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It had been a lazy day for you, not having much that required your attention in either your world or The First. You had already done some shopping, spent a couple hours on a weaving project of yours, and had a few of your effects turned in to be mended.
You had a couple more ideas as to what activities you could occupy yourself with for the remainder of the day, but right now the one that made you feel most giddy was paying a surprise visit to your Miqo’te lover.
Knowing how he was lately, it probably would be a surprise. Ever since you had taken care of the Lightwardens, G’raha had been able to divert most of his time to researching a way to return The Scions’ souls back to The Source. And when he wasn’t on that, he found himself busy doing behind-the-scenes work to help reestablish relations with Eulmore. It seemed he still had his work cut out for him under his duty as Exarch. So it would stand to reason that almost every time you showed up at his door, you would have to peel him away from something.
You would’ve felt bad about this if you hadn’t been doing him a favor. Besides, you could always tell how happy he was when you came.
Having been granted entry to The Crystal Tower, you proceeded inside until you reached the door to G’raha’s personal study. Hesitating before knocking, you leaned forward, putting your head close to the door and listening until you could hear the faint rustling of paper inside. Then you rapped your knuckles against it three times, and waited.
“Yes? Come in.” G’raha’s voice called from the other side.
You grinned. You wondered if he knew it was you already.
Upon pushing open the door, you were not at all surprised to find G’raha huddled over a formidably-sized pile of texts and tomes. What you were surprised about was how he did it—crouched and perched on the front of his toes like a young Miqo’te would, with his items of interest laid out across the floor. Even a bit of his tail that was usually hidden to you, poked out from underneath his robes, stabilizing him in that position.
A quick scan across the room, and you found the desk (and chair) he usually used, also littered with reading materials. That explained it.
You blinked a few times, staring at G’raha on the floor like that. And when he did not hear you say anything for a while, he turned to see you over his shoulder.
“W-what?” He questioned, hearing you giggle in return. You would have thought that he detected your presence and was comfortably letting his guard down around you. But as the blush creeped across the Seeker’s cheeks, you realized that probably wasn’t the case. He had to have been so deep in his reading that he’d forgotten himself, his curling tail finally tucking back in under his garments as he poised to stand.
If Lyna had seen this instead…
“Nothing.” You finished your chuckling and answered, approaching your partner for a soft kiss on the cheek. “You look busy, as usual.”
G’raha grinned sheepishly at the contact, still a relatively fresh experience.
“Yes, as always…” He punctuated.
He hissed then, bracing his back with his good hand, then attempting to nurse the stiffness in his neck. You frowned.
“Ah... That should teach me not to kneel and read on the floor again.” G’raha laughed softly. “‘Tis not good posture… Especially not for one my age.”
You cocked an eyebrow. His lines about being elderly always gave you whiplash, what with him looking almost no different than the first time you’d seen him. And by now, well… Let’s just say you were learning about your partner’s quips being more to do with poor habits than actual signs of aging affecting him.
You stepped behind him and began to rub at his shoulders, nonetheless.
“Or, you know… Perhaps you shouldn’t be kneeling for bells and bells.”
“That is— Oomph! Perhaps… P-perhaps you are right…”
You grinned in satisfaction at having called it correctly. Your hands then migrated down his back and began working at the knots you could feel starting to form. Well, he did need this, at any rate.
“Thank you, my love. That feels quite nice.” G’raha sighed. “Where did you learn it?”
“You like it? I’ve done this a few times for Cid when he was working on some machinery. Well, normally he would have someone like Biggs to crack his back or something... But when they were out and about, it was left to me.”
Your lover hummed at the sensation of your fingers on his back. You could tell you were doing a good job with the way his ears were stimulated.
“Mm… Well, I am sorry to have demoted you to a lowly masseur once again, my warrior.”
You laughed. You could practically hear his grinning through his words—if he was truly sorry, he was poor at showing it.
“You might be surprised... “ He started, pausing to yawn into his fist. “I can recall now, having done something similar long ago, for an old teacher of mine. Though it was not quite of my own volition.”
