He'd been in bliss for more miles than he even cared to keep track of.

The budding young couple had made the world their own─the whole world─but, as much of it as they were seeing on their adventure, Mirren's eyes were mostly glued to his bride. He shared the weightless way she took her steps, his golden eyes mirroring the wild gleam that shone so fervently in her hazel ones. They scoured the wilderness together, but no matter how wondrous and faraway the mountain peaks looked in the setting sunlight, no matter how fresh the air that blew across the vast and rolling meadows were, no matter how pleasant the wildflowers felt as their soft and colorful petals brushed against his face as the two of slept beneath an open sky...Kite was still the most beautiful, wonderous, mysterious, and perfect thing to be found. But he'd done so much more than just found her─he loved her, and now their lives were intricately tied to one another for life.

By the time they'd made it into the heart of Serpent's Pass, she'd probably asked him where they were going five-hundred times, but he didn't mind. And as a matter of fact, he didn't really know. He'd spent some time on the eastern side of the range on his way to Copper Rock Creek all those months ago and had crossed the mountains to get there, but most of the terrain that sprawled before him was uncharted. There was no denying that it was beautiful, and how exciting it was to quite literally be lost with the girl of his dreams and best friend. All around them, ancient pine trees rose from the scaling, slated ridges, the rolling hills beyond them giving way into forest as far as the eye could see. In the night and as they reached what he hadn't realized was their destination, it looked like a sea of black, the moonlight upon the trees like slivers of light upon the crests of waves.

Breaking through a treeline onto an unlikely scene─a sandy beach, lining a vast and most secluded lake amid the mountains─the tawny boy didn't expect what they'd unknowingly found. The northern lights lit up the sky, dancing across it in waves made of colors he'd never even seen before. His jaw dropped open, hanging for a second in amazement before snapping shut with a hollow click. He leaned into her form, his eyes searching the sky before finding her face. In the dark and beneath the aurora, Kite looked like an angel, a figure of his imagination. This couldn't be more perfect, and now he felt more weightless than ever.

Mirren stared out across the lake, its waters like a mirror as they reflected the azure and violet hues that were cast through the sky above. "That's...that's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen." And it truly was. He breathed. "It was waiting for us, this place." Eyes of gold, pale in the night, fell upon her face.

There was a chill in the late spring air that seemed to conflict with the warmth he felt for Kite and the warmth of her body, so close. Tiny, transparent clouds of of her breath when she spoke hung if only for a moment in the space between their faces, and a glint of joy shone in his darkened eyes, mixed somehow with the reflections of the waves of light that moved across the sky. Each day they spent at each other's side was like a thread of destiny, intricately sewing their fates inextricably together, and now that they had made their vows, nothing would tear the fabric of their life apart.

She was, perhaps, at her cutest when she was at a loss for words. With the expanse of navy sky wide open above them, watching her fumble and recover her words and the meaning behind them was something that he really did enjoy. But it wasn't just her; at times, he too couldn't quite figure out just what to say, and sometimes he knew that the silences they shared were just as important as the words that could have hung there between them instead.

"These lights... you are more brilliant than them."

He grinned, the puff of a soft breath exhaled into the shadows. His eyes fell to the ground for a moment, looking over his dirtied paws─a weathered cream against the shades of black that colored the earth. "Whatever brilliance you see in me is only there because of you." Mirren leaned to nip affectionately at Kite's chin, the thumping of his own heart slow and steady within the confines of his broad chest. "It's funny, you know...I would have never imagined something as wonderful and as special as this─being here, being with you─could have ever happened for me. For so long, it was like something was missing..." he paused. "...And for the longest time, I thought that I would find whatever it was somewhere along the creek. Somewhere in the past that I remember and love. But...It was just you missing; you're my future. You're my everything, Kite."

A breeze blew casually through the tops of the pine trees, their needles rustling like whispers beneath the stars.