Chapter Text
It was over.
The final days had passed, the very crisis they had been working on for years on end was averted. It had not been a smooth journey, but to be alive and well in the present was more than anyone could ever hope for.
Luna, for one, never thought she would ever be in the seventh heaven again surrounded by her friends with alcohol in front of them and without the threat of the world ending looming over all their heads. It had been so long since they'd all even sat here together for something that wasn't to discuss how to solve the mountains of issues that were thrown at them on the daily. The last time was probably the time they got back from the First, Tataru and Krile had ordered them to stay in the Rising Stones for a period of time to rest and quite frankly, nobody had the energy to disagree after the whole ordeal on the First.
"Oi, what are you smiling at there? You've still got half of your ale left!" Thancred's booming voice pulled her out of her reverie, not even realizing that she had been smiling. Luna scoffed at his weak taunt and chugged down the remnants of her ale before slamming it down on the table, albeit without breaking it. Already somehow inebriated, Luna stuck her tongue out at him rather childishly afterwards.
Y'shtola, who was sitting on Luna's left, gazed upon the two with her head tilted as if pondering something. This did not leave Urianger's notice as he brought it up, "Pray tell, why art thee looking at our friends so?" At this, both Luna and Thancred turned their attention towards Y'shtola.
Their questioning stare did not unsettle Y'shtola who simply leaned back coolly. "Oh, it's nothing. I was simply remembering a time when Lyse and Moenbryda was still with us here in this very place. Despite the troubles we were facing back then, our friends seemed to have no problem holding a contest that lasted throughout the night on who could hold their liquor the best." The corners of her mouth curled into a small smirk as she took a sip of her mead, her words holding a challenging tone to it. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by her two friends who had been involved in the contest she mentioned and, perhaps it was the presence of the ale already in their system, it was as if a switch had gone off in their heads.
"It has been a while, I'd like to think I haven't lost my touch yet." Cracking his knuckles as if preparing for a fight, Thancred grinned, awaiting Luna's reply to the challenge that Y'shtola had oh so subtly laid out to them.
"Hmph. Didn't you lose to Moenbryda?" Luna scoffed, crossing her arms in an attempt to appear composed but in truth, the memory of the contest and that night had lit a fire in her ever competitive soul and she was itching to re-enact the night despite her and thancred being the only ones present that could do it.
"Yes, but you lost to me. If Papalymo hadn't stopped Lyse, I reckon she would've done better than you. The Warrior of light who can slay several eikons, traverse shards, bring Ascians low, and save the world but cannot hold her liquor to save her life." He taunted in a matter of fact tone that served only to flame the competitive spark inside Luna into an even bigger fire. Having had enough of Thancred's mocking and feeling the shame of the embarrassing outcome of that night, Luna stood up from her seat and slammed her hands down on the table so hard that it made a very loud sound that stole the whole room's attention.
"And that is how 'tis scene before ye cameth to be." Urianger explained, gesturing towards the two who were now on the floor yanking on each other's hair. Alisaie, Alphinaud and G'raha tia could only stare at the scene before them with their mouths wide open.
The three had just walked through the doors of the seventh heaven a few minutes prior after finishing an errand they decided to take on behalf of the others to allow them some time to have fun and drink, though what they were witnessing at present time made them doubt whether they made the right decision.
"Let me go, Waters! I'll shave your hair in your sleep if you don't!" Luna cried out, attempting to wrestle out of Thancred's hold but to no avail as it only tightened even more.
"Are you insane? No way! You're drunk out of your mind, and even if you're the sodding warrior of light, it's still dangerous!" Thancred retorted.
Alisaie turned towards Y'shtola who was still just sitting in the booth watching the scene unfold with the most amused expression. "Are you not going to break them apart?" She asked incredulously, waving her hand at the two. Y'shtola only shrugged and shook her head.
"No, it's quite entertaining to watch and besides, Thancred does have a point."
"Thank you!" Thancred yelled from the floor.
"Hm.. I was not there to witness the contest but I do remember Luna coming into my chambers that night crying and telling me that while I was quite an insufferable snob at times, I was still a child and a much better one than her when she was one. I disagreed with her, of course, because I did not think of myself as a child any more, but she just hugged me and told me she adored me dearly." Alphinaud mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he recalled the events of that night.
Y'shtola chuckled at his recount. "She was ever the soft one when she was drunk. Moenbryda had to pry her away because she wouldn't stop hugging her and telling her how much she appreciated Moenbryda."
