He didn't expect the words. Daniel was ready to start being the sappy one here, but it seems that Robby truly has beaten him to the punch - in a way that the man obviously doesn't mind, but still in a way that really surprises him.
After all, there's a reason why the man's eyes go so wide as he listens to Robby. Even as he stares at the boy the entire time while Robby speaks, the surprise in his eyes is obvious, and the emotion remains fairly obvious even as the surprise thaws into different emotions - fondness, for one.
And maybe more than anything.. It's pride. It's what he's seen in Robby all along, his sweet and mature core, unchanging even with all the things he's been through.
It's so touching that Daniel's eyes start to water just a little bit without him fully realising it, still too caught up in the words and just how proud he is of his son in this moment, only realising a moment later when he ducks, blinking away the water before it can turn into tears.
There's so much he wants to say about Robby, to Robby, but he knows there's more important things to say right now.
Especially as he moves his hand onto the skin of Robby's wrist, gently wrapping his fingers around there, pressing the mixture of blood and other ingredients against the boy's skin.
"I'll talk too."
It's a difficult thing to promise, but.. for Robby? Maybe it's a little bit easier.
"I can't promise that I'll just talk to anyone and everyone, but.. I'll do my best to talk to you." He has been trying to do so already, after all. Like all the things he told Robby only just today, things he's never told any other living soul. "And I promise to protect you and to look after you, the way a father should. Even if things may get difficult again at some point, I won't turn away or give up on you."
That feels like the most important thing to promise Robby of all people, he thinks. A kid who has been abandoned so often that he wears the scars of it so openly on his soul.
"I'll help you, and I'll love you." He smiles. It's still touched by Robby's own words, but there's that warm fondness in it too, a warmth that only ever exists in Daniel's smile and never in his cold limbs anymore, ice cold fingers still touching Robby's wrist. "I will always be here for you."
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After all, there's a reason why the man's eyes go so wide as he listens to Robby. Even as he stares at the boy the entire time while Robby speaks, the surprise in his eyes is obvious, and the emotion remains fairly obvious even as the surprise thaws into different emotions - fondness, for one.
And maybe more than anything.. It's pride. It's what he's seen in Robby all along, his sweet and mature core, unchanging even with all the things he's been through.
It's so touching that Daniel's eyes start to water just a little bit without him fully realising it, still too caught up in the words and just how proud he is of his son in this moment, only realising a moment later when he ducks, blinking away the water before it can turn into tears.
There's so much he wants to say about Robby, to Robby, but he knows there's more important things to say right now.
Especially as he moves his hand onto the skin of Robby's wrist, gently wrapping his fingers around there, pressing the mixture of blood and other ingredients against the boy's skin.
"I'll talk too."
It's a difficult thing to promise, but.. for Robby? Maybe it's a little bit easier.
"I can't promise that I'll just talk to anyone and everyone, but.. I'll do my best to talk to you." He has been trying to do so already, after all. Like all the things he told Robby only just today, things he's never told any other living soul. "And I promise to protect you and to look after you, the way a father should. Even if things may get difficult again at some point, I won't turn away or give up on you."
That feels like the most important thing to promise Robby of all people, he thinks. A kid who has been abandoned so often that he wears the scars of it so openly on his soul.
"I'll help you, and I'll love you." He smiles. It's still touched by Robby's own words, but there's that warm fondness in it too, a warmth that only ever exists in Daniel's smile and never in his cold limbs anymore, ice cold fingers still touching Robby's wrist. "I will always be here for you."