Archive of Our Own

"Sometimes, all I think about is you, 

Late nights in the middle of June, 

Heat Waves been fakin' me out, 

Can't make you happier now, 

You can't fight it You can't breathe, 

You say something so lovin'" 

- heat waves (Glass Animals) 

𓂃 ☼𓂃

Sand crunched under his toes, warm and fine to the touch. A gentle breeze carried the sand particles in waves down the dunes, but the wind was hot and did nothing to cool them off. 

Cyno didn’t mind, though. The desert was his home. The blazing hot sun seemed to blanket him in a buzzing warmth, and the large expanse of sand in all directions eased his mind. There was the blissful quiet of dessert, with nothing but the distinct skittering sounds of reptilian creatures hidden in the shades nearby. 

And the sound of his panting comrade. 

He stopped walking then, turning around to find that Tighnari was several paces behind him, trudging along as if walking through mud. The same sun that kissed Cyno’s skin and toasted him gently seemed to be melting his forest-dwelling friend. 

Cyno clicked his tongue at the pathetic sight. “We still have a looonggg way to go,” he warned. He stood as he watched Tighnari slowly catch up to him. 

Tighnari let out an annoyed huff. He was already covered in a cool, light desert robe to avoid those nasty sunburns he was prone to, and he was carrying with him a special made umbrella crafted out of the huge forest leaves. Yet even shaded and covered, it seemed like the heat was still getting to him. “We have no choice. Could you stop walking so fast?!? You know that the desert doesn’t suit me.” 

“I was walking at a regular pace. How is it that you’re already dying? We haven’t traveled more than 20% of the way there, not to mention that it’s not even peak temperature yet. It’s still quite early in the morning.”

“Don’t remind me,” Tighnari said. He got out a flask and sipped from it, and then brought the cool metal to his skin. 

“Are you sure you’ll be fine? Okay enough to make the trip?” Cyno questioned as his friend got close. 

Tighnari gave him an annoyed look and kept on trudging forward. All that unbreakable patience and softness he carried with his students seemed to always expire whenever the man had to deal with Cyno. “Yes, I’ll have to be.”

“Is it really so necessary? You usually don’t delve into the desert yourself,” Cyno stated, walking a bit slower to match his pace. He’d typically send out Cyno on missions to fetch him wherever he needed so long as it was in the desert. Cyno was happy to do it, because when things were relatively peaceful at the Akademiya, he needed to find some other ways to be useful. 

“Unfortunately, yes. This rare species of flower has been reportedly seen from several sources growing out in the far regions of the desert. It was previously critically endangered and only recently thought to be extinct. If the sightings are legitimate, then it’s worth checking out. And if we do end up finding it, I need it to be delicately handled with its roots preserved to try and propagate it and save it from extinction.” 

It was the most Tighnari had spoken since they’d stepped foot into the desert, Cyno noted curiously. It was easy to get Tighnari to yap about pretty much anything with a simple question, so for him to not have been speaking much, he truly must be suffering. 

“So… you’re saying I’m not gentle?” 

Tighnari side-eyed him. “Of the many words I would use to describe you, gentle is indeed not one of them.” 

“Still, you could’ve sent Collei or one of your other students. Someone who knows how to be gentle.” 

Tighnari shook his head. “They’re all involved in their own projects. Collei’s in the Akademiya reporting on her research. The others are too incompetent. Anyway, I’ll be fine, less talking and more leading the way.” 

“Okay, okay,” Cyno said, but he had not ever seen Tighnari so irritated. The heat was making him short-tempered, and Cyno couldn’t lie and say that the change was not slightly amusing. 

It was fun to poke his buttons here and there, as they walked along. He made up for it by offering to carry Tighnari’s bags, to which he was scolded to be careful as the contents of the bag were delicate. Cyno bit back a joke about how it seemed that Tighnari was even more so, as he figured he wouldn’t appreciate it. As he did with most of Cyno’s jokes. 

But as the sun rose higher in the sky, it was no longer as fun. The heat was truly driving him mad. 

“That’s it, I can’t fucking take this anymore!” Tighnari said, stopping momentarily. He threw down his umbrella, threw back his hood. His ears sprung free. He grabbed all his hair and started raking it back away from his face. 

“Gah!! Why is it a million degrees?!?! This stupid hair — I’m going to shave it all off!!!” He said in frustration, tying it back tightly with a band.

Cyno couldn’t help but chuckle. “No offense, but I think your ears would look really strange on a bald head. But now that you said that, I’m kind of curious to see what that would look like. Do you have any bald family members??” 

“Shut up Cyno, it’s too hot for your bullshit,” Tighnari said, barely paying attention. He pulled the collar of the robe away from his neck, fanning away the sweat. He started flapping his clothes to cool himself down. His ears dropped down, like he was too exhausted to even keep them upright. 

Cyno walked behind him and grabbed his umbrella. He walked over and placed it over Tighnari, shading him again from the sun as he fanned himself. 

“How are you surviving in this awful weather?!?” Tighnari asked, sounding like he’d run half a marathon. 

“I’m used to it. It’s not too bad. This isn’t even the hottest I’ve experienced. It’s quite mild, actually.” 

“You’re crazy.” Tighnari said, still fanning himself. “Let’s - let’s take a break,” he said, sinking to the ground. 

Cyno stayed standing, obediently holding the leaf umbrella and his bags as Tighnari collapsed on the sand, still dying despite wearing nothing but cooling light clothes specifically designed by desert dwellers. 

To onlookers, they probably wouldn't be able to guess correctly who was the General Mahamatra and who was just a humble scholar. 

“Nari, don’t get mad—“ 

Tighnari already looked at him, face red. Although from anger or heat, Cyno couldn’t tell. “But I don’t think you’re cut out for the rest of this mission.” 

“Thank you for the encouragement,” he responded bitterly, his ears lowering further. “That’s just pointless for you to say now, Cyno. You should have voiced your concerns before we left —“

“I did —“

“More than you did. And how many times must I say that it was unavoidable?!” He snapped. “We’re already in the middle of the desert, stranded nowhere when the sun is the highest in the sky. In Celestias name where the hell else am I supposed to go, except for forward?!?” 

Cyno blinked, shocked at the tone he was using. Typically, Tighnari never angered - not even in the face of the stupidest morons who lived to anger others. And yet, here he was, frustrated and angry, dripping with sweat, flushed red from the heat.

“You’re right. What should I say instead? For encouragement?”

“Can’t you think for yourself? Or has the heat fried your brain?" he snapped.

“Let’s keep moving. What are those big ears of yours for if not to cool you down?” 

“They’re a byproduct of my Valuka Shuna ancestors who could bear the heat well. Only their fur was pure white, and mine is a heat-absorbing near-black, made for the forsst, not for the desert!!! Any other questions?!?” He answered.

Cyno just smiled. “Maybe I’ll just stay quiet.” 

Tighnari sighed, slowly standing up. “Sorry, it isn’t you—- it’s this heat. It’s making me …”

“A short tempered bastard?” Cyno finished. 

“I suppose.”

“It’s alright. This side of you is interesting too.”

Tighnari scoffed. “Please, stop talking about me and observing me like I’m some specimen from an experiment you’re conducting. Let’s keep moving.”

“You kind of are. How much heat can the forest dwelling fox handle??” Cyno questioned aloud. 

Tighnari ignored his comment and kept on moving forward. 

The silent treatment didn’t last long, though, because it was only a mile or so until Tighnari began again with his complaints. 

The sun was relentless, beating down on them. Even the sand had stilled, the little wind there once was was gone.

Tighnari had already shed most of his garments, leaving just the white desert robe, of which sleeves he’d rolled up and top buttons unbuttoned. He flapped it once more. “God, I feel so hot still. Maybe I should take this off.”

