"I hope that it means you trust me," he answers softly, as if afraid of stepping too hard on thin ice. "And that it means I've changed enough to deserve that trust."

Perhaps it is the nature of what they are that makes it so difficult to read their own feelings. But he knows, instinctively, that he would not choose to betray her. It was for Max's sake alone, once, but now the thought of pushing her away with his actions springs forth a more personal grief. He would miss her company for its own sake.

"I don't think I would be quite content with only that, either. Friendship, after all, is a multifaceted gem."