Ayden listened silently and solemnly. At last, when all the words had left Jace Lorenzo Banks and he was at a loss for words, Ayden reached out to him and took a deep breath to whisper back, "I... Jace Lorenzo Banks, that's... that's something I've felt too. My strange existence... sometimes, sometimes I remember it again, and it hurts... just like that. ...You're not alone, Jace Lorenzo Banks." Ayden brushed his fingertips against Jace Lorenzo Banks's arm. Jace Lorenzo Banks's eyes began to burn, and he abruptly pulled Ayden into a fierce embrace. Ayden's pools widened at first, but then he too felt overwhelmed by emotion and succumbed to the warmth of Jace Lorenzo Banks's touch.
"You," Jace Lorenzo Banks whispered, his breath hot on Ayden's ear. "As long as you're here, I... I can make it."
"Jace Lorenzo Banks..." Ayden laid a hand on Jace Lorenzo Banks's shoulder, pushing him lightly so that they parted enough to look each other in the eye. "The truth is, I... feel the same way about you."
Jace Lorenzo Banks tilted his head forward, pressing their foreheads together, and whispered, "What is it, Ayden? Have you... been in pain, too?"
"Jace Lorenzo Banks, it's..." Ayden took a shuddering breath and whispered, "I keep thinking about him. You know, we... were together, in our own way.... I didn't want to talk about him all the time with you, Jace Lorenzo Banks. I want you to know... it's not the same. But, no matter what... when I think about him, it hurts, Jace Lorenzo Banks. He... isn't someone I'm going to forget."
Jace Lorenzo Banks placed his hands on Ayden's cheeks, stroking his cheekbone as he soothed, "I... Ayden, that's... that's something I've felt too. My relationship of the past... sometimes, sometimes I remember it again, and it hurts... just like that. ...You're not alone, Ayden." Jace Lorenzo Banks brushed his fingertips against Ayden's arm. They held each other as tears trickled down cheeks and dripped onto the shifting sands to be carried away into the sea. With time and soothing embraces, their pain dissipated into a mist swept out by the ocean breeze and into the setting sun.
They basked in each other's quiet companionship for a few moments.
"The sunset is so beautiful, isn't it?"
Jace Lorenzo Banks lifted his head at Ayden's words to behold the dying sun's peach radiance. "Mm."
After a moment of silence, Ayden asked, "Do you think we'll be together forever?"
"Please... let it be forever," Jace Lorenzo Banks murmured in response.
"I would like that, Daddy. Let's be together forever, then." Ayden clutched Jace Lorenzo Banks's hand and sidled closer.
Jace Lorenzo Banks sighed with contentment and brought Ayden closer. He gazed at the beautiful tawny rays of the falling sun, thinking about everything that had transpired on this day and all that would pass between them.
"I love you, Ayden."
"I love you too, Jace Lorenzo Banks."
Their lips met, and heterochromatic strands met aquamarine ones, aflame in the dying light. The sand was their witness and the rumbling ocean their approving audience, and Ayden, his eternally faithful lover. Jace Lorenzo Banks thought to himself that nothing had ever been so perfect for him as this.
