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"Say it?" he quietly asks. "You'll regret it if you don't."

"I thought we meant something, Dorian. That's all."

He walks into his kitchen. "But then I realized - you're just full of shit. All that talk about everything, all of the chatting about the future?"

He tsks. "Bullshit."

Dorian can't help but bristle for a moment before he points out,

"I've always been upfront that I'm going to leave this place. People like Lark, Iris, those people who stay here for years on end? I can't stand them. And I've made no secret that I wasn't going to be that sort of person. It's not my fault that you didn't listen."

"Oh I'm not talking about here, you idiot," he says, but manages to keep any anger out of his voice. "I'm talking about after. I'm here for Misty, and then I'm leaving. I knew you would try and go after Trixie. I'm not that delusional."

"So?" Dorian frowns. "You're mad that what, I'm not going back with you to your island?"

He pauses for a moment, sighing, before he continues. "Who knows. Maybe I'll end up there later. But there are things I have to do back home first—things that could put me in danger if I don't get them done quickly."

"No, Dorian. Godammit."

He turns, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Am I important to you? Right now? In this fucking moment? Or was it all just talk? That's what I want to know."

"You are," he says, without hesitation. "Which...I suppose is why I took so long. I don't know how to say goodbye. Not like this."

But the little guilty tone in his voice says that Dorian is acutely aware that you don't say goodbye by just fucking off.

"Oh, I am? Ah. I see. Because you sure as fuck don't show it, Dorian."

He leans against the counter.

"Oh come on. We might talk about the future but we both know I'm just your backup when Kiryu's busy," he points out, slipping more and more into a defensive little tone.

"And anyway, you'd be doing the same if Misty graduated before Trixie."

"My backup."

He takes a moment to blink at him. "Is that really what you think you are?"

It is. Dorian still frowns as he points out,

"Men like me may talk about the future, but we know we're never going to be the ones who have a happy ever after."

"Men like us," he counters. "But I at least thought you might want to give it a chance."

He moves from the counter over to Dorian and places hands on his shoulders.

There's a long pause before Dorian admits,

"I do. If we somehow find each other again once Misty's graduated, I'd like to give it a shot."

That isn't exactly what he wanted to hear, but it's close enough. Enough that Pagan's content to be finished fighting and just kiss him.

Dorian leans in, kissing Pagan back as passionately as he can. Christ, how he'll miss this man.

He wraps his arms around his neck and pushes him back against the opposite counter. And hwen he pulls away, it's only to ask with a laugh: "Mm, can I make you some tea?"

"If you're offering, I won't say no." Especially because it's Pagan offering. Not anybody else.

"Go get comfortable," he says softly, pushing him back. "I'll come join you on the couch."

Dorian nods before going to sit down on the couch. He turns to look at Pagan, just taking in the man's presence, kind of staring at him like a creep before he sighs.

Fuck. He's going to really miss this man.

Pagan hums softly as he makes the tea. There's a laptop on the table, paused on an episode of Kitchn Nightmares, mostly because he doesn't actually have a television.

He comes to sit with Dorian, as close as he can, and hands him a cup while another arm goes around his shoulders.

Dorian, nosy bitch that he is, looks over at the laptop while Pagan's making the tea. As Pagan sits next to him, Dorian leans against him, enjoying the comfort while he can.

"All the more reason for you to visit me: I've got a decent sized television. I never got the hang of watching something on a small screen. Humanity's progressed past tiny little screens with absolutely shit reception."

"I need to find a way to hide a television," he comments lightly, crossing his legs comfortably. "It ruins the whole aesthetic here. And Kyrat never had anything good on. I didn't like being on television, I didn't like sitting in front of the television."

"Do you have any rooms you can rework into a game room?" he muses. "Granted, the entire concept of a game room is annoyingly heterosexual male, but with the right touches, I'm sure it can be translated to something with the slightest bit of class."

"Mm, Kyrat's palace isn't mine anymore. Not for long, I mean. But my home on my island? Now that is something I can work with."

He drinks his tea, keeping an arm around Dorian.

"And if there is one thing I adore, it is interior design."

"All the more reason for you to go to my place," he muses. "It's all...quite cluttered at the moment. I need one of those awful home shows to come in and Marie Kondo the hell out of my horde."

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