Chapter Text
The golden eyed boy had faced almost every harmful construction on his way to becoming a man. As a child, the long hair that fell in his eyes had only been shorn once his mother learned his true name. The dresses that fell to his knees were bestowed upon his younger sister, still jubilant and brave for however little of her own youth. The hair that graced his chin was allowed to find its place in his vigilant face.
The spirits were not there to guide him, then. It was disheartening for them to invest so strongly in youth that inevitably grew up to commit horrors beyond even those of their ancestors. They turned a blind eye, filled with shame as he learned and combatted his weaknesses and his own emotions.
The burn that scarred his young skin carried shame of its own, and it took him years to escape its weight, struggling like an animal under a heavy woolen blanket. Perfection was never attainable for him, yet he found it anyway. He did not find it with his father, but he found it with a boy whose internal fire burned nearly greater than his external fire was able to.
He found perfection in his eyes as the child of the moon worshipped them, liquid gold meant to represent the hidden treasures of humanity. As if they were the richest topaz plucked from the heart of the earth itself. He found perfection in his heart once he realized it was his own invention, not one that adversity could remold. He learned that adversity could create a spark, conditions that he was able to take into his own hands and nurture to change his perceptions and overcome the tests he faced. He weathered storms in the world as often as he weathered those inside of him, but he found his home as a phoenix that rose continuously from ash.
The painted lady was proudest of him for finding and reclaiming his heart, his name, his identity, his heritage. Everything that made him up was reimagined in his own image, and that made him worthy of her admiration. He bent the sun to his will, and it enveloped him in love and light so pure that even the monks were mystified. This would not have been possible without the external support of his found family, but it was due in no small part to his own commitment. He had a beautiful boy to love that showed him how to love himself before they even understood their feelings for each other. Loving didn’t come naturally or easily at all times, but the process of bonding deeply within a soul is not done lightly or without intention. The two of them worked carefully to learn each other.