[She doesn't love that that makes sense, groaning in frustration, a thud in the background as she shut her door and then drops her head back against it.]
There's still so many better ways to go about it than that. We're supposed to help each other, not keep-- tearing down each other's confidence and pointing out each other's mistakes.
[Both of them, because she hasn't always been kind in turn. She doesn't like to hurt people, but he's good at provoking her. She's never been sure it really has as much effect on him as he does on her, but that doesn't mean she's proud of everything she's ever said.]
[He’s quiet for a moment, thinking about it. He knows all the stories they’re told, and the things they are taught, some of it is real, he knows that now but a lot of it is exaggerated, outlandish, propaganda. More and more people are rejecting the idea of soulmates so there has been a big push to re-establish the culture, a lot of people don’t actually have a good example of soulmates except from their parents, or other people in their lives.
Dagny is lucky, his parents are definitely soulmates, have been through hell and back and remained strong —- if he didn’t have that, he wonders how he would know what it’s actually like.]
Do you know much about his family? Are his parents soulmates? Maybe he doesn’t have that kind of outlook on it.
[A pause, and then she admits, voice quieter:] I don't think it's a great situation. I don't know much, but from what I do know -- I just get the feeling.
[And her feelings aren't usually too far off. She's not always great at distinguishing what's psychic from what's genuine intuition, but either way, it usually serves her better to listen. And given the way he'd mentioned family tragedy, being the caretaker... she has some thoughts.]
[He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just giving another soft noise, this one a little sympathetic.
None of it excuses his behavior but it might at least explain it. He doesn’t know the kind of life Denny had before they met him, the types of behaviors he learned or the way his family shows love. At a certain point though, he should have learned different, he’s old enough by now.]
[That gets a long sigh out of her, frustration evident, but when she answers she sounds resigned.]
I know. I should. I have to, I need to figure out what's going to happen when I leave here at least. I just don't want to do it when I'm still this mad about it.
[Or when it feels like she's going to burst into tears over it, for that matter. She'd rather not deal with that in front of him.]
Yeah. As much as it's possible, when we have to work together.
[She flops onto the couch, quiet for a moment. Her voice is serious when she goes on, clearly asking for a real answer, not just for sympathy:] Is it weird to be pissed about this? Or-- unfair?
No. [He answers quickly, thinking about how he’d feel if Isaac kept their own soulmate status secret from him for nearly ten years. Her anger is justified —- he just can’t help but also think about how hard that must have been. If it was Isaac keeping the secret, seeing Dagny happy with someone else, keeping a distance but making sure he was okay…it’s hard not to feel a little sympathetic.]
He sounds like a control freak…I just wonder what about his life is so out of control, that he feels like he needs to have control over this?
[A pause, he sighs.] Aside from his weird comments it seems like he wanted you to be happy, he just should have asked you what you wanted instead of assuming. You’re allowed to feel mad about that.
[It helps, hearing it. She knows she's been caught up in her own head about this, making it a bigger and bigger thing. She just keeps finding new snags to catch on. It feels like something's been taken away from her, as little sense as that really makes. Time she should have had. Support she should have had.
It's good to hear from someone else that even if she maybe does need to take time and calm down, it's not ridiculous to feel that way at all.]
I don't know what to do now. I don't know if I can handle working together for much longer without at least trying to talk it out, but I'm worried that if it goes badly, it's going to get even harder after that.
[He understands that. Honestly he doesn’t know how she’s waited at all. If this was him, he would have been back there immediately to talk to his soulmate. But this isn’t him, it’s Imogene and she’s always been the more rational one of the two of them.]
Give it another few days until it isn’t so fresh. I feel like…well, he doesn’t make the best decisions. [Putting it lightly there.] If he drops anything else on you, hopefully it won’t hurt as much if you have some time to process.
[And then he smiles slightly, which is likely audible in his voice.] Also, I feel like he deserves to wait just a little bit. At least it won’t be another 10 years.
[It makes her laugh a little, which is a nice relief after the last couple of days.] Definitely not. I think if I waited another ten years, I'd go crazy trying to figure out what he was thinking. Maybe like -- a couple weeks is all I can handle.
Imogene, [Said in a soft but excited voice, so much so that she can probably guess his expression, eyes bright, smile wide.] you found your soulmate. Your soulmate! I’m so happy for you.
Thanks. [There's a little smile in her voice, more about Dagny's reaction than the situation itself. Of course, even with everything, he'd be excited about it. She wishes she was better at feeling that herself, without everything else weighing it down.] I guess we'll see how it works out from here, huh?
I don't know if that's better. Maybe a clean slate would have been easier.
[But then, it's so hard to imagine accepting it right now -- maybe the shock of it makes her more willing to work with it. She really doesn't know.
Maybe she can't entirely blame him for not trying to get through to her, maybe she's been even more closed off than she realized.]
God, I've never been so jealous of how easy the two of you have it, you know that? [It's a joking complaint. She'll never begrudge them that -- not when it means she gets to see her brother so happy, and not when it brought Dagny into her life, too.]
[All the talk about Isaac makes him venture out of his room in search of his soulmate. He had left him on the couch when he decided to call Imogene, not wanting to bother him when he was reading his book, but he figures Isaac will be okay with it.
His suspensions are confirmed when he sees that Isaac hasn’t even moved from his spot, and plops down next to him, throwing an arm around him.]
