this song is my confession

Oh, how I've tried to get you out of my head
And I lie broken in words I said

He did care, perhaps more than even he had realized until he'd voiced it aloud, but the little smile on her face made it worth having said it. He returned it, warmth in his eyes, and they walked in silence for a little while down a tunnel that Maea had pointed out before the Ancient spoke again. And when she did, Liam laughed at the wry smile she shot his way and the lighthearted end to her musings. "If only it was that easy," he agreed. Maea picked at a piece of bedrock, and Liam started to step forward to peer at it, but the disappointment on her face told him that it was nothing but stone. They kept looking.

"Fear can be difficult to manage," he said thoughtfully. "As soldiers, we're taught to compartmentalize our fear. In a time of crisis, we have to be able to set it aside and keep moving. Freeze up at the wrong time, or panic, and you're dead." His mouth quirked up in a little smile. "I'm not sure that that's the healthiest advice," he admitted, "But it might work in the moment. To push through and then process it later." He shrugged. Though he liked to think he was fairly in tune with his feelings, he still wasn't the best at processing his own emotions, much less talking someone else through processing theirs.

Never thought I'd walk on this street again
Standing where it all began

Liam