[He'd tried that before, hid from hi emotions when things got to be to much, cowered behind his title and what it represented so that when he did the wrong thing, he had an excuse.

It was easy to fall back on what was expected to you, even when trying to break from that mold.

But the people here held him accountable, and that had only made him grow. The Detective had always done the same, before he'd come here. It was a journey she had begun for him, and one that had led him here, with her in his arms.]

Well, I'm glad you did anyway, I must say. [Being with him is a risk, he realizes. He's not the safe bet. He knows this all too well.] But I'm not going anywhere, not of my own free will. I can promise you that, at least.

[He can't help what Wonderland does, that he's learned already. But he wants her to know now that if anything did happen, it wasn't his choice. He won't abandon her.

It won't be like back home.]