#did some stupid chores in the morning nd when i sat down i basically fell asleep within 20 mins and didnt stay awake for more than like

[uwooyoungs]

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[the-ace-with-spades]

(4/6) the best is yet to come

five times someone realized Ronan and Adam were basically married and one time they actually were

Part 1 │Part 2 │Part 3 │Part 5 │Part 6

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Matty liked Adam. It was not the simple liking he gave everyone he met but something much deeper and more familial — it had a lot to do with how Adam could make Ronan smile the way their whole family used to could.

But also with the way he could explain math.

Declan offered to get him a tutor when they moved to DC but he never liked the idea of a stranger in their house or a stranger seeing how stupid he was exactly. There were probably other dangers with engaging the Lynch family into the normal business, like prep school — which Matty hated the very idea of — so Declan often preferred to tutor Matty himself. It usually ended up with thrown textbooks, screams and another promise of getting Matty a tutor but Matty didn't mind. His grades weren't as critical and he could still get into college, even if it wasn't an Ivy League like Declan would prefer.

In the worst-case scenario, Matty could help Ronan with the farm. Being a farmer was something that sounded like a nice way to make a living. Although that would probably give Declan a hernia.

Matty would usually come to the Barns for the weekend, unless he had other plans with his friends, and help Ronan around until Sunday Mass, after which they would eat dinner together and then Ronan would drive him to catch the bus to Washington or Declan would pick him up, if he was going to the Mass that week.

Most of the time, Adam was also there for at least some of his stay. Matty was pretty sure he moved in with Ronan a few months before and was just pretending he didn't have his own shelves in Ronan's wardrobe, or his own laptop in their dad's study, or the shoes on the porch, or the weird, super-caffeinated green tea, all for the sake of appearances.

When Matty arrived on Friday evening the day before and Ronan went to the bus station to pick him up, the first thing Matty saw at the Barns, was Adam, lying shirtless under a tractor.

It was the one in obnoxious yellow color that their dad used to say was his favorite and it hadn't worked since before their dad died. It was easy to forget Adam was a simple mechanic, as of right now, when he could talk in this weird, Declan-sque way when he sounded both like a teenage boy and a lawyer of twenty years. It was even weirder to remember that Adam was the one that finally coerced Ronan to set up a legitimate firm and pay all the necessary taxes on the property and invest in the modern stuff while Declan tried to do that since he heard Ronan was dropping out to become a farmer.

Matty didn't say anything to this because he was still feeling the wariness Ronan had when it came to the whole being gay thing. Declan said they should leave him alone with it until he was completely ready so Matty never said anything about anything Adam, or Ronan, or Adam and Ronan had done.

He wasn't complaining when Adam offered him to help with algebra while Ronan prepared dinner.

This was also what made Adam feel so familial very quickly — the obvious naturalness of the whole motion.

Matty didn't remember much of their father as he never had that much of contact with him. He supposed that if he did, his parents would probably be in the same position as Ronan and Adam — mom would be preparing dinner and dad would be helping one of his sons with homework. And as strange as the concept of Ronan taking their mom's place on the farm was, it was actually true. Their dad was away so often that throughout most of the year, their mom was the head of the farm and did most of the chores that living with animals and acres of land involved.

Adam didn't look much out of place either. Even though he was at the house more than their dad had — or so Matty assumed, since they were still lying about the moving in thing — despite constant school and work, he belonged there in a way that felt like he was born to live there.

Adam explained his homework, Ronan cooked spinach cream pasta. They ate dinner.

"I'll do the dishes," Adam offered.

"Shut up and sit down, Parrish," Ronan replied, with a tone that was more suited for love confessions or romantic songs.

"Ronan."

"You're not doing the dishes, you worked the whole day so sit on your ass for five minutes and do this thing we normal people love called rest."

Matty wouldn't exactly call any of them normal.

Adam sat down and sighed. He and Ronan had the exact same conversation every time Matty came for the weekend.

"But I'm doing the dishes next time."

Matty had never seen him do the dishes despite him saying it every time.

"Are you staying for the night?" Matty asked because he liked to indulge people — if Adam moving in was something they wanted to hide, then he would pretend it was still a secret.

There was banging on the back door, which was also in the kitchen. Ronan opened the door grumbling and Opal came through.

"Go wash up, munchkin," Ronan said, sounding very much like their mom.

Matty decided to focus on Adam, who admitted, "Yeah, I'll be staying for a couple of days."

By a couple, he probably meant forever but Matty didn't plan to call him out unless it'd be in the speech he was going to give at their wedding.

Opal came back from the bathroom with wet hair and even a wetter t-shirt.

He had never thought someone could sigh with a tone of a tired parent without actually being a tired parent but Adam did.

"Let's get you in your PJs, sugarplum."

Ronan stared after Adam with his hands still in the sink. Matty stared at him.

"What?" he asked when he finally turned his gaze away from Adam and Opal.

"Nothing."

They watched Fast and Furious until Opal fell asleep on the floor and Ronan took her to bed. Matty said goodnight and went to his room, clean of dust and dirty clothes like every weekend he was staying at the Barns and that was it.

Matty woke up in the early morning hours and went down to the kitchen. Adam was there, making coffee, with a book in one hand.

"Ronan is out?" he asked, instead of a greeting.

"Nah," Adam said. "I let him sleep in today and fed the chickens earlier. He doesn't sleep that well still, you know. Coffee?"

There was a lot to unpack in those words so instead of doing that, Matty said, "Yeah."

Lynches were very good at not addressing the obvious, really.

And so were Adam.

They drank their coffee, Adam left their empty mugs in the sink when the stairs creaked.

Adam put the kettle on again.

Ronan came through the door, with a well-rested face but sleepy eyes, looking just the same way he used to look on Christmas morning. He smiled in an easy manner that had become uncommon for him over time and went straight for Adam, halting an inch or two before his face. Adam's lips quirked when he leaned in his direction.

"Had a good sleep?"

Ronan's arms wound around his waist and said, "The bed was cold."

And then he closed the gap and kissed him, with Adam's palm curling around his nape in one smooth move.

One of the things Matty remembered clearly about their parents, as a single entity and not two separate people, was how affectionate they were. Their mom had a soft touch that worked on almost anyone but especially on their father — he had melted under her hands, melted into long hugs, longs stares, long kisses.

So Matty tried to look at his coffee instead of at Ronan and Adam because this kiss did feel like watching your parents, with the second-hand embarrassment and the general confusion, and he hadn't been quite ready for that.

"Morning breath, babe," Adam said, between breaths.

Ronan's lips were just in the corner of his mouth.

"Don't care."

And then Ronan's hand was moving lower and lower on Adam's waist, lifting his t-shirt, until his fingertips were dipping into the elastic band of Adam's pajamas and—

Matty cleared his throat. This was way more than kissing and way more than he wanted to ever see.

Adam stepped away from Ronan, seemingly as awkward as Matty felt on the inside.

"Sorry, Matty," he said.

And then, in a manner that was very much alike their dad's, Ronan said. "I'm not sorry."