[ second best? perhaps — or perhaps it had been the pain of diverging loyalties, diverging priorities, a rift that he had tried his hardest not to see for years, now. a rift he'd ignored, because even after it all, jayce was — is — the most important person in his life. has been so ever since that fateful night and floating in the professor's office, surrounded by the most beautiful glow of blue he'd ever witnessed.

his mouth twists; he lets one shoulder rise up minutely in a kind of a haphazard half-shrug. ]

It would make the most sense, on paper, yes. However, I believe it is clear this place doesn't hold to what makes sense. Everything we say is nothing more than speculation — until I die, or I don't.

[ that is quite simply it... and so far, he has been waiting. ]