Caleb is quiet for a long few moments, taken aback. Then he breathes out, slow and even, like he's bracing himself. "Oh."
This is far from the response he expected from Yussa, so he isn't prepared. He knows the other man cares for him in his way, so he'd expected tender honesty. He'd expected to be let down gently, a tactful but firm agreement with his own assessment. But not like this. Reading between the lines, he hears what Yussa is not saying. He would not be an imposition because his presence is wanted. Yussa would like to wake up together every morning and fall asleep together every night. He would sacrifice his solitude to live this way, with Caleb. He cares that much. He didn't know.
To lose that in the same moment he finds out it is possible is devastating. His heart leaps high one moment, then plummets the next. The fantasy he'd already written off is more real than he imagined. It's just beyond his reach, in fact. But that is still too far to grasp. He can see it slipping through his fingers.
He chuckles under his breath, a soft, regretful sound. "Ja," he murmurs. "That would be selfish."
The extent of Yussa's honesty leaves him quiet, processing. He had no idea he was so loved. Though it feels almost like a bait and switch to find out in this way, he is very happy to know his own feelings are not one-sided. It's moving, humbling. Silently, he pulls his lover against him into a tighter embrace.
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This is far from the response he expected from Yussa, so he isn't prepared. He knows the other man cares for him in his way, so he'd expected tender honesty. He'd expected to be let down gently, a tactful but firm agreement with his own assessment. But not like this. Reading between the lines, he hears what Yussa is not saying. He would not be an imposition because his presence is wanted. Yussa would like to wake up together every morning and fall asleep together every night. He would sacrifice his solitude to live this way, with Caleb. He cares that much. He didn't know.
To lose that in the same moment he finds out it is possible is devastating. His heart leaps high one moment, then plummets the next. The fantasy he'd already written off is more real than he imagined. It's just beyond his reach, in fact. But that is still too far to grasp. He can see it slipping through his fingers.
He chuckles under his breath, a soft, regretful sound. "Ja," he murmurs. "That would be selfish."
The extent of Yussa's honesty leaves him quiet, processing. He had no idea he was so loved. Though it feels almost like a bait and switch to find out in this way, he is very happy to know his own feelings are not one-sided. It's moving, humbling. Silently, he pulls his lover against him into a tighter embrace.