[Raylan knows his way around Roman's cabin, and a couple of tumblers are collected to be set on the coffee table. Raylan pours from his flask, two fingers for each of them and he lets the silence linger as he moves around. The silver bottomed, wood wrapped flask is recapped and tucked back into his back pocket and he sits down in one of the chairs across from Kendall.]
Here- might help take the edge off.
[Raylan might be lowkey strong arming, but he wasn't going to rush it. Showing up here is always a lot. Finding out that you're ahead of your brother is also a lot.]
[ He sounds genuinely grateful, and looks up just enough to offer a very small smile as he takes the glass and has a sip. Swallowing it in one go is probably a little gauche, considering the circumstances. God, he wants a line right now. ]
Sorry. It's just – when our dad got sick, we were in the hospital a lot. And it's... Yeah, it's bringing up some pretty shitty memories.
I can imagine so. You guys love your dad a lot. [For some reason. But Raylan had already hashed that differing opinion with Roman and he didn't, couldn't hold it against the Roy Boys that they loved their daddy.]
And I know that seein' Roman in this state is.. worryin' to say the least. Disconcerting at best. [Hard, either way.]
He's happy you're here, you know. Damn near over the moon when he came to tell me.
[ There's an edge of doubt in that, even if Kendall doesn't really doubt him. It's just a standard Roy response to anything remotely positive. ]
It – really messed him up, I think. More than me and Shiv. When my dad did that to us. Because, I mean, Roman... he's kind of, um... Sensitive's not the right word. I guess he can kind of fold under pressure, but like, whatever, we all do that. But it's like, he really beats the shit out of himself over it, when it happens.
[Sensitive was close enough - Raylan understood what Kendall was describing, and nods gently.]
It did. He and I have talked about Logan. Not so much about the deals y'all got burnt out of but. [the deals themselves weren't really that important. It was set dressing for the emotional tragedy that was the Roy family.]
I dunno. I guess, we were all together so it was like... I had them to focus on. Roman and my sister. I think it kind of mattered less that it happened to me.
[ Kendall frowns, looking distant for a moment. ]
It's pretty rare that we're all on the same side, you know? And I'm the eldest, so I guess I kind of felt like I had to help them first.
[The eldest of that group. The erasure of Connor was known to Raylan but no one needed him to be pedantic. Wouldn't help shit around gaining trust either.]
That's good of you. Important that family sticks together like that. [To some people. To most people.]
And how'd Shiv handle it? Just so I can.. get a clear understandin' of your dynamics. Hard to gain tone sometimes, off a file paper that only reads in facts, not intent and emotion.
I mean, I don't wanna be dramatic, but it kinda ruined her marriage.
[ Privately, Kendall had never really been fully convinced by Shiv and Tom's relationship, and he doesn't think his father was entirely wrong when he told Shiv that she'd invested in Tom because she thought he'd never have the stones to betray her. Which just makes that whole thing so much fucking worse. And now, of course, he wants to poke Tom's eyes out with his thumbs, so. ]
Her husband ratted us out, to get in our dad's good books. That's... pretty much how it goes with us. Either you're smart enough to get the fuck out of dodge when you realise what a shitshow our family is, or you stick around long enough to fuck us over to get props from the patriarch.
Sounds like her husband ruined their marriage. I'm gonna tell you what I tell Roman and honestly, it sounds harsh but also fuck the patriarch. My daddy also happens to be a grade A asshole who charms the pants off anyone he can pass the con on, and has shot me a couple times so- A little different.
How much further ahead of him are you again? I mean, I know a lot can happen in a frighteningly short amount of time, but. How much 'a lot' are we talkin' about here?
[ Kendall thinks about telling him the truth about what happened in those six months, not for the first time. It's tempting. It'd be nice to talk to someone about it, someone as straightforward as Raylan – especially considering what he just said about his own dad. But he's already been through it in his own head a million times. If he tells Raylan, Raylan will want to tell Roman, and then Roman will know. So. ]
Yeah, no. We went home, all of us together. We had this idea for a business we were gonna run together, and we spent most of the time working on that, once we got... Well, I don't think any of us actually got over the shit with our dad, but we were trying to get past it. But then this other thing got in the way. Our dad tried to make a bid for PGM – like, a rival news broadcaster, he wanted to buy it for years, so we all decided we'd outbid him.
[ Kendall doesn't want to vocalise his actual point, which is is that he's already very aware that the thing for them was never actually about owning PGM but rather getting one up on their father. So it's a good thing that Raylan changes the subject, actually, but also not really. ]
That's kind of it. That's where we're at. That's the last thing that happened.
[ The rest of it is extremely irrelevant, as far as Kendall's concerned. He'd tell Roman if he asked, and Roman, he supposes, could go tell Raylan, but that's on him. ]
[Another answer with no details. Raylan doubted it was the truth.]
And what's waitin' for him? [Roman, he means, but his dark eyes don't move from Kendall's face. He's not sure that he'll get an honest answer there either, but you miss all the shots you don't take.]
Yeah, because he's a shitshow. We all are. And Roman, he's... you know. He can be self-destructive. And that's, like, one hundred percent the pot calling the kettle black, but that doesn't make it untrue.
