As Ashton turned, Barclay gave the boy's back a private smile. I like you. A simple easy phrase, and yet, Barclay enjoyed hearing it.
They didn't say it often. They didn't need to. But sometimes, it was nice.
"I like you too," Barclay said, reaching out and touching Ashton's scars, his fingers gently massaging the male-up to cover all of them. "You got almost all of them," Barclay said. "You just need one of the hand mirrors to check when you're doing it in the morning."