Not happy, but way less sad

It was still highly amusing to Artorias how Briar always looked like she'd seen some sort of mythical creature with how she looked at him. It was surprise and delight and excitement all at once, reflected in her eyes and written on her face. Had she not thought he'd come? Well, fair enough, he had been debating that exact same thing with himself, so her fears were justified. But here he was. Like it or not, Briar had left a permanent mark on his life, and whether he wanted to be near her or not, that wasn't something he could ignore or erase. She smiled at him and again his heart did that infuriating ache, like it was trying to race the way it had before whenever she smiled, but the broken pieces were too weak and fractured to do that anymore. He couldn't resist a wry smirk of his own when she mentioned she was waiting for someone extraordinary. Oh, so she was doing some serious sucking up to him now, huh? Artorias never thought he'd see the day the Fatalis princess would start kissing up to him. Kissing on him maybe...

Artorias held her gaze, his own still burning with the fire that never died in them, but it was no longer cold, distant, or hard. His eyes had softened significantly once he saw the adoration directed at him in those turquoise jewels she owned. He saw the remorse in her eyes, but he also saw the courage it took to be here with him and the determination to set things right. Briar got to his paws and came to stand directly across from him, not averting her eyes or shying away from him this time. She said his name and the edges of his mouth twitched into a ghost of a smile. Gods, did he love the way his name sounded on her voice... He held her gaze for the entirety of her gathering her thoughts, letting her take her time with her words. There was no need to pressure her; she'd done enough of that to herself as it was.

Briar came closer to him and a nervousness filled his stomach and his chest, watching her closely while she sat on her haunches barely inches apart from him. Before he knew it, Artorias felt Briar's paws gently holding his face while she brought her mouth forward to meet his. The moment their lips met in gentle, loving kiss, the fire that he'd tried so hard to smother flared back to life. Smoldering embers rose into a low burning flame and he couldn't tell if the heat he was feeling in his body was coming from the campfire or what Briar was doing to him. Artorias gave no resistance, kissing Briar back with the same tenderness she gave him, his paw coming up to rest over Briar's cheek while she kissed him. Their lips parted, and fiery amber found cool turquoise with a longing, loving gleam. Artorias drank in everything that Briar was: the feel of her fur under his paw, the warmth of her touch on his face, her scent filling his nose... It was all so familiar and comforting and grounding. With Briar, he knew everything would be okay. With Briar, he knew he was whole.

While he gazed at her with that same look of love, Briar began her apology, and this time it felt as if her words were coming directly from her heart. Nothing felt rehearsed or expected. He didn't know where this revelation had come from, but it was a refreshing change from what she had been this morning and weeks before. She had still only partially understanding what had hurt him so much about that night, but she was learning and getting there slowly. Artorias let her speak, getting everything off her chest and say what she needed to say before he would respond, watching her every second with patience and compassion. Her paws drifted from his face down to rest on his chest, right over his racing heart that was already beginning to mend itself. She voiced her desire: she wanted to be with him again, to share the days and nights they had before.

Then she confessed she loved him.

Artorias' heart skipped a beat. He stared at Briar in stunned stupor while his mind tried to process what she had said. His mouth hung open in a silent gasp, trying to find words to fill the space she left in the wake of that revelation. She loved him. Briar loved him. This was no longer a crush, no more just two wolves flirting and courting one another. This was love. Full, true, whole-hearted love. Artorias struggled to breathe for a moment, his mind blank, his pulse racing like liquid fire in his veins. But all the while he couldn't stop staring at Briar; staring into those turquoise eyes that had blessed and haunted his dreams, soothed and excited him, brought him peace and passion. All he could think of when staring into those eyes was her. In them he could see everything they had done and everything they could be. He saw the fight with the saber cat, their first spar in the Armada training grounds, patrolling the Hallows, her holding him while his mother died, snuggling in his room and kissing to the rhythm of the rain outside... But more than that, he saw her standing beside him as they led the Hallows together, he saw her smiling while reciting vows at their own wedding, he saw the family they could raise and the future they could create...

That was when Artorias knew he loved her too.

He didn't respond with words right away. Instead, Artorias used the paw still resting on her cheek to guide her muzzle back to his for another slow, gentle kiss, except he didn't pull back once this one broke. Artorias instead leaned closer to rest his forehead against hers, cradling her close while he brought his other paw up to find her side and loop around her waist, pulling Briar closer to him until he felt her body meet his and her soft, wave coat mingled with his coarser, mussed up fur. "I love you, Briar," he said, his voice low and gentle, not wanting to break the tenderness of this moment.

Mine. You're mine.

"My silly girl... Don't you know you were always perfect to me? I never cared if you were the best or the worst fighter, or the best or the worst hunter, or whatever. I only cared that you were you. But it felt like what I thought of you and what I wanted didn't matter to you, and that's what hurt so much... that my opinion of you didn't matter." He paused for a moment, letting her mind process what he said while he tilted his muzzle up to give her another soft kiss.

All mine. Always mine.

"I want you to be my partner, Briar, whatever that looks like now and down the road. I just want you in my life forever. Please don't shut me out again." Now that they had been mended and his broken heart was healing, all Artorias truly wanted was to love on Briar the way they had before. He wanted to show her just how deep and how hot his love for her ran through his body and soul. Most importantly, he wanted to make sure she would never, ever think about leaving him again.

"Artorias" | "Corbin"