Alisaie looked at the both of them and grunted, exasperated that nobody was planning to pull the two apart and save them from the embarrassment they were bringing upon themselves before marching towards them and doing it herself. G'raha tia, who at that point was still at loss at what to do or say upon seeing his friends in such a state for the first time, finally moved to help Alisaie. He grabbed Thancred up by his underarms and dragged him towards the seat with everybody else as Alisaie did the same with Luna.
"Where again did Luna say she wanted to go to at this hour?" G'raha tia asked, curious as to what had gotten them into such a predicament as he took a seat next to Luna since Thancred had taken the seat at the other edge of the booth and the only available seat left was the one next to Luna. Luna's ears perked upon hearing this and she tried to stand up once more, only to stumble and fall back into her seat, leaning against Alisaie, who was on her right, for support.
"The First!" She exclaimed too enthusiastically. G'raha tia's eyes widened in surprise, his ears now perked up as well.
"Now, what business do you have there that you are so eager to go there right at this moment?" Alisaie questioned, though it sounded more like an interrogation. Upon being asked this, tears started to well up in Luna's eyes. Alarmed, G'raha tia was about to touch her shoulders and ask her what was wrong but Alisaie beat him to it. "What is it? Why are you crying?"
Slowly, Luna turned to face Alisaie and looked at her for a good few seconds before throwing herself onto Alisaie with a hug and breaking down into a good cry. After a few minutes of full on sobbing, Luna pried herself away from Alisaie and wiped her tears away with her sleeve.
"You don't understand. I need to go to the first and talk to him." She lamented. This piqued G'raha tia's attention as to who this 'him' was but alas, once again, Alphinaud had beaten him to it.
"Him? Who do you need to speak to?"
"The Exarch!" She cried out before letting out another sob. G'raha tia nearly choked on air in surprise, and the other Scions expressed similar shock at her revelation.
"But Luna..." Alisaie started, though Luna stopped her before she could continue and shook her head.
"Nooo, see! You don't understand!" She weeped, rubbing her tears away. "I go to visit him everytime I go to the First and I tell him everything. I know it's dumb because Raha's here and i can just talk to him but.. but..." She looked down at the edge of the table infront of her, twiddling her fingers with a big pout like a child. G'raha tia blushed at her usage of his name without its tribal letter.
"I don't understand. The Exarch and G'raha tia is one, or did you forget?" Thancred half asked and half reminded her. Luna shook her head at him.
"I know! But.. It's just... " She bit her lip, hesitating for a second, before continuing on. "I just feel so sad for him! He lived for so many centuries as the only person who had knowledge of both the Eighth Umbral Calamity and the Flood of Light, and had to singlehandedly plan how to save two worlds all on his own while building and managing a whole civilization on a world that is not his own! All for him to end up crystallizing into a statue in his tower, not seeing the full fruits of his labour on that world..."
If G'raha tia was shocked before, now he was just frozen in place and completely speechless, unsure of how to react to what he was hearing. His heart was beating so loud it was quite positively roaring in his ears. Here was the subject of his admiration for centuries acknowledging the deeds he had done where she was his main motivator and inspiration. It was moments like this that just made all of it so worth it.
"Okay, but what did you plan on telling him?" Y'shtola egged her on, glancing at G'raha tia with a knowing smile that he was too stunned to notice.
"I.. I want to tell him that everything is alright now! No more calamities or final days, everything is okay now and... and it's all because of him." She sniffled. "He.. he deserves all the praise and acclaim that everyone keeps giving me, and if it were up to me, even more than that. He is the bravest, toughest, kindest and most selfless person I have ever met and there is nobody else in this realm that I admire more."
Now, G'raha tia was positive his heart was about to jump out of his chest. Tears were now threatening to well up in his eyes, but he did not want to squander this moment by being overtly emotional over his friend's drunken confession so he blinked them away as much as he could. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, G'raha tia gathered the courage to let out a small cough as a way to catch her attention. This proved to be successful as Luna turned to peer at him, her eyes big and shining with fresh tears that served only to make his heart swell even more.
"I'm sure he would appreciate your sentiments about him very much, but he would also not want you to endanger yourself just to tell him so." He told her softly, unable to turn away from her eyes that looked at him with so much emotion. As to what emotions specifically, he was afraid to ask. However, it turned out that he didn’t have to anyway as she soon answered his question.
