I know what's there. You keep things from me, things that you consider ugly, and I know. I promise you, Quinn, there is nothing within you that could make me turn away from you. There is nothing you could do, or make me do, that would change my feelings towards you. I have loved no one else in my life the way I love you—I have loved no one else at all.

We are not all beautiful. We are not all beautiful all the way through. I am not beautiful. Your having flaws, and the poison you keep, neither of those keep me from loving you honestly and earnestly as I do. You do not have to love me for me to love you, either.

I know I ask for the impossible, Quinn, but please. Believe this.

Daimd did not believe in fate or destiny or any sort of higher powers, to speak of. He believed, sometimes, in the best of moods, that his ancestors probably did spend some of their infinite afterlife watching him, though he did strongly suspect that he was boring and tame for their tastes. Magically dispatching your enemies was far less messy and entertaining than gutting them through with a sword, and he had no magical deceased relatives to admire his finesse.

Still, from time to time, he had to wonder.

Fleeting decisions change lives. Phrases like “I will pay my debt to you” meaning “I will stay by you until I see fit to leave”, and cooking daily for two rather than one. Stepping forward when there was no perceptible reward or gain for doing so. Learning to accept the constant presence of another person by your side.

Fate had no hand in his life, and destiny did not exist. But he had to wonder.