Alex wasn't sure what it was about that last statement that broke some barrier inside him. Maybe it was that one of the hardest parts of loving Michael was that he didn't really know Michael. Not the way he wanted. And there was so much baggage that Alex wanted to share that he didn't know how to. About his own childhood. About why he'd left. About how time in the service. And now about how his father had disappointed him once again.

He turned in the bed and leaned in and kissed Michael softly.

No matter how angry he was, how sad, how unsure. This always felt the rightest thing he'd ever done.