condescend to calm this riot in your mind

[unknowable]

[The last month or so has not been easy. First the zombies, and everything that entailed - what he made Ronan do, Ronan's guilt, all the pain afterward. And then, in the midst of that, Gansey disappearing. They weathered it better than Adam would once have expected, better than he even really expected at the time. He always plans for the worst, but Ronan is better than that. He always has been.

They made it out the other side, still alive, still intact, still together. Adam does not know how to put into words how grateful he is for that, how incredible it is that their connection is as strong as ever. Ronan makes being in Hadriel less of a torture and more of - well, a vacation, maybe, a temporary removal from Henrietta and Aglionby and Adam's oncoming future. Here, they have each other, and a few friends, and they don't need much else.

Adam keeps himself busy, though. He doesn't know how to do anything else, even though he's slowly growing fond of lazy mornings in bed with Ronan, hours spent doing nothing in particular but talking and kissing and touching. He can't do it forever, though, Adam is the sort of creature who needs to keep himself busy and useful. He finds something around the house to take care of, takes Aspen for a walk, goes to the orchard to pull weeds. Most regularly, he goes to the clinic.

He's spent half the day there, organizing and helping out, and when he steps out of the repurposed house he's not overly surprised to see Ronan lingering nearby. It's not so strange to see him at the clinic at all, and certainly not when Adam is there. Adam smiles, a quick but genuinely pleased thing, and walks over.]

Hey.

Comments

[greywaren]

[It's difficult to watch Adam leave for the clinic the first time after everything. He'd gotten his arm back, healed up okay, became more responsive, but still. Ronan's protective nature made it difficult for him to let Adam out of his sight for longer than a few minutes, let alone an entire shift. He'd gone with him the first few times, and the next time or two after that, until someone politely informed him that there were too many people loitering around and the workers needed some space.

So he'd sulked, but picked up Adam at the end of it, the two of them had walked home together, changed out of work clothes, slept together, and stayed together as mutual lifelines in the wake of losing limbs and important members of their friend group (which felt sort of similar to the limb removal, not that Ronan really had the experience to make that comparison).

But they'd gotten through it, and they'd gotten through everything since then, and things became more normal. Just like after Adam was buried alive, they began to learn how to give one another space again, but still stay close.

This is one of those days when closeness is preferred. Ronan is waiting outside the clinic near when Adam's shift lets up- he's never been a timely person, but being late usually just means that Adam heads home without him, which is always a little awkward when Ronan tries to catch up with him before he gets home. He's there on time today- or rather, a few minutes early- and waits around, leaning against the wall of a decrepit building and watching as Chainsaw stretches her wings overhead.

He's preoccupied enough to not notice the moment that Adam leaves the clinic and is a little surprised by his sudden appearance, though he hides it well.]

Hey.

[Ronan lifts an eyebrow.]

I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd walk you home.

[unknowable]

[He wonders if he'll ever get tired of seeing Ronan, ever not want to see him, or if it'll always be like this - a sense of comfort, a bit of happiness at seeing him there, knowing he came to wait for Adam. Adam knows that feelings fade, relationships end, but even so he can't imagine ever being unhappy to see Ronan.]

What a coincidence.

[It was strange at first, finding all the ways to fit together, feeling out each other's boundaries. It's still not always easy now, especially with the things that happen here. Adam has been vulnerable in ways that he wouldn't have wanted Ronan to see, at least not so early on in their relationship, and Ronan has had to deal with things he shouldn't have to. But is that so different than their friendship, everything they went through at home?

They made it through, like they always have. Adam does not doubt that Ronan loves him. Part of him did at first, not because Ronan is untrustworthy but because Adam simply had a hard time believing it. But Ronan's stuck by him even when it was difficult, he hasn't changed his mind or gotten sick of Adam's cautious and cold nature. It's something that matters more to Adam than he can really put into words, but he wants to try.

Not now, though. Now they're heading home.

He glances at the door of the clinic, closed now, and reaches to take Ronan's hand. Adam doesn't care if people know about them, but he knows that Ronan is not always so comfortable revealing his secrets. It's no one else's business, anyway.]

I wouldn't mind some company.

[greywaren]

[Ronan's heart thuds a firm beat in his chest when Adam touches his hand. Not because it's new, or because he wasn't expecting it, but that's just- his reaction to these things sometimes, Adam's fingers twined up in his own, knowing what he wants, what Adam wants and being unashamed to reach for it together.

Plus, he just likes the feeling of Adam's hand in his own.]

Who said anything about company? I was heading the other way.

[He quips it back because he's not Ronan if he's not mocking something, and he leans in close, pressing his shoulder against Adam's as his fingers squeeze slightly, the action voicing his approval for him. He doesn't always walk Adam home, but he always likes doing it, just carving out this separate piece of the day that they can both live in alone together- any extra second with Adam he can get is a good one, and so Ronan steals them as often as he can.

He tries not to think about how Adam's hand is new, how the fingers that are clutching at his own are fingers that Hope had recreated for him. He doesn't think about cutting off Adam's hand at the forearm, even if he had to. Adam had fixed it, because Adam always fixes things, and that's just the way it has to be.

Either way, that sort of thing can't mar what they have now, not when they're both making an effort to move forward from everything that had happened to the both of them.]

I guess I could walk with you, though. If you really wanted me to.

[unknowable]

Asshole.

