Every time they touch, now, he feels it as though she is ripping through the parts of him he thought long closed off, and she is tearing them open anew. He feels that same love, though it's tempered and somewhat bitter, but starting to offer the faintest of hopes.

He rubs his thumb in circles along her cheek, careful not to touch near her throat, as he's not sure either of them are ready for that just yet.