[You know, this was all starting to sound suspiciously like the mafia. Luckily, Lyney was busy hiding his face so he couldn’t see Vil staring into the middle distance as that thought settled. Here he was thinking he’d been adopted by a gruff but backwards law enforcement officer that busted a human trafficking ring, but no. Apparently it was closer to some sort of mafia feud or something?

Well, he’s not going to ask. Lyney was opening up and the last thing he needed was to feel judged. Again, Vil was indeed judging, but keeping that to himself.]

I’d say the logic still applies. Outside of your work, you need to be able to drop the persona, forcing anyone to maintain that indefinitely will only cause more harm than good.

[He would have been content simply standing in silence while Lyney took the comfort he needed, but he heard those quiet, muffled words. He couldn’t take that pain away, and Lyney needed to just let himself feel it- but maybe he could help ease some of the worry.]

I can’t magically bring her here, but I might be able to put your mind at ease.