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Kaveh looked up from his sketchbook just as the front door swung open and Alhaitham stepped into the threshold of their shared home.

“I'm home,” he muttered gruffly as he shrugged off his cape.

Kaveh’s gaze immediately zeroed in on the paper bag nestled in Alhaitham's arms—the material stamped with the logo of one of the decor shops at the Grand Bazaar.

His eyes narrowed as he rose from his place on the divan.

Nothing good has ever come from one of his roommate's shopping trips.

“What's that?” Kaveh asked, trying—and failing—to keep the distrust from his voice as he eyed the bag suspiciously.

Alhaitham merely shrugged and shoved the bag into his arms, the barest hint of a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips, ever so slightly deepening the divot of his dimple.

For a fraction of a second, Kaveh's heart stuttered in his chest as he's reminded just how handsome his roommate is.

After a beat of his unresponsiveness, Alhaitham raised a brow and flicked his gaze from the bag to Kaveh, as if to say open it.

Suddenly reminded of what he was doing, he shook off his traitorous thoughts with a slight flush to his cheeks.

Slowly, almost like disarming a bomb, Kaveh opened the bag, mentally preparing himself for whatever horrendous piece of decor his roommate wasted his mora on this time.

Reaching into the bag with bated breath, he pulled out a wooden sculpture of…a tree?

At least, he thinks it's supposed to be a tree. 

The trunk (or what he assumes was the trunk) was lumpy while the branches were gnarled in some places and spindly in others. Even the unevenly applied lacquer was a very unappealing reddish-brown color.

“Haitham,” he started, pinching the bridge of his nose in a mix of annoyance and disbelief, “What. Is. This?”

His roommate simply hummed. “A sculpture.”

“An ugly sculpture.”

“Now, now, senior, wasn't it you who told me that art is subjective and therefore no piece of art can be considered as ugly?”

Kaveh wanted to punch the smug smirk off his face. How dare his junior use his own words against him?

“Yes, but you can't seriously look at this hideous—” he flailed his hands at the sculpture and shook it at his roommate's face for emphasis, “—thing and tell me it's beautiful! I mean, what even is it supposed to be?”

Alhaitham crossed his arms and amusedly leaned back onto the doorframe. “The shopkeeper told me that it was a wooden carving of the divine tree.” 

“The divine—” Kaveh sputtered. “This thing looks nothing like the divine tree! It looks like half of our nosy neighbor’s broomstick!”

“Don't be so dramatic, Kaveh.” Alhaitham plucked the offensive piece of wood from his grip. “Didn't you just lecture me last week about supporting local artists?”

His roommate placed the sculpture on their mantle, right next to the beautiful porcelain vase from Liyue that Kaveh bought the last time they went furniture shopping together.

Kaveh's eye twitched.

Why do I love this man?

Just as he opened his mouth to shoot off a retort, Alhaitham spoke again.

“I got something for you too.”

Kaveh rolled his eyes. “I swear to gods, Haitham, if it's another…”

The words died in his throat as Alhaitham pulled out a small, ornate box out of his pocket.

Then, with his eyes locked on Kaveh, he stepped close—but not close enough, never close enough—took his hands, and placed the box in his open palm.

Heart fluttering from the sudden proximity and head reeling from confusion, Kaveh's eyes flicked repeatedly from the box to his roommate's usually sharp teal gaze—now softened at the edges.

“What's this?” He whispered softly, afraid to break the fragility of the moment that suddenly befell them.

Alhaitham's only response was a hum and a smile.

It was small. Barely even there. But it was genuine. And that's what struck Kaveh the most.

Kaveh, knowing full well that nothing could make Alhaitham answer a question he didn't want to respond to, opened the box with bated breath and—oh.

It was a necklace.

The most beautiful necklace Kaveh has ever seen.

After a hesitant, but awed glance at Alhaitham, he lifted the necklace from its little pillow. Slowly, gently, like revealing a secret cradled within the safety of his hands.

It was even more beautiful from up close.

Shimmering under the late afternoon sunlight, its golden pendant—inlaid with small rubies and emeralds—was reminiscent of a bird in flight.

With a dawning flicker of realization, his gaze snapped up to meet Alhaitham's.

The bird. It was a—

“A Paradisaea,” he breathed.

