[That earns Drift a soft chuckle and a smile, though Perceptor still has his head tucked down against Drift's spaulder.]

"Easy" would have been leaving me on Turmoil's ship. I think I knew what challenges you would pose after such an auspicious beginning.

[He could stay here, like this, at least, forever. He's missed Drift so much. Missed the comfort of trust and of having someone he could relax around. Missed touch, and more than he thought he ever would.]

[But Drift is not "his" to take advantage of in such a way. It isn't fair to Drift to put him in such a compromising position when he is committed to Wing, and Drift will always come first.]

[Reluctantly, he loosens his embrace, straightening up once more as he meets Drift's optics with his own shadowed ones.]

And I, you.