Okay, I’m gonna kiss your brain so hard. No homo though
HARD AGREEEEEE i think this too! and that's such a good connection re. the safe word. i think it's also why in this newest chapter hayden was confusing him lmao bc hayden WAS on one hand appealing to his usual "give and take, offer me something and i'll offer you something in return" mentality but hayden was asking for his feelings!! which is so pure haha so it's crossing brett's wires
and yea you can tell hayden is the only one who manages to keep surprising brett consistently with his sincerity and lack of pretense. like when brett said "i owe you a huge debt now from saving me" hayden was like "well there's no debt because i chose to do so." also hayden revealing his hand (his feelings) so openly. i'm soo intrigued by what will happen next
Pure conjecture based on personal observations:
I think (one (?) of) Brett’s inferred “fatal flaws” could be that he isn’t used to unconditional love, and so the fact that someone could care about him enough at the cost of themself or without something in return is something he has difficulty believing and/or coming to terms with. In Brett’s world, there seems to be an overall underlying theme of “you are what you can achieve.” In that privileged and wealthy society that Brett deals with, everyone seems to be measured by their accomplishments, and how useful they can be. It goes both ways, he seems to feel that HIS value is based on what HE can give them, and THEIR value is based on what THEY can give him.
If you think about it, the time when Brett used the safe word, there was virtually no benefit for Hayden to stop while he was in his rut. So the only reason why he stopped, was to protect Brett. In that moment, Hayden in his state of raw primal instinct, placed Brett’s needs above his own. So to Brett, it was a clear indication that Hayden truly cares for him. So that could explain why he went hysterical after the safe word worked cuz he didn’t know how to handle that fact lmfao. I think by the end of S1, Brett is just slowly coming to terms with Hayden’s sincerity.
Thanks for coming to my TedTalk lmfao.