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Ronan stood on the campus outside Adam's last class, watching as students left the class. A part of him would maybe always be jealous of them, they could see Adam every day and Adam could choose any of them instead of him. But then he saw Adam walk out and he couldn't think of anything else. He looked the same yet somehow different; his hair was slightly longer than Ronan remembered and his pristine clothes were different from his Aglionby uniform, but his face and the small smile on his lips as he talked to his friends was the same.
He watched as Adam noticed him and suddenly stopped, his eyes widening as they met Ronan's. Then his face broke into a bright smile and he dropped his bag— Ronan had to do a double take because Adam Parrish just dropped his fucking school bag on the ground — and ran towards Ronan. Ronan took some steps forward as well and caught Adam as he threw his arms around Ronan's neck, knocking the breath out of his chest. Ronan let out a surprised “Oof” at the impact but it didn't matter, because Adam was in his arms and he could breathe again after weeks.
“What are you doing here?” Adam gasped against his neck. “I thought you were supposed to visit next month.”
“Surprise,” Ronan said, smiling. “Happy Valentine's day.”
Adam pulled back to gape at him. “You came for that?”
“Well, it's a stupid day but chocolates are on sale and I have an excuse to visit.”
“You don't need an excuse to visit,” Adam said automatically. Then smiling cheekily, added, “You surprised me on Valentine's. Shit, you’re such a romantic sap.”
Ronan’s response died on his tongue as Adam leaned in to brush his lips against his. “Happy Valentine's day,” he murmured against Ronan’s lips.
When Adam kissed him, it was the exhilaration when he had spent time at Adam's apartment above the church treading on the knife's edge, it was the adrenaline when they pushed each other on shopping carts, it was the uncontainable happiness Ronan had felt after their first kiss, it was the freedom when they went on drive on silent nights, it was the calmness when he watched Adam read stories to Opal, it was feeling more at home than the empty rooms of the Barns had felt lately.
When they pulled back, minutes or hours later, Ronan mumbled, “Wanna go for a drive?”
“There aren't really any spots here to make out in a car,” Adam teased. “But sure, let's go.”
They got in the car and as Ronan started driving, Adam looked back at the baskets in the backseat and asked, “What's that?”
“Some real food,” Ronan replied. “I don't know what garbage they have here.”
“You cooked dinner?”
Ronan nodded. “And breakfast and lunch.”
When Adam was silent, Ronan glanced at him to find him looking at him with an achingly fond look in his eyes and he was biting his lip which Ronan had noticed was what he did when he didn't know what to say.
Ronan had to look back towards the road, but after a moment, he felt Adam’s hand on his on the gearshift and Adam brought it up to kiss his knuckles. His voice was trembling with emotions as he said, “You’re- I love you so much.”
No matter how many times he said it, Ronan’s heart still skipped. “I love you, too. Now tell me if there is any good spot around to sit?” He snuck a glance just in time to see a smile bloom on Adam’s lips.
They found a park overlooking the sunset and as Ronan spread the blanket he had brought along and took out one of the baskets, Adam grinned at him, saying, “You really prepared for a picnic date.”
“See? I'm such a great boyfriend,” he said, settling down besides him. “Also-” He took out the stones from his pocket to hand to Adam. “Opal told me to give these to you as she misses you. She’s mad at me that I didn't bring her too.”
Adam took the stones with the same look he had in the car, all fond and surprised. “Tell her I love them. And I miss her, too.”
They ate Ronan’s home cooked dinner and watched the sunset leaning against each other and Ronan stared at Adam as the golden rays fell over him and Adam called him out and smiled that rare smile of his that only Ronan got to see and they talked about everything they had talked about on the phone calls but now Adam was here and he could hold him and touch him, and everything was perfect and Ronan never ever wanted to leave.
When they got back to Adam’s dorm, his roommate was out, and Ronan told Adam he had brought some movie that Adam might like so they decided to watch that. Since Ronan hadn’t brought any clothes, Adam gave him his harvard hoodie that was a little small but fit okay and smelled like Adam and Ronan definiely didn't bury his face in that fuck off Parrish .
As Adam put on the murder squash sweater, Ronan said, “Wait you have this? When I dreamt that you said it was ridiculous and I was sure you had hidden it or thrown it away that’s why I couldn’t find it.”
“I said that because I was certain it would sing the fucking song,” Adam defended, and he looked unfairly adorable in the long sweater falling to his fingertips. “And it's still ridiculous, it just smells like you and home, so.”
And Ronan didn't have any response to it that wasn’t sappy poetry, so he just kissed Adam again, trying to ignore the fucking gymnastics his heart was doing at Adam calling the Barns home casually, and muttered, “You look good in it.”
They started the movie and Adam cimbed on Ronan's lap to which Ronan grumbled a fake complaint and wrapped his arm around Adam's waist.
Thirty minutes into the movie, Adam fell asleep and Ronan shook his head fondly, turning down the sound.
Forty minutes in, Ronan lost feeling in his legs and cursed inwardly. It reminded him of when he was a kid and used to sit with the cats in the Barns and they would fall asleep in his lap, so he wouldn't move at all because those cute little cats were asleep and he didn't want to disturb them. Except now it was his very gorgeous boyfriend wearing this ridiculously cute sweater who was asleep on him and if he moved, he could wake up and he looked so peaceful sleeping like this that risking waking him would be a crime.
One hour in, he really needed to pee and now that was a problem.
"Adam, I need to get up," he whispered, stroking Adam's hair. He didn't want to do this, but he really needed to get up.
Adam only snuggled up closer to him though. At Barns, when he had been tired from jobs and fell asleep like this, Ronan carried him to bed and he never woke up, so Ronan slowly and carefully shifted him to lay on the couch, humming under his breath as he knew that helped him sleep too. Then he tiptoed around the couch, wincing at the pin and needles in his legs and feet, and all but ran to the bathroom.
When he came back though, Adam was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. When he saw Ronan, he reached out and when Ronan walked to him, gripped the hoodie, grumbling, “Where were you?” His subtle accent that was almost hidden till now was curling around his words now, something Ronan knew only happened when he was tired, upset, or around Ronan.
“Bathroom,” he replied. Another thing Ronan had learned during the summer at the Barns as Adam slowly just let himself be, was that Adam got pretty clingy and sometimes grumpy when he woke up, and if it wasn't the cutest thing Ronan had ever seen.
As he sat down, Adam climbed on his lap again, burying his face in the crook of his shoulder and wrapping his arms around his neck. His embrace was tight like he was afraid Ronan would disappear suddenly, and that made sense when he mumbled, “I thought it was a dream an’ you were gone an’ I was alone again.”
Ronan’s heart twisted painfully. Fuck, this long distance sucked. “Babe,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to Adam's good ear. “I'm here.”
“I know,” Adam murmured, loosening his grip so he could place one hand on Ronan's chest, the other one cupping his neck. “How much of the movie did I miss? Should we watch again?”
“You sure you can stay awake? You should just sleep. We can watch tomorrow,” Ronan suggested.
“No, I wanna watch. I don't want this day to end yet.”
“Sap,” Ronan said, the fondness in his chest seeping into his voice.
“You literally drove all the way here to surprise me on Valentine's, Lynch. You're not one to talk.”
“Yeah yeah, whatever.”
Adam kissed his cheek before shifting to turn to the tv, and Ronan replayed the movie.
Adam fell asleep fifteen minutes in this time.