A breath out of Armand that might say: yes, I know you didn't.
Because he wasn't aiming to scare Daniel, not exactly. He didn't mind the idea that it was a possibility, sure, but to scare something is, in nature, to warn it away. This was another kind of provocation. Not so coherent that Armand could explain it all in grand detail, the way he might sit down and justify his actions around the trial, his relationship with Louis, if someone were to convince him to rationalise his behaviours and his actions.
No, this had been different. Premeditated actions, carefully planned and crafted, borne of impulse. An apartment building on fire, for Louis, for himself. A radio shockjock grinding his teeth as he drives out of Florida, for Daniel. Gifts. Indulgences.
Then, a sharpening of focus. He might ask Daniel to repeat himself. Clarify.
"Okay," he says, instead. A beat, then, "Did you like any of them?"
no subject
Because he wasn't aiming to scare Daniel, not exactly. He didn't mind the idea that it was a possibility, sure, but to scare something is, in nature, to warn it away. This was another kind of provocation. Not so coherent that Armand could explain it all in grand detail, the way he might sit down and justify his actions around the trial, his relationship with Louis, if someone were to convince him to rationalise his behaviours and his actions.
No, this had been different. Premeditated actions, carefully planned and crafted, borne of impulse. An apartment building on fire, for Louis, for himself. A radio shockjock grinding his teeth as he drives out of Florida, for Daniel. Gifts. Indulgences.
Then, a sharpening of focus. He might ask Daniel to repeat himself. Clarify.
"Okay," he says, instead. A beat, then, "Did you like any of them?"
More than just not minding.