[Ben admits that willingly, but something in his voice softens and he looks away for several long moments, still and silent. It's not that he has to consider the answer to her question. It's that he has to decide how much to say.
Taking a deep breath, his eyes tick back over to the screen. His voice is quiet.]
No. I don't think I am. They are better off without me, and I do not mean that in a metaphorical sense. I am unstable, unpredictable, and... fragile. In the world as it stands, as I understand it, the last thing they need is a safety risk such as myself.
They have also, for the most part, already separated from me. It would not be fair to ask them to undo whatever distance they have managed to gain.
Private
[Ben admits that willingly, but something in his voice softens and he looks away for several long moments, still and silent. It's not that he has to consider the answer to her question. It's that he has to decide how much to say.
Taking a deep breath, his eyes tick back over to the screen. His voice is quiet.]
No. I don't think I am. They are better off without me, and I do not mean that in a metaphorical sense. I am unstable, unpredictable, and... fragile. In the world as it stands, as I understand it, the last thing they need is a safety risk such as myself.
They have also, for the most part, already separated from me. It would not be fair to ask them to undo whatever distance they have managed to gain.