They set the phone up on the counter and opened a simple cinnamon roll tutorial.
The kitchen lights were warm, soft, and golden — matching the mood between them.
Natsuki poured flour into a bowl. Damon watched her hands more than the video.
The person in the video, a cheerful woman with bright red lipstick, paused and said, "Now, for this next step, you'll need strong hands and patience to roll and knead the dough until it's smooth."
Natsuki looked at Damon, a wicked glint in her eyes.
"Fine, fine," Damon sighed dramatically, raising his hands in surrender. "Let the peasant prince do the work."
"That's right," Natsuki said, taking the bowl and handing him a large bag of sugar. "All that world-shattering training must be put to good use for the real challenges."
She watched him from behind as he poured it. She thought "Your not just mine Damon. You complete home."
As he leaned over to pour the sugar with care, she moved swiftly. Her mouth opened, and she bit down gently on his bulging biceps, not hard enough to injure his skin, but just enough to be felt.
Damon froze, letting out a surprised chuckle. "Natsuki! What are you doing?"
"Your arms look edible," she mumbled, releasing him. "A bit doughy."
"You're lucky you're cute," he muttered, shaking his head.
He began the difficult task of mixing the sticky dough. When the video transitioned, Natsuki was still watching. Damon came up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest.
Natsuki smiled, leaning back into his embrace, her elbow resting on his arm. She used one forearm to hold his face steady, a sign of mutual possessiveness.
They watched the video intently as Natsuki prepared the filling. She picked up an egg, ready to crack it. Damon leaned down, his mouth tracing the curve of her ear before gently catching the lobe between his teeth.
Natsuki giggled, a sound that vibrated through his chest.
"Focus, Damon!" she squeaked, but she didn't pull away.
She cracked the egg a little too hard on the counter edge. When she opened it, a small shard of shell fell into the bowl.
Natsuki sighed. "Now I have to fish that out."
"Ah, a job for the great precision master," Damon said, picking up a chopstick. He handed it to her.
She jabbed at the shell piece. "It just keeps floating away! This is impossible!"
Damon put down the chopsticks. He focused his mind, sending a focused whisper of wind eterna into the bowl. The air pressure shifted instantly, lifting the tiny shell shard to the surface where he smoothly plucked it out.
Natsuki stared, eyes wide with fascination. "You used wind… to pick up an eggshell?"
"Monarch-level precision, baby girl," he said, blowing on his fingertips. Then, with a playful smile, he condensed a fraction of fire eterna onto the shell, instantly vaporizing it into a puff of dust that he blew toward her face.
She gasped and playfully swatted at him, a genuine smile lighting up her face.
They finished the dough, rolled it flat, added the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and sliced the pinwheels. They placed the rolls into a baking pan.
Damon lifted her and sat her gently on the kitchen counter. He stood between her legs, hands resting on her thighs, gazing up at her. The kitchen air was thick with the scent of cinnamon and the unspoken promise they had just made.
A soft, mechanical tick, tick, tick came from the oven timer. Damon heard it and thought "Even the little moments matter"
"Natsuki," Damon said, his voice dropping to a smooth, serious register. "Are you truly sure your parents won't be getting back home anytime soon?"
"Damon," she said, cupping his cheek,
"they're not even on this continent yet."
"Then," he said, leaning in, "we're safe."
Their lips met —
Slow.
Warm.
Real.
Neither rushed.
Neither needed to.
"Tell me," she whispered.
He didn't ask what.
"I love you," he said. "Completely."
She exhaled like the words healed something deep.
He kissed her again, slower, deeper.
When they finally broke apart, Natsuki asked softly,
"Tell me about the war. Everything...both good and bad."
He nodded.
"Natsuki...I don't wanna hide anything from you so I'm just gonna say it"
She listened — eyes glinting with worry.
"There's something that happens when I grow. The growth is too much… so my body forces years of adaptation at once."
Her eyes widened.
"And you go through that alone?"
Damon lifted her face gently.
"I'm not alone. I have you, Daichi, my mom, Nyra, Bravira… my family."
She held his face with both hands.
"Well, don't expect me to stop worrying."
He told her about Velmira.
Her fate.
Draven.
Natsuki listened, heart aching.
