#pynch prompt week

[lizpaige]

Hi!!! For the writing prompts I’d love to see pynch and 51!

thanks for the ask, anon! 💕🙏hope you like it! sidenote: this actually reminded me of a somewhat abandoned WIP @iammistressofmyfate and i were working on last year. a 5+1 of pynch carrying each other. this is not from that, but if you're interested in that let us knowwwww and maybe we'll unearth it lol

51. Carrying/Picking up Send me a prompt!

“They said they’ll be here in thirty minutes,” Adam said, giving Ronan’s hand a squeeze. 

They were sitting on the porch of their new home, waiting for the movers to arrive with their actual belongings. It had already been a very long day, a very exhausting couple weeks, a debilitating year. They were excited to have a place of their own, excited that their travel requirements from work had settled down at least for the rest of the year. Ronan was desperate to spend more time with Adam outside of hotel rooms and lingering hugs at airports where they boarded separate connecting flights to different destinations.

Ronan rubbed his thumb against the gold band on Adam’s finger before standing up and tugging his husband with him.

“What?” Adam stumbled forward and Ronan caught him. He always caught him.

“You have the keys?” 

Adam patted his pockets and fished out the brand new keyring, passing it over to Ronan. He raced up the steps, unlocking the door and opening it, but didn’t go inside.

“Uh… what’re you doing?” 

Ronan turned to look at Adam with a raised brow and a devious smirk.

“Oh no. I don’t like that look. Whatever you’re thinking, no.”

Ronan came at him fast and sure. He leaned down, easily scooping Adam up in his arms, one arm under his knees, the other at his back. 

“If you don’t put me down-”

Ronan’s grin was sharp and wide and despite Adam’s protest, he was laughing too. 

“It’s tradition, Adam, shut up,” Ronan mumbled into his cheek as he pressed a kiss there. He walked up the porch steps and toward the door.

“Why am I the one who needs to be carried?” Adam protested, cheeks flushed red. 

“Cause I thought of it first,” Ronan replied simply. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you do me next.”

Adam laughed at the double entendre. They crossed the threshold into their new home. They looked up at the vaulted ceilings with exposed beams, the empty room that they had been arguing about what to do with for the last two weeks. Ronan slowly lowered Adam to the floor, but their hands immediately connected, not wanting to lose contact. Ronan turned to study Adam’s expression.

“You still like it, right?” he asked and Adam smiled. “Cause like… it’s moving day. It's a little too late if you hate it.”

“Yeah, I still like it,” Adam replied with an eye roll. “Now go back outside, it’s your turn to be the damsel.”

[singerqueenwrites]

“Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these.” [insert Adam voice - fuck is that Ovid?]  Pynch Secret Santa gift for @aleidawrites - I hope you like it!! This was my idea for Pynch first date. And thank you to @pynchpromptweek for hosting - you guys are the best!! ✨✨

[of-stars-and-moon]

Baby, I'm addicted

Written for @pynchpromptweek

Ship: Pynch

Day 6: Missing scene

Word count: 1.4k

Summary: Two times Adam wears Ronan clothes, making him want to kiss him. And one time he does.

Thank you to @galwaygremlin for beta reading this! You're amazing!

----

The first time Ronan Lynch saw Adam Parrish wearing his clothes, he was pretty sure he was having a minor cardiac arrest.

He was standing at the door of Adam's apartment in St. Agnes, hand raised to knock again, when the door opened and Adam stood there, wearing Ronan's black hoodie that he had left here this morning. He had left it here with the intention that Adam could wear it if he was cold, but he hadn't expected to not be able to think straight when he saw him. (When did he ever think straight around Adam honestly?)  

Realizing that just standing there would be weird, he held out the box of takeout. "I grabbed dinner."

Adam looked at it suspiciously. "I already ate."

Knowing Adam's meagre diet, the meal wouldn't have been nearly enough, so he said, "Too bad. I'm not gonna be able to finish it myself." And walked inside, sitting down on the wooden floor. With a sigh, Adam sat down besides him, and Ronan placed the takeout between them.

Adam rubbed his eyes and only then seemed to notice the long sleeves and in turn, the hoodie. He blinked. He looked so adorably confused. Ronan wanted to kiss him. "...um...Is this yours?"

Keep Reading

[abarbaricyalp]

@pynchpromptweek secret santa gift for @audikatia !!!!!!

Horror, band au, missing scenes from The Raven King

Rated: E

In which: Adam and Ronan do some talking and then do a whole lot more (almost a first time)

“Is it a Catholic thing?” Adam asked so suddenly it had Ronan shaking his head to clear it.

“Come again, Parrish?” he asked, turning out of his closet to stare at Adam, who was still sitting up in the bed, sleep tousled and perfect in the early morning light.

“I just mean… I’ve lived here for a few months. And we’ve been, y’know, dating or whatever since November. It’s March. Why haven’t we…” He rolled his hands in front of him, catching a piece of the comforter and tangling it in his fingers.

“We…?” Ronan prompted, though he was pretty sure he knew, since his stomach was twisting tightly under him.

