Work Text:
“The situation was a bit complicated, but we found Tighnari. Unfortunately, he was wounded during a fight.”
Cyno’s breath caught in his throat as he stared at Dehya. Surely he had heard her wrong? How could she say that so casually? It was his Matra training that kept him from lunging at her and the Traveler and demanding to know more.
He felt a stab of pain where his nails were unconsciously digging into his crossed arms. Swallowing down his anxiety, he hoped his voice wouldn’t waver.
“Who was behind it?” Cyno could feel Alhaitham’s gaze on him. He may be able to fool Dehya, but he was being read like a book from the man next to him.
Normally the thought would bother him, but Cyno knew that Alhaitham understood his worry to an extent. Even so, Cyno refused to meet his eyes, opting to watch Dehya and the Traveler discuss who to say was to blame.
Then the Traveler spoke. “Let’s go with ‘The Balladeer.’”
A noise escaped from his throat, but Cyno said nothing else. Dehya continued with her report of what she and the Traveler had done, but focusing on the conversation was near impossible. He knew he needed to be paying attention for their plan to work, but he couldn’t shake the image of Tighnari in pain alone at Pardis Dhyai from his mind. Surely there was someone taking care of him there, right?
Dehya paused in her words, looking at Cyno for a moment. “Also, Tighnari’s already resting, so he’ll be okay.”
Cyno gave her a small nod, not trusting his words. It did little to relieve his concern, but he appreciated the sentiment. Tighnari hated sitting still, so he was almost certain that his definition of “resting” was walking around or doing something that would make his injury act up.
“Good.” Alhaitham’s voice surprised him. But then Cyno realized that the Scribe must have felt on edge as well. Tighnari and Alhaitham weren’t the closest of friends, but he was aware that Alhaitham had some respect for the forest ranger. The three of them, along with Kaveh, occasionally met up for dinner or at the tavern. If this familiarity wasn’t the cause, then Alhaitham’s worry was founded from Tighnari’s extended help to Kaveh time and time again.
Paimon turned to him suddenly. Cyno glanced at her, wondering what she wanted to say.
“Oh, Tighnari also asked us to tell you this message! ‘Trust your own senses and experiences.’”
Cyno felt a small smile creep onto his face. Even when injured, Tighnari was still thinking about him. “Alright… I’ll remember that.”
He continued on to relay his own part of the plan and how he brought Eremites into Sumeru City. Although he tried not to let his feelings get the better of him, Cyno’s thoughts continued to wander to Tighnari.
Tomorrow was Jnagarbha Day, so he knew he didn’t have the time to go to Pardis Dhyai and return before he was needed. But that didn’t stop the nagging voice in the back of his head from begging him to stop wasting time here in the Grand Bazaar and run to where he knew his best friend was suffering.
Cyno hardly paid attention to Nilou’s appearance and agreement to join in their rebellion. It wouldn’t affect his position or role either. Alhaitham dismissed them for the night, telling them to get a good night’s sleep. Cyno had mostly avoided his stare, knowing that that statement was meant for him more than anyone else.
He wasn’t sure how he ended up at home, but in what felt like a blink of an eye, Cyno found himself laying on his bed, staring up at his bare ceiling.
The housing given to him by the Akademiya is a decent size because of his title as the General Mahamatra. The conditions never give him anything to complain about and he knows that the other Matra would be overjoyed to have a house given to them. But for such a house like this, it was devoid of any personal touches. Cyno never decorated, not because he didn’t want to, but because he never had the time to. His job kept him so busy that he barely had time to return to this home whenever he was in Sumeru City. Most of the time, he found himself in the desert and was more acquainted with a small home that he purchased in Aaru Village. But even there, decorations were sparse because of the harsh winds and sand.
Tighnari had dropped by a few times whenever he had a guest lecture or meeting with the Akademiya and Cyno was coincidentally in Sumeru City. Whenever the opportunity arose, they would eat together and return to his home to spend a few hours or a night.
He could still distinctly remember the first time Tighnari had visited. The forest ranger had looked at him with a dry expression before asking him if he even lived here. At Cyno’s muted nod, Tighnari had sighed loudly with his tail flicking in displeasure. He said nothing more about it, but Cyno knew to expect something to appear in his house someday.
