Work Text:
Nestled between both the Holy See and the bastard son of House Fortemps was right where you had belonged, an arrangement stretching for nary a year, and yet, both elezen men meant the world to you. Haurchefant's light periwinkle locks brushed your chest as he nestled upon your beating heart, while your y/h/c locks nestled against Aymeric's neck. Steady breaths, calm breaths, it hadn’t mattered what location you were in by the point that you were granted respite. You would travel by aetheryte from New Gridania, from Ul'dah, and meet your two loves at Camp Dragonhead.
On each marrow, the three of you would part, kisses and lingering touches as none of you truly knew how long you would have one another. The Holy See, a knight, and the Warrior of Light was not a pairing that the three of you could guarantee growing old together. What the three of you had, of course, was those moments of respite. Small chats occurred on your link shells when you were away, the two always worried for what mess you had forced yourself into the middle of this time.
You could still remember the way Aymeric pulled your love into his lap, and the way his blue eyes gazed upon you, merely relieved of your own safety…
"Some wounds never heal," Aymeric murmured softly, and he padded his lap, urging you to sit.
The two of you had a moment of respite once more, them far and few between in the war. Though the dragon may be knowingly slain, the archbishop was still running amok, another battle upon the horizon. For the moment, you were struck with a moment of unintentional respite, awaiting Cid to bring the aetheryte lance to life.
His lips had attempted to curl upwards as he gazed upon you, icy blue eyes soft in nature. Deep behind those eyes, you could feel the same pain that reflected in your own y/e/c orbs. He spoke no more until you were nestled in his lap, his arms circled around you. Every bit of his warmth engulfed you, his head resting upon the top of your shoulder blade.
"And we fight on," you murmured softly, allowing a sigh to escape your lips as your y/e/c eyes closed. Even engulfed in your lover's arms, in his warmth, you could feel a chill. There was a place that only one man could have filled for the both of you, and now he merely had been a part of the aetheryte stream. No matter how many times his father swore Haurchefant's soul was beside you, with the echo still weak in nature, it felt cold. "As that is what he wanted for us, for the city he loved." Pursing your lips, you attempted your best to rest in your lover's arms. "It still makes it no easier."
"I know the same," he spoke, his voice merely a breath as it cracked the slightest bit.
There had been a pause between the two of you, simply wrapped together. The silence itself was enough to make either of you cry, and yet, you both attempted to stay strong for the other. It was no secret that the two of you dearly loved your departed, and neither of you felt a lack of responsibility towards his death. He had died the way a knight would, the way he truly had wanted to, and yet...the group had been saving Aymeric in the Vault. For your fault, you knew he had jumped in front of it only to protect you, to save you. You both played a role that ultimately led to the downfall of your lover, and though the two of you still had one another, that hole would not mend.
After what seemed an eternity, though it had merely been a few minutes, Aymeric broke the silence once more. His breath tickled your ear, though his words were near desperate in seriousness. The slight crack of his tone had been clear as day, simply making your heart tighten more.
"Y/N...you must come back to me," he breathed out, his grip tightening around you as he buried his face further into the crook of your neck. "You labor in our name, with nary a care for your own safety. I...I need you to come back from Azys Lla unharmed."
You breathed in your lover's scent for a moment, y/e/c eyes still closed, though they wet with the ghost of tears that wished to fall. No matter how desperately your lover clung to your body, you could not truly promise such a feat. Even so, the words slipped past your lips as a mere breath.
"If I were to fail with the life he saved, I would never forgive myself," you spoke. "With every fighting breath, everyone who departs shall be upon the journey back, and I...I will be in your arms once more, Aymeric."
He pressed a soft kiss to your shoulder blade, his raven locks tickling your skin as he shifted himself. His arms still held like a steadfast fortress, tightly around your body. Though he desperately longed to join you, to fight at your side, Ishgard needed him, and both of you knew as such. Despite your words, he still knew he would worry day and night until you were wrapped in his arms once more.
"I love you, my light," he spoke finally, his voice low as his words merely meant for only you.
You forced your lips upwards despite your melancholy emotions. "I love you as well, my sweet," you spoke of truth as you reveled in the moment you would spend with the man. Even with your heart incomplete, both of your hearts incomplete without the man you both loved, you still reveled in one another. He would wish for the two of you to fight on without him, and no matter how much you wished to break down, to cry to the heavens, you knew to fight.
I love you, my hope, you could hear Haurchefant's voice in the back of your mind, a faint wisp that nearly made you break down right there. All you could pray had been that it truly was your lover's voice, brought to you through the echo itself. The three of you, even as you became one with the current, would always be as one heart.