...it's been amazing- not perfect, but amazing. I'm actually glad of the nonperfection because that has made our relationship feel more grounded, solid, and real than what I had (...), which just cruised blithely along, deceptively perfect, until it crashed and burned in a fiery wreck.

Moving on is easy. It's staying moved on that's trickier.

It's hard to give up the being together with someone.

We grow apart because we grow in different stages and not all of our stages align.

...their relationship was a point of near-constant discussion in Night Vale, all of their imperfections and faults, which made them individuals worth loving. They had built those faults into the usual messy, comfortable, patched-up, beautiful structure that any functioning long-term relationship ended up being.

He nods, as if to acknowledge that endings are almost always a little sad, even when there is something to look forward to on the other side.