Everything had reached such a clamor between mind and heart that suddenly there was only quiet. Worries and hopes alike were set aside. For now, this moment was the only one that mattered. The memory of Eiji's weight was being written into Emi's skin. The warmth the demi-human had yearned for was burning strong, and it was all his, enveloping him. Keeping him safe. He was so soft and hesitant and wanting.

There was just the soft sounds of their breath. A soft shift of fabric as they leaned in to each other, shifted slightly. Calloused hands splayed supportively against Eiji's back, cradling his head. In the still calm, Emi could be honest with himself as well.

He loved him.

He loved him now in this quiet moment of fleeting honesty. He'd love him later when each careful wall was painfully put back in to place. He loved him in the wild of the woods, and he loved him in the softness of the morning. He'd known it, they'd both known it, but that word had always been elusive. Now that it had slipped into the spaces between his thoughts, he could call it by nothing but it's name.

I love him.

Emi leaned his head against the other's, deeply breathing in the whole moment. They could stay as long as Eiji wanted. However long it took for him to feel content. It was all his for the taking.