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He could feel the hold the house had on him beginning to loosen. For so long, this structure had been his whole world. Now the edges of it were thinning, letting him go.

For a moment, there was nothing holding him here at all.

The pull caught at him again.

Leo reached toward Nate’s presence, following the familiar feeling, letting Miriam guide him.

Something caught and held.

He went still.

He could no longer feel the house around him. He could no longer feel the urge to cross either.

There was the ring.

And there was Nate.

Leo opened his eyes.

Miriam was watching him. “All right?”

He considered the question.

There were things he hadn’t thought about in decades that he could remember now. Names. Faces. Walt’s laugh. He wanted to spend hours going through them, finding out what else was there.

But none of it was tearing through him anymore.

“Yes,” he said. “I think so.”

His gaze went to the ring in her hand. He was tethered to it now. All of him.

A strange feeling, but not uncomfortable.

Miriam placed it in Nate’s palm. “You can put it on.”

Leo watched him slip it onto his finger.

Nate drew in a sharp breath and looked up.

Leo reached for his hand.

Nate caught it.

For a moment, Leo didn’t understand what had happened.

He’d made that same useless movement so many times. Reached for Nate, knowing his hand would pass through him, wanting to do it anyway.

This time, Nate’s fingers closed around his.

Leo stared at their joined hands.

He could feel Nate’s thumb against his knuckle, the warmth of his palm, the slight roughness of his skin. When he turned his hand a little, Nate’s grip moved with him.

He squeezed.

Nate squeezed back.

“You haven’t had any tea,” Leo said.