The Gryffindor placed a hand to his face. He tried to stop the small hitches of breath that were starting to leave him, tried to stop the tears. He'd already cried to himself too much, he didn't need to break down in front of someone else. Especially someone who he cared about and had believed who cared about him in return.

But the first sob came and before he could stop it, he was crying. It hurt. It hurt so much. He couldn't tell anyone or say anything. He'd already said too much. What if Galen chose to apparate right in here? They were far out enough in the Forbidden Forest, it was possible, right? He couldn't defend Tavros if that happened. He couldn't stop anything.

He could barely save himself let alone someone else.

Karkat sank to his knees, curling in on himself as he started crying outright. Why couldn't Tavros just let him keep him from harm and why did he have to ask to talk?