(Hooray to reaching Chapter 300 with me. I’m so happy, haha. I don’t know how you guys are loving this part of the story, but I hope it’s at least making butterflies fly in your belly, hehe. See you in the next 100-milestone)

Alias watched the way Theo’s throat moved as he swallowed, feeling a strange, quiet tug in his own chest that he couldn’t quite define.

​"We’ll have the frame up by tomorrow," Theo said, his voice low and determined. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his blue eyes locking onto Alias’s. "And then, Moon-boy, you’ll have a roof that doesn’t leak dust."

​Alias smiled, a real, intent-filled smile that reached his eyes. "I look forward to it, Theo."

​He didn’t realize that his smile carried a warmth that was entirely new, a light that wasn’t just divine, but deeply personal. He didn’t understand why his heart raced when Theo looked at him like that, or why the idea of a ’home’ with these two mortals felt more important than any celestial balance.

But... he did not hate this feeling.

​As the sun began to set, casting long, golden shadows across the emerald grass, Alias noticed a smudge of darkness on the far horizon.

It looked like a distant sandstorm, a common enough occurrence in the South, yet there was a swirling, unnatural quality to its edges. He watched it for a moment, his silver eyes narrowing. He didn’t know it was born of spite, only that it felt... out of place.

​He stood up, brushing the grass from his tunic, and looked at Theo, who was already reaching for the next log.

​"Theo," Alias said softly. "The wind is shifting."

​Theo looked up, squinting at the horizon. "Just a bit of dust, Alias. Don’t worry. I’ve lived through a thousand storms. This place will be fine."

Alias nodded, accepting Theo’s reassurance as the man returned to his work with a grunt of effort. The smudge on the horizon remained just that—a smudge—and as the minutes passed, the unnatural swirling Alias thought he had seen seemed to settle into the familiar, heavy haze of a standard desert gale.

He took a breath, letting the tension leave his shoulders; perhaps his time away had simply made him jumpy, his senses hyper-attuned to a world that was inherently more chaotic than the one he had left behind.

​Theo, ever the practical laborer, didn’t plan on them sleeping under the stars while the house was being built.

Once the wood was stripped, he began setting up temporary shelters using the coarse, sand-colored linen he had previously traded for to create lean-to tents.

He used smaller branches and stakes driven into the soft, damp soil of the oasis to prop up the fabric, creating a low, sturdy cover against the wind.

These tents were designed to keep the night chill and the encroaching dust at bay while the primary frame of the house was under construction.

​"It’s not much," Theo said, gesturing to the small, peaked tent he had erected for Alias near the water’s edge. "But it’ll keep the sand out of your hair if that storm decides to pay us a visit."

​Maya had already claimed her own spot, dragging her blankets into a smaller tent she had helped set up. She was exhausted from the day’s excitement and the trek, and it wasn’t long before her rhythmic breathing signaled she was fast asleep.

​As the golden light of the sun finally faded into a deep, indigo evening, Alias sat by the entrance of his small tent. The air was cool, smelling of the fresh water and the white flowers he had planted.

Theo walked over, his movements heavy with a day’s worth of manual labor, and sat down on the grass beside him.

​"You okay, Moon-boy?" Theo asked, his voice quiet so as not to wake Maya. "You’ve been staring at that horizon for a long time."

​Alias looked at him, noticing the way the starlight caught the sweat still glistening on Theo’s neck. "I am... content, Theo. I was just thinking about the roof. About how it will feel to be inside a place we built together."

​Theo felt his heart skip a beat, and he swallowed hard, reaching out his calloused hand and finding Alias’s in the dark.

He didn’t say anything, but the squeeze he gave Alias’s fingers was more than enough of an answer.

"Theo," Alias called with a small voice.

"Yes?" Theo answered, his deep voice softer as he gazed into Alias’s curious eyes.

"Are we... sleeping separately?"

Theo’s breath hitched, the sound sharp in the quiet of the oasis. He looked at the two small, separate lean-tos and then back at Alias, whose silver eyes were wide and reflecting the first of the stars.

The question was so simple, so logical in Alias’s mind, yet it sent a surge of heat through Theo that had nothing to do with the desert sun.

​"The tents are small, Alias," Theo managed to say, his voice thick. "I didn’t want to... I didn’t want to crowd you. I thought you’d want your own space after such a long journey."

​Alias tilted his head, his fingers still interlaced with Theo’s. "But it was warmer when we were together. In the dark, when the wind blows, the world feels very large. When you are close, it feels... manageable."

​As he spoke, Alias inched closer, his shoulder eventually brushing against Theo’s. He didn’t understand the ’rules’ of distance; he only knew that the magnetic pull toward this man was stronger than anything else he had ever felt.

He leaned in further, his scent—that intoxicating mix of cool rain and white flowers—filling Theo’s senses.

​Theo’s heart was pounding so hard he was sure Alias could feel it through their joined hands. He looked over his shoulder, checking the small tent where Maya lay.

Her breathing was deep and rhythmic, undisturbed by the soft murmurs of the night.

​He turned back to Alias. The silver-haired man was looking at him with a curious, expectant intensity, his lips slightly parted as he watched Theo’s every move.

Theo felt his resolve crack. The temptation before him, despite how hard he had tried to control himself, was just too sweet to ignore.

He reached up, his large, calloused hand trembling slightly as he wove his fingers through the silken strands of Alias’s hair. It felt like cool moonlight against his skin.

​"You have no idea what you do to me, do you?" Theo whispered, his gaze dropping to Alias’s mouth.

​Alias didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He just watched Theo’s face descend, his own eyes fluttering shut by instinct.

​When Theo’s lips finally met his, it wasn’t the chaste kiss on the head from that day ten years ago, or the instinctive kiss on Theo’s chin that morning.

It was deep, lingering, and heavy with ten years of unspoken grief and newfound hope. It was a seal—a promise that the ghost had truly become flesh.

Alias let out a soft, surprised hum against Theo’s mouth, his hands clutching the front of Theo’s rough tunic as he leaned into the solid, overwhelming warmth of the man who had become his entire universe.

Sweet.

That one word played in both their minds as they kissed each other’s lips slowly, as if savoring the taste.

​Theo finally pulled back just a fraction, his forehead resting against Alias’s. "We aren’t sleeping separately," he said, his thumb brushing against Alias’s flushed cheek. "That is... if you’ll allow it."