Rama kisses his scar tissue, tenderly and sweetly, and for a moment Crozier's brain stops working. It's something to be ashamed of, a reminder of his greatest failure, something than makes him less capable and a figure of pity - but Rama holds it without disgust, kisses it without revulsion. His eyes grow wide and his mouth opens in slight awe; Rama must love him. He must, and it's just as much as a marvel now to see it was it was the night before.

"I've had decades to learn, Ram," he says quietly, voice a little lower with barely-restrained desire. God, he wants him now, ruined chest and all. He uses 'Ram' without thought, not knowing if it's taboo to shorten his name, but his very western habits aren't ignored so easily. "And you've kept us alive all this time. I couldn't do anything for myself, that was all you."