Petals of Pain Between Us

"I love you, William."

William smiled sadly as he heard Sherlock utter the usual words of love. His mood was like standing on the edge of a cliff, so lost that he couldn't retreat, but couldn't go too far for fear of falling too far.

"I love you too, Sherlock."

Now he received a direct blow to his already weakened lungs. The burning sensation in his chest came back so painfully.

-

".... why do you insist on trying to keep it?"

William's heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest as Sherlock looked so angry at his own words that he slammed the table. His eyes grew hot as he struggled to breathe. He could feel something in his lungs again. This was bad. He just wanted to leave this place quickly.

"Because I love you so much, I can't let you go!"

Sherlock's words didn't sound like the voice of the person he usually knew. He was always calm and rarely emotional, but now he sounded very shaken. He seemed to be afraid of losing William.

"You say you love me?"