“i believe you now,” he said. “i believe you, i trust you, i don’t need you to prove anything to me anymore. i just wanted this to last forever, i was missing part of myself my whole life until i met you—i just wanted you to feel the same way, i wanted to feel like something you couldn’t replace—i couldn’t go back, i'd die without you, i just wanted to be worthy of you—”
julian turned in his seat and pulled paul up by his collar to kiss him.
“what do you want to happen, pablo?” said julian. all the vibrant energy had left him.
paul couldn’t answer the question. there were too many answers. i want to go far away, start over, pretend we can wake up from this. to stop hurting you, and to hurt you so badly the scars will never fade. never to see you again. never to see anything but you.
“it always makes me a little sad when you laugh,” julian went on. “the way it sort of takes you by surprise. i love it, it has that sweet sincerity that’s the best part of you, but it still kills me how you never seem to expect it. all i want to do is make you happy, and you’re the unhappiest person i’ve ever met.”