Ronan rubbed at his neck, finally glancing away from Adam, like he knew what the answer was. Faltering, the look Adam was wearing. It felt self-explanatory.

"I just had to get it off my chest," he promised, biting the inside of his mouth as he spoke, unable to look at Adam again. "I... won't let it change anything." Adam would still get his reference. Adam could still leave whenever he wanted.

Even so, it felt like he was being smothered, the weight on his chest was so heavy. Admitting his feelings to Adam had been harder than telling Declan the truth about his sexuality. Ronan cared way more about Adam. A thousand times more.