“Leon? How would you like to just walk in the park for a while?” Klein peered up at me hopefully. “We’ve shopped quite a bit already.”

After a pause, I nodded. There were still a few things I wished to pick out – my, the choice of scarves so far had been dreadful! – but as soon as I looked into Klein’s beautiful magenta eyes, I found myself unable to say no.

As we walked along the park’s dirt path, Klein spoke. “It’s lovely in this world, isn’t it? No war, no stress, and no pressure.”

I watched him quietly. Clearly, there was more to it than this, and it was weighing quite heavily on him.

“I always fell short back home,” Klein continued. “My caliber is simply not as high as my parents’, and I see that plainly. And here…I fear something similar might be occurring.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Are you afraid your contributions to this world would yet again be compared to someone you think you fall short to? You’re very skilled and extremely talented, so I’m sure you’ll be recognized for that.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Klein looked me in the eyes, searching my face. “What about you? Will I always fall short to Valbar in your eyes?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but my voice caught in my throat. Klein, taking my silence for confirmation, lowered his eyes and sped up a little, walking ahead. Shaking my head to clear it, I matched his speed and pulled him into my arms. Startled, Klein peeked up at me.

“Do you know why I chose to stay with you?”

“Why?”

“Because while I will always wish and try my best to have Valbar be here with me, and he will always be a very dear friend to me, I love you as well, and not one bit less,” I stroked the ring on his finger and gazed at him softly. “When we exchanged these rings, we made a promise, that our bond, stronger than the toughest material in the universe, would last forever. That we will never leave the other’s side. And I meant it, mind, heart, and soul. And not once did I ever regret my decision.”

As he watched me, Klein wiped his eyes and stole a quick kiss. “I meant it too. That’s why I chose to stay with you. And I never regretted it either. …Thank you, for letting me know how you feel. That…makes me feel a lot better.”

I smiled and kissed his hair. “Let’s go sit on the bench and watch the sunset.”

Klein nodded, and we walked toward it, hand in hand. I sneaked glances at him. He’s so beautiful, sometimes I feel nearly captivated. Who would have thought that I would find someone who would love me back the same way I loved them? This really is like a dream.

Neither of us knows much what wonders this world holds. But as long as I discover them with Klein, I know in my heart that we’ll both be fine.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



My piece in the Heroes of Today fanzine! You can get the zine here gumroad.com/l/HoTzine ! There's plenty of amazing artwork in there!