Mishal looked at his fiance. It was still odd to think of this person in such terms but he was starting to get used to it. The fact Aariv had proceeded to move in with him the same day they met seemed to help solidify the concept.

The darker haired man sat in the room’s only chair as he read one of the dozens of books he'd bought the day before. Mish had to admit he found it quite cute how intense and focused Riv was while reading. Not a muscle seemed to move other than to turn to page. The quiet stillness might have been unnerving if it was anyone else but… Mish didn't know how to explain it. It felt so natural for the always curious man. 

That is until a pained intake of breath. Aariv looked up to see Mish staring at him and gave an embarrassed expression. “Paper cut…”

“I'll see if I've got anything to wrap it.” Mishal got up from where he'd been sitting on the bed.

“It's fine, really… It mostly just surprised me.”

“But even a tiny cut can get infected and could cause you to become ill later down the line.” Surely Mishal had something to use around. He used to always have at least a few emergency bandages on his person before they got summoned. Of course, that was before he and Mel had been transported to a different world and had changed out of their own clothes. It wasn't as if he had any here.

Still, out of habit, he reached into his pocket as he went to check his bags for some wrappings he could use. To his surprise, he felt something familiar. A still sealed bandaid? He didn't really remember doing so but he must have moved everything from the pockets of his own clothes into the clothes he'd changed into. It was odd, yet there had been so much craziness the last few days that he didn't dwell on the occurrence. 

He took it out as he walked towards Riv. “Here, let me see the cut…” The other man held out his hand to show Mish the tiny cut on his pointer finger.

The male twin had put together that his fiance wasn't human in the same way as himself, but it was easy to forget or overlook most of the time. This was one of those times that reminded him… He’d expected to at least see a bit of pale pink from irritation around the cut—even if blood hadn't been drawn—but that wasn't the case. Instead, there was an opaque liquid with a slight green tint forming where Aariv had been cut.

Aariv spoke up in a reassuring tone. “See? I am fine, my beloved. It has already almost healed.”

“...I suppose I should have listened to you. It's not like I know how your body works so you'd know better than me in that regard.” Mish looked down at his hands, appearing somewhere between embarrassed and ashamed. He knew his overreactions were a problem and here he was doing it yet again.

Aariv took Mishal's hand and brought it up to his lips with a tender kiss. “I find it quite endearing how you wanted to help with even such a minuscule injury, despite not understanding my biology. It shows how much you care.” He seemed to be considering something as he continued to tenderly hold Mish’s hand. “Would you like to? Learn more about me, I mean. As we are to be married, it seems like a good idea to know about each other's backgrounds so we may become closer.”

“I think I would very much like that, Riv…” Mishal wasn't just saying it to be considerate. He genuinely found himself wishing to know more about this man he had unwittingly become engaged to. “At the very least, perhaps I won't worry over stupid, non-issue things with you.”

“It isn't stupid… My Nan always said not knowing something doesn't make someone stupid, even more so if they have a desire to learn. Anything you care about—enough to worry about— could never seem stupid in my eyes. Since worry stems from being unsure, feel free to share all your worries with me and allow me to demystify at least some of it.” A slight tug on their intertwined fingers was all it took to pull Mishal into Aariv’s lap. “Ask me anything you wish to know and I will answer anything that is within my power.”

The sudden change of position seemed to fluster Mish. “...I, um… It feels like my first question might come across as rude. Honestly, I would love to have you tell me every little thing about you. But I am aware there's so little I know about things outside of the limited experiences I've had. Maybe it would have been better for you if it had been Mel who you had become engaged to… We might have lived similar lives, but she's read so much more than me… You probably wouldn't have to explain as much with her...”

“But it was you who returned my most precious root to me. And I'm glad you were the one who did… I couldn't ask for a more caring - and attractive - partner.” Aariv gave him an encouraging smile. “Ask your question. I won't be offended.”

“Are you sure?” 

“I can't think of anything you would ask that could offend me as much as you worry it will. I am sure…”

Mishal took a calming breath. “Alright… What are you?” Aariv blinked in surprise after all that nervous build up but Mishal evidently misunderstood the reason and started to try explaining himself, panicked. “I mean, it hadn't exactly come up yet, but my sister and I were actually summoned here, and where we come from, the only intelligent beings were plain, boring humans. Then we found ourselves here and there's so many people around who aren't human. Obviously it makes sense that they would all have different biology and cultures than I'm used to. Yet, I don't know how to tell who is what. Or even what being something actually means from a biological or cultural point of view. I feel so stu-” Mishal corrected himself. “...uninformed about things.”

“I understand. Being summoned seems to have made both of us feel unbalanced and unsure about things in this unfamiliar world.”

Mish hadn't even realized he had been staring down at his hands until Riv’s words caused him to suddenly whip his focus to the man in surprise. “You were summoned too?”

“Yes…” Aariv confirmed before elaborating a little bit more. “I had never even left my family's forest before, and then I found myself surrounded by so many people without any warning.”

Mishal's hand reached out to cup Aariv's cheek. “That must have been so scary for you… At least I had my sister with me so I wasn't in this alone.”

“And now I have you, so I'm not alone either… My precious intertwined…” Riv placed his hand on the one against his face. “Finding myself in this unknown place was worth it to meet you.”

“Then I hope to continue to live up to your view of me. If you lost contact with your family in exchange for meeting me, then I want to do everything in my power to make sure you never feel alone because of it.” How could Mish ever resist caring about such a sweet and adorable person? Even if he didn't always understand what was going on. As long as Riv was happy, that was what mattered.

“I really am the luckiest dryad of my forest to be tied to you. All the elders always warned us saplings that there are unscrupulous people out in the world, so we should be careful around others. Then, in a moment where I had let my guard down, it was not any such dishonest person I encountered, but a ray of sunlight in you. Only by the grace of the Vines of Fate could circumstances have led me to such a favorable outcome.” Mish understood maybe half of what Riv said, but he could tell it was beyond sweet.

He honestly had no more words to express how he was feeling that felt good enough in that moment. At times, Riv felt like this curious, but naive, person that relied on Mish. It made him feel useful and like he contributed to their sudden relationship. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Riv would become all confident and suave—even sometimes being the one to sweep Mish off his feet…. metaphorically. It could be disorienting, but in a good way… if that made sense. The differing aspects of Aariv made Mishal feel useful, without it falling into feeling like he was a burden.

Since words seemed to fall short, Mish wondered if Riv would be opposed to him expressing his thoughts in a different way. He'd noticed his betrothed seemed to be very favorable to any sort of physical contact, but they hadn't even shared a proper kiss yet. Was there a reason he was so casually okay with the human cuddling up to him on his lap, yet made no move towards a kiss past the hand? Maybe it was a cultural thing where the two types of affection held different weight than they did for Mishal. 

Just as Mishal opened his mouth to ask Aariv, the door to the inn bedroom flung open without warning.

“Mish!” Melantha’s voice rang out. “You two should join the adventurer's guild so you can join me on a quest!”

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