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Yusuf was waiting impatiently outside the door for Nicolò. They had only been travelling together for less than a year and were still trying to figure it all out, and one of the things that sometimes irritated Yusuf was that Nicolò seemed to have all the time in the world.
"Nicolò!!" Yusuf said as he pounded on the door. "Could you please hurry? I would really like to have breakfast before we continue on."
Nicolò had disappeared into the inn's bathroom while Yusuf was doing his Fajr.
"Then eat," Nicolò replied behind the door. "I'll be down soon."
Yusuf rolled his eyes before going downstairs. He was on his third portion of porridge when Nicolò sat down at the table with some figs.
"Yusuf," Nicolò said. "You're staring. Do I have something on my face?"
Yusuf was indeed staring. This was the first time Yusuf had seen Nicolò without a beard and short hair.
"Sorry," Yusuf replied. "Why did you shave?"
"Because of the sand," Nicolò replied. "You were right. Sand gets in everywhere, and I thought that without a beard..."
Yusuf didn't hear the rest. He was cursing at himself for not seeing the beauty Nicolò were before now and for thinking that Nicolò was ugly as hell under all the hair that had covered his face. And suddenly, he felt inspired like never before - he could see all the art and poetry he could create in the future based on Nicolò's beauty.