We can all be self-destructive. That being said... He's made a lot of progress here. He's learnin' how to handle things with a bit more- [Not grace, exactly - that would always be a work in progress for Roman, but 'emotional intelligence' would have been closer. 'Emotional Intelligence' wasn't a phrase that was easily understood by most people.]
A bit more maturity. More control. [So long as the news wasn't 'Logan Roy is dead.' Raylan knew full well that would break Roman more than a little. No matter how shitty a dad Logan had been.]
If it's just business, I'm not overly worried. [He couldn't help but think it wasn't just business. Maybe his dark minded gut was just.. sensitive. He doubted that too.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Here- might help take the edge off.
[Raylan might be lowkey strong arming, but he wasn't going to rush it. Showing up here is always a lot. Finding out that you're ahead of your brother is also a lot.]
cw drug addiction
[ He sounds genuinely grateful, and looks up just enough to offer a very small smile as he takes the glass and has a sip. Swallowing it in one go is probably a little gauche, considering the circumstances. God, he wants a line right now. ]
Sorry. It's just – when our dad got sick, we were in the hospital a lot. And it's... Yeah, it's bringing up some pretty shitty memories.
no subject
And I know that seein' Roman in this state is.. worryin' to say the least. Disconcerting at best. [Hard, either way.]
He's happy you're here, you know. Damn near over the moon when he came to tell me.
no subject
[ There's an edge of doubt in that, even if Kendall doesn't really doubt him. It's just a standard Roy response to anything remotely positive. ]
It – really messed him up, I think. More than me and Shiv. When my dad did that to us. Because, I mean, Roman... he's kind of, um... Sensitive's not the right word. I guess he can kind of fold under pressure, but like, whatever, we all do that. But it's like, he really beats the shit out of himself over it, when it happens.
no subject
It did. He and I have talked about Logan. Not so much about the deals y'all got burnt out of but. [the deals themselves weren't really that important. It was set dressing for the emotional tragedy that was the Roy family.]
How did you handle it?
no subject
[ Kendall frowns, looking distant for a moment. ]
It's pretty rare that we're all on the same side, you know? And I'm the eldest, so I guess I kind of felt like I had to help them first.
no subject
That's good of you. Important that family sticks together like that. [To some people. To most people.]
And how'd Shiv handle it? Just so I can.. get a clear understandin' of your dynamics. Hard to gain tone sometimes, off a file paper that only reads in facts, not intent and emotion.
no subject
[ Privately, Kendall had never really been fully convinced by Shiv and Tom's relationship, and he doesn't think his father was entirely wrong when he told Shiv that she'd invested in Tom because she thought he'd never have the stones to betray her. Which just makes that whole thing so much fucking worse. And now, of course, he wants to poke Tom's eyes out with his thumbs, so. ]
Her husband ratted us out, to get in our dad's good books. That's... pretty much how it goes with us. Either you're smart enough to get the fuck out of dodge when you realise what a shitshow our family is, or you stick around long enough to fuck us over to get props from the patriarch.
no subject
Sounds like her husband ruined their marriage. I'm gonna tell you what I tell Roman and honestly, it sounds harsh but also fuck the patriarch. My daddy also happens to be a grade A asshole who charms the pants off anyone he can pass the con on, and has shot me a couple times so- A little different.
How much further ahead of him are you again? I mean, I know a lot can happen in a frighteningly short amount of time, but. How much 'a lot' are we talkin' about here?
no subject
[ Kendall thinks about telling him the truth about what happened in those six months, not for the first time. It's tempting. It'd be nice to talk to someone about it, someone as straightforward as Raylan – especially considering what he just said about his own dad. But he's already been through it in his own head a million times. If he tells Raylan, Raylan will want to tell Roman, and then Roman will know. So. ]
no subject
That's not nothin', six months. I'm gonna guess that the plane that Roman remembers comin' here from didn't crash for you?
no subject
no subject
Give the old man a challenge? Prove you three were up to the task of running negotiations? How'd that go; did you guys win?
no subject
no subject
So. Did you guys win?
no subject
We won. In the way that matters.
no subject
[He lifts a couple of fingers and waves it away with his next words.]
Doesn't have to be a stickin' point. I'm guessin' you made sure that Logan knew - so what happens for you guys after that.
no subject
That's kind of it. That's where we're at. That's the last thing that happened.
no subject
And how you got here?
[He had Roman's file. He knew about Kendall's darker tendencies and he was trying to be gentle about it.]
no subject
[ The rest of it is extremely irrelevant, as far as Kendall's concerned. He'd tell Roman if he asked, and Roman, he supposes, could go tell Raylan, but that's on him. ]
no subject
And what's waitin' for him? [Roman, he means, but his dark eyes don't move from Kendall's face. He's not sure that he'll get an honest answer there either, but you miss all the shots you don't take.]
no subject
no subject
[It wasn't quite adding up. Raylan's head tilts a fraction with the unasked question.]
no subject
no subject
A bit more maturity. More control. [So long as the news wasn't 'Logan Roy is dead.' Raylan knew full well that would break Roman more than a little. No matter how shitty a dad Logan had been.]
If it's just business, I'm not overly worried. [He couldn't help but think it wasn't just business. Maybe his dark minded gut was just.. sensitive. He doubted that too.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)