Serendipity came back, when it was quite dark, left his clothes in a pile in the leanto, and crawled into bed with Martin, not particularly talkative -- in fact, very quiet indeed. He's still there in the morning, having finally fallen asleep. There's traces of tears on his cheeks, and combined with the sleeping, he looks terribly young and closer to innocent than he probably has in years.

Martin barely stirs when Ren comes into bed, waking only enough to register who it is, and then he dozes off again in the midst or drawing a strong arm around the youth and arranging him into a spoon. The big guy is warm and cuddly. Come morning, when he wakes up, he spends a few moments just watching Ren, stroking his hair lightly, and then he leans forward to plant a soft kiss on his cheek before carefully untangling himself and sliding out of the bedroll to check his packs for the prospect of breakfast.

There's plenty of time to hunt for breakfast options; it's quite a while before the lack of cuddliness begins to get through Ren's sleep, and he shifts, with a small whimper, as his consciousness starts to approach waking.

Martin manages in this time to stoke up the fire from last night and put on the kettle for tea. He's also got a small pan he's holding over the coals, heating up a bit of cold salted pork. The smell of meat starts to permeate the air, and the sound of sizzling offers still more promise that there's a warm meal in the kin's future. As he stirs, Martin glances up and smiles sleepily. "Hey there."

Serendipity sits up tiredly, pulling the blankets about him and glancing around in bleary confusion. This is not the Treehouse. Where is he? Oh, with Martin. He returns the sleepy smile, and manages drowsily, "...mornin', han'some. Smells nice..." He blinks a few times, rubbing his eyes, and then memory kicks in, and his complexion actually goes a shade paler for a couple seconds.

Martin watches Ren, and his expression softens with the blanching. His voice is gentle as he says, "There'll be tea soon. We're not in any hurry to get underway today, so I figured we could pig out -- it's less we have to carry, huh?"

Serendipity nods, silently, and pulls the blanket around him tighter, getting carefully to his feet and wearing it almost like a cape. He pads over, slowly, squinting at what little sun there is, and wipes the sleep-boulders from his eyes. "...how're we traveling?" he asks, softly.

Martin pours the kettle into the teapot as it starts to boil, and the promising scent of black tea mingles with that of wood smoke and imminent breakfast. As the salt pork heats up, he reaches over one-handed to snag a roll from last night's dinner, tearing it open and using to grab up the meat. Insta-sandwich. This is offered over to Ren as he replies, "On foot. With a light load we can bypass the main road and see some lovely countryside, since we're not in any hurry."

Serendipity accepts the sandwich, but only picks at it for the moment. "A'ight. 's not that long a walk, really, way I remember it. Just so long's we don't end up in some crazy mage chick's underground lair, I'm good."

Martin says reassuringly, "If we take the route I'm thinking, I've done it before, and there wasn't a crazy mage chick anywhere in sight." He makes a sandwich for himself, then sets the pan aside, digging in with a massive bite followed by blissful chewing. Here's a boy that knows how to put food away. "Mmn, there are places to build shelter too, if the weather turns rough again."

Serendipity watches Martin eat, and occasionally remembers to take a bite himself. "It was an =underground= lair," he points out, "...an' when I went back, it was gone. Just a big hole in th' ground. Like someone'd ripped the place right out t' move it away."

Martin wrinkles his nose, giving a suppressed shiver as he says, "I don't abide by that kind of thing. If she comes back around, she'll have a fight on her hands." The first sandwich disappears quickly, freeing up his hands to pour two cups of tea, doctoring them both with honey. He offers the bigger of the two over to Ren and settles back to sip at his own as he moves the pan back over the fire. He seems serious about eating as much of his stored food as possible. "We'll get there okay," he assures.

Serendipity accepts the mug, and sits, to sip at it and get a little farther on the sandwich. Martin will likely be stuck demolishing most of the provisions; the kin doesn't seem to have much appetite this morning. "She kidnapped me 'n' Rex an' tried t' turn us into shifters," he informs the trader. "...an' yeah, suspect we'll be fine. Hasn't happened =most= times I've gone places, after all..."

