And Roman goes pale, which is, again, the opposite of what Bryce intended. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Then Archer speaks, and Roman turns away from Bryce, seemingly drawn to his brother like a moth to light.
"Protect me? From what? He's my little brother. He doesn't have to protect me."
You certainly weren't protecting him, is the thought that Bryce barely stops himself from voicing. He takes a deep breath. Was he ever that naive? Not since he was a teenager, and probably not even then.
"Can we sit down, please? And then we can talk about what happened." He's trying and failing to project a calm he is so so far from feeling.
Archer seems to re-evaluate, looking at Roman, then Bryce, then Roman again. "Yeah, okay. Let's sit down."
Roman trails along and sets himself up at the table Archer chooses. Bryce lays his hands on the table, palms up. He searches Roman's face, unsure about what he's about to do. Roman's still pale. Still upset, and trying hard not to show it.
"Roman," and it still takes work to sound normal, not sick with worry when he says his adoptive brother's name, "Do you want to tell Archer what happened?"
Roman takes a breath. Bryce leans back, determined to give him his time. From the corner of his eye he notices Archer is also watching Roman, looking about how Bryce feels.
"Can we sit down, please? And then we can talk about what happened."
Oh god, what does Bryce mean by that? Does Roman want to tell Archer any of what happened? Would not telling him even make a difference when his brother is so clearly suspicious of what's going on? Roman knows him better than to think he's going to let it go or move on— there's no good way out of this mess— no easy way.
Archer looks from Bryce, to Roman, to Bryce, and back again as he seems to consider this proposition before agreeing. "Yeah, okay. Let's sit down."
Roman keeps his anxiety and vague panic clear from his face as they all move over to a table for a conversation he's sure he isn't ready to have. Bryce puts both hands open on the table, looking at Roman like he expects to find something in his face.
It's not fair how much of this seems to be on top of him. On him to explain, on him to convince his brother he's okay. It's on him to show Bryce what he's okay with being said, and he has to say something— do something to get out of here, out of this conversation and this situation as a whole. They can't just leave— if Roman thought that might fix the problem, he would just go. It won't fix anything, though. Archer isn't going to give up without an answer and leaving would probably just push him to go looking for one.
"Roman," Bryce starts, and he sounds worried. Roman doesn't know what to do to make that worry go away, but he feels like it's on him, too. "Do you want to tell Archer what happened?"
Roman takes a slow breath through his nose to try to make space for the anxiety buzzing in his chest. It does little to help.
Does he want to tell Archer what happened?
Yes. And no. He wants to tell Archer— he wants to talk to his brother again and tell him the truth instead of trying to come up with the right lie so he can disappear again. He doesn't want Archer to be involved in any way.
But... Archer is already involved now. He knows Roman is in the area. He knows Roman has been hurt and badly. He knows that Roman is trying to protect him from something, and Archer isn't the type to accept that and let Roman do what he feels needs to be done for Archer's own safety.
If Roman doesn't tell Archer something, then Archer is just going to go looking on his own. He can see it in his brother's eyes. Clearly, a lie isn't going to cut it, either. Roman didn't think that the explanation he gave was that bad, even if it was unsatisfactory. He doesn't understand why Archer didn't believe it for a second.
As much as he doesn't want Archer involved, he already is, really. And the best way to keep him out of it— to protect him— is to make him understand to some real degree why he needs to stay away.
Roman gives a shaky exhale, lowering his head for a moment and squeezing his eyes shut before opening them and looking back up at Bryce. "... Yeah... Yeah, I... I don't think there's really any other option."
