2 MONTHS LATER 

The afternoon sun sank slowly across the gravel drive. 

Jesse’s garage door was open as always, an old familiar country song playing from the radio. 
He was under the hood of an old pickup, grease on his hands and arms, wearing one of his old shirts, working with the kind of focus that comes from trying not to think too much. 

He didn’t hear the car pull up at first. 
When the engine cut, the world seemed to go still for a moment and then slow and deliberate footsteps. Stepping on the gravel and right in front of his open garage door. 

“Hey, stranger,” River said softly. 
 
Jesse shot up, blinking against the sunlight. 
River stood there at the edge of the drive, wind tugging at his jacket and a nervous smile on his face. 
 
They hadn’t seen each other for weeks. 
River had left after his car was finally fixed, he drove to his initial destination. His older brother. 

They didn’t stop contacting each other, it was the opposite, with River sending him pictures and videos whenever he could and Jesse kept him updated on the locals around. Calls, videos and lots of texting. 

 
And now two months later they stood in front of each other again. 
 
River looked different somehow, more certain. Exited maybe. 
“Didn’t expect to see ya ‘til next week,” Jesse said, wiping his hands on a rag. River took a slow breath, his eyes searching Jesse’s face with happiness he didn’t want to hide. 
“I got the job.” 
 
Jesse froze, the knot in his chest suddenly loosened a little. He tried to smile. 
“That’s… good,” he said carefully, afraid that saying it out loud might crush the hope he secretly had ever since River left. 
 
River’s lips curved, a quiet, knowing grin. 
“It’s remote,” he said. “Perfect if I’m going to stay in the middle of nowhere.” Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, signed and real. “And I just signed the lease for the old house at the edge of town.” 

For a second, Jesse didn’t move. His eyes flicked to the paper and then back to River, confusion turning into realization. 

“Ya’re… staying?” he asked, the question escaping him like a breath he didn’t dare to take. “Permanently?” 
River nodded. “Unless you want me out of town? That would be annoying though, after all the trouble I went through to get everything sor-” 

The rag slipped from Jesse’s hand and hit the ground with a plop. 
His laugh came out low and disbelieving and bright. 
 
“Not a fuckin’ chance baby!” he interrupted, crossing the distance in three long strides and pulling River in, grease-stained hands and all. 
River’s arms wrapped around his neck, their lips meeting with a smile.  

... 

The old house needed a lot of work. Too much work. 
The roof leaked, the porch sagged, and the wallpaper peeled like old bark. 
 
But it was a start. 
They spent a few weeks fixing it up. Jesse handled the heavy lifting, the wiring, carrying everything in and out. 
River painted the walls, put together furniture and made fun of Jesse’s playlist echoing through the empty rooms. 
They argued about curtain colours, about where the couch should go and laughed until the sounds filled the whole house. 

June brought over leftover pie and Bonnie barked until Jesse finally built a fence for her in the front yard. The rooster still crowed at dawn, and River swore he’d never get used to it, but he smiled every time it woke him. 

By autumn, the house was not only done, it felt lived in and warm. 
 
Jesse had built River a desk by the front window so he could work while watching the sun rise over the hills. And sometimes when River was typing away, focused on his screen, Jesse would pause in the doorway watching and trying to believe that this was real. 
That somehow, out of nowhere, he was lucky enough to have met this beautiful man. 
 
One night, while resting on the porch, River curled against Jesse on the swing. Wrapped in big blankets, as the rain fell gently. 

River turned his head slightly, catching Jesse’s eyes, voice soft. “I love you.” Jesse gave him a slow kiss on his head. “I love ya' too Riv.” 
 
And there, wrapped in warmth and quiet, in the house they built with their own hands, River knew he wasn’t passing through anymore. 
 
He was finally home. 
 
End. 

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