#this definitely turned into stream of conscious speculation midway through

[loregoddess]

ayyy there was something tricky about Ochette's final boss, and it was that the final boss has a ton of health and an attack that reduces one party member to 1 hp (which the boss uses to power up and will use multiple times throughout the battle), so having healers is very helpful, bc despite Ochette being lv. 70 I was not able to "deal massive amounts of damage to get through the fight in like, 4-5 turns" my way through her final boss, although I had significantly less trouble this time than I did on my first playthrough when this was the first final boss I took on.

Anywho, thoughts on Temenos and Ochette's final chapters below...

I can add "timeline for when the Kal got wiped out" to the list of things that I just legit forgot from my first playthrough, like I simply did not remember seeing "Thirty years earlier...." at the start of Temenos's Ch4, which is such a weird timeframe (are you telling me Reiza was 7? and she has major guilt from a genocide she participated in when she was SEVEN??), but at least the "Temenos might have been a survivor of the Kal" theory makes so much more sense to me, bc I just thought we got a vague "decades ago" timeframe, not an actual set of years, bc in my head I was like "Well, Reiza's 37, so if this happened decades ago maybe it was two decades and she was 17 bc that would make sense for all the guilt she's carrying" no, no we actually got a timeline and she was apparently a whole whopping seven years old. Anyhow I'm gonna have to unshelve the Kal Temenos theory in my head and turn it over a bit more.

That all said the writing for Temenos's final chapter is...fine. So it's really not that his storyline bugs me so much as his Stormhail chapter specifically bugs the hell out of me (and also I don't like the "genocide survivor joins those who killed her people to seek revenge on them...somehow" as a plot point, like don't get me wrong I love the concept of Kaldena and think she should be in the story, but not as the main antagonist, but that's an entirely different rant).

I still wish we got some sort of timeline for when D'arqest came and turned whichever group of people living on Toto'haha into the beastlings. Like this guy apparently did something on every major landmass, and we don't know when or in which order. (whose name I hate typing by the way, why did the localization team decide to have it spelled like that?)

Also for as...clumsy as the whole "D'arqest turned people into beastlings by taking the evil from their hearts to call up the Shadow, so they can't be corrupted by the Shadow or at least are very resistant to it" is a worldbuilding point (believe me, I understand why this is criticized by fans), I don't think it's as simple as I've seen some analyses write it off as? Like, the Nameless Village is very much Right There, and there is very much something...deeply weird and concerning going on with the "heirs" in the village. Like, I dunno, I wish there was more about exactly what is going on with the "heir" situation in the Nameless Village, bc like what does it mean that the heir is a "vessel"? why does the heir, if they survive, end up with scars across their backs? who do people living there act as guides to outsiders even though those outsiders might end up summoning the Shadow (like what Kaldena was trying to do)? Ochette, Juvah, any of the members of Beasting Village, and also any of the members of Cohazeh's village never bring up the beastlings in the Nameless Village, and even Temenos doesn't have much to say about anything in the Nameless Village itself since he's so laser-focused on Kaldena. I just...have a lot of questions about the Nameless Village.

Ochette's final chapter still gets me like, that is one hell of a tragic battle, and even though I knew what was going to happen I still teared up a bit. (story-wise, not combat-wise, the battle itself was fine mechanically, but the story bits afterwards just get me).

From the perspective of trying to figure out how Vide's influence works and stuff though, it is interesting that one of Ochette's potential companions is able to be influence and corrupted by the Shadow (since we see the purple-y shadow stuff around the companion not chosen back when Ochette was 10, well before Petrichor and Harvey turned the creature into the Darkling), since mostly we only see Vide's influence in humans and monsters.

Juvah also calls Toto'haha's flame the "First Flame" which is a really interesting bit of lore, since we have the Kal who worship the "Azure Flame" and the Order of the Sacred Flame who worship the "Sacred Flame". Can't remember where it was in who's story, but I remember it being said that after their battle with Vide the gods were said to fall into a slumber (potentially literally becoming the various Flames), so it's interesting that we have a religion that seems to have been carried over from Orsterra, a new religion formed by the Kal people, and indications that the ancient beastlings or warden beasts also had some sort of understanding of their island's flame that is separate from the Order's interpretation of the Sacred Flame. I'll have to keep an eye out during Hikari and Agnea's crossed paths Ch2 to see if anything interesting is said in the cave of that region's flame.

