“I'll be around my whole life. That's a long time to me.”

“Breathing in the scent of his hair, I realized I'd needed him my whole life, before we even met. First, his music and the way he taught me through books and recordings. Then, he saved my life and refused to abandon me no matter how much I deserved it.”

“My courage was as thin as silk, but I held it around me like armor and urged myself up the stairs, dragging the remains of my dignity.”

“I closed my eyes during a flute solo, wishing I could wrap the silvery sound around me like armor.”

“There was no telling if I’d be reborn when I died, but the waltz began and ended with my four notes. He’d built the music around things that reminded him of me. And now this name. My name.”

“I've never had a home before." That must have been all the sweets talking; I'd never have told him otherwise. "I mean, staying with Li, I never felt like I belonged. That's all."Sam touched my wrist, making me shiver. "You always have a home with me.”

“What I want." I slid my hands over him until cloth folded between my fingers. "I don't even know what that is. It feels like too much, but I'll fall apart if I don't get it.”