One of the best explanations/insights into the whole Ethan mess I've ever read: And then there was Ethan. Ethan who noticed Justin. Ethan who wanted Justin. Ethan who looked at Justin and never once saw parking garages or blood or baseball bats. He gave Justin flowers and floor picnics and words of affection and acceptance that Justin had been craving so much that it had almost become a physical pain. Justin had told himself that those were the things that mattered, the things that he was missing, the things that would make him feel whole again. He’d told himself he was happy in the months that he lived with Ethan so many times that he almost started to believe it. Almost.
And your description of him in the future is perfect too.