[Sorey's lashes flutter at the gentle touch. Mikleo believes in him this much... maybe he's right. And even if he isn't, Sorey needs to be that strong. He needs to be that kind of person. He thinks his old self wouldn't have wanted whoever came after to shoulder the burden, but Sorey has grown to realize that there isn't any other choice.

Besides, it's not like he's doing it alone.]

... Maybe you can take our lives here as part of that promise, too.

[He breathes in and closes his eyes, then rests their foreheads together. The apartment feels familiar, smells a bit like Sorey and Mikleo both. And Mikleo is here, warm in his arms, indescribably a part of him and yet separate at once.]

I'll always come back to you. I'll find a way, every time.