Chapter Text
Luna woke up the next morning with her head feeling like it could crack open anytime. This was the consequence she realized she now had to pay after drinking as much as she did last night. Bringing a hand up to her mouth, she breathed against it and was instantly hit with a wave of nausea as the smell of ale travelled to her nose.
“Well, that was a bad idea..” She grumbled.
With squinted eyes, she looked around her and realized she was in her room. Someone must have brought her here last night after she fell unconscious, but between the terrible ache in her head and the nausea that threatened to pour out the contents of her stomach, she couldn’t find it in her to bother remembering.... at the moment.
Deciding that it would do her no good to continue sitting around, Luna gathered all the strength she had and pushed herself off the bed. A pang of dizziness hit her and she had to stand still for a minute as her body tried to re-adjust. This was nothing compared to the beatings she’d gotten from all the trials and fights she’s had in the past few years, she reassured herself. She’d woken up in a worse state many times before.
So, with that, she slowly staggered to the bathroom where she splashed water on her face, desperate for the temporary relief it brought. It, however, did nothing for her throbbing headache no matter how much she wished she could take her brain out and wash it with cold water.
No, there was only one way she could solve it... and only one person she could count on, even if the said person would shake their head in disappointment and probably give her a scolding. Heaving a deep sigh, she dragged herself out of the room and into the main quarters of the Rising Stone. Spying a similarly suffering soul, she plopped down on the seat beside him.
“Oh, you’re up.” Thancred mumbled, turning to look at her.
“I wish I wasn’t..” Luna groaned. “Where’s Tataru?”
“She just went to get some pills and food for our hangover, you came at the perfect timing.”
“Thank the twelve!” Luna exclaimed quite exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in the air.
“You mean, thank Tataru?” Alisaie quipped, slipping onto the seat beside her followed by Alphinaud. Luna looked over at her and managed to let out a small chuckle, an action that did not last long as it was replaced by a pained groan.
“How are the two of you feeling? I wager not very well from the looks of it.” Alphinaud interjected, concern written all over his face.
“You would be right.” Thancred grumbled. Alisaie chortled at the sight of the two looking so miserable, a complete opposite of how they looked when they first came upon them the previous night. Luna was about to tell her off for laughing at their pain when Tataru finally came and surprisingly with Estinien by her side.
“Well, well! You two surely are a sight, aren’t you?” Tataru started as she placed down a pair of Beef stews in front of them, and a pill for their headaches. “I’m gone for one day and I come back to the news that two of our dearest scions decided to have a drinking competition... as if you guys hadn’t learned anything from the previous one!” She chided with her hands on her hips and a very visible frown on her face.
“I’m... sorry?” was all Luna could offer her with a rather lame, apologetic smile, before digging in to her stew. Thancred was way past her, eating the stew the moment Tataru had placed it down in front of him. Having quite a bit of a drunkard past, he had grown invulnerable to Tataru’s lectures.
“Thank you Tataru!” She called out as the lalafell walked away mumbling to herself words both Luna and Thancred were all too grateful not to hear.
“Who won?” Estinien spoke up after Tataru left, taking a seat next to Thancred.
“Me, of course.” Thancred snorted.
Luna decided to let it slip and ignored him, directing her attention on the dragoon instead. “Estinien! Where were you yesterday? You should’ve joined us!”
Alisaie unsuccessfully held back a giggle, earning a stare from Estinien.
“What’s so funny?” He asked, tilting his head in confusion.
“I’m just remembering how they were last night and imagining how it would’ve looked if you were with them.” Alisaie grinned. Alphinaud pondered on his twin’s words and smiled to himself as he, too, imagined the scene with the older elezen added into the equation. Estinien, on the other hand, looked at the both of them and heaved a very deep sigh, shaking his head. He chose to ignore their teasing and turned his attention back on Luna.
“I was in Ishgard just checking on some things when I came across Tataru in the Forgotten Knight. Strange that we always happen to cross paths despite my efforts to stay unseen...” Estinien mused, scratching at his chin in contemplation.