Alhaitham hummed in confirmation, his warm palm migrating to rest on the soft space of Kaveh's waist.

Not insistent. Patient.

Not forceful. Simply there.

A presence. 

A reminder.

Running a finger delicately across the chain, Kaveh scrambled to gather his scattered, racing thoughts as Alhaitham waited patiently.

He was always patient with him, wasn't he?

That's one of the reasons why Kaveh—

“Oh, Haitham, I can't take this—” he caressed the necklace carefully, reverently, “why would you even—”

He placed the necklace back in the box and thrusted it towards Alhaitham. “I can't—”

Alhaitham simply closed Kaveh's fingers around it with his free hand and pushed it back toward him.

“You can,” he insisted, his thumb drawing little circles on Kaveh's waist, “it's yours.”

Kaveh opened the box again and traced the ruby wings of the bird. 

“Oh, Haitham, the artistry in this,” he breathed.

“Glad to see my sense of aesthetics is up to your approval, senior.”

He lightly slapped Alhaitham's chest. “Don't even joke about that, Haitham.” 

“I don't have the heart to insult you right now,” he murmured, clutching the necklace to his chest like it's his most cherished treasure.

“It's beautiful.” He looked up to meet Alhaitham's soft gaze. “Thank you.”

The slightest glimmer of something flashed behind Alhaitham's eyes but before Kaveh could dwell on it, his roommate was already blinking and pulling away.

Kaveh had to stifle a whine at the chill that replaced Alhaitham's touch.

Turning away from him, Alhaitham started retreating into his bedroom. But just as Kaveh was about to do the same, his roommate spoke up.

“By the way,” his ruby-teal eyes flicked back to Kaveh, “I ran into Tighnari earlier. He invited us to dinner at Lambad's.”

Immediately perking up at the news, Kaveh grinned. “Really?”

His roommate nodded. “Apparently Cyno's brother is visiting. I told him we'd be there at eight.”

Then, the bedroom door clicked shut.

For hours, Kaveh switched between restlessly pacing the floor of his bedroom and flopping onto his bed—all while sneaking fleeting glances at the necklace on his nightstand.

He just—

No matter how he looks at it, he just doesn't understand.

Why would Alhaitham—

Why would his uncaring, unfeeling, apathetic roommate give him a gift, let alone one this precious?

Why would he pull him in close like that?

Why would he…look at Kaveh like that?

But that's not quite right, is it?

Contrary to popular belief, Alhaitham isn't uncaring, unfeeling, or apathetic.

Not when it came to him.

Never when it came to him.

His Alhaitham has only ever cared about him.

For the hundredth time, Kaveh flopped down on his bed and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.

It isn't fair.

Kaveh has loved Alhaitham for nearly as long as he's known him.

The moment his stoic junior smiled at him for the first time, he knew. 

He knew that his heart was no longer his alone. A part of it will always be cradled within the chest of a boy with silver-gray hair and sharp teal eyes.

He's also long since accepted the fact that, while his heart lies in his roommate's grasp, he will never have Alhaitham's in return.

Not a day has passed that Kaveh hasn't mourned the fact that one day, Alhaitham's heart will find a home in someone—someone that isn't him—and Kaveh will have to relinquish his place by his side and pretend like his heart isn't bleeding out at Alhaitham's feet.

It just isn't fair.

How could Alhaitham just dangle everything Kaveh has ever yearned for in front of him—the gifts, the gentle touches, the closeness—and then turn away like it was nothing? 

Like he didn't just look at Kaveh like he lo—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Kaveh? Are you in there?” Alhaitham called brusquely from the other side. “Hurry up. We need to leave soon.”

Kaveh sat up with a start, hastily glancing at the clock and cursing after realizing just how late it's gotten.

“Yeah, I'm just getting ready!”

Rushing to his closet, he pulled out one of his prettiest going out outfits—a flowy, white blouse with a low neckline, paired with ruby red pants that hugged him in all the right places—and got ready in record time.

With one last lingering glance at the mirror, Kaveh checked his appearance, making sure that his make-up wasn't smudged and his braid wasn't askew. 

After a beat of careful inspection, his brow furrowed as he realized that his outfit was missing something.

Something like a necklace.

Kaveh bit his lip in contemplation, shifting his weight from foot to foot while sneaking glances at the box on his nightstand. 

