Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“It’s coming down hard.” 

An understatement, if the state of the sky was anything to go by. Cold winds and bristling gales, the snow falling in sleets of white. Thick, heavy, and wet, Thancred could feel a chill begin to work down his spine just imagining walking out into that fast-falling blizzard. Beautiful though it was, it was just as daunting, and already he could think of fourteen other things he'd much rather be doing tonight instead. 

Matter of fact—

“Oh?" And the way she all but croons that one word alone has him shivering for an entirely different reason instead. "And I don’t suppose that'll be reason enough for you to try to convince me that you'll be staying the night now, right?” Aoi murmurs around her cup of black tea, her voice elegant and smooth, the soft exhale of her breath causing the steam across the surface to ripple, as light and as delicate as air.  

As Thancred directs an all too amused smile towards her, a light shrug of his shoulders even as he moves to meander back towards her side. “Come now, surely you wouldn’t be so cruel as to throw me out? I'll have hypothermia before I even reach my car.” 

“I highly doubt that." She hums even as she makes space for him on the couch, propping her feet up on his thighs the moment he's settled back down. "But now that you mention it, I'll admit I'm not entirely above testing that theory."

And Thancred scoffs, something low and good-natured beneath his breath even as he adapts to the position easily, one hand reaching out for his own mug while the other curled around her ankle. His large hand warm and steady upon her skin, fingers pressing and prodding at her stocking-clad foot as she hummed lightly in appreciation, wiggling her toes as he gradually shifted his focus down towards her heel; as his knuckles grazing against her arch, a smile playing at his lips when he nudges at a particular spot and she melted sideways into the couch with a sigh.

A bit more overt on his part than usual, he'd outright admit as he took a sip of his ale, but if it helped keep him dry and warm for just a few minutes longer, then surely he could afford the risk.

"Sure there's nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?" 

Aoi laughs softly in amusement, and when next she opens her gaze, her bright jade eyes are practically swimming with mischief. “I don't know. I mean I'd hate to put you out of home for too long. Surely if you leave now, you'll be able to get home before the snow piles up on the roads?" 

He bites back a laugh. "If I could even see the road at this point. Perhaps if I'd left a full half a bell earlier, but as it stands now—" he shrugs, once more digging his finger into her foot in that one specific way she'd liked, unable to hold back the smirk on his face when a gasp falls from her lips and she shudders right into his touch. "I'm still here, primarily on account of that delicious dessert you made that I couldn't stand to not have seconds of. Either way, I'm sure you'll agree love, that I might prove to be more useful here if I were to stay for just a few bells longer?" 

"Oh please," Aoibreathes as she moves to tuck her feet back towards herself, just before she gets on her knees and then shifts to straddle him, stealing his cup from his grip and placing both of them onto the side table, as her thighs curl up around him, and his hands find their familiar place upon the curve of her hips. "Kami knows that if I give you one ilm, you're bound to take a malm. You of all people, thinking you can lure me in? With a massage? Perhaps a kiss? A tumble into the sheets—" 

"Now, now," he chuckles, squeezing her hips in his grasp as he grinned, "I wasn't getting to that part just yet, but if you insist..." 

" If I insist." She repeats haughtily, like she isn't smiling back at him just as brightly, the look in her eyes utterly radiant. Brilliant. Stunning, even, as she curls herself further into him, arms wrapped tight around his shoulders as the feel of her beneath his fingers began to settle in; so warm and cool, so lovely to the touch, as her slender tail wrapped smoothly around his waist and as his digits trailed along ivory white scales, he finds himself at once captivated; his every sense overtaken by her. Infatuated and oh so charmed—inebriated by her very presence,

and so impossibly in love.

“Perhaps..." he murmured, grazing his lips delicately against her skin as he leaned in, keen senses fixated on the way she drew in yet another breath, and he feels her heartbeat pitter-patter, sharp against her chest, "we might come to an arrangement just for tonight? If it so pleases you, of course. A mutually beneficial one; say I stay warm and dry and comfortable, and get to spend Starlight with you... and you—" 

"I get you." Aoi announces proudly, wiggling into his lap and once more getting as close as close can be—

"I get you." She says again, like it is something to be proud of. "What more could I possibly want?" 

What more indeed, Thancred can't help but laugh, even when he feels like he's getting the best part of this bargain—

But oh, he is a lucky man indeed. And so he laughs, and he preens. 

And if just for now, he concedes: 

That tonight, he comes out the winner. Tonight:

“All I ever wanted was you."

Chapter Text

The snow falls in trickles of soft, powdery white. A flurry over the skin, a stillness that radiates a palpable hush as lights twinkle above the trees and Gridania settles in for the night. Somewhere in the distance echoes the sound of starlight carols being sung into the heavens. Somewhere further still, friends are breaking bread across a crackling hearth, a pot of warm stew shared to stave off the winter chill. It's like being in a fairytale, Stellaris thinks, a moment in time too ephemeral for words as she looks towards the snowy night, and one would think she'd be more used to it by now at least, for the snow not to draw such an awe-inspiring feeling from her. 

