𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 • din djarin

Prologue: Bittersweet Sunset

prologue: bittersweet sunset •••

It's beautiful, how the colors grow more vibrant and more beautiful as the Scespa sun sinks lower and lower in the summer night sky. It's marvelous to think that even as the night arrives with darkness taking over the light, the sky doesn't lament. Instead, it gets more beautiful; there's no mourning the sun's disappearance. It accepts the nighttime with grace, exchanging the breathtaking shades of pink and orange for the sparkling stars of the galaxy. The transition is seamless, serene, and stunning.

But when you think of the man sleeping peacefully in your arms as your sun, you never want his vibrant colors to be exchanged for anything else.

You already have a hand threaded through the dark and overgrown curls atop his head, keeping it tucked underneath your chin as he lays on your chest. The grassy hill from which you watch Scespa's sunset keeps you both cushioned well. You've spent yet another evening talking until your throats get sore and kissing until your lips sting, absorbing every moment until they start to break off into fractured memories, not unlike the stars that hang in the night sky. The day of training put him to sleep before you could even try to get him to watch the sunset with you.

One day, sooner than you'd like, this will be his everyday reality—but he'll never have the chance to watch it without the filter of a helmet's visor, or with your presence at his side.

Falling into this moment was a mistake, but it's not a mistake you regret. It's something that you know will hurt you later down the line, when the summer sunsets are exchanged for autumn ambers and you and your new lover are forced apart for an indeterminable amount of time. You won't even get to call Scespa home anymore, and you don't think he will, either. He'll have to dedicate himself to a Creed rather than to you. You'll have to dedicate yourself to a family business rather than to him. Your loyalties will lie elsewhere—perhaps in mind, but never in heart.

He releases a soft breath as he sleeps, his cheek pressing even more against your chest as his arms tighten on your waist. You smile to yourself, running your fingers through his hair to soothe him. You won't let your thoughts stop you from living in this moment, freezing every moment you have with him so you can use it later to comfort yourself once it's not as attainable.

You wonder how you let yourself get here. You've known for years that you would be leaving Scespa after this summer, as he's known for years that he'll have to finish his training and swear himself to a Creed that won't leave room for you. But when the excitement and the adventures and the love rolled in like a tidal wave, it took you both under and left no room for reason. Your lungs were inflamed by your desire, your hearts aching for affection. Everything else was forgotten the moment you stared into each other's eyes.

It's all still the same.

Somehow, you're comforted by the fact that you'll never forget this summer, nor the man in your arms. Wherever the galaxy takes the two of you after it submerges you in the darkness following your romantic sunset, you know you'll always be in each other's hearts, cementing your place like the stars have in the evening sky. You'll glow just as brightly for each other, staying connected like constellations. As time goes on, you'll just burn even hotter, waiting for the sweet relief of reunion—should it ever happen.

But, for now, you press a kiss to the head of your sun who burns your body, mind, and heart, letting him rest as he gets closer and closer to disappearing. You smile again, blinking away the sudden tears in your eyes at your bittersweet thoughts. With only so much time left to show his face to others, he's choosing to give it all to you. That's not something you can lament for.

Instead, you think of how you can turn the tide of the inevitable future, rearranging the stars in your sky to keep you both together and maintain your sweet, shared heaven—no matter the cost. •••