"I think they are. I think... I've been saying that I ought to move on and learn from what I did, but I never believed it until now. I was just saying it because I thought I might eventually convince myself of it that way, but my mind doesn't work like that."

He leans back against Roland, allows his eyes to slip closed, and just enjoys that closeness. This is what a pile is for as much as the difficult emotional discussions.

"Thank you," he murmurs, and for the first time since they started even his voice sounds peaceful. It's not as though he's taken down every single one of those many, many boxes he has tucked away in the back of his mind, but he's unpacked perhaps the biggest one. It's going to be a lot longer until that shelf finally snaps, and that's something to be thankful for.