Bruised and jaded and not used to being loved, he hadn’t been expecting it. He hadn’t expected to realize that the fondness he felt for the man next to him was love, and even less had he expected to be loved in return. It had felt so real it was nearly tangible, taking up actual space in his chest. He hadn’t known then that it would grow, that it would put down roots and fill up all the spaces inside him, fusing with flesh and bone until there wasn’t any way to separate it from the rest of him. He hadn’t realized what it would be like to have it taken away.
