[Mikleo is quiet for a little while after that, opting to simply hold Sorey in return, stroking his hair and mulling over the implications of those words. It's impossible to not think about what Sorey means, how the past still lingers in ways that neither can forget. What Sorey would be like without him is what he'd been for those two weeks Mikleo had been dead and gone- struggling, wounded, aching, and in the end, resolved to carry on, but perhaps not quite himself anymore. He doesn't know what Sorey would have been like long-term, since neither of them had been forced to endure it. Thank goodness.
He's never liked to think about what he'd be like without Sorey; it's a fate that'll eventually be forced on him, but hopefully not for decades to come. When he's older, maybe it won't frighten him so badly, maybe the mere thought of it won't seize him up inside and leave his heart aching. He suspects not - age doesn't make it easier, Zaveid, Lailah and Edna could all attest to that fact - but he wishes it would. He can't imagine it. He can't fathom living hundreds, thousands of years past the lifespan of his other half, the one person in the world he shared everything with. He can't imagine spending a single human life together and then, in the end, being left behind as Sorey goes to a place he can't follow.
He holds Sorey a little more tightly, pressing his face to his hair, his voice quiet as he responds.]
Don't think about it. There's no reason to. We're stuck with each other, got it? So don't...
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He's never liked to think about what he'd be like without Sorey; it's a fate that'll eventually be forced on him, but hopefully not for decades to come. When he's older, maybe it won't frighten him so badly, maybe the mere thought of it won't seize him up inside and leave his heart aching. He suspects not - age doesn't make it easier, Zaveid, Lailah and Edna could all attest to that fact - but he wishes it would. He can't imagine it. He can't fathom living hundreds, thousands of years past the lifespan of his other half, the one person in the world he shared everything with. He can't imagine spending a single human life together and then, in the end, being left behind as Sorey goes to a place he can't follow.
He holds Sorey a little more tightly, pressing his face to his hair, his voice quiet as he responds.]
Don't think about it. There's no reason to. We're stuck with each other, got it? So don't...
[Don't think about losing me.
Don't make me think about losing you.]