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Wyatt could have continued the conversation from Lukas' return. He could have talked about the camp family here, but that was ground they both knew. That was sticking to comfortable, and as much as it may have been preferred to stay in that comfort zone, they'd never get anywhere there. Lukas couldn;t remain a mystery forever if they wanted to take this anywhere. Not that Wyatt felt at all entitled to the information. He knew how hard it could be to let it out. It had taken him forever to safely reveal what he could in therapy, and longer till he was as comfortable as he was now sharing his past as he was now. He doubted Lukas had ever talked about what he'd been through with anyone though. So he didn't expect to get all the gritty details right away. The best he could do was be there when Lukas was willing to tell him more, now that the door had been opened a little. And maybe give that door a little push, cautious and gentle.

Wyatt spoke in what he hoped was a comforting-casual way without being patronizingly sympathetic; "You know, if you're comfortable, I'm here for the long story. If not now then..whenever you feel ready. But..if you don't mind me digging, that loved one...they weren't family, were they?"

That would have been expected - a grandparent, a parent, withering away while a young Lukas watched, unable to do anything...but part of Wyatt got the feeling that that would have been too simple. And if it was something that happened when he was a kid, then Lukas wouldn't have been able to leave and make a home here while burying the trauma. So that made him think he had to of at least been old enough to leave home, so it had to have been-

"A lover?" He asked softly after a long pause, as he came to that conclusion.

It felt weird and intrusive to dig, but Wyatt wanted to know. Especially when this was the mantle he may have begun to consider taking up. But if there was one thing Wyatt could understand, it was past lover trauma. Lukas had seen the result of some of that trauma, and now Wyatt had to wonder what things he'd seen from Lukas was the result of the other mans own.

He thought on their past interactions, and asked, "Does my physical health bother you?"

Lukas was always trying to help him, but Wyatt was stubborn and prideful; far from a withering flower, and fought for every inch to prove he wasn't going to let a little (or a lot of) pain to stop him from doing anything. But did it bother Lukas that he wouldn't take his help? Or was maybe Wyatt's stubbornness and unwillingness to accept his own limitations perhaps reassuring to him that Wyatt wasn't just going to back down and let himself be subjugated by those limits? That he wasn't going to wither away?

Wyatt reasoned that....maybe he could meet halfway and accept a little more help, but maintain that stubborn exterior. Depending on Lukas' answer, of course.

Again, it did feel intrusive to dig, but Wyatt also hoped that maybe it would help to heal in a way. Sometimes you have to re-break a bone to set it again properly, right? That's what he told himself every time he had to explain his past relationship, and he usually did come out of it with a newly discovered revelation.

The silence was filled by the rumbles of thunder as Wyatt waited patiently for Lukas to find his words.

"I...know a lot about watching someone's life come to ruin," Wyatt replied with a nod, despite knowing no one was around to see the gesture. "Watching, because no matter what you try to do to make things better, provide a better life, they don't - won't - take the opportunity."

And though they lived in the same house, it was like living with a ghost and deep down during that time there had been a part of him that had hoped when all was said and done, and it was out of his ex's system that things could have been put back together. But Torin's hubris had lead to his loss of vision, and so much more. Then there was the thing with Castor before that.... It seemed so disgusting to Wyatt to think that at one time he would have been willing to forgive that. But first loves were like that, weren't they? Especially young love. Now older, wiser, he knew his worth and what he was willing to put up with and where the line needed to be drawn.

"Yeah, I get that. I can't hate you for caring," Wyatt offered his reassurance before continuing, "I...have always been the 'strong' one. I couldn't have broken down and sought comfort or help even if I wanted to. So it's...difficult now. To accept help. To be vulnerable. To relinquish control.."

But he could see that Lukas was a capable person. Someone who didn't need someone else to keep them together, to keep their world from crashing down on them. So Wyatt didn't have to hold the weight of the world all the time. He could count on Lukas to help when things got too heavy. And he could do the same for Lukas, he was sure of that.

"I didn't...mean to turn this back to me. But I'm here for you too. Maybe not...completely in the way that you want it yet but..."

...that was at least a consideration. It was something that was a possibility.

"There's no need to push those things. We'll see where that goes."

Wyatt would have liked to know more about the relationship before things had, literally, died, but he wasn't sure how to ask. Was this other person at least good to him? Looking back on how things had been, could Lukas still say that it was a pleasant relationship? Or was it more like Wyatt's, and looking back could see that maybe it was more the blinders of being young and dumb and thinking that it was love when really it was just co-dependency and trauma bonds...

"So...before all that.... How were things? Not...not just the relationship but....life in general."

Okay, he really wanted to know about the relationship. Maybe because....he was feeling a bit possessive, in a way? A subconscious 'I can treat you better,' stirring. It wasn't something he was actively aware of, but definitely there.

"Yeah. Well. Some people don't know a good thing if you hit them upside the head with it. The whole 'lead a horse to water' analogy applies. Then when they ruin their life, it's just...easier to be pissed at them. But it's never that simple. It's weird how a person can feel two completely opposite things at the same time - it's ******** exhausting."

Wyatt made a sound at being accused of jelousy as if blowing off such a silly notion, then following up with;

"How about this then - before everything went to s**t and you came here, what did you want to do with your life?"

Wyatt couldn't remember any of his old civilian-side life goals or dreams, but he was pretty sure it involved what would now be a heavy dose of irony and looked nothing like where he was at now.

"Doctor, huh? Well if we're going the medical route, I could certainly imagine you at least as an EMT. So...its not so unbelievable."

Obligatory jokes about playing proctologist were shoved to the back of his mind.

"I...don't really remember anything too clearly aside from when I was my other self. I can vaguely recall how I was feeling at particular stages in my life but who I was and what I wanted...not really. I can't even say I really have a goal in life now."

Sometimes grabbing hold of solid ground was all one could hope to achieve.

"Happy?" Wyatt gave a bit of a soft laugh, "I'm not trying to push my luck," was his reply, steeped in caution based on a rough past.


Conversations like this would be how their firewatch would continue, discovering more, getting closer... It was sweet, somewhat old fashion, and comfortable. Wyatt would find himself subconsciously becoming more and more eager as the days went by, ticking down to when they'd again be face to face and working alongside one another. A count down that was shortened when rain finally began to fall partway through the week. Hard, driving rain. Although the deficit of rain beforehand drove up the amount needed to officially call off the firewatch was high, it seemed fate wanted them together as much as everyone back at camp, and would do what it could to aid that endeavor.