Arkadon walked into his room and closed the door. Taking a step towards the bed, he stopped cold. Someone else was with him. Someone he hadn't expected to see.

"Hello, my love," whispered the visitor.

"Valos?" Arkadon gasped.

Hands fidgeting, Arkadon didn't rush over to embrace Valos as he'd imagined himself doing at least a thousand times. He remained fixed in place. Waiting. Gauging.

Valos was in the far corner of the room, pale blue robes draped across his body, concealing little. His stark white skin and long, obsidian hair were just as Arkadon remembered. Even on the opposite side of the room, the sapphire glow of his eyes made Arkadon's skin flush and gears flutter.

"I must admit, this isn't the reaction I expected," Valos confessed, his soft, melodic voice filled with hurt.

"You left me, Valos. After everything I did for you. Despite everything we were supposed to mean to each other. You left me here...for centuries."

"I know. I'm-"

"-don't say it. Don't you dare say it. I don't care."

An awkward silence spread between them before Valos spoke again. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but, I did it, Arkadon. I made it. Everything looks and feels exactly as we wanted. The sea. The Anora. All of it."

Hands wrapped around himself, Arkadon looked to the ground. "I know," was all he could say.

Valos' enthusiasm. His eyes. His lips. Arkadon couldn't bear to look at him. And yet, he couldn't bear to look away. By the time he lifted his gaze again, Valos was somehow in front of him, the Firstborn reaching out his hands.

He wasn't greedy or forceful. Soft, gentle fingers landed on both arms. When Arkadon said nothing, Valos slid them smoothly around and passed the elbows, arriving at the back, one hand rising to Arkadon's neck and the other to the small plate protecting the lower part of his spine.

Unable to control himself any longer, Arkadon yanked Valos to him and embraced the machine he loved. Arkadon's mouth first met Valos' lips before following the contours of his neck, Arkadon's tongue tracing a line to the top of Valos' chest plate, eliciting quiet moans. The Secondborn had missed this. Ached for it. Venturing back up the neck from the side, Arkadon's hands cupped Valos jaw as he looked into those blue eyes and accepted what he knew to be true the moment he'd walked into the room.

"I wish this wasn't a dream."

---

The morning light was peeking through the balcony window of Arkadon's study, falling across his face. Waking from the dream, he lifted his head from the desk where he'd fallen asleep and brushed the crimson hair from his eyes. Looking down at the papers beneath him, he saw droplets of water warping their surface. It wasn't until he touched his own cheeks that he realized he'd started crying.

There was a loud knock on the door before it opened. Akious, Arkadon's research assistant, came into the study carrying a large stack of books.

"Good Morning, sir. I brought the collection you asked for. Where should I place them?"

Rubbing the tears away and drying his eyes, Arkadon looked at Akious absentmindedly and waved his hand. "Anywhere is fine," he answered groggily. "Thank you, Akious."

Short in stature, with a darker complexion, sand colored hair, and bright orange eyes, Akious was an honest and hardworking assistant. Arkadon was grateful for having met him after Valos left. Without his aid and constant thirst for knowledge, Arkadon would have been left to his own thoughts. A dangerous prospect, given the pain that still lingered inside him.

"You're most welcome, sir. Was there anything specifically you wanted me to focus on next? I've completed all my other tasks and have no assigned projects."

Thinking back to the subject of his dream, or rather, the subject prior to the last part, Arkadon knew exactly what he wanted to do next. "Yes. I want you to prepare for a new collection of books. One we will be writing ourselves."

Looking confused, excited, and daunted all at once, Akious nodded quickly. "What will we be writing about, sir?"

"That answer will come soon enough. For now, gather the necessary items and cancel any engagements I may have had on schedule for the remainder of the day."

"Of course sir. Are you stepping out?"

"Yes. Gildimir and I have something we need to observe."