As the sun dipped below the horizon and the slums began to settle into a wary, flickering darkness, they began their move.

Theo worked silently, loading the cart he had traded the silk for. Maya helped, her movements quick and nervous, while Alias guided them toward the outskirts of the district.

Every time they passed a flickering torch or a group of late-night scavengers, Theo would move just a bit closer to Alias, his shadow looming large and protective over him.

Alias appreciated it because his hair, even in the dark, had a certain glow to it that made him easy to spot. It would be bad if they caught too much attention because of him.

Soon, they reached the edge of the desert where the city’s refuse gave way to the endless, shifting dunes of sand.

"From here," Alias whispered, pointing toward a direction that looked like nothing but empty sand to anyone else. "We follow the alignment of the stars.

Theo and Maya looked at where he was pointing, and then up at the stars. They couldn’t understand it even if they tried, so they gave up.

"Well, just lead the way, Moon-boy," Theo said, gripping the leads of the pack animals.

They walked for hours. The sand was cool underfoot, and the wind, which usually carried the sting of heat even at night, felt oddly refreshing.

Maya eventually grew tired, and Theo lifted her into the back of the cart, tucking a blanket around her as she drifted off to the gentle rocking of the cart.

He brushed her hair with his hand, staring at his sister, his world...

​Alias walked at the front, his silver hair catching the starlight. He wasn’t looking at the ground; he was feeling the ley lines he had woven into the earth, the ones that only he could feel. And he was following the scent of the water he had placed there.

​"You’re quiet," Theo said, stepping up to walk beside him. "Regretting taking a thief and a brat with you?"

​"No," Alias replied instantly, looking up at Theo. "I was just thinking."

"About?" He raised a brow, and Alias looked at him for a second. There was no uncertainty in his gaze, even as he was following Alias to an unknown destination.

Alias looked down.

"About the ’hunch’ you mentioned. If you had not trusted me ten years ago... I think the world would have remained very dark for me. I’d have been trapped in Oblivion."

Even if it was a world he built with his own hands.

​Theo stopped walking for a second, causing the animals to huff in protest. He looked at Alias, his blue eyes intense in the moonlight.

"It wouldn’t have stayed dark. Someone like you... You carry the light with you, Alias. I just happened to be the lucky one who caught a glimpse of it first." He said. "If it hadn’t been me, someone else would’ve caught your light and I... I would’ve stayed in my own darkness."

​He reached out, his hand brushing against Alias’s arm—a brief, grounding touch—before he urged the animals forward again.

Alias stared at him, his silver eyes glinting like the stars above their heads. "Theo," he whispered, but had nothing to say.

He just... wanted to call the name. He felt closer to this man when he did.

They kept walking, but paused after a while, close to a sand dune, resting. They needed to sleep as well. And just like the previous night, Theo wrapped, not just one hand, but both arms around Alias to keep him warm and safe.

Alias did not mind. If anything, he felt comfort in the arms of this man, and his heart beat in ways he still could not define

Just as the first hint of dawn began to gray the horizon, Alias felt the world shift. The air, which usually turned sharp and biting right before the sun rose, instead carried a soft, humid weight. It was the breath of the water he had tucked into the earth, calling out to its maker.

​Theo stirred behind him. His arms, which had been locked securely around Alias’s waist all night, tightened for a brief second in a lingering, sleepy possessiveness before he finally let out a long, heavy exhale. He pressed his face into the crook of Alias’s neck, his morning stubble grazing the pale skin there, before he pulled back to look at the sky.

​"Time to move?" Theo rasped, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that sent a familiar shiver down Alias’s spine.

​"Yes," Alias whispered, his face still flushed from the lingering warmth of the man’s embrace. "We are very close."

But Theoe did not let go yet. He buried himself there and whispered into Alias’s skin.

"Five more minutes, okay?"

Alias felt his skin tingle, and his face grew pink. "A-alright." He whispered.

It wouldn’t be bad to stay like this for a few more minutes. The oasis nearby would not disappear just because he spent a few minutes in the arms of this man.

​After a while, Theo lifted his body, sitting up, and then he looked at Alias, whose ears were flushed.

He reached towards him, brushing his ear with his thumb, and Alias flinched, looking over his shoulder at him.

"What... are you doing?" He asked, his voice coming out in whispers as if he was scared he would wake Maya if he talked in his normal tone.

Theo did not respond right away. He stared at Alias, the light in his silver eyes, the light in his hair, and the light on his skin.

Then, like a man who usually kissed his lover good morning, he leaned in, but he stopped halfway, reminding himself that he would be crossing a line there. So he pulled back.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, though his heart was pounding in his chest.

Alias looked at his chest. He could hear it. This man’s heart. But he looked up at Theo’s face. He smiled like there was nothing strange despite how his heart was pounding.

"What is it?" Theo asked. "Do I have sand in my face?"

Alias shook his head, but he came closer, dropping his hands on Theos on the sand as he pulled his body upward to kiss his chin. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Theo’s breath got caught, taken aback by this sudden action. Why did... Alias kiss his chin?