It's been a year. A whole year since the nuke. Since Rythians home, and everything he had worked for had been destroyed. But also a year since he had almost lost the only thing that really mattered to him any more.

Zoey.

He smiles down at his young apprentice as she lays the last brick in place. She had begged him to let her put the very last one down. He had been more than happy to let her, he would do anything to make her smile.

"It's finished!" Zoey spins happily in mid-air, letting out a little laugh.

"And it's about time, too! It took a lot longer the second time... What with all the radiation to clear up, and not to mention the massive crater..." He flies back to admire their work. There it was. Blackrock Stronghold... or Castle... or whatever they were calling it today, was back, standing proudly where it stood once before. He grins underneath the mask that covers the lower half of his face and flies down to stand by the front door. "It looks brilliant... It's so good to be home!"

"This is great!" Zoey lands beside him, looking up at their logo on the front of the castle. "I never thought we'd be back...!"

"Well I saw just how much this place meant to you, and how much you missed it..." 'I wanted to see her smile how she used to... She wasn't as happy back at the base camp... I had to see that smile again...'

Rythian opens the front door, holding it open and gesturing for Zoey to enter. She runs inside, laughing and staring around at the place. It looked just how it used to. Zoey had insisted that as Rythian built the rest, she would get on with decorating the interior, careful to make everything exactly how it was before. She had done a brilliant job, not a single detail forgotten.

He watches her for a while with a little smile. He would often get lost in his own little world while watching her. She had an unusual effect on him, one which no person had ever had before. She calmed him. She made him feel like there were things worth living for, showed him there was so much more to life than the isolation he was used to, hiding away from civilization in fear. She made him feel... Human.

He loved to watch her hair dance around her as she moved, that beautiful yet unusually coloured red hair that now fell like a silky curtain just past her shoulders. It had grown again since the nuke, much to Zoeys relief, though not nearly as long as it used to be. He loved to see her brightly coloured green eyes that always seemed to be full of joy and light, though a completely different type of light to the literal glow of his own. He loved her smile and the way it so easily brightened his day, no matter what. He loved the way she moved, the slight bounce she did with every step and how even her movements seemed happy. He loved her.

He couldn't tell her this, though he wanted to. Partly because he was scared, terrified of her rejecting him, and more scared that she would leave again. But partly, it was because of them. If they knew exactly how he felt about Zoey, there was no doubt in his mind that they would do something to her, just to get at him. Though at this moment in time, the thought crossed his mind that they probably would have done something already. They could see how much happier he was with her and how different he acted now she was in his life. So maybe he was worried over nothing...

So the problem must lay in his own fear of rejection. He was probably being silly, but after years on the run, even as a child, from people who only saw the curse on him and were sure he was going to kill them in cold blood, well that's going to have an effect on someone's confidence. Yet as he watched her now, he wanted to do nothing more than wrap his arms around her and tell her exactly how he felt. They were close already, a hug surely wouldn't seem anything out of the ordinary to her. They already slept huddled up together every night, though usually, when morning came around, they would dismiss this as one of them having nightmares or being too cold... Yet right now, he wanted to tell her, and he wanted to do it now, before this unusual wave of confidence vanished.

He follows her into what they called the 'Magic Room', only vaguely aware that she was speaking.

"Rythian? Hey are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?... Oh... Sorry I..." He glances over to her, feeling a little stab of panic in his chest, yet deciding to ignore it. He walks over to her, looking down into her eyes with a soft expression before lifting a hand to the side of her face, then letting his fingers run through her hair.

"R-Rythian...? What are..." She doesn't seem to be complaining. On the contrary, she seems to actually lean into his hand.

"Zoey..." He smiles down at her, watching the blush spread across her face. "You really are beautiful..." He leans down to nuzzle softly into her neck.

"I...R-Ryth-" Rythian cuts her off by lifting his head again and moving his hand down to her chin, tilting her head up to face him.

'It's now or never, man...' At this point, he does something he has never dared to do before. He lifts his other hand to his face and pulls down his mask, revealing three long scars running alongside each other, going diagonally down from beside his nose, over his mouth and chin and down his neck. They look to be what can only be described as deep claw marks, from a very big animal. He has been ashamed about these scars for as long as he has had them.

Before he can give Zoey a chance to react, he leans forwards, gently pressing his lips against hers. She lets out a little squeaking noise, briefly not having a clue how to react, before she closes her eyes and lifts her arms around him, returning the kiss with a tiny smile. She had wanted this for so long...

As his arms snake around her waist, he pulls back from her slightly, smiling a little at the tiny noise of complaint that she makes.

"I mean it, Zoey. You really are beautiful." He leans forwards again to rub his nose against hers, giving her another little kiss before moving back again to look directly into her eyes and let out the words he had been longing to say for a very long time, "I love you, Zoey..."

Zoeys face breaks into a wide smile as she pulls her arms around him tighter. "I love you too, you big lump!" She laughs happily as she goes back in for another kiss.

To Rythian, nothing could make his life any better than it was at this point in time. They were back home, they were both okay. But most importantly, the girl he loved was there in his arms, and he now knew that she loved him too.

Life right now was perfect...