"I wasn't questing for love anymore," River begins, the firelight reflecting in her eyes.

"My heart had weathered too many battles, fought too many unseen wars. I had laid down my armor long before teh day our paths crossed. I was wandering, yes... but only seeking friendship, connection - something simple, something safe."

She stirs the embers with a branch tipped in glowing orange.

"Love was a relic I had retired from my pack. I wasn't looking for destiny... and that's usually when destiny finds you."

Derek laughs, warm and unguarded, as he leans back on his hands.

"See, I wasn't hiding from love at all," he says.

"I was out there searching for it - openly, stubbornly, like a man on a mission. I wanted a Valentine, plain and simple. Someone real. Someone kind. Someone who didn't play games. I didn't know what form she'd take or where I'd find her... but I knew she was out there."

He glances toward River, something tender flickering across his face.

"What I didn't expect was that she'd show up thinking we were just going to be friends."

The fire snaps, sending sparks spiraling upward like tiny wandering stars.

"We talked," River says softly.

"We clicked," Derek adds.

Two smiles mirror each other in the shifting light.

"I remember thinking, 'This feels easy.' Not romantic - not yet - just... effortless." River continues.

"And I remember thinking, 'This feels right." Derek admits.

River's voice softens.

"I didn't want to admit it then, but something in me stirred - like a compass snapping to true north."

Derek nods.

"And i thought, 'Is this her? The one i've been searching for?' Even before i knew her, it felt familiar. Like finding a campfire in a dark wood you didn't realize you were cold in."

"We kept talking," River says.

"I kept hoping," Derek adds.

"And one day," she continues,

"one ordinary day... something extraordinary happened."

Their hands touch between them, fingers brushing in the glow of the fire.

"I realized," River whispers,

"that fate doesn't care what armor you wear or what quests you've abandoned. When the right soul meets you on the road, the world shifts."

"And mine shifted the moment she said hello," Derek says, voice steady as stone.

The night deepens around them, warm and protective.

"I wasn't looking for love," River says.

"I was," Derek admits.

"But we both found each other," they say together.

And above them, the moon - full and unblinking - glows brighter, bathing the campfire scene in silver blessing.

A tale born of timing.

A spark born of serendipity.

A love born from two very different quests that led to one shared destiny.