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They were going to have to talk about it, he knew. There was still pain there, and it ran deep, as deep as remembering would allow, and not all could be so easily forgotten. The past few months had been hell, having Ripley there but not having Ripley. And worse, Finn had nearly given up on the other man ever being himself again, had actually taken the first few steps in distancing himself in case it was so. He knew that the guilt would eat away at him, later, knew that he had forgiveness he needed to seek himself.

But this was needed first. These kisses that finally felt right again, not forced or used just to enhance pleasure, but enjoyed on more than one level, as warming as they were thrilling. Finn's own grin was a match for Ripley's, at first, and his hands loosened and smoothed down the other mans sides, stopping to grip him at his waist, just above his pelvis. He was happy, so happy that he thought he might have to stop and laugh, and get it of his system, but like Ripley, he managed to turn things up to a more serious level, eventually, somehow, while his brain still reeled dizzily from the onslaught of emotions.

Ripley's hands left his hair, and slid down, and Finn knew what they were doing before he heard and felt the zipper of his jacket being drawn down. He had to help, of course, before the article of clothing could be removed completely, and he did so as quickly as he could, removing his hands from Ripley so that he could tear the jacket down his arms and off, before reaching and hooking a finger into the hem of Ripley's sweater, tugging him closer again so that more kisses could be shared, his hand shifting up and under the shirt, running up Ripley's stomach to his chest, and back down again, at which time it was pulled free, and Finn's other hand joined it in tugging Ripley's shirt upward, which was, of course, the universal hint for this can come off, now, please.

The sound Ripley made just before he began removing his shirt brought a smile to Finn's lips and a light chuckle to his throat. He understood it as impatience, and felt exactly the same way, which is why he bent down to lay kisses along Ripley's collarbone before the shirt was even fully removed, hands sliding down again, lips moving upward towards the other mans neck once he was free to do so, though it was short lived, contact breaking again when Ripley began to tug on Finn's own shirt.

He let out an exasperated sound of his own, then, caught between two needs: the one that required clothes be removed and the other that just wished it could happen with less interruptions. Magical, disappearing clothes. That's clearly what they needed.

The shirt was pulled off with haste, but smoothly enough not to end up with his tangled up and struggling. It might have left his hair in some amount of disarray, but that was only going to get worse in a moment anyways, so he left it.

And then the whistle happened, and Finn nearly choked on a sudden bout of laughter that was threatening to bubble up again, "Oh my <********> god, did you actually just..." He grinned, and shook his head, though that smile nearly faltered with Ripley's breathy confession.

Nearly.

"Well..." He started, just as Ripley tugged him closer, and the other mans grin proved infectious enough to keep Finn's growing wider. "Try not to get lost again, okay?" His hands reached up, and slid into Ripley's hair as he leaned into another long kiss.

"I missed you too." He breathed, when he had breath again to speak. "I missed us, and this." And he kissed him again, "And I love you. Still. Probably always."

Every small sound, every little movement, every little reaction. Finn drank it in like a man who had been dying of thirst, and hoped like hell it wasn't some kind of mirage. How ******** up would that be, to be given this moment, this taste of what used to be, only to have it torn away again? He hoped to whatever greater powers may be that it didn't happen, not now, not after all this time he had waited.

Every touch, every kiss, every hushed and whispered word. He had been needing this, so badly, craving it, and his body responded to each with shudders and shivers, with goosebumps that broke out over his skin, with a heart that beat rapidly in his chest, a chest that felt like it might actually burst with all of his relief, anticipation, and love.

Each time Ripley spoke, the sound of his voice combined with what he had to say was a thrill. It was him, it was. It had to be. It was not a mirage, not some fantasy. This was real.

Thank you for not giving up on me.

The words made Finn hesitate for half a second, a flash of something in his usually oh so cold gaze (which had warmed considerably in the past few moments). It could have been uncertainty, or guilt, or perhaps it was simply just sadness. The glimpse into his deepest thoughts was so brief, Ripley might not have even seen it.

