[There are a lot of reasons Locke would make a lousy soldier, and being bad at taking orders isn't the least of them. But he does stop struggling when she orders him to, if only because she grabs him by the hair and forces his head up to look at her. And he cannot bring himself to look away. Now he does hesitate to speak. Claps his jaw shut in what is probably damning silence. He'd seen shades of Celes-the-general before, she wore it as a habit, especially back in the early days. And they'd had plenty times when they'd failed to see eye to eye. But never had she ever looked at him like an enemy.]
[His jaw works, pushing back heartache and simply at a loss as to how to talk himself out of this particular corner. She deserves to hear the truth. That there is no resistance, not anymore. That her Empire is gone and it's partly her own doing. Unfortunately, he's not all that sure how he's supposed to make her take his word for it. And then, she asks about her magic, and he can't help a sharp intake of breath. Somehow, it had slipped his mind completely.]
[Tension clear in the air, he locks eyes with her for what feels like a very long time. Searching desperately for a hint of renegotiation and finding none. Finally:]
Celes. I'm sorry, it's- [His voice breaks. His mouth is dry.] I swear, it's not what you think. But it's a damn long story and we don't have time to be sitting around while I tell it.
[They need to try to get out of here as soon as possible. Before the ground shifts again and they're buried for good in the next collapse, before they suffocate, before they find themselves trapped and lost for too long because the paths they had followed are gone. He pulls at the bandana wound around his wrists a little harder. His voice and his expression remain earnest.]
no subject
[His jaw works, pushing back heartache and simply at a loss as to how to talk himself out of this particular corner. She deserves to hear the truth. That there is no resistance, not anymore. That her Empire is gone and it's partly her own doing. Unfortunately, he's not all that sure how he's supposed to make her take his word for it. And then, she asks about her magic, and he can't help a sharp intake of breath. Somehow, it had slipped his mind completely.]
[Tension clear in the air, he locks eyes with her for what feels like a very long time. Searching desperately for a hint of renegotiation and finding none. Finally:]
Celes. I'm sorry, it's- [His voice breaks. His mouth is dry.] I swear, it's not what you think. But it's a damn long story and we don't have time to be sitting around while I tell it.
[They need to try to get out of here as soon as possible. Before the ground shifts again and they're buried for good in the next collapse, before they suffocate, before they find themselves trapped and lost for too long because the paths they had followed are gone. He pulls at the bandana wound around his wrists a little harder. His voice and his expression remain earnest.]
I'm not going to hurt you. I wouldn't. I promise.