Chizuru didn't need verbal acknowledgement to slide herself closer into the shape of Saitou's body, fitting into his arms with a familiar ease. It was a combination of touch, taste, smell...she could close her eyes and feel the cool winter moon of years ago beaming down on them, blessing their union and lighting the path that would lead them to the rest of their lives. Perhaps it was the nature of their memories that made her so sentimental, or the absence of the familiar that had defined so much of their young lives.

They only had themselves to serve as catalysts to the past, and though they cherished the events that drew their fates together, there was an unspoken understanding that they couldn't look back. Not with yearning, though fondness was acceptable. They had built a life together, with nothing but themselves to serve as the foundation.

It'd felt like so long since they'd taken a moment to examine themselves and enjoy the moment like this. They'd long hung up the mantle of being a page and a captain, and along with their country, their roles had evolved. To protector and protected, rasetsu and donor, companions, spouses, parents--

--lovers through it all.

A shaky exhale betrayed her emotions, though she'd long given up keeping them to herself with him. Her eyes opened slightly, pulling back to breathe and stare back at him. It was moments like this that needed to be seared into their memory, as they were all too often short-lived.