He had thought to say something, in that moment, however. Had thought to apologize, because while he might not have given up completely, he had taken that step back. He had attempted to cut ties with what had caused him the most pain.

But than the moment might be ruined, and he didn't want that. They would have time to talk, later. Right now was a time for action, for indulgence, and all Finn managed to say, again, was another, incredibly sincere. "I love you." before words were no longer needed, and their plans for each other escalated further.

-------------

Finn rolled over, hot, breathless, his heart hammering in his ears and his head swimming dizzily.

When he spoke, his words were punctuated by his heavy breathing.

"This was. By far. The best birthday present. I think I've ever had."

And than he grinned, and out a laugh, hands lifting to rake fingers through his hair.

"Seriously. That was some ******** timing."

It was the nearly unbearable heat that had made him roll away, but he soon found he couldn't stay away for long, and rolled over onto his side, one arm curled under his head. It was still amazing to him that this had even happened. Almost unbelievably amazing. He was still riding high on both emotions and endorphins, and he had a smile on his face that felt like he might never be able to get rid of.

"I almost didn't let you." Finn admitted in turn, "I haven't really been in much of a mood to be around people in a while." Not that he hadn't tried occasionally, His evening with Hattie had proven that he could people if necessary, and even find some enjoyment in the act, however little.

The feel of Ripley's fingers against his skin left tingling trails in their wake. It had been so long, too long, since they'd laid together like this, with no intention of getting up to leave as quickly as possible now that they were "finished". Scooting in closer, he let his free arm drape across the other man, and leaned in near enough to press a light kiss against Ripley's neck, quickly followed up by a n** of his teeth, and another chuckle, this time against pale skin. "I'm glad I didn't turn you away."

It was only then that Finn realized something, and he might have noticed it sooner, if it was a thing he had seen more often, but as it was, Ripley had only shown it to him a single time.

Finn leaned back, and lifted his arm, bending it at the elbow so that his hand rested high on Ripley's chest, and his index finger could trace delicately against the other man's neck.

"The thorns are gone." He said, his brow furrowing in a slight frown.

Finn remained silent for a moment longer, staring at the pale skin that was once marred by something sinister and ominous, as if expecting it to reappear at any moment. He had stopped tracing it with his finger when Ripley reached up to touch it as well, and instead went back to draping his arm across the other man's chest, his chin falling to rest lightly on Ripley's shoulder.

The mark being gone should have been encouraging, a good sign of some kind, but Finn could not bring himself to hope as much.

"Ya." He agreed, quietly, his voice a bit distant, his eye closing. He was tired, emotionally drained, but knew he wouldn't have been able to sleep even if he tried. His eye opened again, just in time to see Ripley life his arm, the bright green of the key on his skin drawing his eye.

He took in a long breath, and exhaled slowly. "I would have highly doubted it, even if every mark was gone."

He didn't like this, not any of it, and he could only imagine how hard it must have been for Ripley, who was the one being messed with, his memories tampered with, his dreams invaded, and given difficult, nearly impossible choices to make.

When Ripley moved just that bit closer, Finn pushed his other arm beneath the other man, so that he could wrap both arms around him and just hold him, pressing a kiss into his shoulder. <********." He mumbled in agreement, an odd mixture of emotions beginning to swell, as he let out another long sigh.

"Ripley, I'm sorry. I am really, really ******** sorry. I started to doubt that you'd ever be you again and I shouldn't have. I never would have walked away from you completely, I just don't think I could ever have that in me at this point, but I was so tired, and I thought...I just thought that we were actually done, and I couldn't ******** stand it. I might not have ever stopped loving you, but I did start to give up. I never want to give up on you again."

He paused, and let out a laugh, but it was a sound choked off with bitterness and tears that he refused to shed again. "So, you're going to have to ******** just get through this, and I am going to just believe that you can. And whatever you need from me, just say it, and it's yours. I'm not going to give up, and you can't either...because if you do I swear to ******** god I will kick your a**."

