[ he's looking at her. it's almost similar to the way she stares at him, sometimes, an open but intense look as he's trying to work through this and figure things out, apply these words to what he knows about shenhe as a person. he doesn't speak for a while, but when he does, the words are slow and even. maybe tinged with a bit of hesitation. ]

...you may not be able to hurt people--and you shouldn't, by the way, I get that. But at the same time if it stifles all of your other emotions...how do you really know how you feel being around people at all? It's like a guessing game.

[ and he suddenly understands a lot of why shenhe just does not understand how to be a person, actually. ]