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From:

cactusy

Shaw comes into the room alongside Will, taking a seat in the same chair that she picks when she comes in for her own therapy sessions. "Doctor," she says to Sheehan, inclining here head in greeting; beyond that, though, she'll stay quiet for now. This is, as Will said, Will's meeting; she's just here to observe.

From:

empathicfault

Will seems a little subdued as he walks in, but not by a lot. He tends to come across as pretty low-energy, anyway. He looks up to Sheehan and chews on his lip for a moment before saying, "Thanks for having me, Doctor. I know it's...not usual."

From:

heyboss

Sheehan has his walls all the way up for this. He tends to default to that around Will, even if he doesn't realize it.

He settles in the opposite chair, offering two glasses of water, which are placed on the table in front of them.

"It's no problem. Floor is yours, though. Go ahead."

From:

empathicfault

Will sips his water before he starts. "I tend to associate with a lot of wardens. It makes sense. I'm former FBI, former cop before that. I used to existing in little smatterings of authority, even if I don't have any myself. But...I'm an inmate for a reason. In this case-" He straightens up in his seat and gives Sheehan a mirthless smile. "It's because I'm manipulative."

He lets that sit for a moment, takes another drink, before he continues. "I gave you the wrong impression about the nature of my relationship with Malcolm Bright. I...don't like therapy. I'm sure you understand why. But I can't seem to escape it. So..." He licks his lips, looking uncomfortable. "I intentionally kept it as vague as possible. Malcolm thought we were talking as friends, and we honestly were, but I'd tell other people it was therapy. I did the same with you and Kiryu, what I could get away with. Our chats? I told Shaw it was formal. Kiryu realized what I was doing and called me out on it."

He laces his fingers together and stares at the glass in front of him. "So, uh...I wanted to let you know and...apologize for that. I didn't think anyone would notice- I definitely didn't think I'd be causing anyone problems. I imagine you at least suspected some of this out of me, you're observant. But...I'm sorry for any friction I might've caused."

From:

heyboss

Will's got Sheehan's full attention as he starts and he slowly sits back, thoughtful, as he continues. Funny that this seems to be coming as a revelation, when Sheehan had told Arthur that Will was deceptive and manipulative not two weeks prior. None of that is a shock to Sheehan, nor is the fact that he was lying to Shaw. Disappointing, but in a vague way. That's why Will's here, after all. It's why Sheehan always kept his guard up as much as possible.

He casts a quick glance her way, but otherwise keeps his attention on Will.

He has...quite a lot that he wants to say, but not to him. Not right now. "I appreciate you telling me that." And he does. "So you're taking responsibility and - what are you doing in the future to prevent this from happening again?"

From:

empathicfault

Will glances up, and then back down, taking a breath before he answers.

"We haven't discussed it together yet. But I imagine Shaw will want to monitor me more closely and we'll probably talk it out. As for me personally, I hurt someone I didn't want to. So I will be...re-analyzing some of my internal logic and where it comes from. There are a number of defense mechanisms I have in place that are probably only harmful, in this space. But...it's one thing to recognize that logically and another to agree emotionally."

From:

heyboss

He nods. It's an easy answer, but Will isn't his inmate, so he doesn't push. Will isn't even really a friend - not anymore. Sheehan doesn't feel slighted by him at all, but it was a good reminder of the reason Sheehan put up those boundaries in the first place.

"I'm glad you've put some thought into it. And I don't - hold it against you. I hope you know that."

From:

empathicfault

Will can feel a door closing, and- okay. That's okay. He's shut a lot of doors in his life. He'll shut plenty more, undoubtedly. He is, however, frowning at that glass of water. He can feel himself drifting a little.

"That...actually might hurt a little more, Doctor. That you don't. But I understand. Is there anything else you want to know, anything I can do for you? To try and...make things right?"

From:

heyboss

"I don't know, Will." He smiles and there's no trace of anger there. Only quiet resignation. "You said you hurt someone you didn't want to and caused friction and that's why you wanted to apologize. Which I understand. But you made no mention of how those actions, lies, manipulations...how that directly affected the ones who aren't Malcolm Bright. That hurt me, Will."

From:

empathicfault

"Ah."

That's all he says for a moment as he purses his lips, absorbing the point. "I'm really shit at this, huh?" he asks, looking up at Sheehan. He lets out a heavy sigh. "I don't know why I didn't just say that. I'm sorry for hurting you. I hadn't thought I'd gotten...that far through your defenses."

He licks his lips and looks thoroughly miserable. "Regardless, I did use our time talking together as...I think the term is 'malicious compliance' for following Shaw's orders. Sorry to toss whatever chance we had at friendship out a window like that."

From:

heyboss

It isn't petty pleasure or satisfaction that makes Sheehan let Will sit in his own apparent misery. He does it because he no longer trusts him. That he doesn't trust him to feel what he's actually showing.

"I - I'm going to, what's the phrase, call bullshit, on that one, Will. That you didn't think you had gotten through my defenses." He's fairly certain he knew, or at least Sheehan had made it obvious.

"Regardless, I'm not forgiving you. Not right now. If friendship is something you still want, then I'm afraid the burden is on you to prove that you have changed and I can trust you. If it isn't, then I understand, and I still look forward to you graduating."

He picks up his glass and takes a drink. "I know what it takes to admit what you did. I can appreciate that, you know."

From:

empathicfault

It's smart not to trust Will at this point, as the man plays up his own emotional display even now, an attempt to get the best response. It's cheap, but these are the defenses he has. They're all he has that he knows can work.

So Sheehan calling out his bullshit gets a weak attempt at a smile, and a mumbled response of "perhaps one line." The 'not forgiving you' part gets a nod and a swallow.

"...thanks. I know it doesn't fix...anything, really, but. Hopefully it helps somewhere down the line. I'd like to try and still be friends at...some point, but I'm not sure..." He shakes his head. "I'll think on it. If there's anything I can do."

From:

heyboss

Sheehan nods and warms just slightly. "I'm glad to hear that. And if you need anything I can provide, then I'm right next door. I won't ever turn you away if I can help."

He glances to Shaw, then back to Will. He's proud of him, in a way. These conversations are awkward and difficult, but they are necessary.

From:

cactusy

Shaw stays quiet, but is clearly watching them both carefully: as far as she's concerned, she's not here to inject her own reactions into the conversation, either to bolster Will or to add on more criticism. She's here for observation purposes and for observation purposes only, so that she'll have a more informed opinion when they debrief later.

From:

empathicfault

"Yeah. Thank you," he says, nodding with a small twitch as he pushes himself up to standing. He looks up at the doctor and licks his lower lip before continuing. "You're welcome at my place, if you ever want a dog to pet. Just let me know. I'll...get out of your hair now."