It was a cold morning when Roman left again. Alex stood beside him, nestled away in one of Roman's sweatshirts as everyone said their goodbyes. The two had spent the better part of an hour in Alex's car stealing kisses and savoring the last moments they would have for an extended time. Anything that needed to say to each other had been done over the course of the week.
They talked about Alex starting college. They talked about what was next for Roman. They talked about Tori, and two days before he left, Roman broke the news to his parents. His mother looked horrified while his father was so enraged that he walked out. That night, Alex held Roman again. He ran his dull nails across Roman's bare back until the larger man was sound asleep and his expression was void of the sadness he had carried all day. That was a moment Alex let burn into his brain. He wanted to remember the exact second that Roman went still in his arms, making the trust that he had with Alex clear. That was something to be proud of, Alex knew, to have even one person in the world that truly trusted you when they were vulnerable.
"I love you, Exi. You know that, right?" Roman sadly smiled as he brushed his fingers over Alex's cheek.
"I do, and I love you. I'll be right here waiting for you to come home."
Roman chuckled softly, his thumb swiping across his lip. "Always?"
"Always. And who knows, when you come home again, maybe I won't be so small." Alex smiled as he rose on his toes to throw his arms around Roman's neck.
"Don't you change a thing, Alexander. You're perfect. Not so sure I deserve you."
"You probably don't," Alex teased. Roman's smile dropped and was replaced with a look that was all too clear to Alex. "We'll be okay, Ro. Plus, we'll get to talk more this time, you know?"
Roman's chin dropped, his glassy eyes diverting to his boots. "I'm sorry."
"Nope, we're not doing this. We talked about this. It's going to be okay. Let me be the strong one this time, alright?" Roman's shoulders shook as he laughed sadly. His eyes glistening as he pecked the tip of Alex's nose.
"Alright, Brat. You can be the tough guy for a while. Just don't tell anyone," Roman teased.
"Of course not. Wouldn't wanna ruin your bad boy image." Alex rolled his eyes.
It was only seconds later that Roman's flight was being called and the teasing between the two stopped instantly. Alex refused to cry as Roman left his line of sight. He had made that promise to himself days prior. He was a man now. He wasn't a child, though he was a brat to one particular person. He needed to act like a man whose life was making a very sudden, very drastic change.
Alex had made the silent promise to never let Roman down multiple times in their lives. No matter what happened, he would always be there for Roman, he would always give Roman the support he could, whether they were together or not. Roman had given him patience and unwavering friendship for many years. He had helped Alex through their milestones and always had his back. Those things left Alex indebted for life. He was going to start putting his foot down and be a stronger person. He wasn't going to let people push him around or make him feel two inches tall anymore, because if they were going to make it through anything that was thrown at them he was going to have to be even stronger than he thought he could be. He left the airport with his head held high and a smile on his face, though his heart was breaking.
***
"So what are your plans then?" Liz asked her son as she made two mugs of hot chocolate. Alex wiped the cookie crumbs from his shirt and sighed.
"I don't know. I mean we talked about it, but I don't know. He told Tori the baby would be taken care of, but he won't be with her."
"How does this affect you, though?" She asked, sliding a warm mug in front of Alex before sitting down.