[He says it with a smile, pressing his shoulder to Ronan's and running his thumb over the back of Ronan's hand in an easy, affectionate gesture. He likes this so much, these quiet moments when it's just the two of them, when they can do something as simple as walk home together and enjoy each other's company.

Ronan's not always easy to be with, and Adam knows he isn't either, and this place has a tendency to make everything worse. But this - them, the two of them, what they have - it does feel easy. Even if they bicker, or if things are difficult, just being with Ronan never takes sacrifice or pain. It's the best thing that Adam has here, and he thinks it wouldn't be any different at home, either.

Won't be any different. Because when they go back, they'll be together, too.]

What have you been doing all day? Smash any windows?

[He lets himself simply enjoy this, lets himself tend the quiet kernel of certainty he's been building for months now. Emotions are always more difficult for Adam, with his need to take things apart and put them back together and try to understand the whats and whys and hows. Emotions don't work that way, or at least they don't always. But he knows now, he just doesn't know how to say it.]

[greywaren]

[Ronan scoffs at the question, as if he doesn't regularly smash windows when he gets annoyed or just bored. At the very least, Adam isn't usually with him when he pulls stunts like that, but he knows about it anyway. Of course he does- Adam knows Ronan better than anyone else in this hellhole, but to have Ronan's habits asked directly of him is a little amusing.]

Packing up.

[He says it flippantly, like it's not a big deal, but they all know that they need to move sooner or later. The shattered window is the latest in a long list of things that have damaged their house, and at this point it has enough miserable memories that Ronan would be all too happy to move somewhere larger, in the event that Gansey and Blue come back.

Even if they don't, even if ultimately everyone decides to stay in the same house, it'd still be good to pack his things, if only because Ronan spends more time in Adam's bed than he does in his own anymore, and he's slowly starting to see the benefit in living with him entirely.

There are hesitations of course, and he hasn't exactly asked Adam about it yet, but it's something he's been thinking about more than he should, something that he thinks he might want more than he should.

But also, he's getting ahead of himself.]

There's a lot of shit in my room.

[unknowable]

[He nods. He's been thinking about it too, about moving, about finding someplace else. It isn't so urgent now that Gansey and Blue are gone, now that they all fit in the house, but - it feels strange to stay. Good things have happened there (talking to Gansey about the strange magic of the place, Noah's glitter somehow ending up in the kitchen cabinets, Ronan pressing him back against the wall and kissing him for the first time, Ronan slipping into his room late at night, Ronan with his head in Adam's lap, saying he loves him) but there have been so many bad things, too. Things he doesn't want to remember every time he looks at the broken window.

And if Gansey and Blue come back, or if someone else they know comes, they'll need room anyway. It just makes sense to move. They haven't all really discussed it together, not since Gansey left, but Adam thinks they've all been packing on their own. He has, he knows Ronan has.]

There's a lot of shit in my room, too. I should make you pack that.

[After all, most of it is Ronan's. Even now, where things don't cost money, Adam is sparing with his belongings. He keeps enough clothing that he won't quickly run out, a few things he's scavenged from around the city, the stuff he brought with him, the things Ronan has given him. Not much else. Now that Ronan sleeps with him most nights, though, his room has filled with wondrous things.

It's incredible, really, but it's also sort of a mess. Adam makes some attempt to keep it relatively decent, but he's still an eighteen year old boy - sometimes he forgets to throw away that broken clock Ronan dreamed up, or the handfuls of dirt that somehow appeared, whether they came from shoes or another dream.

He doesn't want to get rid of a lot of it. He likes Ronan's things, likes the impossibility and wonder of them, likes the puzzles that some of them are - likes trying to figure out those puzzles. Secretly, he likes it best of all when he thinks they might have come from dreams of him, though he never asks. He likes the way they make Ronan's presence even realer, the way they make Adam's room sort of his as well.]

Maybe I can help you, though.

[greywaren]

[Ronan pulls a face when Adam mentions all the things he has in his room, even though he knows that most of it is his fault. Adam might not be the neatest person in the world, but in terms of tidying up, he's miles better at it than Ronan, who could likely be confused with a hoarder or someone who runs a pawn shop out of their bedroom on a good day. It's not exactly that he's a slob- though that's a factor- but his tendency to bring things back from his dreams several times a week tends to lead to him amassing a small stockpile of impossible things.

Some of them are difficult to get rid of for obvious reasons- they're too large, too strange, too revealing- and others still carry a sentimentality to them that makes them difficult to toss. They all have memories associated with them, even the dangerous ones, and Ronan remembers each and every dream that they come from.

He should feel bad about cluttering up Adam's room with his things, but the knowledge of it makes him secretly pleased. There had been a time when he'd been wary of sleeping near the other boy at all, for fear of bringing something back that could hurt him in some way or change Adam's opinion of him for the worse. But that didn't happen and after awhile, Adam's warm presence an comforting touch had lulled Ronan into a sleep that proved to be calmer, less dangerous- and so the resulting items were the same.

Maybe that's why, at the end of it all, he can't really bring himself to feel that bad about it.]

If you want.

[He nudges Adam's shoulder as they walk, trying to figure out how to broach the subject that he's been mulling over for the past little while. It's nothing drastic, nothing that would really change how things are at all- but to Ronan, it feels like a larger step that symbolizes something deeper.

