He tilted his head slightly, letting his hair slide over the lower half of his face, even if his eyes remained fixed on Steve, once again studying the other man's expression. "Why do you have to be strong here? You didn't have to be when you were small." He had read a book, lurking in the shadows of aisles in libraries to have time alone but at the same time, able to observe and slip around people. "You had to be fierce and honourable."

Slowly, he raised his right hand to reached out for the first time under his own initiative, the tips of his fingers straining to brush against the edge of Steve's chin. His fingers separated and walked along the right side of the other man's jaw and then drew them back in a long curious stroke. Touching others was not something that he did without violence.

"Help me," he murmured softly. "It's too much, the pressure in my head... I'm dangerous. Not just to me but to everyone I come in contact with."