Their relationship has always been particularly strange for Declan, in part because there's always been an imbalance- it has always meant more to him than in reverse. Not that he's ever let on as much, but that didn't make it less true. He was never allowed a Gansey of his own, friends that he could trust, that could come to the Barns. The very nature of the life he lived and the lies he hid himself in, meant that letting someone get that close was never on the table.
But Ronan had brought Gansey home one day and he'd fit there, with the Lynches, with Matthew and even Declan in a way. And that made him something different than anyone else.
He's someone that has seen Declan with the masks he wore at home, the ones kept for his brothers and his mother and father. Never defenseless, but it was still a different side of Declan. Even after Niall's death, it left Gansey in a strange space for him. Maybe not much of a friend by most peoples' standards. But Declan wasn't allowed what most people had.
Gansey was someone he trusted with Ronan's well-being, even if they argued about it. He knew how to get Declan to listen, even when that Lynch temper flared in his chest. So he pays attention to everyone, because it's dangerous not to. But he pays a little more attention to Gansey; enough that he can tell the difference between how he talks with his hands, and the nerves in how he moves them now.
"I wont condescend to you with platitudes." He doesn't know enough of the story, of what had happened to really comment on it. He knows that Gansey tends to be harder on himself than he earns, though. And he doesn't think it's likely to be the sort of thing that fundamentally changes his view of Gansey and a talent for seeing how things go together.
He certainly isn't going to argue about not going to the Barns. Declan and that place have a complicated history and one that rarely felt like home. Everyone else sees magic, and he sees black-market deals and sleepless nights making sure Ronan didn't dream himself to death. But he doesn't hate it. It would be too easy, if he could. "The Library? I haven't actually figured out where I'm living now." Which is a quiet offer- he's willing to change that in the interest of having someplace safe to themselves.
no subject
But Ronan had brought Gansey home one day and he'd fit there, with the Lynches, with Matthew and even Declan in a way. And that made him something different than anyone else.
He's someone that has seen Declan with the masks he wore at home, the ones kept for his brothers and his mother and father. Never defenseless, but it was still a different side of Declan. Even after Niall's death, it left Gansey in a strange space for him. Maybe not much of a friend by most peoples' standards. But Declan wasn't allowed what most people had.
Gansey was someone he trusted with Ronan's well-being, even if they argued about it. He knew how to get Declan to listen, even when that Lynch temper flared in his chest. So he pays attention to everyone, because it's dangerous not to. But he pays a little more attention to Gansey; enough that he can tell the difference between how he talks with his hands, and the nerves in how he moves them now.
"I wont condescend to you with platitudes." He doesn't know enough of the story, of what had happened to really comment on it. He knows that Gansey tends to be harder on himself than he earns, though. And he doesn't think it's likely to be the sort of thing that fundamentally changes his view of Gansey and a talent for seeing how things go together.
He certainly isn't going to argue about not going to the Barns. Declan and that place have a complicated history and one that rarely felt like home. Everyone else sees magic, and he sees black-market deals and sleepless nights making sure Ronan didn't dream himself to death. But he doesn't hate it. It would be too easy, if he could. "The Library? I haven't actually figured out where I'm living now." Which is a quiet offer- he's willing to change that in the interest of having someplace safe to themselves.