Chapter 1: A Home Built from Ruins
The war had ended, but the ghosts remained.
Elias and Kael had fled the battlefield together, leaving behind their titles as soldier and rebel. Now, they were just two men trying to carve out a life in a world that no longer demanded they fight.
They settled in a small village nestled between the mountains and the sea, a place untouched by war. Their home was nothing more than a modest cabin with cracked wooden beams and a garden that needed work. But for the first time, neither of them had to wake up expecting another battle.
Kael leaned against the doorframe one morning, watching Elias struggle with a hammer as he tried to fix the roof.
“You’re terrible at this,” Kael teased.
Elias wiped the sweat from his brow and smirked. “I was trained to destroy things, not build them.”
Kael stepped up, grabbing the hammer from his hands. “Then I guess it’s my turn to teach you something.”
And just like that, their days were no longer filled with the sound of war, but with laughter, the rustle of the wind, and the quiet, unfamiliar feeling of peace.
Chapter 2: Scars and Healing
War left its marks, not just on their bodies but on their souls.
Elias still woke up some nights reaching for a sword that wasn’t there. Kael would find him sitting outside, staring at the horizon, his hand clenched into a fist.
“You don’t have to stand guard anymore,” Kael said one night, placing a cup of warm tea in Elias’s hands.
Elias exhaled slowly. “I know.”
Kael sat beside him, pressing their shoulders together. “Then come back to bed.”
Elias glanced at him, and for a moment, something fragile flickered in his eyes. “What if this peace doesn’t last?”
Kael took his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Then we fight for it.”
And with that, Elias finally allowed himself to believe.
Chapter 3: The Festival of Lights
Months passed, and the village prepared for its annual Festival of Lights, a celebration of new beginnings.
For the first time, Elias and Kael weren’t outsiders. They helped string lanterns, baked bread with the elders, and watched children race through the streets with wooden swords.
That night, as the lanterns floated into the sky, Kael turned to Elias. “They say if you make a wish during the festival, it’ll come true.”
Elias scoffed. “I don’t believe in fairy tales.”
Kael smirked. “Then why are you holding my hand like you’re afraid to let go?”
Elias sighed, shaking his head before squeezing Kael’s fingers tighter. “Because I don’t need a wish. I already have what I want.”
Kael’s breath hitched.
And under the glow of a thousand lanterns, Elias kissed him—slowly, deeply, like a promise that neither war nor time could ever break.
Epilogue: A Love Worth Fighting For
They still had their scars. They still had their nightmares. But they also had each other.
And in the quiet life they built, in the small joys of morning kisses and teasing arguments over who chopped wood better, they found something they never thought they would.
Not just peace.
But home.
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