[ He'd kept Akobi's gaze the whole time he'd been yelling, but now? Now he can't meet his eyes. His skin is still dark and flushed, but his hand is bunched up so tight that his knuckles have gone pale as he glares as a spot on the ground.

It should feel good, to hear that kind of affirmation.

It should.

When he speaks again, the intensity is still in his voice but it's far, far quieter. ]

But you could. [ And this is the real point, this is what's the actual issue at hand, at least as far as Poe sees it. Not that he told it to himself that way, or even that he can even really see it. But this is the noose that he's felt being drawn around his neck all day.

His eyes close and he tries to steady himself by breathing hard through his nose, just once. ]

You could. You know that. You could say that you didn't want him to see me again, and he never would. You could tell him to hurt me - you could tell him to kill me, and he would.

[ His eyes open and finally find Akobi's again. ]

He is a good man, but you have more control over him than any person ever should. So if he's a good man, you have to be the best of them.