Virae was still someone he hadn’t known for very long. Maybe a month now? Yet he trusted her. Like him, she shared the emotional scars of abuse as well as the physical ones. She was someone he found he wanted to protect. As rare as that happened being who Alex was.

She had come by to check on him. Or maybe he had hinted at wanting her to come by for a minor injury. Maybe so he could check on her. Almost not trusting her to still be alright after the scare the week before. Yet too proud to admit that was really why he wanted her to come by.

The moment her hand touched across one of the old scars, a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. His growl was soft and his grip was firm but not painfully so. He looked troubled for a long moment before pulling Virae close and hugging her. Reminding himself she was still alive.

“Sorry, Virae. Just… Don’t touch those. Please…” He wasn’t ready to let Virae touch those scars. Not yet.