By the end of the last festival, Lena was dead tired and complains about how her legs hurts. Dylan ever the caring one, immediately says goodbye to their friends and takes her back home.
He was glad that Lena has finally being his Lena in the morning, ever the cheer one as if nothing happened. He teased her that had he known that once he cried, Lena would be back, he would not have waited few days.
by ten in morning, he takes her to their meeting place, filled with their friend and they chill out till it was night.
He drives back home carefully as snow once again start to fall.
He carried her inside despite her protests.
"here you go lens, a warm cocoa milk. " Dylan bought steaming hot cocoa milk for her as Lena come back from a warm bath, wearing her favorite lounge wear.
A Day before he came back
The southern city of Kingstonë was a quiet place, nestled between mountains kissed with mist and ancient winds. He went there alone, without Lena but he knows that why he had to come alone. He didn't want Evelyn to get involved in this too. He warned her on his first night here that he would not tolerate if Evelyn or Lena get involved in the mission this time.
But it was different from all the previous solo tours he had done.
The distance gnawed at him more than he'd anticipated. His heart felt oddly restless, like something essential was missing from him.
After a long day of meetings with HQs Chief and obligations, Dylan took a walk through the local market—an old, stone-lined lane filled with the scent of fresh herbs, roasted almonds, and winter roses. He hadn't intended to shop just to stroll around and get freshed but a glint in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
There, inside a modest glass case, sat a ring unlike anything he had seen before. It was delicate but mesmerizing—star-shaped, with fine lines of taaffeite forming its edges and a deep blue sapphire glowing in the center like a frozen night sky. Something about it struck him. Maybe it was the way it shimmered like her eyes did when she laughed. Or maybe it was how the star seemed like her—a guiding light in his darkest days.
Without hesitation, he purchased it. Not for a special occasion. Not as a grand gesture. But because in that moment, he missed her so deeply, he needed something to feel closer to her. Something to say "you're with me," even across the miles.
***
Back home, the familiar scent of jasmine and citrus welcomed him as he came back from a warm bath with his bag pack . Style had lit her favorite candles, the soft glow of the lounge wrapping around them like a warm hug. He found her on the couch.
Dylan smiles and sit besides her, soon her legs stretched out and placed lazily over his lap as he caught up on his Classes .
But even as he listen to last class of criminal psychology and read through his documents, he could feel her gaze.
He didn't look up immediately—he wanted to savor it. That warm feeling of being studied by the only person who mattered. Finally, he glanced at her, a half-smile on his lips.
"What are you doing, Lena?" he asked, voice low and amused.
"Adoring you," she answered without a blink.
His opponent was her, his Lena.
His heart gave that familiar skip—the one only she could cause. He reached forward, setting aside his laptop, and gently ran his fingers along the side of her calf.
"You're unbelievable,What ami I going to do with you Lens" he murmured, and Hug her. Lena smiles is his arms.
then as if suddenly remembering, his eyes brightened. "Wait—pass me my bag, will you?"
Curious, she reached for it and handed it to him. He dug through the inner pocket, pulling out a small velvet box. Her eyes widened as he extended it to her.
"I saw this in Kingstonë … reminded me of you."
" And it's a late festival gift too. "
She opened the box slowly, and when her eyes landed on the star-shaped ring, she gasped. The taaffeite glows and the sapphire caught the light like a frozen drop of sky.
"It's… beautiful," Lena whispered, voice almost trembling.
"It's you," Dylan said simply, watching her reaction with quiet intensity. "My guiding star."
Her fingers touched the ring with reverence before she lifted it and slid it onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
"I'm glad I brought it for you. " he smiles holding her hand in his.
"How do you always manage to know exactly what I'd want, without me even knowing it myself?" she asked, tears brimming.
[Will you still love me like this, if in future I made some grave mistake.] a thought came like a rollercoaster.
"Because I know your soul like I know my own," Xavier whispered, leaning forward to press his forehead to hers. He was praising her, worshipping her like a goddess, so much love and gratitude.
Dylan watched her playing with her ring.
Taking all her courage, Lena decided to say that as after some time she crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I don't need anything fancy in this world," she said, holding her hand up, letting the sapphire and taaffeite shimmer between them.
"But this… it feels like you've given me a piece of the sky."
"No," he corrected, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just gave it back to the one it belongs to."
"I can't wait for that day, you walk down the aisle and I take vows with you, sacred vows for, forever... Taking you as my bride forever. " Dylan whispers, hovering over her.
Lena remains silent for few minutes as if cat got her tounge.
"Dylan ....huh.....thank you... " lost at words like she was, Lena says earning a laugh from him.
And there, on the couch that had seen their quietest and loudest days, they sat—her legs around his waist, his heart beating with hers—under the glow of a tiny star on her finger and a love that felt written in the constellations.