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Fall

"How could we settle for green," she mused, "if we've seen the cold flames of autumn consume our sky?"

He watched her stare out the window, her eyes following the leaves being carried through the air.

"It's a reward," he quietly said, "for making it another year."

Her lips curled upward. She didn't say a word, but he understood. She wanted to see this time of year again and again, enough to fight for it.

She turned toward him, still smiling. Her chin cradled by her hand, head tilted to the right. "I'm glad you're here."

He wanted to say so much. He opened his mouth to profess just how grateful he was that she existed and that she wanted to fight for that bright existence. But he swallowed the words down and settled for a smile. "I'm glad I am."

She nodded and turned to the window once more. He watched her watching the sky, both of them settling neatly into the silence.

And then it was over. His feelings simmered below the surface with the promise to be let out in just a moment, just a moment, just a moment —

But she had left nothing unsaid.