[Alex sinks into the calm. He needs it, maybe more now than he ever did except when Darwin died. He was a stonefaced mess then, and he wasn't comfortable enough to let Charles in right away. He was barely comfortable speaking, asking for food in gestures and looking at no one until some of the hollowness got filled up.]
[But this is different. He knows what good a little nudge can do, from experience.]
[He pulls away now, slowly and reluctantly, and backs into his cabin so Charles can follow.]
It's okay. I'm - [His mouth hangs open, the intent to explain his state of mind after resurrection utterly defeated by an inability to find the right words. Instead, he falls back on what's easy, ushering the emotion-memory to the front of his mind, the way that the pain and the fear at being in the infirmary overrode sense for a while, and then the slow-cold-burn depression drift of the ensuing days, wrapped up in Nathan's cabin in blankets with no concept of the passage of time.]
[His feet scuff against the floor as he walks back to the bed, flopping down on it without meeting Charles's eyes. He's ashamed. He doesn't even really know why.]
spam
[But this is different. He knows what good a little nudge can do, from experience.]
[He pulls away now, slowly and reluctantly, and backs into his cabin so Charles can follow.]
It's okay. I'm - [His mouth hangs open, the intent to explain his state of mind after resurrection utterly defeated by an inability to find the right words. Instead, he falls back on what's easy, ushering the emotion-memory to the front of his mind, the way that the pain and the fear at being in the infirmary overrode sense for a while, and then the slow-cold-burn depression drift of the ensuing days, wrapped up in Nathan's cabin in blankets with no concept of the passage of time.]
[His feet scuff against the floor as he walks back to the bed, flopping down on it without meeting Charles's eyes. He's ashamed. He doesn't even really know why.]
I think I just needed some time.