His expression turns heartsore as he listens to her reasoning - the problem is, he understands her thinking, all too intimately. That kind of thinking is subtle and insidious, and over time it can become self-fulfilling. He knows the frustration, the terror... and the loneliness.

He gives her a sad little smile, reaching up to ever-so-gently cup her cheek, softly stroking her cheekbone with his thumb and looking deeply into her eyes. "Sheska..."

There is so much to say. He could say how she blames herself too much - how bad things happen to people around her, but she is rarely the cause. He could point out that she's all he has left, and that if she thinks he shouldn't want to date her, nobody in their right minds would want to date him. He could tell her that he's not good with relationships either, and that they'll figure this out together. He could inform her that nobody could possibly deserve more or better than her, him least of all.

None of it seems to suffice. He shakes his head quietly, then leans in to press a sweet, tender, lingering kiss against her lips, in the hopes that it can speak louder than words. "The risk of getting hurt is the risk of losing something good. But what's the point of avoiding the hurt if it means you never have the good to begin with? Even though you might fail, you have to try every time. That's what it is to live.

"I don't want somebody else, Sheska. I want you." He places another, shorter kiss on her lips. "You make me happy."