The next morning, when Cyno had to leave for work, he carefully shuffled himself off of Tighnari, taking special care to not accidentally crush his tail. In the rarely ungloved and outstretched palm, Cyno gently pressed a spare key down before getting ready to leave. He still remembered how hard it was to resist leaning down and leaving a faint kiss to his forehead to this day.
When he had come home three days later, he was greeted with a small potted cactus in his living room by the window. There was no explanation to why it was there, but he didn’t need one. A paper was stuck to one of the cactus’ needles with instructions on how to care for the cactus (which was thankfully very minimal) written in neat handwriting that Cyno could recognize even if he were blind.
That cactus still sat in the same spot and Cyno had been trying his best to come home more often so he could water it. After all, Tighnari would use him as bait for Rishboland Tigers if he ever found the cactus dead.
Turning his head on the pillow, Cyno stared at his bedside table. If there was anything in this house that he could call his own, it would be the stacks of letters that he had memorized in the drawers, each delicately penned with precise penmanship. He even kept the first ever letter that Tighnari had sent him back when they were still studying in the Akademiya.
With all these traces of Tighnari around him, Cyno could pretend that they were together for a moment before the cold wave of terror could wash over him again. What kind of injury was it? Dehya and the Traveler hadn’t been specific at all? If it was the Balladeer’s doing… who knew what the Sixth Harbinger was capable of?
Once Lesser Lord Kusanali was freed and the sages were taken into custody, he would be able to leave the city and head to Pardis Dhyai. Although knowing Tighnari, he would probably head back to Gandharva Ville to recover.
Some nights, he mourns the fact that citizens of Sumeru cannot dream. But tonight, as he closes his eyes and pretends the cold space beside him on the mattress didn’t give him more of a chill than a sharp wind from Dragonspine, he is thankful that he will not have nightmares.
A pillow finds itself crushed in his arms as a weak substitute for a fluffy green tail or warm torso that night. It did little to calm his nerves.
~~~~~
After the entire plot unfolded and Cyno brought Azar to justice, he had found the Traveler unconscious in the Sanctuary of Surasthana. In a way, he was almost pleased. Not because the Traveler might have been injured, of course not. But them being injured gave him plenty of reason to make a beeline for Gandharva Ville without being stopped. The Traveler was known all throughout Sumeru, so there were very few people that would try to stop him from bringing them to medical attention.
And if anyone asked why he didn’t just drop them off at the Bimarstan, Cyno would simply say that he could not leave the Traveler in just any hands and instead wanted to make sure they were in trusted care.
When he came to Gandharva Ville, it was a group of forest rangers that saw him first. Or rather, they first noticed the unconscious Traveler that he was carrying with Paimon fluttering around anxiously.
Cyno wasn’t quite sure how the Traveler managed to travel with such a chatty and (he means no offense with this) gluttonous companion. The entire time, Paimon had just talked his ear off. He understood to an extent because most of the chatter was in concern for the Traveler’s condition, and thankfully it was easy to calm her down. But the amount of food that she ate on the way…
He swore that it was cheaper for him to travel to Mondstadt and return with Collei than to take the small trip from Sumeru City to Gandharva Ville with just Paimon.
Regardless, the group of forest rangers had asked about the Traveler’s condition and Cyno told them the bare minimum that they needed to know before asking for Tighnari. After they pointed up towards the hut where he knew patients usually stayed, Cyno quickly thanked them and adjusted his hold on the unconscious form in his arms.
Paimon flew ahead and called out Tighnari’s name while Cyno trailed behind. Collei poked her head out at the noise from inside the hut, smiling at Paimon. But her smile faded as soon as she saw him carrying the Traveler.
“Master Tighnari!” Collei ducked back into the hut as Cyno continued to approach. Paimon flew inside the hut to tell them what had happened. Cyno followed her inside quietly, allowing her to do the talking.
When he laid eyes on Tighnari, he looked the same as he did last time he visited. But surely an injury to the extent that Dehya made it sound would not have healed so quickly?
“Lay them down.” Tighnari ordered before turning to collect his medical supplies. Cyno did as he was told and gently rested the Traveler down on the bed. He watched the forest ranger for any signs of pain or discomfort, and with a glance at Collei, it was clear that she was doing the same.
“I heard you were injured at Pardis Dhyai.” Cyno internally winced at his own words. Perhaps this wasn’t the time for this conversation.
