Work Text:
G’raha watched in horror as the shape of his beloved twisted and bent unnaturally. He had seen it happen to many a poor soul before, but now it was happening to her, when they were so close to saving the First.
No, not you… I’m supposed to be the one to die to help your friends. I was too late. The light…
Viola, the Warrior of Darkness, spat out pure light as her viera ears grew longer and curled around like thorny vines. She screeched and raked her new claws against the ground. A Lightwarden now stood before him.
“Viola!”
G’raha sat up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding in his chest. He panted heavily and took a moment to look around. He was in a bed. Their bed, in their room, not at the top of Mount Gulg in another world. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief and reached over to where she was sleeping. However, he only felt an empty pillow where a pair of soft viera ears should have been. He glanced over and felt his heart racing again at the sight of the empty spot on the bed next to him.
No, stop this. It was just a nightmare. She’s still here somewhere, just not here right now.
The panicked daze of his dreamstate still took hold of him, though, and he threw the covers back.
“Viola?” He shakily called out. “A-are you there?”
The room in the Rising Stones that had become the couple’s shared chambers was empty and dark, though the door leading out into the hallway was opened just a crack.
She’ll come back soon, he tried to convince himself, but the need to see her safe and whole was too strong. Visions from his nightmare flashed through his mind.
What if it wasn’t just a dream? What if something went wrong, and the light from the Lightwardens wasn’t all released when we defeated Emet-Selch? Sin Eaters don’t exist in the Source, but what if…
He jumped out of bed, ignoring the cold chill as the remaining blankets left him, and dashed out of the room.
The Rising Stones was quiet, the halls completely deserted. G’raha glanced out of a window and surmised it was rather late at night by now, as the moon sat high in the sky. He tried to be quiet as he moved through the halls, so as not to wake the other Scions, but he could only do so much in a state of absolute fear. Each leg shook as he carefully tried to step forward on the cold, stone floor.
He was so focused on looking for a pair of red, black-tipped ears that he bumped into someone else while turning the corner.
“Oof,” Thancred mumbled as he stepped back. “G’raha, what’s going on? It’s 2 in the morning…”
The miqo'te paused as he acknowledged the white-haired hyur in front of him.
He’s going to think I’m crazy… I’m just looking for Viola, that’s it. I’m not panicking that she turned into a Sin Eater, not at all…
“S-sorry, Thancred,” he mumbled. “H-have you seen Viola? I just, um…”
Thancred blinked as he stared down at him. “Yes, she’s in the kitchen. Is everything all right? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”
In the kitchen…
A small wave of relief ebbed away at the wall of anxiety that had built up inside him, and he knew the sensible thing would be to go back to bed and wait for her, but something still gnawed at him.
“Th-thank you, Thancred. I-I… ah, don’t be concerned for me!” He waved shakily, trying to look as casual as possible, and bounded down the hallway toward the kitchen. He thought he heard Thancred saying something behind him, but he paid the man no mind.
But why is she in the kitchen at 2 in the morning? he thought as he continued running, this time trying to take extra care not to bump into anyone else who might be up at this late hour. What could she possibly..?
Sure enough, the door to the kitchen was open, and he could see a dim light coming from it. He pushed himself into the doorway and felt tears come to his eyes as he saw the viera in there, chopping something on a cutting board.
“Oh, Viola!” he exclaimed in relief.
Viola jumped and nearly dropped her chef’s knife. “Raha? Is everything okay? You—”
She was cut off as he dashed into the kitchen and threw his arms around her, burying his face into her chest. He felt silly as the tears began to fall, but he had needed to see that she was still alive, and here she was, a viera and very much not a Sin Eater.
She seemed to freeze for a moment, but then he heard the gentle clink of the knife being placed on the cutting board before he felt her strong arms wrap around him. One of her hands began to stroke his hair.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered finally, looking up at her as another tear slipped out. “I… Oh, I must seem ridiculous. I had a nightmare and I… I just needed to see you, and then you weren’t there, and I panicked a bit. I feel so silly now…” He suddenly became aware of how much his tail had been thrashing about in his flurry of emotions, and he willed it to slow down.
