Rand sat alone in the small room that he had carved out for himself, quietly sharpening his sword.

His lover, the Dragon Reborn, had been gone a long time this time. Rand tried not to panic. His spouse was more than capable of handling themselves out in the dangerous world. He had seen them, time and time again, overcome some of the worst the world had to throw at them. And yet, whenever they were gone, he couldn't keep the worry from bubbling in his stomach.

"What if they got hurt?", he thought to himself.

His mind always went to the worst possible outcome. He imagined them injured, or dead, on the side of the road somewhere, with no one to help them. He shook his head, trying to clear the dark thoughts from his mind.

"No," he said aloud. "Don't think like that. They're fine. They'll be home any day now, and they'll be just fine."

He looked around the room, at the sparse furnishings and the bare stone walls. It was a far cry from the opulent quarters he was used to, but it was home now.

He thought of their own place they used to share, back in the old days. It had been years now since they had left it behind. But Rand still remembered it clearly. The smell of food cooking in the kitchen, the sounds of birds chirping outside the window, and the feeling of his spouse lying next to him in bed.

He missed those days.