Elena knows Matt too well and is far too perceptive not to notice the shift.
The moment he accedes is the moment Elena brings him further into her arms, pressing her face to the crook of his neck. The embrace itself is protective in nature because she is protective of him. Tremors ghost across her skin the tighter she holds on to him, and she sounds like misery would feel.
But she doesn't argue. She doesn't say it is her fault, that everything is her fault, even if it has never felt truer than it does now. Matt was her rock in a world that continuously tried to steal the ground from underneath her feet; he has always been everyone's rock, taking care of them at the expense of himself, and Elena refuses to do that to him here. It's as much his grief as it is hers. It is as much his loss as her own. Her family is Matt's family, and they have lost what is left of it. They are orphans clinging to what's left, and that's each other. They can share the burden.
He doesn't have to carry it on his own and neither does she.
Her mind is already racing with possibilities. There has to be a way to get Jeremy back. If not with Bonnie and magic, then with Clark and this stupid ship. But outwardly, she doesn't say anything because that's not what this is about. Her hand cups the back of Matt's head tenderly and she allows herself to feel the agony, willing him to feel his own. "It's okay," is what she whispers thickly instead. It's okay to let it all go, Matt. You've been brave enough.
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The moment he accedes is the moment Elena brings him further into her arms, pressing her face to the crook of his neck. The embrace itself is protective in nature because she is protective of him. Tremors ghost across her skin the tighter she holds on to him, and she sounds like misery would feel.
But she doesn't argue. She doesn't say it is her fault, that everything is her fault, even if it has never felt truer than it does now. Matt was her rock in a world that continuously tried to steal the ground from underneath her feet; he has always been everyone's rock, taking care of them at the expense of himself, and Elena refuses to do that to him here. It's as much his grief as it is hers. It is as much his loss as her own. Her family is Matt's family, and they have lost what is left of it. They are orphans clinging to what's left, and that's each other. They can share the burden.
He doesn't have to carry it on his own and neither does she.
Her mind is already racing with possibilities. There has to be a way to get Jeremy back. If not with Bonnie and magic, then with Clark and this stupid ship. But outwardly, she doesn't say anything because that's not what this is about. Her hand cups the back of Matt's head tenderly and she allows herself to feel the agony, willing him to feel his own. "It's okay," is what she whispers thickly instead. It's okay to let it all go, Matt. You've been brave enough.