[There's nothing for a long time. Even after she makes that deceleration, there is no sign at all of him hearing her. He tries to hide it, but since Kanaya is so close its impossible to miss that long, defeated exhale.]
I think...
[He can't say it. If he says it, there will be no turning back. He's not ready to experience that sort of pain again, despite the situation being so radically different. Here, Terezi still had a chance at a normal life, one that wasn't plagued so endlessly by the voices of the deceased. She had a chance to survive without him or anyone else weighing her down.
She didn't need that responsibility, and neither did he. Karkat was still unsure how he had even let his feelings progress so far, though the longer he thought about it, the more sense it made. So few had ever been willing to stick their necks out for him, to look passed that horrible image he had painted for himself, even enjoyed portraying. And he had gone and betrayed that trust and nearly damaged it beyond repair.
Could he still repair it? Did he want to repair it? She would be better off without him anyway.]
...I think I love her.
[Its said subconsciously, without eye contact and seemingly without breath in a near incomprehensible tone of voice. His lungs are barely moving and its obviously taken a lot out of him to say it. Even the tone which he uses carries a hint of uncertainty. Did he love her? Or was he clinging to the long dead memory of the Terezi he once knew?
It was making him ill, just thinking about it. His blood is cold, his muscles are frozen, his fangs clenched so tightly that they threaten to pierce holes in his lip.]
no subject
I think...
[He can't say it. If he says it, there will be no turning back. He's not ready to experience that sort of pain again, despite the situation being so radically different. Here, Terezi still had a chance at a normal life, one that wasn't plagued so endlessly by the voices of the deceased. She had a chance to survive without him or anyone else weighing her down.
She didn't need that responsibility, and neither did he. Karkat was still unsure how he had even let his feelings progress so far, though the longer he thought about it, the more sense it made. So few had ever been willing to stick their necks out for him, to look passed that horrible image he had painted for himself, even enjoyed portraying. And he had gone and betrayed that trust and nearly damaged it beyond repair.
Could he still repair it? Did he want to repair it? She would be better off without him anyway.]
...I think I love her.
[Its said subconsciously, without eye contact and seemingly without breath in a near incomprehensible tone of voice. His lungs are barely moving and its obviously taken a lot out of him to say it. Even the tone which he uses carries a hint of uncertainty. Did he love her? Or was he clinging to the long dead memory of the Terezi he once knew?
It was making him ill, just thinking about it. His blood is cold, his muscles are frozen, his fangs clenched so tightly that they threaten to pierce holes in his lip.]