Keva didn't know when it started. Was it when he called him Keva for the first time? He could still remember Dáinn’s warm breath on his face as he whispered it in his ear. Maybe during their evenings together on the balcony watching the sun fall? Either way, he knew what was brewing in his heart and couldn't stop it. The feeling grew greater the more he spent time with Dáinn. He felt a fond excitement every morning waiting to see him. His bed felt cold every night, where it once felt warm alone. He felt as though something was missing. Something that was never there to begin with but could be now. A warm feeling filled his chest, a giddy feeling in his gut, perhaps in his heart. Keva leaned back in his chair and stared at the carefully painted mural on the ceiling. A painting he carefully painted to rid him of his worries during a time far before his life now. He let out a heavy sigh, still staring at the mural. A soft voice entered his ears. 

“Ev?” Dáinn spoke softly to the man who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

Keva almost let out an audible gasp. He didn't know when the brown-haired man had walked in.

“Are you alright? You appear to be,” he paused, looking around. He seemed slightly embarrassed by the way he was talking. Keva inwardly laughed at the man. He felt he could even see some blush appearing.

“Huh?” Keva didn't speak a word, scared he would start laughing out loud to the man. 

Dáinn appeared to notice his pause before continuing again, “Lost.” 

Dáinn looked at him before following his gaze to the ceiling. Keva looked from the corner of his eyes. The small glimmer of wonder in Dáinn’s eyes didn't match the sharp facial features of a person who fought many battles. This time, he couldn't help it; he laughed out loud. Dáinn’s head whipped down to look at him. He watched Keva slap his hand over his mouth in an attempt to stop laughing. Dáinn’s face grew slightly pink.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because you looked so-” He couldn't find the word he wanted. “So pretty?” he said through his giggles. 

Dáinn’s face turned a bright red, and he abruptly turned and left the room. 

“Dáinn, wait!” Keva shouted to his disappearing figure.

Keva jumped from his seat, chasing after him. What did he do? Why did his laughing make him so embarrassed? Was it what he said? Keva found it odd but understandable. He just thought that maybe Dáinn overreacted. He was curious about what Dáinn was thinking about. 

He caught up to Dáinn. When he saw his face, he almost burst out laughing again. Dáinn wore a constipated expression. But he ultimately kept quiet to allow Dáinn to maintain his dignity. His face contorted heavily. Dáinn suddenly grew sorrowful. It was only for a second before the emotion disappeared. His face became cold and distant, like a mask had been placed over it. 

Keva’s smile dropped. He seemed to see Dáinn in a new light. Everyone has something to hide, and so did Dáinn; he didn’t doubt that. Keva wanted to know what was troubling him. He wanted Dáinn to lean on him, to trust him with his feelings. He wanted to grow close enough for him to love that part of him. Keva hated seeing his family bear burdens they shouldn’t need to; the same went for Dáinn. He became someone beyond just a stranger. 

And he wanted Dáinn to be even more than just a bodyguard. He wanted Dáinn to be more than just a friend. He wanted Dáinn to fill the cold next to him. He wanted Dáinn to shape something unknown to him. Something lying deep in the abyss of his heart. Something he only reserved for his family. He wanted to share it with Dáinn. He wanted to be embraced by his warmth, to cure his coldness. He yearned for it. He desired that dreamless love. 

Keva looked at him, passing through the dimly lit halls. More pain flashed in his gaze. ‘Dáinn seems to be struggling with something.’  

Something welled in his chest, daring to swallow him whole. He couldn’t watch him struggle like this anymore. He couldn’t bear to watch him fight something unknown to him. To fight alone. Keva gently placed his hand on the shorter man’s head as if he were comforting a child. Trying to wake his bodyguard from his daze, from his swelling emotions. Dáinn flinched underneath his touch. 

“What the hell?” Dáinn’s voice slightly wavered. He grabbed Keva’s hand and threw it to the side. 

Keva laughed at his reaction, only to stop and go back to stroking his head, messing up his hair more than it had been. Dáinn’s annoyed-filled brown gaze stared intently at him. 

“I painted that mural when I was fifteen.”

Dáinn’s annoyed expression disappeared, being replaced by surprise. Keva gave a small laugh. In return, Dáinn’s face distorted again. 

‘His emotions waver so much,’ Keva thought in amusement.

“I have more if you’d like to look?”

Dáinn glared at him with an even darker, maybe even dangerous gaze. He turned away from Keva and softly nodded.

“If you want to rant about your paintings, then sure, it isn’t like we have anything else to do.” He faced the windows as they passed, trying to hide his interest. A gentle smile grew on his rosy lips. Speeding up his pace to be in front of Dáinn to show the way. 

Stained glass windows twisted the moonlight into shapes of dancing lights. A veil of starlight cast across the sky, across their figures. Accompanying the moon within the cosmos. Keva glanced back at Dáinn. He was staring at the moon, adoring the stars in the night sky. Colors danced across his skin. Brunette hair grew lighter under the shades of a moonlit path. Brown eyes held something so profound that he only dared share it with the moon. More ethereal than he’d seen before. Keva knew at that moment if he ever were to, he wouldn’t ever regret it.