ohmyarceus | JULY - AUGUST TEST DRIVE MEME

[They're still holding hands.

They're still holding hands.

And it isn't just normal hand holding either, it's interlaced fingers, it's...G'raha squeezes back slightly, just a small gesture. Just a little thing to let G'rhyf know he likes this. That they can keep doing this for as long as they wish. The path so far isn't complicated or difficult terrain, after all. They don't need to climb anything as of yet. Just this, and light conversation, and the road...]

Huh? [Another path? Where...oh! Now he sees it.] Oh, sure! So long as we can find our way back, should we need to.

[G'raha's squeeze makes their heart leap in their chest, a tiny, ridiculous thrill for something so...so small, so benign. Gods, but this man could lay them low with nothing but his voice and a smile. Were they ever to lose this--]

[(don't think about it, don't think about it,)]

[Back in the present, G'rhyf chuckles and pushes the hanging branches out of the way with their free hand--the path is narrow enough that walking side-by-side isn't possible, but if they keep their arm behind them...yes, they can still hold onto G'raha. (Maybe a little ridiculous, but when have they ever not been?)] Oh, I've cut my way through far worse than this before. Gridania's a mess of little trails like this, you learn very quick to pick out where they go.

[Or just go in circles for an entire day trying to find the main road again...]

[Ridiculous? Maybe. The gesture, to still hold their hand, is immensely appreciated.]

Ah, I do recall how confusing it can be at times to get one's bearings in the Twelveswood. [Hadn't they informally first met in the forest, when he was loud and young and thrumming with excitement at seeing a real hero in action?] There's truly a thousand and one ways to get lost between those trees, if one doesn't pay attention.

And sometimes even if you are, if I'm honest. The first time I'd gone out on my own, I was...maybe a bit overconfident? [They laugh a little self-consciously--they're lucky that G'raha's first impression of them was so late into their tenure in Eorzea. Getting chased down by furious treants thanks to an ill-aimed arrow is not a very heroic sight...] I learned that lesson very quickly.

[The game trail winds on a bit further before opening up into a small clearing, almost idyllically peaceful. A few berry bushes are scattered around the edge, and an old fallen tree makes for an inviting place to take a rest.]

[GODS, THE TREANTS...they aren't so bad, the ones closest to Gridania, but the farther out you get the nastier they become, it's. It can be scary when full-size trees are literally chasing you down.]

Mayhaps, but without that overconfidence, how would you have learned what to do going forward?

[Making mistakes can be a good thing, he's saying. But oh! Oh look at this clearing! This is nice!]

Huh! That such a place could be hidden away like this...if it were later in the day, I would suggest we make camp, but a short respite wouldn't be out the question, would it?

[The only real response they have to that in an embarrassed laugh, cheeks still tinged pink. But the clearing itself...they look around and nod with a smile.]

Not at all! I was just about to suggest the same. [G'rhyf's Chatot takes that as enough invitation to flutter over to one of the berry bushes, and they lead the way over to that log. Loathe as they are to let go of G'raha's hand, it's unfortunately necessary in order to get settled.] Might be good to gather some of these fruits, as well.

Edited 2021-08-30 14:32 (UTC)

[ ;A;

No it's fine he's fine, they gotta do stuff, sadly constant hand-holding is not conductive to adventuring.]

Right! Ah, though...I've never seen fruits like these before. [His Litten is all about casually scaling this small berry tree for snacks, though. Nom nom, snac.] Hey! D-Do you even know if you can eat that?!

[G'raha reaches out for the Litten, scoops it up...it slides out of his hands like something slippery. Cats are liquid, man.]

[The need to use both hands for tasks is, in fact, incredibly rude, who set the world up like this, G'rhyf wants to talk to the manager--]

[They have to quickly smother a laugh seeing the Litten just ooze out of G'raha's hands like that. So much for his opinion on it's diet, it seems!] They seem confident enough! These are all certainly...unique, though. First time I've seen rings on a rind before...

G'rhyf, trust me, kits can and will put anything in their mouths. [Lyna hadn't been a baby baby when he raised her, it's true, but you don't live for a century being the guardian, caretaker, and leader of a city and not see, like, you know. Toddlers doing toddler shit. He tries to grasp Litten again, and it oozes forth, almost amused by this game of up and down.] That's - a universal truth - gah, please stay with me! If you'd be so kind as to do so...!

