This is one of the devastations of love: Paul wants to crush Midoriya to his chest at the same time he wants to send him as far from here as he can, all of Midoriya's power and determination be damned. He needs to keep him close to they can find their missing third, still invisible to both sets of Paul's eyes. There is nothing he can do to reconcile these feelings.
"We won't let it happen again." Paul follows Midoriya within the halo of Blackwhip's reactive reach, while the walking corpse trails at a remove that would make a strike slightly more of an effort. (Not impossible. If Midoriya wants to take the dead man apart, he'd be able to in an instant, and there would be nothing Paul could do to stop it. Paul doesn't feel anything about that.)
The edge to his words makes it obvious he knows what Midoriya is referring to. A stranger's heartbreak crowds into his chest beside his own, and it's too much, all of it. Every part of this is too much.
"And it's not happening now. It's just - a defence mechanism. Squid ink, poison barbs. Don't think about it. Think of something else. Think about - think about the cave."
no subject
"We won't let it happen again." Paul follows Midoriya within the halo of Blackwhip's reactive reach, while the walking corpse trails at a remove that would make a strike slightly more of an effort. (Not impossible. If Midoriya wants to take the dead man apart, he'd be able to in an instant, and there would be nothing Paul could do to stop it. Paul doesn't feel anything about that.)
The edge to his words makes it obvious he knows what Midoriya is referring to. A stranger's heartbreak crowds into his chest beside his own, and it's too much, all of it. Every part of this is too much.
"And it's not happening now. It's just - a defence mechanism. Squid ink, poison barbs. Don't think about it. Think of something else. Think about - think about the cave."