#implied intimacy

The door clicks open.

You don’t need to look to know it’s Aventurine. You can feel his grin in the dark.

“Oh, darling…” His voice drips with mock tragedy. “Sleeping on the floor like a lost playing card tossed from the table. Where’s the glamour? The romance?”

You groan. “The romance died the second it hit ninety degrees inside.”

He crouches beside you, coat gone, shirt unbuttoned halfway, clearly thinking his usual charm is going to work. “You know, there’s an old gambling superstition—if you sleep alone during summer, luck skips right over you.”

“I’ll risk it.”

“Mmm, but what if I’m your lucky charm?” His hand brushes your shoulder.

You don’t even think about it—you grab his wrist, lift it, and bite him. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough to make your point.

“Ow—! You animal.” He’s laughing, but you hear the genuine surprise. “Are you… warning me?”

“Yes. It’s gross-hot. I’m sweaty. You’re probably sweaty. I don’t want anyone on me.”

He leans back on his heels, looking down at you with that too-knowing expression. “So you’ll bite me, but you won’t kiss me? Tragic.”

“Aventurine, if you keep trying, I’ll move into the fridge.”

He hums, as though weighing his odds, then sighs in exaggerated defeat. “Fine, fine. I’ll play the long game.” He tosses a light silk scarf onto you like it’s a blanket. “But don’t think this means I’ve folded. I’ll win the next round.”

And as he walks away, you hear him mutter just loud enough, “Even if I have to bring an air conditioner into this apartment…”

The summer heat wraps around you like a second skin. You’ve abandoned the bed entirely, stretched on the cool floorboards, breathing in slow, shallow pulls. The stillness is almost bearable—until the door slides open.

“[Name]?” Phainon’s voice is warm and low, the way he always talks when he’s not sure if you’re awake. “You’re… not in bed.”

“It’s too hot,” you mumble. “Floor’s cooler.”

You hear the soft sound of his boots coming off, then the heavier thump of his sword resting against the wall. “You could’ve told me. I would’ve brought a fan from the marketplace.”

“Mhm,” you say, eyes shut, already knowing where this is going.

There’s a pause. Then the faintest creak of the floor as he kneels beside you. “It feels wrong, sleeping without you near.”

You groan and roll halfway over. “Phainon. No. Don’t.”

“I can just—”

“No.”

“But—”

You reach out, catch his hand, and nibble it. It’s not even a full bite, just a lazy graze of teeth, but it’s enough to make him freeze.

“…Was that… supposed to be a warning?” he asks, amusement tugging at his words.

“Yes. I love you, but if you touch me right now, I’ll melt into a sweaty puddle, and then you’ll have no partner. Just… soup.”

He chuckles, sitting back. “You really think a little heat would stop me if you were in danger?”

“This isn’t danger. This is me asking you nicely not to cuddle.”

Another quiet laugh. “Understood. The hero withdraws… for now.” He shifts away, but not before draping his cape over your arm—a small weight, a familiar scent. “You’re still mine, even if I can’t hold you tonight.”

And when you finally drift toward sleep, you can still hear him, leaning against the wall nearby, humming a tune meant only for you.

The summer night presses down like a heavy blanket. The tatami mat beneath you is cool enough to keep you sane, so long as no one disturbs you. You’re just drifting when you hear the door slide open, and the faint, careful steps you know by heart.

“...You’re not in bed,” Jiaoqiu says softly. There’s no accusation in his tone, just quiet curiosity.

“It’s cooler down here,” you reply. “Beds trap the heat.”

There’s a short hum, the sound he makes when he’s filing away information. “I thought I might… join you.”

You groan into your arm. “Jiaoqiu, it’s too hot for that.”

His footsteps stop just beside you. “I can keep to one side. I don’t need to touch—”

The moment you feel his hand brushing the mat near you, you catch it and give him a gentle nibble. Just enough for him to still.

“…Are you biting me?” His voice tilts with surprise and faint amusement.

“Yes. That’s a warning. Too hot. No touching.”

He chuckles, low and warm. “I wasn’t aware that affection had temperature restrictions.”

“It does. And tonight, it’s at maximum restriction.”

There’s a pause, and then you hear the soft rustle of his robes as he sits down a short distance away. “Very well. I’ll be near, but I won’t intrude.”

True to his word, he doesn’t touch you. Instead, he takes out his feather fan and begins lazily fanning in your direction. The breeze is faint, but it’s enough to keep you from feeling suffocated.

“You really don’t have to—”

“I do,” he interrupts gently. “Because I love you. And because it’s the only way to be close without breaking your… very vivid warning system.”

You laugh, half-asleep. “You’re too good to me.”

“Only in summer,” he says, the faintest tease in his voice. “Come winter, I’ll make certain you regret banning my embrace.”

Within moments, she and Sunday were back in the hospital room, safely outside of the mermoria hellscape that was part of her mind. What she wasn’t safe from was the inevitable headache that slammed into her at the end of these tuning sessions. She wouldn’t complain. She’d made this choice, and she’d live with the consequences of her actions.

Though the lights were dim in the room, they were still too bright for her liking. She covered her eyes with her arms, feeling the twist of the IV tube that had practically taken up permanent residence in her skin. It had been a week since she’d woken. One would have thought she’d been stable enough to have the IV and the electrodes on her chest removed. No such luck. The doctors here were determined to document every little change in her body and adjust anything they weren’t happy with. At least she and Dan Heng were now on solid meals instead of tube feedings or liquid-only diets. She should appreciate the little improvements instead of lamenting not getting the large ones.

“Welcome back,” a quiet voice came from the side.

That was the other reason she wanted the electrodes off her chest. She was ninety-five percent sure that everyone knew how Dan Heng affected her heart rate. It was mortifying. “Thanks.”

A hand reached over to lay on her shoulder. Considering Sunday was sitting on the opposite side, she knew that touch had to come from Dan Heng.

She really hoped the heart rate monitor wasn’t ratting her out at the moment.

“Sunday, that’s definitely enough for you today,” a higher-pitched voice chided. “You look terrible.”

Stelle pulled her hands away from her face, spying March dragging a chair over to Sunday’s side and plopping down into it. Despite having been the one to engage in a centuries-long battle with her own alter ego she hadn’t known existed, March was the one who seemed the healthiest of the four of them. Stelle thought that title should have belonged to Sunday, the man who hadn’t even gone to Amphoreus in the first place, yet the halovian looked like death warmed over more often than not. It must have been from the immense amount of tuning he was performing on her and Dan Heng, all to try and quell the storm of mermoria she’d taken on.

