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Tighnari’s ears twitched at the sound of footsteps outside of his home. They were lighter than most, careful not to step on any twigs or leaves, and there was no sound of clothing snagging on branches or bushes.
He tilted one ear in the direction, noting the sound of breathing. One breath per three heart beats, slow and controlled, there wasn’t any hurry in the breathing. Whoever was out there was completely calm, yet they were skulking around like a Rishboland tiger on the prowl. None of the traps had been set off so either this was the most talented mercenary to ever live or...
“Cyno,” Tighnari called with a low sigh, “I can hear you. Just come inside already.”
The footsteps paused and then Cyno huffed softly. To anyone else it would have sounded annoyed and aggravated, but Tighnari knew that Cyno was laughing at himself for failing to catch Tighnari unawares. It was a common game and Cyno never won the prize of making Tighnari jump in surprise, but he was convinced one day that he would.
After all this time together, Tighnari was surprised that his husband believed that Tighnari would actually admit to that ever. As if. If Tighnari started letting Cyno believe he’d won then Cyno would stop so he couldn’t lose again. Cyno wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the game.
“When the day comes that I can get past your ears, then I will no longer need subordinates.” Cyno hummed as he moved around the hut and slipped in through the door, the scent of desert plants and Sumeru City entering with him.
“You already don’t use your subordinates, but nonetheless there will never be a day in which you can.” Tighnari didn’t look up from his papers, marking the test in front of him.
In truth however, he had snuck up on Tighnari more than once, especially when they were younger. Back then however, Tighnari’s version of jumping had been smacking people with his tail so Cyno never caught on that it was more than annoyance.
Tighnari could hear him shuffling around the medicine table, completely unbothered by Tighnari’s lack of attention. Bottles clinked against wood and Tighnari’s ears twitched in annoyance at the sound. Glass was great for keeping medication stable, but that noise was irritating.
“What are you doing here? Aren’t you in exile, do you want to be arrested?” Tighnari broke the silence with a final swipe of the ink brush over the report, and finally turned to Cyno.
“It’s self-imposed exile. Don’t you have a mechanical life form in the corner of your room? Do you want to be arrested?” Cyno asked back, a single raised eyebrow giving away his pride at having a comeback. He placed the glass bottle back down, giving Tighnari an apologetic look when his ears flattened at the sharp noise.
Tighnari knew he was failing to suppress a smile when Cyno’s head tilted to the side, eyes glowing with gentle fondness. He never could quite manage to control his face when it came to Cyno, a few seconds was the best he had and he’d long since given up on trying to push it.
In the corner the cubed form of Karkata clicked happily and Cyno pat it, matching Tighnari’s raised eyebrow at the next series of happy noises. The gold metal was losing its sheen under the consistent work in mud and scratching plants. Tighnari would need to get primer soon, or have Cyno head off to get it for him. In the overall scheme of things it just wasn’t the highest priority for Tighnari.
He took a moment to glance over Cyno’s form, looking for any injuries or bruises. Cyno was better at hiding signs than any wild animal could ever hope to be and it drove Tighnari up the wall at the best of times. His only solace was that Cyno had learned long ago that the only thing that truly angered Tighnari was dismissing his own injuries and trying to lie his way out of assistance to keep the truth of his pain hidden.
Cyno caught his gaze and held out his hands on either side of him and turned in a circle, giving Tighnari a proper chance to look over him. He looked perfectly fine, a few scratches and a new scar over his hip, and his eyes were clear and bright. If there was anything else wrong, Tighnari knew Cyno would tell him so he relaxed his shoulders and took a breath.
Gentle and warm affection curled in Tighnari’s stomach and spread over him at Cyno’s soft look when their eyes met again.
“I accept your rebuttal. However I do believe fear of seeing me angry will deter most Matra and seeing you angry for me will deter the whole of the Akademiya. Would you not agree?”
Cyno’s affectionate gaze went flat, but Tighnari’s lips just curled up into a smug smirk. Then Tighnari turned his head back to the papers, tilting it enough to point his ears at Cyno.
He wondered how many seconds it would take for Cyno to give into the urge. From the day they met, Cyno had never been able to reject the chance to pet his ears.
True to himself, Cyno admitted defeat instantly, stepping closer to scratch at the base of the ears and listening to the happy hum that Tighnari gave.
