I missed you in the storms

He snorted in soft amusement at that. Of course he had been in the dark, he had been there long enough to know when he saw even a glimmer of light. Zee was that and more, to him. Perhaps she didn’t feel it, but she sparked with that terrible hope it built inside of him.

She did not fight him, exactly, but she resisted all the same. She offered him herself in order to keep him here, but as he had already known - she was not ready. He let out a long, deep sigh and leaned his head against the one she had titled down towards him.

He felt that heat that had been building inside of him, just by seeing her familiar form. He knew what he wanted, and a part of him dared himself to take it regardless. She was his. his wife, his prize. He had fought for her on many occasions. He had pulled her from those slavers, and brought her home. She belonged to him completely, but she was not prepared to admit it yet.

…. But it was Zee. At the end of the day, she was not a prize, nor a possession. As much as a part of him might wish he was selfish enough to make her so. She was his Queen, and her words were something he could only take as a command. He let out another soft sigh. “As you wish, my Queen. You are and always will be my best friend. For now, for just a little while, I will abstain from being your husband. No matter that he did not like to be denied. “What do you wish of your protector, confidant, and playmate?” he whispered.

"Speech"