"It's not fair to call it a breakup when nothing was ever going to happen," he points out dully. He knows that if he tries to elaborate, he's going to shove Crichton further away. After all, creating distance is about the only thing that they can really do here when it's been this bad for this long. But...maybe that would be for the best.

"I. I'm afraid. You'll never want to see me again. But you're like my best friend here, and that's probably worse. I've let go of people before, I'd like to think I can do it again, but if I explain then you're going to leave me too."

He's softening by the second under Crichton's grip. It's not enough that it's hurting him, but the way his yellow warps around the man's fingers would be alarming to anyone, whether they know what it means or not.

"You've been there for me from basically the day I arrived and I realized...in the middle of everything I realized... I love you, more than I have any right to. And I know that you can't fill that space for me, because you love someone else, and I'm not going to ever ask you to do or be something that you don't want. I don't want you to look at me and see some lovesick shithead that can't keep his feelings in check."