Broken Boulder i can't tell if the want justifies the need

He watched the flames fade from Delight's expression and hated the chill that followed, shrinking further into himself. The question made him freeze, too, but in a different way— this was ice creeping too quickly up his chest, a spreading cold he could only describe as fear. This wasn't how he'd wanted to tell him— hell, he hadn't wanted to tell him at all, but he knew any moment it would come bubbling out and he'd—
Um, He swallowed, breath coming a little faster now. I— you. The word dropped like a stone through still waters and struck him hard in the chest. There were a million things wrong with this scene. It shouldn't have come out like that, during this— it shouldn't have come out at all. It was several moments before he could force more words out, voice shaking and raw.
I-I'm sorry, I should— The word go stuck to his tongue, but he took a step back anyway, preparing to retreat and— somehow devise a way to avoid Delight forever.