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"Every night you do not come,
Your softness fades away.
Did I ever really care that much?
Is there anything left to say?
…
So I try to say goodbye, my friend,
I'd like to leave you with something warm,
But never have I been a blue calm sea,
I have always been a storm.
Always, been a storm."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck-" Poe spits, pulling at the controls, his ship shuddering in the absolute worst way, but at least they're not in free fall toward the ocean anymore. Struck by lightning while taking a bit too close of a peek at a stupid fishing planet in the Outer Rim, this is what he gets for indulging himself.
BB-8 trills in fear and Poe groans. "Tell me we're not about to crash into a cliff, Beebee, please!"
Poe can't see a thing. Not only have the headlights of his ship shorted, but the torrential rain and thick dark fog through the viewport allow for absolutely no visibility. He can just see himself reflected back in the transparisteel, and his wide, fearful eyes are really ruining the dramatic impact of his big manly beard. Without lights, he's left relying completely on BB-8 and the ship's sensors. Which have also been sent a little haywire since being, y'know, struck by lightning.
BB-8 chirps frantically and Poe grits his teeth, yanking as hard as he can at the controls. His ship pulls up sharply and he's nearly thrown from his harness as the base of the hull clips something very hard and very unyielding. The impact has the lights flickering back on, at least, and Poe smacks a hand onto the emergency landing command as he spots perfect, precious, ground beneath them.
The ship's thrusters flip a full 180 degrees in an instant. They still move forward, the momentum gathered from their freefall still pulling them on, but the ship is losing speed rapidly. Poe just has to keep them skimming along the top of this cliff until they actually slow down enough to land.
"Think we got enough ground left, buddy?" Poe bites out, concentrating hard on not getting too low, too soon.
Wouldn't that be perfect? Skimming right over the top and dropping straight into the ocean on the other side. Hilarious.
With an enthusiastic peep, BB-8 indicates they've actually lucked out and found the mainland of this stupid fucking fishing planet, after all.
Another quarter-klick and Poe finally drops the landing gear and sets his ship to ground. Still skidding a little. He cringes as his ship settles into thick mud- unless that sinking feeling is just in his head.
They eventually slow to a complete stop and Poe drops his hands from the controls to lean back in his seat, giving his heart a moment. He stares straight ahead, eyes unseeing. Sitting with the near-death experience for a beat or two before mumbling, "I'm getting way too old for shit like this."
A sudden flash, clap and boom has him jumping out of his skin and BB-8 whirring in fear. They couldn't be closer to the eye of this storm and Poe can't see any hint of a tree or any other helpful thing that could draw the attention of a stray thunderbolt away from his ship- and his already jittery droid.
Poe unclasps himself and heads through to the back of his ship, calling out, "all right, Beebee, grab your coat; I'm not letting you get fried, again. I like you just the way you are: over easy."
Shrugging on his raincoat, Poe runs a hand through his hair, smoothing back a stray curl. He just knows his greys will have just about doubled by the time this is all over. Whatever. He rocks the salt-and-pepper look, anyway, and who's he tryna impress?
Poe heads to the exit hatch, sitting with his legs dangling down into it. "You ready to run, Beebee? You got any idea which way?"
BB-8 gives a dubious, wary peep from where he's sticking from the hull and Poe laughs just to cheer himself up. "You should try motivational speaking, sometime. You'd do great, I'm sure."
Dropping straight into the thick mud scraped up by his ship, Poe pulls a face and raises his hood, turning to face where BB-8 slowly lowers himself to the ground.
"Lead the way."
BB-8 pivots and rolls away, slower than usual due to the soft earth and Poe hurries along after him, following the bright white light he emits from beside his optic.
The rain is heavy and Poe's coat is soaked through in an instant. The chill seeping straight into his bones. He trudges along after BB-8, a hand holding his hood aloft, trying to spot the refuge for which they're headed.
There's a rising hill or something ahead and as Poe tilts his head up to it, thinking he might have seen a flash of light, a sudden warbling whirr from BB-8 has him looking down in alarm.
BB-8's chassis is absolutely filthy and turns uselessly in the mud. His head sliding back and forth as he looks down at where he's stuck. Poe shuffles closer and gets two hands on BB-8's body, pushing against him forcefully.
