Beneath a Silver Moon

The morning air was crisp, laced with the scent of pine and dew. Caleb watched Eli sip hot tea on the bakery's back porch, sunlight brushing his face like a soft kiss. Caleb had been thinking about this for days---inviting him deeper, showing him the part of his world, he kept hidden from everyone. 

''Eli,'' he said suddenly, voice steady but quiet. ''Would you come with me today?'' Someone important.'' 

Eli looked up, intrigued. ''Where?'' 

Caleb offered a rare, gentle smile. ''Home. My real home.''

Eli blinked, surprised. ''You mean --- your place in the forest?'' 

Caleb nodded. ''It's not just a house. It's .... me. I want to see it.'' 

The journeyed by foot, the path winding deeper into untouched forest. No trails. No signs. Just instinct and Caleb's presence guiding Eli forward. Birds sang above them. A doe glanced up from a patch of windflowers and darted off as they approached. Time felt slower, sacred here. 

Finally. Caleb parted a curtain of hanging vines, revealing a wooden cabin hidden among towering trees and thick moss. The structure was earthy, beautifully aged built into the landscape as though grown rather than made. A small stream ran beside it, whispering softly. 

Eli stepped inside, eyes wide. ''It's warm.'' 

The interior smelled of cedar shelves lined the walls - filled with books, sketches, jars of berries and dried flowers. A warn leather chair sat by the window, fur blankets folded with care. 

''This is where you live?'' Eli asked softly, as if afraid to break the magic. 

Caleb nodded. ''Where I heal. Where I shift. Where I remember who I am when the Word becomes too loud.'' 

Eli wandered to the mantle, were a sketch caught his eye. It was rough.... but unmissably him. His profile in charcoal, eyes closed, peaceful. 

''You drew me?'' he asked, voice catching.

Caleb moved behind him, hand brushing Eli's back. ''That night you stayed with me, after I was injured... you looked so calm. I didn't want to forget.'' 

Eli turned slowly, heart thudding. ''Why me, Caleb?'' 

''Because'' Caleb said, eyes deep and unwavering, ''In a word that taught me to hide, you make me want to be seen.'' 

For a long moment, they just stood there-two heart finally beating in rhythm. 

Later, they sat on the porch of the cabin, watching the sun dip below the trees. Caleb handed Eli a cup of warm herbal tea he'd blended himself. Eli leaned into his side, head resting against his shoulder. 

''I've never felt this. Safe,'' Eli murmured. 

Caleb kissed his hair softly. ''That's all I've ever wanted to give you.'' 

And as twilight melted into night, surrounded by stars and wild silence, the hidden home in the woods welcomed its first shared breath of love.