Steven kissed Connie's neck again and sighed in content. Cuddling his wife in the presence of other cuddlers watching the same movie felt so good.

Adam stumbled in and held up a certificate silently, pulling their attention to him.

Anna hopped up and hug tackled him, pleased with the arm that wrapped around her. "You're home. Are you gonna tell us where you're running off to now?"

He held out the paper to Hazel. "He can read it, I've officially stopped caring. I'm jealous of the cuddles."

Anna tugged him to the couch and made a nest over his lap before settling with a happy mewl. "All better, Daddy?"

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed until she yelped. "Yes."

Hazel looked up. "Adam, what is this?"

Grinning, he rolled his eyes. "A graduate degree. Does Daddy need to put you in preschool?"

His husband fought the urge to hook him somewhere high and leave him like that, eyes skimming the paper. "You went to art school?"

Adam sighed and nodded for them to follow, so the boys squatted down to let their girls climb onto their shoulders or backs.

They found him standing on the porch. When he did a headcount, he frowned. He stared at Jacob as if expecting him to answer a question. When he didn't answer and looked around with a dubious smirk he got annoyed.

Jacob glanced back away nervously. "Did I do something? Are we putting me down in the woods finally?"

"Adam, you didn't ask a question," Connie pointed out gently.

He blinked. "Oh shit. I asked where Alex went." His frown deepened. "I guess we're going with high key autistic today."

Snickering, Jacob pulled out his phone to send Alex a text. Almost immediately he got a heart back, which made him beam. Alex was saying he loved him all the damn time, and between his wife really getting better about it, it was putting him in a constantly chipper and loving mood. "He'll be out soon, love."

Adam nodded and looked out at the trees, visibly anxious. They exchanged questioning looks and concern, wondering what was so important to Adam that he wasn't able to sit still. He and Jacob were polar opposites in that spectrum too: Jacob couldn't stop fidgeting or had to bounce his leg or have his phone. Adam when not mobile just froze in place, it was his way of being able to take in his entire surroundings and be invisible.

Now he was moving around so much the various chains on his pants were jangling in time with the wind chimes. That was cute, he was swaying to a steady beat that didn't exist with his eyes closed as the wind tousled his hair.

"You should be a model," Jasmin told him. "You're so handsome."

He slowly turned to look and smiled at her. "Not funny."

"Well, she's not wrong for once," Alex teased as he stepped outside. "All my partners are hot and their girls are top tier."

It was so out of pocket for him, but Adam was on a mission after sending him a million watt silent thank you smile.

"Whoa," Alex muttered to Jacob as he took his hand. "Someone's quieter than me for once."

They weaved through a trail in the woods near their house for a mile or so to an area entirely covered in tarps. A makeshift hideout had been made out there to none of their knowledge except Adam's. He turned back to them and rubbed at his neck, gaze skirting the grass and leaves. "Don't tease me about this one thing. Please."

They nodded and he pushed through.

There was nothing that could express the amount of shock at what they found.

At least 30 various paintings surrounded them, some in progress were propped up in tables or still drying on the easels they laid upon. All of them were flowers, or bouquets of flowers. Some were made with paint, some were sketched with incredible detail in pencil, some were watercolor or oil pastel.

Every single one of them were breathtakingly stunning.

Steven found himself drawn to the pink roses. One was oil pasteled to be accompanied by baby's breath, but another was paired with bluebells in a complicated scheme of colors and designs. Next to it, one entirely made with pencils was grey toned, but it felt pink. Something about the shading told Steven he related to this color because it was pink, it just didn't look like it.

Jacob sat on his knees as he analyzed every green painting he could see. All of them were peonies, with thick perfect leaves and nearly identical symmetry. One was so vivid he almost thought it was a picture reference, but from a different angle he could see the brush strokes. Delicately he picked it up and peered at the strokes closer. Each one was actually curved around a center point but deliberately. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was vastly familiar.

His finger.

He held it with one hand and inspected his thumb, finding the pattern that made him himself and trying to match it with the picture. No luck was had until he got to his ring finger. "Well I'll be. This is brilliant," He muttered to no one.

One by one they found their color, and the flower assigned to them. Anna had luminous rainbow daisies, though some were pure god kissed white. Hazel had bright yellow Hibiscus flowers he could feel sappy romance Adam typically avoided dripping from. Jasmin had maroon Van Zyverdens that grew in clusters like honeysuckles, but flared out and faded to black at the edges. Connie was unsurprised by her Bluebells, but these were a royal blue she could sit and stare at forever the color was so deep. Alex had Mother of Million succulents with different shades of cyan that almost looked like the eyes on a peacock feather when hugged up to the leaf like that.

Connie backed up and gasped so hard her lungs nearly popped. "They connect!" She exclaimed in wonder.

Sure enough, if one looked at the very last centimeter on either side of the painting, one could see how the puzzle pieces fit to the one next to it. Where paint ended, a bit of charcoal could be seen mending into the one next to it. If one moved back far enough it was more obvious.

Hazel turned to find Adam, but he was gone. "Where—? Where did he go?" He asked sadly, looking down at his hands. "I wanna hug him."

They glanced around to see the tarp on the other side moving a bit too much and followed it further inside.

