Giles doesn't know when the note was left for him, but when he comes across it while passing through to return to the cottage one afternoon, he naturally sends Bash a text message in immediate reply.
Bash,
I found your note, is something the matter? I am of course free for whatever it is you need.
lik not emurgincy but i been taking to peter smith and i think i got some shit to work out u can prolly help with maybe. some stuff about being scared. got tiem?
Okay, it's slightly more than five minutes before Bash shows up. There's no outward signs of distress or particular change from his usual self. Hair back in a braid, wing-bracers on his arms. He steps into the cabin, and seems unsure for a moment whether he ought to sit on the bed or the couch or...what.
Giles doesn't mind waiting however long it takes for Bash to arrive, and looks up from where he's settled on the couch with a smile when Bash does enter, "I'm well enough, nothing to write home about."
Giles is no stranger to a veneer of normality that hides the real state of things beneath, so it doesn't exactly surprise him that Bash doesn't look like there's anything wrong. Besides, he was there for the pet costume contest; there's only so much that can be done to paper over the memory of that rather concerning moment.
"I'd ask the same of you, but you've been... struggling of late, haven't you?"
"Yeah. Mr. Smith's been talking to me about why--he's not the only one, but he helped me get at some of what it's really about and...I think I need your help with it." He sighs, untying his boots and kicking them off (then neatly tucking them off to one side, because if he's going to get on Jeff about tossing shit around when he gets undressed, he needs to set a good example) before sitting on the bed pretzel-style.
"I'm scared of being angry, because I think it I do get angry, I'm gonna turn into an abusive asshole like the guys my ma used to bring home. And that fear's chewing at me and has been for almost all my life. And I need help with that."
And the fact that he's at a point where he can say that all in words is a good sign, maybe. He thinks so, at least.
Giles tracks Bash's movements, listening carefully and openly to everything he has to say, and taking a while to consider before answering.
"That is an understandable fear, anger is perhaps the most obviously dangerous emotion when one takes only a cursory glance, but just like every other it has its place and serves a necessary purpose. And, just like every other, if you spend too long trying to suppress it, not allowing yourself even to acknowledge it... at best you risk hurting yourself, at worst, it's those closest to you that are most at risk."
"Well, I been choking it down for almost twenty years now. And. I need help. And I think the place to start is getting help with the fear, because I don't know how to let go while everything in me's still scared."
And he looks over at Giles. Because Giles knows fear. If this is going to be a tangled up knot, here's someone who can cut through the first twisted thread, and help him work out some of this everything. Maybe. If he's willing to help.
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ring_for_giles) wrote2022-06-15 11:23 am
no subject
Bash,
I found your note, is something the matter? I am of course free for whatever it is you need.
Giles
no subject
no subject
Where would you be most comfortable to talk?
no subject
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Okay, it's slightly more than five minutes before Bash shows up. There's no outward signs of distress or particular change from his usual self. Hair back in a braid, wing-bracers on his arms. He steps into the cabin, and seems unsure for a moment whether he ought to sit on the bed or the couch or...what.
"Heya, sweetheart. How've you been?"
no subject
Giles is no stranger to a veneer of normality that hides the real state of things beneath, so it doesn't exactly surprise him that Bash doesn't look like there's anything wrong. Besides, he was there for the pet costume contest; there's only so much that can be done to paper over the memory of that rather concerning moment.
"I'd ask the same of you, but you've been... struggling of late, haven't you?"
no subject
"I'm scared of being angry, because I think it I do get angry, I'm gonna turn into an abusive asshole like the guys my ma used to bring home. And that fear's chewing at me and has been for almost all my life. And I need help with that."
And the fact that he's at a point where he can say that all in words is a good sign, maybe. He thinks so, at least.
no subject
"That is an understandable fear, anger is perhaps the most obviously dangerous emotion when one takes only a cursory glance, but just like every other it has its place and serves a necessary purpose.
And, just like every other, if you spend too long trying to suppress it, not allowing yourself even to acknowledge it... at best you risk hurting yourself, at worst, it's those closest to you that are most at risk."
no subject
And he looks over at Giles. Because Giles knows fear. If this is going to be a tangled up knot, here's someone who can cut through the first twisted thread, and help him work out some of this everything. Maybe. If he's willing to help.