But Adam knows Ronan's feelings. Ronan had told him a few months back that he loves him- and rather than fading away, it had only intensified. Where once, Ronan thought that seeing Adam lifted his spirits, now he feels that the lack of his presence makes the world dimmer, like being with him is the only purpose worth having in this place. Ronan wants to be at his side all the time, whether that's at the clinic or walking through the orchard, or sleeping next to him, or just- inhabiting the same space together.

So he sets his jaw, going quiet for a few moments as he works his thoughts around one another.]

...you know, before he left, Gansey kept bitching at me about taking up a whole room when I spend so much time in yours.

[unknowable]

[His eyes flicker to Ronan, though he doesn't stop walking and he certainly doesn't let go of Ronan's hand. He's thought about bringing up the subject before - how if they're moving anyway, it might make sense for them to share a room. He'd thought about it sometimes even before they began to discuss moving, once Ronan was spending most nights in his room anyway.

Adam wasn't sure at first. He likes having his space, and while he liked having Ronan with him too, he worried that it would end up feeling cramped. Like he didn't have anything of his own, his own space. But they've been staying together for months now, and though Ronan may not have formally moved in, he occupies Adam's space almost as if he did.

And it doesn't feel cramped. Adam doesn't feel like he's being squeezed out of his own space. Ronan takes up more space than him, physically and in every other way, but it doesn't make him feel like he doesn't belong there. Instead it's just a strange kind of comfort, the knowledge that he's not alone. Adam's made enough of a mark that it still feels like his space, but it doesn't feel like it needs to be his alone.

He doesn't mind being alone sometimes. He's pretty good at being alone. But it's better when Ronan is there. He's happier, he feels more comfortable. He feels safer. He's not lonely when he wakes up in the middle of the night, when he can just roll over and press against the warm bulk of Ronan's body.]

Yeah? I mean, he had a point.

[Ronan doesn't always stay with him, but these days it's more often than not. More than that, Adam misses him a little when he's not there. He ignores it, because that's incredibly stupid when Ronan's just in the next room, but it's there. If it could be like that all the time... well, he doesn't think he'd have anything to complain about. Not even the strange things Ronan dreams up sometimes, not even getting woken up in the middle of the night by Ronan climbing into bed with him.

He doesn't mind now. He doesn't think he ever really will, though he might give Ronan a hard time about it sometimes.]

When we move, maybe we could pick a room together. To share.

[It sounds disgustingly domestic when he says it like that, but even so, he feels warm.]

[greywaren]

[Adam picks up on his point, which is good- Ronan would be too embarrassed to explain his intentions fully, but luckily, Adam has gotten better about reading his meaning with any particular conversation. It's the same way now, with Adam making the offer and taking some of the awkwardness out of Ronan's hands.

He has to admit that it's an attractive proposition. He stays with Adam enough as it is, it wouldn't be such a significant change. The room would likely be more cramped, they'd have to wrangle Chainsaw and Aspen in together and somehow make it all work out, but Ronan thinks that they could, maybe. At the very least, he wouldn't have to have even the slightest excuse to press against Adam late at night- he could just do it.]

Sure.

[For as much as he wants this, Ronan's agreement is as neutral as ever, but the tightening of his fingers around Adam's own betrays his casual reaction, and his heart thuds too loudly in his chest for him to be able to remember exactly what he should say next. They need to move, and soon- that much is obvious- but the prospect of staying with Adam in their new place makes Ronan all the more inspired to get everything packed up as soon as possible.]

Maybe we could just- you know, sledgehammer the wall between two rooms. Have a big room together.

[Which completely defeats the purpose of sharing a room, but Ronan likes that idea better anyway. It combines destruction, property vandalism, and being with Adam all together in one neat little idea.]

[unknowable]

[He laughs at the thought of that, easy and warm. It does feel so easy with Ronan's hand in his like this, Ronan's casual agreement matched with the tightening of his fingers. Like they could do anything. It's not a surprise that Ronan agreed, not when it was practically his idea in the first place, but it makes Adam happy even so.

He thinks, sometimes, about how he never really imagined he could have something like this. Oh, he wanted it, sometimes. He wanted someone who would care for him, would love him and be by his side, but he never really knew what that would look like. What role models did he have, besides movies, and Adam has always been too smart to think they're anything like real life.

So maybe he wanted something like that, but it was never something he imagined. Never something he could think of as important, really, not in the face of his future and everything he needed to do to get there. Not in the face of survival, which everything else had to come second to.

But now he has it, and now he knows what it looks like. What it feels like. He's still learning, he still has a long way to go, he's still afraid he'll mess it up. But he feels it, it's his, this thing that he and Ronan have. He doesn't think he's ever been happier than when they're together, senselessly and quietly happy.]

Figures your idea of moving in together would involve property damage.

[He looks at Ronan then, looks around them, and tugs him to a gentle stop. They're alone.]

Hey.

[This feels like it should be harder. He's thought about it so often, played it out in his mind, taken it apart and put it back together. He thought it would be difficult when it happened, he'd have to build up to it, work carefully around to what he needs to say. Find the perfect setting, the perfect time, the perfect moment.

It's not hard at all. It's easy, and his voice is steady when he says it.]

I love you.

[greywaren]

[Ronan is lighthearted and easy, smirking at Adam's little quip back and continuing along his train of thought for a moment. It wouldn't be so hard to destroy the wall. They could even move some furniture around so that the mess would be mitigated, and then push their beds together in the end of it and have even more room to sleep, though they'd probably just end up pressed against one another as usual.

Ronan is about to suggest it when Adam stops them both, and he tilts his head over toward him in question before Adam says it.

