Potions

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

Grey could only assume that Michael was referring to an argument over the potions. Apparently it was as bad as it looked. "So what happened?" he asked at last. He had gotten Michael to give him more than one sentence, and he was hopeful that they could continue with an actual conversation now. "Tell me and perhaps I will be able to help."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael sighed heavily and closed his eyes as he tried to think. "Markise showed up and Dare tried to leave, but we wouldn't let him, so he locked himself in the bedroom. Today there was a lot of talking with not much progress." He shook his head after he finished speaking and opened his eyes to stare down at the counter. Nothing seemed to have helped very much, other than those few minutes where they had been able to have that connection again, even if it had only been such a short amount of time.

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

"Talking about the issues behind his attachment to the potions?" Grey assumed. "That may take a great deal of time and patience. Not all of us heal as quickly, as easily, or as willingly as others. They may need more support than a single person can give. And you, Michael? Do you think that you're able to give that support?" Do you think that you're incapable? Grey knew better. He knew how strong Michael could be when he set himself to it.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I thought I was," Michael said softly. "But I also thought I was enough to keep Dare happy, and that obviously wasn't the case." His eyes hardened at the potions. "I mean...it doesn't make sense, of all people, I should be able to help him!" He looked up and then down at his ring. They were engaged and he hadn't been able to do much of anything other than keep himself from getting hexed by Dare.

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

"You cannot hold yourself responsible for another person's addictions," Grey said, keeping his gaze firm. "You cannot prevent all discomforts in life. There is a balance between shutting out the past and wallowing in it. I can not tell you what that balance is."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"He was just shutting it out, and now he's refusing to do anything!" Michael said, looking up again. Did Grey have any idea what had happened? He had felt completely useless, and he'd feel even more so if he showed up and Markise had gotten somewhere with Dare. "I don't know what to do." And it kills me. He knew he should know, but no matter how much he thought about it, he just ran around in circles in his mind. "He won't talk to me! I only know what I do because of things he's said before."

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

"Have patience, Michael," Grey recommended. "You may have to to give without receiving to lend support. You will need to be strong, and if you cannot, if it is too much, then perhaps you should admit to defeat." Grey hoped that he was reading Michael correctly, hoped that the subtle challenge in that advice might get a positive reaction.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael didn't have patience, not when it came to something like this with Dare. "I'm not giving him his potions back, and I'm not going to let him just live out the rest of his life like he is right now," he said, eyes narrowing slightly. He wasn't anywhere near giving up on Dare. Not knowing where to go next and giving up were two completely different things. He just didn't know where to go next! "Unless you can tell me what to do next, I don't think you'll be much help," he said, more out of frustration than any true thought.

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

"Unless you can put aside your personal issues long enough to support someone else's, you may be no more help than I am," Grey said softly. "If you want easy answers, I can't provide them, nor can I guide you through difficulties in your personal relationships. I am not the man to give such advice by any twist of the imagination."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Personal issues? Was Michael letting his own personal thoughts interfere with helping Dare? He remembered being afraid of Dare being angry to begin with, when he had first taken the potions. Then in the bedroom, he had stopped whenever Dare did instead of trying to coax, because he didn't want to push Dare too far. What if he had just went on? An impartial party wouldn't have stopped, but he had because of his feelings. He didn't know if he could do that, though. Maybe that was what Markise was there for, his relationship with Dare was so different than the one between Michael and Dare.

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

Grey must have said something to get through to Michael, though he could not be sure of exactly what that was. All the same, Michael wasn't arguing this time, and Grey could see the wheels of thought turning in his mind. Grey allowed Michael his silent thought. If the young man could come to conclusions on his own, then the lessons would be better learned than if handed to him again under different wording.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael ran his hands through his hair again then rested them on the counter. "We've been through too much to lose him," he said under his breath and to himself. Was Grey saying that was the problem? If he was too hooked on the idea that he might lose Dare, then he couldn't really do what needed to be done. They had been through worse, surely this wasn't enough to break them apart.

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

Michael's words were just loud enough for Grey to make out in the otherwise silent shop. He was silent for some moments more, those words speaking to a part of him that he rarely allowed out of the shadows. His gaze dropped, then shifted out over the shelves of vials, flasks, and odd items. "Do what needs to be done, Michael. That is the best advice I can give you."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

But he couldn't stand to lose Dare! What if doing what needs done made Dare leave? Michael closed his eyes briefly before he focused on Grey. "I don't know how to help him," he said eventually. It was the truth as far as he could tell. He knew that it needed done, knew that he needed to get Dare talking and keep him off the potions, but he didn't know how.

[Greyson "Grey" Sebastien]

"I wish I could give you the answers, Michael, but I don't know Dare nearly enough to tell you what he needs. Support and strength definitely, but some need only a steady hand nearby and others need to be pushed." There was no possible way to tell Michael what he wanted to know. He was going to have to decide for himself.