The guilt was impossible to dodge. Sorry, Sunday.

“I’m fine, March,” he insisted, the pallor of his face saying otherwise.

“Yeah, right. Any longer, and I would have had to pull you out of the dream. The last thing I want is to have you pass out again because if I have to drag you back to the Express, Mr. Yang is going to yell at me for allowing you to overdo it!”

“I had it under control—”

“And we all know how it turns out when things are under your control.”

Stelle smirked, gaze flicking between the bickering duo. This was the guy who’d tried to ascend to aeonhood? The guy who was quickly losing all legs to stand on as her usually jovial bestie knocked them out from under him one by one?

Oh, how things had changed.

“I’m not going beyond my limit,” Sunday finally said. “And I’m not pushing either of them beyond their limits. But, I am trying to get them to a point where it's safe enough for them to come back home. Which, I know for a fact, is all that you want.”

Speechless, March crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair to cross her legs as well. “You got me there,” she finally relented. “But we all just got out of comas, and I’d like for the one guy who pulled the three of us out to not put himself in one. I might know how to navigate mermoria, but I don’t know a thing about tuning.”

“I understand. Thank you for your concern.”

A knock resounded on the door. A doctor entered, followed by two familiar faces. “Good news I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear,” the doctor said. “You two have been medically cleared for discharge.”

“When?” Dan Heng asked, hopeful.

“Now. We’d like to give one more assessment of each of you, but then you’ll be free to go.”

“We submit!” Stelle said, pushing past the remaining pangs of a headache to sit up. “Do whatever you need. We’ll be good.”

The doctor chuckled. “Then, if your guests wouldn’t mind removing themselves from the room.”

March popped up out of her chair, followed by Sunday moving at a much slower pace.

“Ugh, I knew you overdid it,” March mumbled, sidling up to him. “Don’t fall over on me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his arm, giving him a steadying point to lean on as they walked out of the room. “What are we supposed to do with you?”

After the door closed, the doctor proceeded to give Stelle and Dan Heng one last check-up before carefully removing the IVs and bandaging the area.

“That’s probably going to be sore for a while, considering how long they had to remain in,” the doctor remarked. “They will take some time to heal. Other than that, you two haven’t given me any cause for concern. However, I’ve already told your guardians that you should stay close by for another week as a monitoring period, so don’t push yourselves. Take things easy, okay? No strenuous activities.”

“Understood,” Dan Heng assured. “We’ll be careful.”

“Do you have any other questions for me?”

Dan Heng and Stelle gave each other a look, checking in on the other before shaking their heads. “No, I think we’re fine,” Dan Heng answered for them.

“Good. Then congratulations on your release.” The doctor then turned and left the room.

Only for March to immediately slide in. “You two got the clean bill of health?”

“Yup!” Stelle said. “We’re free! But, uh…” She looked down at her hospital gown. “As fashionable as this thing is, I don’t particularly want to walk around in—”

“I got you!” March then reached into her backpack, one Stelle hadn’t realized she was wearing, and pulled out a roll of clothes. No, two rolls. She held a roll out to each of them. “No, wait.” She then crossed her arms, holding the gray roll out to Stelle and the white one to Dan Heng. “That’s right.”

Dan Heng took the roll extended to him. “Thank you, March.”

“Yeah,” Stelle agreed, clinging to her clothes. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“I can leave you two to change,” March said. “Come out when you’re done, and we’ll finally get out of here. I’m ready to get back home!”

Home. The word sounded so sweet to Stelle’s ears. “So am I.”

Throwing her backpack over her shoulder, March slipped out of the room.

Dan Heng stood first. “Would you like privacy?”

Stelle quirked a brow at him. “We’re married,” she flatly returned.

“I just thought I would ask.”

“You don’t have to ask to sneak a peek, though.” She shot him a wink.

He heaved a sigh as he turned his back to her. “Why are you like this?”

“You knew what I was like before you stuck a ring on it. Don’t pull that tone on me now.”

“Speaking of, we will need to get rings.”

Absently, Stelle rubbed her thumb over her fing finger, feeling the absence of the metal band she’d gotten used to wearing. “I’d really like that. Maybe we can go shopping at our next stop. Or, we can think about getting our rings custom-made? To match the ones on Amphoreus.”

“Let’s look around first. If that fails, we will consider the custom route.”

“It’s a date, then. Hey, will this be our first date as us, or do Amphoreus dates count?”

Behind her, Dan Heng chuckled. “In my mind, our dates on Amphoreus count.”

“Aww, okay.”

Once dressed, they finally stepped out of their room. It wasn’t the first time, as the doctors were intent on helping them start moving again instead of just lying in bed. This time, though, their entire family was waiting for them, smiles on their faces.

“It’s a whole family reunion,” Stelle teased. She hoped her face wasn’t red. It felt warm as she tried to shove down the urge to cry out of happiness.

Himeko approached her first, throwing her arms around Stelle in the tightest hug Stelle could ever recall. “It is,” Himeko concurred. “And a very welcome one at that.”

“Shall we head home, then?” Mr. Yang asked, giving Dan Heng a hearty pat on the shoulder.

Dan Heng smiled, returning the favor. “We’d like that a lot.”

“We’re planning a feast for dinner!” March said. “It’s been a while since we had a proper meal together. We should definitely celebrate.”

Stelle couldn’t agree more.

Together, they all made their way through Herta’s space station. Wherever they went, people bowed in respect. It almost made Stelle feel like a queen walking through a sea of loyal subjects.

“Isn’t this a little much?” Sunday quietly questioned.

“Nah, we earned it,” March returned.

“Don’t get too cocky, March,” Himeko lightly teased.

“I’m just the right amount of cocky.”

As though in friendly warning, Mr. Yang dropped a hand on her head. “Let’s keep it that way.”

Like a happy dog, March beamed.

Stelle could have cried when she saw the Astral Express in all its shining glory. Home. That was home, and she couldn’t possibly be more excited to get back. She might have picked up her pace a bit, but she wasn’t sure. Everyone seemed to keep up with her just fine.

Finally, when she walked through the door—

“Passenger Stelle! Passenger Dan Heng!”

