They had each other, yes, which is technically more than they had at home –– at home they were partners, but partners with different apartments, partners who argued far more than anything else. They were partners because the trust between them went further than it did with anyone else, even if they were constantly finding excuses to doubt each other, constantly looking to justify keeping each other at arm's length.

They were miserable people at home, and slightly less miserable in Paradisa.

"I don't really want kids," Tess replies. "Or at least I don't want them to be kids. I need them to be adults, I need them to be mature. I spent a lot of years handling kids for Joel 'cause he couldn't stand to be near kids suffering, and let's be real, that's basically the only kind of kid we ever saw –– I never liked it, he knew I didn't like it, but I did it anyway. But it's too much for him to leave them with me when he knows I'm not mother material."

As if Joel had any say in it at all.