The path back to the central courtyards seed a hundred miles, and every step, my resolve wavered. But that was why I had Sari with . She held my hand, walking almost an entire pace ahead of , gently tugging whenever I lagged.
"Are you sure he’s over here? You’re not trying to run, are you?" she asked.
I nodded. There was no way I could mistake his aura. He hadn’t moved from where we’d landed.
Elves gathered around us as we left the secluded shadows behind, but I ignored them and their greetings, keeping my eyes focused on the ground. Everywhere, there were smiles and laughs, but none of them were for . Not yet.
We finally found them. Korra, Gayron, and R’lissea stood together, speaking in hushed voices. Korra gestured expressively with her hands, freezing as she saw over Gayron’s shoulder.
"It’s going to be okay," Sari whispered, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze before letting it go.
I nodded, my tail giving a nervous flick.
"Xiviyah, are you alright?" Korra asked, running to . "Why did you run off? Luke refused to--"
"Your eyes are red! Were you crying?" R’lissea gasped.
Korra’s aura turned jagged, and she whirled, glaring at Luke. "The hell did he say to you? Or did he hurt you? I knew that bastard was up to sothing."
Luke hadn’t responded, though I knew it was impossible he hadn’t noticed . He leaned against a tree, arms folded, eyes downcast. His tail twitched as he sensed my gaze, but still, his head remained bowed.
"Luke..." I whispered, sliding past Korra without even noticing her. My heart fluttered, butterflies stirring in my stomach. My feet carried before him, Korra’s angry words vanishing sowhere in the back of my mind.
I stood before Luke, hands moving on their own to grasp his. I lifted them, and his gaze rose, eting mine. My chest tightened, but I forced a swallow, letting out a shaky breathe.
"What did I do?" he whispered, his voice catching. "I...I don’t understand. Why did you run?"
My grip tightened, my tail running amok behind . The lump in my throat had returned, resisting all attempts for to speak. Every other noise, from Korra to the chatter of the elves, faded into the background.
"I thought you knew I was going to leave. I told you, and you were alright with it. What changed?" he continued, a hint of pleading entering his voice. "Is it...not enough?"
Am I?
He didn’t voice the words, but I heard them all the sa. The question I hadn’t the courage to ask him of myself, either.
"Luke..." I finally succeeded in whispering.
He shivered at the sound of his na. "Xiviyah, I...I’m sorry. I should have listened to Korra and gone after you; I should have asked what was wrong. But whatever it is, I’m sorry."
"No, it wasn’t you," I said, shaking my head. "You weren’t the reason I got scared and ran. I was."
"I don’t understand."
"You didn’t change or do anything wrong. I...I think I did. When I asked you what...what we were, I think, inside, I already knew the answer. But that answer scared ."
"But I don’t," he said, a hint of frustration undercutting the anxious twitch of his tail. "We’re not friends. I could never think of you as just that, like Gayron or Evla. I said it before, but I don’t know what I feel. And I know you don’t, either. So what are we? What did you see that frightened you so?"
"I love you."
The words slipped out before I could stop them. There was no fanfare, no dramatic pause. Just three simple words, hanging in the air between us, fragile as spun glass. Luke froze, his entire body going rigid. His eyes widened, a flicker of disbelief, of sothing close to panic, caused my heart to skip a beat.
But now I had said it. There was no taking it back.
"Love...?" he finally choked out in a voice far from my whisper. "But that’s...You’re...I an, I’m..." He stamred, trying and failing to form a coherent thought.
An audible gasp rose from the side, and I flinched, biting my lip hard. Even without turning, I could see Korra out of the corner of my eye. She stared at , lips agape, Gayron’s arm draped over her shoulder, with an equally stunned expression. Behind them, Sari flashed a smile and gave a thumbs-up.
My face felt like it was on fire, my tail flicking hard enough to cause an audible swish. I hadn’t exactly intended ever to say those words out loud, much less let soone else hear. And certainly not like this.
