out in the dark, wrapped up in the stars; NEVI, ISLE (and MAGNUS if he wants)

[Lieschel]

She was quiet as she moved along next to him. There was a soft smile on her lips as she listened to him make plans for their baby. They were both hoping that there was one, both beyond excited for what the future would hold for them. She was sure that he was the more excited one at this moment. She wasn’t sure if it had taken, if their love had been successful. But she was hopeful.

She was content to listen to his plans and dreams, listen to the way that he spoke about the baby, the possibility of one. It made her heart feel so full it was going to burst. Her lips found the nape of his neck as they walked, pressing a soft kiss there and leaning gently into him until their bodies brushed against each other as they moved.

While she listened to him, she was also a bit preoccupied with their journey to the Island. Isle was going to be there and it made her a bit nervous. The last time she had been around her adoptive parents, Offspring had thought that them being together had been wrong. They had been adopted, so they were family. But that was not how she looked at it. They were family, absolutely, but they were not blood.

Honestly the whole thing confused her, and now she was terrified that Isle would think the same way. That she was going to force her Nevi to choose between her and his family. Something that she had always been worried about. His family had been his and he loved them. Then she had come along and tarnished some of it. She loved him and had he ever wanted to return to them, she would have followed.

The tangles of worry and anxiety in her stomach twisted even as she listened to the happiness of Nevi next to her. Her lips finding the curve of his cheek, reassuring herself. “I love you.” She says, pressing another soft kiss to his cheek, the corner of his lips with a smile that almost falters the moment she sees her. Isle, their mom, the lady that had raised them both. That she felt like she had disappointed the moment her heart had fallen for Nevi. She hesitates only a second, letting Nevi step forwards first to greet her.

[Neverwas]

The world was so different than Nevi had expected, and so much bigger. Out in the wide world where they’d been wandering, it hadn’t mattered that he and his Lee had been brought into the same family, had shared a mom and a dad, even if not by blood. All that had mattered was the love between them, and the memories they’d made traveling together.

Now the lost boy he’d once been felt found, and maybe it was time to make his way home again. Settle in, the two of them and hopefully a third, and if that maybe third didn’t put a dopey smile on his face, he didn’t know what ever could.

Nevi had never been much of a talker, really, but he snuggled his Lee as they walked, brushing his lips against her cheek, his side touching hers as they made their way through a land that had made itself unfamiliar in their absence. As it seemed wont to do, writing and rewriting itself built into the very fabric of the world. He didn’t really recognize anything anymore, had no idea where to even begin to look for his angel, their mom.

The twinkling lights of an island beckoned though, and the sounds of a party were inviting enough that even he couldn’t resist, though he’d never been much for crowds. They could at least ask around, see if anyone knew the name Isle, or more likely Offspring would be the one that made eyes light up with recognition. He always had been good like that.

They wandered for a little while, strolling across a bridge that seemed to be made of interwoven threads of darkness and light that shouldn’t have been able to hold their weight and yet somehow managed it. He asked around, surprised by the blank stares that met his questions; no one seemed to know Offspring, which was thoroughly unexpected. He was about ready to give up when Lee snuck a couple of kisses and then faltered beside him.

“Baby?” he asked, turning to look at her, to brush his lips against the curve of her neck. Did she need to find a place to settle for the night? They’d done a lot of traveling lately, after all, maybe she needed some quiet time curled up together in the dark. But her eyes were wide, shaded with a hint of wariness he wasn’t accustomed to seeing in her anymore. And they weren’t focused on him.

He followed her gaze, and when he saw her, his own eyes widened, his mouth slowly curving into a smile that radiated love. Ohhh! His angel. “Mom!” he exclaimed, the rest of the world falling away until it was just the three of them left. He brushed a soft kiss to Lee’s cheek and raced off toward Isle, wrapped himself around her in a hug like it hadn’t been years, like they hadn’t become completely different people since the last time he’d looked into her angel eyes. He pulled her in close and held on tight, almost shaking as he murmured, “I missed you so much.”

image copyright Martin Stranka