It doesn't help at all, BB-8 just stays put so Poe grits his teeth and simply pushes harder. All that happens is that his boots begin to sink down into the mud, too. Poe stops pushing and leans back to take another look. Trying to see just how he's going to get BB-8 out of this mess
A flash of light again, from atop the hill, has Poe glancing up to it once more. There's a silhouette atop it, someone standing there, broad and dark against the grey clouds, holding a small flashlight.
"Hey!" Poe shouts to the figure, waving a hand. "I need help! My ball droid is stuck in the mud!"
The man only stands there for a moment, completely motionlessly, before he turns away, disappearing back down the other side of the bank.
"Tch, what the kriff? What an asshole," Poe mutters, glancing anxiously down to BB-8.
Nothing he does helps. BB-8 just ends up sinking deeper into the mud as he churns up the earth and Poe's own boots keep nearly coming off as they're vacummed into the gross wet ground of this fucking stupid fucking fishing planet!
Poe growls as he pushes hard, deeply frustrated. "I just had to, huh? Just couldn't stay away, huh? Now look. We're going to drown in this fucking quick-sand-mud bantha-shit. That is if we don't get struck by karking lightning first!" he rages, tears burning in his eyes, absolutely furious with himself.
Why, why does he never pfassking learn!?
BB-8 whines sadly and he sighs, leaning on his chassis. "I'm sorry, Beebee. I know, you told me so..."
Suddenly a light flickers across the mud and Poe's head shoots back up to the hill. The figure is back and slowly approaches them down the gentle slope, watching his own feet as he wanders down. Poe's heart soars and he waves again.
"You're back! Hey, man, you any idea how we could- Oh."
The stranger throws him one half of a sling and trudges to the other side of BB-8's body. Now he's close enough to be lit by BB-8's light, Poe can see that the man isn't actually as broad and bulky as he'd looked atop the hill. He's just wearing an absolutely enormous coat.
The true shape of his body is completely obscured by the huge, hooded poncho, but the limbs peeking out the sleeves and bottom of the coat imply that the man likely isn't really that big, he’s just tall.
People here clearly take rain and mud more seriously. The poncho repels the rain so well that Poe can see it beading along the surface and sliding right off. His boots are made of the same waxy material and are incredibly long, continuing all the way past his knees. Poe catches a flash of something almost like a garter belt holding them up from beneath the cover of his poncho. There's simply no chance of his boots being vacuumed off, unlike Poe's own, which currently feel like they're half-full of gross, wet mud.
The stranger must be completely bone dry under all that and Poe desperately wishes that he could say the same. Even his beard is soaked through, while the lower half of the stranger's face is shielded from the rain by a mask. Poe's never felt more jealous of something so simple.
Together, they wedge the sling under BB-8's chassis and slowly help pull him up the hill. The stranger makes no attempt to start a conversation, introduce himself or even look in his direction, but Poe is too happy to have been saved from a slow and agonising death to care.
Cresting the hill, Poe can only see one building ahead, a small stone house, lit warmly from within. It truly looks like paradise.
"Is this where you live?" Poe asks, passing the stranger the sling back as BB-8 easily rolls down this side of the hill. "Sorry, but could we maybe take refuge 'til the storm passes? My ship’s a little worse for wear." Poe shoots the stranger what he hopes is a charming grin, he's possibly a bit too sodden to really pull it off, but the stranger doesn't even turn his head. He does nod, though, so Poe doesn't have to resort to begging.
The stranger leads them into his house and Poe stands in his porch awkwardly for a moment, looking down at his filthy boots and cringing.
With a beckoning hand from the stairwell, the stranger attempts to lead him upstairs. Poe glances down to BB-8, caked in mud and gazing up at him motionlessly and flashes a sad smile.
"Ain't no way I'm carrying you upstairs, Beebee. My back couldn't even take it at twenty five. You just doze off down here and I'll see about getting that mud off later, okay?"
BB-8 whirrs softly and his optic immediately dims. The shock he got earlier must have really messed with his battery and Poe mentally adds a reminder to get BB-8 thoroughly checked out once they get back to civilization.
Poe turns to the stranger, still lingering in the stairwell. "Want me to take off my boots and stuff?"
A nod and Poe kicks off his boots, pulling a face at the amount of mud soaked into his socks and the bottom of his trousers. He pulls off his socks at least, and stuffs them into his boots. He doesn't want to track mud all the way through this guy's house. Pulling off his coat, Poe hangs it on a hook just by the door, rainwater still dripping profusely from the sodden fabric.
