He spent the whole of the day in Akai's room, pacing, sitting, sighing, nearly pulling his hair out. It was longer than it had been before, he knew, and it hadn't yet been cut. Maybe he wouldn't cut it at all if Akai liked it. He smiled at the thought and paced more, wandered, ate a little when his mother brought him something from the cafeteria. And when Akai roused and his parents entered, Connor had to force himself to stay back so his mother and father could have a moment with him. They deserved that, after all---they deserved to see their son whole, in a way. But he was glad when he could approach, sit on the side of the bed and put his arms around Akai, feel as if he hadn't taken the man's useless limbs.

He clung to the man when he cried, and shed a few tears at the same time. It felt happy---glad that he must feel whole again. "I said yes." Connor's throat felt constricted, but he managed to speak quietly, just loudly enough for his words to hit Akai's ear.