Luxe Aeterna

Riven.

He had not spotted her yet, and for fleeting moment, Musa had the urge to run out the door. But even if she wanted to, her feet would not allow her to move. She was glued in place, transfixed by the man who would always hold sway over her wayward heart.

Tall and broad, he had come wearing a tux and nicely combed hair. Magenta locks were shorter than she remembered, slicked back and kept close to his head. Old scars near the edge of his jaw from where Icy had sliced him with her frostbite blast lingered, but other than that, he looked as good as ever. In fact, he looked better than good. He looked divine.

Old feelings stirred in the pit of her stomach, causing her heart to crawl up into her throat. The room became too hot to bear; everything started to spin on an axis. Everything was catching up to her at once: the ball, the music, the terrace, Nabu, the kisses, and now Riven. Riven, here in the flesh. Riven, looking every bit the dashing hero he was from her memory.

Riven, walking her way.

Walking her way.

Since when had he spotted her? Musa's panic increased ten fold.

Then their eyes locked, and the rest of the world faded away. The noise died down to a dull ring, only the sound of blood rushing through her head to be heard. It was surreal, the way nothing else mattered except Riven. He looked surprised to see her, those closed-off violet irises conveying the slightest hint of emotion as he held her gaze.

A gaze that was cut off by a short, portly bald man.

"Lady Musa!" he boomed, drawing attention from the rest of the men. Now all eyes were on her, her skin prickling with the pressure of being put on the spot. "What brings you into these darkened corners?"

It was evident that the man was joking, fat mustache twitching at his own joke. Musa forced herself to smile to be polite, raising her gaze not so discretely to Riven who hung a few paces back, watching the exchange with mild annoyance and curiosity. The intruder to their potential reunion was a senator from what Musa could remember, one of the newer ones who was appointed in the wake of his deceased predecessor. His situation wasn't exactly an uncommon one, not when half the realm's government was eradicated over the course of all the magical wars. However, since he was not used to serving in political circles and unseasoned from the etiquette, it made him much more brazen, and infinitely less tolerable.

"Just making sure everyone is having a pleasant time, Senator."

Musa wished that would be enough for the man to let her go, but unfortunately, he seemed to take her answer as an invitation to continue conversation. He turned to his side so he could pull Riven into the conversation, needing an audience for reasons unknown. Musa felt her pulse gallop, wondering if there was anything obscene about the tension between them and if this man noticed. Blessedly, the senator seemed far too absorbed in himself to pick up on the subliminal cues.

"Is our Lady Musa not the most lovely creature you have ever seen?" the senator asked Riven, elbowing him in the ribs like they were the best of friends.

"Yes, very lovely," he agreed, though it was clipped, as if he felt like he had to say something.

"Lovely and powerful. Careful with this one, she will soar to her own heights with or without you!"

"Don't I know it."

Riven's gaze was dark and turbulent, like he was staring straight into her soul and lighting it on fire.

"Thank you," she replied obligatorily, playing with the layers of her skirt while she tried her best to control the blush spreading across her cheeks.

Finally, the senator was called away by fellow colleagues, and they were left alone. Musa was not sure if that was better or worse.

"This is not how I imagined seeing you again."

"No," Musa agreed, her voice small as she tried to rein in her reeling thoughts and feelings. "I had imagined something much less crowded."

"You do look very lovely," Riven said again, his words much more honest now that it was just the two of them.

"And you look...different," Musa replied, finding no other fitting description. She was still trying to reconcile the wayward Specialist she used to know with the confident gentleman in front of her.

He arched an eyebrow, amused. "Different? Should I be offended?"

"No, in a good way," Musa insisted, hands subconsciously coming up to stroke down the lapels of his jacket. "You seem much more at ease, comfortable with yourself. I like it."

"I am," he said, scooping her hands into his own, placing a kiss to the knuckles before peering back up at her. "I have missed you. So much."

Musa's throat closed up, tears threatening to sting at her eyes. How long had she been waiting to hear those words? Too long, it seemed. And now, when presented with them, she had no idea what to do with them.

"Our friends are here," Musa struggled to keep herself composed, blinking rapidly. "I know they would love to see you."

"Alright," Riven nodded resolutely, formality seeping back into his bones as he took a step back, looking out the door to the ballroom. "I'll say hello, but you should know, I only came here for you."

Again, Musa was at a loss for words. Riven was never good at words before, but now he was a master of them. He knew just what to say to take her breath away. Perhaps that came from maturity, or perhaps Musa had been starved of that low, rumbling timbre for so long that every syllable was like an aphrodisiac straight to the heart.

