[He doesn't break eye contact; Atem listens, to all of it.
He's not sure he wants Ryou to feel like he has to prove to Atem that he's trusted. That doesn't seem right. Just understanding, now, what was going through Ryou's mind is enough for him. Atem wants Ryou to have other friends, other people he can go to, that's a good thing, it means Ryou can get perspectives and help that Atem might not have. It means Atem doesn't have to be Ryou's only support. (It means, sometimes, letting him kill whoever he wants, apparently, and accepting that.) He just didn't like the feeling of being avoided, and then finding out later that Ryou was hiding his problems -- hiding them from no one but Atem.
When someone tells the whole network what's wrong but not you, what are you supposed to think, except that it's you?
no subject
He's not sure he wants Ryou to feel like he has to prove to Atem that he's trusted. That doesn't seem right. Just understanding, now, what was going through Ryou's mind is enough for him. Atem wants Ryou to have other friends, other people he can go to, that's a good thing, it means Ryou can get perspectives and help that Atem might not have. It means Atem doesn't have to be Ryou's only support. (It means, sometimes, letting him kill whoever he wants, apparently, and accepting that.) He just didn't like the feeling of being avoided, and then finding out later that Ryou was hiding his problems -- hiding them from no one but Atem.
When someone tells the whole network what's wrong but not you, what are you supposed to think, except that it's you?
Quietly:]
I'd have understood.