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It had been a long week. Adventurers had more work to do than G’raha had ever imagined, and he found himself thrown into the deep end of it. He had assisted Moonflower escort a carriage, clear out part of the forest of a wild herd of dangerous boars, and chase down potion ingredients. How she managed to keep track of all the requests made to her, he didn’t know.
G’raha shuffled his way out of the bath to find Moonflower in bed, reading as she played with her hair. Sometimes she braided it, sometimes not. Tonight she had it loose. Her tail’s tip flicked contentedly as she flipped a page. Then her ears perked up at his approaching footsteps. She lifted her head to smile at him.
He took a moment to take her in, to admire his wife. It still sent tingles through him to say as much; he hadn’t imagined he would be so lucky. “Is that interesting?” he asked, falling onto the bed and laying his head in her lap.
She laughed and kissed his forehead. He caught the scent of her soap as she did so. “It was, until you distracted me.” Moonflower started playing with his ears, which made him purr in response. “Thank you for coming with me. I know it wasn’t quite the adventure you dreamed of.”
“I was happy to be with you.” G’raha found his fingers tangled up in her soft purple hair, which tumbled around her in a waterfall. “I recall saying how happy I would be if you asked me to come with you. It doesn’t matter that we traipsed all over Gridania; it matters that we were together.”
“I suppose that starting out with simple requests is for the best,” she mused. “That way, the next time I have to fight a dragon or something, you’ll be there.”
He chuckled and tugged her down for a kiss. “Hopefully not a dragon, now that the war has ended, but yes, if you call that simple, it is better to start out that way.”
“Oh, that’s right; perhaps you would consider running headlong into a burning town and killing a Lightwarden as simple.”
“Do not tease; I had looked forward to that day for a hundred years.” He sat up and leaned close to her. “I missed the opportunity to run the Crystal Tower with you. I was not about to let that chance slip through my fingers.”
“Oh, you do know how to flatter a girl,” she giggled, and twined her tail with his.
He smiled, a teasing lilt to his voice. “Ah, but you’re the only one I want to flatter. Everyone else, not so much.”
Her eyes turned to slits as she grinned. Then, she brushed his bangs out of his eyes. “I would have you at my side, no matter where I go. Adventuring is more fulfilling with friends or loved ones.”
“And I would go anywhere with you that I could. I know you must face primals alone, but I will always be by your side otherwise.”
Moonflower ran a hand through his still-damp hair, a pensive look crossing her face. “I was sad,” she said quietly. “I knew that perhaps we wouldn’t get to do much exploring together, and I was satisfied with that. When you… when you…” Her eyes shut and she took a few moments to breathe. “When I defeated Elidibus, it felt like my world cracked. You promised it wasn’t the end and I wanted so desperately to believe you, but I was still sad and scared. Sad you were gone, scared it might be forever.”
G’raha wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He could feel her heartbeat through her nightgown against his skin. “And now?”
“And now, you are so… alive. Free. Happy. I knew our marriage made you happier than you had ever been, but now I saw what it was like for you to do what you dreamed of doing, with the people you wanted to spend time with. I saw how happy you really could be.”
“I can’t imagine being happier,” he murmured, running a hand up and down her back. “Unless, perhaps, the Garleans stopped conquering their neighbors.”
“Eh, I’ll put on my to do list for next month,” she said flippantly, which made both of them laugh. She was still giggling when he pushed her onto her back and smiled down at her.
“What’s on the to do list for tomorrow, dare I ask?” He loved her. He loved this woman. The way she could make amusing comments like that and make light of the responsibilities asked of her, the way she liked to learn about the world, the way she smiled when she saw him, it all made him fall in love with her every day they were together.
Moonflower’s green eyes twinkled. “Tomorrow, I get to spend an entire day with my beloved husband. No one is allowed to make any requests or send any orders. Tomorrow is a day for us.” She pressed a kiss to his jaw, right where crystal used to be. She was doing this frequently; she liked to remind him in subtle ways that she loved every part of him, and she knew just where to find the most sensitive skin.
“All day? What if you get bored of me?” he joked. He wasn’t about to give in, not yet.
“Bored? Never.” She kissed him again, and this time he reciprocated, eliciting a purr from her throat. “I love you.”
“I love you too, my hero.”
“I’m glad we’re on this adventure together. I wouldn’t choose anyone else.”
G’raha had no choice but to show her how much he loved her for that.