[He's a little too distracted to notice how weird the berries themselves are...]

Hmmn... [...okay, he has a point. Botanist curiosities will have to wait for now, and G'rhyf starts helping to wrangle the Litten--or trying to, at least. Who authorized cats being this slippery?!] Would you--oh, come on!

[Chatot, for its part, watches this all play out and starts laughing after the third or fourth attempt, which earns a sour look from G'rhyf.]

[Litten seems just as slippery for G'rhyf as they are for G'raha for the first try, but subsequent ones prove that hm...maybe...maybe this person is permitted. That other shoulder is free, right? Hope you don't mind Litten finding a way to scamper up to it and ooze comfortably there.]

...Well, I can't fault them for their taste, at least.

[G'rhyf blinks in surprise when Litten jumps up onto their shoulder, watching them settle before huffing out a soft laugh. Little brat, huh?]

I don't know, I think they're missing out with being so picky, myself. [They cast G'raha a little grin, nudging their knee against his. Litten does get a little scratch behind the ears, though.]

[Hmm, yes, scritch them more strange human, you have been granted the allowance.

G'raha chuckles softly, ducking his head down, but G'rhyf can likely catch the soft pink that blooms on his cheeks.] Perhaps it is, ah...a matter of perspective, then.

[Look he can accept they're both going to hype each other up like this, even if G'raha's never going to quite feel like he deserves it. It's nice to hear and nice to cherish.]

[Is it really hyping him up, if they've only ever spoken the truth?]

...yeah, I guess it is.

[Seeing G'raha's blush has G'rhyf suddenly fighting a lump in their throat, and for lack of better words they reach over to put their hand over his. A pink tinge has taken over their own face, and they slow blink with a small, shy smile.]

[The touch makes his ears twitch in attention - towards G'rhyf - and the hand that takes his is squeezed softly in return.]

...You know...as much as I have always wanted to go on a grand adventure...I truly am grateful that I get to go on this one with you.

I am, too. [They can feel their words nearly catch in their throat, a nervous warmth tingling under their skin, and they squeeze back.] I have to admit, I'm glad to have something I can share just with you. Mayhap it's selfish, but...I'd truly hoped that our first adventure together would be like this. Just you and me, and a mystery to uncover.

[They did? Really?

His heart buoyes at the thought.]

Then I shall have to endeavor not to disappoint.

[It might not be the most grand or life-changing adventure G'rhyf has ever taken part in, but if G'raha can make it one of the most memorable, then...could he truly want for anything else?

(He might want for other things; he could admit that a touch of the headstrong boy he was will always be with him, certain he could pluck the stars from the heavens.)]

[They laugh and shake their head.] I can't imagine how you could!

[And truly, he never could. They love him, all his faults and virtues, all the little pieces that make up the whole of who he is. And every day they still learn ever more about him, tiny details that fill in the gaps of his image they'd not even known were there. Saving the world, fighting gods, that had a thrill to be sure. But nothing could ever replace the joy of being at his side.]

[On impulse G'rhyf leans forward, catching G'raha's lips in a soft, brief kiss. They pull back with a bright blush and an embarrassed smile, forcing down a flash of panic that they'd pushed too far.]

[G'raha doesn't have but the briefest of moments to contemplate just how he could, somehow, disappoint, before G'rhyf's lips meet his, and he - he gasps softly in surprise, for it feels as though all the breath in his lungs has left him just from the contact of lips upon lips.

And that smile.

That blush and that smile would undo him, every time. It was more than just seeing a side of the Warrior of Light that no one else could have - it was seeing G'rhyf in ways not many might see, and sharing that feeling, being in that feeling together. Together, when a younger G'raha thought he would always be alone, and an older Exarch had done his best to make peace with that loneliness so long as he could follow through.

G'raha Tia, here and now, would take not a single heartbeat of time for granted.

So, G'rhyf has time for a breath before G'raha chases those lips with his own, kissing back. A little firmer, but no less brief or shy, just a brush of something that said yes. Yes to this, and to him, and to them - yes.]

[They make a soft sound of surprise when he closes the distance between them again, though G'rhyf is quick and eager to return the kiss. He steals away their breath, and it feels as if their heart would swell to bursting within their chest--knowing that he felt the same, that he would trust them with something so precious.]
[Even after they had failed him in the worst way possible, leaving him so bleak a future to awaken within.]
[Words nearly fail them in that moment afterward, looking into ruby-red eyes so warm and kind, their hand shifting to hold his just a little more firmly. They've never been one for speeches or great proclamations, despite their erstwhile profession; it was far easier to simply be the symbol, to let others look upon them and see what they needed to hold onto hope. And especially now, in moments like these...no words could truly express the whole of their heart, what G'raha meant to them. Warmth, comfort, home...safety. Could anything they spoke ever be enough?]

