Mike was shaking. It wasn’t obvious, but Jim had him there in his arms. He couldn’t avoid it. The tremors were right there, palpable vibrations that made him question everything. He pulled back and searched Mike’s dark eyes. “Are you okay?”
Mike lowered his gaze for a second. “I’m not sure.” His voice was soft, almost too quiet. “I want to be.”
It was a big admission for him. Jim knew that. He knew he could tell Mike he was willing to fight for them until he was blue in the face, but that didn’t mean Mike would believe him. Sure, they had a lifetime together back in the day, but Mike had more than a decade of trauma to work through before concepts like trust or forgiveness would make sense to him.
“I don’t want to push you too far.” Jim took his hand.
Mike twisted his face into a snarl
