He's aching for this more than he thought he could. Far too rarely in his life has he had an interest in anyone; the bulk of the few encounters he's had were temporary and unsatisfying. Left him wondering if maybe relationships weren't for him at all, and he was able to accept that given the nature of his work. If you can't be yourself, how can you really be with someone?

Somehow, Beacon has shown him that there's hope. There's at least one person who he can connect with, and he feels beyond fortunate that Will is interested in him as well. He closes his eyes at the touch on his face, breathes a soft huff of air through his lips, and nearly chases that hand with them as they withdraw. He wants to know what it's like to kiss someone and mean it.

But Will leaves him longing, and a little confused, until he looks around and remembers where they are. That's probably what he means, right? Sharing this moment in the middle of a very public carnival is pretty awkward.

"Right, yeah," he says, agreeing even if he's disappointed, and lets his hands return to his sides as well. "Do you want to go somewhere else? Before that forest spirit starts trying to throw those stuffed animals at our heads?"

He glances over at the masked creature, which actually looks about ready to give up on them and return the prizes to its stand, then offers Will a slightly more muted smile. "I hope that's-" he starts, then cuts himself off with a serious effort.

Because he really, really hopes that "we shouldn't do this" doesn't mean something harder to hear.