If only things could be easy every once in a while.. but they never were, were they? Things would always be complicated one way or another, no matter the situation and the circumstance. Nothing in life was ever simple. Things did not fall into place just because he wanted them to, and he'd be a fool if he thought — hoped — that this would be any different. She was not angry, at least not unless his eyes deceived him, but that would, perhaps, be the only good thing. He would not find peace, and he knew it. If he acknowledged it at is, what would happen to his relation to Psyche? And to Snö, the daughter he'd only recently reclaimed from a frosty distance not yet thawed? And if he didn't, would he be able to stand by the sidelines and watch Faelene raise it, and pretend his blue blood didn't run in its veins? What if it looked like him? Tamlin had, after all, been his beyond a doubt. What if Faelene didn't want him to have anything to do with the child, but it would be impossible to look at it and say "oh yea, that's not Mauja's"? He blinked in the darkness, breathing in the scent of her breath as she returned his greeting, dark muzzles touching in the shadows. She seemed to sense his hesitation, his uncertainty, for it was she who spoke next, and he felt his heart constrict for a moment. Perhaps this.. mess wasn't what either of them had planned, but if she did not outright regret it... He lowered his head a fraction, black-rimmed ears falling back in a display of relief as his eyes half closed. No apologizes, then, and somehow his breathing came easier knowing that she'd come to terms with what had happened.

After a moment he raised his head again and opened his eyes, knowing that it was the hardest part to settle that was coming. Still, he would not flinch away. He would not look aside, like a liar. Steadily he met her gaze, the blue of his seeming almost white in the darkness. Veils and shields headed off their depth, but that which lay close to the surface was sincere, even if it was mildly troubled. "I only want to know what you want." He felt something in his gut clench, another foolish hope laid to waste in his mind. How much easier wouldn't it have been to just do what she wanted him to do? To not make the choice himself? Could he even choose? Curse his heart, but in silence he listened as she went on, feeling the rock tied to his feet drag him deeper under the waves. Why did she have to be so rational and considerate? Why did she have to leave every door open? He said nothing, but did not look away either until she gave a quiet laugh and dropped her gaze. It startled him back into the present from his thoughtless, miserable reverie, and a small, humorless smile flitted across his face. "We belong only to ourselves," he agreed quietly, suddenly wondering if she'd seen that night as something more — as something not merely physical. Had she? In a sense, he had decided that they were friends, that he had no choice but to trust her, that she'd proved her loyalty and worth in the Edge battle and in the hardships since then.. that what they had shared had been a thing between adult friends, and nothing more.

Did it send a flutter, a spark, into her heart when she looked upon him? The notion almost frightened him, and for a long moment he remained silent, just looking at her. Did she.. no.. what.. surely not. She didn't seem the type to fall in love, and least of all with a creature of ice.. but then again, that night, he had been made of warmth, of flesh, like any other living man. He breathed in, deeply. Better hope that was not the case. It would be easier if such foolish things not got dragged into this along with everything else.

"I'd kind of been hoping you would've told me what to do," he finally said after a moment, a crooked sort of smile creeping onto his face. It was a confession, and a slightly embarrassing one despite its truth. It would've been a lot easier if he hadn't been given a choice what to do, as he hadn't given it much thought. Or, well, he had tried to think about it but just freaked out each time he did. "Because.. I am torn." He'd been prepared to say a million things, a million lies, but in the end, it was the naked truth that spilled from his lips and he looked away, into the darkness. He blinked, wishing he wasn't so pathetic about it. But.. he'd found some sort of common ground with Psyche, an amiable working relationship, and he'd be loath to sacrifice it, but was a child not reason enough to stand by the truth? And if not, then what was? And Snö — couldn't he just tell her to suck it up? But in all honesty, the thought of having to treat his eldest daughter that way made his heart constrict, and he closed his eyes. Perhaps, if he wasn't able to deal with the consequences, he should just not commit to things which could backfire. A small sigh left his mouth and his head drooped slightly, and into the darkness he spoke again. "So I must ask you the same thing.. what would you want me to do?" It was, after all, her child too.