[He flinches slightly at the touch, but it's not enough to imply that he wants to pull away - it's more that he wasn't expecting it than anything, but he settles quickly enough. The words, however... The words lance through him hard, causing something to crack sharply in his chest, dripping down cold like ice; he can't bring himself to make eye contact, letting his gaze shoot low as his breathing catches hard.]
I...
[He hasn't been doing particularly well at keeping his emotions in check while he's been down here, but he hasn't felt this close to outright breaking in a long time; doing so is unforgivable, everything that he's been doing here is unforgivable, it's all something to be exploited again and again until there's nothing left because that's the price people pay for their closeness - it blinds them to what matters, and to the intentions of those who would rather you be dead than inconvenient.
It's safer to not allow it, for emotions to be unforgivable trespasses, but the fact of the matter is that he doesn't know how else to respond to this; it's hard to process, really - the notion that after all this time, that's literally all he's wanted to hear. It fixes nothing, but he can't say it changes nothing; he shakes his head a bit, the gesture tight, and the sound he offers is almost amused in a sick, broken sort of way.]
I'll hold you to it, then. I'm...rather tired of it, at this point.
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I...
[He hasn't been doing particularly well at keeping his emotions in check while he's been down here, but he hasn't felt this close to outright breaking in a long time; doing so is unforgivable, everything that he's been doing here is unforgivable, it's all something to be exploited again and again until there's nothing left because that's the price people pay for their closeness - it blinds them to what matters, and to the intentions of those who would rather you be dead than inconvenient.
It's safer to not allow it, for emotions to be unforgivable trespasses, but the fact of the matter is that he doesn't know how else to respond to this; it's hard to process, really - the notion that after all this time, that's literally all he's wanted to hear. It fixes nothing, but he can't say it changes nothing; he shakes his head a bit, the gesture tight, and the sound he offers is almost amused in a sick, broken sort of way.]
I'll hold you to it, then. I'm...rather tired of it, at this point.