It was much, much later. The debris of Luke's hatching was cleared away and he'd been bathed, fed again, and tucked into a slightly larger wicker basket that Dee had been using as a laundry basket. It was a fairly shallow oval, and a pretty good substitute for a crib – at least for now.
"Thank you," Sys murmured, settling down on the pillows, tired but glowing.
"For what?" Dee asked, bending down to give Luke a last, gentle kiss on the cheek before leaving.
"For everything. For ssaving uss... twisse. For being sso... sso..." The room was bright with moonlight and Dee's breath caught at the expression in those beautiful, golden eyes. He swallowed hard. "Don't go," Sys whispered.
Dee glanced towards the door. Something was telling him to leave, but something stronger was telling him to stay. He realised that one was fear, and the other was a whole lot purer. Licking his lips, he moved towards the bed, as if his body had a life beyond the control of his brain.
Sys raised his hand, reaching out to him, and Dee took it.
They lay, facing each other, their eyes bright with something that came from within. Dee raised his hand to stroke the side of Sys' face, while Sys rested his hand on the curve of Dee's hip, the fingers moving in little circles.
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Dee whispered, running his thumb over Sys' lips. "God knows, I've fought this. God knows why. I felt that I'd somehow be taking advantage of you, given the way you came to me."
"Have ththere been otherss?"
"Others?"
"From the laboratory. You ssaid ththat there were people in ththere who helped uss esscape. Did many come here?"
"Not enough. A few. Maybe nine or ten over the last five years."
"Did you ssleep withth any of ththosse?"
"No," Dee said, surprised by the question.
"Did you want to?"
"No."
"Were any of ththem beautiful?"
"In their own way, yes..."
"Ththen what'ss different about me?"
"Everything. Everything's different about you." Dee said, his eyes intense pools of darkness, that make Sys shiver. He smiled, hesitantly.
"Everything?"
Dee stared at him for a moment, then smiled. "Well, for one thing none of them, male or female, gave birth while they were here."
Dee's attempt to lighten the atmosphere fell flat on its face, as a shadow passed over Sys' face. "Iss ththat what makes me sspecial?"
"It's one of the things. There are many more. Your eyes- they're so bright, and they always show exactly what you're thinking. Your smile, even though those fangs still make me uncomfortable. Your lips, that make me think of nothing but kissing them, no matter what they're doing, no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise. Your hair... oh God your hair – it's wonderful."
As if to underline his point, Dee ran his fingers through Sys' hair, digging them into the wild mane at the back of his head, then letting them move lower to ruffle the shorter hair that ran all the way down the centre of his back to his tailbone. Sys shivered and moaned softly.
"Dee. Beautiful Dee. I love you, Dee. I love you sso much it hurtss."
"Hurt? Where does it hurt?" Dee asked softly, with a husky undertone.
"Here," Sys breathed, taking Dee's hand and laying it on his belly. "And here." He moved the hand slowly downwards, shuddering at the touch.
"Are you... are you well enough, Sys?"
"Oh, yess. I've never felt sso good. Pleesse don't make me wait any longer. I hurt, Dee. I ache for you."
Dee took Sys' face between his hands. "Know this. I love you with all my heart, and I always will. I'll never hurt you and I'll never leave you. I'll take care of you, and Luke, with the last ounce of strength in my body. I'll protect you with my life if I have to. When I'm not with you, you're the only thing on my mind. You have no idea how much I've wanted to take you in my arms..." His voice cracked and Sys gripped his hand tightly.