NOTE: This story was prompted by a months-ago tumblr discussion about Adam realizing he's stumbled into one of Ronan's dreams and pretending to be a dream version of himself to see if it helps to figure out just what's going on with Ronan. It does.

Set sometime after The Dream Thieves, and possibly mildly, vaguely, ever so slightly spoilery.

It was an accident. Adam didn't mean to step into the dream. But he had given up on trying to guess what the people around him were working so hard to keep hidden – Blue, Gansey, Lynch. Even Noah. There suddenly seemed to be a universe of secrets around them all, and Adam could feel the crush of things unsaid whenever they were all together. Which was becoming less and less frequent, and more and more contentious.

He felt suffocated and off-balance.

So he hit the road in his piece-of-shit car and unsurprisingly found himself disembarking at Cabeswater without having really decided on his destination.

But here he was, and Ronan had spotted him.

He had a split second to make his decision – leave, or pretend. It wasn't really a choice.

Dream Ronan frowned at him, then darted eyes around the clearing as if he'd been expecting someone else. Adam wondered who it was. The leaves of the trees murmured, but Adam couldn't make out what they were saying. From the look on Ronan's face, he guessed he couldn't either.

"What are you doing here, Parrish?" he practically growled, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Think fast

Taking a step into the clearing, he lifted his chin and answered, "I was looking for you."

Ronan just stared at him.

The murmuring trees grew louder, but no clearer.

Adam sighed, looking down. This wasn't working. "I'm just trying to get answers."

Ronan nodded almost imperceptibly. "To what?"

Adam could feel the intensity of Ronan's gaze prodding the truth from him. "Lots of things. You."

Ronan's disbelief huffed out of him like a laugh as he started to turn away. "Bullshit."

"No, really." Adam stepped forward again. "Look, I can tell that something's going on with you. Something's been going on with you ever since Kavinsky – "

Ronan stopped.

"I don't – " Adam took a breath, tried to gather his scrambled thoughts as he picked at a fraying thread in the cuff of his sweater sleeve. "I don't know what it is. I just know that it feels like, like you're keeping something from me. Like it's something big, something important."

Ronan had half-turned back to him, jaw tight, eyes hooded. Adam could sense the darkness there and knew he had to step carefully.

"I know we're not that close." Ronan didn't move, but still it felt to Adam like he was shifting away. "Not like you and Gansey."

Wrong wrong wrong you're losing him

All of Cabeswater seemed to hiss lowly in disapproval.

"But you don't have to do this alone." Adam waited, not breathing. "Whatever it is." This. This felt right. "I'm here. I'm right here."

Ronan looked at him, then slowly turned to face him. The trees sighed. Ronan's eyes drifted from Adam to the branches to his own empty hands, leather bands around his wrist. "I'm dreaming."

"Are you?" Adam exhaled, licked his lips, relieved but not quite relaxed. "Then what are you doing here? Dreaming of Cabeswater?"

"Cabeswater? No." Ronan shook his head and closed the last couple of steps to stand across from Adam. He was close, so so close, Adam could feel himself involuntarily tip his head back, mouth opening slightly as he sucked in a surprised breath, eyes wide. Ronan was leaning in closer still, his face inscrutable as he placed his hands on Adam's shoulders, gingerly as though expecting him to disappear.

Adam was disappearing. He existed only in the bright-hot points of contact between Ronan's hands and where they slid slowly down his arms, committing to memory the texture of his sweater and the shape of the muscles taut underneath. What what what was happening? His eyes fluttered closed. "What are you doing, Ronan?" All that was left of his voice was barely a whisper.

He could feel a hand slipping back up his shoulder, his neck, gently cupping, fingers sliding into his hair, thumb brushing along his jawline, undoing the last little bits of him. He was all but gone.

"Dreaming," Ronan breathed into lips that were already kissing him back.