[ Arya doesn't actually know for sure, but she's seen several, smaller bits of evidence that point to that conclusion. And asking Cisco would give him the opportunity to lie and say no, so she's going to tell him, and see what he says. ]
[ Arya doesn't know if Cisco knows that Eddie makes her a little uncomfortable, and if he does, she doesn't know how much he knows, but it's clear Cisco at least suspects. ]
It would only be a problem if Eddie hurts you beyond what happens in normal love. And I would feel that way regardless of who you are courting.
Eddie and I do not know each other well, and that is my fault. But from what I have seen, he is a good person and he loves you very much. If he makes you happy, then please be happy with him.
[ Arya definitely doesn't want to get in the way. ]
i don't think he's gonna hurt me. i know you can never be 100% sure, and i've been wrong before, but i've got a good feeling about it this time.
[ There are ambiguities to that - he doesn't know if Arya meant hurting him emotionally or physically, but his answer remains the same regardless. He knows that he can't tell her about Eobard- who he is, what he'd done - but he can get away with an oblique reference or two. ]
he is a good man. and yeah he makes me happy. like, happier than i've been for a long time.
[ He debates leaving it there, but there is too much that is being left unsaid, and Cisco doesn't want things to be uncertain. Arya can be hard to read and predict sometimes, and he's found that honesty helps. So he is forthright and sends a follow-up text: ]
he told me what you said. that it's weird for you to be around him because he looks like a lannister. if you don't want to be near him because of that, i totally get it. i'm not gonna judge.
[ It's thin ice he's skating on; Arya is a very smart girl, and if he doesn't choose his words carefully, she might make the logical jump from what he wants to tell her to Harry and Eobard. Still, it's worth the risk, to give her what encouragement he can. ]
but if you decide you want to try to get to know him, i think it will get easier with time. i made friends with someone who looked a lot like a person who had hurt me once. it was really hard at first, but after a while, i got used to it.
[ Arya is glad that Cisco knows the risks involved in courting someone, in trusting a single person that deeply, but she's also glad that Cisco does it anyway. That he doesn't let fear keep him from Eddie. It's admirable. ]
Good. You deserve that kind of happiness. : )
[ So Cisco does know. She's glad he's not here to see her cheeks flush. Even if Cisco says he gets it, the whole situation is still terribly embarrassing for Arya, who knows she should stop being foolish and get over herself.
The problem is, that's a lot easier said than done. ]
I spent a year at the mercy of the Lannisters, and two more running from them. The running is a habit that is hard to break.
But I want to try to break it, because I know Eddie is your friend, and not a Lannister at all. I have a hard time remembering that all the time, but I know that if I let myself be afraid of every educated, blond man I meet, then the Lannisters have won after all. And I cannot let that happen.
[ Cisco's heart sinks, reading the text. Every new thing he learns about Arya's life makes it clearer to him just how much hardship she's been through, how little safety or comfort or happiness she's had. ]
i can only imagine.
(i wish i could have been there to help you 😞 )
and remember there's no rush. you don't have to push yourself just to prove that you haven't let them win. you can take your time.
i'll do whatever i can to make it easier for you, if you'd like.
No, you do not need to wish that. I am glad that you were not there, that you are not from that world at all. What happened is done, and neither you nor me could have prevented it. But the fact that you are here now has helped me more than I know how to say.
(You were the first to teach me something that did not have anything to do with killing, or even simply surviving, and I will never forget that. 😎)
I can do it if I put my mind to it. I know this to be true -- my will is strong, and has served me well before.
If you can, please try not to let on that anything is wrong. Both you and Eddie know what is happening, but the rest is up to me, and I do not want to prevent you from enjoying yourself. And I will enjoy myself, too. 🙂
[ Only Arya, Cisco thinks, could go from talking about being trained to kill to a sunglasses emoji in a single sentence. ]
teaching you's been one of the best things about being here.
[ He means that, too. It's good to feel useful, to feel like he's helping someone. And Cisco had never really realized, before he met Arya, just how fun it would be to share knowledge with someone. ]
i can do that.
[ In fact, pretending nothing is wrong is kind of a speciality of Cisco's. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
un: no.one
[ Arya doesn't actually know for sure, but she's seen several, smaller bits of evidence that point to that conclusion. And asking Cisco would give him the opportunity to lie and say no, so she's going to tell him, and see what he says. ]
no subject
yes.
[ After a few seconds and a certain amount of mental hand wringing, he sends a second text ]
i hope that's not gonna be a problem?
no subject
It would only be a problem if Eddie hurts you beyond what happens in normal love. And I would feel that way regardless of who you are courting.
Eddie and I do not know each other well, and that is my fault. But from what I have seen, he is a good person and he loves you very much. If he makes you happy, then please be happy with him.
[ Arya definitely doesn't want to get in the way. ]
no subject
[ There are ambiguities to that - he doesn't know if Arya meant hurting him emotionally or physically, but his answer remains the same regardless. He knows that he can't tell her about Eobard- who he is, what he'd done - but he can get away with an oblique reference or two. ]
he is a good man. and yeah he makes me happy. like, happier than i've been for a long time.
[ He debates leaving it there, but there is too much that is being left unsaid, and Cisco doesn't want things to be uncertain. Arya can be hard to read and predict sometimes, and he's found that honesty helps. So he is forthright and sends a follow-up text: ]
he told me what you said. that it's weird for you to be around him because he looks like a lannister. if you don't want to be near him because of that, i totally get it. i'm not gonna judge.
[ It's thin ice he's skating on; Arya is a very smart girl, and if he doesn't choose his words carefully, she might make the logical jump from what he wants to tell her to Harry and Eobard. Still, it's worth the risk, to give her what encouragement he can. ]
but if you decide you want to try to get to know him, i think it will get easier with time. i made friends with someone who looked a lot like a person who had hurt me once. it was really hard at first, but after a while, i got used to it.
no subject
Good. You deserve that kind of happiness. : )
[ So Cisco does know. She's glad he's not here to see her cheeks flush. Even if Cisco says he gets it, the whole situation is still terribly embarrassing for Arya, who knows she should stop being foolish and get over herself.
The problem is, that's a lot easier said than done. ]
I spent a year at the mercy of the Lannisters, and two more running from them. The running is a habit that is hard to break.
But I want to try to break it, because I know Eddie is your friend, and not a Lannister at all. I have a hard time remembering that all the time, but I know that if I let myself be afraid of every educated, blond man I meet, then the Lannisters have won after all. And I cannot let that happen.
no subject
i can only imagine.
(i wish i could have been there to help you 😞 )
and remember there's no rush. you don't have to push yourself just to prove that you haven't let them win. you can take your time.
i'll do whatever i can to make it easier for you, if you'd like.
no subject
(You were the first to teach me something that did not have anything to do with killing, or even simply surviving, and I will never forget that. 😎)
I can do it if I put my mind to it. I know this to be true -- my will is strong, and has served me well before.
If you can, please try not to let on that anything is wrong. Both you and Eddie know what is happening, but the rest is up to me, and I do not want to prevent you from enjoying yourself. And I will enjoy myself, too. 🙂
no subject
teaching you's been one of the best things about being here.
[ He means that, too. It's good to feel useful, to feel like he's helping someone. And Cisco had never really realized, before he met Arya, just how fun it would be to share knowledge with someone. ]
i can do that.
[ In fact, pretending nothing is wrong is kind of a speciality of Cisco's. ]
no subject
Thank you. : )