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As soon as they return home from dawn patrol, Tighnari knows someone has been in the house. He’s putting himself in front of Collei and reaching for the knife in his boot when he spots a familiar pair of sandals near the door, desert sand still dusting the soles. A jackal helmet rests on the table above them.
He raises a questioning eyebrow at them, as though they’ll provide him with answers. They’re not an unwelcome sight, but they are an unexpected one. Collei, too, is puzzled. “Give me a minute,” Tighnari tells her.
Cyno is nowhere that can be seen from the entryway, which, in their small home, leaves only the bedrooms. Tighnari heads for his own and pushes open the door. Cyno is not on, but in his bed, white hair strewn loose across the pillow, henna-berry eyes peering at him from within one of Tighnari’s hoodies.
“Breaking and entering, General?” Tighnari asks.
“The window was unlocked,” Cyno says, “so I didn’t break anything.”
“Just entering, then. Still seems like something the Matra would frown upon.” Tighnari sits next to him on the bed, leaning against the headboard. “To what do I owe this intrusion on my rights?”
Cyno reaches for his hand, twining their fingers together. “I missed you.”
It’s self-evident that Tighnari missed him too. They haven’t seen each other in nearly two months, and getting letters to him while he’s away on a mission is impossible. He pokes him in the cheek. “How long are you staying?”
“Only until tomorrow morning.” It’s never enough, and it always has to be. “I travelled all night so we’d have the whole day together, but I think I need some sleep first. Or some coffee.”
“Sleep,” Tighnari says. “Collei and I have to go back out anyway. We’ll wake you when we get back.”
“Is everything okay?” Collei calls. Tighnari wonders if she was listening and heard her name.
“Yes,” he says. “The intruder was only Cyno, so we won’t have to shoot him. We will have to entertain him today, though.”
“That’s okay!” Collei says. “We could go swimming! If he wants.”
Tighnari pokes Cyno again. “Do you want to go swimming?” Cyno grunts in assent. “He says he can’t wait.”
Collei starts rummaging around in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, and Tighnari looks Cyno over, assessing. He looks tired, but that’s not out of the ordinary. “Hey,” Tighnari says softly. “Is everything okay? Did something happen?”
Cyno shakes his head, eyes closed. “I really did just miss you.”
“Okay,” Tighnari says. He has no reason to doubt him. Cyno is always very direct.
But doubt him he does.
Cyno’s awake when they get back, waiting with a pot of coffee and a hug for both of them. Tighnari pours himself some while the two of them catch up. By the time they’re done talking, his mug is empty.
“Was the coffee okay?” Cyno asks, coming up beside him. Tighnari nods. “I’m glad. I wasn’t sure it would be… it’s bean a while since I’ve made coffee, you know.”
Tighnari arranges his face into the most disgusted expression he can muster. “That was not funny.”
“It was better than usual,” Collei allows. Cyno beams.
“Please don’t encourage him,” Tighnari says. “So, swimming? And don’t say it’ll go swimmingly.”
“I would never,” Cyno argues. “That’s not even a pun.”
“Suddenly he has standards.” Tighnari gets up to put his mug in the sink. “We should get going. We may need to fight off some crocodiles before we can get in.”
Collei blanches. “Crocodiles?”
“Don’t worry,” Cyno says. “He was joking… I think.”
Tighnari was joking—crocodiles never come this close to the village, a fact Collei really should know. Their usual spot is empty but for a few slimes he picks off with his bow. Once he’s declared it safe, they wade in, the water cool and crystal clear.
“Don’t go too far right away,” he tells Collei. She frowns at him, but does as she’s told.
Swimming is a new pastime for her post-Eleazer. It was too dangerous before; Tighnari is well-acquainted with the many species of bacteria in these waters that cause infection. They used to have to boil the water for her baths. Now, he can’t keep her away from the river. He wishes she’d apply that same level of determination to her studies, though, admittedly, learning to swim well is just as useful for a forest ranger.
