Nice To Meet You Again.

The bad guys had been caught and brought back, their hands shackled and weapons confiscated. The camp was in chaos when they brought them back but they have been locked away in the sturdy, cold cells deep within the camp, awaiting questions and justice—the camp was finally quiet again.

Commander Jacob Voss stood tall, listening carefully as the soldiers briefed him about everything that had happened in the woods. His face was serious, but there was a flicker of relief in his eyes. Vaelorian had made his intentions clear—he wanted to interrogate the bad guys himself. It wasn't just about punishment; it was about understanding, about knowing what they were up against.

Later, Vaelorian was back in their shared room, sitting on his bed with Riven. The younger boy looked at him with wide eyes, eager to hear more. Vaelorian smiled softly and began to tell Riven about their brief first meeting and his search for him over the years—everything he could think of. He answered all of Riven's questions, one after another. But it seemed like Riven wasn't ready to stop asking questions anytime soon. He was curious, excited, and very surprised.

"You know," Vaelorian said at the end of his story, his voice gentle, "the funny thing is I really just wanted to prove to myself that you were real at first, and then I wanted to thank you for saving my life. I didn't expect that over the years I'd feel so...drawn to you."

Riven's eyes widened. He leaned forward eagerly, already full of questions. "But how? I mean, you were just a kid back then. You could've really imagined the whole thing."

Vaelorian chuckled softly. "Yeah, I was a kid back then, but I also believed what I saw. I did have doubts too at some point. But a part of me really wanted to find you because i knew you were real."

"Wow! I can't believe you've been in love with me for eight years," Riven said, his voice full of disbelief. His eyes were fixed on Vaelorian, as if trying to understand how something like this was even possible.

Vaelorian chuckled softly. "Well, that didn't happen until later… like a few years after we first met," he explained.

"But still!" Riven said, leaning forward with a grin. "You searched for me, waited for me, for eight whole years—someone you weren't even sure was real! That's… that's insanely cool. It's gotta be, like, some kind of standard now or something, dude!" He finished with a wide smile, clearly proud of his own words.

Vaelorian looked at him with a gentle, slightly grumpy expression. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

Riven grinned mischievously. "Who? Me? Of course not!" he said, pretending to be innocent. "Why would I enjoy that you've been yearning for me all these years? Why would anyone enjoy something like that?" His smirk made Vaelorian shake his head with a sigh, a little exasperated but amused.

Standing up from the bed, Vaelorian stretched his muscles and looked at the younger boy.

"So, you really meant it when you said you've never been with anyone before me?" Riven asked in disbelief.

Vaelorian looked at him seriously. "Why would I lie about it?" he replied, sounding a bit offended but mostly curious as they both moved into the bathroom.

Riven hesitated, then said softly, "Well, for one thing, you said you've had lovers before. And I'm just trying to wrap my head around all of this, okay?"

Vaelorian sighed, picking up his toothbrush. "It's true. I've been in relationships before. But I didn't…we didn't," he struggled to find the right words, his voice quiet.

"You didn't sleep with them?" Riven asked gently, helping him with the words.

Vaelorian nodded, swallowing thickly. "It was just for appearances. It wasn't real. And as for searching for you all these years—well, it's not that big of a deal. So, stop acting so surprised," he explained.

Riven looked thoughtful. "So, were they all girls? Your ex-lovers?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Vaelorian paused, sensing the question behind Riven's curiosity. "What are you really asking, Riven?" he prompted gently.

Riven hesitated, blushing a little. "It's just… you didn't even know I was a boy when you… when you fell for me, and yet you're okay with it? With everything?" Somehow he couldn't quite say the word "sex" out loud, so he looked down, cheeks getting redder than before.

Vaelorian's face softened. "Honestly, I never really thought about any of that. I was just searching for you. Finding you—that was all that mattered," he said calmly, glancing at Riven through the mirror as he brushed his teeth.

Riven looked unsure. "But still… how did you manage? When you were… you know, in the mood?" His voice was shy, almost whispering. "Were you ever… horny? What did you do about it? Did you just… jerk off? Or is that beneath a prince?"

Vaelorian smiled softly, trying not to laugh. "I seriously worry about you sometimes," he said, shaking his head.

Riven crossed his arms. "What? I'm just saying—it couldn't have been easy to hold all that in all these years. I mean—" he paused and blushed even more "—I'm only eighteen, and I've already…"

"You've already what?" Vaelorian interrupted, his voice a little sharper, eyes narrowing like he was ready to skin Riven alive. Riven gulped, realizing he'd gone too far.

Crap!

He quickly blurted out, "I've already jerked off… like, a thousand times," he admitted sheepishly. "And… I've also slept with you." The last part was almost a whisper, and he looked down, cheeks hot.

Vaelorian's face softened, and he seemed relieved by Riven's words.

"That's good to know." Vaelorian said quietly.

Riven grinned mischievously. "See? It's not so strange, right?"

Vaelorian rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the small smile tugging at his lips. "You're impossible to deal with sometimes."

Riven leaned back, feeling a bit more relaxed now. "Hey, I just want to understand. It's a lot to take in, you know?"

Vaelorian nodded thoughtfully, then reached out to tousle Riven's hair affectionately before going back to brushing.