Everyone fucking chooses, [kavinsky says.] If you didn't take Vex's side, you'd be a bigger cunt than me. If you didn't pick Will over somebody you actively fucking hate, same difference.

[despite the sharp choice of words, kavinsky's hands stay gentle and instructive in nico's head. probably more assured than anybody with his novice level of expertise has a right to, really. no jokes please. (or do have jokes, it's always good for the dream thief to have something new to agonize over.) ('good for.')] Dying's a choice too, any day you're fuckin' alive, man. If you don't want to make any choices besides that one, you could do it today.

[another coal-black lock of hair falls away. kavinsky brushes it off nico's shoulder. somehow, talking about suicide takes his mind off vex. for better or worse.]

You stick around, the fucking hard choices are gonna find you some point.

[to be fair, the choices have gotten easier for kavinsky lately. hard to say why that is. he probably just doesn't think about them as much anymore, the muzzle of his gun less appealing, whole bottles of pills less a solution, final darkness mundane. maybe it's because he'd already been there and tried that. it's not the most fun way to learn, from your mistakes, but learn you do. even kavinsky, eventually.] But you do get to choose.