They reached the room in hurried steps, half-blind to anything but each other. The door barely closed before Darius pulled Sion closer, his hands no longer uncertain, no longer restrained.
To him, Sion felt unbearably precious.
Every touch carried that thought. Every movement, every breath shared between them felt as though it might slip away if not held tightly enough.
Sion did not pull back.
If anything, he met him fully, drawing him closer, answering each motion with quiet insistence of his own.
They fell onto the bed without care for grace.
Sion lay beneath him, breath uneven, his usual composure loosened in a way few would ever witness. There was no calculation in his gaze now, no careful distance...only something open, something real.
Darius stilled.
For a brief moment, everything slowed.
He looked at Sion as though committing the sight to memory. The faint flush upon his skin, the quiet rise and fall of his chest, the way his hand still rested at Darius's shoulder as if unwilling to let go.
Something in Darius gave way.
It was not sudden.
It was not impulsive.
It had been there for a long time.
"I love you."
The words came low, unguarded.
Not spoken as a declaration to be heard, but as a truth that could no longer remain unspoken.
Sion blinked.
For a moment, he said nothing.
That alone was answer enough,because Sion was not one to fall silent without reason.
Darius's hand tightened slightly, as though uncertain now, as though he had revealed too much.
But Sion did not turn away.
Instead, he reached up, his fingers brushing lightly against Darius's face, guiding him closer.
"You choose the strangest moments," Sion murmured softly.
Yet there was no mockery in it.
Only warmth....something quiet and unfamiliar.
He pulled him down into another kiss.
Slower this time....Deeper.
Not driven by urgency, but by something steadier, something that lingered.
And though Sion did not repeat the words..
The way he held him, the way he did not let him pull away, spoke of an answer not easily given… but not denied.
Morning came slowly.
Sion stirred first.
His body felt heavy, unfamiliar in its own weight. A quiet ache lingered, not sharp, but deep enough to remind him of the night before.
"…W-water," he murmured, his voice rough.
Darius was awake at once.
He reached for the cup at the bedside and handed it to him carefully, his movements almost overly cautious.
They sat close, half risen from the bed.
Only then did Darius truly look at him.
The marks were there.
Faint, scattered along Sion's skin, visible where the sheets had slipped. The sight struck him all at once, and with it came a sudden warmth rising to his face.
He looked away for a moment, then back again, as though unable not to.
"…Does anything hurt?" he asked quietly, the concern in his voice unhidden.
Sion took a slow drink before answering.
"My entire body does," he said plainly.
"Don't look like that," he added, leaning forward to press a brief kiss to Darius's lips. "I enjoyed it."
Darius blinked, then nodded, still a little flustered. "I… did too."
Sion leaned back slightly, studying him.
A faint, knowing smile appeared.
"It seems," he said, voice light with mischief, "that you are not yet satisfied."
Darius froze.
The meaning struck him too quickly.
"I—" He stopped, visibly flustered. "I will go and get breakfast."
Sion let out a quiet laugh. "I will come with you."
"Can you manage?" Darius asked at once.
Sion raised a brow. "I am not so fragile."
The inn's lower hall was still quiet when they arrived.
A few early travelers sat scattered at their tables, but there was no crowd, no noise to draw attention.
They chose a table by the window, the early light spilling in as they ordered a simple breakfast.
For a while, they ate in comfortable silence.
Then Darius spoke.
"What will you do after this?"
Sion rested his chin lightly against his hand. "The same as always. The smallholding won't take care of itself."
Darius nodded. "Then I will come with you."
Sion glanced at him. "Are you certain? You may already be needed at the palace."
"I have taken leave," Darius replied. "A week."
Sion seemed faintly surprised.
"That is good," he said after a moment. "I had intended to spend more time with you...now that we're lovers."
Under the table, his foot brushed against Darius's.
Light. Deliberate.
Darius nearly choked on his drink.
Sion leaned forward slightly. "We are, aren't we?"
Darius met his gaze, earnest as ever. "Of course we are. I thought… I thought I was the only one thinking that."
Sion said nothing.
But his expression softened for a brief moment before he looked away, hiding it behind a faint smile.
They returned to the house not long after.
The house welcomed them with its usual quiet.
"Where is Eiran?" Darius asked.
"He has gone to visit his family," Sion replied. "He will return tomorrow."
Darius nodded.
They worked side by side for a time, the rhythm of simple labor settling easily between them.
Then Darius spoke again.
"Will you come to the orphanage with me this afternoon?"
Sion paused.
"I would," he said. "But I have somewhere to be."
"Where?"
"The guild."
Darius's hands stilled slightly.
"To have tea with the guild master," Sion added lightly. "I'm sure you've heard."
"I have."
Sion glanced at him, catching the subtle shift.
"Are you jealous?" he asked, tone teasing.
Darius did not look at him. "No."
"I understand," he added. "It is business."
Sion watched him for a moment longer.
There was something almost like disappointment in his gaze, though it faded quickly.
"I see," he said, and returned to his work.
But Darius's grip tightened slightly where Sion could not see.
He was jealous.
More than he wished to admit.
Yet he said nothing.
It was too soon. He did not wish to seem possessive, nor to burden what had only just begun.
And beneath it all, another thought lingered.
Whether he should tell Sion the truth.
Or allow him to hear it from another.
By late afternoon, Sion stood at the doorway.
"I will return later," he said.
Darius nodded. "I will be waiting."
Sion studied him briefly, noticing the lingering tension, but said nothing more.
Some things, he decided, were better said when the other was ready.
Darius remained where he was.
Alone now, the quiet pressed in.
His thoughts returned again and again to the same question.
Whether he should have told Sion himself.
Whether silence would cost him more in the end.
Even so, he had already made his choice.
Whatever came of it, he would face it.
So long as Sion did not turn away from him again.