I’m incredibly lucky. [Said with a nuzzle into Isaac’s hair.] I wouldn’t say it’s easy though…I guess maybe the love part is, but it’s still a lot of work, and communication, and compromise. I think it just looks easy because I’m happy to do it —- to do anything that will make our bond stronger.
You're such a sap. [She's still smiling a little, though, even as she considers it.] I mean, I never thought it'd be simple. Even if I found him. Even if I liked him. I just didn't think it would be like this.
[She thought she'd be the problem, her heart still hung up on someone else. Not almost ten years of secrets.
(Isaac, for his part, will never turn down cuddling with his husband, even if he does give him a questioning glance when he catches Imogene's voice on the other end, trying to make sure everything's okay.)]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 01:50 am (UTC)There's still so many better ways to go about it than that. We're supposed to help each other, not keep-- tearing down each other's confidence and pointing out each other's mistakes.
[Both of them, because she hasn't always been kind in turn. She doesn't like to hurt people, but he's good at provoking her. She's never been sure it really has as much effect on him as he does on her, but that doesn't mean she's proud of everything she's ever said.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:01 am (UTC)Dagny is lucky, his parents are definitely soulmates, have been through hell and back and remained strong —- if he didn’t have that, he wonders how he would know what it’s actually like.]
Do you know much about his family? Are his parents soulmates? Maybe he doesn’t have that kind of outlook on it.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:05 am (UTC)[A pause, and then she admits, voice quieter:] I don't think it's a great situation. I don't know much, but from what I do know -- I just get the feeling.
[And her feelings aren't usually too far off. She's not always great at distinguishing what's psychic from what's genuine intuition, but either way, it usually serves her better to listen. And given the way he'd mentioned family tragedy, being the caretaker... she has some thoughts.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:27 am (UTC)None of it excuses his behavior but it might at least explain it. He doesn’t know the kind of life Denny had before they met him, the types of behaviors he learned or the way his family shows love. At a certain point though, he should have learned different, he’s old enough by now.]
Might be worth talking to him about it?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:33 am (UTC)I know. I should. I have to, I need to figure out what's going to happen when I leave here at least. I just don't want to do it when I'm still this mad about it.
[Or when it feels like she's going to burst into tears over it, for that matter. She'd rather not deal with that in front of him.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 03:10 am (UTC)[It’s the least Denny could do at this point, after being so ridiculously misguided for the last few years.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 03:20 am (UTC)[She flops onto the couch, quiet for a moment. Her voice is serious when she goes on, clearly asking for a real answer, not just for sympathy:] Is it weird to be pissed about this? Or-- unfair?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 03:30 am (UTC)He sounds like a control freak…I just wonder what about his life is so out of control, that he feels like he needs to have control over this?
[A pause, he sighs.] Aside from his weird comments it seems like he wanted you to be happy, he just should have asked you what you wanted instead of assuming. You’re allowed to feel mad about that.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 03:38 am (UTC)[It helps, hearing it. She knows she's been caught up in her own head about this, making it a bigger and bigger thing. She just keeps finding new snags to catch on. It feels like something's been taken away from her, as little sense as that really makes. Time she should have had. Support she should have had.
It's good to hear from someone else that even if she maybe does need to take time and calm down, it's not ridiculous to feel that way at all.]
I don't know what to do now. I don't know if I can handle working together for much longer without at least trying to talk it out, but I'm worried that if it goes badly, it's going to get even harder after that.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 04:28 am (UTC)Give it another few days until it isn’t so fresh. I feel like…well, he doesn’t make the best decisions. [Putting it lightly there.] If he drops anything else on you, hopefully it won’t hurt as much if you have some time to process.
[And then he smiles slightly, which is likely audible in his voice.] Also, I feel like he deserves to wait just a little bit. At least it won’t be another 10 years.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 04:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 04:43 am (UTC)Am I allowed to be excited for you yet? Or should I wait until after you two talk?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 04:46 am (UTC)[She can't really blame him for having a better view on this whole thing than most people, after all, it definitely worked out for him.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 04:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 05:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 05:16 am (UTC)At least it’s someone you know, who has helped you before, and who seems to want to try to make things work. It could be worse.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 05:23 am (UTC)[But then, it's so hard to imagine accepting it right now -- maybe the shock of it makes her more willing to work with it. She really doesn't know.
Maybe she can't entirely blame him for not trying to get through to her, maybe she's been even more closed off than she realized.]
God, I've never been so jealous of how easy the two of you have it, you know that? [It's a joking complaint. She'll never begrudge them that -- not when it means she gets to see her brother so happy, and not when it brought Dagny into her life, too.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 03:52 pm (UTC)[All the talk about Isaac makes him venture out of his room in search of his soulmate. He had left him on the couch when he decided to call Imogene, not wanting to bother him when he was reading his book, but he figures Isaac will be okay with it.
His suspensions are confirmed when he sees that Isaac hasn’t even moved from his spot, and plops down next to him, throwing an arm around him.]
I’m incredibly lucky. [Said with a nuzzle into Isaac’s hair.] I wouldn’t say it’s easy though…I guess maybe the love part is, but it’s still a lot of work, and communication, and compromise. I think it just looks easy because I’m happy to do it —- to do anything that will make our bond stronger.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 07:34 pm (UTC)[She thought she'd be the problem, her heart still hung up on someone else. Not almost ten years of secrets.
(Isaac, for his part, will never turn down cuddling with his husband, even if he does give him a questioning glance when he catches Imogene's voice on the other end, trying to make sure everything's okay.)]