“Different?” I offer.
He shakes his head. “Nice. It makes you realize just how loud the world has been.”
“It got quiet when I didn’t have you,” I whisper, and he pulls me into another hug, arms tight around me. “All those little noises you get used to hearing seem so trivial until you don’t hear them anymore.”
“Oh? And what sort of noises do I make?”
A grin tugs at my lips. “You mutter under your breath when you talk to yourself—”
“When I need an expert opinion, you mean,” he interjects.
“Yes, exactly,” I say with a laugh. “You tap your pencil when you’re thinking, and make this cute little humming sound when you figure something out. You pace when you’re restless, and I can tell your mood by the cadence of your steps. Fast when you’re irritated, slower when you’re calm.”
A devilish smile spreads across my lips as I tilt my face up to look at him.
“And then there are the times you eat spicy food and—”
“Nope,” he says, far too loudly, as he places a palm over my mouth. My belly shakes as I try to hold in my laughter, and Bash’s smile is brilliant as he rolls his eyes and stares toward the sky. We bask in that silence for a few long minutes, and Bash plays with my hair as I soak in the closeness.
“You asleep?” Bash asks after a while.
I shake my head as I glance up at him. “Doubt I’ll get any tonight.”
He hums his agreement, but he’s distracted.
I sit up taller as his head slides into my lap. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, just… nerves, I guess,” he says.
“About the village?”
He nods, then shakes his head.
“That is a very confusing answer, Sebastian.”
He grins up at me as I absentmindedly trace the edge of his ear, waiting for him to collect his thoughts.
“What would you say if I asked you?” he finally says.
I scrunch my nose. “Not any less confusing, darling.”
He licks his lips and reaches into his pocket, and my heart stops when he pulls it out. He holds my ring between his thumb and pointer finger, his hands shaking slightly.
“We almost died, Xen. Multiple times. And I realized I would never forgive myself if something happened to you while you had any doubts about what you are to me. What we are to each other.”
“And what are we?” I whisper, my chin trembling as hope swells in my chest.
He spins the ring between his fingers as both of us stare at it. “You’re my best friend, and my mate… and my husband?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
He grins as he chokes on a laugh, but the levity fades as he waits.
I stare at the ring, then at the empty place on my hand where it belongs.“You asked me to be patient, Bash. I can wait as long as you need me to.”
“I don’t want to wait,” he says as he sits up, putting us eye to eye. His gaze is steady,alwaysso fucking steady, and he’s full of quiet determination. “I’m tired of being patient. I just want you. I’ve only ever wanted you.”
“You’ve always had me, darling.”
