They had arrived a few hours ago after their long journey to Tython. It was breathtaking, even in the dark, so Evander and Flint each pitched themselves a tent outside their ship. They were both thoroughly exhausted.

"I say we get as much sleep as we can, then spend all day tomorrow exploring," Flint suggested with a childlike smile. They could hear a waterfall off in the distance and the rustling of trees nearby.

Evander smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

"See you when the sun rises," Flint said with a cherry grin before diving back into his tent. Evander chuckled to himself. Flint was always so awkward that it was actually endearing.

Evander reluctantly closed his eyes in his own tent. He was grateful to get the chance to get s full nights sleep, but he didn't want to close his eyes. His nightmares had returned and he hated them. But as much as he hated them, he'd endure them to go exploring the following day with his friend. He'd fought for a life of freedom for so long that there was no way he'd let it slip because of  some petty dreams, no matter how disturbing and terrifying they truly were.

With that, he wriggled into his sleeping bag and laid his head down on his pillow. Taking a deep breathe, he let his eyes close. He knew what came next.

     Flint predicted it was about one in the morning when his senses awoke him. All he could feel was distress and fear coming from the tent next to him.

He jumped out of bed and burst into the cold night air with nothing but his boxers and a loose T-shirt. Then he ripped open the tent panel and knelt down beside Evander. He was thrashing and whimpering and appeared to be sweating profusely. Flint immediately shook his shoulders.

Evander burst up right away at his touch and threw himself into Flint's arms. He stayed there for a few moments.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," he whispered softly after collecting himself a bit,  but not letting go.

Flint wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his back. "Don't ever apologize for that."

He could feel Evander nodding against his shoulder. "Okay. But I'm still sorry."

He pulled back but was still clinging to Flint's shirt with a tight grip. Flint reached out and wiped away one of the tears running down his cheeks and smiled. "Do you want me to stay?"

Evander nodded. "They don't bother me when you're here."

"I'll just get my sleeping bag then," he said as he began to stand. He stopped when he felt Evander's hand still clutching his T-shirt. He refused to let go but couldn't look him in the eye.

"I.. uh... I need-"

"You don't need to explain. It's okay," Flint said with an understanding smile as he got down on the ground beside him.

Evander wriggled over to make some room, but it still wasn't much.

"Not much room, huh?" Evander said quietly with an embarrassed laugh.

"It's okay," Flint said. "It's cold out there."

Even in the dark he could see Evander grin up at him. The two of them seamlessly fell asleep in each other's arms as if it were the most natural thing they knew. To a degree, it was very natural for them, and simple.

Evander had nightmares, and Flint's presence stopped them. That was it. Or at least, that's what Flint believed. He couldn't bear to give himself any false hope that there was a chance.

The next morning Flint woke up first with the sunset. Evander's head was burrowed into his shoulder so the sun wasn't quite hitting his eyes yet. As much as Flint wanted to watch the sunrise, he stayed put. Evander needed sleep.

After a half hour of failed attempts to fall back asleep or count Banthas, Flint found himself absentmindedly playing with Evander's head of tightly wound curls. He was lightly twirling one around his finger and watching it bounce back to his scalp in amusement.

After a few minutes he heard a deep sigh from the man next to him, so he pulled his hand away.

"Are you awake?" He whispered.

"Yeah," Evander muttered sleepily, not moving a muscle.

"Sorry I woke you."

"It felt pretty nice, actually." Evander rolled his head over momentarily to smile at Flint. It always made him blush. "You don't have to stop just because I'm awake."

Flint smiled and laughed awkwardly. Evander flopped his head back against Flint's shoulder and Flint's hand returned to their previous spot in his curls.

After breakfast they threw sweaters on and tracked out into the morning air.

"Just like old times, huh?" Evander said with a grin as they approached a miraculous waterfall. Aside from the immense feeling of peace in the Force here, the waterfall crashed down into a raging river that fizzled into a calm stream and disappeared into a forest. They were walking/climbing a rocky path along the side of the falls, trying to get to the top.

"Yeah," Flint said somberly. "Almost."

"We don't have the council breathing down our necks at least," Evander said. "We can't change what's happened, but we can move forward from it."

Flint smiled at him. "Check you out, becoming wise."

Evander laughed. "I'm still just as bit childish, don't forget."

Flint saw an opportunity to test the waters a bit, so he took a risk with his next words. "It's very adorable." People often used compliments not commonly used among just-friends as flirting so he figured he'd give it a try and see how Evander reacted.

Evander felt his cheeks go warm and he shook his head with another laugh. "It comes naturally," he then said with a smirk.

Flint laughed and they continued on their way to the top.