❛ there’s bravery in being soft ❜
it frustrates him sometimes, you know.
himself and companions alike have been aghast by his own powerlessness in the past. and what's being said to him is achingly similar to the kind of thing he would say to one of THEM to encourage them in face of shortcoming, to express his patience with them. makes sense, seeing who it's coming from!
he looks up from where he'd been leaning on the TARDIS console with both hands, just . . . staring blankly ahead a moment prior, contemplating how terribly he'd utterly bungled the crisis he and fifteen had been in earlier and the way the older time lord had to bail them both out by acting swiftly and decisively, doing what needed to be done akin to a reflex. embarrassing, truly. a small smile plays at the corners of the blonde's lips, showing that he appreciates the effort, but . . . it fades as quickly as it came, his gaze falling back to the ship's controls once again.
" . . . my apologies for earlier. " it's all he can really think to say, really. he essentially had to be carried through that situation. and truth be told, he's never really been comforted or reassured after he's fallen short in a task with this face. he isn't too sure how to process it.