“I mean, I don’t mean to rush you or anything, but we didn’t take much anything else very slow,” Adam continued. His lack of specifics was driving Ronan nuts. He moved to sit down on the bed again, next to Adam, and Adam reached for his hand. “I get if you’re nervous about going all the way, or if it is something to do with, y’know, being Catholic or whatever. I’ll understand. I just need you to tell me.”

“Oh my God, Adam, no.” Ronan said. He brought his free hand up to his face and tried to hide from what Adam was suggesting.

“I mean! I’m not wrong, Ronan! Everything we did was pretty fast. I had my hand down your pants before Christmas. And now we just...haven’t done anything else.”

Ronan blushed furiously next to him and stared off out the window for a few seconds before saying, “It’s not a Catholic thing. It’s not a you thing. I just… It’s big, isn’t it? It’s a big deal, even though all these TV shows and movies and shit want you to think everyone’s doing it. And it’s big that it’s you. Maybe if I could just throw away a first time like this with someone else, it wouldn’t matter so much, but it matters to me because it’s you,” he explained in starts and stops. Adam let him talk without interrupting, which Ronan was more than thankful for.

“But I didn’t know you were interested either,” he pointed out finally, cutting his gaze back to Adam. “It’s not like you’ve ever brought it up before. I thought you were fine with what we were doing.”

“I am!” Adam defended quickly. “It’s just...y’know...I’d be fine with more too.”

Ronan leaned over and pressed his mouth against Adam’s gently. The anxiety bled out of his boyfriend’s body like a switch had been turned. Adam’s hands came up to his jaw and tilted Ronan’s face until Adam could kiss down his chin, over the corner of his mouth, to the stubble Ronan had been fixing to remedy.

“It’s not got anything to do with you,” Ronan said again. Because Adam may mask it as a question about Catholicism, but Ronan knew where his insecurities laid.

Continue on AO3

[bonappetart]

WOOP i almost forgot to post this today! high fantasy au for pynch prompt week

ronan’s father, the king, was assassinated when he was younger for pretty much the same reason as the book, and declan, now king, has entered a treaty with the surrounding kingdoms so that magic is outlawed everywhere. ronan, a dreamer in secret, helps a mysterious mage, Adam, he meets in the woods, and the two skirt danger by combining their powers

[pastelle-pvnk]

I haven’t finished anything in a really, really long time but I worked extra hard and wrote this for @magicianparrish for the @pynchpromptweek 2019 Secret Santa! I hope you enjoy it, sweets!

This is a little fluffy, a little college trope-y, a little swear-y and has Ronan visiting Adam at Harvard with possibly a little Christmas thrown in. There are CDTH spoilers if you squint, so be warned! 

[lgbthenry]

Ronan was convulsing in front of him.

Adam jerked his legs in toward his body, out of reach of the disaster just in frontof him. Ronan’s arms were streaked with blood and his hands were pinpricked with visceral, juicy wounds. His jeans were soaked black. The church carpet glistened with it.

Happy holidays to @declanisms from your @pynchpromptweek Secret Santa!

Based on your requests you seemed to have a fondness for the scene in the church when Ronan dreams his ill-fated double. So I decided to draw it as Ronan would have seen it just after waking while he was still paralyzed and dissociated.

Hope you like it!

[catboynecromancy]

Pre-canon pynch written for the prompt: You're adorable when you're mad.

-

The flush starts on his cheeks, just a tinge of pink coloring sun-kissed and speckled skin. It spreads the longer Adam goes on, along high cheekbones, back to where there is a single, stray freckle next to his temple. Sometimes, if Ronan thinks about that freckle in particular too hard, or for a moment too long, his stomach twists with a feeling he doesn't care to understand. So, Ronan doesn't. He takes that unfamiliar emotion and twists, turns it into the ones he's painfully intimate with. Frustration. Impatience. Spite.

"This is ridiculous," Adam spits out. He's been talking for a while now, but Ronan hasn't heard a single word. His attention is on the way Adam's blush has crawled to his ears now, all the way to the very slightly pointed tips of his ears. "It makes no sense whatsoever. I mean, how? Your grammar is terrible!"

Ronan's brows rise, suddenly interested in whatever it is he's clearly missed by zoning out. "Whoa there, Parrish," he says, vaguely gesturing with his hands. "Hold your horses, will you? I got no fucking clue why you're so pissed."

Adam lets out a deep sigh and pinches the bridge of his freckled nose. "Did you listen to a single thing I said?"

"Nope." Ronan tilts his chin up, bares his teeth in a smirk. Adam's blush darkens, from his cheeks up to his ears. "I tuned the fuck out, your squeaky runt voice hurts my ears."

"My—" Adam stops. The blush takes over his entire face, accentuated by his near translucent eyebrows furrowing and a downward turn of his odd-shaped mouth. "My voice isn't squeaky!"

Ronan winces, brings a hand up to his ear to pretend it hurts. "Oof, there it is again. Your voice is cracking, man. Did you finally hit puberty? A few years late, but hey, at least you're still ahead of Gansey, right?"