Martin doesn't seem to mind this grave responsibility. More salt pork is heated up, and he sets the pan on the coals to free up his hands for more pack-diving. He comes up with more bread and what looks to be an egg dipped in wax. "We'll be fine," he agrees quietly. "Nothing between us and Millinockett but miles of God's green earth."

"...it didn't work," Ren further informs Martin, nibbling at his sandwich. "Well. She made Rex turn once. And he's got claws now sometimes. Didn't do a thing on me. Then we escaped." He shrugs, and drinks his tea, watching, still all wrapped up in the blanket. He has not generally seemed to care much about being covered before; possibly he's cold. "So. What're we gettin' in Millinocket? Rae... wants sewin' needles..." He trails off a little, studying his sandwich.

Martin peels the wax off the egg, then the shell. It's hard boiled beneath. "I'm going to put in some orders for more coffee and tea," he replies. "I have it on good authority that importing some candy wouldn't be unwelcome here in Haven, so I'll see what I can get. More staples, as always. Lots of folks are going to need last harvest's flour til the wheat ripens." He smiles a little. "Boring stuff. And whatever else looks good."

Serendipity proves beyond a doubt that he's not feeling quite himself by letting this golden opportunity for innuendo just fly right past. "Think there's some stuff Rex gen'rally goes down to pick up for somea th' ladies; I'll see 'f I c'n remember what, 'n' all." He chews on his sandwich, thoughtfully. "...hey, Martin? D'you like girls at all?"

Martin's brows lift a touch at the question. "Uh, sure," he replies. Then he polishes off half the egg in a bite, washing it down with a swig of tea before he adds, "I mean, when I used to be a lot more promiscuous. I actually lean more toward 'em. Just not, you know, exclusively."

Serendipity briefly grins -- at his tea, before he drinks more of it. "Just wondered," he replies, and stretches a little, getting the sleep out of his limbs. "How're we gettin' all the stuff back up here after?"

Martin's cheeks color just a little, and he deals with his momentary embarrassment by stuffing his face with the rest of the egg, then putting together another sandwich. After a swig of tea, he says, "Well, depending on how much we bring up, we'll either rent a cart and driver or carry it."

Serendipity takes another couple bites of his sandwich through this, washing them down with his tea. "Mm," he replies, setting his empty mug down, and stands, leaving the blanket behind him as he wanders over to half-sit on Martin's lap, and try to get him to eat the last couple bites of the sandwich. "You're cute when you blush. I don't =lean= either way, pers'nally," he remarks, adding archly, "...though I have been known t' bend all th' way over."

Martin doesn't need much prompting. The last few bites of sandwich are short-lived, and he drinks the rest of his tea to wash it down. One arm snakes around Ren's waist, securing his place on the lap. He rolls his eyes with an amused grin and says, "So says Haven's cutest libertine."

"What, only Haven's?" Ren protests innocently, half-smiling, and wraps his arms loosely around the trader's neck, to help keep himself in place, honest. He goes a bit reflective, and after a moment asks, "...d'you really think I'm adorable?"

Martin draws Ren in closer, resting his forehead against the youth's, grinning a little as he says, "I do. You've got lovely eyes, and such a sweet face when you're sleeping. I love the way your hair spills over your shoulders, and the way you smile." He says all of this with a plain honesty lent credence by an enthusiasm for cuddling. It's pretty shameless, if on the chaste side.

Serendipity smiles a little, and drops his gaze, giving Martin a squeeze. "...thank you. Pretty sure no one ever called me adorable b'fore. I kinda like it. ...kinda nice hearin' nice things about me, too." He leans in, and kisses the trader on the cheek.

Martin grins nigh stupidly at the kiss, and he leaves off the devouring of his stores entirely to devote both arms to circling Ren, making with the cuddling fully. His tone is light, but there's an air of seriousness about him as he says, "I suppose there's not going to be a good time for this, but... I think we should probably talk. Robin said some things that confused me."

