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cyno leads the way to the door, his boyfriend following close behind. tighnari shivers as the door opens, a small gust of wind blowing at his ears.
“i didn’t realize it was so dark already, how many rounds did we play?”
“i lost count after round ten when haitham knocked out my razor.” he scoffs, “i mean, the man doesn’t even try! why is he so good at it?” tighnari chuckles at his sore loser of a partner.
“there’s always next time, cy. i’m sure you’ll get him then.” (tighnari has said this to him after every single game night.) cyno slips his hand around tighnari’s waist as they walk, fiddling with the tassel on his hip.
“yeah, whatever.” he pouts, yet with a content smile on his face. the two walk in silence for a few minutes, cyno knowing how his partner loves to listen to the nature around him. birds chirping, leaves rustling, and a very faint wolf howl fill the quiet and ease away any awkwardness the silence may have brought.
unfortunately, the peace tighnari feels is absent in cyno. his brain doesn’t quite work like tighnari’s does, finding complete comfort in the sounds of nature. instead, cyno’s brain continues to run rampant, hyper vigilant. perhaps it’s an occupational hazard.
“nari?” his ears perk up and he turns his head to the source of the sound, “..do you think collei is okay?”
tighnari’s face is stuck somewhere between confusion and fondness. “i-..i’m sure she’s fine, hun. why? your general mahamatra senses tingling?” they both crack a smile, though tighnari’s is significantly larger.
“i..no, i guess not.” cyno sighs, “listen, i know this might sound weird but..i just worry about her, you know? and i know it’s not like i’m her dad or anything, i mean she’s only like, four years younger than me. i just..sometimes i don’t like leaving her alone.”
tighnari fights the urge to coo over him, as cyno talking about his feelings is not all that common. willing a smile off his face, tighnari stops walking (coincidentally stopping cyno too, of course) and turns to cyno.
“..even to play tcg?” tighnari tilts his head in disbelief.
“i mean, i love tcg but..yeah.”
“cy, baby,” he used the comforting voice that cyno knew all too well, breaking him from the frozen state of concern he was in. “she’s just fine, i know it. first of all, she has ways of contacting us if something happens.”
“i know, i know. you taught her smoke signals for a reason.”
“it’s forest ranger stuff!! she’d know anyways— whatever, like i was saying, second of all!!: she’s stronger than she seems. i know you’re probably worried due to her..past,” tighnari shivers slightly at the mere mention of it. “but she’s okay now. she’s safe, cy.”
tighnari’s hand rubbing circles into the back of his own hands grounds him a bit. “you’re right. of course you’re right, i just..if i’d have been there when he took—“ tighnari cuts him off.
“no. cyno, you can’t do that to yourself. neither of us were there- hell, we didn’t even know her back then. you can’t dwell on the past, it only makes the present harder.” cyno sighs, a comfortable moment of silence passes as the two start walking again.
“what about the future?”
“..huh?” tighnari’s tail flicks slightly.
“dwelling on the past makes the present harder, but what about the future?”
tighnari thinks for a second before answering. “the future is whatever we make of it, my love.”
“you know i want a future with you, right? and collei.” tighnari smiles warmly at his boyfriend, who’s cheeks are lightly flushed. it seems cyno did even expect that confession to come out of him.
“i hope so,” tighnari glances up as his and collei’s huts come into view, a small figure sitting on the porch. dangling her legs off the edge, she spots the two of them entering gandharva ville and waves her hands over her head with a smile.
“because i think you already have one.”