A few days passed, and tomorrow it would be Nyx’s twentyfifth birthday. Zain still wasn’t sure what to get the dark-haired alicorn. In the past few days they had spent together, they had gotten to know each other pretty well, and it almost felt as if they were together for way longer than alomst a week.

But, what to get him?

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the other man sneaking up to him in the living room, getting caught in a surprise hug. Zain spun around, blushing.

“Nyx! I thought you were still sleeping!”

“I needed a hug!” The alicorn whined, and then grinned when the redhead gave in to the embrace.

Nyx had become more and more affectionate towards him in the past few days. It made him feel slightly confused, making him wonder if the man in front of him felt the same as he did. They both had blurted out the words ‘I love you’, but neither knew whether that was platonic or romantic.

For Zain it was definitely romantic. He had figured that out for sure in these past few days.

“Hey Nyx,” Zain said, looking up to the alicorn, “Tomorrow I have to go back to work, but I’ll be back home for dinner. Then we’ll also celebrate your birthday, okay?”

Nyx nodded in understanding.

“Will you be alright without me?”

Nyx nodded again and Zain smiled, even though he saw a flicker of worry in the man’s dark eyes. He convinced himself that everything would go fine tomorrow.

# # # #

During his lunchbreak Zain went to the bakery next door like he always did. He was glad the weather had gotten better in the past few days, he didn’t want to be caught in a storm today.

There was a small line, so he had to wait for a bit. Luckily they got a rather royal lunchbreak of one full hour. It gave him time to relax and in summer he would head to the park close by. Maybe he would window shop today.

“Hey, what did you get your boyfriend for his birthday?”

Two girls in front of Zain chatted happily, their conversation piquing his interest. He shouldn’t listen in, that would be rude, but maybe they could give him some inspiration.

“You know that one jewelry store a few streets back? They had a new collection shipped in and it’s so pretty!” The other girl squealed, “So I got him one of those lock and key necklaces, for him the lock and me the key! See?”

She held up a small charm for her friend to see and Zain caught a glimpse of silver and a swirl of purple, blue and black. It reminded him of the night sky and of Nyx somehow too.

Maybe he would try to find that store after he finished his sandwich, and check out that collection those girls were talking about.

# # # #

The store was easy to find. There luckily weren’t many jewelry stores around, plus they had the specific collection Zain was looking for on display in the windows.

The bell next to the door chimed as he entered, and an older woman greeted him with a warm smile.

“Welcome! Are you looking for something in particular?”

Zain nodded. “I saw that collection with the purple, blue and black swirl design, and I was hoping to get one of those.”

“Certainly. Are you looking for a necklace or perhaps a ring?”

“A necklace, one of those for couples.”

The woman nodded. “We still have some left. There’s the lock and key set and a sun and moon set. Which one do you think she preferes?”

Zain gulped. Yep, that always happened.

“It.. it’s for my boyfriend, actually. Or well, we’re not official yet, but like… it’s for his birthday,” He said, stumbling over his words and feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Oh, I’m sorry for assuming!”

“Ah, no! It’s alright!”

He felt awkward not quite knowing what more to say, so he was glad she suggested showing him the full collection. The woman pulled out a tray from behind the counter with various rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. They all had the same, almost space-colored cabachon in the middle.

A matching silver colored necklace set featuring a sun and a moon caught his eye. The moon reminded him of Nyx’s title of the prince of midnight. He might not quite understand what it actually meant, but he for sure knew that he would like this design.

“I’ll take the sun and moon set, please.”

“Certainly. Would you like it placed in a gift box, Sir?”

Zain nodded. “Yes, please. But only the moon one.”

She went on her way to wrap the necklaces and the redhead followed to pay. It was slightly expensive, at least more than he had ever paid for any piece of jewelry, but he was sure Nyx would like it. And that meant more to him than how much it would set him back financially.

# # # #

“I’m home!”

“Welcome back!” Nyx called out from the kitchen. Sounds of whisks hitting bowls and plastic being squized came flowing towards Zain. He rounded the corner and blinked at the sight.

The kitchen was set in a pink glow coming from several magical tendrils, holding various kitchen utensils, working on different stages of cake baking and decorating. In the middle of it stood Nyx, and Zain was glad the alicorn was wearing an apron, because the kitchen was a mess.

“Nyx, what is this?”

The dark-haired man grinned sheepishly. “Uh, I haven’t baked anything in a while, so I think I overdid it a bit. I promise I’ll clean everything!”

Zain sighed and then smiled. He couldn’t stay annoyed for long with how in his element the man looked.

“Well, as long as it tastes good, I’ll overlook it this time,” The redhead said with a chuckle.

“Ofcourse!”

Zain then quickly changed into something more comfortable and then sat down at the kitchen table, watching the alicorn putting the various elements of the cake together. It was a pretty cake, of black marsipan and white piping, with red buttercream roses on top.

“I made pasta for dinner by the way,” Nyx said after sprinkling the cake with edible glitter, “Then we can try the cake. It’s caramel and chocolate flavour.”

There really was something about the other man that made Zain’s heart flutter over and over again, no matter how often he saw him. He really hoped Nyx felt the same. Would he dare to ask tonight?

“Nyx, I’ve got you a birthday present.”

“You really didn’t have to! I’m already happy to be able to celebrate it with you.” He flashed a smile, a streak of glitter on his cheek shimmering in the bright light of the kitchen.

“I did get you one anyway, because I feel like a birthday isn’t complete without a present.”

Zain pulled the gift box out of his backpack and handed it to the alicorn. Nyx quickly wiped his hands clean before taking the gift, then he opened it with glee.

“It’s perfect, Zain, thank you!”

The redhead could practically see the love in the man’s dark eyes, and before he knew it, he was caught in a tight hug.

“Ow, Nyx! That’s a bit too tight!”

The alicorn giggled and quickly let go of him, with the box still in his hands.

“Shall I put it on you?”

Nyx nodded and pulled the necklace out of the box, then handed it over to the human. Holding up his midnight blue locks, he waited until the clasp clicked in place and he was wearing the gorgeous necklace. It suited him.

“Now we’re matching!” Zain exclaimed, which in turn left the other confused.

“Matching?”

Zain proudly pulled up his own necklace with the sun pendant that he had hidden under his shirt.

“I have the sun. It was a couples set.”

The alicorn’s smile turned into a devilish grin. “Couple, hm? Do you want us to be a couple, Zain?”

Zain blushed at the sudden question. He had not expected something like that, and was utterly unprepared. Still he managed to force out a reply.

“W-Well, only if you want to… I mean, I like you a lot, and… I wouldn’t mind being your… boyfriend.”

The last word was almost whispered, but Nyx understood.

“Then, I would gladly call you my boyfriend too.”

He sealed his declaration with a heated kiss, one even more intense and demanding than the one at the church. Zain leaned in, wanting more of the magical being in front of him.

“Nyx,” He whimpered, “I want to...”

Without needing another word to get the message, Nyx picked up Zain in his arms and carried him to the bedroom.

“Your bed?” He grinned.

“My bed.”