Winter's Orbit

Jainan laughed. It took a moment for Kiem to realize he hadn’t heard that before—Jainan had smiled, joked, suppressed a chuckle, but he’d never given in to it freely like this. Jainan’s laugh was joyful and infectious, and Kiem discovered he loved every nuance of it.

Jainan stopped with a faint trace of unease. But he recognized that fear as part of an old pattern, one that he didn’t have to maintain.

Jainan said. “I am not very good at talking about my feelings. I said in my previous interview that Kiem was a great help. What I meant was: I love Kiem, he is truly extraordinary, and there is nobody I would rather be married to. I hope this is now clear.”

He didn’t know when Jainan had gone from someone he just wanted to draw a smile from to someone he would rather die than lose, but it was true, and he was desperate.

It would not have occurred to him to do it. It had obviously not occurred to Kiem not to do it.