Cyno placed a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me, you’re cooler with it on. As counter-intuitive as it seems, the more you’re covered from the sun, the cooler you’ll be.” 

Tighnari shoved his hand aside. “I know how that works,” he muttered. “Still doesn’t explain how you can parade around half-naked and seem blissfully unaffected.” 

Cyno looked down at his own garments, at his bare chest. “It’s a desert people thing.”

“That doesn’t make sense. You should be just as affected, if not more.” Tighnari said, placing a hand on his chin. He glanced up and down Cyno’s figure, probably marking him down to research later. “How do you not get sunburns??” He asked, grabbing Cyno’s arm to inspect his skin. 

“My skin is darker than yours. It’s less affected.” 

Tighnari groaned, rolling down his sleeves. “It’s soo hot. And I can’t put on that thick paste… it feels like being casted in a thick oil before being sent into the oven.” He said, probably referring to the sun cream Collei had lovingly given him before his expedition. 

“We can take another break if you want.” 

“No, no. Let’s keep going. The worst of it is almost over.” Tighnari insisted.

𓂃 ☼𓂃

They walked for not even half a mile before Tighnari legitimately collapsed in the sand. 

At first, Cyno thought it was in response to his joke. He’d attempted to lighten the mood with a desert related joke (What do you call a really smart Valuka Shuna?? Furmanubis), but when Tighnari did not verbally complain about it, he turned his head to look to find that he had collapsed. Admittedly, it was not the worst reaction he’d gotten from him in response to one of his jokes. 

The umbrella dropped from Cyno’s hand, and he rushed to Tighnari’s side,  checking for all the signs of potential heatstroke. Luckily, it seemed that the man had just passed out from heat exhaustion or perhaps some other heat related illness. 

Thankfully, he should be alright, Cyno figured, so long as Cyno kept him shaded and cooled him down enough. Unfortunately, it was still the afternoon and the sun was still blaring down, with no shelter in sight. 

Cyno grabbed his limp body in his arms, resting his head on his chest, and began racing through the desert. Despite Tighnari’s previous attempts at making it through on his own, carrying him like this was actually much faster. Though if he was awake, he would vehemently resist being carried like this. 

 At some point, in the distance, Cyno could hear the soft grunts of a sumpter beast, and its accompanying party with it. He smiled, assuming they’d be able to help Tighnari cool down, he started heading towards the sound. 

Unluckily, the group that Cyno had stumbled upon were nothing more than treasure hoarders, based on their attire and weapons. Usually, he’d beat them up and have them sent to the Akademiya to receive their justice, but he was in a bit of a pickle here and maybe they had medicine for heat related illness. 

So he began walking towards them.

The treasure hoarders who spotted him first started screaming and panicking, letting the whole group know that the General Mahamatra was there to bring them to justice. 

“Run!!! The General Mahamatra is here!!!” 

“Who is that he’s carrying?!?” 

“Probably a dead body of one of his victims!!” 

Ah, even though Cyno had not planned to fight, he had forgotten about his notorious reputation. 

It seemed there wasn’t much choice. He dropped Tighnari in the sand, along with his belongings, placing the leaf over him. Then he turned towards the treasure hoarders and got out his spear. 

He made quick work of them, and had them tied up in mere seconds. Even the Sumpter Beast had run off the second it had seen Cyno. 

He looked at them as he tied the together, noticing that they seemed fewer than usual. He furrowed his brows, wondering if some had run off with the beast. He looked around. Usually, he’d go hunting for them, but time was of the essence and he needed to get Tighnari to some shaded cool place soon. 

He pointed his spear at the leader, tied up in front. “Where did your friends go?” He asked. The man stumbled his answer, stuttering and bumbling, when his eyes discreetly went past him.

Where Tighnari was… 

He whipped around, and found that two treasure hunters had grabbed Tighnari’s unconscious body and all of his things. 

Cyno felt a special kind of rage incite inside of him. 

He was about to demolish them when one of them noticed and quickly put his knife at Tighnari’s throat. 

Cyno grit his teeth, unused to having to fight while protecting someone else with him, for usually on these missions he was alone. It was because of the unfamiliarity that he’d slipped up and accidentally let his attention wander from his unconscious friend.

“D-don’t come closer or your little friend will die!!!” The treasure hoarder threatened, though it was to limited effect, since they sounded scared to death saying it. 

It was probably because they were taking a huge risk, having kidnapped Tighnari. If he was nothing but a dead body as they had previously thought, there’d be no reason to for Cyno to listen to any of their demands. 

Cyno stared down at them, specifically the knife as the base of Tighnari’s neck. 

He dismissed the wolf spirit that indwelled him, it dissipating with electro crackles. 

“I know- I know she’s alive!” The treasure hoarder yelled, tightening his grip on Tighnari. 

She? Cyno smiled. Was it because of Tighnari’s long hair, or his delicate facial features? This would be a hilarious story to hell him once he woke up. 

The man pressed the knife to his skin. 

“Don’t touch him.” Cyno warned. Though he wasn’t that worried. Tighnari wouldn’t die so easily to these measly fools. 

The man, despite the foolishness, was quite stubborn and brave, because he did not waver. 

Sighing, Cyno put his spear away. The two men scrambled to their feet, one carrying Tighnari like a sack of potatoes over his broad shoulders. How Tighnari had stayed unconscious through all this ruckus was beyond him. The other haphazardly carried the bags that Tighnari’s delicate supplies were in. Cyno knew that of they broke something, he was surely going to be the one to blame. 

He tilted his head. He could kill these two in an instant, but it wouldn’t be ‘just’. And they’d probably hurt Tighnari in some way in the process. 

“Give me back the man and the bag,” Cyno instructed. “And I’ll spare your lives.”

“If you try to kill us, we’ll kill this — um… person?” The man said, eyeing Tighnari’s ears and tail. 

Cyno noticed, taking their confusion to his advantage. “It won’t be easy. Fox spirits are notoriously hard to kill. Will you die trying to do that?” 

The man carrying him seemed hesitant, but the other stepped forward. “We won’t fall for your bluff. Whatever it is, it is clearly suffering from heat-related illness. I’m sure if we put him near a fire or oven or some sort, it should be enough to send him over.”

Cyno frowned. He supposed he could obey their measly demands and then come hunt them down later. “Fine. What do you want?” 

The two men looked at each other, communicating with their eyes. “You leave us, and our troupe alone. You let us go and forget about this incident. You and the matra don’t come after us again.” 

Well, there went his plan. Cyno was a man of his word, if he agreed to this, he would have to uphold it. But he never would. It was a clear defacement of justice. 

“How about you give me back the man, the bags, and show me a place to cool down, and in return I spare your lives??” Cyno asked, crossing his arms. 

The men shared glances again, and then strangely started talking off pieces of attire and began putting them on Tighnari. 

“What-what are you doing!?” Cyno asked, stepping forward. The two men, once having layered Tighnari in their clothes, started hugging him from both sides, making him the middle of a treasure hoarder sandwich. 

“Ha! Try to kill us!!! You’ll kill him too!!” One of the men stated. 

“With our clothes and our body heat, there’s no way he survives much longer in this heat!!” The other said. 

Cyno tightened his fist and walked over. He could easily throw one of them off of Tighnari, but the problem was the two were holding on tightly to each other, so Cyno couldn’t throw one of them off alone. He began to try and pry their fingers off each other, but they were interlaced and holding onto each other tightly. 

Something about two strange men draping Tighnari in their clothes and then hugging him tightly was giving Cyno a sick feeling in his stomach. 

Cyno gave up, backing away at the ridiculousness of this situation. He ran a hand over his face. “Fine…. I’ll leave you and your troupe alone, but in exchange you must also adhere to my terms. Give me back my things, him, and help me cool him down!” 

The men again exchanged glances and nodded, finally letting go of Tighnari. Cyno swooped in quickly and grabbed him, his bag, and jumped far from the two. 

