Verin can only nod and kiss Essek's smudged mouth. The way he holds his brother's hand changes, still pinning it down but now lacing their fingers together in a more intimate hold. It's easy to lose himself like that, working up to a steady pace as he fucks Essek in a bed they have not shared in too long. He has missed this intimacy that he shares with no other, even if he might share his bed in Bazzoxan. Essek has something from him that they never did, and never will.

When he whispers that he loves Essek it sounds like a devotional prayer, and the way his hand slides up Essek's back is just as reverent. And it serves as a counterweight to the way he fucks Essek. His brother still feels tight around him but Light, it's still easy to move like this. Verin tries to make sure the angle is right, but if he needs to use his hand too in order to make Essek fell as good as he does then he will.

Every thrust threatens to knock the air out of him. With his hair falling around them, Essek's fingers tangled in it, Verin's world becomes smaller and more focused. In this moment, there is nothing and no one outside of them. No grief, no pain, no longing. They are whole once more. Heat curls tightly low in his gut and Verin shivers. He's been using Essek's thighs to work himself up, but now he is determined to last as long as Essek needs him to. His brother has given him so much, and Verin will never truly deny him this.

"Tell me what you need," he whispers, breathless as he gives another firm thrust.