[His smile fades entirely now, a crease appearing across his brow even as Hythlodaeus smooths his hand across it to brush his hair aside. That flurry of kisses does some to ease the ache that has begun to squeeze at his heart once more; he meets those that brush near enough for him to do so, his fingers flexing softly against his lover's hip.

They both know full well that Hythlodaeus knows precisely why— but it will do him no good to keep it in. It will make it no less true.]

I became what I swore I would not. What I once thought myself incapable of.

[And for no short period of time. The sweet brush of Hythlodaeus' lips and his gentle ministrations seem too kind for him, let alone another chance at life when he has already lived longer than anyone rightly should, by this world's standards— and if one could truly call his miserable campaign to conquer and bring back what had been lost living.]

Of the many things I have longed for over the centuries, this reunion has ever been a wish that I held close to my heart.

[That, he's sure, comes as no surprise, and he presses a kiss against the tip of Hythlodaeus' nose before dropping to claim another from his lips for emphasis— he will not have his lover thinking he is anything but glad to be here with him again.]