“That’s Tataru for you, expect her to know where all of us are at any given time. I don’t know how she does it, and I have a feeling that I don’t really want to know.” Thancred remarked as he drank his pill. Luna looked over at his bowl and was surprised to see it finished clean so fast.
“I must say, Thancred is right. It is curious how she is able to find us so easily, but it has proven to be a blessing rather than a curse most times so I am content in just being grateful to her for being so skilled.” Alphinaud agreed.
“Skilled... yes.” Estinien mumbled under his breath.
“Who told you about what happened last night anyway?” Alisaie asked.
“Oh, it was G’raha tia. We encountered him outside on our way back and he recounted last night’s events briefly.”
“Outside? Alone? Where is he going without telling any of us?” Alisaie’s brows furrowed.
“He said he was just going to go get some stuff and... oh,” He faced Luna who, at the moment, had her face deep in her bowl drinking the stew’s soup. Alisaie and Thancred both snickered at the sight while Alphinaud just shook his head, too used at his friend’s antics. Upon feeling the stares on her, she slowly placed the bowl down and wiped her nose with tissue.
Having not paid any attention to the conversation at hand, she grinned at them nervously and tilted her head. “Um.. yes?”
“G’raha tia told us to tell you that he knows you may be experiencing hangover so you can take your time, he’ll wait however long for you but also no pressure for you to come if you were feeling very unwell.” Estinien recalled.
Luna’s face scrunched in bewilderment. “We’re supposed to hang out today?” She scratched her head and tried to jog her memories of the past few days back.
“Oh? I bet it has something to do with your confession last night.” Alisaie teased, nudging Luna at the arms.
Luna froze completely at the mention of a confession and slowly turned her head to look at Alisaie.
“What?”
There was silence in the room for a few moments before Alisaie broke into a good, big guffaw. She was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach and almost fell off her chair if Alphinaud hadn’t supported her from behind.
“I take it that means you don’t remember what happened last night?” Alphinaud guessed, casting an amused smile towards Luna.
“What.... what did I do?” Her eyes widened in panic as she racked her brain trying to remember if she had said or done anything embarrassing towards G’raha tia the night before. Surely, she didn’t.... but one look at Alisaie seemed to tell her otherwise.
“Oh, I remember!” Thancred exclaimed. “You were being ridiculous and saying you wanted to go to the First to-” He was cut off by Alisaie clamping her hand over his mouth.
“Shh! Don’t tell her, let her find out what she did herself when they talk! Oh, I wish I could be there to see it unfold.” The excited elezen schemed, smirking deviously at the miqo’te. The more composed of the twins shook his head at his sister’s antics.
“But... I don’t remember anything, I don’t even know where we’re supposed to meet!” Luna held her tail, a habit she had whenever she was nervous or panicking, while her ears lost its perk and laid flat on her head. This got everyone thinking, contemplating on what they should do, until Alphinaud finally came up with an idea.
“Have you taken a look at your room? Perhaps he left a note on your table with the details of your meeting.” The scholar proposed.
“Ah, yes. He was the one who brought you to your room last night.” Alisaie chimed in. Blood rushed to Luna’s cheeks as she imagined G’raha tia carrying her to her room bridal style.
“Wait, who brought me to mine?” Thancred interjected.
“Urianger. He was the only one who could carry you.” Alphinaud answered, prompting a snort from Alisaie.
“You mean wanted to. You stunk of ale so bad, I didn’t want to go anywhere near you.” The young elezen stuck her nose up in the air. Thancred reached out to place a hand at the top of her head and ruffled her hair, purposefully messing it up. Already anticipating the reaction it would incite, Luna quickly drank her pill down and got up from her chair. Estinien, who had once been the brunt of such reaction, followed after her quickly.
“Alright, that is my cue to leave.” She raised a hand in farewell, with Estinien grunting in agreement, and power walked back to her room as fast as she could. Once back in her room, Luna immediately rushed to her table where, just as Alphinaud had predicted, there was indeed a note with a handwriting she recognized to be the red-headed miqo’te’s.
‘Meet me at the Crystal Tower. - G’raha tia.’