If Adam could get any redder, he probably would. As it is, he looks ready to snap, to scream, to lash out, or maybe just storm off and leave Ronan waiting for Gansey all alone. But he doesn't. Adam squares his shoulders, he straightens until he's very nearly the same height as Ronan now that he's no longer slouching forward.

"You're such an asshole, Lynch." Adam leans forward, not quite getting close but daring to. "I don't get why Gansey puts up with you."

The words should hurt, especially coming from Adam. Maybe they would, if Ronan didn't already know his place in Gansey's life, if Ronan wasn't certain no one could ever hate him the way he hates himself. Instead, it goads him on, makes him cock his head to the side, and his grin widens until it's sharpened like the tip of a knife.

"Y'know, Parrish, you're kinda cute when you're like this," Ronan says, off-handed.

He doesn't expect Adam's reaction, how his jaw clenches so tight a muscle visibly twitches there, how his entire posture coils tight. Adam doesn't scream, or lash out, or storm away because he doesn't have a chance. A voice interrupts him, Gansey calling out as he approaches the Pig with a backpack slung over his shoulder and his typical, presidential smile.

"Parrish, Lynch," Gansey looks between them, his smile dropping instantly. "Did I miss something? Are you two fighting again?"

"Yes," Adam replies right away.

"No," Ronan does too, at the exact same time. He barks out a laugh when Adam glares at him for it.

Gansey tries to look unphased, failing. "Right, well, is there anything I can do to help smooth it over?"

"Yes."

"No." Adam crosses his arms against his chest, rolls his eyes. Then, as if to prove a point, he goes, "Factum fieri infectum non potest."

It is impossible for a deed to be undone.

Ronan blinks. "Phormio?" he asks without much thought.

"Terence. Phormio is the play," Adam corrects, "Top in Latin should know that."

Adam doesn't seem quite so angry anymore. The flush has crept away from his ears, back towards the small freckle at his temple. Soon, it'll be gone even from there. Ronan eyes the spot, his stomach twisting with a feeling he refuses to put into thought. Maybe he'll be ready to name it, someday, but for now he likes this. Them. The three-headed Ronan-Gansey-Adam creature they have become, and he doesn't want to risk that.

He can't.

He won't.

[hklnvgl]

“ it doesn't matter. nothing is more important than making sure you're okay. “ Pynch 🥺🥺

The nightmare wasn’t special.

It was new, though, in that casserole-like way old fears get all mixed up and make up a new thing.

It was leaving lovers and asleep mothers and deadly claws and a loneliness so deep it became black tears that tattooed his pillow when he woke up. It wasn’t nightwash—it was just Ronan dreaming of dying. It was a nightmare of nightwash. It was a shadow of nightwash, made worse by the real shadows creeping up Ronan’s bedroom walls.

He shotout of bed and thought of burning the sheets, soaked in sweat and black. He felt sluggish and tired so he decided he’d do that later, maybe.

He washed his face and peed and let the bathroom bright light hurt his tired eyes.

Downstairs, he studied the kitchen clock for a long time. Despite his glares, its hands didn’t get past half three in the morning.

It was too early to call Adam—Adam had a test in two days and had spent the weekend camping up at the library. He’d sent Ronan a text at eight saying he was going to bed.

The nightmare hadn’t been that bad.

Ronan could get over it. He wasn’t a fucking baby.

He thought of putting on a jacket and venturing outside to try and find Opal to annoy her until she broke something. Fixing stuff other people broke always made Ronan feel better.

He thought of having a long shower until there was daylight so he remembered what it was like to feel clean again.

He thought of calling Adam.

He wanted to call Adam. He wanted Adam to be here so he could shove his phone at the bottom of a pile of cow shit and forget he ever had one. He wanted to hear Adam tell him it was going to be okay.

He drunk some water. He made himself some coffee. He poured some whiskey on a mug and then washed it down with the coffee and hated how something so sour and ugly-looking could make him feel so alive.

He sat for a long time in the toilet. He texted Blue that he was sitting in the toilet, but she didn’t answer. He’d hoped she was in some place whose timezone would mean she was awake to send him a voice note stating how strongly she despised it when he told her he was sitting in the toilet.

He didn’t want to go back to sleep.

At four minutes to four he dialed Adam’s number.

A shaky hand brought the phone to Ronan’s ear, where he heard the first beep, and the second, and was about to hang up when the call connected and Adam’s voice answered.

“Ronan,” he said. Sleepy and low and maybe a bit frightened because it was four in the morning after all.

Ronan felt warm. He stood up, left the bathroom, went back to hide in his bedroom where he could better appreciate the fact that he was talking to Adam Parrish and shove that into the creepy shadow’s face. Not that the shadows had faces—that’d been fucked up. He made a mental note never to dream about shadows with faces.

“Something happened?” Adam asked, sounding more awake than before.

Ronan had yet to say hello. He should just hang up and let Adam go back to sleep. Only Adam would call him back because Ronan had to go and wake him up with his stupid nightmare stories so now Adam was worried and scared and that made two of them when Ronan could have just sucked it up.

“Shit,” Ronan said.

For some reason Adam chuckled on the other side of the line. “Hi.”