"We should probably head inside. People are staring," Riven prompted, a hand on the small of Musa's back placing gentle pressure to move her forward.

True, as Musa looked around, she noticed that they were gaining stares and glares in equal measures from the men in the room. They came to this secluded, smoky corridor to escape the romance and frivolity of the ball. They had no want to see a lover's reunion in their safe space.

"Yes, we should."

Riven kept his hand on the small of Musa's back as they walked across the hall to the ballroom, his other hand holding Musa's gloved one. She'd had dreams such as this, dreams where they entered crowded spaces and turned every head, inciting jealousy and rumor with their every step. Now, the whispers made her paranoid, made her heart stutter with insecurities, as if everyone could see that Musa did not deserve the man at her hip. For he was strong and sure and devoted to his lady, but just earlier in the evening she was absconding with someone else.

Their friends were easy to spot, a familiar set of colors and voices that Musa could pick out with her eyes closed. Flora and Helia had already left, the nature fairy far too pregnant to enjoy being out for long. Tecna and Timmy were also nowhere to be seen, but, as much as Musa was loathe to say it, they would not be too sorely missed, the couple never having been the life of any party. Stella and Brandon stood across from Bloom and Sky, engaged in conversation that Musa knew either revolved around marriage or children.

And then, of course, there was Aisha and Nabu.

At the sight of him, arms wrapped around Aisha's middle as his head rest on her shoulder while she smiled and nodded along with the conversation, nearly gave Musa a heart attack. She had been hoping they would leave.

"Are you alright?" Riven asked, sensing her hesitation.

"Hmmm…?" Musa hummed as she snapped back into focus. "Oh, yes. I'm fine…"

It wasn't a very convincing lie, and Riven could tell. However, he chose not to push, something for which Musa was grateful.

They were upon their friends in the next second, all smiles and cheer. Everyone was surprised to see Riven, various degrees of shock and pleasure appearing on their friends' faces.

"Riven, what a pleasant surprise," Sky said with a smile, the first to welcome his fellow brother in a hug. Equally surprising was that Riven willingly reciprocated the gesture with no complaints.

"Where've you been man?" Brandon asked, the next one to hug him.

"It's been for-ever dahling! We thought you had fallen off the edge of the universe!" Stella exclaimed exaggeratedly, clearly inebriated if the half-empty glass of wine in her hand was anything to go by. There was no telling how many others she'd had before.

"I've been doing a lot of traveling, a lot of soul searching."

Riven's answer was vague, and no one missed it. However, no one wanted to sour the mood, and rolled with the answer.

"Sounds peaceful," Bloom said with a smile. "It must have been hard to come back."

"Very," Riven agreed.

"So why now?"

Bloom was not afraid to ask the hard questions, the questions that Musa herself was too afraid to ask out of fear of shattering this perfect illusion.

"All of us have to grow up and face the music sometime," Riven answered vaguely once more, though the pun was unmistakable.

He had to gather the strength to face those he left behind, especially the woman he left behind. He felt as though he had to atone for years worth of mistakes, unknowing that Musa had already forgiven him the moment he kissed her hand. The others would be more difficult to convince, but something told Musa that he didn't care if he gained back their complete approval so long as he had hers.

I only came for you.

Those words echoed in her ears, sending shivers down her spine.

"Excuse me," Nabu's voice pierced through the thing veil of contentment, reminding Musa that her demons were still lurking far too close for comfort. Nabu disentangled himself from his wife and stepped forward, shaking Riven's hand perfunctorily. "Good to see you again, Riven. Everyone."

And with a nod of his head, he was walking away with Aisha in tow.

Musa watched his departure with rapt attention, mind whirling with all the reasons why he was going so soon. She was so caught up in him, that Riven mistook her panic for concern.

"Don't worry," he assured, a calloused hand rubbing down the bare skin of her arm, goose bumps breaking out where his fingers lingered. "Our relationship was hit the hardest. It'll take time, but we'll be okay."

Will you? Musa wanted to ask, her internal voice high pitched and shrill. Would you really be okay if I told you I wanted him almost as much as I want you?

Everyone else merely minded their business, sipping on their drinks while they most likely thought of their own twisted version of events. Except for Stella who was staring dazedly at the walls and the dancers. Brandon really needed to take her home before she hurt herself or caused a scene.

Conversation droned on for a few more, painful minutes. Musa regretted her suggestion. She should have just kept Riven all to herself. Now, she had to share him between his old buddies while they asked him for all his most epic travel stories. Some were incredible, Musa hanging off of every word, while some brought back painful memories when he brought up visiting sites from battles long past. Eventually Riven pushed conversation away from himself, and let the others take over, the two of them fading to the background. No one seemed to mind, Stella going through the list of potential baby names she wanted to give the children she did not have.

