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[brushoff]

"You've reached the inbox of one Dorian Gray. Don't forget to leave me a message. If you're interesting, I'll get back to you."

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[goingtobeunwell]

"I wasn't looking for that, you know."

For Dorian to step in, or for him to...step in.

He shakes his head softly. "I'm a grown man, I'll handle my own business."

[brushoff]

"Will you?" Dorian asks. There's a pause before he sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose before he continues talking.

"Francis. You're one of my closest friends on this damn ship. I want you to be happy. And one essential step of happiness is not shooting yourself in the foot because you're worried you've mucked it up."

[goingtobeunwell]

"Easy enough to say, harder to do in practice, Dorian."

But he understands his point. He needs to do less worrying about these things, and give himself a little more grace. Also easier said than done though.

[brushoff]

"All the important things are easy to say, hard to do," Dorian points out. "That's what makes them important."

That little bit of an oddly profound statement from Dorian 'barely a warden himself' Gray is ruined when he takes a sip of his coffee and hisses, "Ah Christ, I burned my tongue."

[goingtobeunwell]

Crozier covers his face with his hand and lets out a soft chuckle. Yes, very profound, rounded out by Dorian being Dorian.

"It'll heal."

[brushoff]

"It still hurts," Dorian lightly complains, before taking another, smaller, more tentative sip of his coffee.

"I'm serious about you talking to Xie Lian, by the way. Even if he doesn't like you in the same way you like him, the two of you can still be friends."

[goingtobeunwell]

"Oh, now there's where I have some practice. Sophie and James were very dear friends after they'd kindly rejected me."

He treasured those friendships, despite the broken heart they'd left in their wake.

"I'll speak to him, Dorian. I'm no hypocrite."

[brushoff]

"Good," Dorian says, with a nod. Though Sophie and James? He hadn't heard those names before. It's odd how he knows so much and yet so little about Crozier.

"And I hope that he decides the two of you would make a lovely couple—because you would. You're adorable like that."

[goingtobeunwell]

"Kind of you to say so." Lord knows it's not in the cards, but he would cherish that man if he could.

He takes another sip of his coffee, pointedly not burning his tongue.

"Did you speak to Pagan?"

[brushoff]

An awkward paaaaaaaause.

"Um. Not yet."

[goingtobeunwell]

He smiles easily. "We don't have to talk about it, it's fine."

[brushoff]

"Thank you," Dorian sheepishly admits. "I'll do it eventually. It's just...well, it's hard, you know?"

[goingtobeunwell]

"I absolutely know what you mean."

Considering...well, all of this.

[brushoff]

"Look at us," Dorian points out, with a small chuckle. "Two old men, still bloody rubbish at expressing their feelings."

[goingtobeunwell]

"I'm beginning to suspect all old men are built this way. It'd be humorous if it wasn't so damn tragic."

He gets up to set his coffee cup into the sink.

"But at least we still have feelings. That's something, isn't it?"

[brushoff]

"Feelings and then some," Dorian laughs. "Too much feelings in some people's minds. But sorry, I'm a hopeless romantic."

[goingtobeunwell]

"Lord," he sighs. "So am I. A horrible defect, really."

[brushoff]

"Come on you hopeless romantic," he smiles. "Let me pour you another coffee and we can sigh about our love lives."

[goingtobeunwell]

He smiles as well and nods. Now this, morbing and whinging, he can do.