Every moment I fell for you (r18)

Theron felt sick.

"I can't believe this," he murmured.

Kael moved closer. "Then let me make you believe it."

Theron turned to him, eyes sharp. "How?"

Kael inhaled, steadying himself. His voice was raw, stripped bare. "Because I can tell you every moment I fell for you."

Theron stiffened.

Kael took another step, slow and deliberate. "I fell for you the first time you beat me at a strategy game when we were kids, and instead of gloating, you just smiled and patted my shoulder like it was obvious you'd win." His lips twitched, something wistful in his expression. "I fell for you when I saw you tinker with machines, your face all scrunched up in concentration, completely lost in your own world."

Theron's breath hitched.

Kael kept going. "I fell for you when you stood up for me the first time someone questioned my place as a prince. You didn't hesitate. You didn't even think about it. You just looked them in the eye and said, 'He's Kael. That's enough.'" Kael let out a shaky laugh. "And that was the moment I knew you were enough for me."

Theron swallowed hard, his eyes burning.

Kael's voice softened, like a confession. "I fell for you every time you rolled your eyes at my flirting, but still laughed at my jokes. I fell for you when you let me be reckless but never let me be stupid. When you always saw me, even when I didn't know who I was."

Kael's golden eyes held his, unflinching. "And the worst part? I knew."

Theron's breath caught.

"I knew it was real. I knew it wasn't just friendship." Kael's voice cracked. "But I was too much of a coward to accept it."

Silence.

Heavy. Suffocating.

Theron's throat tightened. "You're saying… you loved me before you even knew we were mates?"

Kael nodded, voice rough. "Yes."

Theron's knees felt weak.

He didn't know what to do with this. With any of this.

Because if Kael had always loved him—if he had truly seen him all along—then that meant…

Kael took another step, closing the space between them.

Theron didn't move away.

He couldn't.

Kael exhaled, lifting a hand hesitantly—like he wanted to touch Theron but wasn't sure if he was allowed. His fingers hovered near Theron's wrist, barely brushing his skin.

"I'm sorry," Kael whispered. "I should have told you. I should have seen how much this hurt you. I should have—" He let out a breath, shaking his head. "I should have been braver."

Theron stared at him.

He was still angry. Still hurt.

But beneath all of it was something else.

Something terrifying.

Because for the first time in his life, he realized he had never been alone in his feelings.

Kael had been with him all along.

Theron swallowed hard. His voice was barely above a whisper.

Theron's breath hitched, his chest rising and falling with uneven, shallow breaths. He felt like he was drowning in Kael's words, in the raw vulnerability laid bare before him. His hands trembled at his sides, his body betraying the turmoil raging inside him.

Kael had loved him.

Kael had always loved him.

And it didn't make sense.

Not after everything. Not after the years of watching Kael flirt and laugh and touch others so easily, while Theron had told himself—forced himself—to believe he never had a chance. 

Theron swallowed hard, his throat tight. His voice, when it finally came, was barely above a whisper.

"You love me?"

Kael's expression softened, and something in his stormy blue eyes shifted. He reached out slowly, like he was afraid Theron would pull away.

"I do," Kael murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "I always have."

Theron's heart stuttered. "But—"

Kael cut him off, shaking his head. "Let me explain."

He took a step forward, then another, until he was so close that Theron could feel the warmth of his body, the energy crackling between them like a live wire.

"I didn't know what it was at first," Kael admitted. "I didn't understand why you were the first person I looked for in a room. Why your laugh made everything feel lighter. Why your silence felt heavier than anyone else's words."

His lips curled into something almost self-deprecating. "I was an idiot. I thought if I ignored it, it would go away. That I could pretend it was nothing."

He exhaled shakily, his gaze never leaving Theron's. "But it wasn't nothing. It was never nothing. It was everything."

Theron's fingers curled into fists, his mind reeling.

Everything.

Kael kept going, as if afraid to stop, afraid that if he did, Theron would slip through his fingers.

"And then, when I got older and started noticing other people, I told myself it was normal to flirt, to go out, to have fun. That's what everyone did. That's what I should do. But no matter how many times I tried, no matter how many people I kissed, touched, wanted to want—"

His voice faltered, and he reached out, fingers ghosting over Theron's wrist.

"It was always you," Kael whispered.

Theron's breath left him in a shudder.

Kael's touch was light, hesitant, but burning. His fingers traced over Theron's pulse point, his thumb brushing over his skin with the gentlest of caresses.