They stood up. “One of us is an experienced doctor. We can take him to her tent.” One of the men said. 

Cyno nodded, agreeing. 

Inside the tent, the shade from the sun was at least welcome. Otherwise, they were so very clearly not welcome, if everyone’s terrified faces were indicative of the fact. 

The only one who was not afraid was an older woman, who had taken off her slipper and threw it at Cyno. “You will not kill the patients I worked so hard to save!! Get out! Beat it!!” She croaked.

“Teta, please! He’s not going to hurt us. He has a patient with him.” One of the men explained. 

The woman called Teta frowned but tilted her head to a free bedding. Cyno placed Tighnari down gently, before ripping off all the other garments placed on top of him. 

Even his unconscious face looked uncomfortable, clearly suffering the effects from the heat. 

The woman shuffled some things around before getting out a small pot of water. She then took a bunch of cloths and dipped them in the water before wiping it over Tighnari’s skin. 

Cyno watched over her shoulder, waiting for any movement to see if Tighnari would wake up. 

At some point, after she’d bumped into Cyno for the fifth time, she yelled at him to go out and leave her be to treat his friend. 

“Is he going to be fine?” Cyno asked her. 

“Yes! Stop worrying!! I deal with heat sicknesses all the time now shoo!!! Get out of the tent. You’re bothering me,” she complained, waving her hands. 

Cyno hesitated, and she scoffed, annoyed. “Stop worrying so much. I’m a good doctor and worrying is just insulting me. Now shoo,” she said, before pushing him out of the tent. 

But Cyno couldn’t help but worry, still. At least, he hoped that Tighnari’s delicate materials were still intact. He patted the bag on his shoulder, wondering if he should check the contents just in case, but knowing him, he’d probably end up breaking something in the process of checking if it was all alright. 

Plus, if something was broken, he’d rather not know. 

The treasure hoarders all seemed terrified of him still, but if he didn’t find some way to pass the time with them, he just knew he’d end up going back in there and pestering the doctor. So he took off his hat, sat down in the sand and took out a deck of playing cards. 

And asked them if they knew how to play. 

Seemingly that had lowered his guard enough to where he actually played a couple rounds of Invokation TCG with the treasure hoarders, and then after an hour or two, the woman exited the tent.

Cyno looked up from his game at her. 

“He’s alright,” the woman said, answering the question that was laden in his gaze. 

Cyno rushed back in the tent. Tighnari was still on the bed, eyes closed. But much less red than before and otherwise looking better, if not a bit sweaty. 

The sun had begun to set over the horizon, making the temperature drop a few degrees. Maybe it was enough for Tighnari to feel better. 

His eyes fluttered, and Cyno got closer. 

Tighnari slowly opened his eyes, blinking as he adjusted his vision. 

“Nari?? Are you awake?” Cyno asked. 

Tighnari seemed to focus, his eyes flicking over to Cyno, and then around him. 

“Cyno??” He asked groggily. “Wait … why am I naked?!?” He exclaimed, sitting up quickly. 

“You got heatsick, so they took off all your clothes so you can cool down.” Cyno responded. 

“Well don’t look!!!” Tighnari exclaimed, taking the towel that was cooling him  and flinging it so it landed perfectly on Cyno’s head.

“Come on, I’ve seen you naked before,” Cyno said, wondering if he’d get hit if he took the towel off to peek. 

“Wh- when??? You know what, I don’t even want to know,” Tighnari said, shuffling around to put his robes back on. 

“The time we went swimming in the river. Or when we got stuck in the desert and had to conserve water by showering together.” 

“I said I didn’t want to know— wait, what?? I remember the river but not-“ 

“Wait, I think I dreamt that one.” 

Tighnari swiped the towel off Cyno’s head, now appropriately dressed. He was blushing lightly, and Cyno wondered if it was because of the heat or the topic of conversation. Either way he probably wasn’t going to press Cyno further on the details of that dream. 

“Anyway. Where is my bag?? Where are we?? What happened?” Tighnari said, finally taking stock of the situation. 

“Of course, like I had predicted, you couldn’t handle the heat and passed out.” Cyno said, crossing his arms. 

Tighnari’s face dawned with understanding. “So where are we?” 

“Still in the middle of the desert. In a treasure hoarder tent.” 

Tighnari wandered out of the tent, and was met with several treasure hoarders who had seemed to be eavesdropping, as well as the grandma who’d taken care of him. 

“Ah, you’re feeling better. My medicines work wonders for heat illness,” Teta said, stepping forward. 

Then, he turned to the treasure hoarders and the woman and put his palms together. “I’m so sorry for the trouble. I truly did not wish to inconvenience you all like this,” he said, apologetic. 

“Yes, but your medicine was made with some rather expensive materials! Surely you’ll compensate us for our help?” She asked, crossing her arms. 

Tighnari made a skeptical face. Cyno was similarly skeptical, since he was pretty sure that she had just cooled him down with water. He certainly didn’t remember any medicine being administered. But still, treasure hoarders as they may be, Cyno was sure to be fair to all. 

“They’re right Nari, pay the good people who took care of you.” Cyno said, nodding. 

“Pay?? What? They’re treasure hoarders!!” He whispered incredulously to Cyno. 

“We have to pay people for their services, it’s only fair and just.” 

“How about you repay them by not sending them all to jail?” 

“I already agreed not to do that to have you treated in the first place.” 

Tighnari sighed. “You’re insistent on this, aren’t you?” 

“Pay up,” Cyno said. 

Tighnari crossed his arms. “You pay them! I’m a broke forest ranger.” 

“I thought you just got a healthy sum of money from the Darshan,” Cyno said, putting his hands on his hips.

“Yes, because that money goes into important things like funding and research.” 

Cyno rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said, and from his pants pockets he brought out a small pouch filled with mora and tossed it to the woman, who seemed satisfied. 

“WOW! Please get sick again!!” She said to Tighnari. 

With that, since the sun was setting and it already felt significantly cooler, the two set out on their travels again, bidding the tribe goodbye. 

Tighnari had finished examining the contents of his bags to make sure nothing had been stolen. He gave the bag back to Cyno to carry once he had finished. 

“They didn’t steal anything, surprisingly.” He muttered. “You really won’t arrest them?” He asked. 

“Technically, they haven’t done anything wrong yet.” Cyno said. 

“But they’re treasure hoarders. Affiliated with that illegal thieving organization.” 

“I suppose. But they saved your life, so I spared theirs. It’s an equivalent exchange.” Cyno said.

“Except it’s one life for a dozen or so.” 

“I would say you’re worth that, or worth maybe even more Tighnari.” Cyno said playfully. Tighnari didn’t respond, so Cyno wondered if he was taking his words literally. 

“I was joking, of course. No life is worth more than another's.” He clarified seriously. 

Tighnari laughed, which was quite pleasant to hear after the sour mood he’d been in on this trip. Ah, that sound that Cyno was always craving to hear. 

“Well of course you’d say that. You wouldn’t be the General Mahamatra if you didn’t believe in something like that.” Tighnari said. 

“But if anyone was the exception, it would be you.” Cyno said, returning to his playful tone.

“Stop joking like that. Imagine if the matra heard you now. They would never believe you would joke about something like this.” Tighnari said, but he sounded more amused than anything. “Besides, you don’t even really believe that.” 

Cyno supposed he was right. Tighnari was always right. And Cyno stuck to his morals very closely, he would never make any exceptions. His decisions were very clear cut, logical, and adhered to a strict moral code. No matter who it was he was dealing with. Still, maybe because he knew Tighnari for so long, he ended up just talking nonsense around him. 

“That has me thinking, though,” Tighnari started. 

“Of course it does,” Cyno said, preparing for one of his hypotheticals. These academics were always full of them, and Cyno always gave very simple clear cut answers that Tighnari didn’t like. 

