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Varka adjusts the straps of the rucksack after securing essentials and small keepsakes to hold him over during his expedition across Teyvat to investigate the moon and defend threats falling back to Mondstadt. Even with his back turned to you, he can feel the storm cloud looming over your head and manifesting in the pout resting on your lips.
“I’m all packed. Ready to say our goodbyes, sweetheart?” He dusts his hands and glances over his shoulder with an easy smile. Then he crosses the room to wrap a casual arm around your waist and closes the distance with the gentle collision of your chest against him. He studies your expression for a moment, a hand reaching up to take hold of your chin to meet his gaze. Behind his cerulean hues, there’s a soft understanding even as you’re acting withdrawn from him.
“Come on, don’t give me that look.” A tender brush of his thumb glides across your lower lip. He supposes he can’t fault you for wanting every bit of his attention as your husband, but your marriage to a man with an impressive title being the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius demands otherwise. Someone as important as him will always follow where the wind calls him to protect his homeland and the citizens.
You release a huff then relent in the same breath as his calloused touch intimately runs along your back. “You’re leaving again, and who knows how long you’ll be gone this time?” You’re aware that your protests won’t change the situation, but you can feel yourself already missing him even when he’s standing before you. His familiar warmth seeping through your dress grounds you for a few seconds but the ache in your heart persists. You stare intently at his armor, tracing along the gemstone embedded on his chest to distract yourself from thinking about it further.
He can guess that you don’t want to hear the timeframe he’ll spend away from you to lead a grand expedition of this degree so he keeps it to himself for now. “I know, sweetheart. There’s no telling how long these expeditions will last. But you know what? The moment my feet leave Mondstadt soil, my heart stays right here with you.” He clutches your hand that’s fiddling with his uniform and cradles your face with the other, thumb sweeping along your skin in an affectionate gesture.
You press your cheek against his palm to revel in his warmth, and you’ll miss these hands that belong to him. Rough and battle-worn but always so sweet and gentle when handling you. “You’ll promise to be careful during your travels? And write to me like before?”
That bold, reckless grin lights his face once more and it brings ease and comfort to your worries. “Careful? You know me better than that, darling. I can’t afford to be anything but safe when I have a gorgeous wife to return home to. And I’ll write so often, you’ll probably get tired of seeing my handwriting.”
Even at Varka’s attempt to remain lighthearted, he looks a little vulnerable when his attention is solely focused on you, memorizing your features as the weight of his mission starts to settle in. “Now, won’t you give me a proper send off, hm?”
He meets your lips with a slow, deliberate heat. Your arms wrap around his neck and you lose yourself in the softness and taste of him. His gentle insistence of deepening the kiss leaves you both breathless and wanting more. You must know you make it hard for him to leave you behind every time, and when he pulls away it’s only because duty calls. But what’s a few more stolen quiet moments as he leans his forehead against yours to make it worth it.
“I love you. More than anything. And I’ll come home to say it again.” He captures your lips in another sweet and lingering kiss with all the adoration he holds for you. “So wait for me, sweetheart.”