Numair was quiet for a moment, casting his eyes down.

"...I truly did not realize how starved I was for what you gave me, until you did," he admitted."And then I dreaded that how you felt about me would change, once you knew. That's why I put off telling you. I wanted to be as we were, for just a little bit longer, before it had to end.

"But that was selfish. I am sorry."

Silence fell, and they both sat for a while, by the pond, in the dappled sunlight.

"Me too," Hawk said at last. "Honestly."

Numair looked obliquely at him, and he looked back with an almost sheepish expression. He said, "Y'know, you gave me somethin' I was starved for, too. You accepted me and all the bullshit I came with. But I din't really return the favor, did I?"