Stelle fell to her knees to wrap Pom-pom in a hug. “We missed you so much!”

“Wahhhh!” The little conductor sobbed, tears pouring down hard enough to soak Stelle’s shirt. “Pom-pom missed both of you so muuuuuch!”

“We’re glad to be back home, Pom-pom,” Dan Heng agreed, patting Pom-pom’s shoulder.

“Take it easy on them,” Himeko sweetly remarked. “They only just got released.”

“R-right.” Pom-pom let Stelle go, stepping back to scrub their nose with a handkerchief they pulled from their pocket. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” Dan Heng reassured. “We’re happy to see you, too.”

“If you need anything—anything at all!—be sure to tell Pom-pom. Promise?”

Stelle smiled. “We promise. But there was mention of a feast? Because that sounds really good right about now.”

“Oh! Pom-pom has been helping in the kitchen allllll day! In fact, Passenger Welt gave Pom-pom an alert that everyone was coming home so that Pom-pom could make sure all the food was finished when you arrived.”

Both Dan Heng and Stelle turned around to look at Mr. Yang.

The elder among them just smiled. “If I know anything about Stelle, it’s that she would prefer to have that feast presented as soon as she was released from the med ward. And I doubt Dan Heng would have any objections, either.”

“You make me sound like a toddler,” Stelle teased.

“He is not incorrect,” Dan Heng said from behind.

“Et tu, brute?” she whined.

There was a round of laughter while Mr. Yang and Himeko started herding them into the party car.

“I’ll go get the food!” March offered, already scampering toward the kitchen.

“I’ll assist,” Mr. Yang said, patiently following after March.

“Dan Heng, Stelle,” Himeko said, “Why don’t you two have a seat. We’ll go grab the plates.”

“We’d be happy to help,” Dan Heng offered.

“Allow us,” Himeko dismissed. “You two are the guests of honor at this banquet.”

“Well, how can we refuse that?” Stelle questioned, wrapping her arm around Dan Heng’s. “Come on, let’s pick a table.”

It wasn’t long before the empty booth was full of food, drinks provided by Shush, and a family of Nameless.

Before Himeko could take her seat at the end of the booth, she grabbed her glass and raised it. “Before we begin, I’d like to make a toast: to our trio of brave trailblazers. We are so thankful to have you back home.”

Mr. Yang was the second one to raise a glass. “To the successful end of a trailblazing mission, and to the downfall of an emanator, courtesy of those same three Nameless.”

Dan Heng then raised his glass. “To the crew who was left behind. We would not have made it without any of your support.”

Stelle followed suit. “To Sunday, for tuning us out of three comas.”

March raised her glass. “To everyone, being back together. And to being back home!”

Sunday was the last. “To Mr. and Mrs. Dan Heng. Congratulations on finding happiness in the midst of the chaos.”

“CHEERS!”

~~

Apparently, Dan Heng and Stelle were not allowed to clean up after the meal. Nor was Sunday, who was still looking rather haggard.

“We will clean up,” Himeko insisted, already stacking a pile of dirty dishes. Mr. Yang followed suit, carefully taking two of the mostly empty food platters away. “You four can all go relax. You’ve earned it.”

“If you are certain,” Sunday said. “Then I’d like to excuse myself. I think it would be best to go lie down for a bit.”

“Feel better, Sunday,” Stelle said.

“If possible,” Dan Heng added on. I think it would be best to avoid tuning for the next couple of days. You said that we were stable at the medical ward, correct?”

“Ah, yes,” Sunday confirmed.

“Then that settles it!” March insisted. “You need a break. I’m not carrying you around if you pass out.”

Sunday stood from the booth, carefully making his way toward the exit. “That is unnecessary, March.”

“Yeah? Then prove it.” March was by his side in an instant. “You look like you’re gonna fall over again.”

“I am not in that bad a state.”

Dan Heng listened to the duo continue to bicker as they made their way out of the room.

“Hey,” Stelle whispered in his ear. “Is it just me, or are they… close?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, like…” her eyes glittered with the same mischievousness that appeared right before she jumped to some wild conclusion. “Maybe a little something beyond friendship between them?”

Dan Heng shook his head. “I think you are letting your imagination run a little too wild.”

Stelle frowned, her gaze narrowing to where March and Sunday disappeared. “I don’t think so.”

“Stelle.”

“What?”

“You’re as bad as March.”

“No way! I know what I see.”

He sighed. “Setting that aside, I think we should follow their lead and get some rest ourselves.”

With a relenting hum, she propped her chin on her hands. “Honestly, I could go for a hot bath right about now.”

After days of strictly sponge baths, a proper washing up sounded like an excellent prospect. “Then you can have the first bath, then.”

She frowned. “You’re not joining me?”

“Is that necessary?”

“It’s more efficient. And very relaxing.”

He cast a doubtful look at her. “Relaxing?”

“Having you by my side is relaxing.”

Well, she had him there. The problem was that he recalled the last bath they shared together on Amphoreus, and that had not ended at just a washing. “Fine. Just a bath.”

“You make it sound like we’re going to get up to something naughty. Dirty mind much?”

His cheeks warmed. “Speaking from experience.”

At that, a cheeky smile crossed her lips. “I mean… it was a bath.”

“Stelle.”

She stuck her hands up. “Alright. Fine. Just a bath. Got it. But before that, we have something else important to do.”

“And that is?”

“Start moving all your things up to our room.”

His heart thumped in his chest as his eyes flit over to the staircase that led up to Stelle’s bedroom. No, their bedroom now. While it did feel a little strange to think about, a much larger part of him liked the prospect. “Alright. We can start with minor things, slowly moving things over.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Hand in hand, the duo made their way to the archives. The simple act of walking through the train took away some of the anxieties that Dan Heng hadn’t realized he’d been harboring. He was really back home, wandering the familiar hallways and rooms. For the first time he could recall, the word “home” felt like a truly apt description for this place. He’d never had one of those before. But now...

He tugged Stelle a half-step closer to his side. Now he did.

When the door to the archives swung open, the familiar sound of droning data computers hit his ears. His entire body relaxed. Safety and familiarity and comfort. Everything felt right. The guard of the Express took a moment to silently renew his vow to protect every little thing about this place, not because of necessity or a trade deal but because he’d found true value in both the people and the train itself.

“What happened to your bed?” Stelle asked.

