Eduardo smiles. It isn't much of one, an expression still notably weary, but it's a bit more relaxed, more genuine than any others preceding it. Still, even now, there's a part of him that's screaming to get out, get away, leave this behind while he still can because he ought to deserve so much better than what Mark gave him (took away, rather), but for the moment, he's succeeded in smoothing things over, a more immediate priority than figuring out what the fuck he's supposed to do with his life now that Mark Zuckerberg has wandered back into it. Old habits, he figures, they die hard, and it shouldn't be surprising that they're falling back into their previous patterns even after so much time spent apart. He'd been relieved, too, is the worst of it, stung by the betrayal and wishing he could go back to finish what he started, but almost glad to be away from Facebook and the backstabbing mess surrounding it. He had nothing left back there, and a life he was coming to enjoy here, a girlfriend he's crazy about (rather than one who's just crazy) and some friends he really cares about. Now, he has that to feel guilty for, like it's his fault for wanting to move forward from that life when Mark is still there. He isn't the one who should have to make amends, but in this, too, it's just like they've always been. He was even sorry for getting punched by the Phoenix when Mark wasn't. There may be time between them now, but not enough for actual change.
"Are you kidding?" he asks with a short laugh, eyebrows raising, and shakes his head. His hand stays at Mark's shoulder for a few seconds, ones which seem to last much longer than they should, before it falls back to his side again, a near restlessness in the gesture, like he isn't sure if it was welcome or not. He doesn't dwell on it. "It doesn't. Not even close. I mean, a vacation is great and all, but Jesus, a permanent one?" Permanent isn't quite the right word for it, of course, if what he's been told is true, but it's close enough. Anyway, after everything, it's bizarrely difficult to come back around to the subject of the island, to focus on the life he's made separate from Mark when they've just been dealing with subjects so much heavier. It's a hard line to walk, both wanting to hear about everything and to leave their conflict in the past, and for now, his only choice is to follow Mark's lead where subject is concerned. He's too tired to do otherwise, for one, and at the end of the day, it always comes down to this. Mark needs something from him, or needs him, full stop (and if Eduardo's honest, there's nothing that means more to him than that, one more way in which things have stayed exactly the same), and he provides. In this case, it's a temporary respite. It could be worse. "I mean, it's not — it does have its good points, I will give it that, a lot of them, it's just — well, simply put, speaking about the place itself, it's fucked up."
no subject
"Are you kidding?" he asks with a short laugh, eyebrows raising, and shakes his head. His hand stays at Mark's shoulder for a few seconds, ones which seem to last much longer than they should, before it falls back to his side again, a near restlessness in the gesture, like he isn't sure if it was welcome or not. He doesn't dwell on it. "It doesn't. Not even close. I mean, a vacation is great and all, but Jesus, a permanent one?" Permanent isn't quite the right word for it, of course, if what he's been told is true, but it's close enough. Anyway, after everything, it's bizarrely difficult to come back around to the subject of the island, to focus on the life he's made separate from Mark when they've just been dealing with subjects so much heavier. It's a hard line to walk, both wanting to hear about everything and to leave their conflict in the past, and for now, his only choice is to follow Mark's lead where subject is concerned. He's too tired to do otherwise, for one, and at the end of the day, it always comes down to this. Mark needs something from him, or needs him, full stop (and if Eduardo's honest, there's nothing that means more to him than that, one more way in which things have stayed exactly the same), and he provides. In this case, it's a temporary respite. It could be worse. "I mean, it's not — it does have its good points, I will give it that, a lot of them, it's just — well, simply put, speaking about the place itself, it's fucked up."