aaron felt like he'd seen a ghost. literally. he'd watched eric's corpse shamble off into the distance years ago and yet here he was, standing in this room, flesh and blood and decidedly alive. he stood near the doorway, a little pale, gaze scanning over eric like he was looking for some trick.
it'd been years. he'd mourned him. had adjusted to life without eric, even if he was pretty sure whoever said that time healed all wounds was a fucking liar, because the pain never quite went fully away.
all that grief for nothing.
he'd been in love with eric for decades. and he would have thought, if this situation had ever been presented to him in hypothetical, that he'd have crossed the room in a second flat, wrapped his arms around him and thanked the fucking universe for bringing eric back to him.
but at this moment? he can't get over the shock.
the fingers of his good hand curl, his prosthetic pressed against his side. he feels miles away from the man who eric knew. he'd changed, god he'd changed so much in those years between, due to grief, the unrelenting pressure of the world they lived in.
he swallowed.
"i -" he stared at him, brows furrowing, gaze still trailing over him like he was looking for a trick. "how?" he asked, voice almost hoarse. from x l @hasheart












