Thomas had come back with me.

And immediately he had been yelled at, demanded to tell them what was wrong with him, called a useless idiot who doesn't think before he does things, and returned to the way things were before without even getting a chance to put his own words in.

Look, I'm not trying to defend his rash decision making nor the blatant disregard he showed for our feelings and thoughts. But I did see the way he closed himself off the instant his feet touched the floor of the castle, and I saw the way the words stung him, even if that was something he preferred to hide.

Now, he was laying on the bed. His wings were folded for the longest time I've ever seen them. They were fading into a darker shade as time wore on, so seamlessly that I couldn't tell if Thomas was doing it on purpose or not. His back was facing me, and whenever I tried to speak to him, his responses were disinterested and short. When he bothered to respond at all.

"Hey, Thomas," I said as I walked into the room, letting him know I was there. Lafayette rose to his feet, whispered a quick word of goodbye, and then left. "I'm back, don't worry."

"Hey," he said, so quietly that I wasn't even sure if he had said anything at all.

"How are you doing?"

He shrugged.

I sat down on the bed and set my hand on his back, scratching it lightly. His shoulders relaxed, and he let out a gentle sigh. "That good, huh? That's alright though. I have something I want to show you." I had spent the better part of the afternoon preparing it, and I think Thomas was really going to like it. Or rather, I hoped.

I wish I knew what he was thinking. I wish I knew what I could do to help him through this. I've never seen him like this before, and it really feels terrible to see someone so close to you suffer and not be able to do anything about it at all. This had been going on for two weeks. Two weeks too long.

"What is it?"

"You have to come and see."

"Oh. I'm good."

I grabbed hold of his shoulders and turned him to look up at me. "Come on. Please? I'll never ask for anything again."

He blinked up at me. "Don't worry about it, Alex. I'm doing fine. I don't need anything."

"That's the biggest lie you've ever told. Come on. We're going."

Thomas didn't move.

"Thomas, please? It'll be lots of fun! Come on, for me? I'll be really sad if you don't!" I teased, though all of my hope was hanging on that one sentence.

Thomas finally sat up. "Alright, alright. I'm going. What are we doing?"

"It's a surprise!" I said, jazz hands for emphasis.

I was hoping Thomas would laugh, but only a small smile flickered across his mouth. I guess it was better than nothing, but I would kill someone to hear his laugh again if it came to that. "Alright." He took my hand in his. "Lead the way."

"Have you ever been on a date before?" I asked as I dragged him through the halls and up a few sets of stairs.

"What?"

"Like, a human definition of a date."

He considered it for a second. "I guess not. Why?"

"No reason..."

"Why?" he repeated, a tint of humor in his voice.

"You'll find out!"

A while later, we stopped outside the large oak door that signified the library. "Okay, close your eyes." I pushed open the door with one hand, my other still holding onto Thomas, and led him inside. I stopped for a second, staring at the setup I had taken hours preparing for him, and I slowly began to doubt myself. The same thought I had pushed away while preparing it came back to hit me with a sharp vengeance.

Was this good enough for him?

Before I could change my mind and lead him back down the stairs, Thomas asked, "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Yeah." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as his eyes fell open. It took him a second to take in the scene, but his eyes widened and the biggest smile took control of his face.

I shouldn't have worried.

"I'm not dressed for this," Thomas suddenly said.

"You look fine. What do—?"

"Hold on."

I looked back at him to find him changed. He was wearing a gray suit, simple enough but obviously perfect for the occasion. I looked down at my own clothes only to find I was wearing something different but very similar.

"This seems a little unnecessary."

"You seem a little unnecessary."

I rolled my eyes. "Are we going to argue the entire night or would you like to sit down?" I led him to the table and pulled a seat out for him. I sat down across the table, watching his lovely smile as he admired what had taken a while to put up. Divinity, if I could bottle up the memory of his perfect smile and keep it forever, I would.

What made it even better was that I knew he was smiling for me.

"This is what all Earth dates are like?"

"I thought you knew a lot about Earth?"

"Well, yeah, I guess, but not really the social aspect of it. I never mingled with humans, and I certainly never went on any dates."

"Oh, well, what are Peritum dates like?"

"I wouldn't know," he said, adding a shrug. "I've never been on many of those either."

"Really?"

"I'm not exactly in the position to choose my partner, Alexander. That's the worst part about being a lord. You don't get to decide anything for yourself."

I was quiet for a second before pointing out the obvious. "You chose me."

He smiled to himself. "Yeah. Yeah I did."

The enticing aroma of the meat rose up through the air, enough to make my mouth water. It had been so long since I had actually eaten steak. Too long.

"What's this?" Thomas asked, setting his fork down on his plate and pointing to the bottle standing between us.

"Wine," I responded after swallowing a bite.

Thomas blinked. "I've never had alcohol before."

"Really? Oh, you're missing out." I paused. "Not that I would know or anything..."

Thomas cocked an eyebrow and grinned, pouring some wine into his glass and then my own. "Well, I guess we can try it together then."

I took another bite of the savory meat and watched Thomas. The dim candlelight illuminated his face as he sipped from his wineglass and set it down. "Not bad. You went to Earth to get all this stuff, I'm assuming?"