ALSO THOUGH because the Scarlet Moon only happens every 400 years, this might actually help me if I ever sit down and sort through the in-game lore to set up a potential timeline bc like, the Scarlet Moon is basically an astrological occurrence (lunar eclipse? that makes it possible for Vide's power to seep through from "another world"); the fact that Toto'haha is a weak point that connects to Vide's "world" isn't really that surprising when we consider that the island is located sorta halfway between where Vide is fought in the endgame, and the isle containing the Gate of Finis. We also know the legendary creatures prevented the calamity of the last Scarlet Moon before dispersing over the world, and Tera shows up in the Kal's mural.

So it's possible the Scarlet Moon occurred, the legendary creatures dispersed, D'arqest began his conquest of the world fighting against Kal and Tera, fighting against the first leader of Ku and possibly the Lumine clan on the western continent, fighting...someone on the eastern continent (the kingdom of Fjall? someone else?) and causing the Pit to open up in the wall, and attempted to summon Vide or obtain Vide's power on Toto'haha, resulting in the beastlings (he might have done this before fighting Kal, since D'arqest had the power of the Shadow when he fought Kal, and actually might have been at Toto'haha first? maybe Kal and Kal's people managed to kill D'arqest and that's why he's buried in Gravell so close to where the Kal people lived). We know he also had to obtain Vide's power or blood somehow to make Claude into a vessel for Vide, so Toto'haha might play into that as well (maybe the beastlings found a way to seal the power of the Shadow that seeps through the Rifted Rock, and that has something to do with the "heir" tradition that I have so many questions about).

I'm pretty sure D'arqest had to happen after the first Scarlet Moon though, just bc of Tera being in the Kal mural, which would place D'arqest's activities sometime in the last 399 years before the game, which wouldn't be that far stretched (Lyblac was only active for like, less than 200 years in Orsterra which is hardly any time). It also makes me wonder if the gods' original battle with Vide didn't occur 400 years before D'arqest, since Vide has to be sealed in another world in order to try breaking through when the planetary alignment is just right during the Scarlet Moon, and a lunar eclipse would have been the height of Vide's potential power (the night side of the planet is in shadow and the moon is in the shadow of the planet, unable to reflect as much light) which might explain how 7 of the 8 gods ended up dead or as close to dead as a god can get. It would then place the timeframe for Vide getting sealed at roughly 800 years before the events of the game's story, which follows the 8 theme pretty nicely.

Which is all wild speculation on my part, but I can't see D'arqest being active more than 400 years before the story events. Also the legendary creatures disperse from Toto'haha, whose flame is protected by the warden beasts and the beastlings (who are, if not immune to the Shadow, at least very resistant to it and therefore ideal protectors), and one creature ends up in the area of each of the other three flames, as if they're protecting those flames as well--and there seems to be a group of people who come to worship/protect each of the three flames as well: the Order of the Sacred Flame, the Kal, and the Lumine clan (potentially, since the current Alpates says she has to "return to her people" and then she's found dead in Conning Creek, which is very near Hinoeuma's flame; one of Ori's journals mentions that Alpates and Rita both come from the Lumine clan, and it's possible Kura was related to that bloodline as well). This might explain why Arcanette has Petrichor hunt the three legendary beasts, to weaken the defenses around each flame? (it would make sense for Crackridge at least, since Tera seems to be connected to the Kal people, and Arcanette could have had Petrichor try to kill Tera before ordering the slaughter of the Kal people, since Tera would have been unable to defend them).

Anyhow this is all just unorganized rambling now, and I may be going absolutely nowhere with all this, but I wanted to get my thoughts written down bc I dunno if we'll ever get an official timeline to clear up at least a few things about Solistia's history.

[bittysvalentines]

From: @redneterp

To: @leftwinglibrarian

Rated T, 3K, no significant warnings apply (Canon-typical content, and story contains a very vague spoiler for the ending of a piece of media released 6 or 7 years ago)

Gift for: LeftWingLibrarian, who asked for “Fake dating, bed sharing, first kiss, friends to lovers, basically any fluffy tropes.” I think I hit 3 out of 4 of the above, and got a couple more ideas from your tumblr. I hope I guessed correctly and that you enjoy! Happy Valentines day!

***

“The giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza?” Adam guessed. “Oooh, or the 30 Rock Tour! Wait, would that still open by the time we got to NYC? Or the observation deck?”

