#of 2017

Not anymore

Instead there’s betrayal

I used to see love everywhere

In everything

Not anymore

Love doesn’t live in here

“If you can’t see the things about yourself that make me love you, then God damn it, you need to get a better mirror.”

Graves studies Credence’s face. He’s all there, all human, all everything that Graves has ever possibly wanted. Part of him still thinks this is a terrible idea, that they’ll both end up with broken hearts or worse, because when has anything ever gone right for the two of them?

The wise thing to do is to step back. Let it go. But Graves is not a wise man. He’s very tired of waiting for this, and his self-preservation instinct is still broken. So he steps forward instead.

He raises the hand that isn’t holding his still-lit wand and, tentative, cups the side of Credence’s face. And then he closes the last distance between them and finishes what Credence started earlier. It’s a little less desperate. Still terrified, though, on both parts.

When they break apart neither of them go far. Credence doesn’t seem to want to let go and Graves doesn’t want to stop being near him. He tentatively brushes his thumb over Credence’s cheek, memorizing the way he feels when they’re this close. He says, very quietly, “In case you missed it, Credence, you are my better mirror.”