“It’s nothing too big, really.” Tighnari’s words were clipped as he began to check the Traveler’s vitals. “Can we talk later? Let me make sure they’re in stable condition first.”
“Right. I’m sorry, I’ll be right outside.” Cyno stepped back to give Tighnari more room.
“Hold on.” Tighnari stopped him from escaping with just a narrowed glance. “You’re not injured too, are you?”
“No, I’m just fine. It’s the Traveler who had just passed out. I brought them here because I knew they would be in better care here.”
Tighnari sighed, but Cyno could hear the overwhelming fondness. “Always bringing back more patients for me. Do I not look busy enough?”
“Thank you, Tighnari.” Cyno lightly tapped Tighnari’s arm. To his complete surprise, Tighnari winced at the touch. “You-”
“Collei, you can go as well. I need to focus so that means you too, Paimon.” Tighnari turned his head back to the Traveler, avoiding Cyno’s eyes. “Cyno, please don’t overthink it. I’ll explain it to you once I make sure the Traveler is alright.”
He nodded, forgetting that Tighnari couldn’t see him before agreeing verbally. He stepped out of the hut with Collei and Paimon behind him.
“Hey Collei, is Tighnari doing any better?” Paimon asked. Collei stared down at the ground silently.
“What kind of injury has he sustained?” Cyno looked at both of them. No one had told him how Tighnari had gotten injured and if it was severe.
“You don’t know? Didn’t Paimon tell you on the way here?” The pixie thought to herself out loud.
“No, you spoke mostly of what happened in Sumeru City and the Harbingers.” Cyno was sure of this. If he had heard even a syllable of Tighnari’s name from Paimon’s mouth, he would have known.
“He was struck by lightning at Pardia Dhyai,” Collei said, fidgeting with her hands. “He says that he’s alright but I’ve been trying to help out whenever I can.”
Lightning…? If he had been struck by lightning, then he should not be up and about at all! But of course Tighnari would pretend like he was fine and continue with his duties. Cyno wished he could say that he didn’t expect this, but he absolutely did. Tighnari had been like this for as long as they’ve known each other.
“I apologize if I’m making you uncomfortable, Collei,” Cyno started. Collei looked up in wide eyed shock, guilt coloring her eyes. He knew that she felt bad about having a negative reaction, and he understood why. Normally he would try to avoid being alone with Collei so he didn’t accidentally trigger her Eleazar, but this time he had no choice.
“No, not at all, General Mahamatra!” Collei tried to deny it, but Cyno already knew. He resisted the urge to pat her shoulder, knowing it would cause more harm than good.
“I understand. It’s alright. I don’t wish to make you feel uncomfortable, but there’s no one else I can ask about Tighnari’s condition. I know he will downplay it when I ask him so I want to know what you’ve seen yourself. How is he doing?”
“Better than before… I try to help with cooking but he doesn’t let me most of the time. He tried to go out for patrol once but he ended up coming back earlier than everyone else. I think he made a special salve to help when it starts acting up.”
Cyno listened silently, taking in the information. If it was to the point where Tighnari couldn’t hide his pain, then it must be excruciating for him. He looked back at the hut, unable to hide his concern. “I should have been there.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Paimon flew in front of his face, blocking his view of the hut. “Weren’t you getting the Eremites in the city?”
“I was, but I should have left Tighnari with protection beforehand.” Cyno cursed himself and his stupidity. It would raise suspicion, sure, but if he had only left a Matra or two to keep an eye on Tighnari, he may not have gotten hurt. “I should have done something to keep him safe, especially with the danger he was facing.”
“Um… I’m sorry if I’m overstepping, but I don’t think Master Tighnari wanted any of that. When he came back from Pardis Dhyai, he said that he hoped that you were safe, wherever you were. He asked me to write a letter for him because he was having trouble holding a pen.” Collei’s cheeks began to turn red. “But my handwriting wasn’t much better so he just asked me to forget about it. But he wanted to write to you and tell you not to worry about him.”
Cyno blinked at her. Collei usually didn’t admit to so much in front of him. But he was thankful for it all the same. He should have expected Tighnari to be more worried about him than himself.
“Thank you, Collei.” Cyno nodded. Collei’s head bobbed, looking up nervously at Paimon. Again, the urge to pat her shoulder bubbled up. Unsure of Collei’s comfort level, he decided to ask. “May I touch your shoulder?”
