The wooden cottage came into view at the same time that the clouds slightly obscuring the sun gave way, rays of sunlight raining down on the little house. It was several times smaller than the palace had been but somehow it was spacious to Faun while the palace felt stuffy.
The last few steps to the cottage were the hardest, it took everything he had to push himself forward. Faun expected bad memories to slam into him the moment he got to the front door but instead, it was shadows of happy memories which managed to hurt more than the bad memories ever could.
The front door was surprisingly open and when he stepped in, he could swear he heard his own laughter and fading wisps of Declan's voice which ended in a low laughter. He could picture them spending their day on the sofa doing absolutely nothing but having the time of their lives regardless.
A voice in the kitchen called to him and he absently drifted to the sunfilled kitchen, and in the sunrays he could see himself standing behind the counter, scolding Declan who was causing havoc just out of reach.
Faun blinked causing the memories to dissipate like golden dust - it had just been a couple weeks since he left the cottage but it felt like it had been years and yet at the same time, it felt like it was just the night before.
He walked out of the bathroom and headed to his room, a sense of urgency thrumming louder under his skin the longer he spent in the cottage, he knew he didn't have a lot of time left.
Although Faun knew that there was really nothing waiting for him in his room, he found himself pulled there anyway, wearing shoes in the hallway for the first time. He pushed open his bedroom door and found it mostly bare, the only relic left behind was the six-foot-tall bear Isla had gotten him. It was covered to protect it from dust, making it look a little grim.
He knew that he should have left the cottage then but something pulled him to Declan's room. The memories in there were more hurtful than the rest of the cottage combined but he did it anyway, somehow making it out of the room he wanted to stay in the most.
He left through the front door which was apt, he took the last step only to feel a bump in his pocket. It was the collar Declan had put on him; he really should have gotten rid of it like Allan said, he should have left it in the cottage. But even as he told himself that, he kept walking around the cottage so he could use the trail there to disappear into the woods, the collar clutched in a small trembling hand.
Faun kept his gaze on the ground as he rounded the corner like he wanted to keep the droplets of tears spilling down his eyes a secret. He took off the hat Allan had given him, tossing it over a shoulder easily only for a familiar scent to come to him on the ends of the morning breeze.
He whipped his head up, tear-filled leaf-green eyes widening at the figure that stood in his path, the gentle breeze lifting his red-gold curls. "Declan?" He spoke with his voice barely above a whisper but somehow it was deafening in his ears.
Faun couldn't tell if he was hallucinating or not, if his ache to see Declan one more time was so great it created apparitions. His feet were rooted to the ground and it seemed to be the same for Declan, he had stood in the same spot for so long that he was covered in falling leaves.
His grip on the collar in his hand tightened as a sob punched out of his throat, "How long have you been waiting there?" He asked in a shaky voice, sniffling.
Declan didn't respond, holding something in his fist that glinted in the sunlight. His inky black hair was limp, drenched in dew, his eyes so so tired, dark eyebags underneath them.
Faun's lower lip wobbled from how hard he tried to keep his tears in. He had been so focused on himself and how everything affected him that he didn't realize Declan also had a heavy weight to carry. He dropped the collar in his hand to the ground, holding out his arms with a soft sight, the sides of his head hurting from how many tears he held back.
Light came back into Declan's eyes at his gesture, and he took a step forward almost unconsciously before hesitating again, another gust of wind dislodging the leaves in his hair.
Faun made a 'come hither' gesture with his hands, spreading them wider and that was enough to push Declan to come over to him. His eyes were still vacant, this made Faun's heart twist painfully in his chest.
Declan came naturally to his arms, hunching forward so he could bury his head in his chest, his powerful arms impossibly tight around him like he feared he would disappear.
"Please don't leave," Declan's hoarse voice spilled out.
Faun was supposed to be doing the comforting but Declan's words made his hold on his dam of tears break free. Declan's hair was already damp with dew so his tears dropping into the dark mass didn't matter much.
He didn't let go of his mate though, holding Declan equally as tight. "I can't leave you." He replied, honesty brimming out with his tears.
He couldn't leave because he was literally bonded to Declan, he would die if he did. After decades of running wild, who knew a werewolf would be the one to catch him, body and heart.
They stayed in that position for what felt like forever, just holding each other and breathing in each other's scents. Sometime during their hug, Faun's ears and tail had made an appearance, sunlight bathing the entire scene in a gold hue.