She was about to turn and run to the Crystal Tower, but caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and decided to make herself more... presentable. Her blue hair was in disarray and there was still the issue of her smelling like alcohol. As much as she would like to say that her appearance didn’t matter so much to her, it did and well, she may be the warrior of light but it wouldn’t hurt to want to look good for someone she liked every now and then would it?
She muttered a small apology under her breath and, while he was usually a very patient person, she hoped that today would not be the day his patience ran out.
An hour later, Luna was out of the rising stones and riding her chocobo past Silvertear Lake. The fresh air was exactly what she needed, but it unfortunately was not enough to get rid of the knots in her stomach. Alisaie had insinuated that in her drunken state she had supposedly confessed to G’raha tia and gods, why couldn’t she remember what she said. As much as she trusts Alisaie, she did have a history of pranking Luna so who’s to say she wasn’t just teasing...
“Argh! Alisaie, I swear, if this ends up to just be a whole big nothing...” Luna grumbled. If she was being honest, she was kind of hoping it wouldn’t be nothing but she also didn’t want to be disappointed or worse, humiliated. She was torn, truly, and as she finally reached the stairs leading up to the Crystal Tower’s doors, she didn’t know which outcome she wanted more.
“Oh! You’re here!” A familiar voice called out, genuine surprise obvious in their tone. The warrior looked up and saw the beaming face of the only person who could open the doors behind him. Biting her lips nervously, she raised a hand up in greeting and hopped off of her chocobo.
“Sorry I took a while, I didn’t see your note until much later. I’m not too late, am I?” Luna smiled sheepishly at him, rubbing the back of her head.
“No, no, no! It’s fine! I anticipated that you would have hangover, though while I was on my way out, I realised it may not have seemed so on the note I left so I’m sorry if it seemed like I was demanding you to meet me, I assure you that is not the case and I..” G’raha tia trailed off when he realised he had been rambling too much once again. “Sorry. Anyway, what I mean to say is,” He rubbed his arm bracers nervously. “I’m glad you decided to come.”
Luna couldn’t help but let out a giggle. His tendency to ramble whenever he was feeling shy or nervous was just too endearing, it always left her with the urge to hug him and tell him he didn’t ever have to be shy around her. Just because she was the Warrior of Light doesn’t mean she was any more special than him or the other scions, not counting the whole Azem revelation of course but still.
The thought brought her back to the ground, a a small pang of disappointment spread across her chest. Sure, they were friends and it was true they had gone through a lot together in the past year, but G’raha tia had always been very clear on what she was to him. A hero, an inspiration, this great figure who could do anything. No matter how many times she fell or failed, this view he had of her never faltered and if it did, he never showed it. While many people would have loved to be revered so and bask in all the praises, it made Luna feel... sad.
“Are you okay?” G’raha tia asked, fortunately breaking her train of thoughts before it spiralled. Luna nodded, then looked over at her chocobo and ran her fingers through its feathers.
“I don’t remember a chocobo stable being in one of the rooms in the tower, so I’ll just send him back for now,” She changed the subject and took a krakka root out of her pouch. Prongs, a name she had thought for the chocobo shortly after meeting him due to its ferociousness in fighting that matched her perfectly, ruffled his feathers happily at the sight of the food. Luna smiled and offered it up to him.
“Go back to your stall in Mor Dhona without me.” She whispered gently in its ears and Prongs was all too happy to obey after receiving his favourite treat. He scampered away not long after, and the two miqo’te were left on their own.
“So, uh... we should probably head inside now.” G’raha tia suggested, gesturing towards the doors behind him. Luna nodded and jogged up the stairs to finally stand face to face with him. Now that she was closer, G’raha tia was able to have a full, closer look at her appearance and a blush crept its way onto his cheeks.
Luna had swapped out her usual battle armour for a more casual look that one may even mistake it for a date outfit. She was wearing a midnight blue draped dalmascan top paired with a short, light brown skirt adorned with two interlocking dark blue bejewelled metal chains and black thigh high boots. Her hair, that was usually tied up into a braid similar to the ones the twins wore, was now let loose and hung freely down her back. It was usually kept short, but she had the urge to suddenly let it grow after travelling to the first, so now it reached her chest and was surprisingly very curly. G’raha tia wondered if she had been glamouring or straightening her hair every time back when it was short.
