"Can I take it off now?"

Alfie couldn't help laughing at the face Wynn was making, his nose scrunched up and red from the cold.

"Yes, you can," Alfie said, stepping up behind Wynn and tugging the bandana loose from around Wynn's eyes. He laced his arms around Wynn's waist and hooked his chin over Wynn's shoulders as Wynn sucked in a deep breath as he saw the ocean for the first time.

"It's… amazing," Wynn said after a moment, his voice reverent. Alfie was smiling so hard his cheeks already hurt—but he certainly wasn't going to try to stop. He nuzzled his face against Wynn's neck.

"I told you it was worth the drive," he whispered into Wynn's ear over the crash of the waves, and Wynn nodded, speechless once more.

The week after their trip to Niobrara had been an abrupt shift from the two weeks of feverish fucking before. Wynn was doing as well as could be expected, given the upheaval he'd experienced. But there was still a weight he was bearing. Something was dimming the shine in his eyes, and though Alfie knew he wouldn't be able to magically heal a lifetime of trauma, Alfie still thought he might be able to help make Wynn feel truly free, if only for a day—just to remind him what it felt like.

And, judging by the look on Wynn's face, it had worked.

Alfie had wanted to show Wynn the ocean—Wynn had never seen it before, and in the years that Alfie had lived on the coast, the wild churn of the waves had become the one thing that soothed his heart, even when he was most distressed. They could have walked to the ocean from Alfie's apartment, but, here, the city bled right up into the bay, leaving only thin scraps of pavement between the city and the ocean. It was a hard to find a place where you could forget you were living on a peninsula with a million other people.

So Alfie had driven them south, to a place he'd discovered only a few years ago—but as soon as he'd decided to take Wynn to the ocean, he'd known that this was the only place worthy of being Wynn's first glimpse of something so important. Wynn had laughed and begrudgingly complied when Alfie made him cover his eyes.

As populated as California was, it wasn't difficult to find an isolated stretch of the coast if you were willing to drive a bit. They were standing at a deserted overlook, out of sight of the highway, and, as they looked out at the ocean, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

Alfie was just fine with that.

The day was overcast—as it usually was—but it was fitting. The clouds were low and bright, the sun fighting to burn off the coastal fog. Far below them, the waves hurled themselves against the rocks, and somewhere, a lonely gull cried out. Gnarled cypress trees clung to the edge of the cliff, growing at strange angles, bowed by the constant wind.

And, beyond the waves, the great span of the ocean, stretching on and on into the horizon. It was wild and fierce and beautiful.

Alfie had come home.

"I remember hating the prairie," Alfie said, his lips brushing against Wynn's ear. "I felt so trapped and..."

"Claustrophobic," Wynn said. He stepped to the side, gathering Alfie into his arms so Alfie's head was tucked just under Wynn's chin. "I remember you saying that. The—the day you came out to me."

Alfie nodded. He braced himself for the sting that came with those memories, but he felt nothing.

"Yes," he said. "Exactly. I thought… I thought I hated open spaces. Kinda thought I might even end up living in the mountains eventually. Just to get away from all that openness. But… then I saw the ocean, and…"

He trailed off for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Though the fog and spray of salt were both cold, Wynn's body was warm and solid around him, blocking the chill of the wind.

"The ocean is wide open, too," Alfie said, struggling to find the words to explain himself. He knew he'd never find the perfect ones, though—the only way he'd ever really been able to communicate his thoughts most faithfully was through drawing. "But, out here, that feels like possibility. In the city, I'm surrounded by people and buildings and noises and lights, but if life is overwhelming, I can look out at the horizon and everything… is clarified."

Alfie paused again, and Wynn kissed his temple, showing he was still listening closely.

"I never thought this is the happy ending I would get," Alfie said, laughing at himself as the tears began to fall. "It's… it's so good that I'm afraid of losing it. I keep waiting for the universe to realize that it's too perfect."

Alfie felt Wynn's gentle laugh rumble through his chest.

"Believe me, I happen to know exactly what that feels like," Wynn said, squeezing Alfie a little tighter.

Alfie smiled, leaning into Wynn, not even trying to stop himself from crying now.

"That's not how life works, though," Alfie said. "Sometimes good things are just good. And we deserve every bit of happiness we have."

Wynn turned Alfie around so they were facing each other, his expression serious.

"We do," he said, nodding. "And—you don't have anything to worry about, Alfie. Do you remember what you told me that first night in Niobrara? Everything will be okay, even when it's not. Because we're together."

Alfie laughed.

"I thought you said that didn't make any sense."

"Well, I get it now," Wynn said, smiling softly and kissing Alfie. He drew in a deep breath. "My life has never been messier—I still have to deal with the divorce and legal stuff, I don't have a job or technically even a place to live—"

"Hey, fuck you," Alfie said, elbowing Wynn in the ribs. "I told you we have an appointment on Monday to get your name on the lease."

"I know," Wynn said. "Okay, so I do have a place to live, but the point still stands—my life is in complete and utter chaos right now, but… I've never been happier, Alfie. I really haven't."

Alfie grinned up at Wynn, reaching up to trace his jawline. He knew it was true—he could see it in the deep brown of Wynn's eyes, in the way the furrow in his brow relaxed slightly, in the way Wynn held him, strong and sure and fated.

Wynn looked out at the ocean, the breeze whipping at his dark hair, and Alfie felt a pang of love for this man he loved so deeply—he was so much stronger than he realized.

"It's as though… ever since that night I showed up at that party, there's been… some kind of… safety, in my mind. It's hard to describe, but—even when I was almost throwing up because I was so nervous about talking to my dad, or when Rebecca and I met with the lawyer—even with all these huge things, there's been… some part of me that always felt safe."

He trailed off, biting his lip.

"The summer spot," Alfie said.

Wynn nodded, giving Alfie a soft smile.

"Yes," he said, pulling Alfie closer and kissing him. "My whole life, I thought it was a place. But it's not. It's—it's wherever you and I are."

Alfie wrapped his arms around Wynn's neck as a fresh tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Fuck you, that was the most romantic thing I've ever heard."

Wynn snorted, looking skeptical. Alfie laughed and kissed him.

"I love you, Robert Andrew Wynn," Alfie said.

"I love you, too, Alfr—"

"Don't you dare—"

"I love you, too, Alfie," Wynn amended, and Alfie laughed.

"Much better," he said. "Now, come on, there are stairs down to the water, and you have to put your feet in."

"Alfie, it's barely fifty degrees—"

"Exactly, it's miserable," Alfie said, grabbing Wynn's hand and towing him towards the steep, weather-beaten stairs built into the side of the cliff. "But it's a rite of passage. We can't go to the ocean and then just not touch it. Just for a second. Then we'll go get lunch."

"You are…" Wynn said fondly, trailing off and shaking his head.

Alfie beamed at him, and then they made their way to the water's edge. The tiny bit of sand that made up the "beach" was cold and damp beneath their feet, and they shivered in the icy spray of the waves.

But Wynn's hand was warm in his, and Wynn's delighted smile as he watched the waves was worth any amount of chill.

He was Wynn's, and Wynn was his. They'd survived this far, and now they could finally begin to thrive.