aaron does a good job at keeping the irritation from seeping into his expression.     he knows it’s a fruitless effort,     aaron knows he’s an open book for andrew even when he rips out his own pages.     in fact,    he’s probably got a couple of lines pre-emptively prepared for whatever he thinks aaron might fire back with.     THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME?     the words sit heavy and unwelcome on his tongue,     he bites them back and swallows them before they have a chance to escape.     too typical.     too emotional and the response andrew is likely looking for just to be able to scold him for it.     aaron knows what he’d say back,     WHAT ELSE IS THERE? WE’RE EVEN. I DON’T OWE YOU ANYTHING. I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY TO YOU.     it isn’t true,     they’ll never be even and will always be indebted to one another,     neither of them able to sever the thin string that still holds them together,     but beyond that . . . aaron isn’t sure what else they share other than a name,     a face,     a sport.     burdens are split between them unevenly and aaron used to think that if andrew wasn’t so determined to shoulder his alone,     maybe they could find a middle ground.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYYY !!!!