And it's- he's known. It hasn't been a difficult conclusion to jump to, not when Adam gives himself to him on an almost daily basis, not when Adam is reluctant to get out of bed with him in the mornings, not when Adam brightens when Ronan enters the room or pays attention to him in a group conversation. Ronan has considered it love for awhile now, but he knows that the jump is harder to make for Adam, who has never really known it and never really understood what it feels like.

He hasn't wanted to push him or make him feel uncomfortable about it, like he was pressured to say it back. When Ronan had told Adam that he loved him, he'd meant it, and he'd done it without any expectation of reciprocation. If Adam didn't say it for months, years, ever- that would be fine. Ronan knew then and he knows now how Adam feels, and that's enough.

But this... this is something else. This is Adam just saying it, so casual and matter-of-fact that it makes Ronan's heart skip a beat. This is Adam, calm and sure of himself, and Ronan is stunned for a moment- he doesn't know how else to respond but to turn and pull Adam closer for a kiss, right here in the middle of the street. It's heated and affectionate and passionate all at once, and he slips his free arm over Adam's shoulder while he does it, keeping them close so that he can press his forehead against Adam's when the kiss finally breaks.

He's breathless with it. He knew, he's known, but that doesn't mean that this isn't significant. Now, he knows that Adam knows too, that the two of them are on mutual ground with one another, that Adam has realized something about what love is, how love can feel, and that's- that's so fucking beautiful it makes him want to cry.]

I love you too.

[It comes out in a bit more of a rush than Adam's own confession, their faces still pressed together, Ronan's hand coming up to grip at the back of Adam's neck, stroking his thumb along the top of his spine.

It feels like his heart is going to explode. It feels like the world around them is on fire and everything burns with how much Ronan loves him. How much he loves Ronan back.]

[unknowable]

[He doesn't know what sort of a response he expected. Not a bad one, certainly. Maybe he didn't expect anything at all - he didn't say it for the response he might get, after all. He said it because it's true, and because he wanted Ronan to know. Needed him to know.

So Ronan's response doesn't matter, not really, but even so it's perfect. Ronan looks happy in a way that Adam certainly didn't expect, though maybe he should have - maybe he should've known that his love would be valuable, that it would mean something to Ronan, that it means something that he was able to say it.

It means something to Adam. It felt good to say it, it felt like he was settling something within himself. Maybe he's known for awhile - no, he has known for awhile. How could he not love Ronan, after everything, after all of this? How could he not love him, simply for who he is? It was a matter of saying it, that's all, a matter of letting himself accept it. Not that he loves Ronan - that's easy, that's a simple truth that's become part of him - but that he can love at all, and that he can do it wholeheartedly and with every cell in his body.

He catches hold of Ronan's jacket with his free hand, leaning into him. The warmth of his body, his scent, the sound of his voice. Of course he loves Ronan. He should have said it long ago, but he doesn't regret saying it now. It would be impossible to regret the look on Ronan's face, the undisguised affection in his eyes. He doesn't think he'll ever get over the way Ronan looks right now.

And he loves hearing it in return. Even if Ronan had never said it again, that once, on the couch in the dark, was everything to Adam. He would never have needed to hear it again, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love the sound of it on Ronan's lips, the renewed certainty that he is loved. That this is real.]

It's been true for a long time.

[He thinks Ronan probably knows that, but he wants to say that, too. Maybe it took him this long, maybe he had to turn it over and take it apart because he's Adam Parrish and that's what he does, but it was still true long before the words ever left his lips.

He's breathless, from the kiss and from his own thoughts, and he doesn't even consider or care that anyone might see them. Let them see, he's nothing but lucky to have Ronan, nothing but lucky to be loved by him. Adam is smiling, carefree and open, and he doesn't look away from Ronan for a moment as he closes the slight bit of space between them to kiss him again.]

[greywaren]

[Ronan smiles and kisses him again, ducking his head forward to press the kiss warmly against Adam's lips, clutching at his shoulders to keep him close- as if he could even think of backing away right now. It's warm and soft and nothing could ruin this moment, the elation of Adam giving his feelings a name and acknowledging them to him.

He knows it's hard. Ronan speaks more in touch than in words and so after saying I love you the first time, he hadn't felt the need to smother Adam in the routine statements of it, instead expressing his love in different ways. He loves Adam, and so he slides his hand over the small of his back, drags a blanket over his sleeping form, trails his tongue down over his stomach. He paints his love in kisses, in caresses and gentle, needless affection and he hopes that Adam understands what he means when he says it without words.]

I know.

[He murmurs it back when the kiss is broken for a brief moment, because of course he did. Ronan knows more than most, the language of touches and longing looks and gentle kisses in the morning. He knows that Adam treats him like someone he loves, but he also knows that Adam needed time to realize it for himself. The fact that he has is- his heart surges just at the memory of him saying it again, and Ronan reaches down, letting his hand fall from Adam's shoulders down to his hips, his back pockets, the tops of his thighs.

Without much warning, Ronan lifts him, expecting Adam to move with it and make it easier, coaxing him to wrap his legs around his waist. Their home is a ways still, but he wants to be close to Adam, wants to show him that love again and to prove it to him with every spare moment that they have.]

I've got you.

[They're only a few steps away from the wall of an abandoned storefront and so Ronan crosses the distance easily to prop Adam's back up against it, grinning as he tips his head to kiss at the other boy's throat.]