The fingers were cool and familiar, stroking over the soft fur fondly. Tighnari pressed his head into it, reveling in the gentle touches and rubbing. It wasn’t often anyone but himself touched his ears, despite his offers to those he trusted, and it always made him want to burrow his head in their hands to demand more. He was too proud to do that usually… But Cyno was a different story.
“How is she?”
Tighnari didn’t bother to ask who, keeping his eyes on the paperwork before him. He took another few moments before flicking his ear in Cyno’s palm so Cyno adjusted his touch to stroke through his short hair instead. Tighnari had to gather his thoughts first. There were good and bad things and irritating things, not Collei’s fault but nonetheless aggravating. Cyno managed to brush through every strand, plucking out a few pieces of foliage, before Tighnari spoke again.
“She’s... Good and then bad again. Her condition worsens with the increasing Withering Zones and I had to pull her from patrols for her own safety after she returned from teaching the dangers of Knowledge Capsules. She understood of course, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating for her. She insists on being helpful and making up for it despite my own requests for her to please take it easy.”
“Ah, hence this?” Cyno reached down to tap the paper, taking advantage of the position to rest his chin between Tighnari’s ears. Tighnari huffed softly, rolling his eyes at Cyno’s behavior.
It was familiar and Tighnari couldn’t help but think back to his scholar days when Cyno would hold him from behind, head between Tighnari’s ears while listening intently to whatever Tighnari had to say. It made him long for curling up every night in each other’s arms, but that was a long time past. They had jobs to do now.
Besides, this was incredibly distracting when Tighnari was trying to think. He had to focus on his words, not the memories of their time together. So he flicked his ears against Cyno’s face, feeling the gentle brush of air on his head as Cyno let out a soft laugh.
Cyno tilted his head down just enough to press his lips to the top of Tighnari’s head and Tighnari gave in, smiling at the paperwork. There was a final gentle smack to Cyno’s face before Tighnari elected to ignore him no matter how much he wanted to do the opposite.
It definitely helped ease the worry in his chest, and Cyno probably knew that. He knew everything about Tighnari.
“Yes. She’s started to pick up information faster and wants to be able to provide accurate information during presentations for citizens-”
“Unregulated dissemination of information is illegal.” Cyno said, letting a slight sing-song tone slip into his voice.
“Accurate presentations for concerned citizens and adventurers planning on going through Avidya Forest,” Tighnari barreled through Cyno’s teasing objection. “But first she needs to be able to read and write those pamphlets and speeches. I can’t stop her from doing something like this, all I can do is keep an eye on her and make sure she’s resting enough. She only just got back from her last job and yet...”
Frustration seeped into Tighnari’s voice and the ink brush clattered into its holder as he tilted his head back. He reached up to place warm hands on Cyno’s cheeks, guiding his head down to kiss him softly.
Cyno smiled into it, his own hands sliding over to press over Tighnari’s. Tighnari let himself relax, tail waving slowly as Cyno kissed back. The cool hands wrapped around Tighnari’s hands and squeezed gently, holding them so Tighnari lowered them and pulled Cyno over him further, kissing him again.
They spent so little time together these days, how could Tighnari not cling to those few moments? Cyno’s visits were like the final piece to make a place feel like home, and his heart ached for when he’d have to let Cyno leave the forest again. He always would, but he would always come back too.
“Were you not the one who told me that she’s stronger than she looks? And that she has a right to decide how to live her life, we can only offer support.” Cyno broke the kiss, shifting to crouch beside him instead so Tighnari wouldn’t strain his neck.
Cyno’s hands stayed around Tighnari’s and Cyno pulled them over to press a kiss to his palms, lingering there and pressing them against his skin. Just as loath to let go as Tighnari was.
“Don’t use my words against me.” Tighnari said, rolling his eyes. “I’ve also said a million times not to bring your unfunny jokes to the dinner table and yet you’ve never managed to remember that.”
“Hmm? Sorry, I wasn’t able to comprehend what you said. Don’t bother to repeat it, I don’t think I’ll hear it anyways.” Cyno murmured with another kiss to his hands.
Tighnari rolled his eyes, giving him a falsely irritated look and Cyno’s head tilt was enough to say he was being nice and not calling him out. Not that it would have won him anything more than a denied kiss, but it was still sweet.
“But seriously. Why are you here? Just for dinner? Collei?”
“Dinner. I checked for Collei but didn’t see her, I brought her favorite tea from Puspa Café.” Cyno pat the bag at his hip, standing up and moving to sit on Tighnari’s bed instead.
