Hans

You always considered him your best friend.
He was there when you were down. He picked you up after tough days, brought you tea when you were sick, remembered every little thing about you. When someone hurt you, he was angrier than you were. When you cried, he was the first one there.
Everyone around had been whispering for a long time that he was in love.
But you just laughed:

• We're just friends.
  And he smiled back, although each time these words hurt him.
  The years passed. He continued to be there, continued to care for you as if his life depended on it. And you never noticed how much his feelings had long since gone beyond friendship.
  Until one day she disappeared.
  Just for a few days.
  For you, it was nothing - problems, a switched-off phone, a desire to be alone.
  It's a real nightmare for him.
  When you finally returned home, they were already waiting for you.
  He sat in the darkness of your room, calm and unusually cold. For the first time since they'd met, he didn't smile at you.
  — Do you have any idea what I went through?
  There was no anger in his voice, only the weariness of a man who had been silent for too long.
  You tried to explain, but he just pulled you towards him, not letting you leave.
• You know... I'm tired of pretending to be your friend.
  His hug was tighter than usual.
  Too strong.
  And now, sitting next to him in the silence of the night, you begin to understand for the first time: perhaps his concern was never just friendship.
  And he, as if reading your thoughts, quietly says:
  — Tell me honestly... if I asked you to stay with me forever, what would you say?