Lazarus can be weird, intense, off-putting and frustrating... but his core has a gentle, patient, and tirelessly earnest streak that's allowed him to reach bristly people like Tony and take the skittish Nathan under his wing. Even if he's himself fragile in more than a few ways, if he's come to mean something to anyone in his time on Earth, it's due in no small part to this sincere desire to do good, and in hindsight, it probably does seem to Cesar like a colossal thing to just miss, or write off as gone forever as a result of an imbalance being corrected.

All of that being said, his doppelganger had been unafraid to exploit and manipulate in ways that Lazarus considers himself above, that would appall him to even consider, especially if it meant using them to attain an ends with someone he cared for. He'd played a long and convincing game, and L can't in good conscience blame the man for falling for it.

He's probably a better lay than you ever could be, without all those inhibitions holding him back.

"That's kind but... this is all so volatile right now. I have to plan my moves and there's still so little I know. Ultimately I just don't want anyone else to be hurt over this."

He shakes his head distractedly when Cesar asks for clarification on the holy water.

"Just... suffice it to say that it hurt him, and I am far from happy about it."