[The quiet, the pause, doesn't bother him. It gives him a few seconds to calm his breathing, which is getting close to hyperventilating now; he can calm down a bit and cover his mouth with his hand until the trembling slows. And the pause means something else, too: that Carlos is thinking before he speaks, which means that his words mean a lot and are important. That helps Giorno calm down enough to think about them, too.]

I'm not afraid of you doing anything. I just don't want anyone to know that I'm weak.

[He hesitates, bites his lip. Gold Experience settles back on the floor, watching him with a tight expression.]

I'm not afraid of . . . other people acting some way. I just hate the way I act, and I don't want to be like that, so I just don't want anyone to know . . . I don't know, maybe that doesn't make sense, I'm sorry.

You really think it's bad? To act like things are okay. Doesn't it make things easier for people, to not have to worry?