Work Text:
Like pacing along a deserted path, nothing convenient enough to soothe the man’s muzzy mind and body searing out, reaching their limits. Who knows that in one time of life wistfully longing for a miracle, a heavenly oasis descends onto the same ground as him, now like paradise existing before the piteous man as if fate finally feels guilty.
But it's no ordinary oasis, or else he’d have leapt into the water like a happy dying fish. In the man’s eyes and heart, it’s terribly sacred.
Nevertheless, the sacred oasis is unaware that its glistening, golden gleams dazzling on its tender surface are enticing the thirsty man unable to hold back his desire.
If he could, right at this moment, enfold all of these holy waves of treasure and let them flow through his hands and arms as he drinks the drops with delight and sincere gratitude…
…Or maybe all he needs to do is to ask the sacred oasis for permission.
“Cyno, are you alright?” A voice shoots up with concern, startling the other whose mind is almost absent.
“Y-yeah,” Cyno responds. He couldn't quickly think of a good reason to cover his unusual lax behavior.
As expected, that doesn’t sound convincing to Kaveh at all. Why would Cyno even act ungrainly when he’s the one winning this TCG round?
Kaveh’s beautiful, picturesque curves of the russet brown brows slightly wrinkle upward as he starts to scratch his head with his card.
Cyno and Kaveh are at Tighnari’s abode in Gandharva Ville for a small dinner feast, along with their other familiars. The Forest Watcher is the one volunteering to prepare the meals since he’s the host, with others such as Collei to help and learn, and even Faruzan here to recommend and share recipes of dishes she fancies, whereas Scribe Al Haitham would sit in tranquility with his ear pieces on and a hardcover book as a company in the dining space. The Mahamatra would like to barge in hoping he could lessen the load, just to be told to rest in that area, or elsewhere he’s comfortable to. That soon became boring, so he invited Kaveh for a few rounds of the card game in another room during the wait.
Kaveh takes the time to switch some cards off his deck and helps rearrange the space to prepare for the next game.
There’s only a sound of dice and boxes crackling so quietly in the room with only two of them. The unusual silence is attempting to throttle the words out of General Mahamatra’s throat.
With the crave in his heart, why would he let the chance slip away? It’s now open to wager. Cyno grasps the quivering opportunity, his face red like daubed with henna.
“Kaveh…”
A soft call of his name fills Kaveh’s expression with naivete. His vermillion colored eyes focus on the other’s, ears attentive.
The General Mahamatra puts his cards down, and thus demands slowly,
“Can I.. hug you?”
Being asked a question that's just out of nowhere, the other man’s face gives a profound reaction, but no answer is given.
Noticing there's just another cumbersome silence filled in once more between them, Cyno jumps to a conclusion that he definitely must’ve displeased the ‘sacred oasis’. His sight plunges from Kaveh’s face down to the floor, regretful.
Only when he hears a little stutter coming out from Kaveh’s throat does he decide to lift up his eyes.
They make eye contact for a quick second. Kaveh looks away first. “Uh, Cyno… have you been troubled recently?”
Cyno coughs in embarrassment, “Nothing,” he answers while trying to collect himself, “I just… have been missing you since…”
Since he came back from the mission almost a week ago. No, it wasn’t carried only in a single location. He had to travel from the city to forests to the desert and back, fortunately still within Sumeru. No, he neither had distracted himself to reflect on life nor contemplated anything else besides the mission, which has always been usual whenever he’s in operation.
After the tiring mission had been taken care of, his ‘primary’ brain began to function again. That was when the next ‘trouble’ came: his brain was occupied with friends and companions he missed dearly, and the yearning for Kaveh was no less than the others whenever his mind was conscious.
Given a week off from work by the authorities, he planned to have an easeful reunion with his close friends to soothe that longing ache. But alas, his whole body rankled so badly when he woke up on the first day after the mission.
Tighnari knew where he was going to rest after—Cyno’s own home—as he had been informed by him in advance, and went to check on him.
“For a strong guy like you to even collapse on your bed all day, must be a tougher mission than the previous ones,” the Forest Ranger said and sighed with relief. He inspected the General Mahamatra and only discovered a few light injuries, like the small scars he got from being scratched by tree branches while walking through the woods during an investigation in the rainforest. Other than that, it’s just fatigue from excessive traveling, though it rendered him almost immobile. “When your muscles become less sore, you should get up and do some light exercises first to recover your strength to normal,” along with a few more instructions, foods, and a newer set of household remedies he brought with him to stuff the cabinet.
Cyno didn’t want to bother more people to pay him visits at his shelter as it could make them feel down seeing General Mahamatra lying on his bed like a vegetable. Hearing his reason, Tighnari told him that they and their friends could have a nice feast at Gandharva Ville once he’s recovered. Cyno pictured along with what his best friend said and felt his own chest brimming with bliss.
It’s been a while since then.
Now, he’s here—not just with the familiar faces—but with Kaveh, face to face, battling a card game, in a private room.
