Anthony just sat and listened, letting Ioan hug onto him as tight as he needed to. Let him say all that he needed to say. In all reality, that had been the first time that he had really talked to anyone about what had happened at Hogwarts, and he was glad it was over just so quickly. Anthony had been doing so well, just bottling up everything he felt about this war. He was exhausting himself trying not to let himself feel anything. He spent as much time as he could at work and now that he was done, he was spending all of his free time with Justin. Between those two things, there was no reason to stop and think, to let it effect him. And it was different listening to everyone else talk about it. He could detatch himself from the experience and listen as an impartial party.
Anthony was closing himself off to his own feelings and thoughts on the war.
"Oh, Ioan." Anthony frowned. That was, quite possibly, the worst thing he could have ever heard. To put it lightly. "The first couple weeks of school, before things got too horrible, I kept wondering where you were. Kept wondering why you didn't write to me. Why mum and da didn't call my parents. Anything." He didn't just let it go either. He'd wondered up until he heard that muggle-borns were being arrested and interrogated. When that first article in the paper came out, Anthony just knew. And there was nothing he could do at that point.
There was nothing cowardly about what Ioan had done. Nothing at all. Anthony honestly thought him the strong one out of them. He had been the one to go through Azkaban-hell and back. Anthony had tucked himself away in a room. There was cowardice in that.
As soon as he heard Ioan fighting back that sob, Anthony broke free of Ioan's arms and turned to face him, cupping his chin. He had a whole arsenel of things he wanted to say, but none of them really seemed like the right thing. Instead, he wrapped Ioan back up in a hug and placed a kiss on his cheek. If his Ioan was going to cry, Anthony was going to be right there with him, crying with him.
"I missed you. And I love you." Unconditional love was what he could offer Ioan. He didn't know how much that was worth, but he hoped it was enough to help him. To make a difference.