She smiled and brushed away the tear from his cheek. “It’s okay, Raha. I’m here. And here I had been so worried I’d accidentally wake you up…” She leaned down and gently kissed his forehead. “Would you like some tea? Would that help?”
He merely nodded and stretched up on his tip-toes so he could reach up and kiss her. She was so warm, he realized, and he could taste a bit of honey on her lips.
Viola returned the kiss and stroked his ears for a moment before letting go and pulling over a stool for him.
“I suppose it is weird to be in the kitchen so late,” she remarked, “but I was having trouble sleeping. I figured some chamomile tea would help, so I decided I’d get up and make some, but you were sleeping so peacefully that I didn’t want to disturb you…” She sighed. “And here you were having a nightmare the whole time.”
G’raha fiddled with the hem of his nightshirt, the last of the anxiety fading away and turning into embarrassment over the whole situation.
She resumed chopping what she had been cutting up when he first found her, which he now realized was dried chamomile from the smell. A jar of honey sat nearby, as well, and a pot of water was beginning to boil on the stove at the end of the room.
“Sometimes I randomly have trouble falling asleep,” she continued. “Nothing to be concerned about. I’m not worried about anything in particular. I just have so much energy!”
He thought back to when he was the Crystal Exarch in the First, and how he would sometimes spy her walking around the grounds of the Crystal Tower at strange hours. “Oh, I wish I had known sooner,” he replied. “I never needed to sleep when I was connected to the Crystal Tower. I could have given you company back on the First.”
She shot him a mischievous glance, and he felt his face grow red.
“N-not like that! O-or maybe like… I mean, I wouldn’t have minded that sort of company, of course, but I hadn’t told you my feelings for you yet, and um, I was still hiding my true identity and…”
Viola laughed. “I’m only teasing. I knew what you meant.” She finished chopping the chamomile and leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek. “You’re so adorable when you get flustered, though.”
He knew that it would be easy to reverse this situation and make her equally as flustered, but at the moment, he was less in the mood.
She grabbed a tea kettle from the shelf above her and placed the chopped chamomile inside. Then she walked over to the pot of boiling water and carefully removed it from the stove.
“Anyway, chamomile helps me sleep sometimes,” she told him as she poured the water into the tea kettle. “So I figured I’d make some tonight. It’s a good thing I made enough for a whole pot.”
G’raha nodded and could feel his tense muscles relaxing even more as the smell of the steeping chamomile wafted into his nose. “I could definitely use some of this.”
“Would it help to talk about the nightmare?” She walked back over to him and began stroking behind his ears. “I’m happy to listen if you need it.”
He looked up at her smiling face and remembered the warped Sin Eater version of her from his nightmare. He shuddered and leaned into her hands. “The nightmare was about you,” he whispered. “We were… on Mount Gulg, after defeating Vauthry, and the light was too much. I was too late, and you…” He could feel tears coming to his eyes again. “I’m so sorry, my love. If things hadn’t worked out, and you had turned into a Sin Eater…”
“I knew the risks going into it.” She rested her forehead against his. “If I was upset at anyone who’s ever sent me on a risky mission, I’d have precisely no friends, nor would I have ever had any lovers, not to mention Hydaelyn.” She chuckled reassuringly. “But that does sound scary. I promise, I’m still me. No Sin Eaters here.”
He wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed just being held by her in silence, the smell of tea surrounding them.
“Raha,” she finally whispered. “I think the tea’s ready.”
“Mmhmm.” He loosened his arms but did not let go.
“Your tail,” she continued.
G’raha blinked his eyes open and glanced down to see that his tail had wrapped firmly around one of her legs.
“I… apologize…” He laughed softly as he let go of her and forced his tail to do the same.
She grinned and kissed his forehead. Then she doused the fire on the stove and poured two cups of tea, adding a healthy dollop of honey into each. She handed one to him.
“It’s hard to sip tea in bed… want to head over to the couches in the common room? I am actually glad to have some company now while I sip this.” She picked up her own mug of tea with one hand and held out her other to him.
“That sounds lovely, Viola.” He took her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers as they left the kitchen. “Thank you.”