Page 132 of The Edge of Never

Kit walked ahead of me. Their hands were tucked into the straps of their daypack. The sun glinted off their dark hair. They’d braided it down both sides and tied off their neck, leaving wee tufts of hair sticking out of the hairbands. They had a light fleece on top of their t-shirt with walking trousers and boots since it was a wee bit colder up here. There was a spring to their step, and they hummed a tune.

It had been a year since they’d moved in with me. It took them three months to get everything sorted so they could move up here, so it was mid-June by the time we started living together. And what a year it had been.

Things weren’t easy for Kit in the beginning. They struggled with the transition and all the change. I was there for them every step of the way, taking care of everything so they didn’t have to worry. I made sure they had all the support they needed with help from Callan. We’d made him aware of Kit being autistic, so he understood their disability and could be there for them when I was unable to. That was the wonderful thing about my best friend. Just as he would do anything for me, he was the same way with Kit.

Once Kit became more settled, they found a studio where they could work part-time. After sorting out their licence, they got back to tattooing, and now, they were thriving.

I’d been their first client up here. Kit was nervous about tattooing me, but I told them not to worry. That I trusted them. They’d been so meticulous about it, wanting to get it just right. They gave me a small line tattoo of a mountain range with wee snow caps on my wrist. It signified our time on the mountain together, something I’d wanted to immortalise on my skin. It was a turning point in my life. No matter how hard that time had been, it had also brought me Kit, who I couldn’t imagine being without.

No matter how difficult things got, Kit and I were solid. They knew they could lean on me, and I could do the same with them. We were each other’s biggest supporters and safe spaces. The understanding and connection we shared made it easy to be with each other.

“Oh my god, I can see the top,” they called back to me, their icy blue eyes shining with happiness.

The next thing I knew, Kit had dashed off up the slope. I shook my head as I walked after them. I couldn’t fault Kit’s excitement. This was a big moment for both of us.

When I crested the peak, Kit had taken their pack off and was standing there with their arms spread out and their face turned up towards the sky. They looked so free and happy that I had to pause for a moment to take it in. My heart thumped and my chest expanded with all the love I had for them. It was quite something to see them express their joy without any reservations.

“We fucking did it!” they shouted as they spun around and spied me standing several feet away. “This fucking mountain couldn’t beat us twice!”

I smiled back at them. My beautiful, vivacious partner who was so full of life and love. Their infectious happiness spread through my veins. I dumped my pack down on the ground and ran towards them. Kit squealed when I picked them up and spun them around.

“Thane!”

I didn’t put them down even as they held onto my shoulders and squealed again, spinning them around and around until we were both dizzy. We almost fell in a heap together, but we held onto each other to get our bearings back. Kit hugged me close and buried their face in my chest, squishing their glasses against me.

“Aye, we did,” I murmured, pressing my face into their hair, “we made it, mah pretty wee love.”

We had talked about this for months, our attempt on the damn mountain we never managed to conquer together almost a year and a half ago. Kit and I decided it would be better to do it in the summer. Neither of us was keen on summiting mountains in the snow ever again.

It was the first time I’d been up a mountain since I injured my ankle. We’d done a lot of walking over the past year to get Kit’s stamina up. And today was the culmination of all that hard work. Our summit attempt had gone to plan. Kit had finally conquered a Munro.

Kit pulled away to look at me.

“And to think, Callan was betting with Ruairí that I would want to turn back before we got here.”

“He did what?”

Their eyes widened.

“I don’t think I was meant to tell you that.”

“Am gonnae throw that wee shite off the next mountain we summit together. He should have more faith in ye.”

Kit laughed.

“Ruairí refused to take the bet. Said Callan was being too harsh on me.”

Oddly enough, Ruairí and Kit had become fast friends. They both enjoyed winding Callan up. I thought he deserved it after all the interfering he did in other people’s lives, but he wasn’t too impressed by their antics. Nevertheless, he loved Kit like they were his long-lost sibling. And had told me on multiple occasions that if I fucked anything up with Kit, he would kick me to the kerb on their behalf.

“Am the one who believed in ye first. Those two are eejits.”

“Aww, are you jealous that Ruairí likes me so much?”

“No, am no jealous of anyone. I know ye’re mine, Kit.”

They blushed and gave me a shy smile.

“Yeah, I am. Always.”

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