But it’s not the same. he thinks as Malcolm parrots the words back to him. Klaus has been pretty blind to his own feelings about Malcolm for awhile now, but it’s sort of hard to deny it when he’s just pouring all these thoughts out into Malcolm’s lap like this.

That’s okay, though. If Malcolm can be okay with everything going on in this situation, then he can be okay with just being friends. It would do nothing but complicate everything further in ways he’d rather not put on Malcolm to have to deal with.

“As long as you’re sure…” he kisses his temple gently. “If something happens, you get hurt again, or you just need to talk because it’s too much, please come talk to me, okay?”