Luke thought there might be complaints; he'd never travelled before. But the pack was more than fine, they approved of him taking time off. Gretel would be in charge in his absence.

The girls were fine too, holding down the fort. Hoped they wouldn't do anything too wild while he was gone.

He also told Magnus; didn't want to worry him, and to his surprise, Magnus also seemed pleased.

And Rita had much to say in favor, when Luke met her at Renwick's, duffel bag in hand. Wouldn't be gone long, only a weekend.

"Glad you and your prince took me up on my offer, pauper," she greeted, and he'd been expecting more of the same, from his previous visit, but she only indicated for him to step through the portal.

Luke hesitated, awaiting some explanation where he was going, even surprised she was not coming with him, at least at first, but she only shook her head, seeming to read his mind. "Sure you can figure yourselves out once you get there."

He didn't believe she meant him harm, so he prepared himself for a violent ride, took a deep breath and held it, then stepped through. Was buffeted about, nearly had the wind knocked out of him, before emerging on solid ground, where the air was cold and crisp, and there was the crinkle of snow beneath his feet, fairly deep, past his ankle but below his knee. Saw birds amongst the trees, on the outer edge of the clearing he was standing in, flittering amongst the snow laden branches, but the scene was mostly silent and still.

And there was Valentine, in front of a small cabin, camouflaged with his hair and pale skin and white coat.

"Where are we?" Luke asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. Rita said we were still on the continent, at least. Probably still the Eastern side, judging by the mixture of trees. Perhaps only upstate. Hard to say, however there are maps inside."

"...Go on a hike, while we have the light?" It'd been awhile since he'd gotten the chance. Since last summer, in fact. Didn't really count, in his book though.

Valentine nodded, and they went indoors. There wasn't much to see: a sitting room, a well stocked kitchen, and a bedroom. An intimate, private locale. Rita apparently had wide and varied tastes. The only anomaly being what looked to be a hot tub, judging by the rock walls and stone patio surrounding it, and the steam rising overhead, though it spanned a large area, appearing more like a hot spring.

It was all lovely. The terrain, the lodging, the food. It reminded him of a more luxurious version of demon hunting trips he and Valentine had gone on when they were young. Traveling on foot, camping. It was surreal, sitting and reading – couldn't focus on the text, instead kept glancing at Valentine.

It was strange, to have even this much time. When it wasn't so condensed, Luke found he wasn't quite sure what to do. There was no conversation that needed to be had; nothing that was necessary to discuss. His throat clenched however, when Valentine laid out a full plate in front of him for dinner. Most of his meals were taken alone, over the years, and cooked himself.

Then they went back outside. The sky was clear, the stars bright, the snow gleaming in the moonlight. The stonework warm under his feet. He had not expected to go swimming, hadn't even thought of it; seemed foolish in hindsight, considering he'd had no idea where he was going, but there was nothing for it, still, his hands were sluggish, stripping down, before slipping into the water, leaving his clothes a jumbled heap on the patio.

In the meantime, Valentine had already settled in, across from him. Luke hadn't noticed; tried to tell himself it was the dark, and the steam, obscuring. Perhaps fatigue, from the earlier hike, the fresh air, and the later hour.

"Rita read you well. Offering this place," Valentine observed.

"It reminds me of home. The cabin with Amatis."

"You are enjoying yourself, here?" Valentine could not help observe, since he was quite intent upon the task, Lucian appeared somewhat disoriented. Slow in his speech, mind somewhere else. Had not deemed it wise, to approach him too directly, had instead kept his distance, a reasonable one, anyway. Rita's outrageous creation, this magically crafted pool, was needlessly large, in his opinion. Did not force Lucian particularly close to him, as he would have selfishly liked. She probably made it to hold a larger number of people than two.

Yet the water was soothing, no ordeal, to be sitting here in winter, and he hoped it would assist Lucian in relaxing, however Valentine's pointed question – he was testing – put Lucian on edge, and he hastened to answer, nodded, turned his head upwards towards the heavens. "Do you still stargaze?"

"I do." Lucian had often chided him to go to sleep, when they were out tracking; that the stars would still be there.

"We were an odd pair. I preferred the cover of trees, you wanted to see the sky."

"I like to believe we balanced each other. Though Jonathan never took to my lessons, teaching him the constellations. Failed even to see the point of using them to navigate, when he could more easily and quickly use a handheld device."

