[ He's tipping your chin up at that and resting his forehead against yours. ]

Shhh. It's okay. Leave it for now. You don't have to take the lion's share. [ He knows he could very well be wrong. He was there, remember? He felt that... that thing. He saw Aidan return only to think, in Kaz's words, that yes, he'd hoped for the Voidseeker to come home -- but not to that. Not to Falner under attack.

But morning is still hours away, and all you're going to do is exhaust yourself emotionally.by thinking on it too hard. ]

Hey, come on, Hikaru. Slow down a little. [ A gentle hand to your cheek as he says that. ]