[ he feels his chest tighten as a swell of feelings hit him a lot harder than he'd been expecting. you picked you and he didn't let you. that' the long and short of it, and he hates himself for putting king in that position. ]

[ he nods his head, his eyes closing as he processes the last of what she'd said. ] I'm going to do better next time. I haven't given up, and this misstep is just something I'm going to have to learn from, but I don't want to let anybody down like that again. [ he'll find a way to make a difference. ]