Before Cassian could even sit up, a sudden, metallic *CLANG* echoed through the heavy silence of the chamber.
A tall figure had instantly emerged through the doors and Cassian froze, his breath catching in his throat.
Fifteen years had passed, and the passage of time was evident on the legendary Silver Knight. Broad shoulders, a faint streak of silver at his temples, and a sharp, battle-hardened jawline only made him look more formidable. His dark eyes, which had remained a little hollow for fifteen long years, were fixed on the bed.
Lucien stared in absolute, stunned disbelief as Cassian slowly pushed himself up from the furs. Now he was able to move and shift even just a little his black hair cascading down his back and his crimson eyes glowing softly in the firelight.
He was awake.
"Lucien..."
Cassian whispered, his voice trembling with raw emotion as he spread his arms wide apart.
"I'm home. Won't you welcome me back?"
Lucien didn't speak. He took a slow, agonizingly hesitant step forward, as if afraid that touching the air would shatter a dream he had held onto for fifteen years.
"Cassian...?"
Lucien rasped, his voice breaking as tears immediately welled in his eyes.
"Is it–... is it really you?"
"Yes."
Lucien closed the remaining distance between them in two heavy, frantic strides.
He lunged into Cassian with force as he wrapped him into his arms.
"My love, you are really here!,"
Lucien choked out, a ragged sob tearing from his chest as he buried his face into the crook of Cassian's neck, wrapping his arms around his waist so tightly it felt as though he meant to merge their bodies together.
"You're breathing. gods above... you're actually breathing..."
Cassian wrapped his arms securely around Lucien's neck, burying his fingers in the knight's hair faintly chuckling. His worries dissolved in an instant, replaced by the crushing weight of Lucien's unconditional warmth.
"I'm sorry," Cassian whispered against Lucien's ear, his own tears falling freely now.
"I'm so sorry I made you wait so long."
"Fifteen years, Cassian,"
Lucien rasped, pulling back just enough to look into Cassian's crimson eyes, his thumb gently tracing the prince's cheekbone.
"I am only glad that you kept your promise and returned to us. The years that passed no longer matter, right now we have to look forward at the years ahead of us and grow old together."
"I know,"
Cassian murmured softly, leaning his forehead against Lucien's.
"And thank you for waiting."
Cassian places a peck on his forehead before hugging again.
["Now isn't it's it the best time to come clean about Ruby and your son and what you have been doing with the elf behind his back?"]
'Why are you always trying to ruin the mood?,'
["But..."]
'Just shut up!'
Lucien pulled Cassian into a fierce, breathless kiss—a slow, deep collision of fifteen years of bottled grief, longing, and absolute devotion. It was no longer the desperate, bitter kiss of the day they parted, but a sacred, quiet reclamation.
And it was everything they needed.
*****