Chapter Text
Ethari rushed into the tree house, his smile bright as the moon while he searched around for his husband. He was holding something carefully behind his back, and he just couldn't wait to show him.
"Ethari, what's with all the noise?" Runaan asked, walking out from the kitchen. "Are you okay?"
"I am okay, currently concerned about my house knowing that you just walked out of the kitchen--"
"Ethari."
"Right, not the point." He bit his lip, trying to suppress his ever growing smile. He couldn't.
"I see you're holding something. Care to share?" The assassin teased sweetly. He could see how Ethari was quite literally glowing from his excitement.
"Yes, yes!" He exclaimed. "So, back in Hollow Wood, I would see some magical flowers left and right and I always thought they were the coolest thing ever-- I always wanted one of them," Ethari said. "But when I moved in here, I never saw them again. Not a single time… Until!" He finally revealed the surprise to Runaan. It was a tiny pot with a wavy line of swirlies in the center. Inside the pot, there was an even smaller flower.
Runaan raised an eyebrow. "What is this?"
"This," Ethari started, a big grin on his face. "Is a moonflower!"
"...A moonflower," Runaan said skeptically.
"Yes! Why are you acting like that?" The craftsman asked.
Runaan couldn't help but to eye the pot with suspicion. He approached Ethari slowly and touched the flower's petals as if they were made of glass. He hummed.
"Are you sure this is a Moonflower? I've never heard of such a thing and this." He pointed at the pot. "Looks exactly like the sunflowers the Sunfire elves have."
Ethari stared down at the flower. Its petals were yellow, or at least the version of yellow that the Silvergrove provided-- a more green-ish looking version of the color. Ethari could understand Runaan's confusion, still, he knew this had to be a moonflower.
"Oh, I see now," he chuckled, leaving the flower on a table. "Yes, moonflowers do share plenty of similarities with sunflowers, hence the color you see now. But, they are also known for having one major distinctive factor." He pushed the table slightly to the right, just enough to let the moonlight coming from the window touch it.
The flower's petals started to glow and their hue changed from the green-ish yellow to a bright lilac light that illuminated that part of the room.
Runaan couldn't believe his eyes as the flower lit up.
"I-- it's… glowing?" He took Ethari's hand and guided them both towards the now very non-yellow flower. Partly because a part of him felt threatened by new things and the other part needed to feel grounded, needed to know this was still real life. He gave a tiny squeeze to his husband's hand before touching the sun-- no, moon flower.
Runaan gasped softly. "It's beautiful…" He breathed, his eyes shiny with the reflection of the light.
Ethari hugged him from behind, a big grin on his face. "No more than you are," he teased, ending his sentence by kissing Runaan's cheek.
The assassin couldn't help the smile that escaped him. He hadn't seen Ethari so excited about anything in a while, so he was glad his husband had finally found something to turn him back into his cheerful, loud and dreamy self.
Even though Runaan had gone on many missions, some even during daylight due to special circumstances, he knew that the light from both the moon and the sun combined together didn't compare to the one of his dear husband. Not one bit.
"Flirt," he chuckled. "Ethari, this flower it's truly… magical. I am starting to think it might be an illusion, knowing how you excel at those."
Ethari laughed. "Do you dare doubt my words, husband?"
"I dare doubt a flower, husband. However, doubting you? Never." He turned around to give him a sweet kiss on the lips. Ethari was smiling like a fool after that. "Now, you seem to know a lot about this type of flower. Anything else I should know?"
Ethari hummed for a while, sticking his tongue out. "Well, they change colors under the moonlight, that's clear enough. But they do glow different colors depending on the type of moon. For example, it would glow a bright pink during a crescent moon."
"Why pink?"
"Why not?"
It was Runaan's turn to laugh. "Fair," he said. "Do they grow a lot?"
The craftsman nodded. "I remember them being able to grow as tall as teenage elves. Actually that's why…" He held Runaan a little closer, hiding his face on his neck.
"Ethari?" Runaan asked with a worried tone. "What's the matter?"
"I got this flower because they can grow very tall and they're pretty," he started, swallowing a little too loud before speaking again. "And they are able to trick you into thinking they might be like any other flower, but when you take the time to look at it, truly look at it, then you discover something different, something magical…" He sighed.
"...Love?"
"Sorry sorry!" He chuckled. "I guess what I am trying to say is that, when I saw this flower, I knew I needed it." He reached carefully for the flower to caress it. "Because… I wanted something to grow with us." He took Runaan's hands and kissed them gently. "With our love."
Runaan felt like a heavy weight had been put on his chest, his cheeks colored and his pupils dilated. He and Ethari had only officially got together recently, so for him to do something so big and meaningful already… Runaan felt like he might as well explode from the amount of love he felt towards the elf. Towards his husband.
"Ethari… my light." He held the craftsman's hands gently and turned around to face him. His smile was as big and bright as Ethari's. "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, thank you." He held his cheek and leaned in for a kiss. "I love you with my whole heart."
Ethari kissed him back happily. "So do I," he whispered and kissed him again. "Now, what do you say we go and make some tea?"
The assassin nodded. "Yes, please."