[It would be easier if Ryder told him right now that they were over. Done. Told Reyes to shut up. He still hasn't and maybe it should just be obvious, but it's clear there's still something there.

Oh Ryder is always so emotional, easy to overwhelm with them and it's not his intention in the least, he just wanted to have that cleared between them. If nothing else, he needed to make sure Ryder understood that his feelings were not a lie. If this is really the end between them, he wants the truth to be there at least.

Honestly he doesn't realize he's moved closer, but he has, hand sliding across the table to stop just short of Ryder's.]

I wanted to tell you. It was never about trust... I just... I liked- the way you looked at me, Ryder.

[Fingers stretch to bridge the gap between their hands, fingertips of his gloves sliding up over Ryder's, testing the water.]

I didn't want the Charlatan to cloud your view of me.

[A lot of the rumors of what the Charlatan did or didn't do were false, things attributed to him just because people could. The anonymity had it's pros and cons let's just say that. Of course plenty were true and some weren't great either. He wanted Ryder to know him first, to see him.]