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Tighnari wakes up to soft light in his eyes, the sun warm on his face. He blinks tiredly, glancing through the open window. It’s later than he usually gets up. By all accounts, he should be working already.
For once, he allows himself to laze. His Rangers aren’t incapable. And Collei probably expected him to sleep in. He shifts, nuzzling closer into the warmth, sticking his feet between the thighs next to him. Cyno grumbles in his sleep, like he always does at the cold. And just as always, he brings his hand from under the covers to rest gently on Tighnari’s jaw. Massages the muscle there for a moment, then rubs his ear absently. His eyes remain closed against the sun.
“Rest, kitten,” he mumbles.
Tighnari snorts in response, melting into the bed as he watches Cyno fall right back to sleep. For a long while, he tracks the rise and fall of his chest with adoration and care.
He missed this.
Once he wakes up, Tighnari can seldom fall back asleep. If he’s up too early, he uses that time to work on his personal projects and research. But Cyno has been away for a month, if not more, and Tighnari is not yet ready to leave the haven of the bed. He settles for watching the light move across Cyno’s skin, committing his features to memory anew. The tiny flutter of his eyelashes, the sprawl of his hair. There’s a new scar by the corner of his mouth, a small one, nearly unnoticeable unless you’re really paying attention. He wants to ask about it; at the same time, he knows Cyno will be clueless about the particular circumstance that caused it. He’ll tell Tighnari everything else about the mission, but in his focus, Cyno neglects assessing his own well-being.
Sighing, Tighnari presses a kiss onto the closest part of Cyno - his collarbone - and allows himself a single moment of smugness. It’s common knowledge that General Mahamatra is a beautiful, unattainable man. Tighnari secretly delights in being the only one to see him like this. Soft and unguarded, grumbling—
“Sleep, ‘nari” sounds into his ear, sluggish and slurred. An arm slings decidedly over him, pulling him impossibly closer.
—annoyingly perceptive still when half-asleep.
“You know I can’t, darling,” he teases back, letting himself be squished into Cyno’s chest regardless. He inhales deeply, week to the scent of warm earth and desert wind that seems to follow his love everywhere. Cyno in turn, happily nuzzles between his ears. It’s so incredibly comforting, Tighnari can feel his insides turn to mush. …he wouldn’t change it for the world.
“Don’t go,” Cyno grumps, sleep heavy on his tongue, “I missed you”
“I wasn’t getting up, you silly pup”
A kiss to the base of his ear. “Good. That would be undogsirable”
Oh archons, it’s too early for this.
In his irritation, Tighnari lets his instincts take over. That is to say, he bites Cyno’s chest. It earns him a yelp and a hand curling over his nape. Cyno exhales deeply once - admittedly, more than used to this - and then laughs into the pillow. It’s a sweet, tender sound that Tighnari can never get enough of. As proven by his tail, thumping happily on the sheets. Tighnari is a weak man when it comes to his lover, and he gladly made his peace with it - so he only hums calmly at the kiss Cyno presses to his ear. Oh, he’ll get a worse bite in retaliation, he’s sure, but Cyno likes to take him by surprise, and who is Tighnari to deny him the fun?
For now, he soothes the pain with a kiss of his own. Another, and another. Then a dozen more, each a little bit higher until he’s pressing them onto Cyno’s eyelids. By then, he’s half-hovering over him, propped up on his elbows, tail swaying contently.
“Come on, lazybones. We can cuddle after breakfast”
One of Cyno’s eyes blinks open to level Tighnari with a flat look. He rubs circles into Tighnari’s neck with his left hand. The other slowly emerges from the covers. Without breaking the stare, Cyno points to the pile of projects on his desk. Tighnari’s ears pull back at the callout, the back of his neck growing warm with embarrassment. Cyno knows him too well; he absolutely wouldn’t sit still.
Tighnari clears his throat, halfway to conceding defeat. This too, Cyno knows well, considering how both his hands move to rubs at his ears now. His face is full of adoration, soft and enchanting, even as he forcefully pushes Tighnari back down. They press close, breathing each other in. When his tail curls up to rest on Cyno’s thigh, Tighnari can no longer even pretend that he minds.
“Rest well, sweet cheeks,” Cyno says after a moment, carefully biting at Tighnari’s face. His jaw more so than his check, but there’s little point to calling it out. In fact, Tighnari is trying very hard not to react.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
“…”
“…”
“…do you get it? Because-” Tighnari presses both of his hands to Cyno’s mouth, the tips of his short claws just at the edge of digging into Cyno’s own cheeks.
“Darling,” he says slowly, “I love you, and I’ve missed you-” Cyno smiles under his palm and Tighnari can’t quite stop his ear from flicking in fondness. His face is not as stern as he’d like either, “-and, yes, I did, thank you; But I promise you, one more pun and I’m joining Collei’s patrol”
A blink. Tighnari takes his hands away. “Isn’t Collei escorting her friends back to Mondstadt today?”
Tighnari grins. “Exactly”
He only gets a huff in answer, and then Cyno’s mouth is on his. Tighnari melts into the kiss - archons, how he missed this - but not before thinking that’s one way to keep quiet. Cyno, of course, licks the smile straight from his lips.
Then, hours later, “You know I would just go with you”
“I know”