Dan Heng looked to where his futon normally lay, the space empty. “I put it away before we left so that it wouldn’t bother anyone who wished to use the archives. It served me no purpose; therefore, it was a nuisance to have out.”

“Wow, so you’re saying the only two states of your bed are unmade or entirely gone? And you hound me about my shoes being strewn about.”

Cheeks warm, he cleared his throat. “Yes, well…”

“You’re gonna make our bed, right?”

Unfortunately, there was no argument to be had. The only thing he could say was, “I will.”

Her teasing grin did things to his heart, and when she tapped a finger playfully to his nose, she stole the air from his lungs. “It’s a deal.”

Pulling away as if that could hide the warmth in his cheeks and chest, he started by pulling a stack of clothes out of the cabinet in the archives. The second thing he removed was his bag of bathroom necessities.

“Is that really all you have?”

He glanced at Stelle, only to see her expression twisted in confusion. “These are the important things,” he explained.

“No, like… in the dresser. That’s all?”

“I don’t need anything more.”

Her face crumpled further. Some confusion made sense to him. She was a packrat who loved collecting knick-knacks as little reminders of where she’d been. He found no need for such trivialities, especially since there’d always been a part of him that demanded he travel light in case he ever needed to pick up and move.

“I thought you had more than that,” she remarked, staring into the cabinet as though miffed as to why the treasure within was lacking.

“This is the most I’ve ever had.” Admittedly, since boarding the Astral Express, he’d collected many things to the point he recognized he’d have had to leave stuff behind should he ever be asked to leave. That was irrelevant now. At this point, it was highly unlikely he would be asked to leave. The fact he wouldn’t have to abandon any of his things was slow to sink in.

Instantly, her expression shifted to one of horror. “Sorry! I just thought… I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories—”

“It’s fine.” That was the unembellished truth. “Your room is already bursting at the seams. I think it's for the best that I don’t have much so we can actually find room.”

At that, Stelle’s lips pursed. “I’ll make room.”

“Don’t worry about it. I am content just being with you.”

“That’s not the point! The point is that I want it to be your room, too. It’s not fair if it’s just my things.”

“I appreciate the thought. But we can work out the details later. We’ve had a long day.”

“If you say so.”

He reached out, his fingers weaving into her hair as he wrapped a hand around the back of her head. “I do.” And then he pulled her in for a kiss.

She leaned in, returning the gesture with fervor. That one kiss became two, three.

He slanted his head to deepen their kiss, earning a moan from her. Four. Then five.

Six, seven, and eight came as little pecks in comparison. A forceful slowing down.

“Hey,” Stelle whispered, her lips brushing against his. “That… was technically our first kiss in our physical bodies… wasn’t it?”

Amusement picked up the corners of his lips as he mulled over her words. “Yes.”

“I’d say it was a pretty good first kiss, then. Ten out of ten would kiss again.”

All he could do was chuckle breathily.

She pressed kiss number nine to his lips before she pulled away. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She stood—he was slightly disappointed at the distance—and grabbed the pile of clothes he’d set out. “Come on. Let’s move you in.”

Slinging his toiletry bag over his arm, he took the other pile of clothes and followed her to her… no, their room.

That, too, was going to take some getting used to.

When he entered, he looked over Stelle’s room with a new appreciation. This was now his. It was something that he knew logically, but it didn’t quite sink in past surface level. Even watching Stelle yank open a dresser drawer and start removing items in order to stack his clothes inside felt surreal.

“I’ll put these here for now,” she said, kicking that pile of things to the side so she could shove the drawer shut, “and we’ll reorganize everything later. The only thing I want to do right now is take a bath.”

“I won’t deny the appeal in that prospect,” he said, setting down the other pile of clothes on the bed.

She opened another drawer, once again dumping miscellaneous things into the pile to make room for his wardrobe. “You’re joining me, right?”

He quirked a brow at her. This again? “Is that really necessary?”

“For efficiency’s sake.”

“Efficiency?”

“Yeah,” she returned as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. She then held up her bandaged hand where the IV had been. “I can’t get this wet, and that makes washing my hair and back extra difficult.”

He looked down at his own bandaged hand. “They’ve probably scabbed over by now.”

She frowned, unenthused. “Do you have to be logical right now?”

He sighed. It seemed there was no escaping. “You really want me to join you?”

“Come on. Can’t you take a hint?”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he simply responded, “Alright. I’ll join you today.”

With a wicked grin, she grabbed his jacket collar and began pulling him toward the bathroom.

Dan Heng barely had the wherewithal to grab his bag of toiletries as he followed like a lost puppy. Heaven help him, because he was helpless against her.

~~

It had been three days since they’d returned home. Under the doctor’s orders, they should be taking it easy.

“I am taking it easy,” Stelle insisted.

With a dubious brow raised, Dan Heng looked over their room. Rather, the disaster zone that was their room. Their first day back had only been half a day, really. A family dinner and then a bath together had exhausted them to the point of collapsing into bed, snuggled up to each other. Day two was a full day of settling back into the Express, of reconnecting with everyone and relaxing. They’d snuggled on the couch to read together, and then they’d had a movie night with everyone.

Now it was day three, and Stelle had decided to remove everything from their room.

Everything.

“I fail to see how this… whatever this is, is ‘taking it easy’.”

Stelle didn’t turn away from her task of taking a poster down from the wall. “I’m cleaning out our room.”

“And that needed to be done now?”

“Yes,” she grunted as she moved the framed poster through the room. “Because how else can you move in if you don’t have room to move in?”

“My stuff is perfectly fine in the archives. It can wait—”

“It can’t.” She dropped the picture by the door to her room, and Dan Heng swore he heard the frame crack in the process. She waved it off dismissively as she turned her back to it. “Because this is your room, too.”

“Stelle. We just returned from a very intense mission. I’d much rather you rest. We can figure this out together later.”

“Well, I’m not in the mood to rest,” she snipped. “I told you when we were on Amphoreus that this room is yours, too. That you can put your touch on this place. But you can’t do that when we can’t even fit what you already have in here, and it’s pissing me off.”

He watched her as she marched to a shelf, beginning to remove the things from it.

“So,” she continued, piling her arms full of knick-knacks. “I have to sort through all my crap so that you actually have a chance to live in here. This isn’t just my room anymore, and I don’t want you to treat it that way. I want to actually build a life with you, and we can’t do that until I get rid of all this shit.”

