Chapter Text
‘Twas late. Urianger had finally gotten Thancred to rest, with a promise to call him should anything with Ignia change. It felt like a dream, that Thancred would be willing to entrust Ignia to his care, to have the knowledge that both Ignia and Thancred cared for him so. The miqo’te had woken up once a bit earlier, barely coherent and still in some pain before she returned to sleep. They expected that she would yet wake up several times more, with how stubborn she was about resting-
Yet, a groan pulled him out of his thoughts.
It was instinctive at this point. How he buried his affection and let the worry be the forefront of his mind.
“…how did I never notice that…” Her voice was raspy and Urianger stopped and stared at her, seeing a single open eye staring at him.
“Ignia…” The elezen sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to grab her hand, “Thee shouldst partake in water.”
Carefully, and mindful of all of her injuries, he helped to support her back, just enough for her to take a few sips of water from the glass that had been sitting at the table. As he watched her, Urianger was once more struck by how small she looked now, stripped of her weapons and gear. His one hand covered the most of her back as he supported her.
So taken was he, in watching her and checking her over for the after-effects of her injuries, that he did not realize her attempting to draw his attention until her hand rested on his bicep. Even in the aftermath of such a long journey, they were very obviously cared for, yet-
“Urianger, please. Look at me,” The Archon’s eyes trailed up, meeting with warm, mismatched eyes. The hand on his arm trails up to cup his cheek, “I wish to know your heart, <my guiding star>.”
“What doest thou mean?” Heat rose to his cheeks, once more surprised at how delicate her touch could be for how calloused her hands were, “Mine heart belongs to thee and to our shared paramour. I told thee as much on Ultima Thule.”
“I want to know it, Urianger,” And the way Ignia said his full name, so softly, so full of affection, he could scarcely believe it real, “I felt that just now, how you buried your affection under worry…have you been doing that all along?”
“…Aye,” He wanted to pull away from her searching gaze, but her hand prevented it, “Thine Echo is not a mystery to me, my <sun>. I did not wish to burden thee with mine own feelings, as unrequited as I believed they were.”
“…we need talk more later,” Likely with their third present as well. Her hand fell from his cheek, tracing a line over cloth and metal to rest against the certain of his chest, “It may take a day, it may take a month, but please allow me to know your heart. You no longer have need to hide it.”
Urianger’s heart felt fit to burst at those words. How many years had he pined after the two people closest to him in life? How many times had he wished they would accept his love, and he could be free with it, rather than bury it so he did not burden one of his beloveds with the knowledge?
And here Ignia was, telling him that she wanted to know his heart, to feel the breadth of his emotions.
It felt like a dream. But this was reality.
Urianger leaned in, to press the softest of kisses against Ignia’s lips. Chaste, yet he hoped it conveyed his bursting affection in that moment. As he pulled away, the elezen chuckled, seeing the flush on her face and the way her eyes seemed to droop after the excitement of the moment had worn off.
“Perhaps, we should set thee to rest once more. Thine recovery will still yet take time.”
“…Yeah,” It spoke to how exhausted she must have been that there was no protest to being told to rest, even as he helped her lay back down in the bed, “We…should talk more when Thancred is here.”
“Verily. And after thou hast rested more,” Moving away stray strands of hair as he righted the blankets around her, Urianger began to move to return to where he had been keeping his vigil at the nearby table, only to be stopped by a hand darting out to grasp at his hand, “Ignia…?”
“You’ll stay close, right? Your heart is so warm…” The miqo’te was obviously fighting sleep’s embrace to ask such a question, “I don’t want to feel cold anymore.”
At such an earnest request, Urianger could do little more than kneel by her bedside and press a kiss against the knuckles of her outstretched hand, “I will remain by thine side. Please rest easy, dearest Ignia.”
“Good..” Her words were little more than mumbles as she was pulled into sleep’s domain, “Love you, Uri.”
It made his heart skip a beat to hear such words directed at him still, yet he leaned in to press a kiss against her forehead as he returned her arm to a comfortable spot, “And I love thee, my darling <sun>.”