“Hi, uh—we didn’t talk earlier.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.” There was some shuffling sound, as if Adam was exploding shit or adjusting his pillow. Ronan let his own head fall onto his still-covered-in-black pillow, because it felt like he was getting closer to Adam by doing so. “I didn’t even have dinner—I just crashed the moment I reached my bed. I hope it goes well this Thursday.”

Ronan hummed, which was meant to mean that he didn’t like it when Adam skipped meals and also that Adam was of course going to ace his test because even Harvard fuckers had to see how much Adam was worth and also that he wanted to be Adam’s bed to have Adam crash on him.

“So?” Adam asked, when Ronan didn’t add anything to his hum. “Did you wanna talk about something? I know I’ve been a bit out of the loop lately, did I miss something important?”

Just Ronan’s slow decaying. “Your loop is right there, dipshit,” he said, instead.

“Ronan.”

“You know what? We can talk later, when you’re done with your shit. Get back to your beauty sleep.” Any moment now, Ronan would hang up, and the line would go dead, and Adam would be free to go back to sleep, and Ronan would be free to go have another shower because he was stupid and had laid right back on his sticky sheets and now he was sticky all over again.

Any moment now. He just wanted to hear Adam breathe for a second longer.

He just—

“Ronan. Ronan, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Nothing. Nothing happened. Just Ronan being Ronan. Just Ronan’s life being all fucked up.

Ronan took a shaky breath. “I won’t call in the middle of the night again,” he rushed.

“What? It doesn’t matter. What the hell, Ronan? Just tell me, okay? Talk to me. I’m here. I’m listening. Hey, I always want to talk to you, okay? Even if it’s late. Listen, I’ll make sure to talk to you every day, okay? Even if I’m tired. Nothing is more important than making sure you’re okay.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Ronan said, hating that his voice was cracking and that the house was empty and that he was upsetting Adam. “You don’t need to try shit. You’re doing fine. We’re fine. I just missed you and was being stupid about it because I had a nightmare and you were far away. But that’s not on you. That’s on me.”

“You shut up. I’m glad you called. I also missed you. I’m still promising I’ll talk to you every day. I want to talk to you every day. You make my days happier.”

Ronan snorted and had to get up or he’d choke with his own tears.

“That’s my fucking line, Parrish. Get your own.”

“What? I said it first. It’s mine now. You get your own.”

“Okay. I’ll think of something. I’m gonna do some laundry now, you should really go back to sleep.”

Adam sighed. “I know.” None of them ended the call.

Ronan switched his bedside lamp on. All the shadows went away. “Tanquam.”

“Alter idem.”

[ktrie]

Can't believe I haven't reblogged this yet! @tinyarmedtrex wrote the most precious story! Go check it out!

Dreaming of Christmas with you

My fic for @ktrie for the @pynchpromptweek Secret Santa! I hope you enjoy some fake dating and our boys dreaming together!

Read the fic here!

Preview:

‘D is going to call u’ Ronan texted Adam.

‘He already did’ Adam replied. ‘Sounds like I’m coming to Christmas.’

‘No, I’m not making you go to DC’

'Oh… you didn’t hear the new plan.’

'What new plan?’

‘Parrish?’

‘Parrish??’

[squash1-squash2]

TRC/Dreamer Trilogy Prompt Week Day 1 - Flower Shop/Tattoo Parlor AU

ft. Ronan and Adam as next-door shop owners who flirt recklessly from their doorways

Thanks for hosting, @pynchpromptweek!!

[of-stars-and-moon]

Better Now

Written for @pynchpromptweek

Ship: Pynch

Day 2: Hurt/Comfort

Word count: 4k

Summary: Slight canon divergence where Ronan starts patching up Adam's injuries and bruises

Rated T

Tw: Child Abuse. It's not graphically shown in the fic, but this is from Adam's pov so it's there. And mentions of suicide attempt (It's after Ronan almost died because of his night horrors)

It's my first time participating, so this is very exciting! Huge thanks to the lovely @galwaygremlin for beta reading this!

----

"What happened?" Ronan asked, eyes flickering from the gash over Adam's eyebrow to his bandaged wrist.

Adam didn't really talk about this with them. At first he would come up with lies, but when they figured it out, he would just not answer their questions or reply briefly. But there was something in Ronan's eyes that made him say the truth today. "He caught me trying to sneak out to find you and thought I was trying to run away or something."

He didn't want to think about last night, his father's fists and accusations. His temple and wrist still hurt like hell and he had to miss a day of school and work because of it. The impact of that was already heavy on his mind. He hoped Ronan wouldn't ask more about this. Whenever they talked about this— or didn't, for that matter— Ronan seemed angry, although not his usual destructive, fire-like anger, but quieter, like simmering embers.

Today he just looked sad. Adam didn't know if he had ever seen him like this: shoulders slumped, eyes defeated and downcast, mouth turned in a frown.

Ronan cursed, hands idly fiddling with the bandages around his forearms. "You shouldn't have tried to leave to find me. I would have been okay."

