Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Tighnari found Cyno sitting by the door to his hut, he didn't expect the man to be half asleep.

Yet there he was, leaning against the wall, ready to fall over at any second. He knows Cyno has awful sleeping habits but this is a new low.

With a sigh, he gently nudges Cyno's shoulder. "C'mon you lazy lummox. Get up."

The general startles into alertness at Tighnari's prodding, reaching for his polearm before realizing who it is. "Ah. It's just you."

Cyno relaxes with a sigh, looking like he's about to fall asleep again.

"Ah ah ah. No sleeping here." He does his best in an attempt to pull Cyno to his feet. "This isn't a good napping spot."

"I wasn't sleeping."

He stands, only stumbling a little. Tighnari raises an eyebrow.

"What do you want, Cyno?"

"Right. I was wondering if you have any headache medicine."

He grabs Cyno's wrist and leads the way into his hut, already running through a mental list of the ingredients needed. "Why do you need headache medicine?"

"Well, it's not a bright idea to go out into the desert when your head is pounding."

The pun takes a second to process but once it does, Tighnari groans. His ears flatten against his head as he begins to pull various plants out of cupboards. "That was awful, Cyno."

"Really? I thought it was good."

Cyno yawns as he sits down at the table. He rests his head on his palm as he watches Tighnari work, trying his best to not fall asleep. They fall into a comfortable silence with only the clinking of bottles and the grinding of a mortar and pestle filling the space.

"So. How long do you plan on being in Gandharva Ville for?"

"How soon are you going to kick me out?"

Tighnari hums thoughtfully, tail swishing behind him as he moves. Cyno clearly needs some sleep. Yet knowing him, he'd likely deny that he isn't feeling well and move on with his day.

Unfortunately for Cyno, he is Tighnari's partner. He will be cared for whether he likes it or not.

"I've missed you."

"We saw each other not too long ago."

"I know but that was so serious and high stress. I like when you come around just to spend time with me. We haven't done that in a while."

"Ah... Well I'm sure I can hang around for a little while."

Tighnari smiles as Cyno falls for the bait. Caught hook, line, and sinker.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah. The other matra are perfectly capable of managing without me for a bit."

"Wonderful! You can have this," He hands Cyno the bottle of medicine he's made. "and I will be right back. I just have to let someone know that I'm going on break."

He smiles, leaving Cyno alone while he goes to find another forest watcher.

When he returns, it seems like Cyno hasn't moved an inch. He looks up when Tighnari walks in, reaction significantly delayed.

"You're back."

"Mhm. Sorry if I took too long."

"No, no. I wasn't waiting very long. So what do you want to do?"

Tighnari shrugs. "I kinda just wanted to snuggle a bit. If you don't mind, of course."

Cyno takes a second to process the request before he responds. "I see what you're doing."

"Of course you do. You're not an idiot, Cyno, and I wasn't really hiding my intentions. But are you going to deny your partner snuggles anyway?"

He sighs. "No..."

"That's what I thought." Tighnari smiles as he takes off Cyno's headdress, setting it off to the side as he presses a kiss to the general's forehead. He's surprised to discover Cyno is much warmer than usual but says nothing about it.

Tighnari pulls Cyno out of his chair, leading him to his bedroom. His hut isn't particularly big so his bed is the only good snuggle spot.

Cyno flops down on the bed as Tighnari closes curtains and makes the room as dark as possible before joining him.

It isn't long before Cyno is curled into his side, fast asleep as his partner keeps watch, idly reading the book from his bedside as he does so.

Hours pass. It's quiet and peaceful. Near perfect.

Eventually, Tighnari hears the pitter patter of a familiar someone outside his home. Before long, his bedroom door is creaking open as Collei pokes her face inside, picking up on the relaxed, quiet atmosphere.

When she speaks, her voice is a whisper. "I heard Cyno was here?"

Tighnari nods. "Would you like to sit with us?"

She nods, running over as quietly as she can. She climbs up, tucking herself into Tighnari's other side, careful of the arm draped across his waist.

Smiling, he wraps an arm around Collei before opening his book back up. After a while of reading with him, she too falls asleep.

If his tail weren't pinned underneath someone, it would be wagging slightly.

