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Indigo felt his breaths coming in rapid gasps as he hid under his desk. While his door hadn't been locked, he found himself with the overwhelming urge to hide. The collar of his robes was too tight against his neck, making him claw at the offending article until the buttons came loose. He didn't care that his neck began to throb in pain, or that the tender skin where his archon's mark lay began to bleed when he tried to breathe.
No… no, she can't… she can't be here!
He fumbled blindly around his now exposed collarbone, finding the red gemstone and grasping it tightly, trying to infuse aether into it as well as a short message before he drowned in his panic completely.
Please help… Office… Panicking.
Still clutching the small gem and its silver chain, the hyur curled in on himself more, trembling like a chocobo feather in the midst of Garuda's storms. Small whines left his lips as he failed to soothe himself.
Indigo had tried thinking about his weekend plans with Fourchenault- the several-day trip to Thavnair to shop and enjoy the comforts and culture while he idled the days in bliss. But even that couldn't stop the sobbing gasps that left Indigo.
She shouldn't be here.
She will drag me back to Gridania, and I will never see Fourchenault again!
It felt like he was underwater, his body beginning to shut down as it reached the peak of his whirling emotions, the edge of his vision growing dark and his breathing shallow. Indigo failed to hear the door to his office open and then become locked, the hurried footsteps, before he felt a warm touch on his shoulders.
"-digo?" A deep rumble came from in front of him. "….hea- me?"
Fourche?
Indigo felt the warmth move to his wrist, trying to pry it off the necklace before pressing it against a soft-yet-firm object. It rose and fell slowly, a slight vibration now and again that soothed Indigo as he found himself matching his breathing to it.
After what felt like bells, Indigo's vision finally cleared, and Fourchenault came into view, eyes awash with concern and panic.
"There you are, my Flower." He slowly raised his hand to rest against Indigo's cheek, brushing away the tears that had continued to fall. "What happened?"
Sniffing and blubbering, Indigo surged forward and wrapped his arms around his partner. "F-Fourche! Forgive my… childish display. I-I-I-" His mouth wouldn't stop stammering, his body shaking as Fourchenault was his firm anchor in the storm.
The elezen rubbed his back before looking down at him, frowning when he saw the state of his neck- bright red marks laced his throat. "Let me heal that and… you needn't apologise to me. Just talk to me, my Flower."
Indigo pulled back a little, but firmly held onto Fourchenault's robe. "I-I wasn't thinking when I was trying to find my necklace. E-Everything was spinning, and I couldn't…" He took a breath as the familiar and now comforting feeling of Fourchenault healing his wounds. It was always safe, always kind. "Another… letter arrived today. My mother is coming to Old Sharalyan today… I can't…" His panic surged again. "S-She will force me to resign, and I can't… she will…"
Part of him withdrew, ducking his head as he shut his eyes. He felt spineless and small. The fact that he was a man on the seat of the ninety-nine, and yet when his mother came knocking, he was nothing.
A foolish boy, acting a man- pedestrian in all other aspects. Worse even…
Barely able to hold magic in my soul… weak at wielding weapons…
How am I fit to run with my fellow man when I can't help myself?
"Indigo!"
The stern tone made him snap up, a sob catching in his throat as Fourchenault held his head in both hands.
"Forgive me for speaking so suddenly." The elezen apologised as he pressed their foreheads together. "You were saying all of your thoughts out loud… to know you think so poorly of yourself… I couldn't let it continue."
Shame flooded his system as he tried to look elsewhere. "M-My… I… am sorry, my love. I… I just feel so ashamed of myself for acting like a snotty child when it should be simple to just say no."
Fourchenault let out a small sigh as he pulled Indigo into another hug. "You know it's never that simple, Indigo. If I were having trouble with my mother… would you say I was useless? Would you say I was unfit to be a member of our Forum?"
"Not at all… It's not that simple." Indigo relented. "But I am… thirty-eight, Fourchenault."
"Trauma does not fade just because we grow older, Flower." Fourchenault shook his head and kissed Indigo's crown. "I still have conflicted feelings about my father and everything that unfolded with the Final Days. Just because I have lived over forty summers, does that mean I am childish or silly?"