With a groan, he gave in and reached for Alhaitham's gift.

He wouldn't have given it to him if he didn't want him to wear it, right?

Unfortunately, the necklace's unique clasp mechanism prevented Kaveh from putting it on properly on his own. After a few failed attempts that left him huffing in frustration, he bit the bullet and called for his roommate.

“Haitham, could you come in here for a sec?”

Within a few moments, his bedroom door swung open, revealing Alhaitham still folding up the sleeves of his black shirt—the top two buttons left undone, revealing an enticing sliver of his bronze skin and the toned muscles of his upper chest.

Archons have mercy.

Fighting to stay focused in the presence of the most handsome man in existence, he sent him a sheepish smile and held up the necklace he was holding.

“Could you help me put it on?” Kaveh asked, turning away slightly and brushing his braid away to one side to give him better access to his neck.

After a beat of silence, Kaveh glanced back to check on Alhaitham and found him just…staring. His mouth slightly agape, with the slightest flush coloring his cheeks.

Puzzled, Kaveh cleared his throat. “Haitham?”

Jerking slightly, his roommate seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and joined him in front of the mirror.

Taking the necklace from Kaveh with a lingering brush of their fingers, he stepped close and suddenly, Kaveh was realizing why asking for Alhaitham's help was a very, very bad idea.

The air turned heavy as Alhaitham laid the necklace around his neck, making sure that the pendant rested on the warmed skin right above his heart.

Then, without breaking eye contact, he leaned down and pressed a reverent kiss on Kaveh's nape—so featherlight that Kaveh wondered if he was imagining things—just above the clasp of the necklace.

“I have one more gift for you,” Alhaitham murmured into his ear, his breath warming the bare expanse of his skin.

Kaveh, dizzy with feeling and half-believing that he was dreaming, simply hummed in question.

The lightest tinkling of metal was the only warning Kaveh got as Alhaitham showed him a pair of emerald earrings—time-worn and well-loved.

At the back of his mind, Kaveh felt the slightest tug of a hazy memory. He's seen those earrings before.

Luckily, Alhaitham answered the question that Kaveh hadn't asked yet. “They belonged to my mother.”

Before the information could even truly sink in, Kaveh already felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes, accompanied by the tell-tale blurring of his vision.

For a moment, he was torn between the guilt of accepting such an important heirloom and the overwhelming love he felt from Alhaitham's trust.

His love won out.

It always does.

Reaching for one, he clasped it into an ear as Alhaitham did the same to the other.

Then, just as he was expecting Alhaitham to step away, he felt two strong arms wrapping around his waist, pulling him even closer.

After a heartbeat, one of Alhaitham's hands found Kaveh's. Then, slowly, as if giving Kaveh time to pull away, he brought his hand to his lips and placed a tender kiss on his knuckles, silver lashes fluttering shut.

At that moment, Kaveh caught a glimpse of their reflections—the two of them contentedly tangled in each other—and realized something.

The outfit was finally complete.

He was finally complete.

Kaveh felt, more than heard, Alhaitham's next words as they reverberated in his chest.

“Time to go.”

But, as Alhaitham turned from him for the second time that day, he felt something other than disappointment.

He felt something completely foreign to him in all the years of loving his Haitham.

He felt hope.

Alhaitham watched, enraptured, as Kaveh walked under the moonlight, a few steps in front of him.

Beautiful.

Alhaitham would want nothing more than to pull him in close and—

“Haitham? Come on! Hurry up!” Kaveh called from the end of the street, hand outstretched toward him.

Quickly shaking himself out of his reverie, he caught up to Kaveh in several strides and took his hand, tangling their fingers together as they walked toward the tavern.

Immediately, a sense of rightness slotted itself into Alhaitham's chest as Kaveh tucked himself into his side, the weight and warmth of his palm seeping into Alhaitham's entire being.

With Lambad's only a few minutes away, Alhaitham was painfully aware of just how fleeting this quiet, tender moment was between them. But, as he snuck a glance at the man beside him, he realized that it didn't matter. 

Any moment spent in the presence of Kaveh was worth it, no matter how ephemeral.

Any moment spent with his love, his light, his Kaveh was everything.

Alhaitham has been in love with Kaveh for so long that he no longer knows where his love ends and he begins.

He doesn't even know if those two things could be separated at all.

