"Why does everyone leave?"
The words were soft and muffled against J's neck, but he heard them clearly. "They don't."
"They do. Look at my life. It's nothing but a pile of missing people. They've all gone." A deep, shaky breath. "You left."
"I'm right here."
"Now. But not tomorrow. Or next week. You'll leave again."
J closed his eyes against the effect of those low, aching words. "I never left you. I just went away."
"There's a difference?"
He nodded, his chin bumping against S's head. "You needed me. Here I am. Would I be here if I'd left?"