I set the letter down, then look over at Aiden. He’s turned away from me, his palms pressed flat on the countertop, his head dropped down. I touch a fingertip to the letter, warmth spreading through my body in a sweet, bright wave.

I close my eyes for a moment. Thank you, Ariana.

I go to Aiden, then slide my hands around his waist. Hug him gently, leaning my cheek on his back.

“Not such a bad letter after all, hmm, Heliomancer?”

Aiden makes a ragged little noise.

“No. Not so bad after all.”

His voice cracks on the last word, and he puts a hand over his face.

Smiling to myself, I tighten my arms around him. We stand there in silence for a long time, until Aiden turns. I let him go, but he gathers me back into his arms right away. He holds me close against him, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“Are you doing that on purpose?” I ask, watching the magic fireflies.

They’re much brighter than usual, sparkling and glinting like tiny golden stars. Gilding us both with their light.

Aiden nods. “Mhm.”

“Showing off?” I tease.

“No,” he says, his arms still firmly folded around me. “Just - following Ariana’s instructions.”

I realize what he means before I have to ask. When you find the love that lasts, hold it close, and let it bask in your light.

My cheeks turn red, and my heart trips wildly over itself.

Aiden, I already have been, I almost say. All this time.

But he’s already got a lot to think about, so I snuggle even closer, and don’t say a word.

~~~~

I make two cups of chamomile, gather up Aiden’s comforter, and step out onto the porch.

Aiden is sitting in the dark, on the stairs. It’s cold, and I can’t even guess what time it is, but I sit down at his side, offer him one of the mugs. He takes it, then leans back so I can spread the blanket over our knees.

Aiden wraps an arm around me, and I nestle into him. Our breaths are fogging on the air, and neither of us brought our jackets, but - as always, with him, I'm toasty warm.

There’s something about the way it feels to step out of the cold and into Aiden’s arms. It makes me think of winter nights when I was a little kid.

Kasey and I would spend all day hurling snowballs, racing each other, printing the snow with our scrambled footsteps. When it got dark, we would come back to my house and go to the kitchen. My mom would always have the fireplace going, and my dad would sit by it with his feet up, watching the sparks. Most nights there would be visiting family, friends, or neighbors. They would all sit in a circle, talk and laugh.

Kasey and I would sit on the rug with cups of cider or hot chocolate, half-listening, drowsy from running around for hours, even drowsier for the heat of the fireplace against our backs.

That’s what cozying up with Aiden feels like. It brings me that same sense of comfort, security. And, of course, warmth.

I think it’s because to me, Aiden feels like home.

I let out a quiet sigh, rest my head on his shoulder. The night is unclouded and starry. We gaze up at it together, our mugs throwing off chamomile-scented steam.

“Why do I even bother going to the gym?” Aiden suddenly asks.

I turn to look at him, confused. “What?”

“Spend so much time lifting weights,” he explains, “And yet this is the second time in one month that I’ve been knocked on my ass by a piece of paper.”

I laugh, and Aiden smiles.

“It means a lot, to hear it from you, and my aunt. That you’re-” He struggles for a second. “Proud of me. But - to hear it from her...”

“Hey, I understand. It’s different.” I sit back, so I can see him. “Especially because - you look up to her, don’t you? Ariana.”

“Yeah, I do.” Aiden traces his thumb along the rim of his mug. “She gave me way too much credit, though, I can’t even do-”

“Nope,” I interrupt. “No, she didn’t.”

“But-”

“Nope,” I say again, very firmly. “No.”

He makes an exasperated face. “Jamie.”

I match his expression, then try to make my voice equally stern. “Aiden.”

Aiden glares at me, then gives up and smiles. He breathes out a soft laugh, taking a sip of his tea.

He stares out into the darkness, and I can tell that his thoughts are already back to the letter.

“Can’t even begin to figure out how to say…” he murmurs, “What it means to - to know...”

He fades off.

“You don’t have to.” I kiss his shoulder. “I understand.”

Another silence passes, and Aiden sets his mug aside. A strange look comes over his face, dimming his smile until it disappears.

“This…” His blue eyes are suddenly wide and anxious. “This is too many good things in a row. What’s going to happen?” He grabs my hand with startling speed, his grip almost painfully tight around my fingers. “Someone’s going to take you away from me, or me away from you, or-”

“Aiden.” I put my forehead against his, then prise my fingers free and touch them to his cheek. “Didn’t Ariana say to believe in lasting joy?”

He shakes his head, moving mine with it. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“I think you’ve just gotta… let yourself enjoy the good moments, and know that when there are bad ones, we’ll be together, and we can handle it. Nothing and no one is taking me away from you, or vice versa. Okay?”

Aiden lifts a hand and smooths it down the side of my face. “You promise?”

“Yes.” I dip my head, push a soft kiss onto his mouth. “I promise.”

Aiden takes a deep breath. He gently turns me, so that my back is against his chest. He curls his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder.

Locked in Aiden’s arms, I find myself thinking of Ariana’s letter.

Keep ever in sight that which shines truest in your heart.

I have no doubts about what shines truest in mine.