"You almost killed yourself, Ronan. I don't see how that's okay." Though he and Ronan spent most of their time arguing and didn't get along, Adam couldn't forget the fear he had felt when Gansey had called him yesterday night, saying that Ronan was missing, and again today, when Gansey came to his house, the concern on his face morphing into sadness as he saw the cut on Adam's temple and the poorly wrapped bandage around his wrist.

Ronan seemed invincible; he was sharp lines and jagged edges, throwing punches and racing under the dark night, too-loud music and creative curses. He didn't seem like someone who would try to take his own life. But, Adam contemplated, you could be wrong about people. After all, it had taken time for him to realize that Ronan wasn't a total asshole after their initial meeting"

"It's not...It wasn't like that," Ronan said, making a sound of frustration. He went to the bedside table and took out a first aid kit. Before Adam could ask about it, he said. "Sit down."

Keep Reading

[tamquamm]

[Ronan Lynch / Adam Parrish] Rated T | 3.3k ↳ Day 1: Coffee Shop AU for @pynchpromptweek

“We have a lot of cows.”

Adam pauses mid-pour. “Cows? Like with the ‘s’ at the end? Multiple?”

“Yeah, multiple. Like a lot actually. Just a shit ton of cows.”

Adam practices pouring a latte heart into Ronan’s cup, he admires his handiwork before capping it. “I guess that makes you a cowboy, then.”

Despite his protests, Ronan’s cup boasts cow boy in Adam’s messy scrawl, accompanied by a shitty doodle of a cow smiling back at him.

>> continue reading on AO3

[bonappetart]

follow me on insta for more sneak peeks!

[actuallymollyweasley]

In which Ronan really did not want to get dressed up for a stupid corporate event but couldn’t pass up the chance to stare down Adam’s asshole coworkers. And also, Adam looked really fucking good in his suit and Ronan was powerless to resist.

Happy (belated) Holidays, @asaelfic! 

for the prompt: Adam bringing his punk farmer husband to a fancy work christmas party & blowing their minds

I’m your backup secret santa, so I’m sorry this gift is a bit late! I couldn’t decide whether to write a fic or draw you something, but as soon as I saw your third prompt, I instantly knew it needed a visual because it was just TOO GOOD. I would look at this full-size and with your brightness up if possible because I think it looks better that way haha.

I hope you like it!

refs: x x

[zephfair]

Love your fics so much!! I'm a softie so i would love it if we'd get a real soft/funny one again 😇 maybe pynch going to the carnival and ronan fucking everything up until they are finally in the ferris wheel or so? 🤣🙏🏻 i love everything you write though, it was just an idea 😊

Hello, Beautiful Anon! Thank you so much for reading my stuff, and I’m very happy that you enjoy it! Here’s a little something for you that I really hope is soft and funny!😘💖

I haven’t revisited the guys from my crack-filled baby Will You Accept This Rose? But this prompt reminded me of a scene from there and a little daydream that Ronan had. So it’s an AU in that world, set in the summer after they’re on The Bachelorette.

There was something wrong with Adam. Ronan wouldn’t say that he was the most perceptive person, but he was reasonably sure that Adam was annoyed and not having a good time, and Ronan honestly didn’t know what he’d done wrong.

They’d been living happily ever after, enough, since The Bachelorette had filmed and even more happily in public since it aired. Things weren’t perfect, but Ronan was cautiously optimistic that they’d make it, or at least, they’d be together, ‘til death did them part, if he had his way.

He’d thought it would be fun to take Adam back to Virginia for a long weekend, not only to show him the Barns but mostly because he—Adam, that is, not Ronan because he, Ronan, certainly did not care if he ever saw Blue and her fiendish family again—would get to spend time with Blue and her diabolical mothers and cousins.

When Gansey, Blue and Henry found out about the plan, they’d excitedly decided to take off and join them, although Ronan was positive that they needed very little excuse to visit Henrietta.

That relationship was still going strong and heavy, even though Ronan had zero interest and didn’t care at all what the threesome was up to, and he’d deny being the first to check the group chat any time one of them had a thought they just had to share.

So the first day had gone fine, even though Adam confided in Ronan that he just wasn’t fully comfortable being back in Virginia. Ronan knew the broad reason why, didn’t have to question anything about Adam’s former family, reassured Adam that they’d stick to Blue’s crazy family home or the bed and breakfast so there’d be no risk of him running into anyone he didn’t want to see.

But then Ronan had a bright idea and asked the three stooges if he could have Adam to himself on Saturday afternoon, so they relented.

Ronan’s bright idea was the Rockingham County Fair, a week-long celebration of local livestock, youth farming and greasy fried foods supplemented with games and carnival rides. His family had usually visited one day a year, and Ronan had run from stall to stall goggling at the animals then begging Aurora for food and Niall for a ride on the Krazy Karts.

Those were happy memories, of which Ronan didn’t always have a lot. He treasured in particular the one year he’d goaded Dicklan into eating a daring amount of various colored cotton candies and then taken to the swirling teacups, ending in Dicklan spewing a veritable rainbow of spew. Too bad Matthew had been a sympathetic vomiter and ended up doing the same, crying until Aurora declared they’d had enough and were going home.

