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I sighed as I leaned my rapier against the bedside table and started slipping out of my filthy clothes.
It had been an incredibly long day. I was happy to be back in my room at the Crystarium. I was happy to finally have a few hours rest. So much information, so much work. It was incredibly difficult to process.
Another sigh.
I pulled back the quilt and sheet covering my bed- oh, Gods, how it called to me.
I daresay- I was absolutely asleep before my head hit the pillow.
What felt like only minutes later, I was awoken by the door to my inn room creaking open. In my exhausted, sleepy haze, I vaguely wondered if it was morning and if I had slept too long.
No, my room was mostly dark except for the light of the moon, high in the sky. I could see it through the window across the room.
Then what-
My bedclothes shifted behind me. Whoever was in my room started climbing into my bed, the weight of them making the mattress sink.
Instantly alert, I sat up on one arm and reached for the sword I had stupidly left just out of reach. My fingertips were mere ilms away when soft hands wrapped around my middle and slid me back, flush against a warm body.
“Now, now,” a smooth voice said. A voice I recognized. The Ascian was in my bed. A shiver went up my spine, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin.
I knew he was wanting to cooperate but-
“Cold? Allow me to remedy that.” His arms tightened around my waist when I started to squirm, and he flattened one hand over my stomach. I grabbed hold of his hands, lightly digging my fingernails into the skin, trying to pry him off of me.
"Let me-"
“No cause to panic, hero,” Emet-Selch cooed to me, the heat of his breath tickling my ear. On instinct, I shrugged my shoulders up at the feeling. “As much as I enjoy watching you writhe about, I have not come here to squabble tonight.”
His words made me pause. His grip on me loosened when I stopped fighting. I took advantage of it and slipped out of the bed, closer to my rapier, should I have need of it.
“Then why are you here?”
I turned on him, crossing my arms over my chest, waiting for his response. Instead, his amber eyes slid up the length of my body. He smirked and sat up.
“Did you, perhaps, also hope I would grace your bed tonight?”
Well, I’d be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t thought of it but-
I followed his gaze and looked down to find naught but my smallclothes covering my body. Heat rose in my cheeks and my eyes widened in alarm.
In my exhaustion, I hadn’t bothered putting on my night shirt.
“Wh- No, I-,” I stuttered. A laugh escaped his lips at my reaction, soft and genuine.
“No need to be embarrassed, my dear hero,” he drawled, and smoothed out the sheet where I had previously been laying. His voice sounded bored, but his smile was mischievous. “Come now, you must be exhausted.”
“You-you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”
“Am I not simply allowed to want the gift of your company?”
“The gift of my company?” I repeated, rather incredulously, raising an eyebrow. So far, he wasn’t making me want to lie back down next to him. I leaned heavily on one foot, my stance still defensive. “If I didn’t know any better, I might guess that you’ve been lonely.”
He looked down towards his covered lap and heaved a sigh, his shoulders hunching farther than usual.
“That may also be the case.”
Again, his words made me halt. I tilted my head and dropped my hands to my side.
“That’s... surprisingly candid of you.” He shrugged.
“I did tell you I haven’t lied to you and I don’t plan on starting now. Take that as you will.”
“I do suppose everything you have confided to us is the truth. I expect I owe you something for it.” He cringed.
“No, no. I do not like that you feel indebted to me for something I’ve willingly given. What I propose is mutually beneficial.”
“And exactly...what is that?”
Emet-Selch held his ungloved hand out to me. In my surprise, I hadn’t even realized he was not wearing his usual attire- switched out for something more simple and comfortable.
“Come to bed.”
Warily, I made my way to his outstretched arm and slid my fingers into his palm. He helped me climb back into bed, and once we were both lying down again, he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me against him. His embrace was tight, almost possessive.
Gods, this felt…
Without thinking, I placed my own hands on the small of his back and pressed my body closer to his than it already was. I shifted my head so my cheek rested easily against his chest.
He let out an easy, relieved breath. I felt a warmth spread through me that I wasn’t expecting. The continued rise and fall of his chest- and quite possibly the sound of his heartbeat- started to lull me back to sleep.
“This,” he sighed. I felt his nose buried in my hair and a deep inhale as I drifted off. “This is what I crave.”