"You could-" slips out before he realizes it has, as thought responding to a conversation only he's having, but Carlisle had, at least in his thoughts, bee part of.

He can't flush. Resists the temptation to bury his face to skin before him. "He never-" It's almost sacrilege here and now, isn't it? Except for how it's always there somewhere, in, around. When the terms finally separate.