I love you, Raha.

[They say it in a whisper, just barely loud enough to hear. It's a horrible thing, how scared they are to speak it into the world, make it real. So often the world tore away those they held dear, and they'd already lost G'raha to fate's cruel mercies before. Irrational, an illogical thing, they knew, and yet...]

[He has not felt so keenly the loss of his ears and tail as in that moment - his ears ought to twitch and swivel towards G'rhyf, as if they could hear those words again and again. His tail ought to sway and curl. So much more of him should express and emote and feel what he's feeling.

What he's got will have to do - the warm shine that comes to his eyes, the hitch of his breath, the heat in his cheeks...

G'raha has never entertained the idea of hearing those words from someone else. Not like this. And to even presume them from G'rhyf was something he never once allowed himself, no matter how much he might've yearned in those private moments, in the wee hours of dawn when his thoughts were his only company.

His hands come up to cup their face, gentle, reverent.]

I...

[Oh, it's scary to even go this far. But there's a thrill in it. G'raha presses his forehead to theirs, the tip of his nose to theirs. His voice is soft, low, just for the two of them.]

Rhyf, I love you, too.

[It's amazing, how such simple things could mean so much. His hands leave a tingle on their skin, the press of his head to theirs too much and not enough at once. They want to cant their ears to listen to every sound, to curl their tail around him, to pull him close and bury their face against him and never let go. Even were their body as it ought to, there's just too much emotion within them to ever hold.]

[And then he says their name, and they nearly come undone.]

[G'rhyf's breath catches in their throat, tears pricking in their eyes, and their throat tightens against--what, they don't know. A sob of relief, an apology, a litany of gratitude...it all tangles up into a storm that could sweep them away in a moment, words blown away in an unforgiving gale. But they have to do something, have to show him--]

[Their hands reach to rest at G'raha's waist, hesitant for a moment before G'rhyf finds their resolve and wraps their arms around him properly to pull him close. Hells with it, who on this or any star could judge them for this? For leaning into his touch, closing their eyes to lose themself in this moment?]

Thank you...Raha, thank you...

Edited 2021-10-06 09:17 (UTC)

[Ah-

They're crying, and there's a flicker of worry, deep and sharp - had he misstepped? Misinterpreted? His thumbs come up to brush the wetness gathering at the corners of their eyes as G'rhyf embraces him, and he gasps, the thrill of the touch and the surprise catching him off-guard. But oh, he lets it soak into him, this closeness...so, so much more than he would have asked for or expected.]

Rhyf, there's...you needn't thank me. [He ought to be the one thanking them.] I'm merely following my heart.

[For the first time in ages, he is free to do so, and he shall, asserts his thoughts, as his arms shift down to return G'rhyf's embrace.]

[G'rhyf shakes their head, the motion slight and brief, and takes a few deep breaths to try and steady themself. Focusing on the feeling of G'raha's arms around them, the sound of his breathing.]

But that it would lead you to me...even after everything you've been through. [They open their eyes, blinking quickly to try and clear the wetness and only partly succeeding. Gods, they must look a mess--red face and weepy eyes over something they've been wishing for for so long now. G'rhyf scrubs at their eyes with one hand to wipe away at least some of it, anxious tension clear in their movements; they don't want to make this all about them.] I--I'm sorry, I know I'm being ridiculous...

I can't imagine it leading me anywhere else.

[After all he's done and seen, across lifetimes, space and time and bodies and souls, G'rhyf being at the end of that long road (or would it simply be a place to stop and rest along the journey, to continue on in company rather than alone or letting the road drop off to its end?) made the most sense. Even if the warmth in his chest was not nearly as strong as it was, even if they were fated only to be friends, G'raha can't consider a future that G'rhyf isn't part of. It just wasn't how things could ever be.

He pulls back slightly only to help G'rhyf wipe those tears away.]

It's fine, don't - please, don't apologize. If this is how you're feeling...should you not express it?

Don't mind at all! Also I saw your gagtag ;A;

the feels, they killin me,

:B

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