It's not easy, for him, to find polite ways to phrase things, to let Ned know that he's here for him if he wants him to be, but that he's perfectly willing to shut up and ignore the subject entirely if that's what he wants. He's glad that the message seems to have gotten across. What is easy for him, though, what's always been easy for him, is physical affection, and when Ned leans forward and buries his face in his shoulder, it's the most natural thing in the world for him to wrap his arms around him. It doesn't take conscious thought, it doesn't take any contemplation, and there's no hesitation or awkwardness in his movements. For all his awkwardness in other realms, it's completely instinctive to offer physical affection, if that's what's needed, and Ned seems to need it.
Ned's words make sense to him, and he nods, acknowledging them, as he tries to think of a way to respond to it. He's using more care in choosing his words now, afraid of saying the wrong thing or upsetting Ned further, because he knows that, however much compassion he feels, it'll be pretty useless if he misuses that compassion and makes Ned's day worse. "There're things like that in my life, too. Things from the past that come up at certain times of the year and are harder to deal with when everyone else is happy. They're probably not the same things. I'm not going to ask you what yours are because you don't want to talk about it and I don't want to make it worse. But I don't think you're weird for feeling that way."
Is that good enough? He doesn't think it is, and despite his vows to himself to choose his words more carefully, it's incredibly hard not to chatter on when he feels somewhat at a loss for how to handle a situation. So he keeps talking. "Do you want to do something to distract yourself, or do you just want to try to sleep through it now? Because we can do whatever you want, but I can try to be a distraction. I mean, at the very least, I can say weird stuff that makes you confused enough not to think about how much you hate today, just for a minute."
He's still hugging Ned, not letting him go until Ned gets sick of it and tries to squirm away. "Hey, listen, I have no idea how to deal with stuff like this. I'm sorry in advance."
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Ned's words make sense to him, and he nods, acknowledging them, as he tries to think of a way to respond to it. He's using more care in choosing his words now, afraid of saying the wrong thing or upsetting Ned further, because he knows that, however much compassion he feels, it'll be pretty useless if he misuses that compassion and makes Ned's day worse. "There're things like that in my life, too. Things from the past that come up at certain times of the year and are harder to deal with when everyone else is happy. They're probably not the same things. I'm not going to ask you what yours are because you don't want to talk about it and I don't want to make it worse. But I don't think you're weird for feeling that way."
Is that good enough? He doesn't think it is, and despite his vows to himself to choose his words more carefully, it's incredibly hard not to chatter on when he feels somewhat at a loss for how to handle a situation. So he keeps talking. "Do you want to do something to distract yourself, or do you just want to try to sleep through it now? Because we can do whatever you want, but I can try to be a distraction. I mean, at the very least, I can say weird stuff that makes you confused enough not to think about how much you hate today, just for a minute."
He's still hugging Ned, not letting him go until Ned gets sick of it and tries to squirm away. "Hey, listen, I have no idea how to deal with stuff like this. I'm sorry in advance."