She sits so easily through his speech, and it is only years of training and more years sitting unflinching in a prison cell that keep his own countenance even as he awaits her reply. He has prepared himself for rejection. It is the most rational course of action, and her assessment that there is no future for them, regardless of any affection she may feel, is well-taken. The most he has dared to hope for is her acknowledgement of his situation, perhaps forgiveness due to a shared warmth.
His chest tightens as she speaks, and he inclines his head again. "If you have been blind until last night, then I have misstepped less than I feared. It was my intention you not ever know."
So they can hopefully set this aside and move forward.
Except his head snaps up, brows furrowed at her question. Surely any interest she had shown had been his drunken haze, his own desire coloring his reason.
"I don't make a habit of harboring romantic feelings for my charges," he says. It takes a moment to realize it's left his mouth, and a burning flush races across his skin. "How could there be obligation in a feeling that only makes both our lives more complicated? I have failed obligation in letting this desire grow as it has."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-08-07 09:28 pm (UTC)His chest tightens as she speaks, and he inclines his head again. "If you have been blind until last night, then I have misstepped less than I feared. It was my intention you not ever know."
So they can hopefully set this aside and move forward.
Except his head snaps up, brows furrowed at her question. Surely any interest she had shown had been his drunken haze, his own desire coloring his reason.
"I don't make a habit of harboring romantic feelings for my charges," he says. It takes a moment to realize it's left his mouth, and a burning flush races across his skin. "How could there be obligation in a feeling that only makes both our lives more complicated? I have failed obligation in letting this desire grow as it has."