HARPER
Her hand reaches for his, and he links his fingers loosely with hers, allowing her the chance to pull away at her discretion. "Because I was supporting you as an individual, but this is more than just your heart and happiness on the line. You had time to think over the wedding, but this...this is all new territory." He shrugs helplessly, not sure how else to explain the difference that he sees between the two events. Gently squeezing her fingers, he takes a slow, deep inhale. This reminds him of Oliver's confession, and his reticence hasn't necessarily changed at all between that one and this proposition of hers. But just as Oliver did, Phoebe deserves his honesty.
"It's not a no. But there's so much about me that you don't know, and a lot of it could change the way you look at me. I wouldn't want to offer you anything only to hurt you later on by not being the man you think I am." He'd only told Kiada of such dark and hidden secrets, and that's yet another memory brought to light that makes him ache for how he's failing this bright young woman who deserves better than him. "I lost my previous partner in a terrible way, and I'm not..." he struggles to put it to words, holding tight to her hands to ground him and keep his anxiety at bay. "I haven't fully healed from it. And I know things were different in your world, and I'd never diminish you for it, but our age difference and what we want in life is something for me to consider too." He brings her hands up to press a kiss to her knuckles, eyes tired and begging for understanding from her. "I don't know what I can promise, or if I can at all right now." Which only kills him all the more, that he can't even give her a solid answer.
"It's not a no. But there's so much about me that you don't know, and a lot of it could change the way you look at me. I wouldn't want to offer you anything only to hurt you later on by not being the man you think I am." He'd only told Kiada of such dark and hidden secrets, and that's yet another memory brought to light that makes him ache for how he's failing this bright young woman who deserves better than him. "I lost my previous partner in a terrible way, and I'm not..." he struggles to put it to words, holding tight to her hands to ground him and keep his anxiety at bay. "I haven't fully healed from it. And I know things were different in your world, and I'd never diminish you for it, but our age difference and what we want in life is something for me to consider too." He brings her hands up to press a kiss to her knuckles, eyes tired and begging for understanding from her. "I don't know what I can promise, or if I can at all right now." Which only kills him all the more, that he can't even give her a solid answer.
can you protect me from what i want?
the love i let in, it left me so lost
the love i let in, it left me so lost
