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It's Rinwell who insists on it, and none of them have ever really been able to say no to her.
Shionne doesn't remember how they got to the inn. She must have walked, because she is here and she is on her feet, but everything is a blur of adrenaline and disbelief. Her face hurts from smiling. She hasn't let go of Alphen's hand.
With Kisara's dutiful assistance Rinwell is pulling the mattresses off the beds and pushing them together in the middle of the floor. Blankets and bedrolls are added to the pile to create one large sleeping area that is theoretically big enough for all six of them to share.
No sooner has the project been completed than Law is launching himself into the center of it, limbs spread to take up as much space as possible. He rolls onto his back and grins up at Rinwell, earning himself a pillow to the face.
"Move! Shionne gets the middle."
Law grumbles wordlessly and makes a show of rolling off to the side.
It takes some coordination to get everyone into the pile, and some convincing from Kisara before Dohalim will concede to join, but before she knows it Shionne is surrounded on all sides by the people she loves. She expected to be overwhelmed after a lifetime of solitude but whatever affection she is given seeps into her like a plant being watered after a drought, settling into her bones in spaces she never knew were empty.
She still hasn't let go of Alphen's hand.
When Shionne wakes it is to a gentle silence, broken only by the soft breathing of her friends around her. She feels the brush of a hand against her cheek and opens her eyes to see Alphen lying awake beside her, an apologetic smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Sorry," he whispers, voice low and soft, "Didn't mean to wake you up."
Shionne smiles and puts a hand over his, intertwining their fingers. She wonders if being able to touch him will ever not feel like a miracle.
"I don't mind."
They spend a long few moments simply staring at one another, and Shionne thinks she can see the stars in his eyes.
"I love you."
The words seem to flow out of him as easy as breathing. It's not a confession, it's a statement of fact being gently shaped into words. An immutable truth finally given voice.
It's harder for her. The words are foreign on her tongue; she's never needed them before now. They are stilted and cautious but no less true for it.
"I love you, too."
Alphen smiles like a man who has just been gifted the world.