Fitz may be able to mask much from the rest of the world--Chade taught him well--but there is little he has ever been able to truly hide from the Fool. It's the fright that flickers across his face that undoes him, that weakens his resolve to keep his distance. He can't--not after all they've been through.

He hesitates, eyes wide as he deliberates over his course of action. But really, there is no choice to be made. The dam breaks, and the Fool takes two quick strides forward to throw his arms around Fitz's shoulders in a tight embrace.

"Tell me," he pleads in a voice on the cusp of breaking, "that you are not dead."