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Lorne had been so exhausted when they were through that it was easy to fall into a dreamless sleep, the type that made hours feel like seconds. It was such that when Nadia came to cup his face, nuzzling against him so sweetly like that...

He hummed softly at first, almost melodically, but at first resisted opening his eyes.

Only when he dared to steal a peek that he breathed a sigh of relief, curling his arms - more clumsily than usual, still heavy as his eyelids with grogginess - around Nadia, tugged her closer, and he gave a small, dopey little laugh.

"I was afraid I'd dreamed it, " he admitted, a touch of familiar color returning to his cheeks. "Hello again."

It'd been so long since he'd been like this with her... but it was as new as it was comfortable and safe, which made it both thrilling and comforting at once. Lorne wasn't nervous, his stomach fluttering in a pleasant way instead of churning, and it was so amazing to be able to look at her and feel her without twinges of remorse and guilt.

He still didn't think he deserved this. But he couldn't very well argue with it.

"For you, of course there is time, " he assured softly, giving a quiet little laugh and leaning in to steal a short, sweet kiss. Then, he turned a bit red, although his smile was vibrant. "Ah, that's right, I - I'm teaching now, " he admitted, only just realizing she wouldn't have known. "Elementary level. I went and got a certification, s-so I only just came back, really, " so recently he was still hiding away in a hotel room, but he didn't feel the need to say that yet. "How about you, though? When did you return? How have you been? T-there's so much to..." He trailed off, but the implication of 'catch up on' was obvious, right?

He'd missed that touch, those restless hands made moreso by time spent apart. Lorne wondered if he really felt so different now - he'd been watching himself all the while, so he didn't really think there was much of a change. Meanwhile, as for her, if anything she had only become more beautiful than before. His heart had thirsted for her, even if he had told himself again and again that it was over.

'First love' - he actually laughed. "I can't imagine that, " he said earnestly, although the mental image was one to take to the bank. His yellow eyes glinted with mirth. Then, his cheeks burned a bit, although the smile on his face grew brighter still. "I wasn't sure for awhile what I wanted, but then - teacher seemed natural, I suppose. I'm not sure how much good I can do, but if environmental studies and conservation weren't meant for me - it seemed like a good way to try and help the future at least, you know? And children are cute; teenagers are..."

He kind of groaned and shook his head. "Could you imagine me in front of a group of teenagers? God, they'd eat me alive, " and he was only being honest, even if he was laughing about it. "A-anyway, I do like it. There's difficulties like with anything, but when they start to blossom and open up and learn and... sometimes a teacher's the best a child has, you know?"

Lorne listened intently, his eyes on her and nothing else as she spoke, clearly taking in every word. He smiled brightly, proudly, at the talk of her success, because for all their struggle of course he wanted her to succeed. Though it grew a bit softer when she spoke of struggling when she returned, hoping in his heart that her struggle was not due to him.

It was gone entirely at the talk of corruption of a friend, pain he knew too well; he had hardly forgotten Ploutonion, and the letters had never ceased. It was an aching kind of loss that never really went away. How could it when they weren't home? "Nadia, I'm so sorry, " he said, cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand, pouring heavy emotion into each simple word. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you, I - was it anyone I knew?"

It was good to hear that her brother was well, at least, ruling him out of the corruption pool. But then that led right into another massive revelation. "Your ancestor? You - how?"

He did love to listen to Nadia talk; there was a certain kind of poetic comfort in the way she spun things, and even if he could hardly believe some little ladies would be smitten by him of all people, he loved to listen to the way she talked about it. "I missed your voice, " he remarked without really thinking, and then abruptly blushed a bit, because he hadn't really meant to say it out loud.

"I mean..." No taking it back though, and it wasn't as if it was a lie. "Well, no, no I mean, it's just - it's true, " and he laughed a bit. "I did."

Even if it was for a sad thing, Lorne was glad that she let the smile drop away; she didn't have to hide behind a smile for his sake. His eyes widened a fraction to hear the name, because of course, "Yes, I knew her." She who had dragged him off for smoothie dates and was endlessly amused at his blustering. He sighed, stroking his thumb along the ridge of her cheekbone. "I'm so sorry." It wasn't enough, but nothing for that kind of pain was never really enough.

"We will bring her back." It probably felt like an empty reassurance, but for his part - despite the fact that Ploutonion was still in the negaverse after so long, much less that it had been years since he'd seen his friend, somehow none of this deterred him. If anything, it just made him more determined to make it happen and bring him home. He hoped that same kind of confidence and determination came through when he spoke to Nadia.

Then, he listened, a smile lighting his face as she explained about her ancestor. "Ah, I see! - did she say much to you? I mean, " what would there be to say? He didn't really know, but surely something, right? His cheeks burned a bit, but his smile didn't falter at the mention of a friend. "I'm glad you were not alone." And he meant that; she'd suffered more than enough because of him. If she'd been alone, too...

With the question about his wonder, though, his face really did burn. "I've... " It was like he was trying to figure out a way around it; there was none. "No. I did much for when I returned, like self-defense training, to try and ensure things would be... better when I came back, " he didn't want to be such a liability anymore. "But there wasn't much need for Mont Blonc there, so... time just slipped by me, and suddenly here I am and I've not been."