[unknowable]

[He's surprised, but - not at all in a bad way. He wraps his legs around Ronan's waist, his arms around Ronan's shoulders, holding on to him and steadying himself. He can't keep from smiling, and though he should probably protest - should probably point out that they're in public, anyone could walk by - he has no desire to do so.

He lets his head fall back instead, giving Ronan better access to his neck. It's encouragement, which is entirely the opposite of what he should do, but what does it matter? He wants Ronan more than anything, he loves Ronan, and it's only too clear that his belated confession has pleased Ronan.

He really should have known it a long time ago. It's not quite like Gansey said, so long ago - Ronan makes him quiet sometimes, it's true. Ronan calms the thoughts running through his head, provides a beautiful distraction that leaves him senselessly happy and nearly unable to think things to bits, the way he usually does. But it's more than that. Ronan makes the world feel brighter, makes things feel more real. He makes Adam feel more alive.

Contentment was always a far-off thing for him, happiness even more so, but now he's content every time he sees Ronan at the clinic, taking up space, watching him. He's happy every time they kiss in the kitchen when no one else is around. It's never been easy before, but it is now.]

I think I'm the one who's got you.

[He runs the fingers of one hand up the back of Ronan's neck, through the short bristles of his hair. Having Ronan this close is intoxicating, incredibly distracting, no matter how many times it happens. He doesn't think he'll ever get enough of it. It makes him want more, it always does, and it makes him forget his caution. He moves his other hand now too, and though he can't reach much from the position he's in, he does manage to slide slim fingers under Ronan's jacket, then his shirt, brushing over the smooth skin of his lower back.]

[greywaren]

Do you?

[He asks, teasing, but knowing without a doubt that Adam is right. Adam has him, clutched between his fingers, held between his thighs, nestled into the very crook of his heart. There's no part of Ronan that Adam doesn't have permission to touch and explore, and the muscles in his back flex under Adam's searching fingers in demonstration.

He's still wearing his jacket- Adam is still wearing all of his clothes- and they're out here, blocks from home in broad daylight, but all he wants to do is just rut against the other boy until they wear themselves out with it. And really, when the idea presents itself like that, it's hard not to rock his hips against Adam's own, pinning him effectively against the nearby wall and grinding low and rough against him.

Ronan's breath comes out ragged and warm against Adam's neck, tongue pressed against his skin, teeth catching just barely, hinting at something harsher.]

You wanna go home?

[He finally asks, though they're both a bit beyond that now. Most of the time, they can manage the self control it takes to get somewhere alone and quiet, but sometimes when Ronan just needs him and Adam opens up and responds the way he does, there's really no stopping them and they wind up fucking in the clinic, exchanging rushed blowjobs at the orchard, sliding their hands down past waistbands in abandoned stores. It's crazy, but Adam makes him want to do all sorts of irresponsible things, and Ronan never gets tired of his body, of his fingers, of the surprised way he gasps when Ronan gives him pleasure just the way he wants it.

It's impossible to keep his voice even when he speaks again, and so it comes out a little rough, scraped against the reddening mark on Adam's collarbone.]

Or- I can bring you inside, here. Lock the door. Put your back on the ground and taste you. [He swallows hard. Just imagining it makes his mouth go dry.] You want that?

[unknowable]

[He goes breathless when Ronan moves against him like that, fingers going still where they're pressed against Ronan's back. All he wants is to pull Ronan even closer, to move against him and hear the sounds he makes, to feel his hands on Adam's skin. He doesn't think he'll ever get enough.

On a simple level, it's that he's never been wanted like this, with no reservations and no hesitation. He could drown in it, lose himself in the impossible pleasure of Ronan's desire, respond with his own. But it's not just that. It wouldn't be the same coming from anyone else, because he wouldn't want them as much as he wants Ronan. It would lack the months of long looks, charged silences, the careful touches and quiet balance as they felt each other out. They've earned this, he thinks, they've earned the right to fall into each other.

Isn't it fair that he wants nothing more than to touch Ronan? That he finds it almost impossible to put the brakes on things even when he knows he should? They're careless and much less cautious than they should be, it's only luck that no one's come upon them already. Adam should know better, he's always been the careful one.

Around Ronan, he loses that, and he barely even regrets it for a moment. He'll steal kisses in the streets, knowing what they might lead to, run his fingers teasingly along the inside of Ronan's arm, pull him into a quiet corner and never, ever say no. He always knows better, and he always does it anyway, because he can't get enough of Ronan.]

You know I want that.

[His own voice is a little low, a little tight with the need he feels, and he moves against Ronan, just a bit. Not enough, but something.]

What are you waiting for?

[He means it to be taunting, teasing, urging Ronan on with gentle barbs. Instead it comes out hungry and raw, like the scrape of Ronan's teeth against his neck, like his own hands where they tighten on Ronan's jacket.]

[greywaren]

[Ronan grins when Adam doesn't back away- he would have listened if he had, would have waited until they went home and closed the door behind them and banished Noah before throwing Adam into bed and ravishing him there, but the fact that they don't have to wait for that makes it all the sweeter. He growls low under his breath and shifts backward, lifting Adam up from the wall to carefully carry him through the front door, using the other boy's back to nudge it open and stealing a kiss as he does.