“No, no, and no,” Justin replied. “And those totally count as 3 guesses, so you only have two left.”

“Bro, objection!”

“Overruled, you know the rules. It’s two questions left or game over. Those are your options.”

*

The guesses had begun as they���d left Haus 2.0 earlier that afternoon, as Adam tried unsuccessfully to identify their mystery destination. Justin had kept his plans secret for months, only to have the surprise nearly ruined by Sandeep-From-Coding the day prior. He’d joined them in the Nutrition Nook (yes, that was the actual name their employer used, there was even a distressed-wood chalkboard sign with that name overhanging the corner) during afternoon coffee break, and extended an invite to join the Coding Bros at “the sports bar with the good wings” to watch the Bruins’ game. Justin had declined, citing previously-set plans for Saturday afternoon, then was later forced to admit to Adam that he wasn’t just trying to avoid an intra-office rivalry with Coding by preventing Adam from both arguing the superiority of Buffalo wings to those from any other city and pronouncing that the Sabres would kick the Bruins’ asses, but that he really had made plans he couldn’t divulge. Justin was able to appeal to the D-Man Code to secure 24 hours free from questioning, but as they left Haus 2.0 on foot Adam insisted time was up.

“Dude, all you’ve told me is to ‘dress nice, but not formal,’ you’ve got to tell me more. You’d better not be dragging me to work on our day off.”

Justin swore they weren’t heading to the office, and eventually agreed to Twenty Questions regarding their destination. Adam had tossed out a few wildly varying suggestions as they rode the T downtown (Science Museum. Brewery tour. Aquarium.) and waited for the train at South Station (Going to Samwell to decorate the Haus in epic style while SMH was off on their C&C roadtrip weekend). He pulled out the puppy-dog eyes as they settled into their seats on the train, begging Justin for some scrap of information, and Justin relented to admit “Fine, I can tell you that this is an early Chrismukkah gift since we won’t be together on the 24th.”

After a soliloquy on the importance of the character of Seth Cohen to young-Adam that earned them a glare from the woman seated across from them, the hint led Adam to speculate about Christmas or Hanukkah-related events along the Northeast corridor, ending with the trio of Rockefeller-related guesses.

With the final-questions warning, Adam turned to the window, apparently deep in thought trying to make his final guesses count. The last of the golden-yellow light from the sunset streamed through the window, highlighting his jaw and creating a halo around his blond hair. Fuck, Justin thought, had Holtzy always been this gorgeous? He spent a few minutes appreciating his best bro’s face, momentarily distracting himself from worrying that Adam might not enjoy the surprise after all, as none of his guesses had been remotely correct. Had he misjudged his bro?

As the train briefly stopped at the Samwell station, Justin returned his thoughts to the present and distracted Adam with a conversation about SMH’s season to-date which carried them through until the train approached Providence Station. As they slowed to a stop he stood and grabbed Adam by the arm, tugging him off the train.

“Providence? Are we visiting Jack?” Adam asked as they emerged from the station and headed towards the river.

“The Falcs are in Edmonton tonight. And that was number nineteen. One left.” Justin replied with a smirk before leading them across the river and through the park, following a route he’d carefully chosen on Google Maps to keep their final destination secret. In the dim gap between streetlights Justin surreptitiously patted his jacket pocket, triple-checking that the tickets were still there. They continued to banter as Justin led them through downtown, arriving at the restaurant a few minutes early, though it was already packed. The hostess confirmed their 5:45 reservation, but noted that the table wasn’t yet free before offering them a seat at the bar while they waited.

“So, this coal-fired pizza must be really good to warrant a trip from Boston.” Adam noted after they’d each ordered a beer.

“Google says so,” Justin replied. “And was that your final question?”

“Objection, that was a statement, not a question. I reserve my right to my final question.”

“Sustained. Shitty’s taught you well.”

“Who knew that sharing a Haus with a law-student would come with so many unexpected benefits? And before you ask, that was a rhetorical question unrelated to today’s plans and still doesn’t count for the total.”

Justin laughed and nodded in agreement, before the TV behind the bar caught his attention. The station was replaying Premier League highlights from earlier in the day, and soon they were engrossed in a conversation about Chelsea’s chances for the season. They leaned close together to be heard above the din in the restaurant, and Justin felt a warmth inside, reminded of how lucky he was to have such an amazing BestBroTM.

