They settled to sleep in one another's arms. Raven cradled him close like he was his most prized possession, and Ronan watched him long after he'd fallen asleep. The way his eyes moved behind his lid, or the way his lips parted and the occasional snore would pop out. The way his chest rose and fell with such certainty, no doubt that it'd ever stop. Ronan drank it in.

It was as his own eyes were sliding shut that he chided himself for being so self-centred. Raven's fresh trim, the glossy black strands neatened up into a tidy quip, and a smooth, close cut shave, only revealed themselves as new,...