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Meveris could hardly breathe when Zaryen made him that promise, with such conviction in his eyes that it was as if he was daring the universe to doubt it.
There was no doubt in Meveris”s heart, though.
They were both going to take care of each other.
Mine. Yours.
As he dropped his forehead back against Zaryen”s, he closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together but starting to doubt it could ever happen.
Taveris had warned him that everything was heightened at this stage, every emotion and every urge amplified. And maybe that was true. But this, right there, also felt true—the depth of it all was overwhelming, yes, but it didn”t seem exaggerated or false in any way.
They stayed like that for a while longer, kissing and running their hands all over each other”s bodies.
Since every new companion pair had uninterrupted alone time until the day after the searching ceremony, they knew they could do whatever they wanted. The food would be delivered to their door later on, but other than that, it was just the two of them.
And that left them spoiled for choice, as far as Meveris was concerned, because he had a seemingly never-ending list of things he wanted to do with Zaryen—and to him, too.
A shower first was a must, however, so they finally left the bed, even though Meveris did not like the idea of washing his scent off of his companion”s body. In a month, after the bonding ceremony, their scents would mingle and blend, forever becoming a part of the other person, but they weren”t there yet.
”Am I boring you so soon?” Zaryen tossed him a look over his shoulder from where he was turning the shower on.
It was only a tease, a light joke accompanied by an already-familiar glint in Zaryen”s eyes, but Meveris still couldn”t let it stand.
He crowded Zaryen against the wall, grateful for the spacious shower despite there being a big bathtub next to it. He slotted a thigh between his companion”s legs and watched his eyes flutter close as he tilted his head back.
”I don”t think you could bore me if you tried.”
”I came twice already,” Zaryen muttered, sounding more amused than put out. ”How”s it that you can make me go again, just like that?”
Neither of them was hard yet, so it was a slight exaggeration, but Meveris would definitely get there quickly if they continued to grind against each other.
He dropped a kiss on Zaryen”s neck, then another one, lower, before taking a step back and grabbing the soap.
”How about we get clean and then see what happens?” he suggested, and Zaryen smiled with a happy hum.
Showering took a lot longer when one wanted not to simply wash someone but also explore every part of him thoroughly, but once they realized their movements got slower and slower as the time went on, they dried themselves off and moved to the bed.
When Meveris curled against Zaryen”s back, it was as if they”d been doing this for months, or even years, easily slotting themselves in preferred positions to fall asleep.
They didn”t nap for long, but once awake, Meveris felt refreshed and energized, although not ready to pull away from his companion yet. After some rearranging, they ended up with Zaryen lying sideways on the bed, his head resting on Meveris”s stomach so that they could see each other as they talked. Sidestepping the topic of family and any other baggage, they focused on things like their favorite ways to spend their time, favorite food, and what they were most looking forward to studying at the Academy. It was easy and fun, which felt especially important after the tension of the morning. It also made Meveris realize that Zaryen was the first person aside from his twin brother with whom he could talk the day away but also as easily lie there in silence, doing nothing.
What a gift, he thought for about twentieth time today, running his hand through his companion”s hair. It was short and curly, and he enjoyed the silky soft feel of it as he brushed the strands off of Zaryen”s face and watched it bounce back, the curls tangling with each other. They”d been slicked back before, but after sex and then the shower, they were now clear of any product, and Meveris liked that even better—although possibly because of the accompanying soft, happy smile on Zaryen”s face, with his eyes crinkling at the corners as it widened into a grin.
Sporadically, when Meveris tugged at his hair a bit harder, Zaryen”s eyelids dropped and his scent turned sharper for a second, which was definitely worthy of exploring someday soon. For now, however, Meveris was happy to lie back and do nothing but this.
It was the first day of the rest of their lives, after all.
They had time to do anything and everything their hearts desired.
* * *
Once they”d eaten dinner, Meveris figured it would be nice to unpack and settle in. When he suggested it out loud, however, Zaryen scrunched his nose.
”You don”t have to,” Meveris offered, but his companion still rolled out of bed after him.
”No, you”re right, it will be nice to make ourselves at home. I was simply feeling lazy, that”s all.”
Meveris hesitated as he glanced at Zaryen”s three pieces of luggage.
”Would you have someone to do this for you, back at home?” he asked. Since all the humans at the Academy came from noble families, the dragons were warned that it might be quite an adjustment for their companions to handle everything themselves and be expected to work hard. Taveris had mentioned it as well, although he said that it was rarer than he”d first thought, after hearing similar warning himself.
Zaryen gnawed his teeth over his lower lip, momentarily distracting Meveris, but then he shrugged.
”Not all of it, but yeah, I”d have help,” he admitted. ”Don”t worry, though, I can handle it on my own. But first, I guess we should split the available space?” He motioned between all their stuff. ”This is more than will fit in the closet and the dresser we have.”
”Well, there”s another set of those in our other room.” Meveris tilted his head towards the door to the bathroom that led to said room. ”How about we unpack the most important and most used things here and store the rest over there?”
