"i don’t want to be here if you’re not."
" you're not listening - ... "
yes, she was. it's been nearly a decade now, of this roller coaster of themselves. maybe not every day of those ten years were spent side by side, as they were perhaps meant to be, but if nothing else, it allowed him to know her. he knows the glint in her eyes, the worry that wrinkles her face and pulls at her brows. it still makes his stomach twist.
to be the one who often caused that expression twists the knife of his own lingering guilt. even if he isn't conscious of it, the wave of that pushes the words up from his guts and off his tongue. " i'm not asking, red, this is serious. "
even if her concern was justifiable, he swallows it down. to him, it's a zero sum cost compared to her safety.
" i'm not saying i'm gonna die - i'm ... if something does happen, i don't want you here. i'm not gonna chance leaving you alone when they might know where to find you. "