The staged date during Blue’s season of The Bachelorette had reminded Ronan of a very weak version and made him long for the hot, humid authenticity of the county fair.

So, he’d thought that Adam would enjoy it just like he always had. He’d been trying since they started dating to fill in the gaps in Adam’s education of guilt-free fun, and the county fair seemed like just the thing.

But Adam was pissy from the time Ronan joined him in the car outside the B&B.

“You’re wearing that,” Adam said, eyeballing Ronan’s tank top and torn jeans.

“Yeah. You look very handsome too,” Ronan said, grinning at him and leaning over for a kiss, but Adam turned his face in time so he only smacked his lips on smooth, shaven cheek.

“Lynch, where are we going?”

“Told you, it’s a surprise,” was all Ronan continued to say until they were parking in one of the fields around the fairgrounds.

“The county fair,” Adam stated in a very calm, very inflectionless tone that Ronan had learned to be wary of.

“We always had so much fun here as kids. I thought you’d have a blast.”

Adam got out of the car and slammed the door. Ronan got out and joined him cautiously. Adam was just standing, shading his eyes from the hot sun, glaring out at the chaos of the fair.

“Adam?” Ronan finally asked quietly, wanting to reach out but afraid that Adam would rebuff his touch.

“You told me we were going somewhere nice.”

“Well,” Ronan gestured broadly at the scene in front of them. “It is nice.”

“I asked you how I should dress for your surprise destination, and you told me, and I quote, ‘I’m taking you somewhere really fucking nice, Parrish.’”

“That does sound like me,” he admitted.

Adam rounded on him. “So I dressed like this because I thought we were going somewhere a lot fancier.”

Ronan looked up and down his freshly pressed khakis, blue-checked button-down short-sleeve shirt, and nice shiny brown shoes. “And you look great.”

“And you look like a damn carny yourself,” Adam gritted out.

“You’re gorgeous,” Ronan insisted, stepping closer and slowly reaching out a hand to go around Adam’s waist, but Adam made his fear a reality and stepped away.

“Come on then, Lynch. Let’s do this,” and he stalked toward the gates. Ronan shrugged off his disappointment and followed.

To his surprise, Adam didn’t even put up a token protest at the gate, let Ronan pay for admittance and buy a buttload of tickets for the rides and games.

The fair was crowded since it was a weekend, and after a brief glare from Adam, Ronan shrugged and led them toward the midway, dodging around kids and hurrying past old people.

Usually when they walked, Adam was right beside him so Ronan would take his hand or put his arm around his waist. But now, Adam hung a step behind. When Ronan stopped, he caught up, but kept his distance even when Ronan held out his hand, feeling like a child reaching out to a parent for a loving gesture.

“Why won’t you hold my fucking hand?” Ronan asked, stunned by the rejection.

Adam stepped closer long enough to hiss, “We’re in rural buttfuck Virginia. You can’t just walk around holding another man’s hand.”

“Why the fuck not?” Ronan asked, honestly bewildered for a moment.

Adam rolled his eyes and started walking. “You live in your own fantasyland, Lynch.”

“What the fuck?” Ronan said, just loud enough for a passing mother to shoot him a glare worthy of Adam.

Ronan shuffled after him as Adam practically stomped down the midway, glancing at then spurning one game booth after the other. Ronan finally grabbed his shoulder, but let go as soon as Adam spun on him, and said meekly, “Let’s play a game.”

“These are all rigged. You’re never going to win anything.”

“Let me try,” Ronan all but begged and pushed from his mind the thought that he sounded like he was wheedling a parent.

He remembered the fake fair on the show, when Blue was being wooed and all the men were vying for her attention by winning the games and presenting her with the prizes.

One look at Adam’s thunderous face, and Ronan knew it would take a lot of woo to change his mood.

“What about this one?” Ronan gestured to the nearest one.

Adam sniffed and made no attempt to lower his voice. “All those goldfish are dead,” he announced, and one little kid who was throwing ping-pong balls at the fishbowls burst into tears.

Ronan grabbed Adam’s elbow and escorted him down a couple booths. “How about this? I can throw a baseball.”

“Those bottles are rigged and weighted so they won’t fall over. You’re just wasting your money.”

The carnival employee now joined in the glares at him and Adam, so Ronan kept them moving.

“Here. I’ll buy a ticket for the raffle—”

“That’s just gambling, Lynch. You're wasting money because the house always wins.”

“All right,” Ronan said slowly, backing away from another group of angry looking employees. “Why don’t we go check out the rides?”

But Adam wasn’t interested in any of the carnival rides. As they slowly wandered past, he tutted at the Krazy Karts, poo-poohed at the Whiplash, and openly called into question the safety inspections that enabled any of the rides, especially the Scrambler, to operate legally.

Luckily for Ronan, the ride operators weren’t close enough to hear him complain about how unsafe they looked, although a few people waiting in the lines looked at each other and then left.

Ronan face-palmed while Adam was stalking toward the Pirate Ship to flay it with his scorn. There was something very wrong with Adam, and not only did Ronan not know what it was, now he was scared to ask.