Serendipity rests his forehead on Martin's shoulder, obscuring his expression, but his tone is wry and rueful as he replies, "I don't think I like talks anymore." He sighs a little. "...But I got nothin' to hide. So, what's up?"

Martin strokes Ren's hair, giving an absent scritch behind the ear. "Nothing bad," he promises quietly. "He just said... well, that he hoped we'd be very happy together, and it occurred to me that I should at least, you know, ask you what it is you're looking for. In all this, I mean."

Serendipity closes his eyes, and leans into the scritch just a little. He doesn't answer immediately. "...I dunno," he admits, then, quietly. "I don't usually go lookin' for things. Things mostly find me. An' I'm not exactly at my best at th' moment. All I know f'sure right now's that I like you, an' I think you're sexy, an' you make me feel..." He trails off, and finally adds almost reluctantly, "...safe."

Martin smiles softly, and he curls his fingers through Ren's hair, tilting his head to that he can look the kin in the eyes. "Safe is good," he replies. "That sounds... that sounds like something we can do. I like you, too. I like... you make me feel good inside. Warm. Not so lonely." Leaning forward, he presses a kiss to Ren's lips, soft and sweet.

"Not lonely is good," Ren agrees, and returns the kiss gently when it arrives. When it breaks, he admits, "...'m not useta safe. Mostly things I do aren't so much safe. But it's... I like how it feels. 's been a long time since I knew anyone who did that." He gives Martin another little kiss, uncharacteristically tentative, and adds, "...an' I meant to say. Thank you."

Martin brushes Ren's cheek with the pad of his thumb, seeming perfectly at ease with the close contact, the occasional soft kiss between his words. "You don't know how much it means to me, to be able to do that for you."

Serendipity gives Martin a tight squeeze, and rests his head on the larger man's shoulder again. "...Should say... I mean, y'know I'm not gen'rally a one-lover-at-a-time kinda person, right?" he asks, a little awkwardly, nearly apologetic.

Martin nods gravely, running his fingers through Ren's hair, seeming to revel in the feel of it. "I know," he replies. "And it isn't realistic for me to expect anyone to be monogamous in a relationship where at least one of the people in it is always coming and going. Especially when the weather turns warmer, I'll be taking longer trips south, downriver from Millinockett. I couldn't ask anyone to stick around and wait."

Serendipity places a hand flat on Martin's chest, and lets the fingertips trickle slowly down of their own volition, no particular hurry or aim. "...'s it gonna bother you, d'y'think? I mean, realistic or not..."

Martin shakes his head, without even a moment's pause for doubt. "No," he says gently, watching Ren's face with mild, passive fascination. "I don't see why anything you have with another should diminish anything you have with me."

Serendipity kisses the side of Martin's neck, very gentle, but lingering. His eyes are closed, but he looks relieved. "...thank you," he murmurs again, and sighs. "...what time's it look like? D'we need to hit th' road soon?"

Martin closes his eyes briefly at the kiss, then hugs Ren to him, burying his face in the man's hair for a moment before releasing him. "We probably should," he replies. "Pack up before it gets too late, and we might make this spot I know of by lunch." He smiles boyishly, all enthusiasm as he explains, "There's this little brook where the trout are as long as your arm, and a clearing where the blue flag should be blooming soon. Like a little slice of Heaven on Earth."

"Sounds nice," Ren muses, standing up slowly, and picks up the blanket from where he'd been sitting before. "...not too many other people 'round there, y'think?" he inquires, carrying the blanket back to the leanto with a glance over his shoulder at Martin. For him, it's subdued, but it's still a rather wicked look.

Martin grins stupidly and ducks his head, like the big old dolt he is. "Nah, no one's around there," he says shyly. He starts picking up camp, stuffing things into packs, stuffing food bits into his mouth. "I've never seen anyone around there. I reckon we'll have it all to ourselves."

"Sounds nice," Ren repeats, glancing around the edge of the lean-to, and, very briefly, he grins, before disappearing back inside to find his clothes, and start some packing himself.