"You shouldn't touch me, Zeno."
When he glances down at her, she's smiling, gently— always so gently. The thin sliver of moonlight is all that allows him to see her while she's propped up in his arms, and their hut is otherwise quiet save for her labored breaths. He smiles back in spite of her soft rebuke. Instead of letting go, he caresses her, and instead of protecting his heart, he whispers her name.
"Kaya."
How could he listen to her when she warmed at every bit of contact? Even now, her eyes shine with that heart-wrenching happiness as his thumb brushes her cheek. This would happen every time he came too close to her. For as often as she tried to keep him safe from her (so needlessly yet so endearingly), he could sense a sort of gratitude in the smiles that belied her words. How twisted the world could seem when someone like Kaya had to thank the heavens because someone wanted to be close to her. Perhaps to her, the danger was his life in exchange for their time together. He couldn't begin to tell her how even that would be a blessing compared to the truth. He pulls his hand away from her face only so he can clutch her in an embrace.
"You might get sick," she tries (again), though her arm raises as if she thinks to embrace him back. She doesn't, so he holds on tighter.
"Zeno doesn't get sick," he says (again). He smiles as he speaks and finally- though he knows she doesn't believe him- she holds onto him too. All this time, so lonely; all this time, so afraid to be attached. Here was someone who understood his centuries of pain in too short of a lifespan. Maybe Zeno couldn't break his own curse, but he could at least make her smile.
In his eyes, her happiness was worth so much more than his inevitable grief.
The morning after he proposed, he decides to gather flowers to adorn her hair. They agreed to meet in the clearing overlooking the vast land of Kouka for their wedding. He twists a stem as he crouches over a bush and the pink petals rotate over his fingers. He would have gone to the field with her, but she chided him for attempting to see his bride as she prepared. The thought made him giggle. For one, they did not have much to prepare her with anyway, and second, his bride-to-be was super cute.
When he gets to the clearing, he's surprised to see she's already there, waiting for him. She turns, dressed in her ordinary clothes but radiant nonetheless. She brightens immediately with scarlet coloring her cheeks.
"Zeno!" she calls, rushing the rest of the way to meet him. She pauses when she catches sight of the flowers in his hand, and her already delighted expression melts into something warmer. He grins wider as he places one of the flowers in her hair and leaves the rest in her hands.
"My wife is such a beautiful person," he muses cheerfully, his hand still brushing against hers. She purses her lips.
"We haven't gotten married yet, Zeno."
"We can start now!"
"Okay!"
Their excitement tapers into an expectant silence. They stare at each other blankly, as if waiting for a cue from their surroundings. Gradually, Zeno's blushing bride transforms into a flustered one.
"Um… Does Zeno know how weddings normally go?"
"Hm. Not really."
The silence prolongs, until finally they break out into light-hearted laughter in unison. Cool air breezes past them as they lean into each other.
"Really! And you were the one who proposed!" she teases, still laughing. She wipes at a tear that escapes from the corner of her eye, and then looks at him straight on. Her brown eyes are shining again, lit up from the sun's rays. "At least the gods can witness us happy together."
He turns his smile to the sky. The gods aren't really his preferred audience to such a serene moment in his life, but then he thinks of the people he loves up in the heavens. The blue sky that reminded him of Abi. The white clouds that reminded him of Guen. The green grass beneath his feet that reminded him of Shuten. For a long moment he tries to find King Hiryuu's eye-catching crimson somewhere around him, until Kaya chose that moment to place her hand over his heart— over Hiryuu's amulet that had followed him all these long years until now.
"I love you, Zeno," Kaya admits, for not the first time. She stares at her hand over his necklace with him. Tears well in her eyes. "I'm so happy… So happy I met you."
Affection overflows his heart, attempting to escape through tears of his own. He holds both of her hands in his and leans his forehead against hers. Kaya deserved all the love in the world. At least he could give her all of his.
"Hey, Kaya? I think I remember one thing about weddings after all."
They watch each other curiously, before Zeno closes the rest of their distance with a kiss.