“If I and a treasure hoarder were about to fall off a cliff, and you could only save one of us, who would you choose?” He asked.

Cyno was glad Tighnari’s mind was elsewhere to distract him from the trek and the heat, but he didn’t know if he would be able to sufficiently entertain his conversation. 

“The treasure hoarder,” he answered simply.

“Oh? You didn’t even think about it!” Tighnari said. 

Cyno shrugged. 

“ Why is that? You just said you wouldn’t value one life over another.” Tighnari asked. 

“Because I can trust you to save yourself. You can’t become the chief forest ranger without learning something that basic.” Cyno said. 

Tighnari shook his head. “That’s not the point, what am I gonna do with you? You always take everything so literally.” 

“Am I not supposed to?” Cyno asked. “What should I have said instead?” 

“It’s a moral dilemma. There is no right answer.” 

“But there is one you’d like to hear?” Cyno asked. “Ah, Collei told me about something like this that’s gotten popular among the younger kids. Something like … I would still love you if you turned into a sand grease pupa?” He said, a finger on his chin as he thought back to their conversation. Cyno had asked Collei about something he’d overheard in passing, and she explained the trend to him. 

“No-“ Tighnari scoffed. “It’s entirely different. I’m not expecting any answer from you.” 

“Oh, okay. Thank goodness. Because if you had turned into a sand grease pupa, I would probably not like you as much as I like you right now.” Cyno stated. 

Tighnari fell silent again, thinking. “Let me rephrase. Suppose a greater being, a god or something, had taken capture of me, and a sand grease pupa. And it told you you could only spare one life. Who would you choose?” 

“Obviously you.” 

“So you do value one life over another’s,” Tighnari said.

“You experience living and dying much differently than a sand grease pupa.” 

“And if it were an Aranara? Or a creature?” 

“I’d still choose you.” Cyno said. “People's lives are a different matter.” 

“So if it was me, and another person?” 

“And you really cannot save yourself? 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Then I would choose you.” Cyno said, undeterred. 

“How can you be so confident?? You just said you believe no one life is more valuable than another.” 

“I do. That’s why I would slay the god that has put me in this position and has threatened to kill you and then free you both.” Cyno said simply. “And if I cannot do that, and I’m forced beyond measure, to choose, I would choose you in hopes that you might be able to help me save others.” 

“Hm. Suppose the god had reverted me in age to a small child who is incapable of helping you in any way. And, the god will kill us both if you refuse to choose. Would you still choose me?” 

“Yes. You would grow up to save tons of people.” 

“So could the other.” 

“Yes, but I can trust you to do that.” 

“What if it was me as a child, and the other was a renowned doctor?” 

Cyno frowned. “Why are you making me choose? This is torture.” 

“I thought you were confident in your morals,” Tighnari said teasingly.

“I am. I would still choose you.” 

Tighnari frowned. “I’m surprised. Wouldn’t that go against your moral code? Shouldn’t you refuse to choose?” 

“There is no need for unnecessary loss. Besides, it’s not the one who is making the decision that is immoral but the deity who has put the decision unto me in the first place, don’t you think so?? Therefore, no matter what way I answer, I will be forced into breaking my moral code. Not by my own will but forced. The whole situation is immoral. Every choice I make is immoral. So if I was going to abandon my morals I’d rather it be on you. Selfish as it may be, I know who you are and can trust you. So I choose you.”

“Interesting,” Tighnari said. 

After that conversation, the two walked in silence. The sun had set now, and the desert was much cooler, although it was still the summer months and it might still be considered a bit warm. 

As they walked, they came upon an oasis in the desert - trees surrounding a small lake with crystalline water that sparkled under the moonlight. 

It was a well needed break from their tireless journey, and the two settled on the bank and filled up their water canteens, and took some henna berries to save to eat for later. 

“The water looks so cool and refreshing. A bet a swim would cool you down right away,” Tighnari commented. His hand skimmed the water.

“Are you going to take off your clothes again?” Cyno asked.

Tighnari splashed him with some. “Shut up! It’s your turn now since you already saw me.” He joked.

But Cyno just shrugged. “Okay,” he said, and he stripped off his clothes and jumped in the water. 

Tighnari was shaken from the scene, but smiled as Cyno’s eyes emerged out of the pool of water, his white hair circling around him. 

He looked up at Tighnari sitting on the bank. He brought a hand up and brought the hair out of his face. Then he brought his face slightly to talk. 

“Are you coming in?” Cyno asked him. 

Tighnari coked his head to the side. “No thanks. Wet fur takes a while to dry. I’m content with just watching you." He took a moment to just stare at his face. "You know…. without that helmet you’re kind of….. pretty?” 

Cyno blinked. “Pretty?” He questioned. “I didn’t think you were going to say that. Of all the words you could describe me with and that’s the one you choose?”

“I think it’s fitting.”

“You’re the only one who thinks that.” Cyno said, wondering if Nari was starting to see things.

“Oh? Do you not get complimented often?” Tighnari teased. 

“Sometimes. But they usually use words like scary or mean or intimidating. You’re the first one to call me otherwise.” 

“Well maybe if you didn’t oscillate between a terrifying killer and an idiotic goofball, people would notice the pretty side more.” Tighnari said, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm… and you? I bet you get called pretty all the time.” Cyno said. 

Again, Tighnari didn’t say anything in response. Was he thinking, again? Did Cyno really say such perplexing things? He always thought that he was rather straightforward. 

Cyno spent some more time lazily wading in the pool before deciding he’d had enough. He stood up out of the water and walked over to his clothes. When he caught Tighnari staring, he made sure to keep his face turned away as he changed into them. 

“Ready?” Tighnari called. 

Cyno made a noise of affirmation. 

They spent the night at the base of the oasis, and started again early in the morning when the sun hadn't yet come up again. 

Tighnari was fanning himself with the leaf Cyno had been carrying around for him prior. 

“You’re already hot?? The suns nor even out.” Cyno questioned. 

Tighnari sighed. “This is why we should’ve set out at night. We could’ve covered so much ground when it was cooler.” 

“Don’t blame me. You’re the one who can’t sleep if it’s too hot.” 

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’re almost there,” Tighnari got out of a book from the pocket of his satchel. “According to the myths, these flowers grow in the shade, so probably in the crevasses of old temple structures.” 

“Ah. Is that why we’re heading towards this sunken pyramid?” 

“Probably a remnant of King Deshret’s civilization,” Tighnari noted. “Quite buried under the sand though, so I bet it’s mostly unexplored,” he noted as the two approached the structure. 

They managed to escape the heat of the morning sun just in time by seeking shelter in the abandoned temple. 

The temple inside was massive even thought most of it was buried under the sand. With several passageways to explore, it seemed they’d be stuck in there for a while. 

“If only we’d brought someone with an anemo vision,” Tighnari mentioned, staring out at all the sand. 

“I doubt even Hat Guy could clear up this stuff.” Cyno noted. 

“It’s so big, so we should split up. You take the left and I take the right.” Tighnari suggested. He seemed to be in much better mood now that they were closer to finding his prize. 

That didn’t keep Cyno from arguing with him. “No. We should stick together.” 

“Why? Are you insinuating I can’t take care of myself??”

“You proved that you can’t in the desert! What if you pass out again!!” 

“That’s not going to happen! It’s much cooler in here.” 

“Besides, these places are riddled with booby traps that are begging to be sprung. I bet no one besides the travelers been here in hundreds of years.” 

“Then that’s all the more reason we should split up! That way both of us won’t get caught in the same trap and the other can save us.”

Cyno sighed. Tighnari was simply too good at reasoning. “Fine. But yell if you need me. I’ll just shout if I need you. Since you know, your ears are —“

“Yes yes I get it. If you see the flower, don’t touch it. We’ll meet back up here and you can guide me to it.” 