I glanced at the two roses I had tucked in the vase and back to him. "Yeah, why?"

He shook his head. "I kinda miss Earth a little bit." He paused to take another bite of food. "I don't know. It's a little stupid."

"Don't say that!" I laughed, taking a sip of wine. I almost cringed at the unexpectedly bitter taste and set the glass down. "That's... strong."

Thomas nodded.

For a while, I forgot everything around us. I forgot we were in the library of a rebel fortress. I forgot that Thomas was a ticking time bomb, slowly counting down until his inevitable permanent transformation or death. I forgot that there was nothing I could do to help him, no matter how much I tried. I forgot about the war and our friends and our enemies.

And for the time being, it was just me and Thomas, sitting together at the table and listening to the music playing from my phone.

"I think you've had way too much of that," I teased as he reached for his wine glass again.

"You know what I think?" he asked as he preceded to flip me off.

My grin was more or less permanent. I leaned my face against my hand and watched him. "Want to dance?"

He paused, his spoon clattering against the bowl of ice cream I had gotten for both of us. "What do you mean?" he asked after a second, watching me carefully.

"It's just, well...when you were invited to the ball thing a few months ago, I really wanted to go with you. Not just to keep you safe or whatever," I said, finding that I had a tough time trying to keep my thoughts together and words coherent. "I wanted to dance with you. So I thought, maybe if you'd...?"

He stood up abruptly. "Not the most romantic invitations to dance I've ever received, but I suppose it will have to do." Thomas held out his hand, and when I took it, he pulled me to my feet and dragged me to an open space. I swallowed as he turned to face me and smiled. "You're not going to die."

"What? I don't think I'm g—"

"You look like you think you're going to die."

"Are you drunk?" I asked.

"No!" He skipped a beat. "Maybe a little bit. There, stand like this."

When I copied the way he stood and carried himself, he nodded encouragingly and continued showing me 'the proper way to dance', as he referred to it. "I don't have much experience with this," I said after a while.

"You're not doing too bad!"

"Really?"

He stopped for a second, letting go of me. "No. You're pretty terrible at this," he said sheepishly. "But it just takes some practice, that's all. And maybe when we head back to Avionerra, you'll dance with me!"

I cocked my head. "When do you have plans to go back to Avionerra?"

"Well, I have to go back eventually," he said, without a noticeable change in expression. He was still smiling as he led me to the couch. "I don't want to, but I'm going to have to eventually."

I nodded, sitting down next to him. He rested his head against my shoulder, and it would have taken far too much not to smile. I kissed him lightly and relaxed as the warm night breeze drifted into the library. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly two wineglasses appeared before us, filled up.

"You have a problem," I said. I didn't mind. Let him be happy. "And why do you suddenly need to snap, huh?"

"Theatrics." Thomas took a big sip from his wine and leaned against me even more than he had been. I watched him happily, adoring the way the firelight from the candles accented his skin.

The night wore on slowly, and I couldn't have been more grateful for it. "Alexander?" he said lightly, yawning. "I have to ask you a serious question."

"What is it?" I asked. I always felt like I was in some sort of a trance whenever I was with him. I just felt so at ease. He smelled sweet, like those blue flowers he has hanging down in his room.

"Do you have a crush on me?"

I grinned and decided to play along. "Yeah, yeah. You got me."

"You do?"

"I do."

"Hah. I knew it." He was completely out of it by now, and Divinity, was he cute. He smiled almost the entire time, and I loved his smile. "Don't worry. I think I have a crush on you too."

"You think?" I teased, smiling down at him. His eyes were closed and he was using my body as a pillow, which I didn't mind in the slightest.

"Did I ever tell you about how I want my wedding?"

"I don't think so? I didn't know Peritum had weddings. Run it by me." I set my fingers against his back and scratched lightly, knowing how much he liked it when I did that.

"Well, I don't want something too big, of course. Something that'll completely break tradition. I don't want the entirety of Avionerra to be there. It's going to be small, and held in an open field, right?" He gesticulated by spreading his hands out wide. "And it's going to be dusk when the ceremony starts."

It may have been selfish, but I pictured the scene in my mind, and I saw myself standing on the other side of the altar. I chased the thoughts from my head and kept my eyes on Thomas.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It can be simple and small. That's really all I want."

"Sounds great," I murmured, stroking his back gently.

"It does," he agreed. He let out a deep breath. "I'm going to go to sleep. Good night Alexander."

"Night, Thomas."

"I love you."

It didn't even hit me at first, the fullness of what he said. It seemed so natural that I didn't notice, but when I realized what he had said, I stopped completely.

He opened an eye at me. "You're supposed to say 'I love you too'," he whispered, smiling. He must not have realized what he had said himself.

"I—I love you too, Thomas," I murmured, and the words felt so right leaving my tongue. As if I had been waiting to say that for so long.

His smile was unmatched as he closed his eyes again. The rise and fall of his chest slowed minutes later, leaving me to ponder what had just happened in the candlelight.

A breath escaped my mouth, and I leaned back against the couch, grinning wildly.