[He's quiet as Erica opens up to him, turning around and keeping his eyes locked on her as she speaks. Derek tries to just listen for once. There are a lot of things Erica says that gets to him, and every now and then he'll look to the floor out of shame or anger or something unrecognizable, but he keeps his mouth shut tight to keep himself from interrupting.
It hurts to hear her talk about how much she hadn't needed him, but he knew it was unfair of him to want that. He hadn't done anything to deserve to be wanted, either here or at home. In the end, he was just... happy for her. Happy that she found her place in Asgard so much easier than he thought she would have.]
I'm not an Alpha anymore, Erica. I haven't been an Alpha for a long time. [His eyes rise up to meet hers, but then they fall again, because like he thought - he can't look at her while he speaks, it still hurts.]
I'm not an Alpha. I don't want to be in any kind of control over you, or Isaac, or anyone. I just want to have you both in my life again. I know that's a huge thing to ask, especially when all I did before was wait for you to become the girl I knew back home, but. I don't feel like that anymore. I don't care about power, I don't care about control, I just care about people.
[He couldn't find the right words, so this all just sounded stupid. He knew if he had been younger he would have been blindly, pointlessly angry at Erica for deserting him and standing on her own feet, but how was he supposed to apologize to her for that? He didn't want to drag Erica through any more memories she hadn't experienced yet, so he was trying to avoid talking about home as much as he could, about what he'd been through with Cora and his pack and everything else that made him feel like this. He was trying to tell her how he felt without making her think he just cared about some different, future version of her, and the uncertainty in his eyes made it clear that he thought he was failing.]
I care about you. [He sounds apologetic, like he feels guilty for even acting like he knows her anymore.] I don't think of you as a fragile girl or a werewolf or a thing. You and Isaac mean a lot to me, and I know that it's weird, but I just want a chance to get to know you again. If you'll let me.
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It hurts to hear her talk about how much she hadn't needed him, but he knew it was unfair of him to want that. He hadn't done anything to deserve to be wanted, either here or at home. In the end, he was just... happy for her. Happy that she found her place in Asgard so much easier than he thought she would have.]
I'm not an Alpha anymore, Erica. I haven't been an Alpha for a long time. [His eyes rise up to meet hers, but then they fall again, because like he thought - he can't look at her while he speaks, it still hurts.]
I'm not an Alpha. I don't want to be in any kind of control over you, or Isaac, or anyone. I just want to have you both in my life again. I know that's a huge thing to ask, especially when all I did before was wait for you to become the girl I knew back home, but. I don't feel like that anymore. I don't care about power, I don't care about control, I just care about people.
[He couldn't find the right words, so this all just sounded stupid. He knew if he had been younger he would have been blindly, pointlessly angry at Erica for deserting him and standing on her own feet, but how was he supposed to apologize to her for that? He didn't want to drag Erica through any more memories she hadn't experienced yet, so he was trying to avoid talking about home as much as he could, about what he'd been through with Cora and his pack and everything else that made him feel like this. He was trying to tell her how he felt without making her think he just cared about some different, future version of her, and the uncertainty in his eyes made it clear that he thought he was failing.]
I care about you. [He sounds apologetic, like he feels guilty for even acting like he knows her anymore.] I don't think of you as a fragile girl or a werewolf or a thing. You and Isaac mean a lot to me, and I know that it's weird, but I just want a chance to get to know you again. If you'll let me.