[ He doesn't try to hold her still, widening his grasp, instead - his physical form, here, is merely a stand-in for his will, after all, the only part of him that's gone on surviving, still. And it won't matter, really, whether she wants to drift beside or before or behind, so long as she sticks with him in mind, too.

It would almost be a relief if she did break the closeness, then, if only for a moment. She could mean to accuse him, or merely to question his priorities - and he suspects the latter, but it doesn't help the way those words hurt, the painful twist it is to answer honestly. ]

I can't.

[ But not for lack of wanting- He doesn't know that he could expend the energy to have swept them both up into this relative safety without the risk of losing one or the other, but he would've tried, anyway. If it weren't for one minor detail. ]

If I went to him like this... What d'you think it'd do to him? No. He needs to remember on his own terms.

[ And with her help. ]

You're his anchor, now. It hasn't been me for a long time.