They’d walked through most of the carnival side of the fairgrounds when Ronan smelled his savior—delicious frying dough.

He hurried in front of Adam and tried to steer him toward the food booths. “Let’s get something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” Adam informed him.

“C’mon, I want to buy you a funnel cake.”

“I don’t want any damned fried foods.”

“How about a hot dog? Ice cream? Cotton candy?”

“No.”

Ronan sighed. “I need a drink. I’m getting a homemade lemonade.”

Adam didn’t say anything as Ronan stood in line for two ice-cold drinks, but stood in the shade of one of the pavilions, arms crossed over his chest, angry at the world in general and, apparently, Ronan in particular.

He did accept the lemonade, and he deigned to sit at a picnic table while Ronan scarfed down some fries.

“I know the food looks shitty, but it’s really good. They have a great barbecue sandwich. I’d be happy to get—”

“No, Lynch” and that was that.

Some very loud exhaust and engine noises began to draw Ronan’s attention from the near distance. “I, uh, think there’s a tractor-pull today, if you want?”

“No, I do not want.”

When Ronan took his last fry, he brushed off his hands and said, “There weren’t any tickets for the concert tonight, but it’s some shitty country band. But if—”

“No.”

Ronan sighed. There were just the animal barns left, and they would’ve seen entire the fair at record speed. The evening wasn’t going anything like he’d planned, but he didn’t know what to do to change it.

“Do you, uh, wanna see the animals and shit? And then we’ll go?”

Adam at last seemed to relent a little. “I guess we can see some animals shit.”

“Cool,” Ronan stood then realized, “I’m going to the portapotty. I’ll be right back.”

It took a little while to find Adam after he’d pissed. Adam was waiting near one of the fair’s information stands and gazing toward the animal barns.

Ronan very carefully did not slide his arm around Adam or touch him casually like he always did. He did walk up to his good side and say, “You ready to go pet some cows and sheep?”

“Yes,” Adam said with the most beatific smile that should’ve immediately put Ronan on his guard. “You love animals, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. They’re better than people. Well, most of them,” Ronan smiled guilelessly back.

“Good. I thought so. I signed you up for an animal-related event,” Adam’s smile slowly deepened into diabolical.

“Oh. Okay.” Ronan was shocked, but moreso that Adam had decided to participate rather than the look on his face. “Uh, what is it?”

And that was how Ronan was entered into the annual pig chase. It was an event that organizers guaranteed would not injure or harm the pig, but they made no such promises for the humans.

Ronan looked at the corral specially wetted down so the mud was thick and sloshy. He looked over at the squealing piglets that glistened with some kind of oil. He looked at Adam who was leaning on the outside of the fence, beaming beautifully.

He would do this, only for Adam.

When the whistle blew, the piglets were released into the corral where a group of children, teens and Ronan waited. The goal was simple: catch a piglet and carry it successfully to the gate.

The reality was much more brutal. The piglets ran and cut and squealed in all directions. The humans tried to run, then fell, then barely got to their feet before slipping again into the squelching mud.

Ronan swore under his breath as he dove for one piglet slowing down, but it stopped and he overshot, diving to the mud face-first. He never even got a finger on the tiny pink back.

He rolled over, struggled to his feet and tried again. The kids were screaming, the teenagers were hooting and hollering, and the piglets were having the times of their lives in the filth.

“You sliding, slippery little mud fucker,” Ronan told another piglet as he got his hands around its belly, only for it to squirt out of his grip and land safely in the mud to go on its way.

“Language!” a familiar voice yelled from the sideline. Ronan looked up and rubbed some sweat off his forehead as he found Adam—Adam who had his cell phone pointed directly at Ronan. Ronan was sure he was filming, so he gave him the finger. Several parental-looking people yelled at him then.

He went back to the chase, but both the humans and pigs were definitely slowing down, and Ronan didn’t even swear when a piglet swerved away from him right as he leaned down, making him fall on his side in the mud again.

Finally, a wiry little girl who looked suspiciously clean compared to the rest of them managed to capture a piglet and carry it, struggling, up to the gate. She was declared the winner, and the rest of them were allowed to leave the corral with as much pride as they could muster, and as much mud as they could carry.

Adam was still beaming when Ronan climbed over the fence beside him. “Oh Lynch, that was a sight I’ll never forget.”

Ronan looked down at his mud-soaked clothes and the brown streaks already drying on his arms and chest. “Joke’s on you. You have to smell me the rest of the night.”

Adam’s smile fell just a little. Then a fair organizer hurried over and bustled them away to an area set up behind the nearby barns. There were several faucets and the race participants were splashing away happily.

Ronan waited his turn and did what he could with the cool water and a tiny sliver of soap someone handed him. When he turned Adam was holding something out. “That nice lady gave this to you.”

Ronan stripped off his tank top and threw it right into the trash. Then he opened the bright purple T-shirt bragging “I’m a Big Oink, I Squealed in the 96th Annual Pig Chase, Rockingham Co. Fair.” Ronan closed his eyes against the monstrosity and breathed a silent prayer for patience then dragged it on.