When they're both all inside, it takes a little positioning- this is just a crappy store that they get supplies in sometime, small and a little dusty, with no extra rooms or anything and so Ronan delicately kneels down right there near the door, setting Adam down to sit in front of him. It takes a bit of strategic maneuvering then, to shuck off his jacket and throw it to the ground behind the other boy, but once it's positioned well enough, Ronan eases him back with a heavy kiss, maneuvering him backward until he's lying on the floor as promised, with his head somewhat pillowed by the lining of a leather jacket.

Ronan grins sharp against his mouth then, all teeth and longing, before breaking the kiss and pressing a finger to Adam's lips.]

Stay.

[He instructs him, before heaving himself back up and moving back to the door to securely close and lock it from behind, sliding a door stop up against it for good measure. There are windows of course, but they're high up enough that it would be impossible to see what they're doing through the swirling, stained glass without being right up next to the wall and that's enough privacy for Ronan.

He glances back down toward Adam on the floor, like a present waiting to be unwrapped and he smirks, reaching his fingers down to tug up the hem of his own shirt, removing a potential obstacle before joining the other boy back down on the floor, resting a knee between his thighs and starting with fingers on his stomach, too far away to kiss for the time being.]

Right here?

[unknowable]

[He watches Ronan, a little amused and a lot aroused. If Adam had more sense or more self-control he'd have insisted they go home first, but when it comes to Ronan, he seems to have neither of those things. He's lost count of the times they've been unable to keep their hands off each other, and while they always manage to find some kind of privacy, sometimes it's only barely that, and he never cares as much as he probably should.

He props himself up on his elbows so he can watch Ronan. He likes the way Ronan moves, the way Ronan looks at him even during the brief period they're separated. The being separated part is less nice - he misses the warmth of Ronan's body against his, the way they move together.

Then Ronan returns to him, and Adam settles back, and he doesn't even bother trying to pretend he's not appreciating the view of Ronan removing his shirt.]

Right here. Fuck, Lynch - anywhere.

[He won't pretend otherwise. He's sure Ronan already knows it, anyway - Adam's not the type to insist on soft cushions and spotless sheets, though he wouldn't say no to that, either. To him, it doesn't matter where they are, so long as Ronan is touching him. So long as Ronan wants him.

He has all the affection he could ever have asked for, more than he ever dreamed of. Even so, he's still hungry for Ronan, still always eager to reach out, to kiss and be kissing, to explore Ronan's body and feel Ronan's hands on him.

He catches hold of the hem of his own shirt and pushes himself up again, just enough to pull it off, not caring that his bare back will be pressed against the floor. He'd rather have as few barriers as possible between them. It does dislodge Ronan's fingers, but Adam reaches out to catch his wrist and place it back where it was before, this time skin against skin. He breathes in at the touch, looking up at Ronan.]

That's better.

[greywaren]

[Ronan lights up when Adam takes his shirt off, his eyes greedily tracing down the slope of Adam's stomach, the curve of his ribcage, the soft angles of his chest. He sees Adam without his shirt a lot more often nowadays, but he thinks that this might be his favorite part, when they're just starting and eager and pulling off clothing to show what they don't show anyone else.

He leans back in, easing over Adam with a gentle murmur, his fingers pushing up along his chest, thumb catching on a nipple and teasing at it in the moments it takes for Ronan to press their lips together for a kiss. His pants are still on and so are Adam's, and while he'd like to sink right down to the floor with the other boy, he knows the logistics of their situation are going to take some arranging, and he'd rather have it all done at once than to have to keep pulling away.]

What do you want?

[He asks, breathless with it. In the past few months, they've explored all kinds of ways of bringing pleasure to one another, and they both have their favorites. Ronan likes everything because everything involves Adam, but he has to admit that he's partial to- well, to some things.

He grins against the kiss, sharp and delighted, before his hand slides back down Adam's front, under the button of his jeans to make a quick and shocking grab at the other boy's cock through the thin fabric of his underwear, and that might also be his favorite thing, the first time they really manage to touch eachother, the sudden thereness of Adam's dick, how everything about it just manages to be perfect.]

I could put my mouth between your thighs, [he murmurs into Adam's ear, pressing their cheeks together so he can whisper darkly against the soft fuzz of hair at his temple,] lick you everywhere until you're begging me to blow you. I could use my hands on you and hold you down on the ground, right here in this stupid store.

[He leans in just that little bit more, lifting up on his knees, fingers incessant and rubbing against him still, his hand too trapped in Adam's jeans to really stroke him the way Ronan would like to.]

I could fuck you, if you wanted. I could pull you open with my fingers and take you hard, just the way you like it. [Ronan edges forward until he can finally take Adam's earlobe in his teeth, biting gently at the sensitive skin there.]

Your call, Parrish.

[unknowable]

Jesus.

[He doesn't know how Ronan expects him to think when he's touching Adam like that, when he's saying those things. He doesn't know how anyone could. He can't focus on anything, can't even keep from bucking his hips up against Ronan's hand, an unconscious and impossible to resist response to Ronan.

He wants all of it, he wants everything Ronan can give him and more. When it comes right down to it, Adam doesn't care what they do as long as Ronan is involved. They've experimented and explored each other, and Adam doesn't think there's anything in the world that Ronan could suggest that would turn him off, no matter how strange, not if it's the two of them.

But, like anyone, he does have things he likes particularly. And this - Ronan intent on him, wanting him, a little dirty and a little rough and a lot sexy - is absolutely one of them, whatever form it ends up taking. And he thinks about it, of course he does, how could he not with Ronan's voice in his ear and Ronan's teeth against his skin?