The undercurrent of irritation grew as she rambled, punctuating her frustrations. Frustrations born out of her love for him.

Deciding not to interfere any further, he simply watched her as she continued removing all the things she’d collected over the years from the room. Though he sat idle, his mind was anything but as it hatched a plan.

When she reached the last shelf, he asked. “What is your plan?”

“Well, I’m gonna have to sort through all this,” she said. “Keep half of it, toss the rest. I just have to sort out the things that really mean something to me as opposed to the things that are cool. Then we can start deciding where everything should go.”

Only after she finished removing the items from the shelf did he approach her. Taking her by the hips, he gently spun her around into his arms so as to meet her eyes. “Thank you,” he began. “But I don’t need to be included in decorating. It’s enough for me that you’re making room in the first place. It means a lot.”

She frowned. “But it’s your room too,” she whined, setting her hands on his shoulders. “I want you to be happy in it. I want you to… I don’t know, feel comfortable telling me you don’t like the bedsheets or that you want a certain shelf for your notebooks. That you want one set of drawers for your clothes over another or want different pictures on the walls. I don’t want you to feel like your bed needs to be put away because it’s a nuisance.”

Heart warm, he placed a kiss on her forehead. “Then, I promise I’ll tell you if I don’t like something, but I am content to defer to you on these things.”

Her pout softened at the kiss, but she was still rigid in his arms. “Fine, I’ll take it. For now.” She wiggled out of his arms and began sorting through a pile of things.

“How can I help?” he offered. “I can help you find boxes to put things in, and we can move them elsewhere for storage.”

Stelle looked at the pile, then around the room. “You can go get your things and place them where you want. Then I’ll start putting things back around you.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’re not the one with a pile of crap the size of a Herta’s Space Station. I think I rival her curio collection.”

Dan Heng looked down at the large pile of things. He couldn’t argue, nor would he comment. “Alright.”

“And you chose whatever spaces you want!” she called after him as he stepped over the mess on his way out of the room. “Don’t even think about picking because it’s the most out of the way or whatever.”

The sentiment, however testy, warmed his heart. Stelle really was going above and beyond what he expected of her. For that, he should find some way to show his appreciation.

By the end of the day, Dan Heng and Stelle had reassembled their room. Stelle sorted through her things, creating three separate piles labeled “Keep”, “Throw Away”, and “Debatable”.  Meanwhile, Dan Heng had spent his time dusting the shelves and cleaning the drawers, as well as finding boxes to store those “debatable” items away and taking trashbags of “true junk” to the incinerator.

No offence, but he was quite thrilled to see the Xianzhou wanted poster of Kafka go. How had she even gotten her hands on that thing?

By the end of the day, the room was notably cleaner and more organized. Furthermore, it contained all of his things. Not a one was left in the archives.

“Pretty good job, if I say so myself,” Stelle said.

“You did an incredible job. Thank you.”

She beamed up at him. “I’m glad you like it. From here on, we can fine-tune everything, yeah?”

“Alright.”

She leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “Now, that really worked up an appetite. I could eat a dromas.”

It was time to set his plan into action. “Then I will go get food for us.”

Her brow furrowed. “Aren’t we joining the others for dinner?”

“Not tonight,” he said. “After this, I’d like to spend some time with you.”

“We spent all day together,” she teased. “Don’t tell me you’re that needy.”

“Not needy.” He rubbed his hand along her spine. “After the day we had, I think you deserve some rest. I promised you I would show you hydrotherapy when we returned to the Express, did I not?”

Realization dawned over her, a light pink dusting her cheeks.

He grinned. “I’ll be right back. I had Shush prepare a meal for us.” Thankfully, that robot had managed to keep a secret for once.

“We’re not leaving this room tonight, are we?” Her question was spoken too confidently for it to be anything but a statement.

“No.”

“O-oh… kay.”

~~

Stelle knew how this night was going to end. All throughout dinner—a lovely meal she barely tasted—her body thrummed with excitement and a touch of nervousness. Why the nerves, she didn’t know. For heaven’s sake, they were married. She’d just spent the day cleaning out the room so her husband could move in.

Maybe she should attribute the nerves to the fact that they hadn’t been intimate since they’d returned to their own bodies. It felt like taking that leap all over again.

“Something the matter?” Dan Heng finally asked.

Forcing her smile wider, she shook her head. “No.”

His flat expression proved he didn’t believe her. Dang it, the hazard of knowing someone so well was being unable to lie when it counted. “Did you overdo it cleaning today? If you’re tired, we can wait.”

“I’m fine,” Stelle insisted. “And I don’t want to miss out on what you have planned.” Besides, while waiting for him to bring up dinner, she’d started preparing the bathroom, halfway filling the tub and setting up the candles around the room.

“Alright.” He stood from the table, gathering their empty dishes. “Then go get settled. I’ll be in momentarily.”

“’Kay,” she said, watching him take the plates out of the room. On any other day when she was feeling more forward, she wouldn’t care one iota if those dirty plates stayed in the room. Now, she was happy for the momentary reprieve.

Get your head on straight, girl!

She walked into the bathroom, the air already damp from the steam. Knowing the water would be cooling by now, she turned on the hot water to fill it up the remainder of the way. While waiting, Stelle lit the candles, completing the romantic atmosphere. If she weren’t so afraid of messing up whatever Dan Heng had planned for this ‘hydrotherapy’ massage, she would reach for one of her soaking salts packs. The one with rose petals came to mind, but that would have wait for a different special occasion.

Turning off the faucet, she sloshed the surface with her hand, checking the temperature of the water. Pleasantly hot. Now, all that was needed was to undress.

She slipped out of her coat, tossing it out of the bathroom entirely. As she slipped from her shirt, she caught sight of herself in the fogging mirror. Using the nearest towel, she wiped the mirror clean, and her eyes fell to her chest. All the scars she’d gotten on Amphoreus had vanished. It was as though she’d never had them in the first place. Because she hadn’t.

She ran her hand over the unmarred skin of her decolletage. All the self-inflicted damage she’d carved into her chest was just a memory now. Her current body bore no trace.

It almost felt insulting. She’d practically torn herself apart in an attempt to find relief from the harassment, the pain, the lies the stellaron had forced upon her. Now, her skin was perfect, but the marks on her memory still haunted her.

I will take your firstborn as a new lord ravager.