When she does go further out, Cyno is right there with her, offering her an arm to grab onto when she tires. Tighnari stays in the shallows—he’d rather not get his ears wet if he can help it, or they’ll feel weird all day—and watches Cyno tow her to a rock so she can rest while he demonstrates a perfect breaststroke. He says something Tighnari can’t hear, and Collei groans, and despite himself, Tighnari wonders what the joke was.
Occasionally, he indulges himself in imagining what it would be like to live like this all the time—if their jobs were less dangerous, if finding Cyno in his bed in the morning wasn’t a surprise. He doesn’t resent what they have now; in fact, someone more religious than him might say that he feels blessed. And yet he can’t help but daydream, because the sun always shines a little brighter whenever Cyno’s around, and Tighnari feels happiest when he’s basking in its warmth.
It’s shining bright now, and Cyno and Collei are returning to shore, so Tighnari pushes his thoughts aside and swims over to join them.
Collei nearly falls asleep on her dinner plate. Tighnari moves it before she faceplants into it and tells her it’s time to go to bed. She rises from the table, rubbing her eyes. “You’ll say goodbye in the morning, right?” she asks Cyno.
“Of course.”
“‘Kay.” She gives him a quick hug. “Goodnight.”
“‘Night.” Cyno waits until she’s gone before adding, “I hope I didn’t push her too much. We swam a lot today.”
“She’ll be glad for it,” Tighnari says. “She’s getting stronger every day.”
“I’ve noticed.” Cyno eyes the closed bedroom door. “Want to go outside? I don’t want to disturb her.”
Tighnari nods. They clean up the table and head out the front door. The night is warm and humid, but Cyno, just back from the desert, pulls on Tighnari’s hoodie again. They sit on the steps outside the door, Tighnari sliding a hand under the hoodie to draw patterns on Cyno’s back.
“So,” Cyno says.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s been on your mind all day?”
“I’m thinking of the best way to do it.”
“Well, take your time,” Tighnari says. He draws a lotus on Cyno’s skin, and another, concentric flowers growing over his back.
“Remember what you said in the desert?” Cyno says. “That me trying to take down three hundred people on my own was inefficient?”
“I was actually worried about your safety, not the Matra’s efficiency,” Tighnari says, “but sure.”
“Well, I hired some new people this week. A lot of them—almost twenty. And I gave a few of the senior Matra promotions. It’s a… reorganization of sorts, the point of which is to allow me to spend less time on trivial matters that can be handled by others and more time on serious issues.” Cyno pauses. “And on you.”
“Eh?” Tighnari says, not very intelligently. “Really?”
“I meant it this morning,” Cyno continues. “I’ve missed you lately. Collei, too. I want us to be able to have more days like today.”
“I would really like that,” Tighnari says, “but I don’t want you to sacrifice anything for us.”
“I’m not. I want this too. Actually, I—I’ve been looking for a new apartment. One with two bedrooms, so Collei will have somewhere to sleep when you visit—”
Tighnari cuts him off with a kiss. Cyno’s eyes go wide—neither of them are into PDA, even on a quiet night with no one else around—before he relaxes and closes them, bringing a hand to Tighnari’s waist. His other one finds Tighnari’s cheek, stroking it with his thumb.
“So I take it you’re happy, then?” he asks.
“Yes,” Tighnari says, “very.”
“You’re not going to get sick of me?”
“Not you. Your jokes, maybe.”
“But I’ve been preparing some new ones,” Cyno says. “I’ve been pre-pun-ing them—”
“Stop.”
“Jest-ating them in my mind—”
“Ugh.” Tighnari yanks his hand out of Cyno’s shirt and grabs his wrist. “Let’s go inside. You’ll talk less if we’re kissing.”
He drags him to the front door. When they reach it, Cyno stops, taking his face in his hands again.
Tighnari expects another joke, but all Cyno says is, “Your nose got burnt today.”
“Ah,” Tighnari says. “I ran out of sunscreen.” He grins. “I guess I’ll have to buy more.”