“Y-You look.. um.. nice.” He stuttered. Luna’s cheeks turned red as well and as much as she tried to stop it, a small feeling of... hope rose up somewhere in her chest. She cleared her throat and gave him a playful slap on the arm.
“Are you saying I usually don’t? Just because I’m the warrior of light doesn’t mean I can’t or don’t wanna look nice, you know.” She jested in a jokingly reprimanding voice.
“I- what? No! T-That’s not what I mean! Please, you misunderstand!” G’raha tia reacted immediately, his tail thrashing about behind him violently as he waved his arms in objection. “I only meant to say you look,” He coughed. “exceptionally nice today..”
Luna laughed at him, shaking her head at how easy he took her bait. He was too easy to trick and too perfect of a target for pranks.
“I’m just kidding, G’raha. It’s not everyday I get compliments for looking nice, so I’m sorry I don’t quite know how to react to flattery like that.. Thank you though, I appreciate it.” She looped her arms around his. “Shall we go in now?”
G’raha tia nodded mutely, curling his arm around hers. He raised his other hand up and opened the doors in front of them like it was nothing. The grip she had on his arm tightened a little, causing the red headed miqo’te to give a curious look.
“It’s nothing, I just... I remember when I would stand here like an idiot for days trying to do the same thing after you locked yourself in to sleep.” A bittersweet expression rested on her face as memories of those days flashed in her mind but before G’raha tia could say anything, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and shook her head. He took this as the sign that she didn’t want to continue talking about it and while he did feel a mixture of happiness and guilt at the thought that she missed him so dearly, he respected her enough to not push the topic and instead changed the subject.
“So, while waiting for you, I may have... done some preparations that I hope you will like.” G’raha tia’s ears by instinct started doing it’s signature swivelling as his nervousness started to get the best of him. Luna pretended not to notice it and instead focused on the details of everything she passed by that she never really noticed before when they first discovered the tower. Silence, albeit not an awkward one, encompassed them as they continued to walk through the hallways of the crystal tower as both tried hard to think of what they were going to say when they finally have the conversation.
For G’raha tia, he knew exactly what he wanted to say and if he were to be honest, he spent all night thinking about it and even practiced speaking it out loud in front of a mirror. He considered writing all his thoughts down on paper and just giving it to her or maybe read it in front of her, but he was sure he would’ve ended up writing a thesis worth of pages and decided that it would be best of the both of them if he just laid his heart out to her, even if it turns out to just be a jumbled mess of words.
Luna, on the other hand, was still not sure what took place the night before and what exactly she had told him so she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. She decided earlier while she was speeding towards the tower on Prongs that she would just go with the flow. Like what Estinien liked to say, she will go where the wind blows. Hopefully, they decide to go somewhere nice and she won’t have to suffer through something that would keep her up at night for years.
They eventually came to a stop in front of a very familiar pair of large looking golden doors. It took a moment for her to process but an audible gasp of recognition immediately left Luna as she realised where they were.
“Amon’s theatre? Why are we here?” She looked up at her companion in utter confusion, unlooping her arm from his.
“Well, I thought that... uh... i-it would have a nice ambience and you did seem to like it the last time.” The red haired miqo’te rubbed his hands together nervously, his eyes scanning her face for any discomfort or disdain over the place he chose for their time alone together. Luna blinked a few times at him, not quite understanding at first what he meant, before erupting into a laugh.
“I can’t believe you remembered. Yes, I did say I kind of liked the vibe of the place aside from the whole having to fight Amon, or more like Amon’s clone actually, and then eventually Xande after. I’m kinda curious now, what kind of preparation did you do? There isn’t a whole play waiting for me inside is there?” Luna scooted closer to the doors and tried to listen to what was on the other side, if there were people inside.
