He could carry on, he could make the journey, and he could pretend like he was okay. But occasionally, it just felt like he was falling apart. Now was one of those moments. It still held true that Mikage was his light. He still felt so lost without him.
"Nii-chan, where are you?" Capella's voice sounded from somewhere nearby behind him.
Teito panicked, quickly trying to wipe the tears from his eyes. "I'm over here."
Capella came around and beamed when he saw him. "There you are!" He sat next to him. He saw Teito rubbing his eyes still as the burupya rubbed his head against his chest affectionately. "Were you crying?"
"No!" Teito replied quickly. "I had something in my eyes."
"Oh, okay," Capella said, glancing at him still. "Because I was going to say that it's okay to cry."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, I know that when I don't cry it hurts right here," he said, placing a hand on his chest.
Teito just stared at him with moist eyes. Truth be told, it felt more often than not like he was hurting in his chest. If it were anyone else, he'd have said something bitter. But Capella was just a kid. "I guess."
"Why do you cry?"
Teito petted the burupya as he spoke. "You know how you miss your mother?"
"...Yeah."
"I cry because I miss someone too. But the person I miss can never come back."
"Where did they go?"
Teito winced. He held the burupya close to him again. He didn't know how to answer, so he didn't speak.
"Nii-chan?" Capella called.
"Yeah?"
Capella stood up and put his small arms around Teito. "This always helps me feel better."
Still having the small dragon in his lap, Teito returned Capella's hug. Well, what do you know. The boy had been onto something. It was pretty comforting. He didn't let Capella go.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome!" Capella said with a smile.
Head buried in the smaller boy's shoulder, Teito smiled too.