The front door clicked shut, annouching Zain’s return from work. Nyx was sitting on the couch, watching old reruns of Sabrina the Witch.

“Welcome home!”

When the alicorn saw the man’s face light up, he couldn’t help but smile too. Then his eyes flitted to th stack of paper in his hands.

“Mail?”

Zain nodded. “Yep. And uh, a letter addressed to you.”

Nyx’s mood changed in an instant. Nobody should know about his excistence, except Elrick. And Elrick had trapped him, so he probably still believed Nyx was out of commission. A frown occupied his forehead.

“Do you know if the sender’s address is on the envelope?”

“No, nothing,” Zain replied and kissed his magical boyfriend, trying to relief some tension. He handed him the letter.

“Hm.”

The air started to fill with glitter, a sign that the alicorn was releasing his magic. Pink tendrils similar to those that he had used to help bake a cake, poked and prodded at the piece of paper. When nothing happened, Nyx opened it.

“What did you do?”

The curiousity in Zain’s voice made Nyx grin.

“Trying to check for traps. I don’t want us to get sucked into some kind of inescapable dimension.”

“Can you do… other things with those other than baking and checking letters?”

A sly grin appeared on the winged unicorn’s lips. “Ofcourse.”

Zain could feel his cheeks heat up. Various indecent images filled his mind, but before he could sink too deep, an angry scowl pulled him back to reality.

“What? What’s wrong, Nyx?”

He watched the alicorn steadying his breath before he answered.

“Someone wants to meet me. If I don’t, they’ll expose my existence and I could very well turn into an experiment for the gouvernment.”

“You don’t know that! Maybe people will accept you just the way you are, just like I did!”

Nyx shook his head, a sad expression on his face.

“You’re too naive, Zain. Most humans will want my powers for themselves. I’ve heard stories in Silver Garden about those who were captured and tortured by several gouvernments or those who were simply killed out of fear. Creatures that are not strictly human simply cannot coexist with the people here on Earth. That’s why I can’t be exposed.”

Despite how he wished it would be otherwise, Zain knew deep in his heart that the alicorn was right. For someone like Nyx humans could be dangerous. And he couldn’t stand the thought of him getting hurt or experimented on.

“Then what are you gonna do?”

“I’ll have to meet them. This Friday at midnight. I’ll be going alone.”

He watched Zain, bracing himself for the man’s reaction. Would he be angry? Sad? Begging him to let him come with him?

“Will you be alright on your own? That’s two days before the full moon.”

“I’ll manage. Have faith in me, okay?”

He pulled the redhead into a hug, feeling the tension in the shorter one’s body subsiding immediately. Then he planted a kiss on his lips.

“I promise, I’ll be back the next morning. I can even give you a tracker symbol.”

Confusion could be read from Zain’s face.

“A what?”

“A tracker symbol. It will bind us together, letting you know where I am and if I’m okay. You could think of it like a magical temporary tattoo.”

Zain would like that. Even though he knew the other was practically older than him and could fend for himself, something could still happen to him. Knowing how he was doing and where he was, gave him some sort of comfort.

“Alright, I trust you.”

“Thank you.”

Nyx took Zain in for a tight hug, something they both seemed to need right now. They melted into the embrace, simply enjoying each other’s warmth and smell. Come to think of it, Nyx smelled like almond and strawberry today.

“Nyx, did you bake something again?”

The alicorn flashed a grin, giving away his secret. “Maybe,” He drawled, and then spun Zain around so he would face the open kitchen doorway.

In the midst of the aftermath of his work in the kitchen sat a tray with a series of pink macaron cookies, each decorated with a drawing of a silver rose.

“What’s the occasion, Nyx?” The redhead asked suspiciously.

The dark-haired man shrugged. “Nothing specific, I just felt like making them.”

Zain raised a brow, not quite buying it. He stared at the taller man until he would confess, he could keep this up all night if he wanted to.

“Okay, okay!” Nyx put up his hands in defeat, “I admit, it’s not totally random. Maybe I felt a bit nostalgic. It’s uh…”

Dark eyes gazed up at the ceiling, lost in a memory. Various emotions crossed the tall man’s face and Zain wondered what he was thinking.

“On this particular day, Zaphir celebrated the foundation of Silver Garden every year. We decorated the town with pink, silver and green garlands, played dress up and my favourite: baked Silver Rose cookies. They were like these macarons, but infused with the petals of the Moonlight Rose. And strawberry comes closest to their taste.”

A knot formed in the redhead’s stomach. Nyx clearly loved the place he grew up in, and he felt bad for him not being able to return right now. Still, he hadn’t forgotten his promise to the alicorn. He would find a way to get him back, no matter what. Zain wasn’t one to go back on his promises.