Her hand slid from her chest to her abdomen. Lies. It was all lies. Dan Feng, that infernal piece of shit that had put Dan Heng through hell, had called out her own stellaron. How was she supposed to process any of that? And how was she supposed to process the fact that Dan Heng might not be as sterile as either of them believed?

What chaffed was that Dan Feng had been right about stellarons only tainting pure wishes. A child between her and Dan Heng… it had been a wish she hadn’t realized she harbored. Maybe raising Junior had left more of a mark on her than she’d realized. Hearing that little cry of ‘Mama’ always put a smile on her face and a flutter in her heart. Taking them around to explore, watching them grow and learn, being loved by such a creature…

When she and Dan Heng had gotten together, children had been the furthest thing from her mind. Over time, as their relationship progressed, she’d recalled that Vidyadhara didn’t breed and therefore, she had come to accept she and Dan Heng wouldn’t have children. And that was fine. Really. But her traitorous heart must have harbored a tiny flame of hope for the contrary. A flame that was big enough for the stellaron to latch onto and twist until it became her greatest fear.

Now that they were off Amphoreus and back in reality, everything that happened in here had real consequences. With the atmosphere Dan Heng was setting, she knew this night was going to end with her and Dan Heng tangled up on that bed, but sex wasn’t without its risks. How was she supposed to face intimacy when her fears still stormed like this?

A knock startled Stelle.

“Can I come in?” the muffled voice of her husband asked.

A hesitant smile crossed her lips. She should really stop worrying over every little thing. A pang of fear in her stomach warned against that, but she ignored it, instead clinging to the hope that she’d relax into the night as it went on. “If I say no?”

“Then I’ll wait for your command.”

Her heart fluttered. Ugh, she had a good husband.

Finishing undressing, she slipped into the water. “The queen allows you entrance now.”

There was a pause before he entered. If she had to guess, it was because he’d been rolling his eyes at her. The thought put a genuine grin on her face.

Regardless, she was still stunned when she saw Dan Heng enter, his Vidyadhara form on full display. Her husband looked good in every iteration, but there was something about his long hair that she found particularly striking. The urge to run her fingers through it was strong. She’d done it often while he was in his titan form, wondering if that was what silk felt like.

He closed the door behind him, his bright teal eyes not leaving her gaze.

Shyly, she curled up against the side of the tub. Why was she getting bashful now? It wasn’t like she hadn’t started her fair share of things. But at this moment, the intensity in his gaze almost made her feel too exposed. There was only one thing she could do: cover her embarrassment with flirting, “Hey there, handsome. What a sight seeing you in that form.”

“It is easiest to control my powers when I can focus them entirely on my task. This deserves my full attention.”

Her heart was pounding like a drum in her chest. Not one of those little ones, either, but one of those large, booming drums that could be seen at a Xianzhou festival. Just like how that lithotherapy massage he’d given her on Amphoreus had set every single nerve ablaze to the point she didn’t know how it was possible to relax, there was no way she was walking away from this one unscathed.

He knelt down before her on the opposite side of the tub. Tenderly, he reached out, combing her hair with his fingers. “Do you want me to tie your hair up so it doesn’t get wet?”

She mulled it over. Maybe it would be nice not to have wet hair in bed, especially considering the dwindling likelihood Stelle would have any time to dry it. Dan Heng hadn’t even begun anything, and Stelle already felt on edge. “Okay.”

From his long, draping sleeve, he produced a hairpin. One with a lotus flower.

A traditional engagement gift.

She blinked, unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful silk flower with teal beads dangling beneath it. “Where… did you get that?”

His smile was painfully sweet; his voice, equally so. “Turn around.”

Doing as told, Stelle was rewarded with Dan Heng combing his fingers through her hair, nails gently massaging her scalp. Her body melted into his touch.

“I bought it while we were still recovering in the med ward,” he answered, carefully twisting her hair up.

“When?”

“As soon as I could hold a data tablet.” The stick slid through her hair, and regretfully, he pulled his hands away. “There.”

She reached behind her head, feeling for the silk petals of the flower. Her fingers trailed downwards, toying with the smooth jade beads. “You wake up from a coma, and the first thing you do is buy that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because,” he whispered, his lips so shockingly close to her neck that her hair stood on end. “It was important to me that I properly bestow an engagement gift on you.”

When his lips landed on her skin, her eyes instinctively shut. She bit her lip, swallowing the tiny whine. He grunted, a sound so quiet she almost dismissed it, but it was soon followed by his teeth digging into her skin. There was no holding back the gasp that tore from her throat.

He chuckled.

“You did that on purpose,” she grumbled.

He laid a kiss over the bite as though to appease her. She tried to cling to her irritation, but it was as fleeting as the steam rolling off the water.

“Now.” Dan Heng extended his hand over her shoulder to hover above the bath. When he stretched out his fingers, Stelle felt the water stir. “Hydrotherapy involves massage by flowing water. It is traditionally combined with Phagousa’s chants, but…” He paused, the water itself stuttering. “But due to the laws of Phagousa on Amphoreus vs the vidyadharan powers of this realm, I do not think they will have any effect.”

The water flowed around her, and she could feel the rush at her back, hitting her shoulders before rolling over her hips and thighs. The pressure was blissful. She could see why it was a popular massage therapy practice, but there was something else that held her focus.

Entranced, she dipped her hands into the water currents. This was Dan Heng’s power on display. She’d watched in awe as he split an entire ocean, she’d been impressed at his ability to use these same powers to attack and defend, and she’d encouraged him to practice by using those powers to clean the Express. Now, she marveled over those same powers being used to heal and soothe.

With a sigh, she leaned back against the tub, feeling the water move with her as she unwound her body into the rush of currents.

~~

“Join me.”

Dan Heng’s heart skipped a beat, his control over the water currents faltering. He focused on restoring them before responding. “Pardon?”

Curling her body, she languidly twisted around to face him. The warm candlelight illuminated her equally warm expression as she leaned her arms across the edge of the tub. “Join me.”

Again, his control faltered. This time, he surrendered completely lest the water respond in a negative way due to his own body’s reactions. “Is it not to your liking?”

“This is wonderful,” she said, stroking his cheek with a damp hand. “I’m in awe over how far you’ve come with your powers. But I want to enjoy this with you.”