*

An hour later, Adam leaned back in his chair. “I’m stuffed,” he said, patting his stomach. Together they’d polished off a starter and an entire pizza. “Google was right, Rans, that was amazing.”

“Definitely,” Justin agreed.

“I might order another beer, though. Do you want one, too?” Adam asked.

“That might not be the best idea.”

“For you, or both of us? Wait, was that a clue? Do you have something planned beyond dinner?”

“That’s three questions again, which puts you beyond twenty, so I’ll just answer the first - I meant for both of us.” Justin guessed they’d both lost their tolerance since graduating, as they’d only made it to one Kegster the whole semester, and he didn’t want to risk either of them dozing off midway through the main event. “Maybe coffee would be a better idea?”

“Are we pulling an all-nighter? And I will qualify that question with the note that I am not asking about the surprise itself, merely a health-and-safety question about appropriate beverage consumption. I am, as you know, very safety-conscious.” Adam finished, pressing his right hand over his heart.

Justin laughed. “Sure Holtzy, I believe you. And let the record note,” he continued, trying to match Adam’s serious tone, “that an exemption has been granted. No, I do not anticipate that an all-nighter will be required.”

Adam stroked his chin. “Hmm…”

Justin pulled out his phone as subtly as he could, tapping to check the time, surprised that it was already past 7pm. The time had flown by, as always, as they’d discussed everything from the prospects of their favourite teams in three different leagues to the sitcoms that Adam insisted needed to be moved to the top of their Netflix queue. “However, we do need to head out shortly, so if you do want coffee we should order it soon.”

“Are you getting one?”

“Nah, I’m fine without.” Justin replied. Checking the time had made his anxiety regarding whether Adam would actually enjoy the surprise return with a vengeance and he could already feel his leg twitching; adding caffeine to the mix would not end well.

“Then I’m good, too. Should we get the bill?” Adam asked as he reached for his wallet.

“I got it, bro. It is Chrismukkah, after all.”

*

“Thanks, man,” Adam said, slinging his arm around Justin’s shoulder as they stepped out of the restaurant.

“Got your back, dude,” Justin confirmed, returning the gesture as he wrapped an arm around Adam’s waist and directing their path the remaining few blocks to the PPAC.

As they rounded the final corner and the lights of the marquee came into view, Justin couldn’t resist peeking out of the corner of his eye at Adam. The reflection of the lights sparkled on his glasses, behind which his eyes grew wide as they got close enough to see the crowd in line outside the doors. As they neared the end of the line and were close enough to read the stylized script, Adam stopped abruptly.

“Once? You’re taking me to a musical?”

Justin couldn’t parse Adam’s tone, and his suddenly his heart was racing. “Is that ok? I hoped you’d like it, from the reviews it sounded like a musical rom-com so I thought you would, but I realize now I’ve never heard you sing songs from it so maybe I was wrong?”

“Dude, not wrong.” Adam turned and crushed Justin to himself in a tight hug. “I’ve only seen clips from when it won all those Tony’s, but that doesn’t mean I don’t already love it.” His voice dropped to a near-whisper in Justin’s ear, “Best Chrismukkah gift ever. Really.”

Justin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as he relaxed in Adam’s arms. After months of anticipation and planning and keeping this a secret (even doing all of his research in incognito mode so that his browser history and targeted ads couldn’t give things away if Adam borrowed his laptop), everything had worked out. They were at the theatre, his Best Bro was happy. It was all worth it, and the show hadn’t even started.

Adam relaxed his hold on Justin. “I can’t believe you kept this secret from me! I never would have guessed, really, even if it was Sixty Questions.”

Justin smirked and waggled his eyebrows as they joined the line of excited patrons.

*

Ten minutes later, they’d made their way inside, visited the washrooms, and found their seats.

“These are amazing seats, Rans, we’re so close to the stage! Wait, is that an actual bar on the stage?”

“Yup. Still want that beer? We can go up and grab drinks if you’d like.”

“Tempting, but I don’t want to forget a second of this. Did you know I’ve only seen one live musical before, not counting my sisters’ school productions, which do not count.”

“I might have heard something about the life-changing experience of seeing Rent when you were in grade 11…” Justin said with a smirk.

“Grade 11? What is this foreign language I hear? I was a junior, and …” Adam’s argument trailed off as one person after another wandered to centre-stage holding instruments and beginning to play. “Wha…?”