Tighnari’s hands felt unnaturally cold and he pressed them together to try and cling to that remaining warmth.
On the bed, Cyno crossed his legs under him and pulled out a small container of tea leaves, placing it beside himself.
“Ah, well you just missed her. I sent her out with Iraj to walk the dogs a bit before the sun finishes falling. She was standing outside of the house staring at me for thirty minutes, I was starting to think she’d started sleepwalking until I heard the dogs barking and realized what she wanted.”
“She’s learned the true way to your heart.”
Tighnari closed his eyes, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose and his ears flattened against his head. He took a breath, reminding himself that he loved Cyno. He married him. He was happy to spend the rest of his life with him by his side… But really?
“That’s the joke you want to go with?”
“Am I lying?” Cyno blinked slowly, tilting his head curiously. “Has the General Watchleader forgotten to inform me of something rather important? How out of the ordinary, I never thought the day would come. Well General Overlook, do you have something to say to me?”
Tighnari’s lips thinned, and his shoulders shook. He opened his mouth to say something only to shut it again half a second later to force down any noise. Still a snort escaped and he shook his head at himself, finally letting a fond smile appear.
No one should be able to look so cute when giving such terrible jokes. Yet here Cyno was. His face was in its normal stoic expression but his eyes gave him away and Tighnari considered it a good twist of fate that Cyno was not the one with the tail. It would probably be wagging hard enough to break the bed after hearing Tighnari laugh.
“That was even worse, go back to bringing up the fact that you stalked me for three months to prove I was breaking the law.” Tighnari couldn’t believe these were the words coming out of his mouth. Their scholar years were just weird.
‘You can find love in the strangest places’ Tighnari once read in a book. He didn’t think the author was imagining your school sending someone to stalk you and instead decided they wanted to play a card game daily until they fell in love when they wrote the line.
“You married me, I believe that says more about you then anything.”
“Yes, I suppose it does. I didn’t think marrying you would involve so much sass.” Tighnari lied and gave a sigh with extra force to push his point across before he stood and organized the papers, putting the ink and brush away. He wouldn’t be able to finish it tonight or, rather, he wasn’t willing to waste time on such things when he had his husband available at his fingertips. After a moment he finally straightened up, back cracking, and made his way over to the bed with a fond pat to Karkata.
The moment Tighnari sat, Cyno whipped out a packet of candied Ajilenakh nuts and said with a straight face: “I promised to make sure to always cash-ew if you start slipping.”
Tighnari took the packet and flicked it back at him with an aggrieved groan. Cyno caught it easily, tearing open the package and turning until he faced Tighnari. He held it up to his mouth and Tighnari took a bite, pulling his own legs up so his and Cyno’s knees brushed together.
“I do hope you brought more for dinner than just dessert and tea leaves, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you and I’d hate to have to kick you out until you got a decent meal ready for us.”
Cyno hummed around the treat, passing his bag over to Tighnari and waved for him to look inside.
He pulled the opening wider and started pulling out everything that he found. A joke book was the first thing and Tighnari made direct eye contact with Cyno before shoving it all the way to the bottom of the bag. Two decks of Genius Invokation TCG cards and a box were nestled between two take out containers that had frosty condensation around them.
“Oh? You wanted us to eat cold food then, how endlessly sincere.” Tighnari said sarcastically, pulling out the food first. “Ah, no wait, it’s intentionally cold. It’s been a while since I’ve had food from Inazuma, where did you even find someone to make it?”
“I passed by the Traveler in Port Ormos this morning, he was with a friend named Kaedehara. They were preparing the food and the Traveler mentioned they were similar to Collei’s pita pockets. It was easy enough to obtain a Cryo slime and use it to keep it properly chilled. I thought Collei would like the experience.” Cyno explained, holding out the last bite of the candied nut bar. Tighnari took it, lips sliding over Cyno’s fingertips and Tighnari’s tail wagged happily behind him. He was more than a little weak to honeyed foods and Cyno indulged that weakness every visit.
“I bought you something.” Cyno said, reaching into the bag to finally pull out the box. It was surprisingly elaborate for its small size, dark wood with silver linings and masterfully carved flowers of different species followed along golden vines that crisscrossed the surface. Each one was painted in near perfect copies of the true colors of the plants they were based on.