Cyno agreed, and the two went off separately.

𓂃 ☼𓂃

The temple was pretty typical. Judging by the architecture and mechanisms, Cyno could guess what era they were formed if he’d retained more information from his Vahumana lectures. 

Nevertheless, it made navigating them fairly easy. The puzzles were all rudimentary, the mechanisms easy to decipher. Eventually, he ended up in a small hallway, filled halfway through with sand with broken pillars scattered around. 

Amidst all the beiges and sandy browns, Cyno spotted a brilliant flash of color. It was bright purple flower, sticking out of one of the temple crevices. Cyno walked a bit closer. This one seemed to be a large and healthy specimen as well, Tighnari should be happy. 

He’d found the elusive flower.

“TIGHNARI!!!” Cyno yelled, as loud as he could, but there was no response. 

Cyno shook his head, traveling back the way he came. He supposed his big ears were more useless than they seemed, for he hadn’t traveled that far at all. 

Cyno shouted for him again, but was met with no response. He traveled further back the way he came until he was in the room they’d split up again, and still, Tighnari was nowhere in sight. 

Cyno was wondering if he should go off and search for him - he was sure he’d be able to find his way back to the flower, even if these dessert temples were somewhat of a maze. 

He was about to head down one of the halls, when he heard a faint yell. 

“CYNO!” Tighnair’s voice was faint, but it was clear that he was yelling for him. 

But it didn’t seem like a good yell. 

Cyno stilled, focusing on his listening to see where it had come from. 

“HELP!” 

Cyno’s feet started moving on their own, and in minutes Cyno was running towards the source of the voice, down the hall he seemed to be the closest to where the voice was coming from. If not, he’d just dig his way to Tighnari. 

He sprinted through the tunnel, and it opened up into an incredibly large room, full of diamond-shaped architecture all floating over a similarly diamond shaped pool of water. The room must open up to the outside, because a bright beam of sunlight shone over the center, where Cyno met Tighnari’s eyes. 

He was suspended in the air in a cage, right above the diamond shaped pool. In front of him was some kind of podium-esque looking machine. 

Cyno broke out into a smile at the sight, relieved he wasnt in any imminent danger. 

“You actually got caught in a booby trap?? I overestimated you,” he teased, making his way over to him. 

Tighnari seemed annoyed. “I hate the desert,” he muttered as a response. 

“What happened?” Cyno asked, the water splashing at his feet as he made his way over to Tighnari. 

“Well this room looked promising, with the considerable amount of water. Although, the flower i’m looking for actually doesn’t need very much water at all to survive, much like other desert plants…but as soon as I stepped over here, I sprung a trap, and these bars rose up around me and suspended me here,” Tighnari said. He was on his knees in the cage, hands gripping the bars as he looked down at Cyno. He wasn’t too far up, thankfully, in fact, he couldn’t be more than a few feet high. At least Cyno didn’t have to worry much about him falling. 

“Have you tried breaking it open?” Cyno asked. 

Tighnari narrowed his eyes at him. “You try breaknig metal rods with a bow and arrow, and see how it works for you. And don’t think about taking out your spear, either – you’re going to slice me up with the cage!” 

“There’s some weird mechanism thing here,” Cyno said, approaching the podium. “Perhaps I can trigger the release somehow??” 

“Please,” Tighnari replied. 

Cyno observed the mechanism. There weren’t any buttons to push - just some writing engraved into the stone. 

“There’s something written here,”

“What is it??” Tighnari asked. 

“I don’t know. I can’t read it.” 

Tighnari sighed. “Where’s Alhaitham when you need him?? Nevermind that, I took some Haravatat classes before… what kind of script does it look like?? Hopefully one I recognize??” 

“Nothing I recognize from Alhaitham’s works. There’s only four characters, though,” Cyno said. 

“Okay, describe them out to me, I’ll try to decode it.” 

“The first one’s got one stalk in the middle and two lines coming out of it…” 

Tighnari put a hand on his chin, deep in thought. “Ah, I know what this is. That’s the telltale description of the ancient Deshret alphabet for K.” 

“Ah, you know it,” Cyno said hopefully. “The next one looks like a disconnected circle,” 

“Hmm.. I?” 

“The next is a zigzag,” 

“S,” Tighnari deciphered, then sighed. “Maybe it’s not… this doesn’t seem to be turning out to be any kind of word,” he said, frustrated. 

“Actually, the last one is the same as the previous. K - I - S - S. It spells out —” 

“Kiss,” Tighnari finished for him. 

The two stared at each other in a brief moment of silence. 

“So…” Cyno started, breaking the silence. 

Tighnari sighed for the upteenth time that day. “What could that possible mean?? Perhaps it’s code for something?? A mistranslation? A obtuse clue??” 

“Or, it could just be saying a kiss is what lets you free,” Cyno said, very nonchalant. “I’ve read plenty of old tales with traps like these.” 

“So you propose we kiss??” Tighnari asked. 

“That’s what it says.” 

Another bout of silence. 

“I suppose,” Tighnari said, coming around to the idea. “Alright, fine. Only because it’ll set me free,” he said, nodding. 

Cyno smiled and approached the cage. He wasn’t the tallest, but at his height, if Tighnari leaned a bit down while sitting down in the cage… 

He approached the gap between the bars, and Tighnari leaned his head through the bars and kissed him on the cheek. 

Cyno raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious? That’s not a real kiss,” he said. 

Tighnari rolled his eyes and grabbed his choker, pulling him closer, and then kissed him on the lips. 

It was brief, just a chaste kiss of lip-on-lip contact, but Cyno was electrified. To him, he could have sworn the moment lasted much longer, but it couldn’t have been more than a second. 

Nothing happened, except for the accelerating beat of Cyno’s heart. The sensation was strange, it’d been so long since he’d ever been nervous or afraid, he’d nearly forgotten the feeling. 

“Ugh, that wasn’t it??” Tighnari said, his face flushed a nice shade of pink, or maybe that was just the sunburn. 

Tighnari huffed and backed up in his cell, slouching on the other side. “That wasn’t it. We must have translated it wrong,” he said, clearly embarrassed. 

“Should we try again?” Cyno asked hopefully. 

“No, and we just kissed for no reason,” Tighnari said. 

“Isn’t the why we usually kiss?” He asked, meaning it as a general statement. 

“We don’t usually kiss, Cyno.” Tighnari said, his face burning.

“Ah. Maybe that was another dream…” Cyno replied back, in part to be funny and in part to tease him. 

“You better not be going around telling people these things, they’re going to get the wrong idea,” Tighnari warned. 

“Wrong idea like… Alhaitham and Kaveh??” Cyno asked, testing the waters. 

“Well in their case it's more like the right idea…. anyway… please, don’t tell anyone we did this,” Tighnari muttered. 

“Does that mean I can’t make jokes about it?” Cyno asked. 

“How could you possible turn this into a joke??” 

“Like, I know you’re hot and it’s not just the weather,” Cyno said playfully. “Is it me making you red or the heat??” 

“Just shut up about it in general,” Tighnari said, neglecting his question. 

“Alright, but don’t expect me to hide anything from Collei. I can’t lie to her,” Cyno said. 

Tighnari didn’t respond to that. 

Before Cyno could ask what to do next, a large boom interrupted the both of them, and a huge cloud of sandy dust followed. Somehow one of the walls collapsed, and behind it, a large wave of primal constructs stood before them. 

Cyno materialized his spear and stood guard of the cage. 

“You go take care of them, I’ll try to figure out the puzzle in the meanwhile,” Tighnari said, and Cyno nodded. 

He sprang into action, slicing through the constructs with ease. The problem wasn’t dealing with them, it was the sheer amount of active ones, and the little fact that they had lasers that could hurt Tighnari if he let them get too close. 

