Forget Me Not

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Mew had turned that day over and over in his head. He still didn't know what had inspired such an overwhelming sense of dread. Saying how he felt had lifted a weight off his shoulders. But the memory of Korn telling him he loved him made his insides flutter every time.

"Would you have told me if I didn't say it first?" He asked Korn over the phone a few days later.

"I already did. More times than you know."

"When...?" Mew asked surprised by the admission. He'd always thought he was alone with his feelings.

"It doesn't matter."

"Come on...tell me."

"You tell me..." Korn countered playfully and Mew had to admit to having painted himself into a corner by being so insistent. If he wanted to know, he should have been willing to share.

"I don't remember the exact moment. I'd grown so accustomed to feeling a certain way about you, I don't know if there was a particular moment it became what it is now. I only remember when I admitted it to myself."

"When was that?"

"When I started wearing the medallion again," Mew said softly.

There was a long silence but his impatience wouldn't let him leave it alone. "So...are you going to tell me?"

"Mew, I never stopped."

"Korn..."

If they had been in the same place, it would have been easy enough to jump him, pin him to the ground and make him explain himself. But Mew knew. The moment Korn had put words to it, he'd finally understood why he'd gone to such lengths to be with Korn. Why he had refused to listen to common sense even when he'd known the deck was stacked against him.

"It's not exactly the same as...before," he added hesitantly. "But it was always there in some form. I'm just glad we made it good again."

That phrase stuck with Mew long after the conversation had ended. They had been through a lot and it had not always been good but they had found a way back to something positive. Something he should have felt happy about. Instead, he felt unbalanced when it should have been the complete opposite.

They had talked since but there was still that air of desperation lingering around Mew like a halo. The need to be with Korn on a visceral level wouldn't leave him alone. He missed him even more than he thought possible. He couldn't decide if it was in spite of Korn's feelings for him or because of them.

He finally understood how people could want to be so close to someone that the prospect of consuming them body and soul was real. Thankfully, he hadn't reached the point of cannibalism.

That's when the idea came to him. A part of him wanted to run it by Korn. Make sure he wasn't being presumptuous. Another part wanted it to be a surprise. Neither mattered until he found out if what he wanted was possible.

Planning around his busy schedule, Mew took a break during work hours and headed to a jewellery store he'd heard good things about. The sales clerk approached him and (forgetting his manners entirely) he asked, "Can you make this?"

"We have very similar medallions as part of our stock. Perhaps you can pick from our selection."

"It needs to be this one in particular--it has to be identical in every way," Mew insisted.

"Are you sure you don't want it in gold? It would look delightful."

The store clerk was obviously trying to make the best sale possible but it was annoying. It helped him keep his patience when he might have walked out of the shop and gone somewhere else. But he knew this was the right shop. Not only were their other pieces unique, but they were also beautifully crafted in the style Mew was looking for.