Tighnari took it when it was offered, sliding his fingertips over the wood and admired the craftsmanship. It was rare for someone to get the different flowering species of the forest so perfect, usually they used the same basic shape like a dandelion’s. It wasn’t the sort of thing found randomly on shelves.
He smiled to himself, Cyno never cared for the cost of things if he wanted something, especially if it was something he wanted to find or make for someone else.
A few more moments passed as Tighnari ran a trained eye over the box, almost as if he was looking for flaws but he was simply fascinated. Tighnari’s ears flicked as Cyno leaned back enough to reach out and let a spark of electro energy jump from his finger to the lamp hanging on the ceiling. It lit up with golden light that washed over them, counteracting the slow loss of the sun.
Tighnari finally woke from his reverie and moved to open the box, carefully undoing the clasp. The box was a gift in and of itself, beautiful and clearly planned out to include Tighnari’s favorites, so he didn’t know what else Cyno could think he needed.
A soft gasp escaped him and he glanced up at Cyno as if to check before he carefully pulled from the velvet cushioning, a handcrafted rendition of a blooming Nilotpala lotus set in a clear resin. Even in the warm glow of the lamp the colors shone cool like the night sky that the flower bloomed under.
Cyno watched him adoringly, letting Tighnari turn it every which way and marvel at the craftsmanship. Then he reached out to brush his fingers over Tighnari’s jaw and Tighnari tilted his head down expectantly, pressing his cheek into Cyno’s palm and Cyno leaned in until he could kiss him once. Then he rested their foreheads together and Tighnari melted into his touch.
“I missed your birthday.” Cyno murmured softly, stroking his thumb over Tighnari’s cheek. Tighnari could only shake his head slightly, what a foolish idea to think that was important.
“What’s one missed birthday? I’m just glad you’re alright after your last raid on that group of abyss mages. Don’t think the Traveler doesn’t keep me informed. As long as you return in one piece and alive, then I can forgive you. A special day is simply when we have time together, I find no need to specify one out of the year.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t wish to be with you on those days.”
For a second Tighnari couldn’t respond, blinking at the resigned bitterness in Cyno’s voice. Cyno was avoiding his eyes, looking out of the corner of his eye instead and Tighnari pushed against his forehead roughly until Cyno looked back up at him.
“Well I’m glad to hear that, otherwise I might wonder why I accepted your proposal.” Tighnari murmured, smiling gently at him. “I wish to be with you on all days regardless of their importance.”
Cyno let out a soft chuckle, relaxing with an understanding hum. He still looked regretful so Tighnari decided to push forward, after all there was no fixing the past, only acting in the present.
“Why this gift, I must ask. Normally you bring food or similar goods.” Tighnari tilted his head, brushing his lips against Cyno’s. His thumb traced over the smooth surface of the resin covered flower as Cyno’s stern face softened, every part of him warm and loving to Tighnari’s knowing gaze.
“True. However, I know you love to save dried flowers and the more fragile ones could use a safe place to stay. As for this,” Cyno’s free hand moved to lay over Tighnari’s and gave a gentle squeeze, “I know how paper weighs you down sometimes so now you can weigh it down instead.”
“Oh for the love of the Dendro Archon.” Tighnari cursed before laughing, pressing the resin flower back into the box so he could cradle Cyno’s face and kiss him.
Every time, Tighnari couldn’t help but think, every single time. No matter how bad the mood got, Cyno was there to fix it with his jokes.
“I love you. That was terrible. Cyno…” Tighnari let out another laugh, overwhelmed with adoration, ”I just… Archons I love you.”
Cyno hummed against his lips before Tighnari was laughing too hard to properly do anything else. Cool hands touched both sides of Tighnari’s face in turn, swiping away the tears of laughter.
Cyno’s red eyes were glowing with humor and pride when Tighnari could focus again, almost as smug as he was adoring. Tighnari’s wide smile slowly melted into the slightest curve of his lips, radiating affection to those who knew him as well as Cyno did.
“Will you be staying the night?” Tighnari asked between kisses. He lifted his hands up to slide them through Cyno’s white hair, tugging it free of the head piece to flow over his shoulders.
Cyno’s eyes closed and he gave no answer.
Tighnari cleared his throat before he hummed understandingly. It was something he should have expected after all this time. Even if his chest ached terribly, as if claws hand buried themselves in his heart, he would never deny the reality of their roles and just how far apart it pulled them. They both knew what they were getting into when they first kissed, and agreed to this life when they married.