But even so many summers later, there is nothing quite like this. The first snow of the winter solstice. 

And how Starlight only makes it that much more magical. 

“Not getting cold now, are you?” Estinien’s gruff voice resounds from just beside her, just loud enough past the hush that it startles her from her thoughts, turning her eyes over towards him, shaking her head as she hums. 

“Oh, not at all. In fact, perhaps I'd say it's not quite cold enough. The snow is just so familiar tonight, it almost reminds me of being home.” Stellaris muses, her lacquered lips curling into a warm smile on her face. “Although Ishgard is not quite as decorated as this, I'll admit." She giggles, looking across the garlands and lights that'd been strung across the streets, taking it all in with a warm glow alit in her eyes. "I feel like I could look at it forever, I fear I'm not quite ready to leave." 

And she means it, really, in a way that she's not quite sure if he understands. The way the evening feels just a little more... peaceful. Tranquil. Warm, even as the snowflakes drift across her cheeks, dusting her black locks in bits of speckled white. 

She wants to breathe it in, somehow. Capture it in a memory, draw it forth from her mind, anytime she needs to remember what the absolute beauty of the first frost could truly look like. 

But then she hears the shift in Estinien's footsteps, the way he simply stops in place. And when she turns her head towards him, he's simply gazing at her, a look of understanding in his eyes just the same. 

"Then take as long as you need. We're in no rush, we could stand to stay a little longer. It's rare too, to see this place so quiet, I think." He murmurs, casting his gaze skyward, the nearby lights casting his profile in a gentle glow. "Best make the most of it while we can." 

And it's enough to make her heart warm, a measure of hope buoyed in her chest as everything within her swells with affection for him. A charming laugh that echoes through the night as she takes to his words with a flourish, raising her hands in the air as she twirls in the falling snow, opening her lips as snowflakes melted on her tongue, as she felt for the first time in a long time—like a young girl, once again.

And it's so easy to get lost in the feeling, as she twirls and she hums, and the genuine joy brings a sense of warmth to her flushed cheeks. Giggling against the cold as the motions warmed her frame, soft puffs of breath escaping past her lips as she allowed herself to indulge in the sense of freedom it'd bring. 

The snow kisses her cheek, and oh, it feels like a hello, a warm greeting in every breath. 

The stars twinkle above her and it feels so picturesque, like a dream, captured in her grasp; cherished and precious and sweet. 

And Stellaris doesn't know quite how long it takes her before she breaks away from the feeling, turning towards Estinien with a brilliant smile, only to see the other Elezen looking at her with a small grin. 

She flushes, the feeling blossoming as a hue of pink on her already warmed cheeks, the precipitation sinking in as she practically skipped towards him and took his hands in hers with a beam. 

"Have you had your fill then?" He asks, his eyes still ever patient as she nods. 

"Yes, and I think—I'm quite ready to go back to the inn now. Mayhaps we can get some hot chocolate? A warm bath? A cuddle before the fire?" 

He chuckled. "I thought you said you liked the cold." He murmurs, though he doesn't protest as she slips her fingers between his own, entwining their fingers together, until she feels him so close against her skin that it makes her feel almost dizzy with want. 

But it's exhilarating, more than anything, and so she draws herself closer, wanting, wanting, needing him just that much more. 

"I do." She whispers. "But I do believe I quite like you more. And right now, a cuddle with you sounds like the perfect way to end the night." 

And Estinien... oh, he is kind. Kind and good and so unendurably sweet to her, as he simply chuckles and nods, and something about the look in his eyes... it makes her want to lean up on her tippy toes and kiss him. To capture this moment too in her memory, in her flesh, to treasure it like something precious, delicate, and real.

But then, Estinien reaches in to bundle her up a little more, his fingers deft as he neatly rearranges her scarf around her neck, and then he kisses her first. 

And it is soft and sweet; chaste, and warm. 

He pulls away, and oh, she has butterflies. Like it's the first time all over again. 

What a beautifully perfect night indeed.

"Come on, then, milady." He murmurs with a kiss upon her brow. "We might yet make that hot chocolate before the stall closes." 

But they are a ways away, and although she knows they could probably stand to walk a little bit faster—believe it or not, hot chocolate or not, Stellaris is content to spend another bell in the cold with him, if for just a while longer. Yes, just a moment. Just forever. 

Maybe forever. 

It sound perfect, sounds just wonderfully right .

Chapter Text

“Oh, Estinien, come, come! Before the lines get too long, oooh—look at this! Look at that! Listen to this! We gotta go try that!”

So and so her exclamations went, with Mata’s voice growing more exuberant by the minute. The miqo’te was a bundle of energy as she jumped around the bazaar, ooh-ing and aah-ing as she gazed into each new stall with an unending amount of glee. 

There were hawkers on every corner, tables bursting with pastries and trinkets; treats that tempted the taste buds, treasures that begged one to stop and take a second look. Starlight itself seemed to gleam in every corner of the market, shining in the tinsel and ribbons, the ornaments hanging from the trees, but nothing— nothing —could distract Mata from her goal. That which were funnel cakes and pies, whipped cream and berries. Cinnamon and caramel and warm apple strudel, something even called eggnog, which she took one delightful whiff of and sneezed. 

