At Glacius' musing, Carlisle's hand immediately goes to pick at the bandage at his arm -- one that is unfortunately behind several layers, leaving him tugging on the fabric of his sleeve instead. He hadn't meant it quite in that way, but his partner is right in that his self-image has never been the best. That isn't the matter at hand though, and so he makes a mental note to address it later.

"It is not wrong to want more for the both of us, no," he confirms, his fingers tightening on a wrinkle near his wrist as he slows to a standstill. "But neither is it productive to fully condemn this place when, for as torturous as it has been, there... has been good, as well. Good that I would not have experienced elsewhere. Or that if I had, it would not have been exactly the same. What if, despite what I would like to believe, the circumstances here are the only ones under which we become partners? Lovers? Is it wrong to accept that our brighter future might only exist because of what we have shared here, both good and bad?"

He reaches for Glacius' torn mandible, a visible sign of their losses and suffering -- but also their bond.