[He looks up at her words, catches her eyes just in time to see the willfulness in them as she tells him that she cares. His gaze softens and his brow furrows slightly; he looks almost pained from her confession, in so many different ways. Because he understands - he has her trust and that's something that has always humbled him; she cares about him and he knows she does. It makes him ache for reasons he didn't recognize until he knew he was falling in love with her. And he understands there are things he can't protect her from, and what she's just told him - that is undeniably one of them.
But he looks away despite knowing all this, works his jaw past the rising feelings swirling in him. He knows it's the truth, but he can't- There's just nothing worse to Julian than feeling helpless. Than facing something unchangeably out of his hands. Something he can't fix.
But he nods anyway, and painfully, because it's something he can't argue.]
I know. [He smiles, just barely.] You're a lot better at it than me.
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But he looks away despite knowing all this, works his jaw past the rising feelings swirling in him. He knows it's the truth, but he can't- There's just nothing worse to Julian than feeling helpless. Than facing something unchangeably out of his hands. Something he can't fix.
But he nods anyway, and painfully, because it's something he can't argue.]
I know. [He smiles, just barely.] You're a lot better at it than me.