Ari only wished having a plan invoked any relief in him at all. Zelda might not realise it - he did not expect her to - but something like that... she’d be putting her life in his hands, would be risking more than she knew, and Ari could not pretend to feel at ease with it.
But he would have to. “Love you too,” he replied, closing his eyes for a moment and letting out a quiet breath. He loved her, and the last thing he wanted was to cause her any more anxiety than this situation had already demanded, but - oughtn’t he tell their father? If it came to her taken ill and having to recover at home in bed, the only alternative would be lying outright, and Ari had always been uncomfortable with lies.
On the other hand, there was still a scrap of a chance that it wouldn’t come to that, and though he knew he really should enlighten Brannon about this, let their father do as he saw fit... well, Zelda had learnt her lesson from this already, hadn’t she? So perhaps he could justify saying nothing, not yet.
He hoped she had, and that the sting of her error would not be washed away with the evidence of it. But if she did care about the man - was clearly awaiting his return - there was still potential for alarm. Ari would be more careful, from here on out: he would have to have words with Julian; keep a better eye on Zelda himself; perhaps even enlist Ros or another of the more diligent Fisk siblings to do so as well... “Promise me, though,” Ari said, pulling back to show how serious he was, “you have to promise me this will never happen again.”
But he would have to. “Love you too,” he replied, closing his eyes for a moment and letting out a quiet breath. He loved her, and the last thing he wanted was to cause her any more anxiety than this situation had already demanded, but - oughtn’t he tell their father? If it came to her taken ill and having to recover at home in bed, the only alternative would be lying outright, and Ari had always been uncomfortable with lies.
On the other hand, there was still a scrap of a chance that it wouldn’t come to that, and though he knew he really should enlighten Brannon about this, let their father do as he saw fit... well, Zelda had learnt her lesson from this already, hadn’t she? So perhaps he could justify saying nothing, not yet.
He hoped she had, and that the sting of her error would not be washed away with the evidence of it. But if she did care about the man - was clearly awaiting his return - there was still potential for alarm. Ari would be more careful, from here on out: he would have to have words with Julian; keep a better eye on Zelda himself; perhaps even enlist Ros or another of the more diligent Fisk siblings to do so as well... “Promise me, though,” Ari said, pulling back to show how serious he was, “you have to promise me this will never happen again.”