"You have to believe me," Kael pleaded, voice raw. "I never meant to hurt you. I never thought—" He broke off, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, they were filled with so much longing, so much regret. "I never thought I could have you."

Theron's heart pounded so hard it hurt.

He wanted to speak, wanted to say something, anything—but the words were lost, buried beneath the weight of everything Kael was saying.

Kael loved him.

He had always loved him.

And the truth of it cracked something deep inside Theron, something he hadn't realized had been locked away for so long.

Theron moved before he could stop himself.

He surged forward, his hands fisting in Kael's shirt, yanking him in as his lips crashed against his.

Kael made a sound—half surprise, half desperation—but he didn't hesitate. His arms wrapped around Theron instantly, pulling him flush against his body, holding him like he was afraid to let go.

The kiss was frantic, messy, needy.

Theron didn't care.

He poured everything into it—all the frustration, the longing, the years of unspoken feelings and buried pain.

Kael responded with equal intensity, his hands roaming, grasping, his body pressing Theron backward until they collided with the bed.

They tumbled onto it, limbs tangling, breath mingling. Kael hovered over him, his weight solid, grounding, perfect.

Their lips parted only for a second, both of them gasping for air, eyes locked.

Theron's cheeks were flushed, his silver hair mussed, his lips swollen from the force of their kiss.

Kael had never seen anything more beautiful.

His hand trembled as he reached out, cupping Theron's face, thumb tracing over his cheek.

"I love you," Kael whispered again, reverently. "Say you believe me."

Theron's throat tightened. His hands slid up Kael's arms, nails digging in just enough to make Kael shudder.

"I believe you," he admitted, voice barely audible. He swallowed hard, breath shaky.

Kael made a sound that was almost a growl, low and deep and needy, and then he was kissing Theron again, like he couldn't help himself.

This time, it was slower, deeper.

Kael took his time, savoring the feel of Theron beneath him, the way his body responded to every touch, every kiss, every whispered breath.

His lips trailed from Theron's mouth to his jaw, down the column of his throat, pressing open-mouthed kisses against his skin, feeling the way Theron trembled beneath him.

Theron's hands fisted in Kael's shirt, pulling him closer, his breaths uneven. "Kael—"

Kael groaned. "Say my name again."

Theron arched slightly beneath him, his fingers tangling in Kael's hair. "Kael."

Kael growled, the sound reverberating through his chest, through the very air between them, and Theron swore he felt it everywhere.

Their bodies pressed closer, heat building between them, the bond humming with undeniable energy.

Theron could feel it now—could feel Kael, in a way he had never been able to before. It was raw and real and perfect.

Kael's lips found his again, and the kiss deepened, drowning them both in everything they had denied for so long.

Kael couldn't breathe. Or maybe he was breathing too much—too fast—because every second, every touch, every moment with Theron was unraveling him.

Theron was in his arms, his body flush against Kael's, and nothing had ever felt more right. His lips were impossibly soft, yet demanding, stealing the breath from Kael's lungs with every kiss. It was desperate, hungry—a kiss that spoke of years of unspoken feelings, of longing neither of them had dared to name.

Kael's hands roamed, sliding up Theron's bare back, feeling the heat of his skin, the way his muscles tensed beneath his touch. Theron gasped into his mouth when Kael's fingers tangled into his silver hair, tugging just enough to tilt his head, deepening the kiss.

Their tongues met in a slow, teasing slide—Kael groaned, the sound vibrating through his chest as Theron pressed closer, molding against him. Their bodies moved in perfect sync, as if instinct had taken over, as if their souls had known this dance forever.

Theron's breath hitched when Kael's hands slid lower, gripping his waist, pulling him impossibly closer. And then—gods help him—he felt it.

The unmistakable friction between them.

Kael gasped into the kiss, his hips jerking forward as the hard line of Theron's arousal ground against his own.

Fuck.

A shudder ran through him, his grip tightening, fingers digging into Theron's skin as heat flooded his veins.

 Theron's breath was uneven, ragged, his mismatched eyes dark with something wild when he pulled back just enough to look at Kael.

"…Kael," he whispered, his voice hoarse, wrecked.

Kael swallowed hard, his throat dry, his entire body burning. "Tell me to stop," he rasped, though his hands refused to let go. "Tell me, and I will."

Theron's lips parted, and for a moment, Kael thought he might.

But then—

"Don't," Theron murmured. "Don't stop."