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[withintenfeet]

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[withintenfeet]

"I did consider it." It starts off wry - that would at least have given him a break - and then his tone softens again.

"But it felt like stealing time from you. Days where you weren't alone."

[takestime]

"It felt like that to you. It's not stealing to not shove something back into someone's hands after they've thrown it into the sea." He coughs a little, one hand gripping tighter on Zerxus's shoulder, then releasing, muscle trembling with weakness.

"I didn't have to spend those days...overwhelmed," he says. And afraid, he doesn't say. "I'm not alone now."

[withintenfeet]

"Point taken." His hand rises, a little, to cover and steady Kahl's. "And no, you're not. I don't - there's nowhere I need to be."

[takestime]

"Okay," Kahl croaks. His arms ache; when he reaches with divine will to tug the blanket up a little farther he feels like his whole soul aches. He's going back to sleep.

[withintenfeet]

Maybe it's because he was still in his twenties a few minutes ago, but Zerxus feels an indulgent smile tug at his lips. There are - so many ways in which this is nothing like a kid collapsing onto their dad after a horrible few days.

But it's close enough that he knows what to do; that it's easy, to curl his arm back around Kahl, sturdy and safe, as he lets his mind drift.