Every fibre of his being was so fundamentally entwined with his love for him that there would be no Alhaitham if he didn't love Kaveh.

The moment he met those carmine eyes for the first time in the House of Daena, he was met with the dawning realization of “oh, there you are, half of my heart, keeper of my soul.”

Alhaitham has always been, and always will be, Kaveh's. 

Nothing in this world could ever change that. Not even the fact that Kaveh would never return his affections.

Alhaitham being his is enough for him.

“Kaveh! Alhaitham!” A voice called from afar.

The man beside him brightened in recognition. “‘Nari! Cyno!”

Before he could even react, Kaveh was already dragging him by the hand toward their friends. And Alhaitham, being the love-softened fool that he is, simply let him.

Embarrassingly, he almost let out a petulant sound of protest when Kaveh let go of his hand to greet their friends with enthusiastic hugs. 

He only nodded to the two of them in greeting.

“Come on, you two. Sethos is already inside,” Cyno informed them before stepping inside.

Instead of following immediately, Kaveh surprised Alhaitham by lacing their fingers together once more.

The action was not missed by Tighnari, a flicker of shock briefly flashing in his eyes. Thankfully, he decided not to comment on it. With nothing more than a raised eyebrow and a twitch of his ear, he followed his lover inside.

Momentarily alone again, Kaveh looked up at Alhaitham with a bright smile. “Ready?”

Alhaitham could only nod and squeeze their intertwined hands in response.

—

Dinner was pleasant and mostly uneventful.

Cyno's brother Sethos was surprisingly easy to get along with, especially for Kaveh who ended up chatting with him about all sorts of things related to the desert.

Alhaitham, who has always been content with standing in the sidelines as Kaveh basked in the spotlight, sipped his wine and stayed silent—save for the occasional reminder for Kaveh to eat when he gets too distracted by the conversation.

For the most part, the night was not unlike their usual friendly meals with Cyno and Tighnari.  The only difference from their normal routine was—

“Haitham, look at you,” Kaveh cooed. “You've got a little something right…”

Before he could even process what was happening, Kaveh was already leaning in close and wiping away the sauce on the corner of his mouth with his thumb. 

“...here.”

Heart thumping, Alhaitham blinked, trying to will his blush away caused by the sudden proximity and touch that felt like electric flame under his skin.

But, as if that wasn't enough, Kaveh sat even closer and brushed a lock of his hair away from his eyes.

“What would my precious junior do without me?” With a grin and one last pat to his cheek, Kaveh turned back to their friends and continued the conversation as if he didn't just almost send Alhaitham into cardiac arrest.

What would he do without Kaveh?

He didn't want to know either.

After their big fight, Alhaitham caught a glimpse of the darkness that encroached on his life without Kaveh to light his way. 

Everything was dark and everything felt cold. Days and nights melted into each other, leaving Alhaitham to stumble blindly around in the darkness.

He never wants to go through that ever again.

He never wants to know a life without Kaveh in it.

He never wants to know what he'd do without his golden light.

Suddenly, his light gasped beside him and pointed to the door. “Is that Nilou?”

With no small amount of effort, he shifted his attention from Kaveh to the group of people that entered Lambad's, with Nilou leading the pack.

Before he could even answer, Kaveh was out of his seat and greeting Nilou with a hug, the dancer returning it just as enthusiastically.

Before long, Nilou was leading Kaveh into an upbeat dance in the small space in the middle of the tavern. Lambad, just as familiar with Kaveh's antics as anyone, let out a jovial laugh and started playing actual music that he and Nilou could dance to. 

Kaveh's delighted laughs were carried across the room and settled in the delicate space within Alhaitham's chest.

“So,” Sethos started, loudly whispering into Cyno's ear, “how long have those two been together?”

“They're not,” Cyno and Tighnari answered at the same time, Tighnari's eye twitching in exasparation—looking like he's halfway ready to thunk his head against the table.

Sethos, thoroughly confused, tilted his head and furrowed his brows. “Huh?”

Cyno merely shook his head and wrapped an arm around his lover's shoulders before pressing a kiss to his temple. “Don't worry, my love. They'll get there eventually.”

Tighnari's tail instinctively draped around Cyno's waist—a stark contrast to his clenched fist and sharp stare. “They better, or Lord Kusanali help me, I will tie them upside down to the Divine Tree.”

