She doesn't have to say anything, he already knows she has completely understandable reasons to shift away from him to reinstate a clearer boundary, at least while they adjust to this, and she's equally justified in tucking herself close and letting him hold her, if just for tonight. She already knows how he feels, what he wants, what he's always wanted, none of that has changed. But it's unresolved for her to a point where she can't settle in one way or the other, and as difficult as it is for him to keep his eyes open now that he's in bed and feeling the weight of everything that's catching up with him, he wouldn't sleep either until she's put at ease.

The question isn't exactly a difficult one. He knows why he said it, and it seems plenty obvious, but he's admittedly reluctant to actually talk about it. He's already all too aware of what feels like a wedge between them that just wasn't there before, and he's already got so many pressing emotions that thinking about it makes his chest feel tight, as if he's having to literally hold too much in, putting a spotlight on it can't make it any better.

But she wants to know, and he has no unselfish reason to deny her.

"Because I lost over a year of time and you're the only one who remembers it." He sighs, gentle, his fingers brushing through her hair at the side of her face, sweeping it behind her before his hand settles back against his own side. "It's not easy for me, knowing that, but it has to be harder for you."