"I am not repelled by you," he corrected him, lowering his eyes. "I understand that you have... probably, every reason to feel as you do. I told you just now that my love was unyielding -- it is. I am telling you all of this now so that you might know that I am aware of your hesitation, and that I accept it. I don't live in some... deluded state about all of this. I know you doubt me. Right now, you're making that all the more clear; somehow my words seem to have justified a fear of yours, that I am prepared to ruin you if you do not provide me every one of my needs; that I am keeping you here at my leisure alone. That is not true."
He sighed, shaking his head. "I won't do that to you," said the man. He knew what Thomas meant -- the loss of their relationship would make his life unbearable. He knew this, because he had experienced it himself. This time, it would be all the more raw, for the both of them. "I want to be with you, Thomas, and I want you to be your own man. You don't need to fulfill all of my needs, or conform to what I want. What I want you to do is to stop being afraid of me, and yet somehow bringing that up is only making this fear burgeon. I don't know what I can do to relieve this in you, but -- I want to."
He stopped, and allowed the other to speak. Thomas explained to him that he was, in fact, raised an orphan like him. Latham felt a tension in his chest, knowing what he did of that pain, remembering it so vividly despite all the years that went by. He recalled the loneliness, the doubt. The man was scarred indeed, especially as one who loved as strongly as he did. His parents were his world, and when they were gone, it felt as if he could only wander an open void for the remainder of his life. Some part of him still lingered on that, even now.
The man stepped over to Thomas, pulling him from his chair and into his chest. He kissed his forehead, wrapped his big arms around his back, and sighed against his hair.
"It is... my wish that I provide you the love that you so clearly have not felt, for all this time. Even if you cannot feel exactly as I do... I will continue to try. You said mere minutes before all this that I was an honest man, so please believe me when I tell you that I will not throw you out, or abandon you, or disregard you, or tire of you. I mourned what we shared for three years, only to be given a chance again. You think I would throw that away?"
He frowned. "I finally know the man you really are, Thomas, and I love him dearly." The man kissed him again, stroking his upper back as he stared forward, thinking. "...I wasn't telling you that I'd be willing to make you my Arlaed to hurt you. It was to let you know how committed I am to this -- committed enough to bond my life to yours forever. If you ever feel the same way as I, then I will offer it to you in earnest. You are, to be blunt, Thomas... the love of my life. All I ask is that you accept that. You were orphaned, I know, but that does not mean that every person living is doomed to abandon you. I haven't, after all of these years, and I won't."
