Charles opens and closes his mouth several times, but nothing quite manages to make it out into the open, so instead he looks and listens, and prevents himself from doing or saying anything that might leave Raven to lose control entirely. If she turns blue right in the middle of the street, nighttime or not, there will be consequences, and he can't always be certain that he can do a thorough clean-up job. All it takes is one person to walk away knowing the truth and their cover will be blown. The possibilities that might occur after that doesn't bear thinking about.

"Look at me, Raven, please. Do you honestly believe that this is how I want us to live? Hiding behind closed doors, pretending that both you and I are exactly as everyone else out there is?" A sadness floods his expression, and he looks older than he is, tired, heart aching as he takes a proper look across the road to the couple clinging on to each other without a care in the world. "But if we do, if we become too comfortable, it will all too easy for a simple little slip here and a trip there. I want to keep you safe because you are important to me, do you not see that?"

A part of him wants to admit to how much he hates himself for treating her this way, locking her away where no one can see as often as possible, like she's something to be ashamed of. But he doesn't, as always, he keeps it close to his chest, controlled, just like everything else. "I'm sorry if you fail to see how important it is that we remain undetected, but I am doing this for you. If there were any other way, you know that I would take it, any opportunity to see us walk proudly amongst everyone else."