With one last glance down to the sleeping BB-8, Poe turns to follow the stranger up the stairs.
The man leads him down a short hallway with a huge window at the end and Poe's eyebrows rise at the vicious sound of the rain battering against the glass. He can't believe the storm is still going so karking strong.
The stranger heads through into one of the rooms and points to a pile of clothes neatly folded at the end of a single bed and Poe laughs in surprised delight. This guy is crazy prepared. "Wow, you must get this a lot, huh? People crash landing in your yard and getting soaked to the bone?"
The stranger remains silent and, still not making eye contact, he shuffles past and Poe watches him go. "Er, thanks a lot for all of this, man," Poe says, scratching behind his head and smiling thinly. A meek nod again, still no eye contact, and the stranger leaves him to it.
Poe peels off his sodden clothes and hangs them over a radiator pressed against the far wall. There's a towel laid out on the bed, too and after he runs it over his face and hair, he uses it to squeeze out his beard, ruffling it a little afterwards and combing through it with his fingers. It's likely not as neat as he likes to keep it, but needs must. He really should have remembered to pocket his beard comb.
Poe pulls on the clothes laid out by the stranger and sighs at the sweet, sweet, dry fabric warming his chilled skin. A cotton shirt and lounge trousers, topped off with a thick woollen jumper and fluffy socks. The tops are more than a little snug over his chest and arms, but it ends up just feeling like receiving a warm hug, which is more than welcome.
He wanders over to a radiator attached to the wall and presses his fingers into the heat for a minute or so, eyes closed in bliss.
"Thank the Stars for the kindness of strangers," he mutters to himself, wiggling his toes and sighing in contentment again.
Reluctantly pulling himself away from the radiator, Poe turns to the doorway, intent on thanking his mysterious saviour at least once more.
As he opens the door, he seems to have caught the stranger on his way back through the narrow hallway, as the man is mid-step and turns to him in surprise. He's still decked out in his raincoat and boots, which Poe finds strange considering how long he's been home. Poe smiles and opens his mouth, intending to begin praising the man's lended wardrobe for its warmth, but the strangers wide eyes, which have finally met his own, give him pause. Poe is struck by the intensity. A silvery green, like the sea below a sky about to storm, surrounded by incredibly pale eyelashes, just like- just like-
Poe's hand snatches forward, of its own volition, gripping hard at a waxen sleeve. The stranger looks down, alarmed, but Poe doesn't let go. He pulls the arm towards himself.
He needs to look again.
The stranger's eyes dart back to Poe's own as he pulls him closer. They're almond-shaped and sharp, his eyebrows dropping from an expression of shock to one of growing irritation. The hairs if his eyebrows are still wet and darkened, so Poe can't tell if they're the same red, but the colour of his eyes- and the eyelashes- yes. Golden honeyed yellow, so very pale. Paler than Poe, as a younger man, knew was possible. Paler than Poe has ever seen since, all that time ago.
"Hux," he rasps and the perhaps not-so-stranger tries to pull his arm free, but Poe hangs on, desperately. "Hux."
Silence, and two stormy eyes glaring and Poe finds himself barking, furiously, "I know it's you, Hux! Take down that mask, damn it! I know it's you!"
A free hand rises, both mask and hood are roughly ripped down, and Poe feels as if he's been dropped right into the gravity well of a black hole. Like his very soul has been used to fuel the cruel, red beam of a superweapon intent on vaporising his heart and every single other molecule of his body.
Because it is Hux, glaring back at him. Hair, just as red; lips, just as pink; eyes, just as sharp. He's baring his teeth in that familiar snarl. His face now bears a neatly trimmed beard, there's a faint wrinkle between his eyebrows and his hair's a little longer, but he's just as striking as Poe remembers. Maybe moreso, even, because Poe can't seem to do anything but stare.
Hux tugs at his caught arm, trying to free it, spitting, "there- are you happy?"
Yes, Poe's heart sings. No, his mind cries.
"Hux-" Poe croaks, not knowing which sentence to follow up with.
Maybe: you're alive!
Or: you grew a beard, too!
Or: you piece of shit, you left me, without even saying goodbye.
