[ It aches, hearing him say that. Jesse starts walking when Daryl urges him to, but he keeps looking over at Daryl as he does, studying him.
Can he really believe that? How? Daryl's saved him, again and again. He's never stopped trying from the moment Jesse met him. Looking after people. Fighting to get back to his brother. Making a home here, hunting for food, doing everything in his power to keep the monster at bay even as it threatens to overwhelm him.
Jesse just can't see how he can really believe what he's saying. He shakes his head, his eyes sad, but he doesn't know how to even start to argue back, if Daryl's that convinced. So when he looks up and sees the sign for the bookshop overhead, he seizes onto the distraction. ]
Hey. [ He nudges Daryl's shoulder, then nods up at the sign. ] We're here.
[ The silence feels like a sliver of shade and Daryl is able to collect himself again in it as they walk. He knows he's being stared at, he can feel that burning into him at least, but still, Jesse just lets it be and that lets Daryl take a breath. Remember where he is, where they are, and all the dire weight that's connected to that. It's enough to shake the ache of the past out of him for the moment.
Enough that when Jesse points out the bookstore, he actually feels a flare of interest. It's the same place he remembers seeing and he holds the door for Jesse, comfortable enough with the businesses here that he doesn't feel the need to check for safety. But he slouches when they enter, instantly more aware of himself and making himself smaller without realizing he's doing it. The feeling of not belonging in a place like this hits him like humidity.
He lowers his voice, looking around like someone might kick him out. ]
I've never been inside before.
[ No time, no point, he'd told himself. Now he's surprised to think of all the books that have been sitting here all this time, holding information that could be important. ]
[ Jesse strolls right in, glancing around curiously. To his disappointment, the store really does seem to sell nothing but books. Not that he knows exactly what else he might have been expecting, but...oh well.
It takes him a second to realize Daryl isn't at his side, and he turns around to find him lingering behind, looking nervous and uncomfortable. Jesse frowns, falling back beside him. ]
Yeah, me neither.
[ No surprise there. He hesitates, looking at Daryl, but gets the sense that calling him out on how he kinda looks like he wants to turn and run out the door might prompt him to do just that. Instead, he leans his hip against a nearby display table, paging idly at a book resting on top and doing his best to exude an air of casual relaxation, in the hopes it'll rub off on Daryl. Huh. Looks like this is the foreign language section. ]
[ He's glancing around, getting the measure of the space, when he makes eye contact with what must be an employee standing in amongst the shelves. Daryl finally touches a few spines when he sees the clerk pointedly look away from him with disinterest. Thick books, lots of leather, nothing like what he would have found back home and of course, he didn't really know what he was expecting. ]
Whatever I can find, really. Last one I read was about pirates.
[ He answers off-hand, quietly, like they're in a library. Not that he's ever had any library experience in his life. But he sounds distracted, maybe a little confused, and he starts to take odd books off the shelves to look at the inner pages. ]
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no subject
Can he really believe that? How? Daryl's saved him, again and again. He's never stopped trying from the moment Jesse met him. Looking after people. Fighting to get back to his brother. Making a home here, hunting for food, doing everything in his power to keep the monster at bay even as it threatens to overwhelm him.
Jesse just can't see how he can really believe what he's saying. He shakes his head, his eyes sad, but he doesn't know how to even start to argue back, if Daryl's that convinced. So when he looks up and sees the sign for the bookshop overhead, he seizes onto the distraction. ]
Hey. [ He nudges Daryl's shoulder, then nods up at the sign. ] We're here.
no subject
Enough that when Jesse points out the bookstore, he actually feels a flare of interest. It's the same place he remembers seeing and he holds the door for Jesse, comfortable enough with the businesses here that he doesn't feel the need to check for safety. But he slouches when they enter, instantly more aware of himself and making himself smaller without realizing he's doing it. The feeling of not belonging in a place like this hits him like humidity.
He lowers his voice, looking around like someone might kick him out. ]
I've never been inside before.
[ No time, no point, he'd told himself. Now he's surprised to think of all the books that have been sitting here all this time, holding information that could be important. ]
no subject
It takes him a second to realize Daryl isn't at his side, and he turns around to find him lingering behind, looking nervous and uncomfortable. Jesse frowns, falling back beside him. ]
Yeah, me neither.
[ No surprise there. He hesitates, looking at Daryl, but gets the sense that calling him out on how he kinda looks like he wants to turn and run out the door might prompt him to do just that. Instead, he leans his hip against a nearby display table, paging idly at a book resting on top and doing his best to exude an air of casual relaxation, in the hopes it'll rub off on Daryl. Huh. Looks like this is the foreign language section. ]
So...what kinda books are you into?
no subject
Whatever I can find, really. Last one I read was about pirates.
[ He answers off-hand, quietly, like they're in a library. Not that he's ever had any library experience in his life. But he sounds distracted, maybe a little confused, and he starts to take odd books off the shelves to look at the inner pages. ]
You see any in English?