Cyno’s own regret was clear even with his eyes closed, and Tighnari couldn’t hold anything against him knowing he was hurting just as much.
“As much as I am grateful for this gift,” Tighnari said gently, “I would much prefer to know you’re safe beside me for at least one night. You push yourself endlessly, the rush may be fun but you have to ensure you won’t crash. It will come at the most inopportune time, and no one will be beside you to help.”
“I know.” Cyno said, pressing his head a little harder against Tighnari’s. Tighnari just sighed and shifted until his tail could curl around and lay on both their knees.
Fingers tangled into Cyno’s hair, stroking through mechanically, trying to take and give comfort in equal manner. The hands on Tighnari’s face continued the gentle rubbing, like Cyno was memorizing what he felt like.
The sounds of life outside of their moment was both overwhelming and near non-existence. The crickets seemed abnormally loud, almost drowning out the noises of the other residents in Gandharva Ville. There was the soft shuffling of a squirrel making its way over the house and Tighnari’s ears twitched slightly.
Dogs barked in the distance and Tighnari tilted his head up until he could press a kiss to Cyno’s forehead.
“Collei’s back.” Tighnari murmured against his skin, loath to part from him before he had too.
Cyno sighed softly, letting his hands drop from Tighnari’s face as he straightened up and turned his head towards the opening of the home. Absent-mindedly he stroked the tail in their laps, letting the silence come over them again. The resin item was carefully lowered back into the box and it clicked shut before Tighnari’s hands moved to lay over Cyno’s and squeezed gently.
“Master Tighnari! I brought some- Oh, General Mahamatra, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you two, I should have knocked- ack-” Collei stumbled to a stop in the house so quickly that Cyno and Tighnari both stood to catch her. She caught herself at the last second and straightened up with an audible breath of relief.
“What have I told you about running around corners? Doorways are the same concept.” Tighnari lectured to Collei’s embarrassed and nervous smile. Internally he sighed, perhaps he just worried too much these days about everything. They were all capable of making their own decisions and yet…
Cyno pressed his hand comfortingly on Tighnari’s back, and nodded his head to Collei. He tried to focus on suppressing his normal stern expression, letting a small smile slide onto his face and looking at her with the gentlest expression he had.
“It’s alright. We heard you coming. I do hope your return to Gandharva Ville was enlightening.”
Tighnari sighed heavily as Collei’s head tilted sideways, glancing between the two in confusion. She opened her mouth to ask before she scrunched up her nose and tried to force a smile as if that would stop whatever horrible explanation that Cyno was about to give.
It did not. It never did.
“Enlightenment refers to encouraging intellectual or moral improvement, both of which you chase after with impressive and respectable vigor. It is also dark now with the loss of the sun but Gandharva Ville is bright with lamps to ensure no one gets lost or injured. Hence, enlightened, meaning you-”
“Cyno brought dinner,” Tighnari cut him off with a meaningful look, tail smacking Cyno in the leg. “You look hungry, are you ready to eat?”
Collei brightened at the rescue from Cyno and nodded with a bounce of her heels.
“What are we having?” She glanced at Cyno with hopeful eyes, ignoring his slight pout with practiced ease, and he hummed in the back of his throat.
“Mm, it’s called onigiri, it's from Inazuma. I ran into someone from there earlier and asked for the recipe. There are a few types, tell me which are your favorite and I’ll bring them next time.” Cyno rattled off the different types as Tighnari moved back to the bed to pick up the food boxes.
“Come sit down you two.” Tighnari pulled the chair out from his desk, turned it around so it faced the bed and put one box down on the desk. He took the larger one with him a step away to the bed and took a seat to wait for them.
His tail snapped back and forth and he purposefully sat on it, keeping his ears as straight up as possible. Collei was glancing at him in confusion and he didn’t want her to suspect or worry anything was wrong. That wasn’t something she should have to deal with.
Normally he would eat with the rest of the rangers or at a proper table, but for tonight he felt like staying in. He would cling to these moments whenever they were available.
The older he got, the more he couldn’t help but think about Cyno’s words: The past cannot be changed, and the future cannot be foretold.
Tighnari could only silently acknowledge the wisdom in them and try to live his own life according to that to avoid as much regret as possible.
