The third law [Terzo x Reader]

Do you find this romantic?

Notes:
Someone (who?!) will say "finally!", and I say that too, crawling on the floor completely annihilated by the struggle to finish the edits and translation of this chapter. I thought it was the easiest to fix but at every paragraph there was something I felt the need to modify and here I am after two long weeks, modestly serving it to you.
I didn't put much care in the after-translation, I must admit it, so you'll eventually find more errors than usual. Italian is a complex language and I try to keep the English text the closer I can to the original one, sometimes generating monsters.
I hope you like this and I hug you all 🖤

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"Do you find this romantic?"

You look at the screen, letting the lights dance on your expressionless face. "I never said I like this movie because it's romantic," you reply, taking a sip from your icy Coke. The one meant for Terzo lies in front of you on the coffee table where you've propped your feet, despite his protests, still sealed in its can.

The only light illuminating the living room is the soft glow from the TV; in front of you, on the coffee table, are piles of paper bags and boxes with the logo of the Mexican restaurant you ordered from. Some are empty, filled with crumpled napkins and disposable cutlery, while others still have a few pieces of tacos, burritos, and nachos; you thought you could have them for breakfast tomorrow morning but kept this thought to yourself.

What is probably a nightmare for him, an assault on his good manners, is a comforting and familiar combination for you.

Terzo gives you a challenging look. "That doesn't answer my question."

You look ahead; Billy has just sat on the stairs of his parents' house, having an anxiety attack, asking for a hug from the girl, but immediately rejects it afterward. "You should watch the whole movie before judging." you suggest, "And besides, he's really cool. And stop stealing my nachos!" you conclude, as Terzo shoves another handful of nachos, illegitimately taken from your bowl, into his mouth.

"Uhm..." he grimaces as if evaluating the protagonist of the film on the screen. "To me, he just seems like a deeply disturbed person."

You don't turn, continuing eating as well. Your arched eyebrows express your displeasure, but he's not looking at you. "He's just a person who's never really been treated like a human being," you try to defend him, in a way that almost makes him roll his eyes in boredom. He must have heard that kind of speech countless times in his life, from countless women who just can't recognize a monster when they see one.

"Oh sure, the good old 'I can fix him', " he replies with an ironic smile that underscores his skepticism. "I guess none of your exes ever, I don't know, brought you breakfast in bed, or made a genuine, sincere romantic gesture, and you were always okay with that because the bare minimum must be so exhausting for them."

You turn, watching him with furrowed brows. You can't tell if he's just being cynical or apprehensive. "It's not about changing someone, Terzo. It's about seeing their potential. Seeing beyond appearances. Do you ever try to do that?"

Terzo shrugs. "Oh, sure I have, and you know what I learned? People don't change. Or at least, not as easily as in the movies."

You sigh, letting your head fall back against the couch. "Maybe you're right, but movies, music, books, they're precisely that... a hope, a fantasy that can sometimes inspire us to be better."

"And what if they only inspire illusions?" Terzo retorts, pointing a finger at the screen. "What if they make people believe that an idiot can become a prince? You end up not wondering why your partner never brings you breakfast in bed because, poor thing, his mother never told him he did a good job when he got a good grade in math. That girl, Lyla?" He seeks confirmation in your nod, briefly pointing to the protagonist, locked in her world beyond the TV screen. "What I see is just a walking severe case of Stockholm syndrome."