Dropping his shoulders in obvious relief, Zaryen nodded. ”Good idea.”
”It doesn”t have to be half and half here, either, since you have more stuff,” Meveris added. ”But I”d like at least a third of the space.”
”Sure, of course. That”s more than fair. I might have overpacked, but I didn”t…” Zaryen frowned before lowering his gaze. ”I figured I needed to prepare for any eventuality.”
At first Meveris thought he meant the weather conditions—which didn”t fluctuate around here much, really—but then it hit him.
”Any eventuality” included never getting to go back home again.
Hook.
What could Meveris possibly say to that? He struggled to imagine how parents could make their child fear being exiled from their own home, their own family. Even though Zaryen had told the headmaster he expected to be disowned, it was still a foreign concept for Meveris. He”d known, in theory, that not everyone”s home life looked like his and that Teraneans could be cruelly prejudiced, but there was knowing it, and there was sensing it through the companion connection like right now.
Before he could come up with a proper response, Zaryen pushed his suitcase towards the open closet and went to work.
”How about you tell me about your family?” he asked with his back to Meveris. ”Did any of them come for the searching ceremony aside from Taveris?”
Having assumed they”d leave that topic for some later time, Meveris was thrown at first, but then he realized that his family couldn”t be pushed aside for much longer anyway, for obvious reasons.
”I actually came here with my twin brother, Lanveris, who attended the searching ceremony as well but didn”t find his companion. I”m sure we”ll be seeing him a lot. And there”s Taveris, of course, he”ll be around. Paeveris, our oldest brother, had come, too, but he”s already left. However, he”ll be back for the bonding ceremony, along with my parents and my sisters, so you”ll get to meet them all.”
Zaryen nodded, but he still didn”t turn around.
”How many siblings do you have?” he asked as he placed his robes on the hanger.
”Five, three brothers and two sisters.” Meveris opened the top drawer of the dresser to put his shirts there. ”Paeveris had attended the Academy and is now living with his companion back in Paryada, close to our family home, to our parents” relief. My sisters are both librarians and researchers, so they travel around a lot, and Mom and Dad were complaining about an empty lair even while me and Lanveris were still living at home.” He hesitated briefly, but then decided to just go for it. ”And what about you? How many siblings do you have?”
Zaryen paused with another set of his robes in his hands.
”Four, one brother and three sisters, all older than I am. My brother is the heir and handles various duties around the estate along with my parents. Two of my sisters are married and living with their husbands” families not far from home, and the third one is starting School of Health and Healing as we speak. My parents are escorting her there, which takes a while, since it”s located in the Northwest region of Teranea. It”s how I could…” He swallowed hard. ”I used that time to arrange everything. With them gone and my brother busy, I was able to hide the necessary correspondence and everything else.”
Meveris dropped his underwear next to his shirts, the knot of tension settling in his stomach.
”That must have been stressful, sneaking around like that.”
As silence stretched too long to be comfortable, Meveris itched to go to his companion, to comfort him. But at the same time, this seemed like the only way they could have this conversation, and he felt they needed to have it, now that it had started.
He needed to know what his companion was dealing with, so that he knew how to protect him best. As the youngest, Meveris had never been the protector, the caretaker, but he was going to be that, for Zaryen.
He was going to be his safe space and his family.
”No more stressful than being stuck there, unable to do what I wanted,” Zaryen finally said, voice quiet and subdued. ”I was actually eligible to come to the Academy in the previous cycle, but my parents refused to even entertain the idea, despite the fact that they”d already agreed to it, years ago. I have wanted to come here since I was thirteen years old, and my desire only grew as…” He shook his head. ”Anyway, they were all for it before last year. Before Caleen made his announcement.”
The stab of pain hit Meveris in the chest, making him close his eyes briefly. Caleen had picked that fight a mere day after Taveris”s death—presumed death, although they hadn”t known that at the time. What followed were the two most painful months of Meveris”s life, and the echo of that still lingered inside him.
”What”s wrong?” Zaryen asked, then cursed under his breath and dropped whatever he was holding to cross the room and put his hands on both sides of Meveris”s neck, guiding him to face him. ”I”m sorry. I wasn”t thinking.”
”It”s okay”was there at the tip of Meveris”s tongue, but he swallowed it down and instead circled his arms around his companion”s waist and pulled him closer into a hug.
It wasn”t okay—neither what had been done to Meveris”s family, nor what Zaryen had faced with his.
But at least they were both here, now. Together and at the beginning of their path, which spread out in front of them as if all the dreams he”d ever had coalesced into one.
”I”m sorry, too,” he said against the side of Zaryen”s head. ”I”m sorry you had to go against them to come here.”
Zaryen, who hid his face in the crook of Meveris”s neck, swallowed hard.
”It was worth it,” he whispered after a moment. ”It was all worth it.”
Meveris closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, their mingled scents already so soothing to his senses.
This, right here, was worth everything.