[ And immediately, something blooms in his chest, frustration or anguish or any combination, he doesn't much care. What did you expect? he wants to ask. What do you want? This is a storm that he is not made to weather and, up until this point, had steered clear of with nothing but ease. He feels young again, in the worst sense of the words, once again at the mercy of a girl who spurns what she has coaxed forth, who will not take what he has to offer, who would rather have died than confront the truth that lies sewn over his heart. At the end of day, even with empires brought down and kings disposed of, Petyr Baelish is only a man.
But no, he tells himself. He will never be caught again, not by her, not by anyone. ]
Don't, [ he says, and it is the closest thing to harsh that he has ever been with her. (More negligence, more mistakes. He cannot persist in this.) ] What is done is done. [ And what is said is said. You cannot take it back.
Still, like hers, his fist curls in thin air, dropping back down to the mattress as he turns away. With each moment that passes, there is a slow, insidious fear that grows within him, one that recognizes that he is becoming careless, that she has seen too much already and will see even more if he is not diligent. (He should have known better.)
( ACTION )
But no, he tells himself. He will never be caught again, not by her, not by anyone. ]
Don't, [ he says, and it is the closest thing to harsh that he has ever been with her. (More negligence, more mistakes. He cannot persist in this.) ] What is done is done. [ And what is said is said. You cannot take it back.
Still, like hers, his fist curls in thin air, dropping back down to the mattress as he turns away. With each moment that passes, there is a slow, insidious fear that grows within him, one that recognizes that he is becoming careless, that she has seen too much already and will see even more if he is not diligent. (He should have known better.)
Quietly, his face still turned away: ]
Do you wish me to leave?