"...Sometimes I have the same problem. Customers asking about a bookstore with electronic readers available, but people keep buying. Same thing with antiques: Clary asked why I bothered cleaning them up."

"Why did you?"

"It was satisfying. Fixing something." Valentine assumed Lucian's repair efforts at headquarters were along the same vein. Worried Lucian was overtaxing himself, however he hoped the pack appreciated the lengths he was going to.

The same could be said of their own relationship: it had tarnished, broken down, fallen into disarray, was exposed and beaten down by the elements. They were attempting restorations. Not unaffected by the passage of time, yet that same passage of time is what made Valentine appreciate what they had, and what they had altered.

He already had doubts, and knew their relationship would not be as easily fixed as a piece of furniture, yet he risked approaching, waded forward to sit beside instead of across – the fact that Lucian was visibly spooked by this – shoulders frozen in place, eyes wide – was all the indication he needed, to continue with caution.

Sensed Lucian was quite emotional – certainly neither of them could have predicted this; it was impossibly serene, the quiet of a winter night, the moon on high – only he supposed for Lucian, that would not be peaceful – but the two of them solitary, after such profound turmoil.

Knew it would do no good, to force something out of him, particularly when he already knew what it was. It was terribly bittersweet, to be together. In a way, it made Valentine for the first time acknowledge the loss of the parabatai rune. What it felt like to sit beside each other without it, with no other pressing distractions, and he was torn: he and Lucian had unwittingly become what they'd been repeatedly warned against becoming. Partly he enjoyed the rebellion, partly he was disappointed, as though Idris and the Council had been waiting for them to fail, to fall, and they had. They were yet and only another pair who had come to this, to feel this way about each other.

And since they did feel this way, and he was not a patient man, he ducked his head and Lucian responded. This was something in general he enjoyed: observing how people behaved, under such physically intimate conditions; how some changed, were markedly different, while others were much more honest, and Lucian was very much himself: dependable, quietly giving, and Valentine was acutely reminded, how profoundly he had missed him.

And though Lucian still felt unusually weightless, still stuck in between forms and even the veil that divides the living and the dead, in essence he was still present enough to continue, and Valentine was more than aware the only thing dividing them was water, rippling and reflecting light. Could tell Lucian tired more quickly than he should have, his movements were lethargic, and Valentine had no intention of pushing him beyond his capacity; simply intended to enjoy that Lucian permitted his touch and his presence this close, that he allowed himself to relax in his hands, that he accepted the path Valentine's whims led him, from the corner of his lips to the pulse point below his ear, to following the line of his jaw until he was jolted by a cry from the surrounding forest, some scuffle perhaps, between predator and prey. Valentine was relatively unfazed, focused as he was, yet when he realized Lucian was still startled, had not quite recovered, breathing quick but for the wrong reasons, Valentine pulled away and observed him to be inordinately beleaguered, in need of a more encompassing rest than this, so he suggested they retire, aware the intention could be misconstrued but he would deal with that afterwards, if it came up.

He did not bother fully dressing, instead opting for a towel; would change in the cabin, his skin and core still warm, noted Lucian do the same, and they took the path back quickly, dashing and shutting the door, and as much as he enjoyed fresh air and clear skies, the indoors were comforting on this occasion.

Lucian paused, the satchel he came with in hand, ruffling through before standing suddenly still, staring at Valentine, then quickly glancing around the room – sedately decorated by Rita's usual standards, mostly paintings of natural settings – stopping at the bed, then let out a slow, low laugh.

"This never goes the way I think it's going to." Then shook his head, dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and Valentine paused because it appeared as though Lucian's patience had finally run out, and he had to ponder a moment, what to say to him. Dressing himself would be a good start, and as he was doing so, he decided leaving said bedroom would be beneficial. Better not to be reminded of what Rita had expected them to be doing, and if truth be told, what they had expected to as well.

So they retreated to the kitchen, Valentine rummaging through the refrigerator, as Lucian sat heavily down at the small table pressed against the wall. Set a cool glass of water before him, along with a bowl of grapes.

Lucian helped himself, studying the stems as he picked them clean. They were both quiet, uncomfortably so, however in the interval, Valentine decided that on this occasion, perhaps it was better to listen, to not disrupt whatever Lucian was going to say.