He hesitated. Although his heart wanted him to throw all caution to the wind, to give into her command and join her as she asked, logic warned him against it. “Stelle…”

When he didn’t continue—words eluded him—her brow furrowed with worry. “Don’t you want to join me?”

He did. He very much did. But if he did, he’d want more. He’d already pressed his luck with the gift of the hairpin and the kisses he’d lavished on her neck. Yet, they couldn’t go further. At least, not yet. He’d made more promises to her than just a hydrotherapy session, and he feared that if he caved to her whims, his ability to uphold those promises would be compromised. “I do… but if I do, this night will go farther than I intended.”

Her expression crumpled in confusion. “Wasn’t that where this night was going to go anyway?”

Given the mood, it certainly seemed that way. When he set up this little date, he’d warned himself about letting the atmosphere grow too intense. What a fool he’d been to think he could temper it. He hadn’t wanted to taint the night by having the serious conversation they kept putting off, but there was no more avoiding it. Before they moved forward, they needed to conquer the elephant in the room. “We discussed this,” he started, “before we spoke those vows on Amphoreus. I won’t put you in a situation you aren’t comfortable with, so this is the line I have to draw to respect you. If you want me to cross that line, we need to have a discussion about… about sex, and about the possibility of children or possible prevention methods.”

Her golden eyes widened, then darted away as her mouth formed a little ‘oh,’ shape.

“We can either have that now,” he continued. “Or we can wait so you can enjoy the massage.”

“I don’t want to wait,” she muttered.

Her admission knocked the wind out of him, subsequently fanning the flames of his desire. He wanted this, too. Moreso than he realized. He recalled Dan Feng warning him just how much he would connect to his bondmate, but how had Stelle become a drug Dan Heng could no longer live without? It scared and thrilled him.

Taking a breath, he tried to focus on stringing words together. “I’ll start with this: are you comfortable with being intimate? Here in this realm, I mean. I know the lies of the stellaron took a toll on you, and even if we know now for a fact they were lies, that doesn’t instantly make things right.”

Her mouth opened, then closed as she mulled over his words. “I’m not opposed to  it,” she quietly answered. “It’s still hard to wrap my head around the fact that everything the stellaron said was a lie, but… I don’t want that to ruin our relationship.”

“It won’t ruin anything,” he assured, cradling her cheek. “It just changes how we go forward.”

“I mean that I don’t want to be scared just because it told me to be. I… I want to trust you... to trust that everything will be okay.” Pink rings appeared around her eyes, and water droplets grew on her lashes.

Tenderly, he swiped the tears from her eyes before they had the opportunity to fall. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay. I promise, no matter what happens, I will always be by your side.”

With a shuddering inhale, she grabbed his wrist, pressing her face against his palm. “I know you will be. I know that. Which is why I’m still pissed that I’m this nervous. If I know better, then why… just, why?”

Heart aching, he leaned forward, resting their foreheads against each other. Maybe he was about to step too deep into shaky territory with this one, but he had to ask, “Stelle, if we’ve learned anything from Cocolia, it’s that stellarons twist people’s deepest desires. For it to have manipulated you through the possibility of a child, you had to have had that wish in the first place.” He swallowed, his gut tightening. “Was that really such a deep desire of yours?”

She stiffened, her grip on his wrist tightening. “Yeah,” she admitted, guilt dripping from her tone as she ducked her head away. “It is. Was? I don’t know anymore.”

“Even though we thought we couldn’t have any?”

“No, I knew that. And I thought I was fine with that. I really meant it when we said we didn’t need kids or that we could just adopt. But over time… I don’t know; raising Junior was a really fun sidequest. I thought it was so cute when they would run towards you, calling for ‘Papa’. Maybe somewhere along the line, I began wondering... what if it wasn’t a dromas.”

She might as well have struck him in the gut with that farewell homerun of hers for the damage those words did to him. The vision was strong enough to play like a movie in his mind: a baby running up to him, arms open wide as Stelle fondly trailed behind in watch. Never in his life had he considered that he would have a wife. Now, they were here together discussing children. Which, according to Dan Feng, was a possibility. A long shot, but a possibility, nevertheless.

“Are you upset?” she quietly asked, breaking the silence that had slipped between them.

“Why would I be upset?” he questioned.

She shrugged. “Because you would have thought I would know better. And because of my own stupidity, I let the stellaron get the better of me.”

“No, Stelle, I’m not upset at you. Not in the slightest.”

Again, there was a pause, her eyes darting away in thought. “Have you…” Shyly, she looked back up at him through misty gray lashes. “Have you ever considered kids?”

“Not before now,” he admitted. “But ever since Dan Feng had mentioned there was a possibility… it has crossed my mind once or twice.”

“What do you think about it?”

He didn’t know what to think about it. The fact that it could even happen bewildered him. He wanted to ask Dan Feng so many more questions, such as just how rare it was or if there was any research he could look into to discover those secrets. The thought of becoming a father scared him, but he was also scared to get his hopes up for becoming one in the first place. It was infuriatingly contradictory.

He didn’t want to dump his turmoil onto Stelle. She had her own worries to shoulder. Hence, he carefully phrased his next question. “I think it’s more important to ask this: if you, hypothetically, were to get pregnant tonight…” Oh, aeons help him; his heart was thundering in his chest just thinking about it. “Would you be okay?”

Her breath hitched. “I asked you first.”

“I’m not the one who the stellaron tormented for a century. I want to know your answer first.”

Silence rent the room, broken only by the quiet sloshing of water as Stelle absently curled a hand over her abdomen. “I don’t know. I want to think everything would be okay. I want to trust you, but I’m scared. What if Nanook does get involved? I know the stellaron doesn’t have control over anything, but that doesn’t guarantee safety for… for our baby.”

For our baby. Those words were going to destroy him in ways he never thought possible.

Despite the fear that still wove through his core, snaking up his spine and even toying with his heart, he scraped together all the courage he could muster. For her, he would be strong. She deserved that from him. “Starlight.” He curled a hand under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Molten gold met jade. “You have my word, should there ever be a child between us, I would do everything in my power to protect both of you. There are never any guarantees, but I would even face the aeons themselves if it meant protecting you.”

Her breath hitched, that molten gold solidifying into something harder. “Then that’s enough for me,” she whispered as though speaking a vow. “And if you’re going to face the aeons… you know I’d stand by your side. I mean, we’re trailblazers, right? What else do we do but take the unknown head on?”

