The warmth of the sun, its rays shining against Amaragi's closed eyelids as time seemed to stand still. Having come to a halt in this very moment, when she could simply hold Maren in her arms, and nothing else seemed to exist around them anymore. 

 

A blissful serenity… 

 

"... come back to Almera with me…" 

 

… after all of these tears… 

 

Maren's body was limp in her arms, stiffening only slightly when Amaragi could feel his head rising barely an inch from her shoulder. For even though he could not see it, as her head was resting against the crook of his neck, when next she slowly opened her eyes, they were glistening in the light of the sun. 

 

And the most genuine of smiles gently grew upon her lips. 

 

"... come back home with me…" 

 

At this moment, the world seemed to be so very bright again… 

 

Slowly but surely, Maren's head shifted backwards until they could both look the other in the eyes again. 

 

And surprisingly, despite her reluctance, Amaragi's hands slowly trailed down from his arms and waist until they folded upon her own lap instead, ceasing their hold over him. 

 

"I've missed you."

 

Maren still did not utter a word as he looked back at her, her eyes alone speaking volumes of what she revealed to him. She meant each and every word by heart. And still, unlike… unlike before… 

 

… there seemed to be such a strong sense of peace reigning within her gaze, as a small and gentle breeze swept through the air, causing her hair to move alongside it. 

 

As if everything he had witnessed before had just been a nightmare… but he knew that it was not. He knew that it was merely over at this moment. 

 

Suddenly, Maren's eyes shifted to the ground beside her. 

 

"... I heard what you have said to me before…" 

 

For a brief moment, silence hung in the air. But to his surprise, when he glanced back at Amaragi, he only saw that she herself had cast her eyes to his knees, her smile having grown solemn. 

 

And a faint hum sounded from her lips. 

 

"... do you despise me for how I am?" 

 

A barely noticeable twitch of her lips, which were forming into a thin line. 

 

Maren was silent, his eyes fixated upon her own almost as if he were seeing something that he had never truly noticed before. Even though it was so apparent, and only his own ignorance towards it caused him to be so utterly oblivious and blind. 

 

"... I would not blame you, if you did…" 

 

Until her eyes sharply closed, and her lips twisted further in an attempt to keep her composure straight. 

 

All this time ago, after the slaughter in Amaranth, she had pleaded for him to stay by her side when she felt that no one else would in the face of the cruelty the Empire emitted. 

 

But that was not solely it… far from it… 

 

And as his eyes almost blankly stared at the barely suppressed pain in her expression, he finally realized it. 

 

All that she wanted was for someone to accept her how she truly was. 

 

But only now did he see every single aspect of her true self, something that he had not before

 

All this time, she had trusted him enough to be willing to grow closer towards him, to, for once, be vulnerable in her life as well. To have someone to lean upon in return. And now she was terrified that it would be taken away again. 

 

The tension was broken. 

 

In the blink of an eye, with a sudden push, time seemed to slow down as Amaragi's eyes abruptly widened when she felt a pair of arms hugging her close. 

 

Her entire body was frozen in place, her eyes still fixated upon the air in front of her, until she slowly but surely lowered her head to gaze upon the head that was buried against her shoulder. 

 

And she began to realize that his own form was trembling. 

 

"... I won't leave you… I don't want to leave you…" 

 

Ever since he had met her, there has never been a time when he could not have leaned upon her. Whenever he struggled, whenever he hurt, whenever he was in danger. 

 

There was never a time when she had not protected him. 

 

"You have always been there for me, regardless of what struggles I have faced…" 

 

The tremble in his form grew stronger, more pronounced. And his words seeped with emotion. 

 

Maybe he could not protect her as she did him… maybe he could never be as strong and confident as she was… 

 

"You have never abandoned me even though I have never matched you, even though I had once been a threat to you…" 

 

But if there was anything he could do, regardless how small and insignificant as he thought it to be, if he could be the support she needed, the shoulder for her to cry upon, the one person she could be herself around, to care for her in return regardless of what may come in the future, to keep her happy…

 

"... you have never turned your back on me, and I want you to know that neither will I."

 

… then he wanted to do just that as long as he still drew breath. 

 

His head shifted from her shoulder to look upward, to see her eyes with his own. And when she could finally see his expression once more, instead of tears, she saw the small but genuine smile that was directed at her. 

 

And the sheer gleam in his eyes as the sun reflected from their surface, creating a mirror, allowing her to see her very own self within his gaze

 

For a moment Amaragi's eyes shivered, her lips parting ever so slightly as her body stiffened. 

 

And before either of them knew it, she had claimed his lips with her own, her hands having gently come to hold his cheeks. 

 

Maren could feel the smile upon her lips even as she kissed him, feeling the warmth of the sun caressing their forms beneath its care. 

 

But only when they parted and Maren slowly opened his eyes again to look at her-

 

-only then did he see the pure and unrestrained joy in her eyes as the sun stood high above her head in the sky, and her smile put even its warm rays to shame. 

 

"Then let's go home, back to where we belong…" 

 

Tentatively, she lowered her hands from his cheeks until they came to rest upon his own, and he could feel them enveloping and embracing the ring upon his finger. 

 

For in truth, she could not stand to endure the sun any longer, longing for the familiar cold of the north, where all of her fondest memories lay. 

 

And where many more would be bound to be forged

 

---

 

AN:

Support comes in many ways
A like, a comment, a favorite
Each of them; I know how to savor it
To keep me writing for days~