@xorcists asked: "Don’t make me regret this." From Prism <3
› TENSION LINER PROMPTS / accepting
john’s expression softened at the words, though there was something almost too careful about the way it happened. like watching a knife lower itself slowly and asking to be mistaken for mercy.
his gaze lingered on them for a moment longer than necessary, reading the hesitation in their face with the same quiet attention he gave to most things he intended to use later. fear. doubt. stubbornness dressed up as caution. all perfectly human. all perfectly predictable.
“regret this? come on,” he said softly, the smile returning with just enough warmth to almost feel convincing. “you make it sound like i’m trying to trick you. i’m not.”
the lie sat between them cleanly, polished enough to pass as sincerity if they wanted badly enough to believe it and people usually did. john took one slow step closer, not enough to be threatening. not openly. just close enough to make the space between them feel like something he had chosen rather than something they still controlled.
“i’m giving you a chance,” he continued, voice dropping into something gentler. “that’s all.” his eyes stayed fixed on theirs, bright and steady and almost kind in the worst possible way. “you don’t have to regret being smart.”
another pause. the smile sharpened by the smallest degree.
“you only regret waiting too long.”
