The mild touches were soothing. Ronan closed his eyes and inhaled, relaxing in Adam's presence, only opening his eyes again because he wanted to see him.

"No more painful exhaustion," he murmured, reaching out and brushing his knuckles along the curve of Adam's cheek. "Never again. We'll always be together, now... and that's something I can't abide by."

He didn't care what anyone thought. Never had. Gently, his fingers found their way to Adam's hairline and he traced along that, admiring the way he'd grown into manhood. Throat growing tight and lips pressed into a line, he studied Adam's face, "... I'm sorry." He could count the amount of times he genuinely apologized to anyone on one hand. Yet, in this he truly had regret, of all the mistakes he'd made ... leaving Adam had been the gravest.