Because this is perfect.

Chapter Text

Cyno stands there, holding his mother's hand in an unfamiliar temple.

The stone floor is cold against his feet. The temple is grand and beautiful. Large pillars that seem impossibly tall stretch so far above him it's dizzying to look at.

So he doesn't. Instead, he focused on the kid hiding behind one of the pillars, watching him. He has to be around Cyno's age.

His parents continue talking about grown up stuff. Their voices are a distant, incoherent mumble in his ears.

Shyly, he waves at the other boy. The boy glances at the adult Cyno's parents are talking to before waving back.

Cyno wants to go play with him, but he hesitates. This temple is big and scary and cold. He doesn't want to get lost. He doesn't want to lose his parents. Besides, he doesn't even know this kid. What if he doesn't want to play with Cyno?

His mom suddenly pulls him forward and out from behind her. She holds him out towards the man she'd been talking to, her grip on his arm too tight.

He watches his father be handed a bag of Mora.

He starts to cry. To beg. To plead.

The man grabs him. His parents don't help him.

He watches them walk away.

No. No no no no. Please. Come back. Come back! Please, come back! Don't leave him here! He's scared. Don't leave him alone. He doesn't want to be alone. Please come back! Come back!

"COME..."

Cyno sits up, arm outstretched. His head is pounding. His vision is blurry and he feels so cold. He blinks, glancing around the room.

It's Tighnari's hut. Specifically his room. Tighnari lays on the bed next to him, curled around Collei. He stirs, blinking sleepily up at Cyno.

"Cyno? What's wrong?"

He takes a deep breath in trying to calm his racing heart as he wipes his eyes with the backs of his hands. "I just had a really weird dream, Nari. Don't worry about it."

"If you say so. How are you feeling?"

"Better."

Worse. His headache definitely got worse. He just wants to curl up in a dark room and take a nice, long nap. Unfortunately, he still has a duty as General Mahamatra.

Tighnari hums as he gets up, careful to not disturb Collei too much.

Cyno tries to follow. His feet give out from under him as soon as he stands up, only saved from crashing to the floor by Tighnari's quick reflexes.

The Valuka Shuna raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Better, huh?"

"Um..."

Tighnari sighs. "You're clearly feeling worse, Cyno. As your life partner and also your unofficial doctor, I'm sentencing you to bed rest."

"But–"

"Ah ta-ta-ta-ta. No." He forces Cyno to sit back down on the bed. "If you keep pushing yourself, you risk getting severely injured. I know you, and I know what your job is. You can't fight anything like this."

Cyno sighs. He knew Tighnari would be like this. And yet he still came to him first anyway.

He lets Tighnari help him lay down, practically shoving a somehow still sleeping Collei into his arms. He curls up around her, the pain from his nightmare memory resurfacing.

He'll keep her safe. He'll give her everything his parents chose not to give him.

Tighnari leans down to press a kiss into his hair. "I love you. Now stay here."

Cyno hums as he gently runs his hands through Collei's hair. Tighnari tucks the blanket around them before leaving the room. Cyno can hear him in the kitchen, going through cabinets.

He's tired and incredibly comfortable. A small nap won't hurt.

Tighnari sighs as he walks through the forest.

Cyno was a stubborn thorn in his side. Nevertheless, he was incredibly worried. Cyno clearly wasn't doing okay and there's no telling if his body is able to withstand the power of two Ba fragments. Since it's magic, there's no telling if any of his usual remedies for Cyno's symptoms will work.

He left him with Collei, though. She'll keep an eye on him, surely.

His ear twitches at the sound of rapid footsteps as someone runs towards him. He readies his bow just in case when Collei comes into view. He relaxes as she stops in front of him, gasping for breath.

She seems upset by something and on the verge of tears.

"Master... Tighnari. I–"

He crouches so he can see her face better. "Take a moment to calm down. Breathe."

She nods, standing up straight as she breathes in deeply before exhaling. "Okay. I'm good."

"Okay. Now what is it you ran all the way out here to tell me."

"Right. That. Um... Please don't be mad at me–"

"What. Happened."