He was, at the moment, working on his biggest piece that they knew of.

Gorgeous, vibrant flowers they recognized on a background of black. It was all of their flowers, and it would've gotten more attention if he wasn't crying really hard.

Anna shuffled forward, careful not to mess up his progress. "You okay, Daddy?"

He wiped at his eyes and nodded. "Just a quiet day. I'm a little emotional and I'm not quite sure why." He set his supplies down and turned to stand. "Are you guys okay?"

Thinking on it, Jacob made a single connection that mattered more than any deep, dramatic adoration he had of the man in black in front of him. "Why aren't you a flower?"

Adam frowned in confusion. "Oh. I-I don't know. I started this a few weeks ago. I'm a bit... unwell, I think." His hands went to his head like it hurt, or he was trying to keep himself from flying into pieces.

Hazel picked him up and he didn't react. "Okay. What's the matter? I'm worried now."

"I've been working non-stop. I'm so sleep deprived I'm mildly hallucinating." He rested his head on Hazels shoulder and sighed deeply. "I got in a neurodivergent frenzy where everything you guys did just inspired me and then I found out your distinct fingerprints—,"

Connie held up a hand. "I'm sorry, you got our fingerprints?" His eyes tiredly opened, and Connie couldn't help her soft smile. Today his eyes looked more baby blue than anything, and she recognized the inspiration crash like it was her own name. "I don't know how you manage to do the stuff you do, but you need some rest and snuggles, okay?"

Adam wiggled down and nodded. "I feel like a six year old." His eyes darted down at their gentle gazes and he backed away. "Stop... stop looking at me like that. You're freaking me out and I can't handle it."

Steven inched forward and caught him in a hug. "Shhh... you're paranoid that we don't like it, so let me implore you to look at our faces instead of the ground. No one is looking at you like you're six."

It was scary and annoying, he hadn't known he was staring at the ground. But they were all blushing, choking up or both. He didn't really know why when he had just done it because he loved them. "Can we talk more later?" He asked Steven, nuzzling into his chest. "I'd rather be silent when I'm this sleep deprived."

Steven glanced at Connie, then Anna and Hazel who nodded. One thumbs up from Jacob and they fused, becoming an entity of glowing confusion, then a little smile to let them know he was okay.

The next days mostly consisted of Pluto curled into a ball on wherever they decided to put him: on Jacob's lap so he could press his face into Jacob's neck and drown in the comfort, on the couch where they spoiled him like a king and brought him protein rich meals both boys liked, or on the big bed where they surrounded and coddled him. He slept almost the entire time, once even breaking out with a fever for a few hours due to the sheer extent of exhaustion he felt.

He was silent for 48 or so hours before he spoke again. "You guys are like a garden. Pretty. Mine. I get you guys wet."

Connie snorted and rubbed at his cheek. "You're so sweet."

Plutos eyes opened, deep violet eyes locking with hers as his fingers drifted down her neck to check her pulse. "Fuck, you're so pretty, Connie. It's not fair."

She giggled and rolled her eyes trying to disguise the intense attraction she had to this particular fusion. "Schmaltzy flirts, all of you."

Hazel and Jacob walked in holding a sleepy Anna, blankets and tea. Pluto sat up and stretched out his neck, causing Hazel to get excited. "All better?"

Pluto flashed a thumbs up. "Sorta. Hold on."

They unfused and Steven fell over, instantly half asleep on Connie in a precarious position while Adam hopped up bright eyed and bushy tailed. "I have so much energy!"

Connie patted Stevens head. "He's smiling in his sleep. He loves you so much, Adam."

Adam dropped a few dozen kisses on his cheeks that he lifted into slightly. "Thank you for giving. I'll return the favor later."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Did he give you his energy? Is that possible?!"

His boyfriend strutted up to kiss him and then literally climbed Hazel to sit on his shoulders and use his head to prop up his elbow. "We can feel auras when we're Pluto, like how people feel. You guys liked my art, it made me happy which made Steven want to give me something. I declined but," He sighed softly. "You know how he is."

Hazel tipped his head to look up at him. "You sound dreamy."

"I have an art degree. I made you guys happy and I feel loved. I'm allowed to be dreamy, darling."

Jacob reached up to pinch Hazels cheek when it turned red. "The euphoria from pinching cheeks is stellar. Does that mean it's Steven's turn?"

Steven shifted and mumbled, "Adam needs to be yelled at for getting like, 36 hours of sleep in two weeks." Rubbing at his eyes he forced himself to continue. "I won't even tell you how little he's slept in the past few months."

Connie shook her head furiously. "Online school nowadays you can just take the course and send in your work through email. If you're crazy enough you can finish a year's worth of courses in a few months time."

Adam was lifted off Hazels shoulders as Connie slipped out from under Steven to give Adam her best disappointed mom stare. "Adam, that is actually ridiculous."

"It was for you guys! I like school!" He protested emphatically. "I was on a roll."

Jacob sighed heavily and grabbed his shoulders to shake him a little. "Quit running towards death, please. You're gonna work yourself into a casket."

He was put on a minor watch, but his degree got hung up on the wall, and eventually moved to the The Wall upstairs to be surrounded by their Honorary Recording Academy Degrees and every single painting he made was hung up by their sides of the houses.