Your brows raised in curiosity, anticipating to hear more. It was always a treat for you whenever G’raha would remember something. You simply loved to hear things about him that no one else would know.
“Do tell.”
He rolled his shoulders back after you finished, turning to face you. “Another historian of Sharlayan, and somewhat of a… crotchety old man, for lack of a better way to put it.” G’raha yawned again. “Not satisfied with my mediocre ‘massages’, he would tear me—and me alone—from my studies so that I could walk on his back. And not in the least bit satisfied with that,” He punctuated with a finger, “He would shout at me to stomp and jump up and down…”
Just then, The Exarch’s face transformed into a rare pout, as it seemed the lighthearted memory transformed into that of a war flashback.
He spoke lowly, almost whispering what he said next, obviously embarrassed of the retelling. “‘Harder, you whelpling shite. I can’t hardly feel your scrawny feet on me back!’”
The imagery of G’raha possibly just a few years younger than when you’d met, jumping up and down on some old man’s back was enough to send you reeling into a fit of laughter.
“And this was a scholar? What did you learn from him?!”
“‘Tis a true story… Well, what I learnt from him, only some years later, was that he only enjoyed picking on me so he could make jests about my make and size.”
G’raha rubbed his hands together, ears low and eyes escaping you. When you were through with laughing, you tried to pout back at him through your own grin, giving him a touch on the cheek that he happily leaned into. It was hearing things like this that brought you back to your long nights of chatter next to a campfire in Mor Dhona. You rarely had the opportunity to hear him talk like this anymore, but you loved every minute of it. You would see bits and pieces of the old G’raha poking through.
“Ahh, but that was quite a long time ago for me… It’s you who always seems to trigger my memories of those days. Not that I’m surprised.”
As he caressed your hand against his face, you noticed him begin to stifle yet another yawn, and this forced you to take notice of the dark circles forming underneath his eyes.
“Raha,” you cooed. “You look really tired. Did you have enough sleep last night?”
He blinked. The fact that he looked like he was pondering it for a minute was not a good sign.
“I had… enough. There was unfortunately a small matter that required my time this morning, so I did not get to sleep for as long I would’ve liked.”
In other words, ‘no.’ He could see that you were getting that look on your face again, and he raised his arm defensively.
“B-but I assure you that I am afforded just enough strength by the tower that I may see all my tasks through before bedtime!”
You gave him that look some more; the concerned, doe-eyed one.
Finally, G’raha sighed. “You do understand how crucial it is that I find a way to return your friends’ souls to their bodies?”
“You do understand that you will be useless if you were to pass out? Heavens forbid, in an emergency... There are still stray sin eaters out there, you know. In Lakeland, too.” You watched him as he took your words into consideration, pressing his lips together. “We will be alright while you rest a little. The people of The Crystarium need you, and they care about your wellbeing. As do I… Very much.”
You smiled sweetly at G’raha, sliding your fingers between his crystal ones as he couldn’t help but soften. “Please, do me a favor and lie down for a bit. I’ll stay and help you get to sleep.”
He looked confused at that.
“ You have me convinced, but… ‘help’ me?”
“Mmhm.” You gently pulled his hand along, encouraging him to lead you as you asked, “Where is your bed?”
“My bed? Are you planning on reading me a bedtime story?”
You giggled at the half-joke, finding the genuine mix of amusement and bewilderment on his face cute. With G’raha’s hand in yours, you started out the door of the study.
“No, but I have another idea.”
Though you knew he would be temporarily dissatisfied with your not telling him, G’raha was patient enough to question you no further as he walked in front of you, then lead you down the hall to another door.
Once he opened it, you were somewhat taken aback to find the room so sparse. What The Exarch apparently considered to be a bed was closer to that of a cot with a single pillow and blanket. Other than that, there was only a small bedside table with another book on top, and a chest𑁋likely for his scant few personal effects, across the room.
As he closed the door behind you, you tried not to make your criticisms of his decor (or lack thereof) known, though he seemed to know exactly what was going through your mind.
