Chapter Text
The battle was won, the Dragon Queen was awake, and they finally had a chance to breathe. The happy chaos of relief swept them up, everyone catching up with everyone else. Callum had discovered he was a mage, which felt both strange and right. He was truly Sarai’s child. And Ezran. Ezran ...she wished her sister could see him. He tumbled with the tiny dragon, still able to take pure delight in that connection.
Her focus on her nephews had allowed Janai space, but now Amaya began to wonder if it was too much. Or perhaps it was the raucous crowd or Gren’s cheerful attempts to make friends with the elf. More likely, it was her still-fresh grief. Janai had retreated into quiet as much as was possible on the crowded spire, and they had not spoken since she’d given in and held Amaya’s hand.
When she asked Gren to keep an eye on the boys, he gave her a knowing look.
“Later,” she signed. “I want to know everything.”
“So do I.”
His cheeky grin made her snort, and she punched his shoulder before making her way out of the main cavern. Night had fallen while she was inside, but sleep felt days away.
She found Janai grooming the mount they’d flown to the spire. The woman fumbled with the brush and jerked her head up at Amaya’s approach.
“Oh, it’s you.”
Amaya lifted an eyebrow. “Do you want me to go?”
Janai met her eyes for a heartbeat then shook her head. The general felt a smile curve her lips, but it faltered as they both studied each other for a moment. It had been years since Amaya felt that flutter in her stomach, and something in Janai’s expression said she was as unfamiliar and uncertain about it as well.
“Let’s fly,” Amaya offered. Whatever came next, it was unlikely to be made easier by someone disrupting them, and their journey to the boys had proved they could manage to communicate on their own.
The relief on Janai’s face confirmed her instinct, and they worked together to get the fire gryphon geared up. Amaya swung up behind Janai in the saddle. The woman stiffened when Amaya’s arms slid around her, but then they were off, lifting into the night air.
Perhaps she had pushed too hard. Perhaps the glances exchanged in the heat of battle had merely been ...but as they turned away from the battlefield, she felt Janai sink slowly back against her. She let her arms tighten fractionally around Janai and was rewarded with a small press back against her chest.
With her arms devoted to keeping her from falling off, Amaya simply rested her chin on Janai’s shoulder. As Janai let out a long breath, Amaya found her resting almost fully back against her chest, her body heat seeping through Amaya’s armor, leaving the rest of her to feel chilled. She could not stop her hold from turning protective, and they simply flew like that for a time.
Janai eventually brought them down to land on the bank of a small lake. With some reluctance, Amaya slid off their mount then held out her hand to help Janai. The elf studied her hand for a moment before reaching out. Instead of taking it though, she brushed her finger over the hole burned into Amaya’s glove, just grazing her palm still raw from the burn. The contact sent a shiver down Amaya’s spine, and she looked up at her.
“I owe you a new pair of gloves.”
Amaya blinked and shook her head. “You owe me nothing.”
A faint weary smile touched the corners of Janai’s lips, and she took Amaya’s hand, using it to swing down from the mount. When the elf kept hold of her hand instead of dropping it, Amaya closed her fingers around her hand in return. It felt ridiculous that simply holding the Janai’s hand sent warmth through Amaya’s whole body, but there it was.
Janai sunk down on a low flat rock, and Amaya sat down next to her. She found herself watching their hands together as Janai stared out over the lake. With a little squeeze, Janai let go of her hand and tapped Amaya’s shoulder to draw her gaze up to her face. In the dim light offered by the gryphon’s tail, the elf’s eyes seemed to glow.
“So what happens now?” The question tumbled out so quickly that Amaya struggled to catch it, and they ended up staring at each other for a moment before Amaya worked it out.
She lifted one shoulder. “Everyone is still working to-”
Janai shaking her head cut her off. “No. I meant...”
Amaya tilted her head at Janai’s hesitation, watching as the elf worked her lips. Finally, she just gestured between them.
Heat rose in Amaya’s cheeks, and she couldn’t help grinning. She lidded her eyes and gave Janai a sly look. “What do you WANT to happen now?”
It was Janai’s turn to blush, and she ducked, looking out at the lake again. Wordlessly, she shifted closer, pressing her shoulder against Amaya’s. The warmth of her made Amaya sigh softly, and she returned the pressure, letting their silence hang for a few moments.
“There’s no hurry.” Amaya glanced up at Janai to make certain she was watching. As usual, she’d focused on Amaya’s hands the instant she lifted them. “We held hands. We’re not betrothed.”
Confusion crossed her face instead of the laugh Amaya was hoping for. “What is-” Janai copied the sign for betrothed, fumbling a little with it.
Amaya slowly finger-spelled it for her and watched her lips as she spelled it out.
“Be- oh! Betrothed!”
“Not. NOT betrothed.” Amaya corrected quickly with a laugh. Janai, however, still wore a serious look, and Amaya settled as the elf searched her face. The familiar feeling that she had missed something crept down her spine, and she lifted a questioning eyebrow at Janai. “We’re not. Right?”
Janai quickly shook her head. “No, but ...”
Amaya narrowed her eyes. “But?”
“But holding hands for the Dragon Queen also doesn’t mean nothing either.” The way Janai’s brow creased spoke of real worry.
Amaya slid her arm through the elf’s and squeezed it against her side. It was still hard to wrap her head around all that the Dragon Queen meant to the elves, but Janai was right. It was more than nothing, and the tension of not knowing held Janai rigid.
Amaya glanced up at the elf, her eyes sliding over the set of her jaw before she met Janai’s eyes. They way they glittered in the dim light made her breath catch, and she signed again, more slowly this time, without a hint of teasing. “What do you want to happen now?”
The moments that Janai studied her face stretched on, and the elf’s lips worked a little without forming words. Finally, she dipped her head forward, her eyes closing as she brought her forehead to rest on Amaya’s.
Amaya’s eyes slipped closed too as she let out a shuddery breath. All the tension of the last weeks suddenly dissolved, and tears burned behind her eyelids. She could feel Janai’s breath hitching too. Her hand shot up to cradle Janai’s cheek, and the elf instantly leaned into the contact, pressing her cheek against Amaya’s ragged glove.
Janai’s hand sought hers, their fingers tangling together against the elf’s cheek. They rested there together. There was too much. Too much between them, too much behind each of them. They could find the words and signs later.