Alhaitham paid the three of them no heed, he was much too busy watching Kaveh, completely enamored by the sight.

Kaveh's cheeks were flushed from fun, his giddy giggles filling the room as his necklace and earrings glinted under the warm tavern lights.

He was radiant.

Kaveh's eyes caught his from across the room, his bright smile immediately widening. 

Alhaitham couldn't look away if he wanted to. 

And by the gods, he didn't want to.

“Haitham!” Kaveh giggled. “Come dance with me!”

With a fond sigh and a roll of his eyes, he shook his head. 

He rose from his seat anyway.

He has never been able to refuse him, always gravitating into his orbit.

Kaveh was a riptide, pulling him back every time, closer and closer and ever closer.

And Alhaitham? Alhaitham was a man ready to drown.

Within a few steps, Alhaitham closed the distance between them and took Kaveh into his arms—silently thanking whichever deity allowed him to be this close to the divinity that is Kaveh.

Kaveh hummed, extremely pleased that his request was granted as if Alhaitham could ever withhold anything from him.

Wrapping his arms around Alhaitham's neck, Kaveh pulled him closer until their bodies were flush against each other, laughter bubbling out of his lips. 

“Hi, Haitham,” he whispered.

“Hi,” he whispered back, voice rough from emotion.

Swallowing the flutter in his throat, he guided Kaveh into a gentle sway.

“You okay? It's not too loud in here, is it?” Kaveh asked, lightly playing with the hair on his nape, always attentive, always concerned.

Thanking his earpieces for concealing the rising warmth in his ears, he refrains from answering and instead guides Kaveh into a twirl, coaxing another giggle from his lips.

It was the most beautiful sound he's ever heard.

Once Kaveh was settled back into his arms, he tilted his head in question, wisps of spun gold falling from his braid. Alhaitham's fingers itched to tuck it behind his ear. “Since when did you know how to dance?”

The memory of Alhaitham shyly asking his grandmother to teach him how to dance after he discovered Kaveh's love for it flashed at the forefront of his mind. His grandmother teased him relentlessly for his little crush but taught him anyway.

I learned for you. He wanted to say. I wanted to learn about everything that makes you happy.

“My jida taught me,” he said instead.

Kaveh's gaze softened, one of his hands moving to cup Alhaitham's cheek. “Oh, Haitham.”

He only smiled before leading Kaveh into a dip.

For a moment, he looked into Kaveh's sunset-red eyes and felt his heart stop.

All he could think was I love you.

By the time he pulled Kaveh up, his eyes were glazed over with an emotion that Alhaitham could not decipher. And, for a moment, those eyes searched his face for something. 

After what could have been a few seconds or a few hours, a flicker of warmth sparked within his eyes and a smile lit up his face.

Then, Alhaitham's breath stuttered in his chest when Kaveh leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“Let's go home, Haitham.”

Kaveh's hands were shaking as he exited Lambad's Tavern. He barely even registered the sound of Alhaitham's footsteps behind him.

His heart was pounding. He saw it.

The moment Alhaitham guided him into that dip, he saw it.

The way Alhaitham looked at him.

The way his teal gaze softened when it landed on him.

It was unmistakeable.

There was no way to describe the emotion in his eyes other than…

Kaveh thought back to all of his interactions with Alhaitham.

He's seen that look before. That's how Alhaitham looked at him. That's how he's always looked at him. Even when he thinks Kaveh wasn't looking—especially when he thinks Kaveh wasn't looking.

That dance—

It wasn't that Kaveh saw the way Alhaitham looked at him for the first time. It's that it's the first time that he really saw it for what it was—

Something warm was draped across his shoulders.

“You're shivering, idiot.” Despite the barb, the statement lacked any bite, instead carrying something akin to fondness.

Kaveh tugged the coat more snugly around himself, belatedly realizing how cold he was in the chilled night air. “What about you?”

Alhaitham merely shrugged. “I don't need it.”

Just like that, they lapsed into silence. One that was as comfortable as it was charged.  

They walked side by side but after an entire night of closeness, the space between them felt unbearable to Kaveh.

With a steadying breath, Kaveh hooked his pinky with Alhaitham's.

A request.

Alhaitham closed the gap between their shoulders and intertwined their fingers once more.

An answer.