He thinks about Ronan's mouth, his tongue, the brush of his teeth against Adam's soft inner thighs, the time everyone was out of the house and Ronan came into the kitchen, pushed Adam back against the cabinets, sank to his knees. He thinks about Ronan's hands, his scarred knuckles, his careful touch waking Adam from sleep, the unconcealed pleasure in his expression when Adam wraps a hand around his cock in return. He thinks about the time at the clinic, their stolen moments alone while everyone else was busy or out, when they had no time and every chance to be caught and Ronan still fucked him on one of the empty beds, hurried and hungry and needy on both sides.

He wants it all, and he wants it bad. He moves his hips up against Ronan's hand again and turns his head, catching Ronan's lips, kissing him hard. He wants it all, and it's hard to think about anything else. But somewhere inside Adam even now is a kernel of practicality, and as much as he would desperately like Ronan inside him right here, the weight of Ronan's body pressing him down, the pleasant ache of it - well, they do have to walk home after this. He's got to at least try to be practical sometimes, as much as he wants to be anything else right now.]

Use your mouth. You're being dirty enough already, you might as well put it to use.

[He's breathless even with just this, but how could he not be? Ronan destroys him so easily.]

[greywaren]

[Ronan grins into their kiss, toothy and pleased with himself at Adam's breathless desperation. He enjoys this, undoing the other boy under his fingers and tongue, watching the flush rise high in his cheeks until his arousal overtakes the rest of him and the parts of him that think we shouldn't be doing this here are quickly overshadowed.

Part of him wants to ask Adam to confess his love again, just so that Ronan can hear the words when he slinks down his chest, but the rest of him knows that he doesn't need to hear it. Adam's love has been everywhere since the day he experienced it- just being touched by him, kissed by him, surrounded by him, is enough. He knows, he doesn't need the validation.

Which is why Ronan is silent when he finally pulls back, quirking an eyebrow up toward Adam before nodding in a jerky motion, and he leans in to accost Adam's throat again.

He's not there for long though, just ensuring the the bruise from earlier will really last before he dips back down, working his hand out of the front of the other boy's pants and unbuttoning them instead, onehanded with the type of skill that suggests he does this often. Because, well- he does.]

You know what I love most about doing this?

[It's kind of a trick question that he leaves Adam to mull over while he slips down to the other boy's stomach, licking his way down the planes of his abdomen, pressing his mouth below his belly button. In truth, Ronan loves all of it- he loves the taste of Adam, the warm weight of him in his mouth, he loves being on his fucking knees for him, like he's praying, like he's worshiping, like Adam is a king that Ronan would gladly serve- he loves all of it.

With Adam's pants unbuttoned, the zipper is easy enough to tug down, and Ronan uses both hands now to slide Adam's pants and underwear over his hips, lifting a little so Adam can ease up to help him.]

It's the way you breathe. You're so quiet, but I can hear you breathing. [He confesses it on a whisper as the rest of Adam's body is revealed to him, and Ronan would like to get to work right there, but Adam's legs are still constricted by his jeans, which are on over his- shoes, damnit, and Ronan is growing impatient with wanting him. He doesn't hide it very well, and his movements grow a little more insistent, pressing a sucking kiss into the sharp line of Adam's hipbone while he focuses his attention on one shoe, one leg, pulling back momentarily to yank everything off so he can lift it by the knee and press his cheek into the warm inside of Adam's thigh.]

When your breath catches and your fingers- [he murmurs, sinking in, sliding his tongue along the narrow stretch of skin where Adam's thigh meets his groin.] -when you press your hand against your mouth and breathe hard through your nose.

[Ronan scrapes his teeth just barely over the sensitive skin there and peers up at Adam's face, his eyes alight, his expression nothing short of devious.]

Only I get to hear that. It's perfect.

[unknowable]

[It's a relief to be free of his jeans, all too constricting and tight all of a sudden. But it's nothing Adam can focus on - not with Ronan's lips against his skin, not with those words coming out of his mouth. It's not fair, really, how easy it is for Ronan to drive him crazy, but Adam wouldn't have it any other way. He's hard, of course, and the cool air of the shop doesn't calm him down at all.

He likes it when Ronan talks like this - likes it an embarrassing amount. It's the lack of shame, maybe, the open and intent pleasure in Ronan's voice, the acknowledgement that he notices all these little things and that he likes them, he likes Adam. The sounds he makes - Adam didn't even know he noticed them. Adam barely notices himself, too consumed by pleasure to pay attention.

He's naturally the quiet type, quiet in nearly everything he does. That's always been the case, and intimacy is no different. But Ronan is able to draw things out of him that he didn't expect, that he might be embarrassed by in other situations. But with him it's all right, with him it feels perfect. It's not that he didn't know he did that, but that he'd never thought of it - certainly never thought of it as something that someone would like. That Ronan would like.

It gets under his skin when Ronan says things like that, just like it does when Ronan touches him the right way, when Ronan leaves bruises in the shape of his mouth on Adam's skin, when Ronan gets on his knees for him. It's like little hooks in his belly, in his heart maybe, tugging at him and drawing out responses both physical and emotional. He can't stop it, wouldn't want to if he could.]

You're a fucking menace. You can't say things like that.

[But, notably, Adam is never going to actually tell him not to say things like that. Just that it's terribly unfair when he's already hard, when he already wants Ronan so bad he feels like he'll combust. This just makes it worse, makes it harder - well, literally and figuratively.

