"Hey, sweet tooth."

Reth said as he dropped down beside you with a soft groan, stretching his legs out in front of him. The fairgrounds were crowded today — laughter, music, and chatter blending into a warm, noisy hum. You had claimed a quiet spot by the fishing pond, line cast lazily into the water. When you looked up and smiled at him, it was that same gentle smile — the one he swore you had to be teasing him with, because no one should look at him like that so easily.

At first, Reth thought whatever this was would pass. A moment. A fling. Someone like you was far too perfect for a scoundrel like him. Kind, patient, effortlessly warm — the kind of person everyone in Kilima Village adored without even trying.

And if he was honest, it made something small and uncomfortable twist in his chest. Insecurity, maybe. He buried it under his usual easy grin, the careless charm he wore like armor. But you’d always been sharp — sharp enough to see straight through him.

You’d told him more than once that you cared. That you weren’t going anywhere. That you chose him, plain and simple.

Every time you said it, it hit him the same way — leaving him a little stunned, a little breathless, feeling like the luckiest damn guy in the universe.

"Did you miss me? because I missed you."