Into The Light (MxM)

Fifteen

*I hope you enjoy this week's chapter! Remember to vote and comment, I love hearing your thoughts! I tried to get this chapter out on my birthday, but this update came a few days late haha.

Until next time!*

~LunaMoon

Little did Thayne know, it would be a long time before he would see or hear from Zaire again.

Six years, to be precise.

They were the most painful six years that Thayne had ever endured in his entire life. Without Zaire, it felt as if there was a fundamental part of him missing. He would never be whole again without the sweet omega by his side.

He thought that as the years went by the pain would ease up. That he would learn to heal and move on from the devastating loss of Zaire and his pups. It never got any better for him, so he threw himself into his work. Tending to the farm and crops and making furniture and other sorts of projects to sell at the market each year.

Thayne journeyed to the village Zaire lived out of pure coincidence, traveling town to town with a large group of merchants to sell the products that they made or grew. They traveled after each harvest, setting up pop-up shops in the markets for around two days before moving on to the next town.

It was in the middle of the day, the sun high in the bright blue sky, and Thayne was marking down another sale - a handmade wooden rocking chair- when he heard the sweet, lilting voice he had longed to hear since the day he left.

"Thayne...?"

Thayne stood with a start, turning to find Zaire standing in front of his booth. Zaire was lovely... His deep brown eyes glinted in the sun, skin crinkled slightly in the corners with his sweet smile. His face had a fullness to it that wasn't there before. He was much healthier than the near-skeletal forms that he and his children had when they first showed up at his cottage.

Zaire wore a light brown tunic that laced halfway up the front, along with a deeper brown set of pants. Thayne almost immediately noticed Zaire's hair or lack thereof. Zaire's once extremely long hair that reached down to his back was now shoulder length. Half pulled up with a piece of twine, keeping it out of his face. And somehow he looked even more beautiful than Thayne remembered.

"...Zaire, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I live a little ways from town," Zaire laughs, the sound music to Thayne's ears. "I came to get some things for dinner tonight... What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just... trying to sell the rest of my goods before returning home. I haven't got much left to sell, this should be my last stop. It's been a plentiful harvest year and I've had time to make lots of furniture and the likes..."

"Oh, that's nice. I'm glad you've had a good harvest..." Zaire smiles shyly, wringing his hands and glancing nervously at everything but Thayne.

They stand awkwardly, avoiding each other's eyes, shifting from foot to foot, waiting for the other to break the silence first.

"You cut your hair," Thayne breaks the silence, gesturing to Zaire's hair.

"Oh, um... yeah," Zaire blushes, touching the ends of his hair. "It got too much to handle on my own and the weather is hotter over here than up north. And I would have cut it much sooner but I never got around to it. When the children were younger they used to twirl my hair for comfort so they were quite upset when I decided to cut it."

Zaire laughs, though the sound is forced, clearly feeling discomfort around Thayne since it had been so long since they last saw each other. Thayne wished Zaire felt more at ease, but he understood how awkward this was for the omega.