Both of them were hugging each other, it had become natural in just four days.
Elvana was listening the steady heartbeat of Ronan, and she felt happy, loved... She doesn't understand but she wants to listen, she want to stay in his arms, just like this... A warm embrace she doesn't want to leave but... He was leaving, leaving her and might never return. As she thought, a deep sadness gripped her, squeezing her heart until it hurt to breathe. She didn't understand why she felt this way, only that the thought of him being gone left her hollow.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, she spoke as she sat up, the fur blanket falling down, "Ray?"
Ronan's eyes snapped open, startled but not surprised. He did felt that she was not sleeping, just like him. He also sat up.
"Elvana," he murmured, "What's wrong?"
She hesitated, her lips parting as she searched for words. Her hands fidgeted in her lap, fingers twisting the edge of her silk cloth nervously. "I… I couldn't sleep," she said, "I kept thinking about you leaving."
Ronan's chest tightened. He shifted to face her fully, "I couldn't sleep either," he said, "I've been thinking about it too—about leaving, about the village… about you."
Her eyes flickered up to meet his, and for a moment, they simply stared at each other.
"I don't want you to go," Elvana blurted out, the words tumbling from her lips before she could stop them. Her cheeks flushed, but she didn't look away. "I know it's selfish. I know you have this… this chance to become something incredible, to find out who you are. But I don't want you to leave me."
Ronan's heart stuttered, her confession hitting him like a physical blow. He swallowed hard, his throat tight. "Elvana, I…" He paused, searching for the right words, his mind racing. "I don't want to leave you either. These past few days with you—they've meant more to me than I can explain. You were my first… everything. I feel connected."
For him, Elvana was first person outside of his family that made him feel something.
Her breath hitched, and she leaned closer, her hands trembling as they rested on the fur between them. "Then why are you leaving?" she asked, her voice breaking. "If you feel that way, why can't you stay?"
He reached out, his hand hovering near hers, hesitant. "I have to go," he said, "Not because I want to leave you, but because..." Ronan didn't said, he didn't wanted to lie, he wanted to go and be an immortal if there was a chance to go back to his original world, he had left behind his family, the family he worked hard for decades to get them chance to leave poverty. If he stayed here then what would happen to his family? His sister was also a sick.
Tears welled in her eyes, shimmering in the firelight, but she didn't let them fall. "And what about me?" she whispered. "What happens to us when you're gone?"
Ronan's hand finally closed over hers, his fingers warm and firm against her trembling ones. "I don't know," he admitted, "But I promise you, I'll never forget you. You're a part of me now, Elvana. No matter where I go, that won't change."
Her lips quivered, and she squeezed his hand tightly, "I'm scared, Ray," she confessed, "I've never felt like this before. I don't know what it means, but it hurts to think of you being gone. Even though... I just know you for three days."
He felt a pang in his chest,He shifted closer, their knees brushing, the heat of her body radiating against his, "I don't know anything about this world... What is this Nine Sutra Sect, what it would be like there? Will I meet kind people or not? Or, I might get scam, beaten by someone? Or something else... I don't know but... I know that you're here, I know if things get tough, if it becomes impossible for me... I can came back here... Right?"
Elvana's breath caught, and she leaned forward, closing the small distance between them. Their faces were inches apart now, her warm breath mingling with his, the scent of her—earthy and faintly sweet—filling his senses. Her eyes searched his, wide and uncertain.
"Ray," she whispered, "I…"
Before she could finish, Ronan closed the gap, his lips pressing against hers in a slow, uncertain kiss—their first. It was clumsy at first, both of them inexperienced, their lips brushing awkwardly as they adjusted to the unfamiliar sensation. But then something clicked, and the kiss deepened, a surge of warmth and need flooding through them.
Her lips were soft and warm, slightly chapped from the cold, and they trembled against his. Ronan's heart pounded, as he tilted his head, pressing harder, tasting the faint salt of her skin. Elvana responded, her hands sliding up to grip his shoulders, her fingers digging into his muscle as she pulled him closer. The kiss was raw, unpracticed, but filled with a desperate intensity.
His hand moved to her cheek, his thumb brushing against her skin, feeling the heat of her flush beneath his touch. Her breath hitched, a soft sound escaping her lips as they parted slightly, and he felt the tip of her tongue brush against his, hesitant but curious. The sensation sent a shiver down his spine, his entire body alight with the newness of it.
They pulled back after a moment, breathless, their foreheads resting together. Elvana's eyes were half-lidded, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her lips swollen and glistening. Ronan's hand lingered on her cheek, his thumb tracing the curve of her jaw, his own breath ragged.
"That was…" Elvana started.
"Our first kiss," Ronan finished, a small, "I've never done that before."
"Me neither," she admitted, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. She leaned into his touch, her eyes softening. "It felt… right."
He nodded, his heart still racing. "It did."
For a moment, they stayed like that, their foreheads pressed together, their breaths mingling in the quiet of the night.