Instead, he simply steps closer and captures Hux's other wrist, too. Gently, but firm. He can't let him get away. Can't let him run off, not again. Couldn't take it again.
Shutting his eyes, Hux fully turns his cheek, his chin raised haughtily and Poe can feel the old wound, the one that never really healed in the first place, burst wide open. Hot, wet and flayed- and it stings.
"You won't even look at me?" Poe can only seem to manage a weak mutter. No one can give the cold shoulder like Hux.
"I don't want to," comes the petulant reply.
"Really?" Poe sniffs, teetering at the cusp of still being able to contain his hysterics. "You seemed to like it, back then. Lookin' at me."
Hux turns his face back and sneers, spitting, "I was drunk!"
"Oh. So was I, that first night," Poe concedes, before continuing, sarcastically, "but were you drunk in the morning, too? Or in the afternoon, when we went to that little bistro? Or maybe in the evening, when we sat out all night on the balcony talking? You were drunk then? And aaallllll the days after, weeks, wasn't it? You were drunk? The whole time? You were drunk?"
Hux's mouth twisted deeper and deeper throughout Poe's rant until he's left tight-lipped and glaring. "Alright, enough!" His eyes slip from Poe's again, looking to the floor. "I was young,” is all he has to say, “young and naive."
"Please," Poe says this dismissively, using the same tone with which he might've said, you must think I'm stupid. "We weren't young then, we were hardly younger than we are now."
"Fine," Hux grinds out, fuming, when he continues, his voice is deadpan, "I loved every second. Our time together was perfect and every single day I regret leaving and wish I'd stayed."
By the end, Poe can't tell if Hux is being sarcastic or not; and by Hux's expression, neither can he.
They stand in silence, before Hux pulls his arms roughly from Poe's hands and stalks off towards the window at the end of the hallway. Poe lets him go, but only because unless Hux leaps out of that window, he'd have to pass Poe again to get down the stairs to escape him.
And Poe is not planning on letting that happen.
Hux shifts his weight, speaking to his reflection in the window as he says, "the truth is: it was all just- too good. I knew it wouldn't last- couldn't last. So I left, before it would hurt."
Poe presses his lips together tightly and nods a few times, wandering slowly closer. "You did, did you? Leave, before it could hurt?" He feels almost like he could laugh, but not really. Because it's not really very funny at all. "’Cause I remember being pretty cut up about it. Pretty hurt, actually."
Poe had woken early that awful morning, smiling, just like the ones before. He'd looked to find the other side of the bed empty and had found Hux's pillow cold- and that was it. No note, no comm, no nothing. Just the smell of Hux clinging to his jacket and the memory of all the days passed, where Poe had felt more content, happier, than ever before.
Or since.
He'd seen their future stretching out together and had felt nothing but enthusiasm.
And he never got over it.
Poe sways slowly from side to side at Hux's back, staring at him. It feels too surreal, finally seeing him again. He wants so desperately to just grab him, and hold him so tight he'd never be able to get away again. Hux would surely hate that right now, but the urge is there nonetheless, nearly unbearable. He needs to express it, somehow-
"I still think about you, you know," Poe laments.
Hux says nothing. But it doesn’t matter, because he didn't expect him to.
Poe continues, gravely, "I do." He draws closer, settling his hands around the back of Hux's arms. "All the time."
"That's pathetic," Hux whispers, but his voice lacks any venom. He just sounds sad.
Poe presses his forehead to Hux's back.
"I know."
A sudden flash illuminates the room in stark relief. Thunder cracks and rumbles furiously and neither of them react at all.
There's a long stretch of silence between them, no words, just the sound of the storm raging outside, the sheets of rain unceasing. It’s the kind of storm where people go missing, swept away and drowned, never to be seen again. It's fitting, Poe thinks, that there's such a violent storm raging just outside. It makes him feel like the universe itself is sympathising with the turmoil within his weary heart.
“You never found anyone, then?” Hux eventually asks, his voice small.
Poe sniffles, murmuring, “I thought I had.”
And that's the truth- because it had felt perfect, just like Hux said, despite everything that seemed to be stacked against them. How they got along so well. How they seemed to fit together, like the pieces of a puzzle.
They'd fallen into each other's orbit almost by accident and it'd felt like coming home.
