“It was a mistake to just go away. We should've fought more for what we wanted.” Pallas said, voice muffled by Maude’s wild curls and locs.

Dawn was cold. Light broke the horizon and colored Scintilla’s grey sky shades of green and yellow. Bruise purple clouds came in waves from the northern sea, promising a storm. Pallas and Maude were bundled together in a large quilted blanket when the wind came, Maude fully enveloped by Pallas’ arms over their shoulders.

“We are doing it now.” Maude said, as if that were enough, “You’re always so serious, Pallas. Wars aren’t won overnight.”

“Is that what love is? A battle to be won?” Pallas asked, just to be dramatic.

Maude laughed, long and raspy, “well you’re the one who said we should be fighting for it, not me.”

Pallas couldn’t argue with that so he didn’t, just pulled Maude closer. The smaller dev hummed, pleased, curling further into Pallas’ embrace.

Not for the first time, he wondered if he could really have this. Or if this was something that would be taken away from him too. Pallas pushed the thought from his mind for now. When he was with Maude, thinking wasn’t very high on his list of priorities, especially now that the conflict had died down.

They had fought for this and so much more and they had won.

And Pallas decided that if someone wanted to take it from him, they’d have to go through him first.