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Rosen's eyes were calm with no trace of pity, "It's nothing to be ashamed of," he repeated as he let go of Long's hand and fixed his bow, "You're just beginning to figure out who you are... don't be ashamed."

Long was having a great deal of difficulty grasping that concept. He looked away again, wrapping the towel around himself a little tighter as he kept shaking.

Rosen sighed a little as he picked up the mirror and pointed it at Long, "When you look in this... what do you see?" he asked quietly.

It took him a little while, but slowly Long looked at the mirror. He stared at his reflection for a few moments, swallowing before opening his mouth. But instead of any words coming out, a tear rolled down his face. He didn't seem to believe it until he lifted a hand up and wiped the tear off his face.

Rosen blinked again, reaching out and cupping Long's cheek with his hand, "You're special, you know that right?" he said quietly.

Long paused before moving to say something again. But once again, there were no words. Just some more tears.

Rosen took in a long breath. When he was doing his job... words always flowed with natural ease. He knew what to say to whom and when to say it. But when he looked at Long cry, for the first time he could ever remember, he drew a blank. He swallowed a little, real pain registering in his eyes as he set the mirror down and reached out with his other hand, cupping Long's other cheek.

Long didn't seem to notice Rosen was at a loss for words as the tears kept bringing more tears until he was sobbing lightly. He seemed to have been carrying around whatever this was for quite a long time.

Rosen still couldn't think of anything to say so he pulled Long's head closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around him again as he cried.

Thankfully, Long didn't cry for a long time. He recovered fairly quickly, but he didn't move.

Rosen was actually feeling a little dizzy so he didn't let go either. Long's tears were bringing up... unknown emotions.

Long slowly relaxed in Rosen's arms. But after a few more minutes he started to shiver a little as the heat from the shower finished dissipating.

Rosen paused, still dizzy. After a moment he reached back and turned the water back on before leaning against Long as Long leaned against him.

So Long stayed like he was, soaking up the comfort this man was providing like a dry sponge.

It seemed the more comfort Long soaked from him, the drier Rosen got. He closed his eyes, trying to sort out his feelings as he leaned increasingly heavier on Long.

When Long noticed how heavy Rosen was getting, he put a hand on Rosen's chest and slowly pushed away from him.