~~~~

It’s much easier to hang out at Raj and Melanie’s house now that they have furniture. They bought a gigantic, comfy, brown-leather couch. It’s got a lot of space, which is nice, but which also means that I have to lean pretty far to slap Noah’s arm.

“Dude!” I shout, as his character sprints ahead of mine on the TV. “Don’t go in without me, I need to reload before we-”

“I’ve got this, man, I’m making a bold move!”

“No, Noah, goddamnit-!”

I break off as, on the screen, Noah gets sniped in the head. His character crumples to the ground, while mine is still sitting there arms-deep in an ammo box.

A bleeding headstone pops up on the screen. Very slowly, I set my controller down, turn, and face Noah.

He bursts into laughter the minute he sees my expression.

“Oh, my god, bro, relax, it’s not-”

“Playing with you is agony, man,” I tell him. “I hope I’m never actually in a real life-or-death situation with you on my team.”

“Okay,” he scoffs, gesturing to the TV. “If we’re ever real-life cowboys, and I get sniped to death by a railroad company thug, you have full permission to say I told you so.”

“Don’t think I won’t!”

“Where’s Aiden?” Noah asks, taking a sip of his energy drink. “He would understand that sometimes, you just gotta-”

“Get sniped in the face?” I roll my eyes. “He’s taking a day to be on his own, and he’s going to see his aunt. There’s something he wants to show her. It’s all good, though, I’m not even sure he’d want to play. Aiden is, um. Not super good at video games.”

Noah grins widely. “That’s so cute.”

“What is?”

“That you guys have so much in common,” he says, then chuckles when I scowl.

“Okay, you know what?” I seize a pillow, then start crawling down the length of the couch.

“What are you doing, Jamie? Are we having a pillow fight? Should I arm myself?”

“Nope,” I answer, getting closer. “No fight. I’m straight up gonna smother you.”

“What?” Noah laughs, and then, as I lift the pillow to his face, “Bro!”

“Sorry, have to do it.” I sink the pillow onto his face, and he slides down on the couch, struggling. “I’ve had enough.”

“Get off of me, you bastard!” Noah yells, his voice muted by the pillow. “I’ll kill you right back!”

Melanie chooses this unfortunate moment to step into the living room.

“Oh, Melanie,” I say, as Noah slaps wildly at my hands. “Hey, how’s it going?”

She pauses before the couch, taking in the situation.

“Mel!” Noah gasps. “Save me!”

Melanie holds out a hand for the pillow. “Jamie. Give it here.”

I sigh deeply, then hand it over. Melanie comes over to the couch, then presses the pillow over Noah’s face again.

“I’ll do it myself,” she says grimly, and I burst out laughing.

Noah squirms himself free, panting and indignant.

“Damn! I’ve gotta sleep with one eye open in this house!” He shoots me a rueful look. “Shit, Jamie! It’s not my fault that you’re literally cheeks at this game-”

“Melanie, gimme back the pillow real quick?”

She giggles, but then winces.

“Hey, you need anything?” Noah asks, sitting up.

Melanie nods, clearing her throat. “Maybe some water?”

Noah starts to get up, but I wave a hand at him. “I’ve got it.”

I cross to the kitchen. Noah moves over on the couch, and Melanie sinks down next to him, her eyelids fluttering.

“You alright?” he says, more softly.

“I’m okay,” she sighs. “I’ve just been feeling so - slow, and exhausted. This baby is officially too big for me to be carrying it around like this.”

“Well, not for much longer, right?” Noah asks, rubbing his elbow.

“True,” Melanie agrees. “In the meantime, I’m gonna take a nap.”

“You want me to help you get upstairs?”

Melanie shakes her head.

“Mmm, no, Raj isn’t back yet, and I don’t want to be alone. You guys mind if I stay?”

“Of course not,” Noah says, and Melanie smiles sleepily.

I come back to the couch just in time to see Melanie pull her legs up and lay down. She rolls onto her side, and - rests her head in Noah’s lap. Her long braid tumbles down over his knees.

Noah freezes. His grey eyes flit up to me, then quickly back down to her.

Melanie’s eyes are closed, but she must feel him tensing up.

“Sorry, is this uncomfortable?” she mumbles. “I can move.”

“No, but - I mean - for you-?”

“When you’re this pregnant, there’s no comfortable way to lay down,” Melanie yawns. “And standing isn’t great, either, or sitting, but - yeah, this’ll work just fine.” Her syllables are half-formed, slurring with sleep already. “Don’t mind me, you guys keep playing. I like some background noise.”