A hand brushed over the back of his neck and he looked over as Cyno took a moment to put the engraved box away on Tighnari’s shelf as Collei took the chair and made sure to keep the food over the table so she wouldn’t drop anything.
Cyno glanced over his shoulder and gave him a supportive look, the corners of his mouth curled up in a comforting smile. Tighnari could have melted at the sudden warmth of affection that came over him as Cyno mouthed
“It’s all okay. I love you.”
Tighnari nodded in silent acceptance and his ears flicked. Of course Cyno could read him like a book, what was he doing thinking about these things now?
“Tell me about your studies.” Cyno requested as he finally settled beside Tighnari, their legs pressing together. “When you’re not going to die from hunger.”
The hint of dark humor was enough to make Collei smile wider before she was digging into the box and pulling out the rice triangles. Cyno counted that as a win and glanced over at Tighnari who gave him a fond eye roll, smiling to himself.
“While Collei eats, why don’t I tell you about the ferns I’ve started to grow? They’re from Mondstadt originally, strangely enough the seeds came from this bard who passed through...”
Cyno and Collei listened intently, occasionally asking questions when Tighnari stopped to take bites from his own food.
Cyno’s hands tugged Tighnari’s tail to freedom when he finished eating, leaning down to pull the brush and fur oils out. He brushed through the thick tail fur, nodding along while Tighnari lectured Collei on the herbs she had found and their different uses. Collei looked a little overwhelmed but whenever Tighnari offered to stop for the night she only asked another question, so neither Tighnari or Cyno pushed her.
The crickets only got louder as they talked, the hooting of owls and the scurrying of foxes joining in to make the symphony of a night in the Avidya forest. It was when the Forest Watchers' calls for the night shift change reached them that Cyno tapped Tighnari’s shoulder to quiet him.
“It’s late. You both should rest.”
“I’m fine, General, I promise-” Collei yawned widely, blinking back tears to give them both a wide eyed look as if they couldn’t see the sagging in her shoulders.
“He’s right, forgive me Collei. I got carried away.” Tighnari said softly, shaking his head at her protests. “I did not mean to pull you into a full lecture, nor is this the best place for an impromptu one after you’ve already been awake so long. Go on and head to bed, I’ll inform the others to let you sleep in. It’s important to maintain a healthy amount of sleep.”
Tighnari tacked on to the last sentence when Collei looked like she wanted to argue back. Instead she just blinked tiredly at him before she nodded and stood up, sleepily rubbing at her eyes. She stumbled, nearly falling to the floor, but Cyno was already there. He caught her shoulders and guided her to stand straight up again before he let go.
“You’re exhausted. Next time tell us so.” Cyno admonished gently, sighing softly when she winced. “I’m sorry to have grabbed you without warning.”
“Nonono, it’s alright... I... you were just stopping me from falling.” Collei’s voice was incredibly quiet and she rubbed at her shoulders like she was trying to scrub off the feeling. Still, she hadn’t screamed in fear nor was she trembling like she would whenever anyone touched her in the beginning so it was an immense improvement.
“Thank you General Mahamatra, it’s okay.” She tried to pass it off so Cyno let her, nodding his head and stepping away when he was sure she wouldn’t collapse.
Tighnari watched quietly before he stood himself with a yawn.
“Let me walk you back Collei, that way I can tell everyone to leave you be in the morning.” Tighnari’s voice was kind but firm and Collei knew better than to argue with that tone. Instead she just gave Cyno a final smile and started to make her way to the door.
Tighnari moved to follow before he paused and turned to kiss Cyno’s cheek. A loving but sad look was on his face and the furrow between Cyn’s eyes loosened. He nodded, no words needed, and Tighnari kissed his cheek again.
“I’ll see you when you next return.” Tighnari said with a sense of finality before he was following after Collei and reminding her to go slowly exiting doorways too.
He couldn’t help but add internally ‘Whenever that may be.’ and guilt flooded though him at the thought. He knew it wasn’t intentional but sometimes distance was not what made the heart grow fonder, but instead just filled it with desperate longing for a few more moments together.
When Tighnari returned, he fully expected to only have Karkata waiting for him and resigned himself to the reality of a night alone. He tugged at his ears as if he could bring back the memory of Cyno’s familiar hands only to blink he found Cyno carefully tucking the extra pieces of his clothes away, leaving only shorts.
