It is important, though. Andraste's holy ashes, he wants to deny it. He wants to lie and scramble away in the same moment that he wants to scream it from the top of his lungs and it's no different than any other day only now it's in the open. Just a peek, maybe, but Chris knows he feels something and it's-
It's not the time.
It's absolutely not the time.
This is the right call. Logical, justified, and he will abide by it because the alternative is that his love becomes another wound.
He just wishes it hadn't come up at all, because now he doesn't know what to do with himself. Does Chris even want his contact anymore, until this is resolved? Would Hawke's presence just be too much, make him think of the hard conversation to come and not the healing to be done now?
That's up to Chris.
Perhaps it's a moment of clarity, or perhaps it's that Hawke is and will always be a friend first and anything else second, but he's not going to make that decision for him. He might have, once upon a time. He might have gotten up and said some sweet nothing about how they'll talk later and to rest and then only spoken through text for the next however long whether that was what Chris wanted or not. But while he doesn't want to lay more decisions at Chris' feet, it's far worse to abandon him. He would be here even if he was not in love. He would be here because a good friend - his best friend - needed him.
He lets out a slow breath, forcing it to be warm and not create any tell-tale condensation in the air. He doesn't reach to pull Chris back into an embrace but he does move one hand so the back of it lightly brushes Chris' knee. Unobtrusive, but present. He's been obtrusive enough.
"Alright. After Jon's out and things have been righted for awhile." 'Awhile' is too nondescript, he should give an actual timeframe, not too far out but not too near either. "By the start of next month, if you're ready then. It's not set in stone, if you aren't."
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It's not the time.
It's absolutely not the time.
This is the right call. Logical, justified, and he will abide by it because the alternative is that his love becomes another wound.
He just wishes it hadn't come up at all, because now he doesn't know what to do with himself. Does Chris even want his contact anymore, until this is resolved? Would Hawke's presence just be too much, make him think of the hard conversation to come and not the healing to be done now?
That's up to Chris.
Perhaps it's a moment of clarity, or perhaps it's that Hawke is and will always be a friend first and anything else second, but he's not going to make that decision for him. He might have, once upon a time. He might have gotten up and said some sweet nothing about how they'll talk later and to rest and then only spoken through text for the next however long whether that was what Chris wanted or not. But while he doesn't want to lay more decisions at Chris' feet, it's far worse to abandon him. He would be here even if he was not in love. He would be here because a good friend - his best friend - needed him.
He lets out a slow breath, forcing it to be warm and not create any tell-tale condensation in the air. He doesn't reach to pull Chris back into an embrace but he does move one hand so the back of it lightly brushes Chris' knee. Unobtrusive, but present. He's been obtrusive enough.
"Alright. After Jon's out and things have been righted for awhile." 'Awhile' is too nondescript, he should give an actual timeframe, not too far out but not too near either. "By the start of next month, if you're ready then. It's not set in stone, if you aren't."