Suddenly, despite the strange look in his eye, he smiled, a teasing tone entering his voice as he tried to lighten the mood up a little. "Maybe you should write that all down, so you don't forget it."

Finn hadn't known how much he'd needed this until it was gone, or maybe he had known but had just never worried too much about it, because he'd been living more in the moment than looking ahead at what could happen to take it all away. There was always the threat of death, certainly, but he had come to accept it's inevitability. This new threat, however, the one that just tore out memories and emotions like pages in a book, that was not something the moon hunter had ever anticipated. It had taken Ripley away from him without actually taking him away. It had left Finn a version of Ripley that had been hallowed out deep in his core, changed, but still connected, still remembering that they were something to each other without knowing how or why. It had given him only a part of what he had come to expect, the part that their agreement outlined, but had taken away every extra bonus that had been added on over time.

Bonuses like these. The times afterwards where they could just lay together, uncomfortably warm but satisfied, content, enjoying just being in such close proximity without a desire to get up and leave the other alone. Even now, even while Finn struggled to get off of his chest the guilt he'd been feeling, he would never have exchanged this moment for any of the others he'd gone through in the last several months.

Six months? That long? In a way, it felt like an eternity had passed. In another, it was very telling of just how strongly Finn had held on, not ready, wanting, or even remotely willing to move on. Ripley was who he wanted, and it was clear as day. Six months of emotional torture hadn't changed it. He didn't think anything could.

The smile couple with a quiet sigh could only be described as grateful, and he tilted his own head down enough to place a kiss on Ripley's forehead, and then, because that wasn't nearly enough, he scooted down just that little bit lower to catch his lips instead, soft, lingering, reluctant to pull away again. "Thanks." He murmured, and he actually was thankful, because what Ripley had to say did manage to ease some of that guilt away. Not all of it, probably never all of it, but enough.

The promise to not give up and to not hide things from Finn anymore was also encouraging, and when Ripley followed up his write that down suggestion (which had been a joke), with a statement of his own to say that he would, Finn blinked, and realized that it was actually a good idea.

Later was also an excellent idea, because Finn probably wasn't going to be letting Ripley go again anytime soon.

The long pause gave Finn time to just bask in the moment for that much longer, before the silence was broken again. Just mention of the agreement was enough to make a cold pit of uncertainty settle in his stomach.

"I think..." He started, slowly, "That agreement was made a long time ago, when we were different people, who needed specific rules to feel comfortable." The only thing was, Finn wasn't really sure if the rules weren't still important.

He stayed silent for a moment, pondering their situation for a moment. "I don't know. A part of me wants to say ******** the agreement, you're mine and that's all I care about. But the other part of me says that we wouldn't have even made it this far without it." Another short pause, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but how do you feel about marriage?"

The moment he said it he knew that it was almost impossible to not take that sentence the wrong way, and his cheeks actually got a bit warm, because it felt like a really dumb thing to say.

"Hrmm." Finn made a small sound of agreement, the small remnants of his panic and embarrassment for having asked already beginning to fade as it became clear that Ripley had not misunderstood his intentions. It wasn't a proposal, but just a question, meant mostly to give Finn some insight on how the other man felt about the subject. Ripley took it one step further than that, however, by going on to look at it from a more logical standpoint.

"I never felt it was necessary either. If two people are committed to each other, than they're committed, and they shouldn't need a ring or a piece of paper to prove it." He admitted, and than shifted slightly to press warm kiss against Ripley's shoulder, before resting his face there. "But now I wonder if there isn't something to it. You do it for a reason, like some kind of ultimate promise that you fight harder not to break. You hesitate when the thought to walk away strikes, you reconsider, you figure it out. Mind you, it all seems like a bunch of ******** nonsense, since people should just do that anyways." He let out a sigh, because trying to put into words what he felt wasn't exactly easy, and than snorted.

"No, no, not now. I just wanted to hear your thoughts on it." And it seemed, from what he could tell, that their thoughts each ran along the same vein.

"I have an idea that's either much better or much much worse. How about you just move in with me?"