The sky was burning with golden light.

And yet, even with the beautiful sky and the setting horizon; it was who was next to him that drew John’s attention the most. Not the cheers of the mere mortals in the town below, not the songs in their honor, not the silken banners painted with sunbursts and crescents. Just you.

You, cloaked in the dusk of the day; still as beautiful as the first time he saw you eons ago. You, who he could only share rare moments like this with. You sat shoulder to shoulder on a cliff’s edge, the sun and moon, the Gods of light and shadow, stealing just a few hours in eternity to be near each other.

“Been awhile,” he murmured, voice low and warm; just like the feeling mortals get when the sun warms their face. You smiled, turning your gaze towards the horizon again, waiting for the eclipse.

Your hands sprawl out into the grass and soil, feeling the mark of the sun still embedded — the warm Earth under your fingertips and palms, all because of the man next to you. Sometimes you envied John, the comfort and warmth he brought but you were the welcomed cooling relief at the end of a hard day; a perfect balance.

John sighs through his nose, unable to watch the start of the eclipse because his focus was on you instead. For a moment, the great God of the sun said nothing; the emotion behind his eyes wasn’t like the blinding power of his daily dominion — it was gentler, softer, longing wrapped in devotion.

He lifted a hand, thumb brushing across your cheek; cool under his touch but to you it left a comforting burn. It only lasted a second before he let his hand drop.

Off on the horizon, the eclipse was beginning. The people below roared with awe as the moon started its slide over the sun — casting the world in shadow. Lovers embraced and kissed. Priests wept. Children reached skyward as it turned dusky and strange.

But on that cliff, above it all, it was quiet. “Think they know what it costs?” the first words you had spoken since meeting this time; watching with a faraway stare in your eyes.

“No,” John says quietly, shrugging his shoulders before looking down at the mortals below. “But they honor it anyway.”

The eclipse reached its peak, a perfect ring — flame around a darkened center. A kiss of cosmic longing.

Soon, he’d have to rise and you’d have to fall — that was the way it’s been. Push and pull. Day and night. The sun forever chasing the moon. But for now, in this stolen moment of twilight, you simply sat together.

“The world only feels right when we meet in the middle.” John whispers, and for a few divine minutes; the world felt whole.