Cyno forgets to continue his words as he’s too busy fidgeting at his own fingers, multiple feelings weighing his breath.
He then notices a movement coming in his sight. Kaveh extends his hands and arms out to him in a seemingly bashful manner, inviting him to be embraced by his hug.
This escalates way easier than he’d thought that he starts to think whether it's because Kaveh feels a coercion from him, knowing how reluctant he was to converse with Cyno like friends on equal ground when they met and talked for the first time outside academic matters, for the Light of Kshahrewar usually perceived him as the formidable and unapproachable General Mahamatra, not just some guy with funny jokes wishing for an acquaintance.
But that was in the past. Things should be different now, so there’s no need to act aloof and push his friendliness away when he finally offers him one.
Kaveh says lightheartedly, “C’mon! If it makes you happy, I’ll gladly hug you,” and waves his hands in such a friendly manner it melts Cyno’s heart.
Trying to believe it is an act of willingness, the Mahamatra decides to say nothing and moves in between Kaveh’s arms. Cyno hugs back loosely as his upper body mildly rubs against the soft fabrics, with Kaveh’s golden strands of hair brushing against his cheeks and his warm breath pouring over Cyno’s shoulders.
The breathing is really soft and low, and the wrapping arms around Cyno are gentle as if trying not to make him weird back. But his sensitive skin notices it all, and now his face flusters even redder.
Contrary to Cyno’s meticulous intellect on planning operations or considering before taking actions on any matter ever, the moment it comes to decisions concerning situations this vulnerable and heart-tickling, his logical thinking drowns into an endless mental void, unfitting for a cool and composed Matra. That of himself he is already aware.
The General Mahamatra didn’t think this through. What is he really supposed to do after getting to hug the man? Freeze and wait until the latter coughs as a sign?
As a result, the very situation isn’t too different from being stuck on half a square-meter wide mound, and the floor is lava. Neither of them wants to mess up their very point which is now getting more awkward instead of the delightful feeling.
Cyno anticipates the time spent hugging Kaveh, thinking it should be a perfect timing to put his arms back and depart from his embrace. However, he isn’t feeling much contentment; the remaining desire still lingers shamefully at the corner of his heart.
Albeit parting away, the gap between their faces exists so little that they can feel the other person’s warmth emanating from their face alone.
Cyno stays unmoved in place despite the embarrassing position, his body not wanting to back out. He craves more than the short-timed embrace that didn’t even last ten heartbeats. But he’s at his wit’s end and begging for another soft hug would make him a criminal himself.
“Sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you like this…”
Kaveh’s voice raises to retain his unselfishness, “Oh, no, no,” his hands place on Cyno’s forearms as an emphasis,
“I’m alright with that! A-actually, I—” he pauses momentarily,
“I… like it…”
Cyno’s first reaction is to doubt. He likes it?
His own mind doesn’t want to be an easy believer, but that is just a fleeting doubt since he can sense lies and honesty in people anyway, and he supposes Kaveh’s heart on the Scale may as well weigh lighter than a feather.
“...I’ve always wanted to hug you. To be close to you,” Kaveh lets out a shy sigh, “but I’m sure it would be pretty weird to let you know… so it had become an impossible wish back then.”
“Y-you do?” The revelation is phenomenal, in a good way. “But why me?” Cyno’s mouth eagerly pries while trying to keep his tone calm, like he’s expecting for some sort of answer to confirm something fussing with his heart all this while.
“Well, you’re… adorable…”
An unforeseen answer strikes straight at Cyno’s heart.
Kaveh glances at Cyno’s face splashed with an obvious shade of deep red, and decides to not end at one sentence,
“You’re kind to me, and generous, and compassionate, and dependable…” His mouth won’t stop rambling, so is his pulse that beats stronger and faster. “I’ve always enjoyed your presence. I couldn’t help but longing for you when you’re not by my side… and could instead only hope that everything goes well for you…”
“Mn…” Cyno has a hitch under this throat, too overwhelmed to form a sentence or slide in a joke.
The man in front of him breathes in after a long, heartfelt confession.
“You can hug me again,” Kaveh gently states, then lowers his voice, his palm obscuring the reddened visage, avoiding eye contact,
“Embrace me… as long as you like…”
The line carries out like a muse. Cyno’s heart: in paradise. His soul: on cloud-nine.
The assurance sounded too good to be real, but at this point, denial is akin to delusion.
Excited, yet modest in consideration, Cyno budges and wraps his arms around the other man’s waist. Kaveh doesn’t shy away and carefully leans in to rest his cheek on Cyno’s chest, the spot where the pulse beats lovely rhythms.
Cyno dare not to take it for granted. He bends his head down to plant a smiley kiss on the soft blond hair bathing under a warm tint of the room’s lights, and buries his face in just like that. Both then begin to cuddle and nuzzle like kids trying out unfamiliar new things.
This time, indulging in their hearts, they’re going to embrace each other so desperately intimate until one of their bodies numb.
As for the cards, dice and boxes on the floor mat… they can tidy them up when Tighnari calls for dinner.