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Keeping secrets from your husband was never easy, as W'ynter was finding out. Especially when said husband was quite sharp and more prone than most people realized to pick up on subtleties. But this was a surprise that she dearly wanted to bring to completion and even if it took her longer to make sure it wasn't spoiled…well, that just meant more time to make sure it was perfect.
It had begun with a trip back to the First. Nothing that unusual, she tried to stop in every few moons or so just to check in on everyone. Not only for her own sake, but for the others who had spent time in the world of Light. Urianger and especially Thancred were always hungry for news of Ryne and how she fared. Y'shtola kept up with the doings of the Night's Blessed and vehemently denied that she sent regular letters to Runar. As for her husband, though he never asked - it would be too much to trouble her with, silly thing - she knew how much he craved news of Lyna and the Crystarium. Not only the granddaughter he had raised, but…the people who he had guided and cared for for so many years.
Despite any protests that he would never ask her to go to any trouble, she always took special care to ferry letters and trinkets and well wishes between the worlds. After all, as she had been told before: her possessions traveled with her. And any such gifts, once in her hands, became technically her possessions.
It was precisely that loophole that she was hoping to exploit, if she were honest, and there had been a few trips to the First to speak with Beq Lugg and iron out the particulars before she was absolutely certain that the risks were minimal at best. After all… when she had done it before, they had been unsure if the process would work or not, but there had been precious little in the way of options open to them.
Three weeks passed from the time of their ceremony in Ishgard before she had completely worked out the plan. Several of the Scions were privy to it, though it fell to Estinien as their closest neighbor to keep G'raha distracted enough that he didn't grow suspicious. Estinien, she decided after the first week, deserved to be a candidate for sainthood. He even went so far as to suffer an entire afternoon in the Vault's archives helping search out a particularly rare tome.
When at last she had made all of her preparations, it was time to put the plan into action. Which first involved making sure her husband was sound asleep. That part was achieved rather enthusiastically through the procurement of a bottle of wine and some suitably abbreviated Thavnairian garments, and they enjoyed a most delightful afternoon after which he was out like a light.
Step one having been achieved, it was a small matter to make sure the charged soul vessel was in her pocket as she hopped the aetheryte to Mor Dhona. Taking only the briefest of moments to greet a few familiar faces on her way to the portal at the base of the tower. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through it. Feeling the familiar slightly jarring sensation as her soul traversed between the aether and into the familiar star spangled room of the Oculus, she waited a moment to get her bearings.
Everything was as she had arranged it: the glittering blue crystalline form of what had once been her husband's body now standing in the center of the space. Seeing that familiar sight brought a twinge of ache to her heart. She'd been so afraid back then. Afraid that she'd found him again only to lose him once more. Stepping forward, she reached into her pocket to pull out the familiar crystal infused with his blood. If the changes Beq Lugg had made worked as planned, then it would act as a conduit. Allowing her to draw his soul into this body in much the same way he had summoned her before.
The Nu Mou mage had reassured her that if it didn't work, then it simply wouldn't work and no harm would be done. There was no risk of trapping her husband between bodies, and that with his soul returned to this form…the crystal would recede back to where it had originally been before he had called on so much of the tower's power. In essence, if everything worked the way it should, her husband would have the ability for his soul to travel between worlds by inhabiting different bodies.
It was a fascinating prospect from a scientific standpoint, but what had sold her on the idea was what it would mean for her husband. It was a gift she could give him; the ability to reconnect with the people he spent so long caring for. That wasn't the only surprise she had for him, but first things first. Pressing the soul vessel against his crystalline chest, she watched and waited. Holding her breath and counting heartbeats until she felt it. A pulse of aether, radiating out from the vessel like a heartbeat. Growing steadily stronger until crystalline eyes snapped open. Glowing with a bright light as he sucked in a breath and the light spread across his form.
She caught him as he staggered, watching as sky blue crystal faded back to colour and he coughed. Glancing around in confusion before staring down at his own crystalline skin in bewilderment. "W…what….?"
W'ynter knelt at his side, slipping arms around him with a gentle embrace. "It's okay, Raha. You're alright. Everything is okay. You're back in your body on the First. I… Beq Lugg and I have been working on something. A way I could bring you with me. I thought about telling you, but… I wanted it to be a surprise. A chance to visit Lyna and the others. It isn't permanent, obviously, we only have about a week, but… I thought it would be a chance for you to see for yourself how everyone is doing."