“Huh?!” Collei stepped back in shock. Even though he expected her to react like that, Cyno began to panic.
“I simply want to express my thanks by touching your shoulder.” Cyno held his hand up but did not reach towards her. “Please don’t feel pressured to say yes. I won’t be offended if you aren’t comfortable with it yet.”
Collei stared at his open hand, but he didn’t move. He would only move closer if the younger girl allowed him to. After some hesitation, she shook her head wordlessly. Cyno put his hand down, but he could almost feel her guilt. Before he could tell her again that he wasn’t upset with her, Collei cleared her throat.
“Maybe… maybe next time…?” Collei kept her gaze low. Delight filled every part of Cyno’s mind. He was thrilled that Collei enforced her boundaries. And the possibility of a next time made him want to celebrate.
He felt the corners of his lips turn up to form a small smile. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Paimon’s loud gasp reminded him that she was still there. “Wow, you can actually smile!”
“Of course I can. Who do you take me for: Alhaitham?” Cyno scoffed, his good mood slightly dampening from the mention of the Scribe.
A faint giggle made him pause. He looked incredulously at Collei who was covering her mouth with her sleeve.
Did…
Did he make her laugh?
Loud cheers went off inside his head as he watched Collei try to compose herself. He hadn’t even told one of his jokes yet! Speaking of which, he had been so distracted by the rebellion against the Akademiya and sages that he hadn’t had the chance to prepare any jokes for today.
“I never thought I would see the day where Collei laughs at something you said, Cyno.” Tighnari’s voice startled Cyno, but he didn’t outwardly show it.
He would later realize that having someone as important to him as Collei laugh at something he said rendered him useless and blind to his surroundings.
“Has that guy ever smiled before without being mean?” Paimon stomped her foot angrily. “Paimon’s only ever seen him smile before insulting somebody.”
Cyno and Tighnari shared a look. No doubt they were both thinking of Kaveh. Plenty of their “girls’ nights out” as Kaveh liked to call their semi-often nights at the tavern together ended with a smile on Alhaitham’s face.
“Master Tighnari, how’s the Traveler?” Collei asked to change the subject. She had been witness to Kaveh coming over for dinner multiple times to complain about Alhaitham.
In all honesty, Cyno was still a little bitter that Tighnari and Collei had laughed so much at Kaveh’s stories than his carefully planned jokes.
“They’re fine, don’t worry. I just need to keep an eye on them until they wake up, but other than that, they should be just fine when they wake up.”
“And you?” Cyno looked Tighnari over to try and find any visible wounds.
“Collei already told you everything, didn’t she?” Tighnari looked at him with a sly smile.
“You could hear the whole time?” Paimon reached for his ears. “Paimon knew you had good hearing, but we weren’t anywhere near you!”
Tighnari’s ears flicked her hand away. “My hearing is better than most. Now, Paimon, why don’t you go check on the Traveler. You can go with her, Collei. I know you two are worried about them.”
Collei quickly looked between the two men before nodding stiffly and heading for the hut. Paimon followed behind her, speaking loudly about something.
“Collei seems more comfortable around you,” Tighnari commented.
“Under any other circumstances, I would love to speak more about that. But ever since I heard that you were injured, I’ve been wanting to check on you.” By instinct, Cyno’s hand raised to touch Tighnari’s arm but he paused, remembering his earlier reaction. “Did it hurt when I touched you?”
“Let’s talk about this in private.” Tighnari began to walk in the direction of his hut.
Now that he knew what had happened to Tighnari, Cyno watched each and every step that the forest ranger took. He took note of every microexpression and movement to make sure that he wasn’t overexerting himself.
They eventually made it to Tighnari’s hut without any issues, and before Cyno could ask any questions, Tighnari sat down on his bed.
“Nari?” Cyno quickly rushed to stand in front of him. “Are you alright?”
“I’m getting better.” Tighnari replied unhelpfully. He must have seen the displeasure on Cyno’s face because he laughed. “Really, you already scare people. If you keep looking like that, then no one will be brave enough to speak to you.”
“Will touching you hurt?”
“Not if it’s gentle. Here, give me your hand.” Tighnari slowly raised his hand for Cyno to take. He hesitated for a moment. What if he held on too tightly? Or if Tighnari was just trying to placate him? “You’re overthinking.”