He reaches down to skim his fingers over Ronan's hair, eyes on him, never looking away. There's so many things he loves about this. The feel of Ronan's head under his hand, the careful brush of his teeth, how his attention narrows to a singular focus - Adam, just Adam. How the world is entirely the two of them.]

I could be louder, if you wanted. I could say your name.

[He already does sometimes, when they really get carried away, but Adam tends toward quiet. He never wants Ronan to think for a moment that he doesn't want him, though, want him so much he can barely stand it. It's torture, him down there, saying those things, so close to Adam's cock and not quite touching it, but he bites his lips and he doesn't move nearly as much as he wants to, because he wants it just like this.]

[greywaren]

[Ronan is viciously pleased at the reaction that his words get out of Adam, and he can see the flush in his cheeks, feel the scrambling of his fingers against the back of his head, and he likes all of it. This is what Adam wanted, and Ronan is more than happy to oblige as he ducks his head back down to graze his teeth along the edge of Adam's hipbone, following it back to the firm heat of his cock.]

Do you want to say my name?

[He asks, because it's always about want with him, it's always about selfishness and giving into your own emotions. He doesn't want Adam to be loud just to appease him; that would be no better than a lie, and he's not entirely keen on the idea of fucking someone who's just reacting in ways that they'll think he likes.

Everything about him is too fucking genuine sometimes, and Ronan smirks when he thinks about it and when he thinks about peeling all the pleasing, striving, critical layers of the other boy down until all Adam has left is what he wants. It's happened before and it'll happen again, and again, and again, and just that thought makes him tilt his head a little to slide his cheek across the side of Adam's cock, following the motion with a kissing press of his lips before he pulls back again, parting Adam's legs further so he can dip his head between them and set his mouth to a less satisfying, more teasing use.

He enjoys doing this too- this quiet undoing, the slow filth of dragging his tongue across Adam's balls, pressing teasing kisses to the softness of the skin just under them, letting the warmth of his breath shiver across the more intimate parts of him and pulling back up with Adam is a sufficient spit-slick mess.]

Talk to me, [Ronan teases, coaxing it out of him as he finds the little mark he'd left on Adam's thigh earlier and sets about sucking a darker patch into his skin,] tell me where you want it. I'll do it.

[His eyes flick up again, mouth pressed against soft skin, the corner of his mouth twitching up slightly in amusement.]

I'll do anything.

[unknowable]

[It's hard to focus on anything when Ronan's doing that. Definitely hard to focus on what he says, but though Adam's thoughts are scattered, he hears it. He thinks about Ronan, on his knees between Adam's legs, asking what Adam wants, and he likes it - he absolutely does - but he's not sure that's quite fair.

And fairness is so important, after all.

He reaches down, catches Ronan's jaw in shaky fingers so he'll look at Adam, so their eyes can meet.]

You can't ask what I want like what you want doesn't matter.

[He trails his fingers over Ronan's lips, trying to control his own breathing. It really isn't easy, all things considered, but Ronan deserves a taste of his own medicine after - well, all the things he's been saying, everything that gets under Adam's skin and makes him feel like he's going to melt, like he can't think of anything but Ronan's mouth and hands and cock.]

Not that I don't like the idea of you obeying my every whim.

[Adam's mouth quirks into his own amused little smile.]

I want you to kiss me until neither of us can breathe. I want you to leave marks on my neck where everyone can see. I want you to jerk off thinking about me even when we'll see each other right after - even if I'm watching. I want to come in your mouth, I want you to fuck me until I can't see straight and all I can do is say your name. I want you to want me more than you've ever wanted anything in your life.

[He should be embarrassed, saying all of that - he absolutely will be later, when they're not in the middle of this, when Ronan's mouth hasn't just been on him, when Ronan hasn't just said he'll do anything. But right now, it's easy, Adam's not self-conscious. He wants to say it, he wants it to have an effect on Ronan just the way Ronan has an effect on him. He wants to take Ronan apart. He wants this, all of it, so badly, and he's so hard he can barely think.]

What do you want?

[greywaren]

[Ronan tilts his head up when Adam touches him, allowing the comfort of Adam's fingers against his jaw, smirking a little as the other boy starts to talk and doesn't stop. Everything he says lights up images of the things that they could be doing, thinks that they have done before, with fingers and mouths and hands and every other part of themselves. They've fucked with what felt like everything in them, they've made love on sunny mornings, they've fumbled around on their knees, with their fingers, doing everything that they can possibly think of and then sme, and still it's not enough, Ronan wants more and he knows that Adam does too.

He can't help but to love it, and he's not ashamed of that. Adam is so good at what he does and Ronan wants desperately to reward him, so he slides back up Adam's body to meet his mouth in a messy kiss, his fingers finding the other boy's cock- still a little slick from his earlier attentions- and giving it a firm stroke.]

You.

[He whispers it like it's an answer to the question, though it pales in comparison to everything that Adam had just confided in him. Ronan latches onto Adam's neck to suck another bruise at the fluttering pulse there and starts to stroke him, firm and intent on giving him what he needs.]

More than anything. Just you- every sound and every movement and every fucking inch of your skin.

[Ronan slides up a little so that his knees are on either side of Adam's thighs, and he presses his cock, warm and hard and insistent up against Adam's own, wrapping a hand around them both for now. It's a lazy pleasure, pulsing against him like this, and while Ronan isn't teasing, he's certainly in no hurry.]

I'm yours. I want you to be mine, too.