He has seemed to understand Alhaitham so far, he had to know that this question would not garner the sort of answer that would satisfy him.]
You come to mind occasionally, when I see something that might strike your fancy.
[Most people only perceive that Alhaitham is odd in how he interacts socially. Few people would describe him as kind, or in any genuinely positive way save for comments on his intelligence and ability in spite of the deliberate way he seems to squander it most of the time.]
To know that I enjoy time in your company ought to be enough. There are not many people who can say that.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:18 pm (UTC)[While Alhaitham will always be quick to remove himself from situations he no longer wants to be in, he will also avoid putting himself in them to begin with if he can.]
Have I done something to make you believe that is the kind of behaviour you can expect from me?
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:24 pm (UTC)[ He is, despite being very forward about his wants, also very self-conscious and inherently unsure of himself with anyone but Hua Cheng. Bringing a hand up to hesitantly tuck Alhaitham's hair behind an ear, Xie Lian smiles through a sigh. ]
You're a bit intimidating, Alhaitham.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:32 pm (UTC)[He shrugs one shoulder lightly in acknowledgement. It's a fact, one that he is well aware of and one that he does not try to do anything to mitigate. It works well for him, after all.]
You aren't the first to have that opinion of me.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:35 pm (UTC)[ He can't help laughing, laying his head on Alhaitham's shoulder in a cuddle. ]
I can't read your mind, tell me how you're feeling.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:41 pm (UTC)[But he allows that contact, shifting his shoulder a little to make it a more comfortable spot for Xie Lian to lay his head.]
I never have, and I don't intend to start doing it here.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:46 pm (UTC)[ He pokes Alhaitham's neck with his nose. ]
Does that make sense?
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:51 pm (UTC)[Alhaitham just shakes his head.]
Regardless of what you think, you would still be asking me to change my personality for the sake of someone else. I'm not going to do that, Xie Lian, and I don't expect anyone to do it for me either. I enjoy your company because you have seemed content enough to be around me without expecting me to be anything other than who I am. [He tilts his head slightly, looking down at his companion.]
Was I wrong?
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 09:53 pm (UTC)[ He shrugs, falling quiet as he tries to avoid getting into a deeper subject. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 10:01 pm (UTC)[Nor does he expect people to miss him, and he does not tend to call anyone 'friend'. But he doesn't say this out loud, having already covered similar topics before.]
I've been honest with you from the start about my personality. What you can expect from me. I'm not trying to argue with you, but you need to understand... this is who I am.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 10:04 pm (UTC)[ He looks up then, after a moment's inner debate. ]
Did you miss me, even a little?
no subject
Date: 2024-04-23 09:12 am (UTC)If you're asking me if I pine for you when you're not with me, or if I think about you and wish you were there when I'm otherwise occupied with a task, then no. [But surely Xie Lian would know this. He has seemed to understand Alhaitham so far, he had to know that this question would not garner the sort of answer that would satisfy him.]
You come to mind occasionally, when I see something that might strike your fancy.
[Which is more than what most people get.]
no subject
Date: 2024-04-23 09:16 am (UTC)[ That has him laughing, swatting at Alhaitham's chest. He can't picture Alhaitham carving statues of him, to say the least.
Xie Lian shakes his head and settles back in for a cuddle, humming. ]
I'm content to hear the latter.
[ Alhaitham is strange and a little silly, but he is kind. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-04-30 12:20 pm (UTC)[Most people only perceive that Alhaitham is odd in how he interacts socially. Few people would describe him as kind, or in any genuinely positive way save for comments on his intelligence and ability in spite of the deliberate way he seems to squander it most of the time.]
To know that I enjoy time in your company ought to be enough. There are not many people who can say that.