G’raha tia chuckled at her grand assumption and shook his head. “No, I assure you, there is no grand play or any of the sort waiting for you. Only the two of us are here. Let me open the door and show you.”
Luna stepped aside and watched him open the doors where the familiar sight of the theatre where she fought Amon greeted her. She remembered feeling a flutter in her stomach the first time she saw this room and yet, after all the time spent away from it, the same feeling came back though for different reasons. Knowing all she knew now, it was hard not to have a mixture of sad emotions run through her. Before she could start going into a downward spiral of thoughts, G’raha tia pulled her back to reality as he gently grabbed her by her elbows and guided her up the stairs and towards the centre stage where a kotatsu table that had a blue flowery futon laid in the centre and two red cushions. As they got closer, she saw that on top of the table was an assortment of the sandwiches that G’raha tia used to make for her on the first as the exarch neatly arranged and plated, and two empty cups.
“It’s nothing much but I thought it would be nice to share a meal while we conversed and I recall you liking the sandwiches I had made for you before so.. I hope its to your taste?” G’raha gestured towards the ensemble that he had put together and smiled anxiously. Luna couldn’t help but giggle and held her hands together, her tail swishing back and forth in glee.
“You big fool, I wasn’t expecting this at all!” The blue haired miqo’te threw her hands up in the air and excitedly sat down. “Thank you for setting this up, really. I don’t know why you did or how you did, but I really appreciate it.”
G’raha tia scratched the back of his head bashfully and sat down next to her, his chest secretly beaming with pride that she liked it. Without thinking about it, Luna instantly went in and grabbed a sandwich out of instinct. Quickly realising the error of her ways as she felt G’raha tia’s stare on her, she stopped just as she was about to put the sandwich in her mouth and gave him an embarrassed smile.
“No, no, it’s okay. Go ahead, take a bite and tell me what you think.” G’raha tia reassured her with a nod. Luna shrugged and continued on to do exactly that.
She was gratefully greeted by the delicious taste of G’raha tia’s famed bacon sandwich and a hum of pure delight came out of her mouth before she could even hold it back.
“I’m glad you like it.” G’raha tia smiled, satisfied with what he had prepared, and finally bit into one of the sandwiches himself. He grabbed the jar of water that was he had put at the side of the table and poured the both of them a glass. Luna thanked him and they both fell into a comfortable silence once more as they ate.
It was not long after when Luna broke the silence.
“Did I ever tell you why I liked this place?” She asked.
“No, I believe not. Will you be telling me why?” G’raha tia shook his head to the sides.
Luna looked around the room, nostalgia glazing over her eyes. “I loved to dance and perform since I was a little kit growing up. I would often be one of the main performers in the tribe whenever there were celebrations up until I left. Even when I came to Ul’dah, I was drawn to performing and before I became an adventurer, I earned coin being a young miqo’te dancer. I didn’t care, nor did I really understand at the time, about other people’s opinions or perceptions, I just liked the feeling of performing. I don’t know if you know, but the first time I actually ever met Thancred was during one of my performances.”
“Thancred?” Surprise was evident in both G’raha tia’s voice and expression. Luna chuckled at the memory and nodded.
“Yes. He was still quite the ladies’ men back then. He stayed back after the performance and was chatting up one of the girls I had danced with. I was young then so I admit I did find him quite attractive but while he introduced himself as a bard, I couldn’t help but notice the daggers he had on his hip. The next day, I asked her what else he did for a living and she said that he was kind of an adventurer that just helped around to earn coin. Somehow that caught my fancy a lot and that’s actually the story of how, or why, I eventually became an adventurer.”
“Huh.. I never would have thought that. I thought you were just naturally adept at almost everything, so it was of no consequence that you took up dancer and learned it easily. I did guess that you liked dancing, but I didn’t know it was to such extent.” G’raha tia mused.
“Yes, though the amount of time that had passed from when I quit being a dancer in Ul’dah to when I picked chakrams up again for battle purposes was quite long. Five years exactly if I remember correctly.” Luna held her hand up and counted with her fingers.