"You and Rita. You were seeing each other?" he eventually asked, when his glass was nearly empty.

"We were," Valentine confirmed, but once more held his tongue, waiting for the follow up, and it came soon enough, while Lucian was looking down, at the table. "Not still?"

"Years in the past, now."

"...Is there anyone else you've been seeing?" It was not a question Luke had planned on posing outright. It was also a question he was fairly sure he knew the answer to. Only, this trip had gone worse than even he had foreseen. In some ways, it seemed natural to ask of an old friend. When they were young, Valentine had often inquired of him, whom, if anyone, he had invited out to Alicante's scheduled dances. Needless to say, he most often attended alone, if he bothered to show up at all. Sometimes Amatis insisted he go, dragged him there herself. There were also a few rare times he and Jocelyn had attended together.

"Currently, no," Valentine replied. It was unlike him; he was not naturally a man of few words. Unfortunately Luke was, so this conversation was going nowhere fast.

"Since we went to dinner, you mean?" Luke tried again for clarification, dared to look up, only to have Valentine cant his head, pause, then shake his head no. "Since the summer, actually."

That was unexpected. Luke wondered if he was lying, it seemed so improbable. There was no reason to abstain. They had no commitments, and Luke's situation had put an irrevocable stop to things. Valentine had asked him this once; it was only fair he could ask the same.

"Why? You had no way of knowing if I would ever recover."

"You surprised me once. Coming back from the dead. I had faith you would do it again."

"...That doesn't answer my question entirely."

"Because I cannot think of a phrasing to convey what I wish, other than I wanted no one else and was willing to wait."

Luke bit his lip, trying to head off the wellspring of emotion that threatened to burst through. Felt suddenly bare and suddenly small, sitting here in such casual clothes, ensconced in a small kitchen, where down the hall there was a bedroom with a log fire, that the two of them were going to sleep together in. Went to fiddle with his glasses, only to belatedly realize he wasn't wearing them, had never put them back on, after getting in the pool, and Valentine stayed still, though it pained him to do so, with Lucian silently crying across the table, still trusting his instinct to allow distance and a continuing quiet, until a question occurred.

"Did you wait too?"

Blue eyes stared incredulous, tears falling down in full view, yet lips curling up regardless, as though he had just heard a joke, so Valentine continued, "I heard Magnus might have made a move."

Lucian switched to laughing silently, however it was to his own disservice, he took it lightly. He was well aware the high warlock was seeing Alexander Lightwood, having briefly discussed the matter with him personally, yet the rumor made its way through the grapevine regardless, and was taking its time, moving on. Not everyone – in fact, many had not considered it a flight of fancy, had taken it quite seriously – partly, no doubt, due to Magnus' outsized personality and reputation, but equally due to Lucian's perceived desirability. The pack in particular, had no issue understanding why their leader could have caught Magnus' eye.

Lucian did, of course, and that is also what he was truly asking now: gauging how serious Valentine was about this, and how quickly he might leave. He was not obtuse, he clearly perceived why this would be a concern given their past. Valentine had left before, when things did not go according to his whims, when Lucian did not believe what Valentine had wanted him to believe.

"I said I would not ask your forgiveness, but please, give me a chance to redeem myself. Do not dismiss me just yet." He risked putting words in Lucian's mouth, yet that is what he heard underneath Lucian's phrasing; sensed in his behavior, him drawing away, which Lucian kindly confirmed, when he asked, "…But what will we do? We rarely see each other."

"I can be rather inventive, when I put my mind to something. If you have the desire to see me, I will make it happen. I can also devise a better way for you to reach me, and for I to reach you, directly, without making Magnus the middleman. Problematic for multiple reasons, at the moment."

"...I could write you?"

"Yes, dear heart. Keep me updated about your progress cleaning up headquarters."

When they eventually left the kitchen, hopefully lighter than when they sat, and laid down, he was pleased Lucian fell asleep quickly, for a time able to relax, while Valentine pondered how to fulfill his promise. Sifted in memory through the artifacts in his possession, for something that could work as a delivery service, or even a cellphone of sorts. Also contemplated if he could acquire something new that would do the job better. He had heard of a matched pair of tablets, that anything written on one would appear on the other, perhaps he could find something or even make a similar set. Then he too leaned back, closed his eyes, settled in, fell asleep.