#ross!

Marth was staring at him.

Alear was pretending not to notice–if nothing else, after all, he really did have to get through these financial reports at a semi-reasonable hour–but the longer it went on, the harder it was. Alear was tired, and he really just wanted to go into his emblem form and cuddle up with Marth, but Vander said that these needed to get done so he really wanted to at least try.

It wasn't working very well.

Alear was this close to giving up, and then Marth wrapped his arms around him. And, well, Alear was just a mortal. (Probably.)

"I can't stop thinking about you," Marth said, and Alear felt a blush crawl up his neck. "You're working too hard. Come to bed?"

"I have to finish this," Alear said, though the call of sleep was getting stronger by the minute and his protest sounded weak to his own ears.

"It will be there in the morning, darling," Marth said, voice dripping with affection. Alear melted a little bit, relaxing further into Marth's hold.

"You're a bad influence," Alear teased, but he tilted his head so he could press a kiss to Marth's jaw anyway. Marth's smile was so bright it nearly blinded him.

"You love it," Marth said.

"I do," Alear conceded. He then smiled. "Just like I love you."

That got a dusting of pink to crawl up Marth's cheeks, just as Alear had planned. Marth settled with burying his face in Alear's shoulder, and Alear laughed.

"I love your laugh," Marth murmured, still audible despite Alear's shoulder muffling him. Alear felt his blush grow.

He glanced at his work, sighing when the words kept swimming on the page. One look out the window told him it was some early hour of the morning.

The reports could wait one more day, Alear decided.

Wordlessly, Alear shifted into his emblem form. He didn't have to know that Marth was grinning; they could feel each other better, this way, feel the kisses and hugs and warmth generated by whatever plane of existence their bodies seemed to reside in.

Alear floated over to the bed, Marth trailing behind him (still clinging to him, of course). They got settled, facing each other, and Marth began to pepper Alear's face with kisses.

"I love you," he murmured. "My lovely, lovely little dragon. My beautiful darling. My love."

Alear's face burned with the compliments, and he leaned forward to bury his face into Marth's shoulder as he continued to spew them. Marth tightened his grip around him, and Alear smiled, closing his eyes.

The wind was nice.

Alear had already put her hair up for the night, but she could imagine the way the breeze would feel twisting between the strands in playful gusts. There was minimal power behind it, just a little bit of movement in the air, as though the Somniel itself were dancing. Sommie certainly was, she thought to herself, glancing down at the little companion as it hopped joyfully between its various feet, keeping time to a rhythm Alear could not understand, nor did she need to.

She didn't hear Marth's approach, but she smiled all the same when he wrapped his arms around her. She turned in his embrace so she could face him, smiling. She found herself enraptured, however; the look his his eyes was so soft.

"You're blushing," Marth commented with a light, teasing smile.

"I can't help it when you look at me like that," Alear said, feeling her blush intensify. Marth tilted his head a little, as though he were a puppy. Alear smiled at the mental comparison.

"Like what?" Marth asked, and Alear giggled, leaning forward to press a kiss to the corner of his lips.

"Like I hung the moon and stars," she replied. Marth just smiled again, that gorgeous, lopsided, soft little thing.

"You may as well have," Marth said, and Alear blushed more. (Her face must have been as red as her hair at this point, and all for him. Oh, how she loved it.)

Alear didn't respond, just leaning forward and resting her head on Marth's chest. He was floating, as the emblems were wont to do, making this easier (she wasn't that short, after all). She smiled as he hugged her closer.

They stood there like that for a moment, Marth occasionally pressing kisses to the top of her head. They rocked to a rhythm all their own, and Alear thought she might have heard Sommie dance away (likely to sit with Seadall as the moon climbed higher in the sky). Here, the chill of the world could not reach her; Marth's embrace kept her warm, safe, and oh so loved.

"I love you," she murmured. She hoped she showed it as much as he did, made him feel just as loved as she did; gods, did she love him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she could feel the way he smiled.

Marth lifted her up a little, something he was only able to do once she had really solidifed herself as an emblem. She gigled a little, and he put her down, still grinning, before just holding her for a moment.

"I like it when you put your hair up like that, you know," he murmured. She blushed again, but smiled.

"You do?" she asked.

"It means you feel safe," Marth replied. "I'm happiest when I know you feel safe. When I know nothing can hurt you." He accentuated his words by pressing a kiss to her temple. Her heart did flips in her chest.

"I love you so much," she whispered, and she felt his heart stutter just a little before the wind had whisked her words away.