Keva had spent the last couple of hours pacing his office as officers and nobles entered and exited. Conversing about the situation that had just occurred, Miller had talked to him a bit. Still, most of his time was spent sifting through the information that could finally incriminate Torin without negatively affecting the company or government. The military could now take out the traitors silently, and the citizens of Civren wouldn’t know any better. This whole inter fight would be snuffed out and thrown under the rug of history to be forgotten. 

Relief spread through Keva when he was finally relieved of his duties. He gathered his coat and headed out the door to the manor’s carriage. The coachmen opened the door for him and hopped onto the driver seat to sear the horses toward the hospital. The whole way, Keva’s mind raced, although the injuries he’d seen briefly at the hotel didn’t seem that bad. He was still apprehensive that it was a lot worse after all, he couldn’t walk toward Dáinn to see how bad it was.

Keva still needed to keep up the performance of an average bodyguard and their employer. Even if that was the kind of relationship Dáinn still believed they had. To Keva, it had grown beyond that. At the very least, he’d call them friends with more feelings. He could tell Dáinn tried hard to distance himself, but Keva couldn’t figure out why. They were put in the same amount of danger daily, so he didn’t believe it was because of the threats. Although Dáinn did seem to withhold many secrets, secrets held a significant amount of darkness. Many of these situations could pose more danger than Keva could handle. 

Keva rubbed circles into his temples. He sighed heavily, his fingers brushing through his golden hair, pulling it into a messy ponytail. There was so much to Dáinn’s thoughts that Keva couldn’t understand why he pushed him away so often. But all Keva cared about at this point was Dáinn. There was no taking back how he felt. And until Dáinn rejects him or tells him directly why they couldn’t be together, then there was no way he would destroy what was blossoming. Even if it took years to tear down the protective barriers Dáinn had. To melt the ice that ran through his blood. 

He knew who Dáinn was behind the mask; he had seen him several times. Small little moments so precious and fragile that the slow flap of a butterfly’s wings could destroy them too soon. Keva was determined to hold onto those moments longer, to watch them shatter their cage that hid them away. But Dáinn wasn’t allowing it to happen. Their master had thrown away the key to the cage, drowning it in layers of ice and nightmares. 

Suddenly, the carriage halted, and a man’s voice pierced Keva’s thoughts. “We’re here!”

Without so much as a thank you, Keva stepped out of the carriage and made his way into the creme colored building. He had to force himself to focus on the speed of his pace. If not, he might just find himself running to Dáinn, and that was no way an employer should act toward their bodyguard. He stopped at the counter to find the room they had Dáinn in. The lady smiled at him and spoke the number. She attempted to make a conversation. But he ignored her words and made his way to the second floor to his love. 

As he descended the hallway, the guard spotted him outside the door. The guard nodded, opening the door for him and letting him in. Keva closed the door behind him, glancing at Dáinn, sitting upright in his hospital bed. A few bandages and buries covered his body. Before Dáinn could speak, he was tightly wrapping his arms around him.

“Dammit! I knew I should've let you do that.” Keva fought the urge to start crying, hugging him tighter to ensure it wasn't all a dream and Dáinn was okay. 

Dáinn winced in his grip. “I know I might look okay, but you're hurting me.”

“Right, sorry!” Keva jumped back, awkwardly smiling.

Dáinn gave a heavy sigh. “It was my choice to do what I did. I knew the danger I was walking into.”

“But-” He clenched his jaw. “You knew and still put yourself in harm's way!”

Dáinn's expression was filled with confusion. “Yes, I thought you would've known this by now. I'm supposed to be your bodyguard. I'm going to be in danger either way.”

Keva’s face reddened. “Yeah, my bodyguard, not a military officer tasked with gaining information!”

“You agreed to it when I brought it up. Why are you getting angry?!”

“Because-” Keva hesitated. Barely letting himself be heard, “You could’ve been hurt worse, or they could’ve killed you.”  

Dáinn flinched before deeply sighing. “Listen, Ev I’ve done this my whole life. I knew what I was getting into, and I wouldn’t have let myself die that easily.” He buried his face in his hands briefly and mumbled something. “And if I died it wouldn’t have mattered because I’ve been ready for that moment for years.”

Keva barely caught what he said. He felt a cold shiver run down his back. ‘He didn’t have any wish to deal with life any longer?’ Keva bowed his head, clenching his fists. Retracting his steps, putting him closer to Dáinn. Without raising his head, he spoke to Dáinn.

“So you would have just let yourself die. Don’t you have family waiting for you to come back?!” He hissed through clenched teeth.

Dáinn's face drained of emotion. He looked at Keva. “I don’t have any family. I don’t even have a home to return to.” His tone grew flat, like he was talking about someone else. Detached from reality. “There isn’t anyone out there that would miss me if I died. At best, they’d feel pity and move on.”

Keva’s nails dug into his palms. ‘Why? Why do you do this? You have, don't you?’ Keva didn’t respond to Dáinn. Instead, he turned and left the hospital room. There wasn’t anything he could say; if Dáinn honestly thought he had no one in the world, then so be it. He couldn’t continue watching someone disregard their life like he was doing. ‘But I’ll be here until you can see that at least someone cares for your life even if you don’t’