"You are never silly, Fourchenault!" Indigo turned in his grasp and held his face. "Please don't say such things!"
Fourchenault gave a breathy chuckle. "Then don't say them about yourself, Indigo."
Worrying his lip, Indigo sighed and nodded. "A-Alright… I can try. But… the problem still stands…" He rubbed at his eyes, his body already exhausted. "I have been so used… to being my mother's doormat… I don't know how to begin to stand up to her."
I thought if I refused to respond to her summons, then she would get the hint. But I cannot keep running away.
"I can be there with you." Fourchenault offered. "Support, and if need be, weigh in if I must."
Indigo couldn't express the love that burst in his heart. "You would help me?"
Fourchenault helped him stand and pulled him into a tight hug. "We can face her here. Keep it away from the safety of home… and then we can go back to yours. Have a bath, and cake for dinner."
The laughter that bubbled from Indigo came out in parts due to his previous sobbing, punctuated with a sniff. "Cake for dinner? You are playing too far into my sweet tooth, Darling. I don't need to be spoiled."
Fourchenault kissed his cheek and helped fix his robes, rubbing his hand over the necklace to replenish the aether inside before tucking it away. "Nonsense, it will call for spoiling because I say so."
I need to thank the alchemists of The Great Work who made such amazing necklaces… For them to send signals to the other when needed…
"I am glad the necklace worked… I am sorry if it scared you."
Shaking his head, Fourchenault pressed a kiss to his nose before pressing his hand against where his own emerald gem was concealed underneath thick robes. "It was powerful, but that's good. It means it works more than I had ever hoped. And you were good to remember to use it."
Blushing, Indigo took Fourchenault's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I… I almost didn't, but the thought of needing you by my side made me grab it on instinct."
"And I will always listen for the call."
Hugging him close, Indigo felt the love for the man before him surge like a wave. "And I will for you."
୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧
Fourchenault had then briefly gone to tell the officials who welcomed many into Old Sharalyan to send Indigo's mother to his office, and the two then made their way there, a pot of rose tea freshly brewed to help settle the hyur's frayed nerves.
To help distract him, Fourchenault had begun to make notes of their dinner, listing out Indigo's favourite cakes and asking which bath bomb the other male would like to use when they washed upon their return to the Blumenthal house. It helped, and Indigo made many mental notes to have tea with Ameliance later in the week to plan a surprise gift for the elezen as thanks.
Ameliance always knows how to help me express my thanks… Ever the kindest and most insightful childhood friend.
They were, unfortunately, jolted from their respite when someone knocked at the door. Indigo almost split his second helping of tea as he tried to put it down, standing up and adjusting his robes again, before he shot Fourchenault a look. "I can do this?"
Nodding, Fourchenault rose from his own desk and gave Indigo a touch on the shoulder. "You can, and I will step in if you need me to. Just taking this step is already something to be proud of."
The hyur let out a whine and took a deep breath as Fourchenault went to open the door.
"Ah, Fourchenault Levellieur," A voice sounded from beyond the threshold. "I was told to meet you at your office. Is my son with you? I am Cassandra Miyathorne."
His heart stopped, and he tried his best to keep his breathing under control.
I have a new life in Old Sharalyan. I am with Fourchenault. Nothing will keep me from losing what I have.
Fourchenault gave a short bow, his tone tense and clipped. "Yes, Indigo was assisting me with some papers before we finished for the day."
She scoffed. "Well, at least he has someone to keep an eye on him. He has been so flippant of late, though I gather I needn't tell you."
Cassandra entered the space fully, and Indigo found himself standing up straighter before giving a bow towards his mother. "Mother." Her silver hair was tied into a neat bun, nary a hair out of place. Her makeup was pristine, her clothes pressed neat despite having been on a vessel from Limsa to Old Sharalyan.
Her face pulled into a grimace before she smoothed it over- seemingly wanting to make a good impression on Fourchenault. "Indigo. I sent a letter ahead of me, but I didn't get a moogle in return; it is… pleasant to see you again."
"I…" Indigo felt dizzy; her perfume brought back too many harsh memories to process. Pain in his legs and back flared with the scars that were now mostly obscured by an array of painted pictos in various flowers and vines. Glanced to the side, saw Fourchenault, and regained his strength. "I declined to reply, because I thought by doing so… you would see that I had no interest in meeting again."
