"No," he said, shaking his head, not quite ready to let her go yet, even though his grip on her loosened if she really need to get away. "Oh, Nico, you're not awful."

It hurt. It hurt to hear her apologize for it, to know he was right, but it wasn't her fault she'd been hurt like this, so badly that she tossed herself at whatever warmth and comfort she could find.

He tried to catch her eye.

"You're upset right now and I just don't want to do something with you that you regret later." He shook his head. "I don't want to be something else that hurts you, too."

He reached his hand up to tilt her chin so he could look into her eyes.

"If you want comfort right now, you don't need to - we don't have to do that. And you don't even have to ask. We can go somewhere quiet and I can - I can just -"

He swept his arms around her again in a comforting hug, one that took advantage of how the spell made him feel squishier, warm and strong and safe and loving.

"As long as you need," he breathed out into her ear.