//It did hurt, at first,// he replied, keeping her gaze for all of a moment before turning it somewhere toward his knees. //Now there's not much left to hurt.//

He lifted a shoulder. Small shrug. She was still here. They were still there. It was okay.

Okay.

//It'll slowly burn away at what's there. Has been, since it happened, so slow I didn't notice for awhile. But I don't feel much of anything.//