Ren scoured the heads walking the narrow path to the shops and restaurants. The airport was air-conditioned despite the cool September weather of London, but he appreciated it. He rubbed the sweat off his hands on his jeans and resumed his people searching.

He was still nowhere to be found.

‘He’s fine. He’ll be out soon,’ Daisy said. She was wearing a yellow knitted cardigan over an indigo blouse and her hair was as wild as ever, although Ren suspected he looked even wilder.

He hardly registered her words.

He checked the monitors again. The flight number at the top was flashing. Thessaloniki - Baggage Reclaim. He should be out by now, but what was taking him so long? Had he got lost? Was he in trouble? The wave of passengers dispersed, and Ren looked back to the screen to triple-check he was in the right place.

When he turned his attention back to the exit, he saw him. He was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and holding a winter jacket over his arm, a rucksack over the other, and rolling a suitcase behind him. Ren ran around the barriers between him and Jimmy and pulled his boyfriend to the side.

Ren didn’t know what to do with him. Did he hug him? Did he kiss him? Did he shake hands and leave the rest for later?

Before Ren could make up his mind, Jimmy wrapped his arms around Ren and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. Ren hugged him back, squeezing his waist and taking in his scent. The mix of sweat and deodorant penetrated Ren’s nostrils and his eyes watered.

‘Oh my God, I’ve missed you so much!’ he said.

Jimmy’s cheeks turned red. ‘Me too,’ he said.

It had been so long. Too long. Too long to be away from his beautiful Jimmy, only ever seeing him on a digital screen, unable to touch him, to kiss him, be next to him. But now he was here.

‘Hey, Jimmy, welcome to London,’ Daisy said as soon as they approached her, Ren taking the suitcase from Jimmy’s hand.

‘Hi, Daisy. Thank you. It’s so good to finally be here,’ Jimmy replied. His eyes kept flickering around him, taking every single square foot in as he walked.

Ren smiled. He imagined that was what he had looked like on his first day in Thessaloniki.

‘How was the flight?’ she asked him.

Jimmy twisted his hand. ‘So-so. I’ve never flown before so I didn’t know what to expect,’ he responded.

Daisy punched his cheek and cooed. ‘My dear boy. Bless you.’

Ren couldn’t take his eyes off Jimmy. Even though he was talking to Daisy, his eyes didn’t rest. He could imagine what was going through his head. No familiar brands or shops anywhere around. The temperature was lower than Thessaloniki. The cold more penetrative. The people moving at a faster pace.

Oh, dear. The pace of London was going to shock him. No more halara lifestyle for Jimmy. No more lounging with frappés for hours.

Ren chuckled to himself. He had so many things to show him. So much to teach him. And so many things to explore in their relationship.

The roles had been reversed, and now Ren got to be his guide and friend. Here, they could be themselves or at least learn how to navigate life as something more. There was an infinite number of possibilities in their shared future, some of which terrified Ren and some of which gave him shivers of anticipation. But he dared not to let himself jump ahead. He had to focus on the here and now.

‘Are you ready to go home? Are you hungry?’ Ren asked as they headed for the exit.

‘Yes and yes,’ Jimmy said and laughed.

‘What?’ Daisy asked him.

‘This was the first thing we did when Ren arrived. Eat,’ Jimmy answered her.

‘There’s no quality gyros around, baby, that I can guarantee,’ Ren told him.

‘I know,’ Jimmy said with a raised eyebrow.

Ren took him in his arms and kissed him on the lips. It would take some time to get reacquainted with Jimmy’s body. The shape of it. The detail. It had been too long. Way too long. But now they had all the time in the world to find out who they were.

Or until the end of the semester, anyway.