It hurts to wonder what might have been if they'd only had more time to grow it, and it hurts to imagine Kelson crammed back into royal life, obligated by duty to one day marry and have heirs and forget all about him. It hurts to face each morning, knowing that time will only take him farther away from Kelson and the days they shared.

Time will dull the hurt too. He knows this, because he used to cry over Simon and flay himself on daydreams about could've beens, until one day he realized he hadn't really thought about Simon in a little while, and then the name came only with a ripple of sadness instead of a whole tidal wave. But Wilhelm doesn't want to be healed, he wants to be loved, and be in love.

He grabs onto Jesper's arm, keeping him there. You gave him something beautiful while he was here. He holds onto that, hopes it's true.

After a little while, Wilhelm smudges away what's left of his tears and jokes in a small, hollow voice, "How come this is the longest lasting relationship I've ever been in?"

It comes out more mournful than he meant.