Despite the coil of fear in his gut, he marveled at the woman before him, one who dazzled in the candlelight. The brightest star in his sky. “You are the bravest woman I’ve ever known.”

A light sparkled in her eyes, chasing away the remainder of her fear. “Now you’re just flattering me.”

“I mean it.” To prove it, he tilted her chin up further and kissed her.

She leaned into it, and even when she pulled away, their lips still brushed.

“I love you, Starlight,” he told her.

“I love you, too, My Moon,” she returned. “Are you going to join me now?”

He was holding on by a thread. “My question about you getting pregnant was not without merit. Based on what Dan Feng said, it’s not an impossibility. I just don’t know how much of a possibility it is. I told you I’d take fertility tests if that would make you more comfortable.”

“You don’t need to,” she dismissed. “I’ve been thinking about that, and… it feels like overkill now.”

“Then, as for the contraception we discussed back on Amphoreus, I don’t have any. I wanted to have this conversation with you before I moved forward with anything because I didn’t to make any assumptions on what you would and wouldn’t be comfortable with.” Disappointed as he was, he prepared for her to push him away. There was a part of him that intimately wanted his wife, but he had no regret in allowing her to lead. Whatever she demanded, he’d acquiesce. In his mind, that was simply part of marriage.

“Okay.”

He blinked. “Okay to what?”

“You promised to stay by me,” she said. “And I don’t want to live in fear. I’ll just be delusional and think it’s not likely to happen the first time. So it’s okay.”

He was about to snap. One last thread of logic held him together. “Are you certain? What if it does?”

“Then…” She inhaled, her cheeks growing red. “Then it does, and we face it together. Right?”

“I promise.”

“Just… go slow with me tonight.”

“You tell me to stop, and I will.”

“I know. I trust you.”

Logic snapped, allowing his heart to rule over his body’s actions. Bracing himself on the edge of the tub, he leaned in, kissing Stelle deeply. Arms flew out of the water as she clung to him, the water hanging on her body quickly soaking his shirt.

Not that it mattered. He was soon divested of it and sinking into the tub. Her touch caused his powers to roar, the water springing to life around them. As he pulled her against him, chest to chest and skin to skin, the waters rolled around them like a whirlpool. The part of his brain he was currently ignoring wondered if he was going to make a mess of the bathroom, but then his wife began toying with the edge of his ears, the logical part of his mind turning black.

His wife trusted him, and he would spend the night—and the rest of his life—proving to her that trust was not misplaced.

~~

Stelle couldn’t quite decide if the ache in her body, the one akin to the first night they’d ever spent together while on Amphoreus, was pleasant or not. It made her wonder: was this technically their first time, since they made love in their own bodies as opposed to in a simulation?

It didn’t matter. What did matter was that she was tucked safely in Dan Heng’s warm embrace, his strong arms her own personal fortress that she was queen of. No harm would befall her here. Even if he’d managed to knock her up tonight, a thought that still set her nerves on knife’s edge, she would be okay. He promised her it would be. The stellaron’s lies still haunted her like a ghost, but she wouldn’t cower to her stupid stellaron any longer. Even if she was scared, she refused to let the thing in her chest rule over her life. She was supposed to be its master, not the other way around.

In time, she hoped she’d regain that courage that stupid thing had stolen from her.

Wondering if a change in position would help relieve some of the ache in her body, she tried rolling over, only for the arms around her to tighten, the body behind her inhaling sharply. A fortress, indeed, complete with a powerful guard akin to the love interest straight out of a fantasy romance novel.

“Stelle? Are you okay?”

Oh, that sleep-roughened voice did things to her. She knew from experience that it could rile her heart, but now, that voice was a soothing presence that set her body at ease. “I’m fine,” she whispered, laying her free hand over his arm.

On an exhale, his grip slackened, but not before he could press a kiss to the base of her neck. “Good.”

Who would have guessed Dan Heng would be so deeply affectionate? Had her younger self been told Dan Heng was secretly a big, snuggly softie, there was no way she would have believed a word of it.

Nah, it was better she hadn’t known. It was her joy to learn all these new sides of him.

Turning in his arms was a greater challenge than anticipated. Her back and hips protested the movement, but Dan Heng helped turn her around toward him.

Settling against his chest, Stelle observed the Vidyadhara before her in the low light. His horns emanated the faintest glow, mixing with the lingering starlight peeking through the window and miscellaneous power lights around the room. Curiosity getting the better of her, she reached up, stroking the horns she’d never before touched. They were smooth and oddly cool, like touching a lake that had the thinnest layer of ice atop of it. She almost felt like they’d shatter if she pushed too hard.

At her touch, his breath shuddered, and his muscles twitched throughout his body. Behind him, the faint ghost of a tail flicked into view before vanishing.

Slowly, his gorgeous teal eyes opened half-mast. The absence of the familiar gray-blue reminded her that he’d willingly given himself to her not as his human mask, but fully revealed in his true form. She officially had all of him.

Her heart became a newfound mess at that revelation.

She wondered if that was what made their moment tonight feel so different. No longer was Dan Heng the titan with particularly broad shoulders and a whole hand’s worth of extra height, but rather his true self, laid bare—no pun intended—for her eyes only. Or was sex different tonight because they were in their actual bodies instead of in a simulation? Could it have been because tonight, Stelle had been acutely aware of the mechanics of their lovemaking session, and how, no matter what delusions she tried to believe of it being impossible, their actions could result in a baby? Or was it none of those, and instead the strangely faint flicker of hope in her heart that their actions would.

“What are you doing?”

“Exploring,” she quietly responded.

He grunted, his eyes drifting closed again. “Then, you really must be feeling okay.”

“I’m fine,” she whispered, warmth licking at her cheeks. “You always take really good care of me.”

With an approving hum, he tightened his grasp on her. “Rest,” he said, stroking ends of her hair. She’d been freed from her newly beloved hairpin ages ago, the gift having been carefully placed on her nightstand. “There’s nothing that requires our attention today, and after working all of yesterday, we should follow the doctor’s orders.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” she said, snuggling deeper into his arms. “At least all your stuff is here, so we don’t even have to leave the room.”

A contented purr rumbled through his chest. “Yes. My wife made sure I was moved in, even at the cost of overexerting herself.”

“It was worth it. She loves you a lot.”

“I know.” Squeezing her tighter, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m a very fortunate man.”