Page 47 of In Your Light

Fyn gave him a smile, not wanting Zaq to worry unnecessarily. “It’ll all be fine, you’ll see. And hey, you’ve got a baby on the way. You need to focus on dad things.”

“Dad things? What are dad things?”

Fyn laughed. “No clue. No clue whatsoever. I’m a gay virgin, remember?”

Zaq snorted. “One of those things can change, you know. And I don’t mean the gay part.”

Fyn gave him a shove. “Shut up.” But it was too late. Fyn’s mind had already gone directly to Hadeom. “See you in two days.”

“You will.”

Fyn watched Zaq leave before turning and heading down the mountain. Given he was halfway between Hadeom and the cove, and given he was now thinking about Hadeom, he decided a quick detour was in order. And it would be a brief stop just to say hello and see if Hadeom needed anything. Plus, Ciaran wasn’t expecting him back until sundown anyway... and he was fast.

His heart raced as the hut came into view. And the way his pulse felt electric, how his tummy became jittery, and his skin felt all shivery had nothing to do with running or physical exertion.

It was anticipation.

He spotted Hadeom outside, carrying armfuls of logs and twigs, and he dropped one. “Fuck.”

Fyn laughed, and Hadeom’s head shot up at the sound.

“You shouldn’t curse,” Fyn said.

Hadeom just stood there, still wearing his trademark head-to-toe black that matched his jet-black hair. But he smiled.

A full smile.

A real smile.

Yep. Fyn’s heart drummed a song it’d never played before.

Hadeom waited for him to walk over, his arms full of firewood and wearing a smile that somehow seemed to stop time.

Fyn bent down and collected the fallen piece. “You dropped one,” he said.

Hadeom rolled his eyes before walking to the side of the hut. He began to stack the wood under the porch where it could dry. “I didn’t know you’d be stopping by today.”

“Unpleasant surprise?”

Hadeom huffed and took the piece of wood from Fyn. “No. Just... a surprise.”

“Well, I hadn’t planned on coming by,” Fyn admitted. “I went and saw Zaq at the boundary, and we went for a bit of a run. On the way back, I realised I was halfway here, so I thought I’d come say hello. Is that okay?”

He glanced at Fyn, then brushed his clothes down. “Yes, of course it’s fine. You don’t need an invitation. You can come by anytime.” His eyebrows furrowed, and he cleared his throat. “You got settled in at Tenebrae okay, I assume? You didn’t come back, so I assumed it was all fine.”

“Oh, sure. They gave me a whole house. It was abandoned at some point. It’s old, but it’s awesome. It has a shower. Like a waterfall in the house. And running water.” Fyn pointed his thumb at the hut. “Which is more than I can say for this place.”

Hadeom smiled again. “It’s not so bad here. It’s actually nice getting back to basics.”

“Basics? Okay, so the hut here is better than where I used to live in the camp. It was very small and very basic. I mean, it was all I ever needed. I’m not complaining. But the house in the village? It’s amazing. You should come see it one day.”

Hadeom’s face did that thing again. Like a flinch but not really. “Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Everyone there is super nice.” Fyn shrugged. “I was thinking, and it’s no big deal, but my house is big enough for two. If you get sick of living here in the hut. You’re on your own out here, and⁠—”

“No, Fyn,” Hadeom said quietly. “Thank you for offering. That’s very thoughtful. But I.... I don’t think I’d be very welcome.”

“Sure you would. They just had two other guys move into town from some other... place.” He almost said consortium. “They’ve planted a huge vegetable garden. I’m gonna help them. But yeah, so there’s, like, three new people in town. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind another one.”