Desire really didn't need to check for a pulse to know Declan was in a fit. The shudder, flinch, snort, and gasp were ample evidence. the gooseflesh on the back of his neck, maybe? Of the press of his hand into his lap, trying to look like a casual positioning while punishing his willful body.

"What if you're the one that thinks he knows best but doesn't?" he asked, tone not particularly defiant so much as genuinely worried, for both sides of Aoba.

"What if you're both getting all tangled up in this perpetual argument of yours over every decision made, and everyone ends up hurt in the end? I told you...There's...there's things I can't do unless you're in accord...I won't compromise either of you, regardless of what you or I may want." He trailed off, inhaling deeply to calm himself from his rattled vibrating.

"I also won't go back on what I said. Compromises. I stand by it."