A Match to the Fire

𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯

ack of his mind, one that had been etched i

on the edge of the stone fountain with

id line of control, and his sharp, unreadable

himself like a man-silent, compo

, to feel nothing, to let the world

ooted, her laughter echoing off the stone walls lik

, holding it as though it was the most preciou

hipped around her face, and her wide eyes, too large for her delicate

andle in his cavernous world. And he

�" he asked, his voice a smooth

uninterested, though his heart-a heart he didn't fully u

moment, he let himself drink her in-the flushed cheeks, the brightness in her

she saw him. Dangerous f

softer now, almost reveren

ll rings, each carved fr

surface, and one was slightly uneven, but the

ce. She was practically glowing, her joy

sharp and jagged, but here, with

t's the exact color as our eyes. Yours and mine. I thought... if we wore th

urtyard swallowed by a silence s

mask, but his chest rose and fell sharply

nally, his voice barely above a

"I carved them mys

something she'd poured her time and care into, somethi

ly, a flicker of doubt dimming her bright eyes. "Do you... d

rd of glass, razor-edged and bleeding, and he woul

ruth beneath his careful mask. He cleared his throat, forcing

h the clouds, and she reached for his hand, sl

n, but he didn't care. He'd wear it until it cut off his

joy. "And this one's for me." She slid the second ring onto her th

away. "You didn't need a ring to carry a piece of me," he said, h

hold onto you so

ment, he hated her for it-for seeing through the cracks in his

brushing against his. She didn't say a

crooked little ring with more p

forever, he felt something other than t

a gentle taunt, a lifeline to pull himsel

at him with wide, scand

tching into the faintest hint of a

and amusement. "I spent hours making thi

an air of practiced indifferenc

ke you something better one day," she said thoughtfully. "Something

idn't realize that in giving him this small pi

that was f

oice steady, a stillness

g back at him with c

fought to keep his emotions in check. "Don't ever give

ed by his intensity, but eventuall

st. He would hold her to that promise. No matter what it took. N

𝘸𝘢

the horizon, painting the sky

ft tune to herself, already l

e he was, his gaze

felt heavy, like a chai

were meant to keep

ealized something he wou

the ones he loved, but Rebecca..