He didn’t speak at first, tail wagging happily. Affection started to build in his chest as the realization hit him, and he didn’t even try to suppress his smile or his perked ears. He knew he probably looked more like an excited dog then a calm fox but he couldn’t care less.
“And what are you up to?” Tighnari asked as if it wasn’t obvious, smiling a little at Cyno’s eye roll when he stood up.
Cyno was softened in the warmth of the candle, his dark skin glowing even against the shock of white hair cascading over his shoulders with no piece to hold it in place. Tighnari was struck with the reminder of how beautiful his husband was, how he managed to fit into this space as if it was his own- as if it was theirs .
Cyno held out a hand and Tighnari stepped forward until it could slide over his hip to the small of his back and drag him closer. His hand was warm even through Tighnari’s layers and Tighnari moved until they were pressed together. Cyno wrapped his arms fully around him, holding him close and rubbing their noses together in a random burst of affection and playfulness.
Tighnari ran a hand through the white hair, silently admiring how soft it managed to be even in the conditions Cyno often worked under. If only his tail was similar.
“A gift should be something that someone truly wants, not just an apology.” Cyno turned his head until he could press a kiss to the middle of Tighnari’s palm and let the hand linger over his lips as he spoke. “I’m sorry. I want to stay the night with you. I’ve been distracted.”
“Understandably so,” Tighnari said and tilted his head to the bed, “But I’m nonetheless grateful for this. Thank you.”
“I love you.” Cyno murmured with another kiss to Tighnari’s hand, pulling him closer by his waist to kiss him properly on the lips. “I love you. I do not want you to doubt that. You’re my home. You’ve come to me more than once even across Sumeru, it’s only right I do the same. Forgive me.”
“Always, my dear.”
Careful fingers carded through Cyno’s hair, and Cyno hummed happily. His head tilted down until he could rest his cheek on Tighnari’s shoulder and just stayed there for a moment. There were fewer and fewer moments between both of their work as the sage’s power and sins grew, and the Withering increased in ferocity and size.
They both acknowledged that the future was not a guarantee, and the past should not be filled with regret. Yet they forgot, more often than either would like to admit, that they were far from their scholar days when it was merely a quick walk away from each other. Now it was days of travel and careful planning to avoid a disappointing arrival with no one to greet them.
“Let me get changed.” Tighnari yawned, still lingering in his husband’s hold. Cyno released him with a brush of lips over his cheek and gently nudged him towards the drawer of clothes.
Tighnari quickly changed as Cyno flopped down on the bed and watched him with half lidded eyes, a yawn escaping him as well and he snapped his jaw shut noisily. Tighnari gave him a bewildered look over his shoulder and Cyno blinked innocently at him.
Tighnari moved to crawl into the bed after him before he stopped and frowned at the opening to his home. Normally he kept it open no matter what, so he could react to someone shouting for him and his Watchers could get him without anything blocking them. Tighnari didn’t doubt his own ability to protect himself if something unwanted wandered in, not even counting Karkata. Cyno however...
Tighnari turned and pressed his hand against the side of the home, feeling the buzzing of life through the wood that radiated after so much Dendro energy pulsated through it. He reached inside for his own Dendro energy and then connected it to the wood, with a careful order he urged the wood to grow despite not being a tree for years. It responded slowly but carefully, winding its new branches into the opening. It was still open enough that they could shout for him but no one could get in without hacking their way in or he ordered it.
Then he slipped into the bed, ignoring Cyno’s curious eyebrow and just wrapped an arm around him.
“Get some sleep Cyno,” He murmured with a kiss to his temple, “No one can get past my ears, asleep or not. And they definitely won’t get past those branches without waking both of us.”
Cyno didn’t say anything for a painfully long heartbeat, then he sighed and his shoulders dropped. The innate paranoia built up on years of being hunted and ambushed started to calm. It would never be fully gone, but this made it easier to sleep with.
Whatever comfort Tighnari could offer him, he would. Minor adjustments to his way of life to know that Cyno could rest without fear was something Tighnari would offer for the rest of his life if it meant this moment would last.
Cyno nuzzled into Tighnari’s collarbone, head tucked under his chin. Muscled arms slid around Tighnari to hold him in place and Tighnari smiled to himself. Definitely the best birthday present anyone could offer him.
“Goodnight, love.” Cyno murmured against his skin, “Goodnight Karkata.”
Tighnari laughed softly at the excited chirp Karkata gave and closed his eyes, falling asleep with his own whispered goodnight.