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Being in a relationship with the Warrior of Light had quite the amount of perks - that was the train of thought Haurchefant felt running in his mind as he made his way back to one of the landmarks in Nin’s island sanctuary. It was the middle of the afternoon, and despite the characteristic warmth of the Cieldalaes, the cool sea breeze made the weather comfortable, even if Haurchefant was still too used to the cold winds of Coerthas. The Elezen looked once more to the sea and let out a deep sigh; if anyone told him years ago that he would be together with his beloved Warrior and would then travel around the world with them, he’d laugh at the person. Still, here he was, breathing in the salty air and walking back to where Orbei sat at a wooden bench, under a tree fort built by the many mammets employed in the island. She had a ceramic cup in her hands, and watched the waves come and go at the beach below, bringing the cup to her lips ever so often.
Despite not being allowed around the animals after making Lou cry, Orbei still enjoyed the nice climate of the island, and once her work as a Scion finally gave her a break, she decided it was time to give Haurchefant his first beach vacation. His childish wonder at the soft sand and glinting waves was enough to make Orbei break out an unusual smile, which in turn only made Haurchefant’s delighted grin even bigger. They took off their shoes and walked around the beach hand in hand, then climbed to the hills filled with animals, and then braved into the caves, and made it back to the cabin in time for lunch.
After a quick rest, Haurchefant - with an express warning from Nin to not let Orbei out of sight - was allowed by the island owners to take care of the varied animals they had in captivity. Once again Orbei felt herself smile at how gentle Haurchefant was around the karakuls (as he tended to them, he spoke of his experiences with the similar creatures they had in Coerthas), and chuckled at how watchful he was with the wild boars (“My dear” he said, raising a finger as if teaching a lesson, “I have lost count of how many soldiers lost a good foot to a rampage of one of these!”), and, of course, Orbei knew the chocobos would be his favorites. She watched as the man gently patted their heads, then brushed off the loose feathers and fed them two krakka roots each. Feeling so at home with such mundane tasks, Haurchefant took some time to notice that Orbei’s smile had faded, and she was now looking at him with a slight frown. Despite the lack of words, he knew exactly what must be going through her mind - so he made sure to shoot her his biggest smile yet and jogged to the fence spot from where she had been watching over him. Then he took her calloused hands in his and brought her knuckles to his lips to give them a soft kiss - only then he remembered his own hands were quite dirty from dealing with the animals, and he quickly let go of Orbei’s fingers to rub his hands on his pants to clean them up. Much to his relief, this seemed to lift Orbei’s mood up, and he excused himself to freshen up while she prepared some of her favorite tea.
It was on his way back from the cabin that he found Orbei under the tree fort, looking out at the sea, cup in hand. Seeing his partner so at peace, Haurchefant stayed a couple steps back, lovingly watching Orbei drink her tea, but he should have known her sixth sense was unmatched, and it didn’t take long for her tail to swish on the bench - she had noticed his presence, and he took it as a sign to come and sit down beside her. His eyes stayed on her while she still gazed the sea - he observed as her light hair swayed in the breeze, he watched as she closed her eyes every time she took a sip, and noticed how her tail swished behind her, grazing against his hand from time to time - and when she finally looked back at him, Haurchefant had the biggest, most adoring, fond smile on his face. Orbei couldn’t help but look away, and thought to take another sip of tea to hide her own awkwardness; she didn’t have the chance to, however, because before she could react, Haurchefant’s smile turned into a playful smirk, and he grabbed at her chin so she would face him, then leaned down to give her warm lips a kiss. When she gasped in surprise, he took the chance to deepen the kiss, and it took everything Orbei had to not let go of the cup of tea she had in her hands.
When Haurchefant finally leaned back, he was smiling again, and did not seem apologetic at all as he said: “I am terribly sorry, my love. I could not resist the urge to taste your… tea.” Both knew it was not the whole truth, but Orbei just sighed and cleared her throat before replying: “You could have asked me for a cup.” Haurchefant only gave a barking laughter as an answer, then gave a kiss to Orbei’s head and put his hand to her waist to bring her closer. She complied, and he smiled again as he turned his gaze to the vast horizon.
If someone told him years ago that he would find love, and that this love would show him how big the world can be, he would laugh at them and doubt their claim; yet, here he was now, with his beloved at a private island - and he could not be happier to have been wrong.