At least his humiliation at the tiny hooves of the piglets seemed to have warmed Adam to him. It was Adam who suggested they visit the 4H barns where they admired cows, horses, goats and sheep, since Ronan had declined to see any more pigs.

Adam even smiled normally at the petting zoo, but he didn’t suggest they join in.

The sun was starting to go down when the feedback shrieks and rumbles announced that the opening band was getting ready to take the main grandstand stage.

“You sure you don’t want me to find a scalper, get some tickets for the concert?”

“Nah, I’m not a fan of country music anyway,” Adam said, as he slowed and walked beside Ronan.

Ronan sighed. “I’m really sorry.”

“About what?”

“About...everything. I’m sorry I ruined your whole day.”

Adam walked beside him in silence until they got back to the rides. “I didn’t say you ruined my day,” Adam said finally, his voice almost startling Ronan. “What do you say to one more ride and then we’ll leave?”

That did startle Ronan. “Sure. Which one?”

“You still have those tickets?” When Ronan nodded, Adam led them to the Ferris wheel, where the line was much shorter as people flocked to the grandstand.

They tucked into a car and started a slow journey to the top. Ronan leaned forward against the rail, making the cart sway mournfully. “I’m sorry I’m such a shitty date. I thought it’d be fun. I really fucked this up.”

“I wasn’t my best either,” Adam admitted. “I never wanted to come back to Virginia, and I certainly didn’t want to come to a very public fair in the very county where my parents still live. I didn’t want to ever risk coming in contact with them again, and you brought me back here, right to the busiest event in the area. Not that we ever came to the fair when I was a kid,” he said after a moment’s thought.

Ronan lay his head down on his arms on the rail. Sure, he hadn’t known exactly what town Adam was from, but he couldn’t believe he’d made such a horrible mistake.

“I’m sorry,” Ronan said. “I should’ve asked you first, or at least told you what I planned. Then you could’ve told me the problem, and we could’ve avoided all of this.”

“Or I could’ve just come out and told you before we even got to Virginia,” Ronan thought he saw Adam thaw a little bit. “I have pretty awful memories of this place, and I really don’t want to run into anyone that I knew before. They weren’t the ones to take kindly to someone being gay or bi on national TV.”

“Shit,” Ronan said and he suddenly understood a lot more about Adam. And if he privately vowed to never let anyone lay a finger on Adam or he’d send them to meet their maker, well, that was between him and the Lord. If Adam even flinched near a stranger, Ronan would take care of them.

“To be honest, I’ll never be thrilled to be back in Virginia, and really, nothing was going to make me happy today. Although, watching you chase that pig came close,” Adam said with a dreamy smile of remembrance. “Oh that reminds me!”

Ronan had to shut his eyes while Adam played a voice mail that was one minute straight of Blue’s uncontrollable laughter, gasping for breath, more laughing, another loud gasp and then “Oh thank you, that’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.” And Gansey’s voice saying, “I feel bad for the pig, though.”

“Which one?” Henry asked and Blue lost it again.

“It’s nice to know who your friends are,” Ronan grumbled, unsurprised that Adam had sent the video to their friends already.

Adam nudged him pointedly. “Are you considering me your friend?”

“I was until you made me wrestle that pig.”

“I made you chase and catch a pig. You did the wrestling all by yourself. And then you got beat by a little girl.” Adam laughed for the first time that day.

That sound was enough to perk Ronan back up. He sat up and took in the view around them. The sun was almost down behind the mountains, the sky a rich gold and red, with darkness slowly overtaking the brilliant colors. The din and smell of the fair was less up in the air, and the bright lights of the midway sparkled instead of looking cheap and dingy.

They’d made it to the top of the Ferris wheel and it stopped as usual so each car could have a moment at the apex.

“Thanks for coming with me anyway, Parrish. I’ll take you some place better next time.”

Adam reached over and took Ronan’s hand. “I’ll hold you to that, Lynch.”

Ronan smiled at him. Adam leaned over and kissed him. Ronan just had time to bring up a hand and cup Adam’s face before he pulled away, and the Ferris wheel moved down, letting another couple have the place of honor.

Adam was still smiling at him. “You smell like shit,” he said affectionately.

Ronan sniffed but his nose had long given up and surrendered to the olfactory onslaught. “Take me back to the B&B and shower me,” he said.

“How about we grab some pizza and ice cream, get into our nice air conditioned room, you take a long shower and then we eat?”

“Deal.”

On the way out, Adam held his hand, and squeezed until he made Ronan stop at one more stall, a BB gun game. Adam took aim and four quick zings out of five shots, he’d won.

He smiled widely and picked the big, pink, stuffed pig. Which he presented to Ronan. “So you can always remember your defeat,” he said.

Ronan sighed. He’d wash the T-shirt and put it on the pig. It seemed appropriate. And it would make Adam laugh again.

“We’re OK, Ronan,” Adam slipped his hand into Ronan’s again. “Now take me and Wilbur somewhere cool and less stinky.”

Ronan brought their hands up to kiss Adam’s knuckles and obeyed.