"Ah-choo!" 

Maybe not that one then, she concedes as she pouts, sniffling as she rubs at her nose, but rebounds at the ready—already a new spring in her footstep when she whirls to Estinien with a grin. "Which one should we try first?" 

Estinien, of course, in the face of such exuberance can only shrug. 

“Oh come on!” She practically whines, grabbing onto his arm with a pout. “Surely there must be something here that’s caught your eye! I know you don’t like sweets much, but still —” 

“I’m sure there’s something, don’t look at me like that.” He sighs at her, drawing a hand upward and lightly tugging at her cheek. “I might be much less spoiled for choice here, but you know far better than to ask my opinion on these things. As you’ve so cheerfully pointed out, once or twice now.” 

There’s a hint of sarcasm to his voice, a dryness to his humor that runs a sharp contrast to the way his eyes linger with a palpable warmth to them. An amusement that glistens further when her tail and ears wilt with his words, the pair of them already far too aware of the grilled squid stand waiting all but two full steps to the right. 

Not that he was wrong, of course, but still. 

“ Again ?” 

And again, Estinien can only shrug. 

And well, she supposed there was a strange sort of logic to it still. Mata herself came to these events because she wanted to try out all the different treats she could get, but ! It was doubly as important—triply so even!—that they first indulge themselves on food that they both know that they’d enjoy . 

And although she’d sooner argue that she’s had her fill of squid for a lifetime by now, she supposes it can’t hurt either, to have one familiar treat to start the night off with, at least. 

“Fine, fine. Grilled squid it is. And then we’ll try out other things. I’m sure there are more savory choices here—maybe some stew, a meat pie, barbeque—!” 

But for all of Mata’s toutings of the finer points of meat, even she finds she can’t resist the way her mouth waters when they finally make it to the front of the line, the chargrilled seafood enough to tempt her palate, her stomach more than ready to feast . 

Of course, she devours hers in seconds. Has a grilled fish from the same stall as an appetizer. And when her tummy takes charge, she buys a bit of everything within a three malm radius without question. 

Indecision? Not here! Her coin purse takes care of most of it and then some! 

( Tataru would not approve ) 

But then maybe Tataru would be more likely to approve, Mata reasons later on, when she’s feasting on the slice of cherry pie that she carefully slips into her bag; when Mata shows up to the Rising Stones with a treat for one and all, and maybe just maybe she’d allow Mata a little bite of each one. A treat for me, a treat for thee, in the wise words of one Urianger Augurelt. 

Something like that, at least, she giggled, as she began to skip her way back over to Estinien, as he’d stopped to look at a few wares, but then got a whiff of something so—familiar, that she stops, right in her tracks. 

Turns back around, swift like a hunter, and then bounds right up to a stall, her gil at the ready. 

And when Estinien finds her but moments later, she’s sitting by the ledge of a large Starlight tree, patting the brick beside her as she hands him a cup of something covered, something warm. 

And the moment his hands wrap around it, unpeels the lid, and gets a whiff— oh . 

He’s brought back to a childhood memory. Sitting around a campfire, sipping on a cream soup, just like this one.

“Coerthas soup.” He utters, swallowing down the little lump that seems to have climbed up in his throat. The brush of a chill down his spine that reminds him of the once cold nights spent by the hearth with his siblings, with his mom and dad chittering in the background. To a night with Mata out in the fields, when he’d seen her once in the forest and given her a full bowl of it, though she was far from remembering that fond memory these days. 

Perhaps it was enough though that she’d remembered the taste of it—the warmth of it, all the same. 

“I thought you might like it.” She hums, when he looks towards her and she’s smiling, unaware perhaps of the significance of this. “I had a whiff of it on the way over and it just—it smelled really good. Felt like a warm memory for a second there, although I’m almost certain I’ve never had it before, but the merchant—he was Ishgardian, and he’d said this soup was made to feel like home.” 

“Does it feel the same for you too?” 

And she can’t know, really, how much this means to him. How warm it is, and how the mere memory of it is enough to affect him, reminding him of days long past, when all he knew was the grass and the skies, the karakul and the forest nearby. 

A life now far gone, kept in place only by a memory. By the touch of the only other person in his life who might still remember it, even if— 

Even if she didn’t seem to know it yet. 

But then Estinien too doesn’t recognize the look of warmth in his eyes, when she peeks over after she swallows down a good spoonful of soup, and something about his expression must be odd, as her cheeks flush and her eyes go wide, and she flusters, looking away, trying to hide from his eyes. As she gently adjusted her scarf just a little bit more around her neck, only to fiddle with her wooden spoon as she blushed. 

“Mhm—I take it you like it then?” 

And there’s silence. Wonder. A moment of something valuable. Beloved. 

As he reaches out to smooth his finger across her cheek, swiping off the piece of cream on her lips as he leaned in, and she once more flushed —

Oh.

“I do, thank you.” 

“It reminds me of home—very much.”