“So, I take it you took a liking to this room because it reminded you of performing?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen anything like it and ever since I first step foot in here, I always wondered what it would feel like to perform at such a place.” It was clear to anyone who could see her at that moment that she really did love the art of performing. G’raha tia could see it in the way her eyes shone as she spoke about it and seeing her in such a happy state made a warm feeling tingle in his chest. Clearing his voice, he stood up and walked towards the back of the room where he disappeared behind the curtains for a few moments before coming back out with an orchestrion that he then pushed towards the stage.
With a grin plastered to his face, he motioned towards the orchestrion proudly.
“What’s this for?” Luna asked, standing up with her arms crossed but with a similarly excited grin on her face.
“I like to come here sometimes but the silence of being alone can be.. deafening and music has always been a comfort to me, so I brought an orchestrion here to accompany me. I put it in the back of the room earlier while I was preparing in the case that you would like some music, but because of our talk, I came up with the best use for it today.”
“You’re not going to ask me to dance, are you?”
“Well, I was under the impression that you wanted to.”
Luna stared at him, unsure if he was mocking her or if he was actually serious but judging from his personality and the proud look he had about coming up with the idea led her to believe the latter. Biting her lip nervously, she gave it a thought but one look at G’raha tia and she knew she couldn’t deny him.
“You wouldn’t be wrong.” She sighed, smiling as she gave in to him. “What songs do you have in here?”
G’raha tia pondered for a few seconds as he recalled the orchestrion rolls he had on hand, only to break out into an excited yelp accompanied by a meek apology for the sudden outburst as a lightbulb went off in his head. “I have a song that seems to be popular in Ul’dah, I’m sure that you’ve heard of it before.”
Luna shrugged, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible though she didn’t know if she was successful in doing so. She was confident enough in her skills that she knew she could dance to any song but it was dancing for G’raha tia alone that was doing something to her nerves and made her feel like she was once more a young girl in her teenaged years trying to impress her first crush. She moved to a more spacious part of the stage away from the table and, taking in a deep breath, nodded towards G’raha tia who understood the signal and started the music.
As if it was second nature to her, Luna immediately fell into the rhythm and danced. Her movements were graceful and delicate, every movement savouring the beat it accompanied. It was quite the contrast to her moves on the battlefield, G’raha tia noticed, where while she was still very elegant in her own way, she was more aggressive and bold. Here she was like a flower that swayed ever so gently where the wind blew, and he couldn’t help but admire her beauty. Now, more than ever, she radiated such shine and G’raha tia in his centuries worth of experience as the exarch had never seen anyone more beautiful.
Eventually, the music came to an end and so did her performance. Coming out of his trance, G’raha tia applauded her and the echoes of his clap reverberated across the spacious room. Luna blushed and gave a bashful bow. G’raha tia didn’t know where the sudden burst of confidence was coming from, but after watching her dance, he decided it was finally time to do it and he knew exactly how to do it.
“Do you remember how I said I would like to go to Ishgard with you when all was said and done?” He started. Luna nodded, curious to see where he was going with the sentence.
“Well, I would have to go back to Sharlayan soon with Krile to help rebuild the Students of Baldesion so I’m afraid I’d have to put a raincheck on our Ishgard adventure until things there are more or less stable. I apologise, of course, since I was the one who brought the idea up yet I am also the one who is unable to commit to it... however...” G’raha tia took a deep inhale and with all the courage he had, walked towards her and held a hand out. “I would like to dance with you as if we were in Ishgard.”
To say she was surprised was an understatement. He had provided her with plenty of surprises that day but this was, so far, the most surprising one yet.
“You want to... perform an ishgardian dance with me?” Luna asked carefully.
“Yes, I read up about it and may have asked Estinien advice on it as well. He was not well-versed but he did offer useful insight on it nonetheless, so I know enough not to step on your foot, hopefully. If anything, you could teach me more about it if you are willing to.” The prolonged period of time that his hand had been reached out was starting to get to him and G’raha tia wondered if perhaps he was being too forward. He was about to recline his hand and apologise, but Luna placed a hand on his and accepted his offer with a smile before he could do so.