"What...what does that even an, love...?" Luke asked, taking a hesitant half-step back. His violet gaze darted from my eyes to my lips and back again, the panic in them growing. "That we should...that you want to...?"
"I don’t know," I mumbled, succumbing to the urge to look away, to avoid the fear in his eyes, the fear I knew reflected in my own. "But I want to find out. With you. Is that...is that okay?"
"Xiviyah, I..." he hesitated, tail twitching anxiously. "How can I say yes, when my path demands I leave this world...you...behind? You deserve so much more than that. You deserve so much more than ."
"That scares more than anything. That you would leave alone. But I also know how I feel when I’m in your arms. How much I want to be there," I confessed, looking back up at him. "And losing that now is even scarier than losing it later."
Luke stared at , for the longest second of my life, before a soft sigh escaped him. He closed the distance between us and pulled into a hug. He squeezed tight, burying his face in my hair.
"How can you be so brave?" he whispered. "I know it scares you more than , and yet... I..." He paused, taking a deep breath, as if bracing himself. "When you ran, I was relieved. Relieved that you were the one leaving. That I didn’t have to. But then you ca back."
"Because I didn’t face it alone," I said, snuggling into him. "Luke...you don’t have to, either. As long as I’m here, as long as you allow , we can honor our promise. To walk to the end. To learn to love together."
He pulled back just enough to look at , his eyes still searching mine, looking for an answer he didn’t have. The fear was still there, a deep, dark abyss that threatened to swallow whole. But now, sothing else shone through it, too. Sothing fragile and new, a flicker of starlight in the darkness. His arms tightened around , as if he were afraid I might vanish.
"I... don’t know how," he said, shaking his head slightly. "But I want to."
"That’s enough for ," I said, smiling as I rested my head against his chest. His heartbeat was swift, matching mine. "Do you...love , too?"
He nodded, gently caressing the back of my head, holding to him. "I do. More than I ever imagined possible. I love you, Xiviyah."
I ducked my head, blushing to the tips of my ears. There was sothing about hearing those words from his lips. My heart fluttered, warming my entire body, from the ends of my horns to my tail.
As he held , continuing to stroke my hair, I peeked out from his arms. Korra had finally managed to close her mouth and now relaxed against Gayron, watching us in awe. R’lisesa had a gentle expression, giving a small smile. Sari’s hands were clasped behind her back, swinging from side to side, beaming.
Luke cleared his throat, looking at Korra as he finally let go, though he kept an arm wrapped firmly around my waist.
"So, love, huh?" Korra asked, sidling up to us.
I blushed furiously. "Korra!"
"What?" she asked, chuckling. "I didn’t even know you knew what that word ant."
"I didn’t, but..." I gave Sari a grateful smile. "That’s why I have friends. To give so light when I’m lost in the dark."
"Well, at least you two finally realized it," Gayron muttered, rubbing his horn with an exaggerated sigh. "The way you two have been mooning over each other these past weeks was just sickening."
"Well, I thought it was sweet," Korra said, glaring up at him. How she could manage that kind of hostility toward him while literally hugging his arm was beyond , but it brought a smile to my face regardless.
"So, what changes?" R’lissea asked.
My smile faltered, and I looked up at Luke. He smiled back, and the tremor in my heart eased.
"We press on. Together," Luke said.
"Together," I echoed, nodding.
I leaned against him, and he squeezed my shoulder. There was no hesitation anymore. No reluctance, or wavering in my heart. For the first ti ever, perhaps, I didn’t have to question myself anymore. No matter what the future held, I knew what I felt. I loved Luke.
"Hey, Luke!" Elise called, running up from the inner courtyard. "I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Aerion’s ready to discuss the treat."
She slowed as she neared, noticing and the others. Her eyes darted to Luke’s arm draped possessively around , and I blushed, nestling closer to him.
She tilted her head, looking at quizzically. "Why are you looking at like that? Did I miss sothing?"
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