Stone Circle Can't avoid me forever

He inhaled sharply at her confession, cursing himself for allowing the pair of them to fall this low. He supposed the struggles within a relationship could only bring them closer if they succeeded in resolving them. That part was the hardest of all, he'd discovered - torn between forgiveness and betrayal. The man refused to look away, allowing himself to get lost in the eyes he'd fallen for time after time again; if he looked away, Cebra might think he did not care as he once did. 

The second confession hit hard, stabbing like thorns forced into his pelt - he could almost feel the blood trickle down his chest, but despite wincing he did not look away. He kept listening. She wasn't saying this to pain him, she was saying this because she was trying to explain to him, it seemed. Mawk let out a soft sigh once she finished, standing before him with shivering breaths and shaky legs. It hurt him greatly to see her like this, so broken and lonely, so at war with herself. He stepped forward, still looking into her eyes.

"Cebra..." Instinvtively he bit the inside of his cheek, feeling emotions bubble up like gasps of sadness from inside himself. "I... I've missed you. I can't stand being apart from you, it breaks me and I want this all negativity to end as soon as possible." He took another step forward, so that they were almost close enough to touch. "It feels like no matter what we do, no matter where we go... something always tries to dampen our spirits, forces us to mourn for this or that. But you know what? I already knew it, but I can't face that alone. Not being able to embrace you, it makes the darkness crash in harder than it did when we could lie against each other and face the world together. I'm not alive without you." Now his eyes closed, feeling the tension in the moment heavy on his shoulders. "I need you, Cebra." 

But before he could embrace her like he so longed to, he just needed to hear her say something. Needed the confirmation. "I can forgive you. God, I want to, but I can't without one thing..." He said, as though he hadn't partially forgiven her already. A shaky breathe left his lips, opening his eyes once more to gaze into her own. "If... if we are going to be how we were, I need you to promise me something. I... I need you to promise me that you won't go to Howl again, not like that." After all, how could you keep loving when you're not loved in return? He needed to know.