Kaveh let out a breath of relief. Everything was right again.

—

The moment Kaveh entered their home, he dropped Alhaitham's hand and made a beeline for their record player, not noticing the way his roommate instinctively flexed his fingers the moment he let go of them.

Rummaging through their records for a bit, he smiled triumphantly as he pulled out the one he was looking for—an old Sumerian song, slow and intimate. It was a favorite of theirs.

Without missing a beat, he slotted it into their player and before long, the opening notes floated through the room.

With a deep breath, he gathered what courage he could and turned to face his roommate with a warm smile on his face. 

“Care for another dance?” Kaveh asked, holding a hand out.

His roommate raised a brow at him. “Haven't we danced enough, senior?”

“You say that but you're already reaching for my hand,” he teased.

Alhaitham merely huffed and rolled his eyes, pulling him in anyway.

In the space of a few breaths, Kaveh's arms were around Alhaitham's neck once again, while his roommate's hands found purchase on the small of Kaveh's back.

For a few long moments, they just stayed there, swaying slowly to the swirling sound of the music and smiling at each other like a pair of love-drunk fools.

Kaveh supposes they were.

“Twirl me again?” He asks, voice soft.

Without hesitation, Alhaitham obliges, leading him into a twirl. Kaveh couldn't stop his light giggles if he tried.

After tucking himself into his place within Alhaitham's arms once more, he looked up at his Haitham and saw it again.

That one emotion cradled in the depths of his teal eyes.

Love.

“Alhaitham, I—” Kaveh whispered, leaning in close, one hand moving to tenderly cup his jaw.

One of Alhaitham's hands came up to grasp his. Not to remove his touch, but to press into it.

After a moment, Alhaitham placed a gentle, loving kiss into his palm before guiding it to rest above his heart.

Kaveh's eyes widened at the rapidly thumping heartbeat pulsing beneath his fingers.

“Yes, my heart?” Alhaitham breathed, a hair's breadth away from his lips.

“I—” Kaveh stuttered, trailing off. 

Alhaitham simply waited for him. The way he always does.

Kaveh didn't want to make him wait anymore.

So, Kaveh leaned forward, capturing Alhaitham's lips in a soft kiss.

And—oh.

It felt like a soft release of finally.

A tender kiss threaded together by the feeling of inevitability.

They were always going to end up here.

It was always going to be them.

Kaveh's Alhaitham and Alhaitham's Kaveh.

Finally coming home.

Slowly, Kaveh pulled away, biting his lip, carefully watching for Alhaitham's reaction. But the moment Alhaitham's eyes fluttered open, his breath caught in his throat. 

He was looking at Kaveh with so much love, like Kaveh was the light he needed to see in a world full of darkness.

Heart pounding, Kaveh decided to take that one final leap.

“I love you, Haitham.”

At this, Alhaitham froze, eyes wide and unblinking. Kaveh felt the heartbeat beneath his palms quicken.

After a few more moments of Alhaitham's lack of response, Kaveh felt nausea creeping up at the edges of his vision.

“Haitham?”

Had he—had he misread the situation?

A violent spike of hurt and heartbreak shot through him. “Sorry, I—”

But before he could pull away, Alhaitham fully wrapped his arm around Kaveh's waist, keeping him where he was.

“Is this—” Alhaitham pressed Kaveh's palm into his chest more firmly, tracing gentle circles on the back of his hand with his thumb. “—not answer enough for you, my heart?”

Kaveh let out a watery laugh, letting his head fall on Alhaitham's shoulder in relief. “How was I supposed to know whether your silence was good or bad, you bastard?”

Alhaitham simply nuzzled into Kaveh's hair, a laugh reverberating in his chest.

“I apologize. I simply thought my senior was smart enough to realize that when the love of your life kisses you after years of loving him in secret, you'll need the time to process whether or not you're dreaming.”

Kaveh's head snapped up, cheeks burning. “You—!”

Why did he love this man?

“Let me make it clearer then, my heart.” 

A kiss to his forehead.

“I have loved you from the moment I saw you.”

A kiss to his cheek.

“You are half of my heart.” 

A kiss to his other cheek.

“And the keeper of my soul.”

A kiss to his nose.

“I love you, my light.”

Finally, he leaned down to capture his lips.

Oh. 

He thought.

This is why.