[ It's not a surprise to hear John say those things exactly, but it steadies him, a solid weight he can rest on where before there were only assumptions. There's an easy instinct to ask him to move back in with him at the library, their old arrangement that feels so long ago now. But that would be deceptive, because Harold already knows he wants more than that. He's come to a resolution in his mind and he doesn't know what he'll do if John doesn't share it, but he can't restart their relationship under false pretenses.

He'd promised John once that he'd never lie to him, and he takes that promise seriously, in all terms of the word lie. So he grips his hand tightly and meets his eyes as he speaks, that iron dedication Harold had found in himself recently rising to the fore. ]

I couldn't bear to look at you and realize I was going to lose you again, [ he says plainly. ] So I've decided to stay here with you, in Etraya. If you'll have me.

[ It's a major decision, and typical for Harold, he announces it with no hint of the layers and depth of his thinking that have gone into it. He's only looking for John's agreement or refusal. Harold has changed the world more than once, and he's always approached it just like this, like there's nothing remarkable about it. ]