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G’raha Tia was tired. It was another long day of work, cataloguing the remains and trying to find a way to open a portal to the World of Darkness. They had to rescue Doga and Unei, they had to. It was proving to be difficult, however, and even studying the insides of Syrcus Tower hadn’t helped, which was ridiculous since it was a dream come true for him. Allagan technology, the pinnacle of their empire, wide open for him to explore and learn! Alas, nothing could truly distract him from the need to rescue their companions.
Sighing, G’raha went toward his tent. He had some food rations he could turn into a meal, and then he would call it a night, most likely. Studying old texts could wait until morning. Except as he ventured near his tent, he spotted a familiar figure standing in front of it. “Moonflower? What brings you to the find? We haven’t made much progress to call for you.”
Her ears perked up at the sound of her name. “G’raha!” She turned around and smiled at him, dazzling in her delight. It did very weird things to his insides. “G’raha, I wanted to see you! Is that so strange?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you! Now, come on.” Moonflower started walking away.
“Wait, where are we going?” he asked, running to catch up with her. “I haven’t eaten anything, or made any preparations.”
Her lavender braids flopped over her shoulders as she turned her head to look back at him. “I know you haven’t. I’m treating you to dinner, of course. Or rather, I’m inviting you over for dinner.”
The words themselves made sense, but the idea made him wonder if he was dreaming. Moonflower, Warrior of Light, would never have time for him to simply come over and eat dinner with her. “Wait, inviting me over where? Your house?”
She clapped her hands and skipped a few steps. “Yes! I bought a house and decorated it, and now I can have guests over! And I know you’ve been working so hard lately, I wanted to cook dinner for you!”
That was probably the nicest thing anyone had done for him in years. G’raha’s face flushed a deep red and he scrubbed a hand through his hair. “All right, where is your house then?”
Moonflower offered him a hand and smiled. How could anyone be so happy all the time? “Hold on and I’ll get us there. It’s in the Lavender Beds.”
When he took hold of her hand, he saw something in her eyes change. Moonflower was still bright, cheerful, and happy, but her eyes… There was a deeper emotion there than he had ever noticed before. Something that made the act of clasping hands feel right, like their hands fit together. Her grip tightened as she began teleporting, and he followed her trail to a charming little house. He also noticed that she didn’t let go as she led him along the stones to the front door and welcomed him inside.
The first thing he saw was that this house was cute. Moonflower had several squishy sofas shaped like cats, tables with pretty red tablecloths, and small dishes on display. She had moogle furniture and a small glimpse into a bedroom showed a canopied bed, although G’raha was quick to look away and tried not to think too hard on it. He followed her downstairs and she led him over to a kitchen space, which had some soup and bread waiting for them.
“Tada! What do you think, G’raha?” she asked, gesturing to the soup and wiggling her fingers a little.
“It smells delicious,” he replied. “I still can’t believe you went out of your way for this.”
Moonflower brought the soup over to another table, another small one that had candles on it. Two seats were already set, and once she put the pot down, she lit the candles. “I wanted to,” she reminded him, and pushed him into a chair so that she could get the bread. The bread was followed by sliced fruit and cooked vegetables, making it a veritable autumn feast. “For my scholar,” she said, and suddenly G’raha could place the tone she was using in her eyes and her voice.
Tender.
Oh. “Thank you, Moonflower.” He reached over to squeeze her hand, and she smiled again that tender smile he’d seen earlier. “I’m touched and grateful that you would spend what appears to be several hours cooking for me. What made you decide to do it?”
She ladled soup into his bowl and offered the bread plate to him. “My mama made me soup sometimes. It didn’t ever seem like there was a particular reason for it; they were the days I didn’t ask to have soup, or when I wasn’t sick. I asked her about it, and she said that sometimes the ones you love are going to need warm, hearty soup, whether they say it or not.” Moonflower dipped her bread into her soup and took a bite that way, something G’raha had never seen before, considering his Sharlayan upbringing. “Anyway,” she continued, setting the bread aside, “you have had a pretty rough time lately, wouldn’t you agree?”
Her eyes lifted to meet his and he saw how they reflected the light from the candles. Beautiful, like emeralds. “I think you’re right. My eye keeps bothering me, for one.” Even now, it gave off little twinges every few hours, pressuring him to try remembering something.
Moonflower nodded and offered the vegetables to him. “I have dessert too, for later!”
G’raha almost dropped the vegetables at this declaration. “Why? Moonflower, please, tell me why? A straightforward answer, if you please.” He looked at her imploringly, his hands outstretched. This whole invitation was just overwhelming and he wanted it to make sense. The Warrior of Light didn’t have time for this kind of thing; she had people to meet, primals to defeat, adventures to go on, and treasure to find. Her friends were the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, the heads of state, or other important names. They weren’t people like him, a scholar from the Students of Baldesion with a cursed eye and a scrawny build.