That'd been a bit of a sore topic with Hux, home. I hail from a dirty little fishing planet, if you could believe it, he'd grumbled and Poe had laughed, of course I can, you're a great catch! Hux had smacked him for that one, but he'd flushed and failed to hide a smile as he did so, so Poe had laughed some more. You ever think of going back, taking a look around? Poe had asked later, as Hux led atop him, cuddling him in everything but name. Hux had rubbed his cheek against Poe's pec, played with his chest hair and sighed, only if I wanted to torture myself.
It's why he'd never bothered coming to Arkanis before, even after Hux had disappeared and Poe had spent months searching the galaxy for him. He'd told everyone he'd stopped, once they started expressing their concerns and held their third intervention in half as many years, but really he’d just got better at pretending to care about anything else. Earlier today, as he'd flown past that dirty little fishing planet, he just couldn't help himself. It's not an obsession, I just need to take a quick peek, he'd said and BB-8 had trilled sadly.
If he's honest with himself, he never stopped looking at all. In ports and bars across the galaxy, where he’d hoped to see a familiar face, men, women and xenos had tried their luck and he'd only smiled, if he could manage it, and joked, sorry, my heart already belongs to someone else.
And that's the truth, too.
Hux begins to turn towards him, so Poe relinquishes his hold.
Facing each other again, Poe reaches out. He brushes his fingers against where Hux's hang by his side, gently, just a feather-light touch. Staring up into his face, Poe can see the shield come down as Hux stares back. The tension around his eyes and mouth fades and his face visibly softens; lips parting slightly after he swallows, a little puff of air leaving him, silently.
They stand there in silence for another long moment. Poe content to wait for Hux to speak- for however long he needs.
"I'm pathetic, too," Hux eventually whispers, his eyes darting away, gold eyelashes brushing against his cheeks. A twitch of his fingers and he's lacing them with Poe's, his chin wobbling as he lowers his head. "I think about- you, too. A lot."
Stars, yes, please, please, please-
Hux glances back up and something tragic must be showing in Poe's expression, because his eyes turn somehow more regretful and his mouth parts, breathing in shallowly before he mutters, "it didn't work anyway, did it? Trying to avoid the hurt. For you or for me. I'd hoped at least you might have moved on." He lowers his head again, clenching his teeth. "I spent so long convincing myself that I made the right decision, that leaving was the kindest thing I could do for you, for both of us. But, in truth, I've never made one more wrong- and that's really saying something... You never left my mind for longer than a week. I ruined everything that we could have had and I need you to know that I'm sorry and that-"
"Shhh, no, it's alright," Poe interrupts, smiling sadly, feeling painfully weak. "You don't have to apologise."
He's just happy Hux is willingly looking at him, touching him again, that he's talking without a sneer, that he's here, that he's even still alive at all.
Hux's head shoots up, his expression burning with the intensity of his regret. He shakes his head, his eyes pained. "No. I do. I do, Poe. It’s not alright," Hux insists, his eyes darting between Poe's own. He wets his lips, breathing shallowly again. "I'm sorry. So very sorry." Hux sighs shakily and his eyes shutter. "I- I treated you so awfully. I treated you like you'd already done me wrong, it just seemed so inevitable."
Hux huffs weakly, squeezing his eyes shut harder and murmuring, "and that wasn't fair to you, I judged you based on the scenario in my mind, rather than the truth before my eyes, and all this time-" Hux hisses in a breath, his eyes fly open and they're glassy and wet with unshed tears. "All this time, we could have been-" Hux abruptly stops, shuddering with a loud, broken sob and Poe grits his teeth, tears sliding freely down his cheeks.
"We still can," Poe manages to choke out, "Hux, we still can."
Hux sobs again and shakes his head. "I don't- I don't deserve you. I didn't back then, and now-"
Poe's hands dart to Hux's shoulders and shake him roughly, shouting, desperately, "I don't care! I don't care what you think you deserve! Kriff it, Hux, look at me! Why do you think I'm still here? 'Cause I'm a glutton for punishment!? Isn’t it obvious?" Poe breathes heavily, tears still building and spilling down his cheeks as he stares up into Hux's unguarded face, just as beautiful and as expressive as he remembers.
Poe swallows, letting himself truly feel the deep yearning in his heart for the first time in years, and confesses, "I love you, Hux. I loved you then, I loved you after you left, and I still loved you, even when I thought you might be dead." Choking on the word, Poe sucks in a trembling breath as Hux stands frozen before him.
