Watching Andrew die had been one of the most painful things the universe had ever thrown at him, it was true--more even than watching his daughter cry at his own funeral. Nothing had underlined the futility of lingering in this realm more than being unable to stop the knife.

But... in its own way, things had been better since then. With someone else to share the burden, the pain, that came of not being able to move on from these castles, these people, these lives they had left behind. Someone else to lean against until the moments of joy returned again.

One hand reaches over calmly to the other man's shoulder, squeezes tight. "Another long day."