"I'm sorry," Stark said again. He'd said that a lot already this morning. He probably wasn't done yet. Sometimes that was all he had to offer. "That isn't fair either."

He sat down carefully, slowly, on the edge of the cushions. That movement had been close enough to an invitation to stay to be recognizable.

"You can tell me. If you want. Or I can just sit here. If you want. Or...whatever you want."

What he wanted was to wrap her in his arms and shut out everything else. He settled for resting his hand, very gently, on her leg.