Justin nodded. “Pre-show music, that’s why I may have rushed to get us here.”

“How did you know about this?”

“Dude, how dare you doubt my research abilities!”

“Apologies. You are now, and forevermore, the king of research and spreadsheets,” Adam acknowledged with a head bow and hand flourish, before turning to watch the pub party breaking out on-stage. Musicians congregated amidst the crowds hovering around the bar, dancing and playing folk tunes. Adam watched, a giant grin on his face. “I’ve heard there’s no orchestra, all the music is played on-stage by the cast. Can you imagine?”

“Yeah!” Justin nodded. Adam’s enthusiasm was infectious.

After several rousing songs, the lights dimmed, and the audience returned to their seats. Soon the stage was dark, with the light focused on a single musician strumming his guitar. The show had begun.

Throughout the first act, Justin felt his attention split between the amazing performance on stage and Adam’s reactions. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Adam tapped his feet along with the performers dancing on tables, laughed along with their jokes, or wiped a tear away as the Girl sang a wistful solo alone at the piano. As the lights rose again at intermission, Justin turned to see Adam staring at the stage, still mesmerized after the whole cast of musicians had joined a group song-and-dance number at the pub. “So? Enjoying the show so far?”

Adam took a deep breath, as if his pulling his soul to rejoin his body, before turning to Justin. “Enjoying it? Rans, there are not enough words to express how I feel about the power of music to stir human emotion.”

“That good, eh?”

“Good enough that I won’t mock you for saying ‘eh.’”

“How about the power of cookies?” Justin asked as he recognized the smell of baked goods wafting through the theatre. “The internet says that getting a chocolate chip cookie during intermission here is, like, required.”

Adam lauged, “Well, if it’s a requirement. We can’t let the internet down, after all.”

“Never!” Justin agreed.

*

An hour and a bit later, after the auditorium had erupted in applause and the cast took their final bows, Justin sat in silence, staring at the stage. Was that how it ended, no magical reconnection but a bittersweet parting? He couldn’t explain it to himself, but it felt like a personal loss. A loud sniff to his left caught his attention, and he turned in time to see Adam wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his button-down. Justin dug the cookie-napkin from his pocket and passed it over so that Adam could blow his nose properly.

“Thank you, Rans.”

“No problem.”

“No, man. Not for the napkin, or, well, not just for that, but for all of this,” Adam waved his hand about. “Dinner. The show. Everything. This was one of the best nights of my life, Justin.” Adam fixed him with an intense look that Justin couldn’t interpret before reaching to grab his hand in a firm grasp.

“You’re welcome … got your back … always.” Justin squeezed Adam’s hand back, hoping it would express some of the feeling that he couldn’t put into words.

They sat like that for a few beats before Adam pulled back. “I could sit here forever, but I guess the ushers wouldn’t appreciate that.” He looked around, just noticing that most of the audience in their section had already cleared out. “Wait, do we need to get to the station? Isn’t the last train soon?”

“It leaves in five minutes,” Justin replied. “But I didn’t want to rush you, so Jack said we could spend the night at his place.”

“Bro, you’re the best,” Adam said, leaning over the armrest to rest his head on Justin’s shoulder for a minute longer, before they stood and un-pretzeled themselves from the tiny seats. “Dude, these seats were not made for D-men. Were people in 1920-whatever a lot shorter?”

Mood lightened, they shrugged into their jackets and left the theatre. The temperature had dropped to just above freezing, but both preferred to walk, so they tucked their hands in their pockets and headed towards Jack’s building. They were quieter than their usual, rarely speaking but occasionally bumping shoulders or elbows, each lost in thought.

*

Justin was glad to see DeShawn was the doorman on duty when they arrived, as he’d met them often and was unlikely to create a fuss about non-residents asking for admittance. Sure enough, he greeted them warmly and handed over the keyfob Jack had left at the desk in Justin’s name. They rode the elevator in silence, and let themselves into Jack’s apartment, before dropping their shoes and jackets in the hallway closet.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Justin asked, waving a note he’d found on the pool table. “Jack says there are muffins and mini-pies from Bitty in the freezer, and to help ourselves.”

“I’m good, thanks, maybe in the morning?” Adam said. “But go ahead if you’re hungry.”

“Nah, man, I’m still full of pizza. What happened to us? Less than a year away from competitive hockey and our stomachs must have shrunk, now that we aren’t burning thousands of calories a day skating.”

