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It was very early in the morning.
Ronan could tell because the side space next to him was still kind of warm and the bathroom mirror still looked foggy.
He covered himself back up, in fear of this morning and that it means that he has to see the sun again.
However, what finally had him out of bed and downstairs was the thought of Adam maybe making breakfast for the two of them. The smell of eggs. Maybe the slight, soft sound of the other side of a pancake hitting the pan.
Although that's nice to think of, Ronan still needed more convincing than that.
And then it was the moment that he heard thunder and then the slight fall of rain falling gently above him.
That's what got him up.
Because he didn't want to miss the scene of Adam in the kitchen in the softest looking pair of pajama shorts, wearing his hoodie, with the rain casting itself from the heavens and down to Earth.
Because if he gets to witness, even for a split second, the moment where Adam is at his most comfortable and in his element, then he would take it.
He headed downstairs, being careful of the steps that groaned under his feet. Ronan stopped at the bottom of the stairs and as quietly as he could, walked over to a peaceful Adam and wrapped his arms around the stomach of the other.
"Took you long enough." But Ronan could tell that Adam was smiling. As chastising as the words sounded, he knew better.
The slur of his words and the vowels being so prominent already lets Ronan in on the little dome of vulnerability Adam is showing.
"Yeah, well I was sort of hoping you would come up to me in bed and kiss me good morning as you laid the breakfast right in front of me." He replied the best he could, giving the worst grin he could possibly manage.
To his glee, Adam laughed.
The kind of laugh that looked like the fireflies that covered the land outside. It felt like this morning: the sun just breaching over the mountains. It sounded like the person he loved most in the world.
"You're staring," Adam said, but the remnants of his laugh are still visible on his freckled cheeks. "Apparently, the storm's gonna get worse. We might get the least of it, though."
At this point, Ronan wasn't even really listening to the words Adam was saying, he just liked the sound of the others voice so much that he just stood there with his chin perched on Adam's shoulder and just... being.
It felt like, other than the cows and other animals outside, him and Adam are the only people on Earth.
And he seems okay with that.
Adam put the last pancake on the plate: already a stack of 10 by now, since apparently Ronan took too long to wake up. Even though it's still ass-crack of dawn.
They sit at the couch, something Ronan would never allow on a normal day, but his excuse was because: It's a nice rainy day, Parrish, this calls for sitting on the couch in a quilt.
And although his voice was sounded exasperated like this concept was something that should be obvious, Adam could tell that behind it was nothing but pure, unfiltered affection.
They wanted to make it a sort of "lazy Sunday" even though it wasn't Sunday. The primary reason was because Adam didn't have a shift over the weekend. Ronan wanted to do the utmost.
And this meant being lazy and cozying up on the couch, under a quilt, and watching ridiculous TV shows that showed.
They had come up with this routine of finding a channel with some sort of soap opera and then mute the TV. What followed was a blend of laughter and chaos as they came up with the plot and dialogue.
As the episode ended, they both looked at each other as the credits rolled. Purely in awe of the cliffhanger they made up.
"But what happened to Robin and Jorge?" Adam lept up, gathering their dirty plates and bringing them to the sink.
"We'll have to see, Parrish. The next episode is going to be next week." Ronan helped drying the dishes and putting them away.
Just then, Opal ran in, bursting through the back door with muddy yellow boots and rain-soaked hair. Adam went to get a towel, while Ronan gathered all of the things Opal had collected outside.
This included: multiple snail shells (maybe empty), rocks, clippings from the forest past the fence, and a necklace (where the hell did she find it?).
Adam came back shortly after with a soft towel, and started to gently dry Opal's wirey hair.
It didn't come to him until now, that every once in a while Ronan forgets how much Adam had changed the dynamic of the Barns.
It didn't used to be so noticeable, but now what turned to slowly shifting the ecosystem of this little world turned into something so much greater.
When Adam is gone, everything is unbalanced. Tilted in the wrong direction.
Adam is the equilibrium. Between the cats and the mice. The cows and the grass. Even the birds and the seeds that are thrown out into the field everyday.
It's no wonder that when the scene before him plays out: Adam gently rubbing Opal's head, closing his eyes with perfect harmony, the rain washing over the crops in the backyard, he sees nothing but perfect contentment and well, equilibrium.
And this realization is enough to bring Ronan too close to tears.
It's only 10 am by the time most of the chores are completed.
And right now, Ronan is laying across Adam's lap while he reads a book: A Happy Death by Albert Camus, to be exact. And Ronan has many things to say about that.
"Why are you reading, during a day like this?"
"It's for my essay I have due when I get back." Adam says, stopping for a split second while he thinks, before resuming massaging Ronan's scalp.
It feels nice, to say the very least. And to say the most would be comparing it to the whole of this day. It's almost putting him to sleep.
"Why can't you finish that later? Let's take a nap. It's nice enough," he says, trying not to sound bitter as he is reminded that Spring Break only lasts a couple of weeks and then Adam has to return to his regular schedule of overworking himself to the bone.
Practically skinning himself alive in the process.
Ronan grimaces at that thought. He should probably stop now.
-----
The faint smell of petrichor is what wakes Ronan up. He hadn't realized he fell alseep.
He feels so comfortable though. The space he is laying on is slowly lifting his head up and down. The only answer to what it could possibly be is obvious.
He looks up and sees Adam's face in a soft, careful expression. He wants to run his fingers through his hair.
Wants to kiss the nose that had been sun-kissed for so many years. The sweater Adam is wearing is so comfortable that he doesn't want to get up. Just like this morning, he seems to be trapped in this reverie of quiet.
Either it's Adam himself, or the rain getting inside the house but everything in this space smells of Earth.
The space around them is warm, and feels so much like love is wrapping them in the tightest hug that he doesn't want to break it. In fear of what? Ronan doesn't know. But he feels uneasy about getting up.
Maybe it's the thought that he won't have this in a few days. He won't see much of the other and his earthly-ness. Won't hear his laugh early in the morning. Won't smell his freshly washed and groomed hair.
He won't be able to feel Adam's clothes against his face after they fall asleep entangled in each other.
Then suddenly he feels warm, gentle, sturdy hands against his scalp.
And after all that panicking and worrying, he is allowed another moment of peace and tranquility with the boy he loves most.