Some of the confusion in his expression had faded away at her explanation, replaced by a mix of wonder and disbelief. "Am I…really back? And everything is alright? I won't be…stuck here like this?"
His words had her frown and she cocked her head to one side. "Like what, Raha?"
He raised an eyebrow before gesturing to the patches of blue veined crystal covering large swathes of his skin. "More crystal than man. You didn't marry a rock, after all."
Mismatched eyes flashed before she boxed his ears and he yelped in pained surprise before she was pulling him in for a deep, tender kiss. "Idiot. I never cared how much of you was crystal before and I certainly don't care now. I fell in love with you, G'raha Tia. I married you. And I would still have married you if you looked like this. So get any ridiculous thoughts like that out of your head right now."
She could see the impact her words had on him as he blinked back emotion before pulling her into a tight embrace. Whispering a soft 'thank you' into her hair as she let him hold her close. Staying like that until a soft knock on the door drew her attention. The knock came again and she raised an eyebrow at him before nodding her head towards the door. "Something tells me it's for you, love."
He glanced at her, a mix of anticipation and nerves on his face before pulling open the door only to be hugged tightly by a teary eyed Lyna. Recovering after only a moment to return the embrace as his own eyes welled up with tears. W'ynter gave the two a moment, letting them have their reunion and compose themselves before she flashed a smile at Lyna. "I told you it would work. Is everything ready?"
"Just waiting on you two." The silver haired woman replied with a grin, muffling a snicker at her adoptive grandfather's bemused expression. "I take it you haven't told him yet?"
He was too adorable when he looked so utterly confused and she muffled her own laughter before leaning in to steal another kiss. "What she means…is that I thought it would be fitting if we had another ceremony here. Where your family could share it with us. So I asked Lyna and Ryne to put something together for us."
For a heartbeat she thought he might cry, then he crushed her against him in a bruisingly tight embrace. A whimpered sound that could have been 'thank you' or 'i love you' mumbled into her dark hair as she gave a gentle laugh and rubbed his back soothingly. "Surprised?"
"Very." He choked out, wiping away tears as they got to their feet. Lyna gave W'ynter a nod and headed out first to give them a moment and she grabbed the edge of his scarf and used it to dab away the joyous tears at the corners of his eyes. "I love you, Raha. More than anything. And I know how much this place…these people mean to you. And I wanted to give them back to you. So…let's go see them."
Twining her fingers through his crystalline ones, she gave a gentle tug towards the door. Heading out of the Oculus only to stop dumbfounded at the sight that greeted them. It seemed as though every soul in the Crystarium had turned out, waiting for the two to step out as they broke into a raucous cheering that had G'raha's eyes welling up with emotion. Lyna sidled up to W'ynter with a smile. "I know you just wanted a few close friends, but…when word got out I couldn't keep them away. He means so much to all of us, you see. Everyone wanted to share in your joy."
Her husband's eyes weren't the only ones stinging, and it took more than a couple of tries for him to pull himself together enough to make it through the simple ceremony as the whole of the Crystarium cheered. Swept away into festivities and dancing, she laughed as she grabbed his arm to pull him back from the crowd again. "Wait. Before we join them…there's one more thing. One more surprise for you, Raha."
Cocking his head to the side, he gave her a wry smile as his eyes sparkled with mirth. "More surprises? I'm not so sure I can handle any more right now. This is…beyond amazing, W'ynter. I… I don't even have the right words."
She understood well enough, tugging him in closer with a smile and a kiss, combing fingers through white-streaked red hair. "Well… if you remember, you once asked me about kittens. And if they could look like me." Taking one of his hands, she gently pressed it to her stomach with a smile. "We'll just have to see if you get your wish…"
For a long moment he seemed completely confused at her words, his sanguine gaze widening impossibly as her meaning sank in. Fingers shaking, he smoothed his palm over her stomach, searching her eyes for confirmation as W'ynter nodded with an ever widening smile. Sinking slowly to his knees in front of her as he wrapped arms around her waist to press his head against her stomach. "We….we're having….a kitten? I'm going…to be a father…I'm going to be a father!!" Stumbling to his feet, he swept her into a frantic kiss before breaking away to race back towards the crowd. Shouting the news for everyone to hear as she burst out laughing. More than happy to let him share their joy with this world he had treasured so much.