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In Dain’s opinion, the best time to spend with your significant other is a quiet night in reading a book. Which is what he’s doing exactly right now. It was just...nice, spending time together with little physical contact, no words needed to express what they felt, what they were doing together and the gentle mood of the room was enough. Though if he were being truthful, any time he spent with Lief was time best spent.
Sharn had given Lief a book a few days ago to read that she’d finished and wanted to share with him, and Lief wanted to share it with Dain. The two had managed to find a night they could spend together that wasn’t held up by their respective duties, and they were both grateful for the chance. Now, they were leaned against each other by the shoulder, fingers gently laced as they read the book in peaceful silence.
Dain had stopped paying attention part of the way through the book. He didn’t dislike it, but it just wasn’t his taste. Lief appeared to be enjoying it with the way his eyes were lit and a tiny smile painted his face, he was obviously invested. It made Dain happy knowing his fiancè was liking the book.
Occasionally, he would take glances at Lief, admiring his handsome face. He had changed a lot from the sixteen year old boy all those years ago, but even with his maturing features and uneven scruff of a beard coming in, Dain still thought he was just as cute as he was back then.
He wanted to kiss him. Not on the lips, of course, just a small peck on his cheek to not disturb him. Honestly, Dain liked being kissed by his fiancè and giving kisses to him; he would say that he just liked the feeling of it, but maybe he also liked how, to him, they were tiny confirmations that he wasn’t trying to fake his feelings anymore -- that they were 100% real. Telling yourself for so long that you were just faking your emotions to fit in with humans wasn’t easy to get over.
Dain, ever so slowly, leaned to Lief’s face. Unfortunately, Lief seemed to notice his movement, turning to face him. Dain was too close to take it back, and the result of the attempted cheek kiss turned into an awkward half on the mouth kiss. It only lasted for a few seconds before Dain separated from Lief. He could feel the heat of embarrassment rise on his cheeks. “I meant to do that,” he says quietly.
Lief began to chuckle, and Dain knew it wasn’t to make fun of him or his mistake. Gently, he raised the hand laced with Dain’s to cup his face, his face filled with warmth and love. It was a weakness he knew, a way to make Dain almost melt in a puddle as if he was stabbed in his weak spot. He asked softly, “Do you want to try that again, hun?”
Dain nodded. He didn’t mind having his plans changed. Softly, Lief leaned in, placing his lips on the other’s. Dain closed his eyes as he eagerly reciprocated, but tried to keep his cool and not reciprocate too hard. Dain held onto Lief’s hand as the other tenderly rubbed his thumb against his jaw, the book almost entirely forgotten. They stayed like that for a good few minutes, but even if they continued for a day, a year, a hundred years, it wouldn’t have been enough for Dain when Lief inevitably pulled away.
Lief’s smile when he did pull away was as bright as the sun, and it made Dain feel fuzzy inside, like he was falling in love with him all over again. “Did you enjoy that?” Lief asked, gently running some of his fiancè’s loose hair through his fingers.
“Yeah, I did,” Dain replied quietly. “I hadn’t meant to do that, by the way.”
Lief chuckled again, “It’s alright, it was mostly my fault anyway. Just know I enjoyed it, too.”
Dain didn’t know how he could be engaged to someone like Lief, someone who made him feel so human inside.
Lief decided to put the book away for the night, folding in a corner of the page they were on as a bookmark, and the two got into their usual sleeping positions under the covers; Lief behind Dain, spooning him with an arm around his torso. His hand absentmindedly ghosted over the faint scars that marred Dain’s chest through his sleeping shirt -- it was soothing for Dain, as it helped him forget the pain of the memories, even if he didn’t necessarily need it.
Dain grasped his fiancé’s hand, squeezing it softly. In response, Lief nuzzled his hair gently, lightly rubbing his beard scruff against his neck as well. He knew there were many ways to say ‘I love you’, and this was just one of their own.
As he fell asleep, Dain didn’t once doubt that his feelings were real as he thought about how much he loved his king.