He sets his shoulders, looks deep into those pale green eyes and nods to himself.
"I love you, Armitage Hux."
Hux's mouth opens and Poe interrupts, "If you ask me why- I'll explode."
Hux closes his mouth.
Poe manages a weak laugh, just a huff of air, and Hux's eyes soften near imperceptibly, he leans in close and brushes their lips together and Poe can't help but gasp. It feels like a piece of himself has clicked right back into place. Like some fundamental part of who he is left with Hux, and he's been living some sort of listless half-life this whole time.
If this is a dream, I never want to wake up, Poe thinks, moving his hands to settle either side of Hux's waist. Just as narrow and warm as he remembers. It's anchoring, compared to the dizzy rush he's getting from the caress of Hux's soft, perfect lips.
Hux draws a hand over the side of Poe's face, thumbing over his cheek, fingertips gliding around his ear, before settling over the side of his beard and taking a gentle grip of it.
They part and Poe sighs, gazing up into those stormy eyes, framed with gold. The ones he'd never forgotten, no matter how hard he might've tried.
Who's he kidding? He never really tried, at all. He might've stopped thinking his name, or actively asking after him wherever he landed, but in the times where his mind was quiet, when there wasn't something else distracting him, Poe would dwell on everything he could. Would ruminate on Hux's sharp, beautiful eyes; his bowed lips; the way he'd try so hard to suppress his laughter at Poe's bad jokes; the way he was always so shockingly shy, out in public; how sweet he was, in private; how he'd draw those slender fingers through Poe's hair, always so fascinated by the texture of his curls.
He feels the weight of Hux's hand in his beard and smiles, heart fluttering at the half-familiar sensation. "You like the beard?" he asks, just shy of grinning.
"Yes, do you?" Hux replies, using his other hand to lift one of Poe's from his waist, to rub his own bristly chin and cheeks over the palm of it. Poe scratches at the short russet hairs, with a grin, and they both laugh.
Hux's eyes are crinkling, his cheeks dimpling, and Poe falls somehow more in love with the man who broke his heart.
He sighs happily and cups Hux's face, staring into his eyes, asking, "Am I gonna have to invest in a better coat, or are you gonna let me kidnap you?"
Hux sighs in relief. "Stars, please kidnap me. I hate this planet."
Poe blinks. Only if I wanted to torture myself, wasn't that what he said about Arkanis?
"Hux, did you- did you exile yourself in punishment?"
The flush that springs to life on Hux's face is answer enough and Poe laughs heartily. It feels like every second he spends with Hux the cobwebs inside are being swept away. He feels like his ship right after a service. Like BB-8 after having a new gyroscope installed. His laugh tapers off and Poe sighs, through a smile, "that's so- so you."
Hux, face still flushed, tugs at Poe's beard and mutters, "yes, well, kidnap away."
Poe pulls him in with two hands at his hips, purring, "Hmm, and you won't try and run away? Maybe I should chain you to my bed, you know, just to make sure."
Hux gasps, scandalised, blushing even harder. "Poe!"
"Hm? Would you like that?"
"I see you're just as insatiable as before," Hux mumbles, in faux-exasperation, his other hand sliding behind Poe's head, threading his fingers into Poe's hair, soft and gentle.
Poe shakes his head lightly, mindful of the hands buried in his hair and beard. "Mm, no, I'm more. I got a decade of celibacy to make up for, your ass is grass.”
Hux tips his head back and laughs loudly and it's music to Poe's ears. His eyes are sparkling, when he lowers his head, mouth split into a beautiful grin. The rare glimpse of his toothy smile just as exhilarating as it was before.
Hux tilts his head to the side, eyes clear and reflective. Happy and sweet, and filled with something Poe hopes he isn't just imagining.
"I want you to know that I love you too, Poe Dameron," Hux states, with a nod, his voice sure and resolute.
Fresh tears immediately spring to Poe's eyes and he shudders. Hux steps in close, hugging him and tucking his head into Poe's neck tightly. Poe pulls him tight to his body with two firm hands and finally feels his heart come back to him, after all this time.
He holds onto the man he loves, and it's just like it was.
Maybe a little more hairy. Maybe a few more wrinkles. But, where it matters, it's just like it was.