He indwelled his wolf spirit and got to work tearing the constructs to shreds one after the other, but one slipped past his scope, and started heading towards the cage. 

Cyno’s head whipped back just in time to see it charging its laser at Tighnari, and ran in its way right before It blasted him. The blast threw him back and he crashed back into the cage. 

“Careful,” Tighnari warned, placing a hand on his back. “Gather them in one area,” he said.

Cyno nodded and sprang back at them, corralling them into one area — and just as they were about to conduct a coordinated attack on him, one that would hit him for sure, an arrow of dendro energy zipped past him and created a field where Cyno could aggravate the enemies. He smiled, now with the upper hand, and made quick work of most of them. Just as Cyno had slashed the last one, another wave seemed to materialize out of nowhere. It was endless. 

He turned back to Tighnari to make sure he was alright, to find him deep in thought. 

“I got it,” Tighnari said, motioning for Cyno to come closer. 

He dispelled the spirit and obeyed, coming up to him, totaling as the constructs rose to life. 

“The symbols - they aren’t letters at all. They’re pictures!”

“What?” Cyno asked, turning his back to Tighnari, spear out, staring as the monsters surrounded them. 

“The first one is a plant for dendro, the next a swirl for hydro, the last must be electric bolts. The answer is hyperbloom!!” 

Cyno slashed one of the constructs in half, its parts crashing into the water. “But the cage is wet now, and if you fall in the water, it’ll electrocute you,” Cyno said. 

“Not like I haven’t been electrocuted before! Can’t be as bad as that! Just trust me. Tighnari created a dendro field in the pool, and bloom sprouts started to form. Electrify the water,” he said. 

“But —“ 

“Now!!” 

 Cyno released a breath and did as he was told. 

The electricity crackled through the water, til it hit the bloom cores - and then there was a loud BOOM and everthing exploded. 

Cyno was thrown back along with a cloud of dust. He hit one of the broken pillars with his back pretty roughly. As soon as he regained his footing, he swiped through the dust cloud.

“NARI??” He yelled, worried. 

Coughing could be heard amongst the depowering sounds of the primal constructs, who’d all been destroyed in the explosion.

Cyno made his way through the dust cloud back to him. 

The cage had broken apart and landed in the water, where Tighnari was, thankfully largely alright. 

He walked over and helped him up, letting him lean on him as they walked out. 

“Are you alright?” Cyno asked. 

Tighnari coughed once more. “Fine,” he said. 

A low rumbling noise could be heard then.

“It’s the foundation,” Tighnari said. “This place is coming down.”

“Then we better hurry out of here,” Cyno said. Wordlessly he picked up his injured friend in his hands and started bounding out of there. Tighnari did not protest this time, just wrapped one hand around his shoulders and held on tight.

They had made it out of the room just as the rubble collapsed behind them at the entrance, sealing it off forever. 

“You were right about the hyperbloom,” Cyno noted. 

Tighnari nodded. “Where are we going now?” He asked, curious about Cyno’s targeted direction.

“You’ll see,” he said. 

They came upon the hall Cyno was at before, and Tighnari gasped. He scrambled out of Cyno’s hold and made his way over to the precious flower amidst the sand. 

“It’s the flower!! You found it, my gods, I could kiss you right now!!!” Tighnari said excitedly as he went to go examine it. 

“Oh? But you already have,” Cyno teased. “Not that id mind another one.” 

Tighnari yet again ignored him and swung off his bag and got out the proper materials he’d been keeping so carefully this whole time. He went about his work to save the flower, and at some point he’d collected it properly in a little case and was finally ready to head back. The case was evident of Kaveh’s handiwork.

“Okay, I think we can go now,” Tighnari said, standing up with the flower. Cyno noticed the small wince he made as he did so, which only someone who stared at him as much as he did would notice. 

“Are you sure your alright for the journey back?” Cyno asked seriously. 

“I’ll be fine, what choice do we have? Unless we want to live in this temple,” Tighnari said, and he waved him off and trudged down the hallway.

“Did it burn?” Cyno asked as they walked. 

Tighnari’s ear twitched, so he knew he’d heard him. 

“When I electrocuted you,” he clarified. 

“You didn’t do anything to me, don’t phrase it like that,” Tighnari scolded. “And not that bad. It’s fine.” 

They walked in silence until they reached the end and hurried out of the temple. 

As soon as they hit the sunlight again, Tighnari’s ears drooped. 

They’d lost a couple items along the way including his umbrella, so Cyno took off his hat and placed it on Tighnari’s head. 

“You know, when you were naked,” Cyno started, and Tighnari already seemed like he wanted to shut him up. “I saw your lightning scars,” he said.

Tighnari winced. “I’m… sorry you had to see that, it’s quite an ugly sight. To be fair, it looks much worse than it felt,” He said, attempting to reassure him. 

Cyno shook his head. “No, not ugly. You should be proud of them, they’re proof you survived such an ordeal. That you’re strong.” 

They walked in silence again for a while. 

Tighnari looked at him. “And you? Are you hurt?” He asked. 

Cyno shook his head. 

Tighnari stopped, looking at him properly, head to toe.

“Your back is bruised,” Tighnari noted. 

Of course it wasn’t any of the monsters who could touch him, but he supposed he’d been knocked back pretty hard. 

“What a shame. The mark of any great fighter is an untouched back.”

“Is that why you walk around shirtless?” He questioned.  “Thankfully, I kept some medicinal herbs with me,” he said, getting out of his pocket a couple of things.

He got out some paste and slathered it on his back, massaging it in gently with his hands. Cyno had to admit he quite liked the sensation. 

Tighnari started laughing suddenly, so Cyno turned around. “What?” He asked.

Tighnari smirked from under the hat. “Now I know why you wear this hat all the time. You should have seen your face just then, completely disarming,” he said, giggling.

“What do you mean?” Cyno questioned. 

“I mean, without the hat you look like a doll,” Tighnari said playfully. “The most un frightening face I’ve ever seen,” he said, shaking his head,  smile on his face. 

Cyno huffed. “I don’t need the hat to be frightening. People run and hide simply when they see my face,” Cyno insisted. 

“Sure,” Tighnari said, and then he lightly patted his cheek. “Believe what you want to believe. In any case, you should be more careful,” Tighnari said, putting away his herbal remedies. “After all, you’re only just human.”

Cyno squinted. “Only just? What is rhat meant to mean??” 

“Just that you bruise easier and heal slower.” Tighnari said.

“Than Valuka Shuna?” 

Tighnari rolled his eyes. “Why is everything a competition with you? And yes. We heal quicker than the typical human.”

“But I’m not the typical human,” Cyno insisted.

Tighnari let out a breath. “That, I suppose you’re not.” 

𓂃 ☼𓂃

The journey out of the desert was much quicker somehow, even though Tighnari nearly passed out again this time as well. At Caravan Ribat, Tighnari took off the hat and returned it to Cyno, and the two met up with a caravan that took them back to the rainforest.

Upon entering Ghandarva Ville, Collei ran up to the Caravan, hugging Tighnari the second she saw him. 

“You’re back!” She said excitedly. Then she let go of the hug and gave Cyno a bried hug as well. He was breaking through to her lately. 

But then she frowned, and she quickly backed away. “Oh no… this is ointment made from the plant… you’re hurt???” She asked worriedly.

Cyno laughed. “Worry not, little sprout. We are perfectly fine.” 

Collei seem reassured at Cyno’s playful tone. “So did you—“ 

Tighnari revealed the case with the flower inside, and Collei gasped. “Oh my!! You actually found it!!!” 

Tighnari nodded. “I hope it wasn’t too much trouble at home by your lonesome,” he said, and Collei shook her head. 

“Oh not at all!! I tended to all the plants as carefully as I could.” 

“Thank you for that, Collei.”

“Sooo… how was the journey?? Tell me all about it,” she gushed, and Cyno smiled. 

