He clung to her, crawling into the offered comfort and hanging on for dear life, his pent-up grief betraying him. Without him noticing, it had somehow spilled over, streaking his cheeks with days worth of unshed tears.
The whispered words from Padma's lips let him know that it was all right, but even if it wasn't, he didn't think he could stop now if he tried. He rocked back and forth in her arms, the fingers of one hand clutching his forehead as he cried, as if he could shield himself from her view, even though she was seeing more deeply inside of him than he could hope to hide.