"You-- maybe you can do more of whatever you want here, the way I can? If your fate can't reach, like my system isn't?" It hurts to hear the hopelessness in Casper's voice. "If you didn't have to be a hero, if no one expected anything of you, what would you do?" Which is rich of him to ask, but still! Casper hasn't had nearly as long to be resigned to his place. A hero is a better thing to be made to be than a traitor, but a cage is a cage.

Shang Qinghua's breath catches when Casper presses his forehead to his. He feels half-drunk on the unaccustomed physical contact, and maybe there is something to the 'touch starvation' trope. His hands maybe involuntarily tighten on handfuls of Casper's jacket. "I want you safe, too." He can't protect Casper, not really, except by trying to arrange their circumstances so no one wants to hurt him, but... "You deserve to be safe."