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His hand slipped under Bren’s shirt, the ridges of his abs setting A.J.’s fingers tingling as they came to rest over his heart. If Bren was going to be pulled back to reality before his body was ready, he was at least going to do it with a smile on his face.

“Bren?” A.J. said, pressing lips to the part of Bren’s mouth that wasn’t serving as a makeshift waterfall.

Bren’s eyebrows knit together before his face relaxed and his body pulled closer across the top of the duvet.

“You told me not to let you fall asleep.” He kissed Bren’s cheek this time, then moved to the curve of his jaw where a strap of ginger fuzz had cropped up since the last time they’d seen each other.

Bren slurred a quiet grumble as his eyes fluttered open, the corners of his mouth raised just enough to be considered a smile.

“Robolad.”

The word was sleepy. A.J. wasn’t sure he could technically be called awake.

“Hey, Bren.”

Bren’s smile grew into something even goofier as his arms wrapped around A.J.’s back, pulling him in so their foreheads came together.

“I’m in Moose Jaw?”

A.J. chuckled and shifted so the curls of Bren’s hair tickled his forehead. “If you’re not, then I’m having a very vivid dream.”

Bren groaned and pulled him closer still, his hand joining A.J.’s under his shirt.

“No jokes. Too tired.”

A.J. kissed him again.

“Alright. You’re in Moose Jaw. I picked you up a few hours ago.”

He was still infinitely grateful that the people in his life knew not to keep this visit a secret from him. If he’d been expected to absorb the fact that Bren was waiting for him over in Regina on a random Tuesday . . . well, he wouldn’t have trusted himself behind the wheel of a car at any rate.

Bren sighed as he leaned his head into the crook of A.J.’s neck, his hands traveling to places that made him supremely thankful that humans couldn’t see through walls.

“Okay,” A.J. groaned, unable to make himself pull away from the touch he’d been craving since January. “What happened to being sleepy?”

Bren’s teeth brushed against his neck and a moan slipped past A.J.’s defenses.

“Bren, we need to get up. Nat’s entire family is waiting upstairs.”

Hands that had been on one side of cotton moved to the other as Bren kissed his way across A.J.’s collarbone.

“Do you think we’ll get anything done when we move in together?”

Bren’s hands squeezed as he let out the sort of snicker that A.J. had only ever heard from straight guys. “I mean anything with our clothes on.”

“We’re gonna need to get food, like,” Bren said into A.J.’s shoulder. “Red Bull, too.”

They met for a kiss and A.J. let the moment settle on him until Bren’s hands moved lower.

“Okay!” Bren’s hands scraped against the back of A.J.’s zipper, and A.J. jumped off the bed, taking a step back with his hand tugging the strip of metal back up.

Bren looked at him with half-lidded eyes, arms open like he expected him to lie down and get back to it.

Every part of him wanted to.

“How about this?” A.J. said, forcing himself to look away from Bren who, despite the bags under his eyes, was doing all sorts of things to his stupid electric meat suit. “You get up, chug a couple Red Bulls and act normal for a few hours, and I’ll—” He took a couple of steps back towards the bed even if he didn’t turn around. “Do that thing you like after you walk me home. So you can go to bed with a smile on your face.”

The bed groaned behind him and Bren’s hand clapped down on his shoulder. He still couldn’t get over the fact that Bren had sprouted up another inch in their time apart. If he’d given his last year of height to him, they could have been six foot and five ten. Five eight and six two was verging on ridiculous.