Been here the whole time

Loren not afraid to use every trick in the book There’d been something that Loren had been putting off for far too long. He didn’t really have a good reason for it: maybe he could blame the insanity of being transported to this new world, maybe he could blame being busy making sure everything was safe and secure, but mostly it was because he was scared. Scared that everything that he and Remi had done and experienced was a dream, that his completely muddled memories—since there were gaps and problems with it apparently—has constructed his wildest fantasies coming true as a way to cope with all the trauma he’d been through. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been betrayed by both himself and the world. So he’d seen Remi in public, but not in private; he’d allowed himself to get swept up in the neverending Launceleyn family drama; he’d lost himself in trying to explore this world and rebuild what they’d lost, all in an effort to avoid confronting the possibility that his dream was a nightmare just waiting for him to hope. But he could only put off seeing the other man for so long before it felt like his soul might break. So, without allowing himself to think about it too hard (because if he thought about it he’d chicken out) he’d allowed his feet to follow his heart. Of course, not thinking meant that he didn’t have a plan: he wandered the ruins for who knew how long before realizing that hopefully stumbling across the alchemist in a vain attempt at finding answers was dumb. So—as loathe as he was to broach this topic for all the fears he’d listed above—he finally started asking around. It took a while, but eventually he managed to figure out that Remi had actually managed to open a shop. While Loren was happy for his...lover? friend with benefits? who even knew anymore? it was almost immediately supplanted by a nearly crippling anxiety that the other man had moved on and left Loren behind. It wouldn’t be the first time, and if it was true, it probably wouldn’t be the last. Arriving at the spot, he hesitated for a long moment before entering. Immediately his eyes found the familiar figure and his breath caught in his throat: Remi was even more attractive than Loren remembered. And, thank all that is holy, they were alone. ”Remi I...I…” Words failed him as his arms rose and fell and his fingers grasped the air as if they could catch his scattered thoughts. This wouldn’t do. Their first private meeting in this world couldn’t have Remi thinking Loren’s brains had been scrambled in the transition. Maybe that was why Loren found himself striding towards the other man—heedless of what the alchemist might be working on for once—so the former librarian could run his hands through Remi’s soft curls and pull the alchemist in for a hungry and much needed and awaited kiss. Hopefully they wouldn't be interrupted this time.