Simon did crave affection. The kind that made his heart beat faster with equal parts hunger and fear. He wanted it so badly but the implications terrified him. It was ingrained in him that it was bad; that the want for it was bad. The he should feel bad for it, feel guilt and disgust for it.

But, oh how he wanted it. After half his life keeping people at arm’s length, he finally let someone in. While he had complicated feelings about that, he couldn’t imagine trying to pull away from Silvio now.

He nodded with a quiet, “Okay.” Almost as soon as he was on his feet, he looked back to Silvio and added, “Thank you. For everything.”