Adrien had long wished for this moment; he had seen it in his half-asleep dreams many times - and yet, his fantasies lacked the way his skin burned with Val's touch; they lacked the faint popping sounds of the buttons under Val's fingers - and they lacked the feeling that something warm and fragile was being protected in the space between their bodies. When Val was done with the buttons, Adrien let his shirt drop on the floor. Each now looked at the other's skin as if it was a new word they had only just encountered, as if it was a sacred boundary holding mysteries not made to be spoken. One body shone in patterns of blue light, and the other was completely unmarked; both reflected the trembling fire of the torches, and both shuddered in an attempt to belong in this moment.