“I assume you have a song prepared for this as well?” She teased. G’raha tia blushed because he did, in fact, have a song prepared. He had asked Tataru for an orchestrion roll of a popular song in Ishgard a few days before when he learned that she was heading to Ishgard for some errands, and even though he didn’t know he’d be needing it now, it is kind of funny how things eventually turned out. He used his other hand that wasn’t holding hers to change the music and then faced to turn her.
Luna guided his left hand to her hips and placed hers on his shoulder, and slowly swayed them both side to side to the music. Almost immediately, the air around them changed and the sudden physical closeness they had felt very intimate. This time, G’raha tia was the one to break the silence.
“So.. you must be wondering why I asked you to come here, right?”
“Right... okay.. I have to ask. What did I say last night? I don’t remember a single thing and I am so sorry if I said anything that I shouldn’t have.”
“Ah, I did think you may not remember it when you woke up but it’s okay. You don’t have to worry about what you said, just know that..” G’raha tia paused for a moment. “What you said gave me courage to finally tell you what I have been meaning to since we both first stepped into tower years ago.”
Luna’s heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. Was this leading to what she thought it was? G’raha tia, on the other hand, continued on before his courage left him.
“I have liked you as more than a friend since we were in NOAH. It broke my heart to have our friendship be cut so abruptly back then, but you had become so important to me that I did not mind sacrificing it if it meant I could keep you and your future safe.”
A pang of bittersweet pain shot through Luna’s chest as she processed his confession. She hated how their paths always led to some sort of sacrifice needing to be made, and all of the what-ifs and could-have-beens had always haunted her.
“I admit,” G’raha tia carried on, “that for a while when I woke up centuries later to eventually take on the role of the exarch, I came to view you as more of a mythological hero. It was hard not to after reading all the tomes and stories about you, but after meeting you again on the first, I realised how terribly wrong all of them were. They were right on the heroic feats you did and could do as the warrior of light, but none of them could ever rightfully encompass the beauty and the heart that you truly had. I have never met anyone more beautiful than you, both inside and out. That day we had a conversation before you climbed Mount Gulag, I had an epiphany.”
Luna looked up at him expectantly, her eyes shining brightly at him. He took the hand that was holding hers and held it to his chest where his heart laid.
“I have always wanted you. Even before I met you, I have always wanted you. I knew it from the moment I laid my eyes on you in the North Shroud that you were what I wanted, even if I didn’t know it yet. Growing up in Sharlayan, I always wanted to be part of a grand adventure and be destined for great things. For a while, I settled with the crystal tower as the answer to that, but meeting you on the first and fighting by your side made me realise that you were the adventure that I wanted. You are the great thing I wanted to be destined to.”
She didn’t know when the tears came, but she only realised it was there when G’raha tia gently wiped them away.
“If you would have me..” He whispered, just barely audible but it rang loud and clear for Luna.
“You... you big idiot...” Luna sniffed, stuffing her face into his chest and pulling him into a hug. “I never thought about love because I thought I couldn’t— I shouldn’t— be thinking about such things when everything and everyone was depending on me. I didn’t think that you, or anyone for that matter, would ever look at me and think that I was a romantic partner material. A good warrior, yes, but...”
“Hush now. I would not have you talk about yourself like that. You are just as worthy of romantic love, and I would like to think that my centuries worth of pining for you is proof of that.” He pulled away from her enough to face her and show her that he was truly genuine in all that he was saying.
“Okay... wait, did I confess to you last night? what exactly did I say?”
“You were, uh, fighting thancred to go to the first to ‘talk to the exarch’ and when everyone was telling you that I was right here, you were crying about how you had to tell the exarch that he was um..” G’raha tia blushed, “your favourite person and all that. I’m not making it up, just so you know, you really said that yourself.”
Suddenly, all the memories of last night came back to her, causing Luna to emit a groan of shame.
“Oh god, I remember now... did I really say all that...” Luna pushed him away and covered her face in embarrassment, but G’raha tia was strong enough to maintain his hold on her and peeled her hands away from her face.
