So, I came as close as I've ever been to seeing my boyfriend cry in person last night.  He's been going through a lot of hardship pretty much all of his life, and recently he's entered a new chapter of it.  Last night, he came home with me from a day of fun together and we settled down with some hot tea before going to bed.  My stepmom was awake and talking with us, and I can't even remember what happened now, but something was said that started my bf off on a rant about what's been going on with him.  He and my stepmom were more the ones talking, and I was sitting next to him, listening.  As he explained his new situation, he had to touch upon something particularly painful in his past to explain it to my stepmom, and I heard his voice get really choked and emotional.  I looked at him and could see unshed tears in his eyes, and when he finished speaking, he had a very obvious BLT for a minute.  I reached for his hand, which was already curled up loosely around something he was holding, and took it in mine, caressing his knuckles with my thumb.  He didn't in any way acknowledge my touch, and after a moment he moved to put down the thing he was holding, breaking our contact.  However, he did regain his composure.  At another point later in the conversation, I saw the tears in his eyes again and heard the emotion in his voice.  This time, I put my hand on his outstretched arm and rubbed it, but again, he didn't acknowledge my touch but simply found a way to naturally break it a moment later.  

Those were the closest instances of the night that he came to crying.  I was a little frustrated that, when he finally opened up, it was around my stepmom, because I think he would have let himself cry had it just been me with him, and I was also a little discouraged that he didn't seem comforted by my touch.  

Anyway, when he had calmed down and finished his rant, we went to bed and I tried to talk to him more in private, as there are some things I want to address regarding the two of us and things that he's only talked about to me.  He listened for a few minutes, but asked if we could talk more later because he wanted to sleep.  He had admitted earlier in the night that he'd been having a really hard time sleeping, so I didn't argue but just put my arms around him and let him try to sleep.