He was disappointed in himself. He didn’t feel like he had the right to look Cassidy in the eye. He should have just agreed to figuring out a way to contact him, but because he didn’t, because he was once again thinking more about himself than others, he missed that opportunity.

Cassidy had said he would have really liked to get to know him. And Reims would have been lying if he said he didn’t want to get to know Cassidy more, too. There seemed more to him than he’d realized, but he was once again hiding behind who he really was. Or maybe Reims was who he was, and it was his other half that was the problem.

Or maybe he was just the problem in general.

He almost told Cassidy to keep the coat until they got back, but he was already handing it back, already putting on his backpack, already preparing to leave.

Reims knew he could tell him that he actually did want to get to know him, too. That he wanted to help him figure things out with any healing they could manage. He’d seemed so hopeful -- and Reims was still going to talk to his friends about it, but…

“Just take my hand,” he said as he offered it, his jacket over his other arm. The faster they got back to the city, the faster Cassidy could warm up.

And the faster Reims could find somewhere to reflect on how he seemed to mess up everything.

FIN