Instead of replying right away, Moonflower reached over to brush away his bangs. The tender gesture made his eyes water with a rush of emotion. He wished she wouldn’t do that, wouldn’t do these things to his heart that burned like fire on his skin. “I did this for you because I wanted you to visit me,” she said. “I wanted you to come home with me instead of staying in that tattered old tent, where I could feed you my best food at a good table, where maybe you could tell me a story and I could tell you mine.” She withdrew her hand and laid it over his palm, again making it feel right and like they were meant to hold hands. “I did it for you because I find you charming and cute… because you and your studies make me so curious…” Moonflower dropped her gaze, and he could see her cheeks turning a darker and darker pink each passing moment. “Because I love you, G’raha Tia. That’s why.”
“You do? You love me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Then…” He hadn’t been imagining it then. All the moments she smiled at him, when she chose to sit with him, the days she tried helping him with his work. Moonflower loved him? “Then… may I…” He paused. “I am not a Nunh, you know, and I never will be one. Can I still be acceptable to you?”
Moonflower cocked her head. “Is it really so important for you to be a Nunh to love me in return? That sort of thing is unimportant to a Keeper.” Then, in a helpful voice, she said, “If I were someone else, I would’ve taken you to my bed ages ago.”
G’raha laughed in surprise. “Really?”
She waved her free hand. “Of course. You’re very handsome, and could give me beautiful kittens. But that’s not what I want!” she rushed to say, before he lost his senses. “I want love. Love first, kittens later. So, G’raha Tia, I find you more than acceptable; could you learn to love me too?”
“Learn to? I already do.” Now it was his turn to avoid meeting her eyes. “I could learn to love you more, perhaps. O-or maybe, love all of you, the parts I don’t know yet.”
A giggle and she kissed his hand. “Eat your soup, G’raha, and then we can sit by the fire.”
He was reluctant to let go, but did so eventually. Love. She’d confessed to loving him, which had driven her to cook for him and bring him home. Not since a young age had he felt like this. It was odd, to know such a thing, and then go on to eat dinner while discussing other topics. Moonflower told him all about her black magic studies and then became totally sidetracked by talking about flowers.
After they’d both had their fill, she led him back upstairs and they settled themselves by the fire. She was a wonderful audience, which he already knew, but knowing how she felt now made him feel a little awed all over again. Moonflower taught him a game she’d played with her mother as a child, which was a rather cute counting game with their fingers and it became quite competitive between them.
The clock struck the hour and G’raha looked up. “It can’t possibly be that late,” he said. “I have to go back to the find, I have work in the morning.”
“Do you have to?” she asked quietly. “Can’t you stay here and go back there in the morning?”
G’raha turned to look at her. He didn’t know how to ask why she wanted him to stay. Did she want him like she’d said at dinner? Or did she just want him to be in the house with her? He didn’t know what would be the right choice to make. His tent wasn’t exactly comfortable, so her offer, whatever it was, was very tempting. “It wouldn’t be an imposition on you?” he asked, still trying to think of how to word the real question.
“Not at all!” she said cheerily, jumping to her feet. “I have a guest bedroom that you could use.” Then she began wringing her hands. “Is that all right? You could use my bed too, but it’s very fluffy—” Moonflower stopped, her face very red at that admission.
He chuckled and clambered up to his feet as well. “I can take your guest room, Moonflower, unless you have nightmares in the middle of the night. In which case,” he struck a pose, “I will be your night guardian!”
It worked, as she laughed and he saw her shoulders relax. Oh, yes, they had just confessed love to one another, but he was glad to see she didn’t feel any particular pressure to act a certain way either. Then her eyes opened and that loving, tender expression filled them again. It quite took his breath away. “G’raha… you are more than welcome anywhere in this house. This is the guest room, and there is mine; I’m going to go to bed, and you can decide where you want to be. Okay?”
G’raha nodded and watched her enter her room. Maybe in the future, he would follow her there, but for that night, he would choose the other room. He had work to continue in the morning and he was certain Moonflower had places to be as well. Today has been unexpected, he thought, sinking to the bed and pulling off his arm guards. I am alone in here, but it feels far less lonely than it did in the find, all because someone who loves me made me feel at home somewhere. This… this could be home someday.
Such a thought was ripped away when his eyes awakened the Allagan memories and he had to step inside the Crystal Tower, sometime later. Leaving her behind to an unknown future was nearly impossible, but he closed his eyes as he fell asleep, and remembered the days and nights spent in her tender love.