Cyno held his hand with the same timid gentleness that he would hold a petal with. He could feel Tighnari’s hand tremble in his. Realizing that he had been staring at their hands, he looked up to see the forest ranger’s face tighten to keep a small smile on his face.
He dropped Tighnari’s hand immediately. “This is hurting you.”
“No, I promise you it’s not!” Tighnari tried to argue. He reached for Cyno, but he stepped back. If it didn’t hurt, then why did he need to force himself to hold an expression? He should have known.
“I understand that you don’t want to worry me, but I would rather be worried about you than cause you pain.” Cyno hardly noticed himself taking more steps backwards and putting space between them.
“Would you listen for just a minute?! Archons above, don’t jump to conclusions. Honestly, how did you become the General Mahamatra like this? Not even letting someone explain first.” Tighnari’s tail waved slowly in annoyance. “Come closer.”
“I shouldn’t.” Cyno didn’t dare move closer, as much as he wanted to. If his touch was causing Tighnari pain, then he wouldn’t risk it.
“It doesn’t hurt. Trust me when I say that. I have some spasms sometimes, and the burning sensation isn’t bad with the salve that I made. Collei told you about it,” Tighnari spoke slowly, a gesture Cyno knew was him trying to confirm that he was understanding everything.
“How effective is your salve?”
“Don’t you trust my medicinal knowledge? I may have been a botany student but Amurta required me to take plenty of medical classes. And if I wasn’t good at this, you wouldn’t have brought Collei here all those years ago and trusted the Traveler to me, right?”
Cyno nodded.
“So don’t you think that a salve I made for myself would be effective?”
Cyno nodded again.
“Which means if I say I’m alright, that means I’m really okay.”
“Doctors are always the worst patients.”
“It doesn’t hurt me when you touch me,” Tighnari repeated, looking into Cyno’s eyes.
He saw nothing but honesty and adoration in those heterochromatic eyes. But even so, Tighnari had flinched.
“Then why…?” Cyno’s gaze dropped to Tighnari’s hands.
“I don’t know how to say this without upsetting you. I’ve been thinking about it ever since this happened, and I still don’t know the best way to put it.” Tighnari sighed. Then he spoke quickly before Cyno even had the chance to start guessing. “It’s nothing against you.”
“What is it?” Cyno watched as Tighnari took a few shallow breaths.
“After the lightning storm in Pardis Dhyai… I’m not the biggest fan of it. Not that I really liked thunderstorms before because of how loud it can be but…”
Tighnari paused, seemingly struggling to find the words, but Cyno already understood. Tighnari was afraid of lightning. And he had an Electro Vision.
Cyno’s hands deftly removed his Vision from his clothing while Tighnari watched in surprise. Without thinking, he tossed the Vision to the corner of the hut. He knew that Visions were gifts from the gods because he couldn’t care less about it at the moment. It was negatively impacting Tighnari, so he could do without it. He didn’t expect any danger to befall Gandharva Ville, and even if anything happened, he was strong enough even without his Vision to protect himself and everyone here.
“Does this help?” Cyno stepped closer to Tighnari now.
Tighnari rapidly glanced between the discarded Vision and Cyno’s face before breaking into a fit of laughter. “Only you would do something so stupid.”
“Can you still feel the Electro?”
“A little bit, but not as much since it’s not on you anymore.” Tighnari beckoned him closer. He put his hand out again for Cyno to take. “Try it.”
Cyno cautiously approached and let his hand rest in Tighnari’s, watching his face for any discomfort. He felt a small flinch but before he could pull away again, he felt Tighnari’s hand tighten around his.
“Is this fine?” Cyno breathed out. His Vision was still nearby, so surely there was still Electro residue on him.
“Sit next to me, would you? I won’t bite.” Tighnari pulled him closer. Cyno stumbled forward and sat next to him on the bed. “You’re staring.”
“Am I?” Cyno asked, knowing full well that he was. He could pretend that it was only to make sure Tighnari wasn’t in any pain (and to an extent, it was true), but he also just couldn’t tear his gaze away.
“You worry too much.” Tighnari’s other hand lifted to push the space between Cyno’s eyebrows. “You’re too young to be getting wrinkles here. Are you trying to make people more scared of you?”
“Are you scared of me?”
Tighnari jabbed his finger against his forehead harshly, causing Cyno to narrow his eyes. “Of you? Please, everyone knows you’re the one who’s scared of me.”