“I don’t think it’s a secret to you or anyone that you’re my favourite person as well. I’ve proclaimed just as much to everyone, there is no need for you to be embarrassed about it... unless, it’s me that’s kinda embarrassing which I understand but-”
“No, okay, that is not it at all and I am not going to let you finish that. I meant all I said and I am proud that it’s you.” Luna’s brows furrowed.
“I know there are better people out there that could love you and probably be able to protect you more than I can, but...” G’raha tia leaned in closer to her and dared to place his forehead against hers. “I am here and I would like to be the one to do so.”
Luna gave him a playful punch on the chest.
“Say something like that one more time and I will punch you seriously.”
G’raha tia let out a hearty laugh.
“Hey, the music’s not done yet so our dance isn’t finished.” Luna pointed out, grinning up at him.
G’raha tia pulled away and twirled her around.
“Like this?”
Luna raised an eyebrow at his sudden confidence, but before she could comment on it, he dipped her low to the ground and gave the most cocky grin that Luna had ever seen him put on.
“The exarch was one thing, but if I must say so myself, I quite like this raha that I’m seeing.” She emphasized on his name, and as if a dam had just been raised, G’raha tia’s entire demeanour changed upon hearing the drop of his tribal letter. His grip on her tightened yet Luna felt as if she could hit the ground at any moment.
“You didn’t answer my question earlier..” He breathed, their faces were so close to each other now.
“Yes, I would have you. Of course I would.” Luna raised a hand to his cheek. “I would have you now and forever, and even after that.”
She leaned in to kiss him and everything else just dissolved in that moment. Nothing but the two of them mattered, and now with the threat of the Final Days gone, they could truly live out their lives the way they wanted to.
“So many nights have I spent thinking about doing that..” G’raha tia mumbled when they finally pulled away for air and stood back up. As if on cue, the music ended.
“Oh really? Please do tell, what exactly were you thinking, hm?” Luna teased, nudging him in the ribs.
Holding her by the waist, he caressed her face with his other hand and smiled. “I think I would rather show you.”
They turned back up at the Rising Stones the next morning with faces that were practically beaming with joy.
“Well, well! Do my eyes deceive me or do I spy two very happy miqo’te?” Thancred piped up as they entered through the doors.
“Nay, thou art right, Thancred. Our comrades doth be looking happier than usual, I wonder..” Urianger mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Seven hells! You did it, you actually finally did it!” Alisaie squealed, getting up from her chair and practically assaulting G’raha tia the moment she realised.
“Language, Alisaie.” Alphinaud coughed, but nonetheless offered a smile to the two miqo’tes. “I assume a congratulations is in order.”
Luna blushed at the attention and crossed her arms. “I don’t know why all of you are so excited or how you even know but.. things are still the same as they are, okay. Nothing else has changed.”
“I presume you will be coming to us to Sharlayan then, Luna?” Krile asked, appearing with tataru by her side.
“Yes, she is!” G’raha tia answered a little too excitedly, and blushing after realising he had.
“Glad to have you on board with us, then.” Krile smiled then looked at both of them sternly. “However, I do hope you both remember that we’ll be doing a lot of work in rebuilding the Students of Baldesion. You can’t be going on dates all the time.” She warned.
“Lest you experience the wrath of mistress Krile.” Estinien spoke up from the corner.
“Of course, you would know, wouldn’t you, Estinien?” Tataru smirked not so innocently. Estinien just mutely shook his head and Luna wondered what that meant.
“It was only a matter of time.” Y’shtola was next to comment, drinking her tea from the table.
“If I knew any better, I would say you kind of planned it, Y’shtola.” Luna joked.
“You wouldn’t be completely wrong.” Y’shtola shrugged. Of course, it was just like Y’shtola to probably have been dropping hints along the way that led to this outcome and Luna was all the more thankful to her for that, even if she didn’t know exactly the things she did.
“Okay, everyone! It’s time to get packing! You’ll be leaving tomorrow, so shoo! go prepare!” Tataru announced, forcing everyone to get busy and pack their own things.
Luna snaked her hand into G’raha tia’s and smiled up at him.
“Time to pack for Sharlayan then?”