And then he tells her that he sees her as family and something flutters in her chest, a warmth that drives the secondhand pain and frustration to the edges of her mind. She knows, from all their lessons on the road together, it means a lot that he's telling her his family name, that he's trusting her with a part of himself shared with hardly anyone else. The heat in her chest grows when he leans in closer to kiss her carefully and stays when they part.

Tally meets his eyes, smiling, and says quietly, "I think... I think the word you're looking for is 'love.'" Her smile widens into a grin and she leans in to kiss him again. "I love you, too. Thank you for trusting me with this. I... I know it means a lot, you telling me this and- and, now that I've said it, I don't think I'll ever stop. I love you." Tally repeats the words over and over, giving him tiny kisses every time she says it.

The moment she says that what he's feeling is love, things slow to a crawl in his mind to process what he's hearing. Was this what love was? Just, two people trusting other this much, caring about each others' happiness and well-being? Craving someone's company more than anyone else's? But now that she's put the name to it, it all clicks into place, and he realizes that is exactly what it is.

Feeling himself light up every time she entered a room, like her very presence brightened his day. Feeling elation when he was the one to put a smile on her face for any reason, especially when he would make her laugh. Feeling pride for her as a person, how strong she is, how clever and good.

As he's working this out, she tells him she loves him back and it takes a whole new moment of stunned silence to process that this person he is obviously very in love with feels the same way for him--this incredible woman, everything he didn't know he needed in his life, and she loves him back.

Jasttor realizes he hasn't answered or moved for a few beats and he springs to life, catching her face in his hands and grinning like an idiot. "Tally, I--gods, I love you," he says for the first time, and though it feels strange, it fills his chest with a new type of warmth that burns pleasantly. "I love you so much." He returns her kisses eagerly, laughing breathlessly against her lips and neck and just enjoying her, forgetting everything else to live in this one moment that makes him so happy that he feels his heart might burst.