( It's more than Javert's ever had before. Up until this point, his life has only been centered around his duty — first to the police, and now, to defending Beacon against the World Eaters. He has nothing else. The admission that Soldat makes to him strikes like a knife to the heart, and Javert finds it intolerable. )

I don't want to cause you any more pain.

( He can barely stand to feel it himself. It's the most human he's felt in nearly a year, and he doesn't know how anyone can stand to live in this way. He pushes off the counter, tears still in his eyes, but facing the other man fully. )

You've already been through enough. Should we not perish in the battle to come, then I will stay.