The bird songs were loud and sweet when Fia and Dara arrived at the small cafe on Grey Peak. Leaves were sprouting on the trees and the pass to the Pillars had only just opened with still some hazardous parts that they had flown over. They weren’t expecting the others for at least another month. 

Dara sat down at a table overlooking the lake, setting his tea cup down. He looked back at Fia who was coming out of the cafe holding a cup of tea and a plate of dried meat that she put on the table. She looked good in her new robe; the red details made it hers, but it was black, practically invisible in the night sky, which made her his. She picked up a square piece of the meat and put it in her mouth before sitting down on the chair next to him. 

He looked at her, then the meat on the plate. ”What are you doing?” 

“It’s fine, I’ve had it before,” she said with a wave of her hand. “You should try some.”

Dara looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment, then turned back to the lake. “Don’t kiss me with that mouth,” he said.

Fia’s mouth dropped open and she drew in a sharp breath. “Don’t kiss you with this mouth?” she said with disdain, “Keep your mouth to yourself, as if I want to kiss that mouth” 

Dara suppressed a laugh. 

“The nerve!” She scoffed at him.

He leaned over dragging her chair with her in it, closer to him with one hand. “No! Get away,” she feigned a protest making him chuckle as he pressed his mouth against hers, silencing her. She smiled under the kiss but kept her mouth closed, conscious of the food still in it. He nipped at her lips and slid his tongue between them to make a point before planting another peck on her mouth. He moved his head back and looked at her as if asking if it was enough and she responded with a big smile. He grinned and relaxed back in his chair.

“Seriously, don’t eat that,” he said. 

Fia laughed. “I told you I’ve had it before, and I was fine.”

“When did you have it before?” 

“Just before the training, when we came down the mountain; we stopped over here. Oh, you actually came to get us with Gayle, remember?”

“Thirteen years ago?”

She stopped chewing. “It can’t be the same meat?” 

Dara cocked his head and looked at her silently. 

“Surely, the old one must have been eaten by now and replaced with new one,” she said. 

He pursed his lips. Fia’s face fell and she ran inside to spit out the remains in her mouth and gargled, a dozen times or even more. Thankfully the meat was so hard to chew she hadn’t swallowed much of it yet. 

She came back sighing. Dara glanced at her with an amused smile as she plopped back in her chair. 

The lake was just as beautiful as she remembered. Fia looked at the man sitting next to her, quietly drinking his tea, lost in his thoughts. His eyes reflected a green from the lake and the trees. The bronze crown gave a small shudder and she grinned. Now that she was more familiar with the responses of his body, she picked up on these subtleties quite easily.

“Stop,” he said through a smile. 

She chuckled as she looked away and picked up her own cup of tea. She folded her legs up on the chair and settled into a comfortable position. 

He dug out a candy from his pocket and handed it to her. “Just remembered I had this.” 

“Wow, could I have married a more resourceful man?” she said taking it. 

“No.”

“Do you have another one?”

“No. Do you want me to find some fruit?” 

She bit off half of it and shoved the rest in his mouth. He glanced at her and smiled before turning back to the lake. 

“Akira was asking me if your wings opened?”

“Do you want them to open?” 

Fia thought for a moment, and then replied with a coy smile, “Maybe”.

“Ok,” Dara replied as if ceding to a request.

She perked up. “Under the starry sky,” she said, looking up at a sky that was still lit a light blue in the afternoon sun. 

“Over the serene lake?” he asked and Fia looked at him. “Since I can fly when they’re open,” he reminded her. 

Her face lit up even more and Dara averted his gaze, an embarrassed grin on his face as his crown gave another subtle shudder, making her heart leap. So self-assured in everything he did, these small moments when he fell apart under her eyes were what Fia lived for. She decided to let him off before he regained his composure and turned the tables. Settling back in her chair she looked at the vast shimmering lake in front of her. 

“Ruttie’s Jinnah’s wife isn’t she?” he asked. 

“She was the first Prime Minister, how many times will you ask?” she said, exasperated. 

He sighed. “As many as it takes for you to tell me the truth.” 

That will never happen, she thought and took a sip of her tea. Her eyes landed on the purple tassel of her sword that was lying on the table. She hadn’t opened the soul notes for six months, she’d promised herself she won’t touch them until spring. She looked back at Dara who was watching her. He smiled and her heart swelled up. 

“It’s spring,” he said. 

She nodded.