“But a shop? I can’t take a shop.”
“Already done. It’s in your name. Everything’s paid.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a key. But glistening in the light is the silver sunflower charm Idah made for me, along with two other silver items on chains in his hand.
“Dog tags?”
He nods. “One for you, one for me. You gave yours to help me at a time when I needed it the most. Since we’re going to be apart from each other more now that you have your own shop, I asked Idah to remake us some new ones with some added extras.”
Taking the key and the dog tags from his hand, I bring them close, taking in the details. A small star lies next to our names, instead of an identification number, celestial coordinates take their place. Underneath, a few words stand out – The night I showed you the stars – shines brightly on the silver plate of metal.
I look up to him, my beautiful man has come so far. He’s grown from being afraid of life, to loving it. He no longer hides himself away, but he embraces everything that he’s become.
He just does it in his own unique way.
“But there’s one more thing I need to ask of you, my sunshine.” His eyes water, blue oceans looking upon me. “This is probably the hardest of them all.”
He takes a deep breath, ignoring the tears falling from his eyes.
“You saw me in a crowd when no one else did. You brought the light back that I thought was snuffed out. Before you, I thought the world was grey and white, but you brought colour back into my life. I don’t want to do anything else without you. You taught me how to be unafraid of life, unafraid of being autistic. But instead, hold on tightly and embrace it. And I can’t lose you again.”
Without another word, he takes my chin, pulling my mouth to meet his, pressing his lips against mine as I melt into his touch. My senses are taken over by him. Nothing else matters, but him. Memories when I thought I’d lost him flash through my mind but are quickly erased with each gentle touch from his lips. He pulls me closer to his body as he pulls away from my mouth. Moving towards the side of my neck, he places another kiss, and the only thing I can hear apart from the waves in the horizon, are the words, “So, soldier, are you ready to start your next mission with me?”