Stone Circle Now I am as devoted to you as I can be without crossing the line

How are you going to fix that?

It was a question that ran through his head constantly, always being asked but never answered. He didn’t know how to fix it or if it even could be fixed—but he needed to at least try, even if only to remind himself he did when his mistakes came back around to haunt him again, if it ever stopped currently. But it was his turn to keep quiet, allowing several seconds of silence to surround them. Yet, it was only when he stopped thinking so hard that the answer came to him with ease, as if it’d been waiting all this time to finally appear.

“By staying,” he decided. “By not leaving again. By giving you everything you deserve in life, everything I should have in the valley.” Regret could not be entirely removed from his tone, lingering throughout his words. “I’m only here for you, Laurel. I wasn’t worried about dying during the famine until I thought of you,” he continued, words rolling from his tongue and him unable to look away from her. “Whatever you want, I’ll do it. Whatever you need, I’ll get it. I just want... I just want to make you happy.” Thinking of someone other than himself was still a new concept, something he wasn’t yet sure he felt comfortable with—but she was worth any and all discomfort, even if all that came out of it was his continued allowance to stay in the same pack as her.