“As long as you’re not scared of me, then I don’t care what other people think.” Cyno felt their joined hands tremble. “Your hand is shaking.”
“That’s your hand.” Tighnari raised their joined hands and pressed a featherlight kiss to the back of Cyno’s. “Are you alright?”
Cyno tried his best not to squeeze Tighnari’s hand as he let his head fall down, staring at their laps. “When Dehya said that you were injured… I couldn’t focus on anything except coming here… coming home to you. I wanted to come back as soon as I heard, but I couldn’t. And I worried the whole time that when I came back, I might be too late.”
Cyno’s voice shook as the words tumbled out. His free hand curled around the bedsheet, gripping it with the force he wished he could hold Tighnari with.
“Hey.” Tighnari tapped Cyno’s cheek. He raised his head to meet Tighnari’s sparkling eyes and warm smile. “I’m okay. And you’re okay.”
Tighnari slipped his hand out of his and placed his hands on Cyno’s shoulders. They stared at each other before the forest ranger spoke again. “You can’t crush me, but bring it in.”
That was all Cyno needed before he wrapped his arms around Tighnari’s torso and pressed his head against his ears. He felt Tighnari tuck his chin into the crook of his neck as he returned the hug.
“How is it that you’re the one that’s injured yet I’m the one being comforted?”
“Proof that I’m simply just stronger than you.” Tighnari hummed against Cyno’s neck.
Cyno nipped at Tighnari’s ears in response, earning him a soft smack with his tail. He breathed in, careful not to press too hard against any of the Lichtenberg scars that Tighnari definitely had underneath his clothing.
“You are. You always have been.”
“Are you done holding me like a stuffed animal?” Tighnari’s voice was laced with amusement.
“Just another minute. To make sure this is real.” Cyno felt Tighnari nod against his neck. “Tell me if it hurts.”
“Yes, yes, I will.” Cyno reveled in the soft laughter that followed. “I’m surprised you haven’t made a single joke yet.”
“I thought you wouldn’t appreciate any right now,” Cyno lied. As if he had the time to think about jokes while he thought Tighnari might have been on his deathbed.
“Yeah?” Tighnari was silent for a moment. Then with a defeated sigh, he said “it’s really surprising. Shocking even.”
Cyno blinked.
What?
He pulled back to look at Tighnari face to face, just to confirm if he had actually heard him correctly. Did he really just make a joke like that?
“Don’t look at me.” Tighnari’s face was red as he detached himself from Cyno’s embrace. He covered his face with his hands, ears flattening against his head.
“Nari… are you starting to understand true comedy?” Cyno stared at him with wide eyes.
“This never happened.” Tighnari shoved a hand onto Cyno’s face, blocking his vision. He gently grabbed his wrist, pulling the hand away from his face. Tighnari’s pulse fluttered under Cyno’s fingers.
“Now I’m convinced that I’ve somehow regained the ability to dream.”
“You are the most dramatic man I’ve ever met. And I know Kaveh.” Tighnari put both hands on Cyno’s face and pulled him closer until they were only a breath apart. He instinctively looked down at Tighnari’s lips. “The densest too. And I also know Alhaitham.”
Then Tighnari pulled him in and kissed him. Cyno smiled into the kiss, pressing his lips against Tighnari’s. The kiss only lasted a moment before they sat back, staring at each other with mirrored smiles.
“Should I be offended that you think of me as worse than Kaveh and Alhaitham?” Cyno rubbed Tighnari’s bent ear.
“Absolutely.” Tighnari laid back so his head was on the pillow. “But my mind can be changed if you take a nap with me.”
“First you tell a joke and next you want to take a nap. Who are you and where is the Nari I know?” Cyno settled next to Tighnari, letting him rest his head on his chest. The fur from Tighnari’s ears tickled his nose and he felt his tail wrap around his leg.
“He wants some peace and quiet with his Cyno. Is that acceptable, General Mahamatra?”
“Of course, General Watchleader.”
Tighnari hummed and fell silent. Cyno hoped that his heart wasn’t beating too quickly or that he wouldn’t notice his quickening pulse. With the warmth beside him (almost entirely on top of him), he finally took an easy breath for the first time since he had heard about Tighnari’s injury. Wrapping his arms around the man lying on him, he shut his eyes.
Sleep came easily, like it always did when they slept together.