She flinches back at the tone of his voice. "I... Cyno snuck out. While I had my back turned. I don't know where he went. I tried looking everywhere for him but he was nowhere to be found–"

"That stubborn–" He stops himself, breathing in deeply to compose himself before he swears in front of his daughter. "I'm sure he couldn't have gone far. Let's go back to Gandharva Ville and look for Cyno together."

Collei brightens slightly. "Yeah... Let's go do that."

Tighnari smiles as begins the walk home with Collei.

Buer give him patience because if not Tighnari is going to kill Cyno when he finds him.

Chapter Text

Cyno breathes heavily as he stumbles through the desert, a white knuckled grip on his polearm as he struggles to keep himself upright.

His head is pounding so hard he feels nauseous. Every inch of skin feels like it burns under the harshness of the sun.

Tighnari was right.

Cyno regrets leaving.

He collapses in the shadow of a rock formation. He leans against it, closing his eyes against the harshness of the desert.

The rock isn't cool but the shade is a nice reprieve from the onslaught of heat that is the sun.

He can't stay there forever. He has a scholar to track down. Someone who can't be left to run wild.

But he can't track anyone properly with this headache and the fever is starting to get to him as well.

"Hey! Cyno!"

He doesn't open his eyes at the sound to Dehya's voice. Cyno salutes in her general direction in greeting.

Her footsteps crunch in the sand as she approaches. "What're you doing out here?"

He hears her sit down in the sand beside him. He opens his eyes to roll his head to the side, giving her an unimpressed eyebrow raise.

Dehya rolls her eyes. "You aren't always in the desert for 'work related reasons'."

He hums, closing his eyes again. "I am this time."

She's quiet for a minute. He can feel her eyes on him.

"Are you... okay? Your face is kinda flushed. Do you need water?"

He shakes his head "no", holding up his own waterskin as he chooses to only answer the last question. The water inside sloshes around. He's glad he filled it up before reaching the desert.

Cyno can feel Dehya's squint.

"You seem off..."

"I'm fine. Just tired."

She hums, leaning back against the rock as she accepts the lie. Anyone who knows Cyno knows that he's terrible when it comes to placing work above his needs. Being tired during or after a tracking mission isn't abnormal.

"I've got some time before my next job. I'll keep watch for you if you wanna get some sleep."

He thinks for a moment. It's a pretty good deal.

"What would I owe you?"

"Friend discount."

Cyno snorts. He leans against her arm. Dehya shifts, tucking him into her side and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

If she notices how warm he is, she doesn't say anything about it.

"I suppose if you insist."

"I do insist. Get some sleep, Cyno." She shifts to give him the closest thing she can to a shoulder bump with their positions.

He hears her summon her claymore.

Hopefully he'll feel better when he wakes up.

.

.

.

Dehya scans the desert for any threats.

It's something she's used to doing. As a mercenary, keeping her guard up is necessary. As a hired bodyguard, keeping someone else safe is familiar.

Cyno is not someone who typically needs protection.

The General Mahamatra is a feared force. He's the executioner of the Akademya, the bloodhound that brings wayward scholars to justice. He's a formidable adversary and their paths have crossed many times due to him hunting her clients.

But something feels wrong.

Even when he's working, he'll stop to chat if their paths cross. Usually, he makes a joke in the first ten minutes.

Despite being a quiet person, he was quieter than normal. More tired than normal.

She lets go of the hilt of her claymore to press the back of her hand against his forehead.

He's incredibly warm. It's not the warmth that comes with being in the desert sun, either.

As much as she'd like to sit with him until he wakes up, she does have a client to get to. But Cyno clearly isn't well and dying of heatstroke in the desert is no way for him to go out.

Dehya drums her fingers on her sword's handle as she thinks.

They shouldn't be too far from Aaru village. Candace is incredibly reliable. As far as Dehya knows, she's familiar with Cyno as well.

She sighs, dismissing her weapon.

Cyno doesn't even stir as Dehya manhandles him onto her back. It's surprisingly easy with how light he is.

With how worryingly light he is.

She shakes off the thought as she stands. Candace will surely know how to help him.

Right?

Chapter Text

Cyno wakes up slowly.

