[It's the simplest and most complicated phrase in the world. It binds them both to each other's troubles and it frees them from the threat of being alone to face their own. He needs his own pause before he can reply with the same words—the words that have been true now for a long time.]
I care about you too. [He's looking at her, and it isn't a light look. It's the kind that happens before that impulsive urge to kiss takes over. Right now he's just looking for any reason that he shouldn't.]