diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3a4ef43..8c52ac1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -60,6 +60,25 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- NAT-traversal cross-init adoption is now deterministic under
+  simultaneous dual-initiation. Previously, when two peers'
+  Nostr-mediated UDP punches completed within the same scheduling
+  window, each side's bootstrap-completion event arrived with an
+  in-flight handshake already recorded against the other peer (each
+  side had received an inbound msg1 from the other's pre-punch
+  outbound attempt). The deduplication skip then fired on both
+  sides, neither installed the fresh traversal socket as canonical,
+  and the 45-second peer-adoption budget expired with both nodes
+  stuck waiting for an adoption that never happened. The handler now
+  applies the same deterministic NodeAddr tie-breaker the codebase
+  already uses for rekey dual-initiation and cross-connection
+  resolution: the smaller NodeAddr wins as adopter, tears down its
+  in-flight handshake state, and proceeds with adoption; the larger
+  NodeAddr keeps the skip semantics, and its in-flight outbound is
+  reconciled by the cross-connection logic when the winner's fresh
+  msg1 arrives over the adopted socket. The dual cross-init stall is
+  eliminated; cross-init NAT-traversal completes in well under a
+  second even under host CPU contention.
 - FSP session rekey is now hitless under packet loss and reordering.
   Previously, a rekey could leave the two endpoints holding different
   key sets for a brief window — if a handshake message was lost in
diff --git a/src/node/handlers/timeout.rs b/src/node/handlers/timeout.rs
index a026d1b..e87a3db 100644
--- a/src/node/handlers/timeout.rs
+++ b/src/node/handlers/timeout.rs
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ impl Node {
     /// Frees the session index, removes pending_outbound entry, and cleans up
     /// the link and address mapping. Does not log — callers provide context-appropriate
     /// log messages.
-    fn cleanup_stale_connection(&mut self, link_id: LinkId, _now_ms: u64) {
+    pub(in crate::node) fn cleanup_stale_connection(&mut self, link_id: LinkId, _now_ms: u64) {
         let conn = match self.connections.remove(&link_id) {
             Some(c) => c,
             None => return,
diff --git a/src/node/lifecycle.rs b/src/node/lifecycle.rs
index a8ee430..97a9419 100644
--- a/src/node/lifecycle.rs
+++ b/src/node/lifecycle.rs
@@ -423,11 +423,44 @@ impl Node {
                             continue;
                         }
                         if self.is_connecting_to_peer(&peer_addr) {
+                            // Dual cross-init: both nodes' Nostr-mediated punches
+                            // completed simultaneously, and each side already
+                            // holds in-flight handshake state for the other.
+                            // Apply the deterministic NodeAddr tie-breaker —
+                            // smaller NodeAddr wins as adopter (same convention
+                            // as cross_connection_winner and the rekey dual-
+                            // init resolution at handshake.rs:269). The winner
+                            // tears down its in-flight state and adopts the
+                            // fresh traversal socket; the loser keeps continue
+                            // semantics, and its existing cross-connection
+                            // logic in handle_msg1 reconciles when the winner's
+                            // fresh msg1 arrives over the adopted socket.
+                            let our_addr = self.identity.node_addr();
+                            if our_addr >= &peer_addr {
+                                debug!(
+                                    peer_npub = %peer_npub,
+                                    "Dual cross-init NAT traversal: we lose (larger addr), keeping in-flight handshake"
+                                );
+                                continue;
+                            }
                             debug!(
                                 peer_npub = %peer_npub,
-                                "Ignoring established NAT traversal while peer handshake is already in progress"
+                                "Dual cross-init NAT traversal: we win (smaller addr), tearing down in-flight handshake to adopt fresh socket"
                             );
-                            continue;
+                            let now_ms = Self::now_ms();
+                            let stale: Vec<LinkId> = self
+                                .connections
+                                .iter()
+                                .filter(|(_, conn)| {
+                                    conn.expected_identity()
+                                        .map(|id| id.node_addr() == &peer_addr)
+                                        .unwrap_or(false)
+                                })
+                                .map(|(link_id, _)| *link_id)
+                                .collect();
+                            for link_id in stale {
+                                self.cleanup_stale_connection(link_id, now_ms);
+                            }
                         }
                     }
                     match self.adopt_established_traversal(traversal).await {