His eyes aren't immediately assaulted by the sun so that's good. And the cooler environment is nice. His head has stopped pounding as hard and the cool, damp cloth on his forehead is keeping his temperature lower.

The blankets he lays on are soft and the room is filled with soft candlelight.

Wait... Blankets? Candles?

He surveys the room as best as he can without sitting up. His polearm is carefully propped up against one of the walls. There's a chair by the bed he's laying in and the floor and walls have several rugs to keep the room from echoing.

He turns his head to look at the door as Candace walks into the room. She seems wholly unimpressed with him, a cup of water in her hands.

"Oh. I was just about to wake you up."

Cyno groans, lifting an arm to rest it over his eyes. "Don't."

Candace sits down in the chair, setting the cup on the bedside table. "Oh I won't have to chew you out for going into the desert while sick. Which was incredibly stupid, by the way. But Tighnari is going to tear you to shreds. I don't even know how he handles you."

"Please don't tell him."

"Too late, I'm afraid." Cyno groans again and Candace smacks his arm lightly. "Alright. Sit up. You've been sleeping all day and you need to stay hydrated with that fever you have."

She helps Cyno sit up, much to his dismay, and makes sure he drinks all the water. Only then does she let him lay back down.

"I know you have horrendous work-life balance, Cyno, but going into the desert while this sick is a new low."

"I'm not sick." Cyno shoots Candace a glare, his statement getting an eyebrow raised in response. "And I thought you weren't going to berate me?"

"Sorry I care, I guess." She rolls her eyes, standing up. "I'll have Collei come replace that cloth and bring you something to eat."

Cyno blinks. "Collei's here?"

"Yeah. And it wasn't very nice of you to sneak out on her like that. You gave the poor girl a panic attack!"

He looks away in shame. He hadn't thought things through at all.

"I'll apologize."

"Good. Now get some rest. You're going to need it if I'm sending you back to Gandharva Ville."

He grunts in acknowledgement as Candace leaves the room. He's left alone with this thoughts until Collei comes in.

She arrives with a plate containing bread and only bread in one hand and a small thing of water in the other. She doesn't make eye contact with Cyno, guilt dripping off of her with every step she takes.

Cyno watches Collei set the water and bread on the bedside table.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have scared you like that. You didn't do anything wrong."

Collei wipes her eye with the heel of her hand. Cyno sits up, setting the damp cloth aside to pull Collei into a hug. She cries for a short while, eventually settling in his lap, his arms wrapped around her.

"Master Tighnari was so angry. It felt like it was my fault."

"It wasn't. It was mine."

She's quiet for a long moment. "We went looking for you. Went out to the Akademiya and everything. Dehya saw us in Sumeru City and told us you were here."

Cyno exhales. Of course Dehya told the one person Cyno didn't want to see right now. "What'd Nari do?"

"He almost stormed over here himself. But I managed to convince him Candace would have two people to take care of if he did."

"Smart girl."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

Collei smiles softly, wiping her eyes. She slides off of Cyno's lap and the moment ends. He's handed the plate and he takes it without complaint, eating the bread.

His headache isn't strong enough to make him nauseous so he doesn't have to worry about throwing it up. That seems to be a concern Candace had, though, considering simple bread is all he has to eat.

He manages to get Collei talking about what she's been up to and her voice fills the silence. Cyno chimes in with a joke or two, watching Collei dunk the cloth in the water before wringing out the excess water. She keeps talking while she works and he couldn't be prouder.

He's laying back down again, listening to Collei go on about mushroom biology, damp cloth back on his forehead, when Candace re-enters the room. She stands in the doorway and smiles at the sight before waking over.

"Feeling better?"

Her voice cuts off Collei mid-rant. She looks embarrassed but Cyno intends to get her talking again once Candace is gone.

"I am."

"Good. If you stay better by tomorrow I'll have Dehya escort you both back to Gandharva Ville."

Cyno groans. He is not looking for forward to the lecture he's going to receive.

Collei smiles. "Thanks, Ms. Candace."

Candace rests her hand on Collei's head. "No problem. I'll leave you both be, now."

They watch her leave the room. Once she's gone, Cyno turns to Collei.

"So... mushrooms?"

Collei brightens.

Cyno smiles.