"She didn't deserve that," she whispered.
"She didn't," Damon agreed softly.
Then he told her about Santa — the real one.
Almost on cue—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
They both froze.
"I thought your parents weren't coming back," Damon said.
"They aren't," Natsuki whispered.
She hopped off the counter and opened the door—and immediately froze.
A sled.
Two wyverns.
A massive red bag.
Snow swirling unnaturally.
"...Santa?" she whispered.
The figure pulled off the mask.
"Hey," Solaren grinned. "Damon. I'm sure Hazel set this up."
Damon facepalmed.
"Solaren… why are you Santa?"
" Well I volunteered, and as assigned to this region," he shrugged. "Caeliith and Serenya too but I think one of thems in Franc."
"France." Damon corrected.
Natsuki pointed shakily at the wyverns.
"What if someone SEES THAT?!"
"No worries," Solaren said casually. "Only souls who've been to Woewyn can see them."
The wyverns grumbled their dragon-like greetings.
"And hear them," Solaren added.
He dove dramatically into the giant gift bag, rustled around, and popped out holding a red box wrapped in a gold ribbon.
"For you, Natsuki. From Santa and Prince Damon."
She blushed hard.
Solaren then looked up at the sky.
"Earth snow is dull. Damon, what do you say I give them a show?"
"Go for it."
He leapt high — impossibly high — and light exploded in the sky.
Wyverns circled him, glowing silhouettes between moonlight and flame. Light trails, starbursts, golden arcs, shimmering symbols. A celestial firework dance.
People stepped outside, phones in hand, staring in awe — only seeing the lights, not the wyverns.
Inside the house, something small and glowing floated toward Natsuki.
HOSHI-3, the AI .
Soft, warm, the size of a tiny wisp.
"I've been assigned to be your companion," it chimed in a small, celestial voice. "Would you like to give me a name?"
Natsuki paused. Looked at Damon and whispered, smiling,
"Luma."
The spirit glowed brighter, happy.
She turned and hugged Damon tightly.
"Thank you...But what does it do?"
"I'll leave you two to explore that" he said laughing.
Inside, the oven beeped loudly. Damon grabbed the pan barehanded, unaffected.
Natsuki cut a roll and held it up.
"First bite."
Damon took a bite then stared at her. At the roll. Back at her.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm deciding something important," he said seriously.
"Which is sweeter — you, or the cinnamon roll?"
Natsuki didn't miss a beat. She aimed a sharp, precise fist at his stomach. He was a prince who had taken blows from beings that could shatter moons and disrupt galaxies, yet he involuntarily doubled over from the playful punch. It hurt and the surprise always got him.
"I'm joking!" he laughed, grabbing his midsection dramatically. He took a bite of the roll, nodding in approval. "They're good. Very, very good. But you, Natsuki, are a whole lot sweeter."
Her cheeks turned red. A blush was an understatement.
Later, they lay on the couch.
Natsuki rested chest-down on him, her head on his chest.
Damon opened his palm, playing with light as it glowed on Natsuki's face. She tried touching it but only felt tiny shocks through her fingers. She touched his wind too. "It's just wind...but it's like...alive."
Then he summoned fire. It shimmered gold-red, swirling like a miniature sun.
"Careful," Damon warned. "Varnex says only someone who truly loves me can freely touch my fire."
Natsuki didn't hesitate. She lifted her hand, intertwined her fingers with his—around the flame—
And kissed him softly.
The fire didn't burn her.
It folded gently into her touch.
Damon opened his eyes slowly, stunned.
"I love you, Natsuki," he whispered.
Her fingers squeezed his.
"I love you, Damon."
The flame dimmed into a soft ember between their joined hands.
And for the first time in a long time—
he felt completely, undeniably, home.
Damon thought:
"I never understood what it meant to 'live for someone.' It always sounded dramatic… something people just say.
But holding her now… hearing her breathe… feeling her warmth on me…
Yeah. I get it.
I love her for many reasons. Not because she saved me. Not just because she's beautiful. I love her because when the world falls apart, she's the one thing that makes me want to stay in it. That's one reason. A good reason.
I promised her I'd live.
Not die protecting her.
Not burn everything down for her.
Live. Every day. For her.
And I will. No matter what comes next."