Ethan lets out a breath as his forehead rests against her own, and his hand cups the side of her face. His hand grips to her waist, keeping her close to him, because he always wants and needs her as close as possible to him. It's always very true, and his hand slides behind her neck as their foreheads remain pressed together. He looks down at her when he hears her question, sees that her eyes are closed in the silence.

He swallows.

"Kept mentioning times when... I wasn't there for you, with you," he says achingly softly. "How he always chooses you over everything else, and there were times like then, like New Year's Eve where-- where I was absent. He made it sound like I was comfortable with it, but I wasn't. I never would have said goodbye to you at the end of the world. The Rifts stole that from us both. I'm--"

Ethan shakes his head. The burn is there in his chest between his rib cage so intense it feels like it's being torn open. "The other months that I was lost inside myself, I regret so much. I always will."