Jade Fern Grove We'll be the color in all this black and white

She was shutting him out. It stung and he didn't let it show, but when he pulled away he wasn't inclined to reach out again. Okay, he replied with a wan, uninspired, but unaccusing smile. And he meant it, he would. He was more conscious of his needs when she wasn't around because he had to be.

I know you're capable, but just — be safe. He rarely worried for her safety when she had taken excursions back home where they had came from, but he had known that area. He wasn't so sure what this one had in store. Just in case, he said, I love you, before each of them set out upon their respective tasks.