[indent] “Why me?” Nathanos asked, quietly. It was an honest question, with no pretense or wryness about it. “You could have your pick of anyone, and they would be guaranteed to be better company than me.”
[indent]Sylvanas couldn’t help but smile as she returned her gaze to the glorious sanctum and sighed. “Look at what surrounds us; here, in Silvermoon...everywhere... Everything you see is beautiful. All our statues are polished, all our music is elegant, all our weapons are bright and gleaming and lovely. Everyone has eyes you can get lost in, regal noses, flawless skin. It’s all so very pretty.”

[indent]Sylvanas turned back to Nathanos, whose dark gaze was fixed on her face. “But the world isn’t perfect, Nathanos. And the only people who know that, who truly understand that, are the ones who have to go out and deal with that world. It’s not pretty, when a troll is snarling a handspan from your face, or you’ve only wounded a springpaw and it’s about to rip your belly to bloody shreds.
[indent]“I think...this is what sets the Farstriders apart more than anything else--because our eyes are truly open. Everyone else lives in their soft and safe version of the world. Those we protect, we protect them not just from the danger. We protect them from the true face of this world.”
[indent]She sighed and turned to lay down, propping herself up on one elbow. “To me, beauty is commonplace. Perfection is dull. And--” Sylvanas brushed his mop of scruffy brown hair from his brow and laughed softly. “Nathanos Marris, you are the ugliest and least dull person I have ever met, and that...” she said, her voice falling to a whisper as she leaned down and brought her face closer to his, “...is why I like you.”
[indent]Nathanos reached up, his callused fingers pleasantly rough on the smooth curve of her cheek. There was a startling gentleness in the gesture, and a sense of wonder in his eyes as he touched her that made Sylvanas’ heart beat faster.
[indent]“My lady,” he said in a rough whisper, “you are too smart to be so foolish.”
[indent]She could not help but smile slightly as she recalled her words from the first day they met. “Be silent, or I will silence you myself.”
[indent]His eyes lit up. He remembered that moment, too, and in a voice laced with humor replied, “And how would you manage th--”
[indent]And then he spoke nothing more as Sylvanas pressed her lips to his, one of his large, powerful hands cupping the back of her head as the other slipped around her waist. He held her tightly, and Sylvanas had the feeling he would never, ever let her go.