It was then when Riven leaned down, his lips close to the shell of her ear as he whispered, "Can we talk somewhere private?"

Musa nodded, now giving Riven her whole attention, and motioned for him to follow her out the ballroom. He was nervous, wringing his hands and shuffling around a few steps behind her. It was his typical behavior to brood when he was avoiding something, but this was all new behavior for him. It piqued Musa's curiosity.

She led them to the veranda near the rose gardens right below the balcony she was previously on with Nabu. The air was colder at the later hour, but the setting was quiet and private, just as he had requested. Musa walked idly around the bend, trying to find somewhere to sit to make herself more comfortable. She settled for a stone bench, and prompted Riven to sit next to her. Despite her efforts, he remained standing.

"First off, I have to apologize for my behavior these past few years."

His words were abrupt, right to the point, taking Musa by surprise. Her eyes widened marginally before she composed herself.

"Riven, it's fine."

Even if it weren't true, it was all water under the bridge now. Musa was used to being hurt by him; she was just the kind of masochist that kept crawling back to him. And she had only recently made regrettable choices that would have hurt him had he known. They had been exchanging jabs and sharp words since the inception of their relationship; to apologize for hotheaded behaviors would be to apologize for the relationship as a whole, and Musa did not regret all of it. There were some good times - some really good times.

"No, it's not," he refuted, that iconic stubbornness showing. "I have been an ass, and you don't deserve it. You deserve so much more than what I've been giving. A girl like you deserves the world. You're beautiful, compassionate, talented, loving, and so many other things, and I thought that by being with you, I was dragging you down. I know that's bullshit now, and I know I've done a lot of things wrong, but I am willing to change. I want to change, because you are the best part of me, Musa. You've stood by me through thick and thin and have loved me regardless, and I want to prove myself worthy of that love on this day and every day after."

All Musa could do was stare at him. The last thing she ever expected was to hear confessions of love fall from this aloof boy's mouth, and yet with every word, Musa felt her heart break into a million fragile pieces. She was not the girl he was talking about. That girl had betrayed him and turned into a two-timing, home wrecking whore who wasn't worth the trouble. Yet, there he was, pouring his heart out to her, the girl who had betrayed him in every way.

The words were on the tip of her tongue. Leave me. Leave me because I no longer deserve you. But they were stifled by what came next.

Musa could scarcely breathe, could not even begin to believe the sight before her: Riven down on one knee. And the ring. Oh, the ring! It was stunning, a personalized piece with a large pear shape diamond solitaire on a white gold band. Musa knew he could not have afforded this on his own, not on a retired military pension, and wondered just how much he had to sacrifice to win her hand.

"Musa, I want you forever and always, no matter what. It has always been you; I've just been too blind to see it, but these years without you have opened my eyes, and I know my world will not be complete without you in it. Please say you will do me the honor of becoming my wife."

This was the most emotional Musa had ever seen him; there was such a raw, uncharacteristic vulnerability in those eyes that made her lose all resolve. Musa could not break his heart. She could not shatter what had taken years to build up. She knew in her heart that she truly loved Riven, and that somehow made up for the scandalous hook up. It was a moment of weakness, a one-time mistake. When Musa looked into Riven's eyes, she saw commitment and dedication in droves, something that was not there all those years ago. So, she decided to risk her heart again, and did what every other girl in love would do at a time like this.

"Yes, Riven," Musa answered, voice trembling as she extended her left hand. "Of course I will marry you."

Riven let out a relieved breath as he slipped the ring onto her finger, the stone glittering in the moonlight. Musa barely had time to admire the new view before she was being swept up into the air and spun around in circles, kisses decorating any patch of bare skin Riven could get his lips on. It was infectious, this kind of romance. It made Musa's insides melt into syrupy sweetness, made her heart do flips in her chest. In this moment, she almost forgot about Nabu, only happiness at marrying the love of her life filling her thoughts.

But as their lips met in their first real kiss since their reunion, Musa could not help but notice the lack of a spark. There was adoration, yes, and familiarity, but the drive to want, the need for more, was sorely absent. The more Musa kissed Riven, the more she wanted it to stop. Not because it was uncomfortable, but because, if she were being honest, it was boring. The struggle must have been one sided, however, as Riven looked just as content as before, no sign of worry or lackluster performance.

Musa pulled up a smile for his sake as they rejoined the ball hand in hand, trying to focus on the fact that she was finally, finally getting to marry the man she'd wanted since the beginning.

Everything was going to be perfect, just as she'd always hoped.