It took a while for it to sink in. In the moment, he'd taken it as combat advice, but the smartest man in the world lived to dissect and analyze.
"Adam, help me!"
"Look, I know you're pathetically weak, but can't you at least try to kick free?"
Tired, frustrated, exasperated, bored, sick... There were many different ways to describe Adam's tone. Ashamed and disappointed..., those hurt the most.
So Chase did what he always did when he was hurt - he shut himself off. Conceal, don't feel, he thought with bitter amusement, don't let it show. He built high walls and let his feelings grow, but no matter what, he would not cry. He would not be pathetically weak.
Anger was better. Anger was strong, anger was safe. Anger brought Spike - his protector. And so Chase retreated deep inside his own mind and let something else take over.
...oOo...
A/N: I swear, this story wrote itself. This was supposed to be a one-shot touching on forgiveness, sibling relationships, and personality theory. Now it is most definitely a combined Spike and depressed Chase story with probably some of that stuff later.
Wow. Okay. *waits patiently for next plot bunny*
In the meantime, tell me what you think! (A lot of this is actually how I handle hurt, I'm realizing.) Constructive criticism is great! Flames? Not so much.
Namarië!
-River