[He answers them as solidly as he did once before, his harsh grip loosening as he turns his wrist to thread his fingers through theirs.]
You... are Dante.
[For however much he may be willing to try to destroy their agency, disregard their choices so he can keep them by his side. And he'd be a fool to try to deny his feelings entirely, to play it off as considering them nothing more than a trophy or a tool.]
You're what I want more than... [almost, he thinks, but—no. He breathes out,] anything.
[That's what's makes this so important, isn't it? To have them know. To make them understand just what sort of person he is. Otherwise he wouldn't have bothered; he would have maintained the facade, kept them in the dark until the time came for this to end.]
My beloved fool who keeps hoping, and reaching, and trying, despite everything.
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You... are Dante.
[For however much he may be willing to try to destroy their agency, disregard their choices so he can keep them by his side. And he'd be a fool to try to deny his feelings entirely, to play it off as considering them nothing more than a trophy or a tool.]
You're what I want more than... [almost, he thinks, but—no. He breathes out,] anything.
[That's what's makes this so important, isn't it? To have them know. To make them understand just what sort of person he is. Otherwise he wouldn't have bothered; he would have maintained the facade, kept them in the dark until the time came for this to end.]
My beloved fool who keeps hoping, and reaching, and trying, despite everything.