I know some things should just stay broken

i'm well aware this should remain unspoken

After all of the excuses he'd heard for his ex's cheating, the very last thing that Sterling anticipated was Henry's vehement agreement that he had, indeed, messed things up between them. He was almost expecting the word 'but' to be appended at the end, the same way it had been every other time the discussion had come up and yet, surprisingly, it wasn't. He was astutely aware of the struggles that Henry harbored when it came to illicit substances - one that Sterling had always taken a rather strong stance against throughout the long years of their relationship. He had watched Henry get clean just as many times as he had found Henry retreating back to those same bad habits every time the two men experienced even the slightest of tiffs. Despite the knowledge that he was most often the cause of his ex sliding back into those same destructive tendencies, Sterling had never considered that the opposite might also be true - that he might also be the reason that Henry ever made an effort to get clean. Henry's words caught him entirely off guard, prompting silence from the warlock - one that his ex was quick to fill.

His gaze shifted away as Henry insisted he was trying to be a better man than his past mistakes. Though the sentiment was...nice...he couldn't help but to wonder if there were far too many mistakes between them to repair their shattered relationship. 'I'm sorry', after all, hardly helped with those insecurities that had blossomed within him in the aftermath of all that had occurred. His arms wrapped around himself as he slowly turned his gaze upwards and towards his ex, only to question that one inquiry that had lingered upon his mind heavier than all the others. Why, after everything, had he never been enough?

He watched as Henry closed the distance between them, his hand reaching out to brush Sterling's long, ebony locks away from his gaze. There was a part of him that doubted the man's words. How difficult it was to believe that he had ever been what Henry wanted when his ex strayed so very far. Still, he hardly fought against that gentle press of the man's lips against his, fleeting as the kiss was. His head leaned forward to rest against Henry's chest as he listened to the soft rumble of his ex's voice, insisting that, regardless of their past or their present, he had always been more than 'enough'. A small frown crossed Sterling's lips as his eyes fluttered closed, the boy vague aware of how...warm he felt against Henry's body. "Henry...I..." He started, his words muffled and yet, his voice drifted off as his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "....I don't feel so well...." His stomach was churning, his skin had lost a bit of its color, though Sterling hadn't realized exactly how...off he had felt in the heat of their conversation. From the corner of the room, a soft thud reverberated as the once perch Osprey lost her balance, her petite frame falling to the floor.

Sterling

I'm on the ledge while you're so
God damn polite and composed