Simply relishing the feeling of being engulfed in his arms after being apart for so long, Kora knew she wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon. Mentally tracing the planes of his face, she commits his every feature to memory. Once and then twice, painting a permanent picture in her mind of his every feature. His forehead, closed eyes, nose, lips, and chin, every feature carved into her memory so that she would never forget what he looked like.

The years they were apart were difficult. Although she felt a connection with him, compared to the time she’d been in this world, she hadn't known him well at all. She clung to the promises they’d made to each other before he left, but after no contact at all, she couldn’t help but feel as though she may have imagined the whole thing. Slowly as time passed by, she thought of him less frequently and struggled to clearly remember his face. Despite this, her feelings remained rooted in the hope that he would return home to her. 

That’s why this felt like a wonderful dream that she feared she would wake up from. She had dreamed of this many times, but each time she awoke cold and alone, reaching out for someone who wasn’t there. Even as his face blurred in her memory, the feeling he incited in her remained. Pulling him further into her arms, she gently strokes his hair as the sound of his breathing lulls her to sleep. 

Waking up, she immediately realizes that something is wrong. Eyes flying open, she jerks upright and realizes that Nori wasn’t beside her on the bed. Reaching a hand out to his side of the bed, she realizes that the bed isn’t even warm. Fearing that it was just another dream, she quickly hurries out of bed to search for him. 

Unfortunately she was in such a hurry that her legs got tangled up in the blanket and she found herself in a heap on the floor. The same blanket that caused her to fall did serve to cushion her landing. Before she could untangle herself, she paused as she heard a familiar voice. Footsteps could be heard as he raced through the house and within moments, he was bounding into the room. Realizing that Nori was actually here with her, she couldn’t help the smile that came to her face, followed by unstoppable tears. 

Rushing to her side, Nori scoops her up effortlessly and places her on the bed gently before removing the blanket she was tangled in. His gaze swept over her searching for any major injuries as he said, “Where does it hurt?”

“I’m fine, I’m just happy to see you.”

Confusion evident on his face, Nori says, “Are you sure you’re okay? You did just fall out of bed.”

Before Kora could respond, Jolfri could be heard at the doorway, “Is everything okay in here? I was going to let you handle things alone but I heard her crying.”

Kora took Nori’s concerned face in her hands, before saying, “I’m okay.” After giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she turned to the doorway and said, “Thanks for your concern Jolfri, but we’re okay.”

Still watching her warily, Nori turned to the doorway before saying, “We’ll finish up this meeting later. I’m going to make sure that everything is okay here first. Kora is my priority.”

Although her crying had slowed down, his words brought a fresh wave of tears. Kora could barely register the , “Okay”, that Jolfri had given in response as she found herself engulfed in Nori’s arms once again. 

Helpless, Nori simply held her closer and gently stroked her hair until she’d calmed down. Listening to her breathing slow down and hearing her sniffling become less frequent, he says, “If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to. But I just need to know that you’re okay.”

Wiping at her tears, Kora shakes her head with a small laugh. “I honestly don’t know myself. I’m just a bit emotional I guess, I am serious though, they were happy tears. I was just so relieved that yesterday wasn’t a dream.”

With a smile making its way onto his face, he said, “You dream of me?” Although she didn’t answer his question, the expression on her face was enough for him to know that she did, in fact, dream of him. “If I’m being honest, I dreamed of you almost every night that I was gone.”

A blush coating her cheeks, Kora pulls him close as she gently kisses his lips. “Thank you for coming back to me. If I’m being honest, it bothered me that I was struggling to remember what you truly looked like.” Sweeping her gaze over his face once again, she said, “I never intend to be apart from you so long that that ever has to be a thought again.”

Gently tilting her chin up to meet his eyes, Kora could see the desire that burned in them. “Is that why you slept in this morning? Were you watching me all night?” The blush coating her cheeks betrayed that he had guessed correctly. With a chuckle he continued, “I don’t mind although I do think I could use a few more kisses, if you don’t mind.”

Although she was sure she resembled a tomato at this point, she wasn’t going to deny that she wanted the same thing, so she pulled him in for another kiss. He gently pushed her back on the bed as he took control of this kiss. Familiarizing themselves with each other once again, they spent the next few hours strengthening their connection and commitment to one another.