Findekáno does not dignify this with a response. "During the war you were unusually focused on him and that made sense, since the fate of the world was at stake. But still, you were mostly thinking about the war, I assume. Whereas now it's - mostly him. Yeah? So if anything goes wrong -"

"I wonder if I should ask him and Vanyel about relocating to Vinyamar. So it's easier to mix other things in."

"I certainly wouldn't have any complaints."

"You don't think I - messed up?"

"I think you tried to do something that probably wasn't going to work. And then it didn't work. Which is what usually happens when you try things that probably aren't going to work."

"If I didn't make a mistake why do I feel so awful?"

"That might just be the breakup. I think those often suck."

- he maybe wants to cry about it, actually. 

It's weird how someone this competent can be this incompetent and he loves him very much.

When it's time for the return Gate Maitimo looks - not happier, but maybe more sincere about his apparent level of happiness.

Vanyel's Gate goes up right on time. He's waiting on the other side of it, still in the courtyard outside his room. Looking expectant. 

"So?" he says after a moment. 

Privacy-thingy. "Leareth had a bit of a breakdown last night in the course of which he eventually managed to communicate that - 

- that this was a scheme he came up with to stop me from getting bored and leaving, and decided that all of his feelings of 'not actually wanting to do it' were probably trauma to ignore or get Melody to put blocks on. And then eventually this got unsustainable, unsurprisingly."

Vanyel stares at him, and then covers his face with both hands. "Gods. Are you actually– I know you're serious, that's not a real question. Just. Gah. Leareth. Why did he think you - getting bored or something - was even a problem that would ever happen." 

"Melody thinks it's his general - trouble making sense of people caring about him non-instrumentally. Which - I am not in the mood to argue with him about it right now but probably someone should. I'm a Quendi, we don't even get bored inside fifty years, I really don't know what -" Sigh.

"Huh. I would've said it was the kind of mis-prediction I would make, if I were having a hard time and feeling very dependent on a specific person - even if there was lots of evidence of it being fine, there are moods I can get in where that doesn't do anything - but I wouldn't've thought Leareth would have the same thing. Maybe that's just me not getting it, though. When I actually think about it, I guess it makes sense that being really traumatized would make Leareth more - shaped like me - than before."

Vanyel's expression hints that this is a completely novel thought to him, and kind of an upsetting one. 

"And I think you have had more experience with - your predictions being sometimes generated by that instead of by reality - whereas he's used to assuming his are completely accurate and he should run off and use them to do elaborate things."

Nod. "I think that's right. Or at least, he has no middle ground in between that and none of his beliefs or predictions being trustworthy, and I think he was working really hard on - believing things and doing things in general. And - gah, of course he would think a relationship was fair game for scheming about, why would he not think that, I don't think he has any normal conception of romance and sex to work from. Gah. I'm sorry. I feel like I probably gave him bad advice or something. Or gave you bad advice."  

"I don't think you could possibly have figured it out, no one figured it out and he was - trying reasonably hard not to let us, right? I - wish we had somehow guessed anyway. But I think he'll be all right."

"Are you all right? That - if it were me it'd be a really jarring thing to learn like that. Er. Do you want a hug or something." 

"I would not turn down a hug." Hug. "Mostly I - I don't think it makes sense to be angry with him, really. I told him we are not doing this now but I would maybe consider it again in a century, if he wants to then."

Hug. "I don't think it makes sense to be angry with him either. I...should talk to him." 

"I think that's a good idea."

Vanyel spends a moment Mindspeaking. :Melody says he's asleep. I'll go after: Sigh. :It's not - I assume he's not going to go off and come up with some even worse scheme if I end up leaving it for tomorrow? I sort of want to plan what to say: 

"I think if anything he corrected towards - not trying to do things, again. Which isn't great but might be more sustainable short-term than him trying some new plan right now."

"Mmm. It does seem not great but it could be worse. He probably shouldn't be trying to do any things, er, unilaterally like that."