Athos swallows, looking at neither of them in his thoughtful silence, though one hand remains clasped in each of theirs. He is not expecting the soft request at this particular moment, but neither is he surprised, exactly. In so many ways, Athos has stood apart from them during these weeks in which he was returned to youth, and he can see now how it has pained them. It has pained him, too. And by forcing them to stay silent, is he not keeping them at arm’s length yet?

He may dread revealing the intimate details of his life to others, but more than that he does not want this distance to remain. Slowly, barely perceptively. Athos nods.