With her eye twitching, Cassandra folded her arms across her chest. "What did you just say to me?"
Swallowing hard, he took a step forward. "I do not have to r-respond to your letters anymore. I… I am old enough to have my own life and needn't fund yours since you and father mishandled your own finances when I was a child."
I remember when we used to live here… how, in our old estate, you always complained about the loans you had taken from merchants in Limsa… But becoming your piggy bank was what you had me for…
Her eyes flashed with rage as she raised her hand. "I did not raise an ungrateful little whelp."
Indigo staggered back, raising his hands before his heel caught his robe and he fell onto his tailbone. "Don't," he begged. He expected her to close in, to punish him for daring to stand up to her, but it never came.
Lowering his arms, he looked up to see Fourchenault holding her wrist. His own eyes were ablaze with anger that Indigo had never seen on his otherwise gentle features.
"You will not talk to Indigo that way." He began his upbraiding, his tone like ice. "He is one of our most valued members on the Forum, going above and beyond to ensure we are on top of things, as we almost buckled under the weight of the Final Days." Letting go of her hand, he moved to shield Indigo from his mother. "Indigo is everything good in the Forum; he does all he can to pay back into Sharalyan's studies, going as far as to donate a large amount of his paycheck to aid our new scholarship program so we may better share our knowledge with the rest of this Star."
Cassandra went to speak, but Fourchenault cut across him, hissing as he continued to seethe. "You will not enter my office and talk badly about him upon our first meeting. You will not bother him with issues you have punished him for since his birth. Indigo deserves to be shown love and compassion. If you will not even grant him that, then I will ensure you are barred from entering Old Sharalyan for the rest of your days."
He seemed to be huffing with the effort- a slight sweat on his brow before he turned to Indigo. "Are you alright?"
Indigo was floored, stammering as he was helped in getting up. "I-I-"
"I thought that being from the Levellieur line, you would be smart enough to know how to properly discipline children. But now I see my son has had a bad influence on you."
Fouchenault turned on his heel, snapping at her with a snarl. "Do not bring my own children into your misdoings! I raised my children to be good and kind people, and they have proven to me time and time again that they achieve more than I had ever dreamed they would. You are lucky Indigo has remained as kind and compassionate despite your hard hand." His hair came slightly loose from his plait as he shook from rage. "I will ask you kindly to leave before I summon someone to do it for you. I will even pay for your fare back to Gridania if it means you are away from Indigo and me all the faster."
Cassandra opened and closed her mouth a few times before she huffed. "I have never been spoken to like this."
Indigo stepped forward. "W-While no one has, it doesn't mean no one should. Like Fourchenault asked, leave and don't return. I will return any letters you send… I… I am not your piggy bank anymore! J-Just go away!"
She patted herself down before going back to the entrance. "Never in my life did I think I would enter an office and, upon doing so, be accosted and upbraided. You are not a Miyathorne man, Indigo."
"I never was." Indigo stood tall, even as he continued to tremble. "I am a Blumenthal. I made my own house; I am my own man."
Scoffing, she left the room, slamming the door as hard as she could, leaving the two men in silence.
After a few moments passed, Indigo started to laugh, hiccuping and wheezing before he started to sob. Fourchenault pulled him into a crushing hug, and while he cried, the hyur felt his own neck grow wet.
He's crying too…
"I am s-sorry." He sobbed. "She is s-s-so horrible and to bring the Twins into it too."
"You are alright." Fourchenault sniffed as he continued to hug Indigo. "She had it coming… and I am just glad that she left peacefully… somewhat."
Pulling away a little to look at Fourchenault, Indigo pressed a quick kiss on his cheek. "W-We can ensure she isn't allowed back… Even if I have to expose the letters and… reveal more of my past. I will."
"Let's worry about that later, Flower." Fourchenault pulled a tissue out of his pocket and wiped his own eyes before using a clean corner for Indigo. "I think we can do with some cake, a warm bath, and some time to unwind."
Now smiling brightly, as if the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders, Indigo held his hand out to him. "Yeah, let's go home."