Hushed Willows seventeen

It had been easy to allow himself to be wrapped up in the love he felt for Banner, in the love she expressed to him so that he almost forgot that she'd delivered him any grim news at all. Until, her expression became one of sadness and she expressed her worry for Stark. “I know you do,” Buchanan assured her in a low murmur. He would expect nothing less. Having no siblings of his own he could not claim to understand the bond that the brother and sister shared but it was apart of Banner. It was one of the many things that made her...her. And he loved it about her. Yet, this whole “family” thing was still out of Buchanan's league and he wasn't sure he had the right words of encouragement. Not when he was still adjusting to this new life as a whole. He had no experience with this sort of thing. The only great loss he'd ever endured was The Officer and it had been of his own choice. Buchanan had mourned his master but in an entirely different way then Stark mourned Octavia or the way anyone mourned family, probably.

“You know Stark better than anyone,” Buchanan paused, searching for words that he wasn't even sure would be comforting to her, nor reassuring. Nor encouraging as he would mean them to be. “but I think — I think he's gonna be ok, you know? He's got you. He's got Tam. He's got us — all of us at the Keep. Maybe it's too forward to speak for them but we're here for him. We'll support him.” Maybe he should have only spoken for himself but if they didn't believe in Stark, if they wouldn't return all that he did for the others wouldn't have stayed when he took over. “Subordinates lean on their leaders but sometimes leaders need to lean on their subordinates.” The Officer had...once. Delusional with fever, of course, but it was a few fevered hours of delusional kindness that Buchanan couldn't forget.

“I'm sorry, I'm bad at this,” He chuckled at his own failings, giving his head a bashful shake. It was probably a good idea to stop trying to help when he had no idea what he was doing. “I think ...just do what you need to, be there for him.”