Adam rolled his eyes and let out a half-hearted laugh.

“Are you tired, bro? I stashed some of our stuff here last time,” Justin said, as he led the way into the guest room, dug the duffle bag out of the closet, and dropped it on the bed. He pulled out a bundle of his clothes and toiletries and passed the rest of the bag to Adam.

Adam dug through the bag. “My old Bruins shirt, I wondered where I’d left that.” He then pulled out the small bag of toiletries. “You even packed my spare contact case? Bro!”

“Excel said there was a 30% chance you’d wear contacts today, so ..” Justin shrugged, “Got your back.”

“You always do. And I’ve got yours. Always,” Adam said, quiet and intense. It sounded like a vow, Justin thought, before Adam broke their fixed look with a shake of his head, and turned to the bathroom.

Moments later, Justin returned to drop his clothes on the guest room chair, and found Adam was already settled against the pillows, glasses propped on the bedside table. Justin hovered at the foot of the bed, suddenly uncertain. He realized then that as he’d planned this weekend, without making a conscious decision he’d visualized the two of them sharing the guest bed, but was that ok to want? To ask for?

Adam interrupted before his thoughts could spiral, “Dude, get in here.”

“Is that ok, bro? I could crash on the couch.”

“How many times did we share the bottom bunk when the Haus ghosts interrupted your dreams? I think there’s room in a Queen bed for us both, comfortably. But you’re getting the lights.You know the rules, you’re the last one standing.”

“Ghosts aren’t real!” Justin shot back automatically, yet he still moved as fast as he could across the dark floor to hop into the warm bed. He shuffled, determining the most comfortable spot on a new mattress as he listened to Adam’s steady breathing next to him. It felt so good to share a room again, as if a piece of himself that was missing slotted back into place. This was home, he realized, and he didn’t ever want to leave or grow apart. But what if they did, he thought. Isn’t that what happens to college friends, they eventually grow apart? Unbidden, a lyric from the show came to mind “you’ll be just a man, once I used to know…” and he knew he didn’t want that to be true. He didn’t need to run the pros and cons or compile spreadsheets, it was an immutable fact. He wanted to spend the rest of his life right here, Ransom-and-Holster, together. Before he could get lost in questioning what to say, Justin took the plunge, turning on his side.

“Holtzy … Adam? I’ve gotta say something.” He reached out, tentatively reaching out until his fingers hit what felt like Adam’s elbow. He took a deep breath and continued, “You’re the most important person in my life, and I think you always will be. I don’t want us to grow apart, or for you to be that guy I once knew that I tell stories about. You’re my person. Wait, is that a line from one of your shows? Nevermind, don’t answer that, because if I stop I might not be able to say what I need to say, and that is that I love you. Like, I am in love with you. And I may have only just realized that, but it’s the absolute truth.” In the faint glow created by the lights from the city below he could see Adam’s eyes widening as Justin spoke, mouth gaping like a fish. “Is that okay? Did I just ruin everything?”

“No!” Adam flipped towards him, clutching onto Justin’s sleeve. “You didn’t ruin anything. Did  - do - do you really mean that?”

Justin nodded, tilting his head closer, “I really do.”

“Because I’ve been in love with you forever, but I didn’t think you would ever feel that way, so I kept it to myself.” Adam shrugged, causing his arm to move under Justin’s hand.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting. But I’m here now,” Justin added, trailing his fingertips up Adam’s arm until he reached his jaw. Their faces were only centimetres apart now. He slid his hand further along the side of Adam’s head, thumb stroking his cheek. “Can I?”

Adam bridged the remaining gap between them, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. One kiss became another as they melted into one another, Adam’s arm reaching across Justin’s back to pull him close. Soft and sweet became deep and passionate before ebbing back again like a tide. This feels right, Justin thought, pulling back just enough so they could look at one another again in the dim light. His hands cradled Adam’s face, thumbs brushing against the stubble on his jaw as he felt the warmth of his cheeks and wondered if Adam’s face looked as flushed as it felt. That was an appealing thought, Justin realized, as he dipped forward again to plant a soft kiss on one cheek. “Ok?”

“So very ok,” Adam confirmed as he shifted onto his back, tugging Justin with him.

Justin happily snuggled into place, his nose pressed against Adam’s neck with Adam’s arm warm across his back. I’m home, was his last thought as he drifted into a peaceful sleep.

**