“Oh, there’s so much to tell you,” he said, and Tighnari simply ignored the two and Cyno started on his tale, as the two walked back to Tighnari’s place.

𓂃 ☼𓂃

Tighnari had let Cyno stay at his place for the night, but it wasn’t as if he had much of a choice, the man stayed and left the house as he pleased, taking over the spare guest room whenever he wanted. 

Tighnari was occupied with studying the flower, there was much to do now that the collection part had been completed, and Tighnari was honestly looking forward to it - so when the rest of the group had gone to sleep, Tighnari stayed awake, continuing his research. 

The midst of writing down his notes, Tighnari heard footsteps.

He looked up and found Collei, peeking into the study. 

“Master?” Collei whispered, not sleepy at all.

“Collei? What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Tighnari asked.

Collei shook her head. “No… I was just thinking about what the General Mahamatra was telling me…”

“Oh,” Tighnari said, returning to his notes. “What nonsense did he tell you??” 

“Just telling me the events of the trip… Master… I have a question… uhhh… never mind actually!! I don’t think it’s very relevant to anything…” she said, rambling.

Tighnari looked up from his notes once more. “Collei, we talked about this. You can ask me anything,” he said.

“Oh okay… um… are you dating Mr. Cyno?”

Tighnari sat straight up in his chair, turning his whole body to look at her. “What?!” He asked incredulously.

“Sorry!!! I knew it was wrong I just —-“

“All because we kissed?? You have to understand Collei, it was a matter of circumstance —“

“You kissed??” She gasped, covering her mouth. 

Tighnari’s eyes widened. “He didn’t tell you that part??” 

“Well, no!!” Collei said, shocked. “He was just telling me how he fought off all those primal constructs while you cleverly solved the hyperbloom riddle… he didn’t mention anything about a kiss!!!” 

Tighnari blinked, confused, and a little surprised that Cyno hadn’t brought it up. 

“Oh…” he said. “Then why do you ask??” 

Collei blinked rapidly, shaking it off. “No I— I must have misread everything —“

“Collei, tell me, what made you ask?” 

She softened a bit, looking quite adorable in her baron bunny slippers. “Um… well, it just seems like Mr. Cyno seems to care for you a lot. Whenever I see him, he just talks about you…”

Tighnari scoffed. “Yes, because he wants to bond with you and he knows you’re close to me.” 

“Yeah… but the way he talks about you… it goes beyond fascination..” 

Tighnari shook his head. “You can’t take anything that man says seriously, he’s constantly joking.”

“Really? What if he’s not joking?” Collei asked. 

Tighnari stilled, his men unmoving on his paper. 

“He is,” he insisted. 

“He seems rather sincere to me. How do you tell when he’s joking or when he’s being serious?” Collei questioned. 

“That’s it, you can’t tell, that’s why he’s so frustrating..” 

“So then… there’s a possibility he’s not joking when he says those things about you?”

Tighnari put down his pen. “Seriously; what is making you ask this??” 

“Just the way he speaks of you, or looks at you, it’s like Mr.Kaveh staring at a new architecture project he can’t possibly fund!!! And I don’t want you to end up like him!” She said, and then slammed her mouth with her hand.

Tighnari looked at her, utterly confused. “What??” 

Collei shook her head. “I’ve said too much!!! I’m sorry master!”

Tighnari scoffed. “You’ve been eavesdropping on our dinner conversations, haven’t you??”

She looked guilty as charged. “You’re always complaining about how oblivious Mr. Kaveh is and I think you’re acting the same!!” 

“I am not—“ Tighnari scoffed. He was struck with some realization and now every past event was shed in an entirely different light. He let out a breath. “I suppose I have a lot to think about..”

“Sorry, Master, I should have never overstepped.”

“It’s okay, Collei, but cut it out with the eavesdropping. I’m sure Cyno would love it if you just joined our gossip circle directly,” Tighnari said.

Collei nodded, at ease. “Sure thing, Master. Um.. I’m going to go to bed now.” 

Tighnari nodded. “Sweet dreams, Collei.” 

𓂃 ☼𓂃

Tighnari was troubled with Collei’s statement all night. The thought of being as oblivious as KAVEH was what finally struck Tighnari with some sense. He knew he had to find out what the fuck Cyno was thinking. If he thought of him as just friends, then he had to cut it out with the flirtatious jokes. Tighnari was resolute about this. He absolutely could not let it drag out to become the complicated shitstorm of tension and drama and complicated feelings between the two of his other friends and had to understand what was going on now.

Perhaps he was looking at the whole thing a bit clinically, but Tighnari absolutely despised not understanding something, and he only knew one way to get to the bottom of it; to conduct an experiment.

Hypothesis: Cyno sees me the same way he’s always seen me, as a friend; but doesn’t know where to draw the line. 

Now armed with the hypothesis, Tighnari set out to find out the truth of the matter. He notified Cyno to meet at their usual spot.

It was at a large branch of the great tree, out looking a beautiful picturesque view of Sumeru.

Tighnari didn’t exactly have an experiment as much as he was planning to do some research here, but he was certain to get to the bottom of this tonight. (Perhaps the experiment was the kiss, in hindsight).

Tighnari sat and enjoyed the sunset view as he waited — and he didn’t have to wait long. Cyno appeared next to him rather quickly, as fast as a bolt of electricity. 

He sat down next to Tighnari. “New mission?” He questioned. 

Tighnari shook his head. “No. Just sit with me for a while.”

Cyno cocked his head a bit in questioning; but did as he was told. 

Now that it had come down to it, Tighnari had become irrationally nervous. But he refused to say the wrong thing and then cause a million misunderstandings (he’d learned all too well from the follies of Kaveh). 

“We haven’t done this since our Akademiya days,” Cyno said, breaking the silence. It had been their special spot for ages. Now that Tighnari thought about it, he supposed that was true. He’d become busy recently and hadn't had much time to relax. 

“Cyno,” Tighnari stared. “What do you think of me?” He questioned. 

Cyno smiled. “What’s with the strange question?” 

“Do you see me as a friend or something more?” Tighnari blatantly asked. He would accept any answer, he was just here to get to the bottom of it. 

“Something more,” Cyno said, as easily as he’d answered Tighnari’s morality questions. It didn’t even seem to fluster him. 

“What do you mean by that?” Tighnari asked him. 

“Just that you’re closer to me than a friend. Right?” He replied back.

“Yes, but how close?” Tighnari asked. 

“Okay, what is it? What are you thinking about?” Cyno said, cutting through his rapid questions and placing a hand on Tighnari’s shoulder. 

Tighnari decided to go with a different approach. “Collei talked to me last night.”

“Yeah?” Cyno said, removing his hand. 

“And she said I’m acting like Kaveh.”

Cyno laughed at that. “What does that mean?” 

“I’m taking it to mean that I’ve been neglecting all your advances,” Tighnari said, and Cyno quieted, staring off into the sunset.

“Is it true? Or have you been joking all this while?” Tighnari asked.

Cyno was quiet for a moment before speaking. “You know, for someone who constantly complains about how awful my jokes are, you’re certainly overestimating me.”

Tighnari’s eyes widened with realization, and he turned to look at him. “So… you — you have feelings for me??” He asked. 

Cyno was quiet a moment more. Usually he responded with such ease and confidence, this was entirely unusual for him, he must be thinking a lot about what to say next. 

“I don’t know,” he said finally.

I don’t know was not an acceptable conclusion to any hypothesis.

“You don’t know?! That’s not a no… but I suppose that’s not a yes either,” Tighnari said, looking off into the distance.

There was another unbearable silence, neither of them knowing how to continue. 

“I just want whatever you want,” Cyno said. 

Tighnari didn’t want to do this. He wanted to figure out what Cyno felt and come to a conclusion about him that way; instead Cyno had pulled out the true hypothesis from under the rug and shoved it into his face.

