Oh don't start!

Adam settled against him with a sigh, feeling his whole body tense first, then relax into the warmth of Jack's embrace. He was solid against him, stable in a way Adam wasn't used to. He didn't lean on people. He had moments, flickering and brief of something that passed for connection. Just to be there, be held, and to not be having to examine it for every angle was disconcerting. He found his mind still sliding over things, over the events. He looked for the advantage, but giving in to Jack seemed more disadvantageous. Good to have an ally to have his back, who cared, but not as good when that person was likely to highly disapprove of your actions.

Perhaps it was just a draw then, and for his plans, for his hopes, his dreams...Jack didn't fit. But he fit in other ways, ways Adam didn't examine very often. The soft sound of his heart under Adam's ear echoed Adam's own. Slow. Steady. Eternal. He wasn't going anywhere and that in and of itself was better, different. It scared him in a lot of ways, and steadied him in others.

Against what he actually meant to say, he found words tumbling out, murmured through a haze of exhaustion. "Every time I let my eyes close for too long, I can feel it again. The dirt around me, the stale air, the way it ran out..." His eyes fluttered open. "My throat won't open up from it. I know, logically, that it's healed, but it still feels raw..."