There's the difference between Rupert and Victor: he probably does indeed mean no harm. Victor, when he puts his mind to it, means plenty. And he doesn't think twice about it for the most part.
"Am I?"
The in-joke is purely for Victor's own weird, dark sense of humour. Yes, he probably is hurting Rupert with that grip, though he could make it hurt a lot more, drive him to his knees, have him scraping fingers into Victor's pantleg and begging to make it stop.
He could. But he doesn't.
Victor opens his fingers, then sweeps them back against his coat, chasing away an invisible wrinkle.
"Next time, you might touch something that bites back a little harder."
Turning his head with a deep inhale through his nose, Victor returns his hand to his pocket and casts a look across the crowds.
"But if I had, you could have really passed yourself off for a hero valiantly injured in the storm. Who knows where you could end up putting your hands with that kind of pretense."
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"Am I?"
The in-joke is purely for Victor's own weird, dark sense of humour. Yes, he probably is hurting Rupert with that grip, though he could make it hurt a lot more, drive him to his knees, have him scraping fingers into Victor's pantleg and begging to make it stop.
He could. But he doesn't.
Victor opens his fingers, then sweeps them back against his coat, chasing away an invisible wrinkle.
"Next time, you might touch something that bites back a little harder."
Turning his head with a deep inhale through his nose, Victor returns his hand to his pocket and casts a look across the crowds.
"But if I had, you could have really passed yourself off for a hero valiantly injured in the storm. Who knows where you could end up putting your hands with that kind of pretense."