"Now…" he replied "I just want to be with you."
Kael was silent for a full second.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't a loud laugh, nor was it full of provocation—it was a loose laugh, almost relieved, as if that answer had lifted an invisible weight from his shoulders.
"That's all?" he said, still smiling. "Then it's too simple."
Inari raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Simple?
Kael tilted his head slightly, looking at her with that same direct gaze that always disarmed her.
"I'm already yours" he said, without drama, without grandiosity. —I always have been. It's just a matter of you wanting it."
For a moment, Inari seemed genuinely surprised.
Then she approached.
Without haste. Without ceremony.
She enveloped him in a tight hug, her arms firm around him, as if marking something she had decided long ago.
"Then I want you," she said, a satisfied smile against his chest. "I want you all to myself."
Kael laughed again, this time a little louder, putting an arm around her back.
