[He gives his head a little shake and laughs. Billy is right. And he both wants and does not want that to be true.]
Maybe I've tricked you. Ask anyone.
[And wouldn't they all find it funny, to see him brought to low, to know that it was so stupidly easy to hurt him.
He sucks in a breath, like bracing for pain.]
And it doesn't matter. It's not helping. [He cares about Rogue, so much he feels like he's slowly strangling with the agony of watching her drift away. He hasn't managed yet to stop caring about Tony and Pepper, and all it's doing is reminding him how pointless it is to care about people who hate him.] It doesn't make any difference.
no subject
Maybe I've tricked you. Ask anyone.
[And wouldn't they all find it funny, to see him brought to low, to know that it was so stupidly easy to hurt him.
He sucks in a breath, like bracing for pain.]
And it doesn't matter. It's not helping. [He cares about Rogue, so much he feels like he's slowly strangling with the agony of watching her drift away. He hasn't managed yet to stop caring about Tony and Pepper, and all it's doing is reminding him how pointless it is to care about people who hate him.] It doesn't make any difference.