“You don’t… you don’t understand…” Luna took a deep breath in before enveloping him into a hug that was much gentler than the one she had pulled Alisaie into earlier. “I want to tell him that at the end of it all, he’s okay. He’s doing good. He’s.. he’s here, alive and so very well, surrounded by friends who care for him very deeply. We’ve gone on a big adventure, and we’re going for many, many more until we’re old and unable to wield a weapon. And If I could go back and tell Raha of the past, the one who has yet to slumber for two centuries, I'd like to tell him that everything will be okay in the end too and that I will be here at the end of it hugging him and telling him how much I love him.”
G’raha Tia’s eyes widened at her last sentence, his tail betraying his feelings as it thrashed about wildly behind him, unable to contain the joy he felt. Memories of when they first met and the times he had started having feelings for her that were more than as a friend flashed in his mind right there and then. He could not enumerate how long he had yearned for her, could not pen down to words the immense feelings he had for her that had been repressed for so long, and the various fantasies he has had over the years about her… about them, together. Pure disbelief washed over G’raha tia as he tried to process what was happening, and if it counted since she was inebriated and thus could just.. not be herself.
Before his doubts multiplied and worsened, Luna hugged him tighter and nestled her head deeper into the crevice where his neck met his shoulder. She mumbled something incoherently, her voice too muffled to be understood. Allowing himself a second to enjoy the moment, G’raha tia placed his arms around her, his right arm on her head, before lowering his hands down to her shoulder and pushing her away just enough to see her face once more. “What was that?”
“I said, you’re my favorite person. Ever.” She repeated, looking up at him with emotions that he now could somehow confidently label as adoration and…. dare he say it, love. It was taking all of his willpower not to just grab her by the face right then and kiss her.
Y’shtola cleared her throat and got up, breaking the moment G’raha tia and Luna had going on. “Well, I dare say it was about time it happened. That being said, it is late and while the night has been very interesting, i think it is time for me to retire to my room.” She smirked at G’raha tia and winked.
“Thou hast the right of it. I daresay our dear friend over here is in dire need of a much needed sleep.” Urianger agreed, standing up as well and gesturing over at Thancred who was now slumped unconscious on the table. He gently shook thancred who barely woke from his stupor just enough to grunt. “I shalt bring thee to thine room,” he told thancred as he hoisted him up over his shoulders and turned to everyone else. “I bid you all a good night’s sleep. I trust thou shalt take care of our friend.”
Alisaie soon picked up on what they were doing and jumped up to her feet, tugging on Alphinaud’s shoulder to do the same. “I’m getting tired too… you can manage bringing Luna to her room, won’t you, G’raha?” She tried hard to hide her grin but it was hard to miss her teasing tone.
“Shouldn’t we help him bring her to her room?” Alphinaud asked innocently, not understanding the situation. Alisaie rolled her eyes and swatted his arm, whispering for him to just follow. Soon, they had all walked back to their respective rooms, leaving the two Miqotes alone at the table.
G’raha had wanted to speak to her more about what she had said, but he soon realised that she was now just slumped against his shoulder asleep just like Thancred before. He eyed the emptied cups on the table, remembering that she was very drunk and probably unable to hold a proper conversation that she would remember the next morning anyway. A pang of disappointment ran through G’raha tia as he considered the possibility of Luna either forgetting everything she had said tonight or taking it back as just some drunken rambles… or worse, he was simply misunderstanding her words and twisting it in his head to feed his fantasy that she would like him back as he did her.
Heaving a deep sigh, he decided to put away all these thoughts for the moment as he stood up and carried her to her room. As he placed her down on her bed, she reached out and grabbed his hand in her sleep. It was not the most surprising thing that had happened that day, but it still took him by surprise nonetheless. He did not have the privilege of holding her hand often, but whenever he did, he liked to take note of all the details of her hands. They were rough with callouses and scars, most likely from all the battles she has had to fight, yet they were also warm and soft. He always found it endearing too, that her hands would still look and feel so delicate even with all the scars that adorned it. Just like her.
He lingered at her bedside for a while more, just admiring her sleeping face while holding her hand close to his chest. She looked so peaceful, like none of the events in the past months had even happened. If he had the choice, he would’ve gone through all of it for her. Sometimes he wishes she hadn’t have to go through all that she did… but she was so undeniably strong in her will and so amazing, going through all of it like the hero she was. The urge to to stay and fall asleep with her in his arms, just like how he always wished for, tempted him strongly but it was not right. Not right now at least, so he placed her hand back to her side and got up.
Looking back at her one last time as he reached her door, he came to a decision. She had mustered the courage to lay out her heart to him earlier that night, albeit with the help of more than a few drinks, and it was time he did as well.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow would be the day he finally tells her everything.