#hewwo? ...

        ❝  maybe therein lies the issue .  ❞  curt ,  and to the point  —  a serrated blade’s edge on his tongue ,  with so much profound weight to his words that he feels a horrifyingly relieving sense of weight lifted off his shoulders ,  however callous he may seem .  he hasn’t hurt her ;  he hasn’t driven her away in the way he feels inclined to do so ,  when she’s seen him ,  entirely .  seen him ,  and the stories etched into his skin  , the ghosts embedded into his lungs ,  the light tremor of his hands when he wakes with a start and a gasp and a breath that feels like he had been a drowning man ,  desperate and ragged and uncertain about whether or not the currents would pull him under again .  it frightens him ,  to be known so intimately ,  when he’s done everything in his life to be everything but ;  he’s torn off his veil and shed his mask ,  laid bare each raw ,  exposed nerve and trusted her to treat him gently  .  and she has  —  she has ,  she has .  but napoleon finds himself too vulnerable here ,  too wary .  too afraid .  ❝  would it be easier for you if i did?  ❞