Yussa closes his eyes as Caleb leans down to kiss his brow. The other man's hands are so gentle now, even when not long ago they were gripping hard enough to bruise. Or was that the echo? At the moment it's all blurred together.

Even in his wrung out state, a smile flickers to life across his mouth. He doesn't open his eyes, but he does turn his face toward Caleb's palm. In this moment of strange, exhausted clarity, Yussa whispers, "I will forgive you, Caleb Widogast." His fingers curl tighter, trying to hold onto something that isn't there. "Stay with me."

It is what he wants. Yussa wants to go back to bed with the comforting warmth of his lover beside him, knowing that Caleb is whole and safe. He wants to wake to see his face in the morning light. He could not say it when Caleb made his fevered offer, and he does not know if he will be able to say it again come morning. But here, in the quiet, dim light of his sitting room where they first met two years ago, he can give Caleb that bare honesty.