New Hypothesis: Tighnari had feelings for Cyno. 

Tighnari had no idea how to test if this was true or not. It would involve asking himself several questions and he had not wanted to until then.

But maybe he hadn’t been avoiding asking those questions not because he didn’t know the answers; but because he did know exactly what those answers would be. 

Because he knew that he secretly enjoyed the attention that came with the flirtatious joking. He knew he was speechless at half the things Cyno said about him because they were so beautiful and Tighnari wanted to believe he meant them. Because he only felt truly safe outside of home when he was with him. Because he knew that he’d felt butterflies erupt in his stomach at the kiss, and he knew that it indeed was not the heat that had turned him so red. And he knew that though he scolded and nagged him, he secretly loved that the man never wore a shirt, who knows how many times he’d ogled that body.

“What if I want to kiss you again?” Tighnari asked, his heart racing a thousand miles per minute.

He’d been lying to himself the whole time. He said he was fine with whatever answer Cyno gave, but If Cyno shut him down now, he feared it might just crush his heart. 

“Then I would,” Cyno said, easily as ever, taking off his hat. 

So Tighnari leaned in, and Cyno followed suit. His lips met the other mans, and it was a real kiss this time, not the one they’d shared in the temple. 

When Tighnari broke away, he swore he could see stars in the other man’s eyes, who was brimming with a goofy smile from ear to ear. That was incredible, his face afterwards even better. Tighnari couldn’t believe he’d been denying himself this until now.

“What if I want us to be exclusive?” He asked, lowering his voice.

“Who else?” Cyno said. 

“What if I want to be yours?” 

Cyno responded by grabbing his hood and pulling him in for another kiss, deeper than last time. “Whatever you want,” Cyno told him in between kisses.

When the broke apart again, Cyno repeated himself. “Whatever you want, always, Nari.” 

It was true that Cyno had always done whatever Tighnari wanted from the very beginning. Tighnari had always marked it down as his devout loyalty to his duty; but now realized it was so much more than that. 

“Since when?” Tighnari asked. 

“Since when what?” 

“Since when have you wanted to kiss me.” 

Cyno was quiet, staring out into the view. “I suppose if you’d asked me on the first day we met, I’d hardly refuse,”

Tighnari was shaken. “What?!?”

Cyno smiled at him. “Whatever you want.”

Tighnari laughed then. “... how did you keep it a secret for this long???” 

“It wasn’t. I would have told you had you asked. But you never did. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” 

“I wouldn’t have been,” Tighnari said, and he reached down and grabbed Cyno’s hand. “I feel most at peace with you. You should have said something.”

“Why didn’t you say anything??” 

“I thought you were just teasing me.” 

“It is fun to get you all riled up,” 

“Shut up.”

“That’s the one command I won’t obey.” Cyno replied playfully.

“You’d really do whatever I ask, huh?” Tighnari said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Of course,” Cyno replied.

“What if I asked you to bed me?” Tighnari asked, hoping to get a reaction out of him. 

“Finally,” Cyno replied back, unphased. 

“If I asked you to kill someone??” 

“Well I hope you would have a good reason.”

Tighnari laughed. “You’re ridiculous. You can have whatever you want too, you know.”

“Can I pet your ears?” Cyno asked. 

Tighnari grabbed his hat and roughly put it back on the man’s head before standing up and leaving.

“Come on, you let everyone pet them,” he whined.

“Yeah, but it’s weird now.” 

“How is it weird now??” Cyno asked, rightening his hat. “Should I regret confessing?” 

“I don’t know. Do you regret the kiss?” Tighnari called out as he started climbing down the branch. 

“No. Definitely not,” Cyno replied back, so whipped Tighnari was endeared. 

He hoped off the branch onto the stone path, and started walking off.

“Maybe I’ll let you pet my ears if you hurry up and accompany me home,” Tighnari called, and in a split second, Cyno was at his side. 

The two walked home together, happier than they had ever been. 

𓂃 ☼𓂃

Nobody really noticed, and Tighnari wanted to believe it was because they were private, but he really knew that it was because their dynamic hadn’t shifted at all. It was embarrassingly evident to him then how much they already acted like a couple before they even got togeher.

Tighnari kind of wanted people to notice, though. At least he wanted his friends to know.

The next time they four of them had gathered together at a bar to play games, Tighnari had a rather smug expression blatant on his face.

He was joined by Alhaitham; who said nothing as he was invested in his book, Kaveh right behind him, complaining to him in hushed tone about something. He greeted Tighnari and then smiled.

“Ah, you seem to have a confident expression tonight. Planning to win this round of TCG?” Kaveh asked him. 

Tighnari nodded. “Something like that. 

After ordering drinks, they waited around for a while for the he game master to arrive, but he was running late. 

In a short while, Cyno finally entered into the bar, along with the case of TCG cards. He approached the table and settled down next to Tighnari. 

“Alright, for today’s round of TCG—“ 

“Cyno,” Kaveh interrupted, his jaw agape. Even Alhaitham looked at him in interest.

“Yes?” Cyno asked. 

“You’re wearing a shirt.” Kaveh said in disbelief. 

“That is rather unlike you,”  Alhaitham added. “I thought you said you found turtlenecks too restricting.” 

Cyno cleared his throat and opened his card pack. “Did I say that?” He asked. 

“You did. I have an eidetic memory.”

“I changed my mind,” Cyno said simply, shuffling the deck.

“That can’t be true! You’re clearly hiding something from us!!” Kaveh said, affronted. “What is it?? New tattoo??” He questioned.

“Ah, your ordered drinks?” Cyno said, changing the subject. He grabbed one and sipped it. 

“Maybe he’s hiding all the marks I made on him,” Tighnari said casually, grabbing his deck from the pile.

Cyno nearly choked on his drink, Kaveh shot up our of his chair and yelled “WHAT?!?” And Alhaitham seemed nonplussed, though his eyebrow raised half an inch.

“Well, now this has just gotten interesting,” Alhaitham said.

“What- what do you mean?!? Are - are you two sleeping together??” Kaveh asked incredulously, a blush creeping onto his face at the mere discussion of it. 

“I don’t know, are we?? Should we find out?? How about loser takes off his shirt??” Tighnari offered, and the rest had no choice but to agree since they were all curious about Cyno’s new turtleneck. 

Eventually, the game ended with everyone shirtless but Tighnari himself; and the group started on their walk of shame home.

“People are staring,” Cyno said, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Let them. I’ve marked my territory,” Tighnari whispered, and Cyno smiled back at him in return.

“I’m getting back at you for this tonight,”  he whispered.

“I CANNOT believe you two are seeing each other?? When did this start?? How did it start?? How did it evolve into this? How come you didn’t tell me?” Kaveh said, his arms wrapped around himself. “God, I’m cold.”

“Because you didn’t listen to me when I said to take a coat,” Alhaitham scolded.

“Um, it’s very CLEARLY because I’m not wearing a shirt!!” Kaveh cried. 

“Why are you so worried? Its the middle of the night. No ones looking at us,” Alhaitham said. He looked he was our on an exercise stroll, reading his book with his headgear on. Kaveh on the other hand looked like he’d just slipped out of a hotel room.

“Of course you’re unaffected! Must be conditioned from all those cold morning showers, you freak!!” Kaveh complained. 

Tighnari glanced back at him. “How do you know his showers are cold??” 

Alhaitham brought his book closer to his face, and Kaveh blushed bright red. 

“B-because — we — I don’t have to explain anything to you!!” Kaveh said, embarrassed.

Tighnari scoffed, in disbelief at the notion the two must have slept together and STILL weren’t together yet. 

“We have to help them,” Cyno said quietly to Nari, shaking his head. 

Tighnari laughed. “Trust me, they’re helpless.”