"You're scared," X says, summarising simply, but with no less weight than Devin himself gives the conversation. "And not in the way you're usually scared. You're no stranger to pain, or struggle. You don't mind letting yourself down. You're scared of letting someone else down."

X wonders, sometimes, if the fears he reads in others coalesce into fears in himself. He'd never been concerned about letting others down while his family was still alive. Now, he could understand where Devin came from even if he hadn't read all of Devin's mind.

"I think that's brave," he goes on softly. "The last time you tried, you..." Well. Literally had his heart ripped out. It doesn't bear repeating. "... and you still care more about what your potential paramour wants than about what you want."