“It’s not much to look at, I know.” He started, making you feel guilty. “Though as I told you, I need not spend as much time in it as I used to.” G’raha’s hand slid out from yours. As he was looking at you, it began to dawn on him that you were standing in his bedroom for the first time, and he cleared his throat.
“Er, um… Remind me again why we are here?”
You wandered over to the thin wooden bed and seated yourself on the edge. “To take a nap.”
Once he understood, a bright red tint washed over G’raha’s face. That was to be expected. You also half-expected him to continue his protests upon learning that you would be included in the activity. Hence why you had kept quiet until now.
“You are implying that I… l-lie down next to you?”
Still standing in the center of the room looking flustered, he managed to make you feel a bit warm, too. You’d never really climbed into another man’s bed before; though you had the most innocent of intentions. And though your lover had gotten more used to the most standard displays of affection, this would be yet another new thing.
However, if you had learned anything about him since your relationship began, he was hard-pressed to decline said affections.
“More or less. I thought perhaps we could cuddle. Is that not alright with you?” You watched G’raha’s ears shift slightly at the sound of the word. To your satisfaction, you noticed that he couldn’t help but turn up his lips at the full idea.
“Oh… We have never… cuddled before, have we?” You beamed back at him as he made his way over and sat next to you. “I must admit, that sounds rather nice... Um. How exactly were you thinking of cuddling me?”
Your eyes lit up. Just as you’d guessed, he was all too eager to be in contact with you in some way.
You took a moment to kick your boots off, then you climbed back towards the pillow, scooting yourself and sitting up so that you leaned against the headboard. Once you were in the ideal position, you outstretched your arms in invitation.
“Lay on me?”
“A-are you sure?” G’raha’s blush deepened again, but you nodded and gestured for him to come closer.
Without another word, he slowly removed his sandals at the edge of the bed, then climbed up until he was propped up on his arms and hovering over your body. He was hesitating, looking to your eyes for reassurance. You decided to help him by guiding his shoulders downward while he gradually laid against you, turning his head to lie on your stomach just below your chest. Afterwards, he shifted more to one side until his body was comfortable, with his arms at either side of your frame but steering clear of groping any part of you. Noticing how he was hesitant still to put his weight on you, you softly caressed his head until he relaxed.
“I’m not too heavy?”
“Not really.”
You were enjoying his warmth on you, absentmindedly stroking his hair, when you eventually heard and felt G’raha’s deep, contented exhale against your body.
“You are so soft, so warm...” He spoke in a deep and blissful tone. “To be truthful, I thought you might lie down against me first. But this is wonderful... I do believe I could fall fast asleep in your arms, my love.” This time he breathed out a long yawn.
“Good.”
Seeing G’raha’s ears so close to your face and with one of them resting on your chest, you couldn’t help but shift your hand from his hair and softly, gently stroke the top of it with your fingers. It wiggled in response to the foreign sensation, so you continued to give it attention. One, then the other. For a second, you considered it might be irritating for him, so you moved your hand away.
G’raha hummed against your tummy. “Mm… please continue.”
You obliged with a smile and picked up the ear massage where you left off. You imagined he would probably be embarrassed, so it was probably better that you could only really see the top of his head. He was sighing at the tender pleasure, and even nuzzled you where he laid. No doubt he had no idea what kind of butterflies this gave you.
After some time had past, when you were not sure if he’d fallen asleep yet, you heard your lover’s voice once more, barely a murmur.
“I love you, (Name).”
You whispered back. “I love you too, Raha.”
You were sure when he finally drifted off when his back was steadily rising and falling, and deep, audible breaths could be heard from his nostrils. You were truly enamored with him, and you took the time to admire his state of peacefulness, putting you at ease yourself.
As you spaced out, a memory entered your mind. You could recall peeking into G’raha’s tent the first night after delving deep into the tower together. Exhausted as he was, there he laid on the floor, curled up and snoring.
You smiled to yourself. As The Exarch dreamt, at least it seemed he no longer snored when he was very tired...
Suddenly, you were startled by a noise.
‘Snnnn nrk!’
Trying to hold back your laughter would be a hard one.