“You didn’t…need to come. It’s against the rules.”

It’s always like this. You’re lucky you two have enough intimacy for him to throw more than a few words at you in your attempted conversations. Talking is hard, but when it’s you, it gets a little easier. At least you don’t stare at him like he’s (literally) grown an eye at his tongue every time he opens his mouth. Even then, he’s hard to unravel. Always so quiet, so moved by his rules, his moral code no one can get behind but, he’s getting used to breaking some of them for you. Logically, no one should be moving around the Big House past midnight. And no, you don’t get a free pass. He’s working. Security can’t just get distracted for even a second, it could cost the safety of the camp.

Maybe he’s let you get too close. You’re starting to notice things about him: little patterns, manners, his routine, his interests. You’ve gone out of your way to make conversations or gift him something that reminded you of him before. Unfortunately, you also started to notice when he’s not feeling well with himself, or the world, or both, not that it’s very difficult. Eyes are the window to the soul, they say, and his soul has too many windows, impossible to hide. Not that anyone has ever been interested to look through them. You have, for whatever reason.

“I’m okay. You need to sleep. Go back to bed.” And he’s fooling absolutely no one, knowing you’re the only person who pays any mind to him, the only that would actually listen for anything he has to talk to. He isn’t sure if it’s a curse or a blessing. If there’s one thing he’s used to, it’s to being alone, he can deal with it, but can he deal with an affection? He’s not sure, but if you insist…