“You - you want a pillow, or something?” Noah offers. “For your head?” She doesn’t answer. “Mel?”

“I think she’s asleep.” I set the glass of water down on the coffee table, where Melanie can reach it when she wakes up. “You must be comfy, Noah.”

Noah glances up at me, then freezes again as we hear the click of keys in the door. Raj opens it up, and steps inside.

“Oh man, I hate early morning jobs.” He shuts the door, sets down his toolbox, and rubs his eyes. “Why do people’s water heaters never break at a reasonable time? Say 1 PM? How long have I been gone, honestly?”

“Raj!” Noah’s hands hover over Melanie like he’s about to move her head off of his lap, but he thinks better of it, and leaves her where she is. He looks up at Raj, his face pale. “Melanie - she just-”

“Aw!” Raj says, beaming at the arrangement on the couch. “Look at you two, all cozy! See, this is why we picked out the big couch, so we can all fit. Roomy, right?”

Noah blinks at him, then nods. “Yeah, it - it is.”

Raj comes over and bends to kiss Melanie’s cheek. She stirs in her sleep, her eyelashes fluttering.

“Give her braid a little tug,” Raj tells Noah, straightening up. “It’s how I remind her that I’m there when she’s sleeping. Always helps.”

“Shouldn’t you-?” Noah begins, but Raj is already heading to the kitchen.

“I’m dying for some coffee,” he calls, over his shoulder. “You guys want some?”

“Yes, please,” I call back.

Melanie shifts again, her eyebrows furrowing. Noah hesitates, then winds his tattooed fingers around her braid and gives it a gentle tug. She breathes out a contented sigh, and burrows her face into his knee.

“What are we playing?” Raj asks, stepping back into the living room.

“Water heater repair simulator,” Noah says, and Raj half-groans, half-laughs. He hands me my coffee, then sits down with his own. He carefully lifts Melanie’s feet and settles them in his lap, so that she’s laying across both of them.

“Still got room for you, Jamie,” he says, patting the spot at his side.

“I’ve got the armchair.” I drop into it, then take a long, grateful sip of my coffee. “So, water heater repair isn't fun?”

“Ugh.” Raj drops his head back, rubbing his temples. “Would’ve been way more fun if my boy here could’ve come with me.” He wraps an arm around Noah’s shoulders, gives him a sideways hug. “It’s so lame without you, dude! I forgot what it was like before you started coming along. Appreciate you staying here to keep an eye on M, though.”

“No problem,” Noah mumbles, and Raj releases his shoulders.

Someone knocks on the door.

“It’s open!” Raj calls.

The door opens, and Aiden steps inside. Noah shifts on the couch, his face turning pale again.

“What’s up, Aiden?” Raj asks, with a wave.

“Hey, everyone.” Aiden’s eyes slide over the group on the couch, then find me. He comes over to plant a kiss on the top of my head. “Hi,” he says.

“Hi," I answer brightly, uncurling to look up at him. "This is a nice surprise. I thought you wanted some alone time?”

“Decided to be with friends today,” he says, softly enough that only I can hear him. “Let myself enjoy the good moments, right?”

I tap his nose affectionately. "How was your aunt?”

He smiles, the kind of smile that crinkles the corners of his eyes. “Happy.”

I beam up at Aiden, then get out of the armchair. He sits down, and I sit back down on top of him. His arms link around me, holding me in place.

“Oh, is this the new couch, Noosh? I thought you guys were gonna text me when you needed help getting it home.”

Noah is still all pale, his jaw tensed. His eyes dart down to Melanie, then back up to Aiden.

“We wrangled it successfully on our own,” Raj answers for him. “I bet Noah ten dollars that we couldn’t, so. It all went very quickly after that.”

Aiden laughs. “Well, it looks nice. Room for the whole family, huh?”

“Honestly,” I put in, looking over at them. “That baby is basically about to have three parents, not two.”

Noah makes a face. “Yeah, that sounds normal.”

“I don’t know, doesn’t sound so bad to me,” Aiden says. “My aunt is basically my third parent. I’m grateful every day for that. Don’t know where I’d be without her.”

Raj looks over at Aiden, his expression thoughtful.

“Hm,” he says, giving Melanie’s foot an absent-minded little squeeze.

Noah seems to come back to himself.

“Okay, are we playing or not?” he asks. “First thing’s first, someone text Ripples and tell him to join the kickback, since apparently we’re having one. And secondly, Aiden, grab that controller. I want you on my team, because literally anyone would be better than Jamie-”

“Noah,” I groan. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

Noah is his usual self again, grinning and laughing, especially when he gets to see Aiden’s video game skills on display. But Raj is quiet for a while, stealing a glance at Noah every now and then.

Melanie sleeps peacefully the whole time, curled up between them.