After a life spent surviving alone, Lawren finds an unexpected refuge in the Agricultural Department-a place of dirt-stained hands, quiet routines, and one man who never asks for more than Lawren can give. The man offers help without conditions, presence without pressure. It should be enough. But in a world where safety has a price and futures are rationed, wanting a place to belong means risking attachment. As old instincts pull Lawren toward danger and self-sacrifice, he must face a harder truth: survival is no longer just about staying alive, but about choosing who to stay with. A post-apocalyptic story about slow trust, unspoken care, and the fragile courage it takes to let someone stay.

SteJay AU Jive (JL) escaped. The island healed him. Stefan changed him. But even paradise has a way of unraveling. Jive feels the shift first-the quiet, the space growing between them, the unspoken things heavier than the waves. Love brought him here...but will it be enough to make Stefan stay?