closed 🪶⚡ i'll be the light to lead you home

[garudas]

Who: Cidolfus Telamon & Benedikta Harman.
Status: Closed.
Where: The Roost, The Farplane.
What: Cid and Benedikta move to a new house in the Roost. Event stuff later.
Warnings: The usual. :)

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[garudas]

[She flinches, her shoulders going stiff when his hand runs over her shoulders. That self-consciousness returns, and she wishes that she could grab hold of the sheets and pull them over herself to hide the new blemishes that mar her skin.]

... I think it will take some getting used to.

[Her voice is quiet, and she drops her gaze away.]

But I will not let it stop me anymore.

[ramuhs]

[There will be that buzz of warmth as he presses his fingertips against her skin around the area, letting it seep through as he slowly massages it again just like he did in the bath.]

And you know you can come to me.

[garudas]

[A soft, content sigh falls past her lips when the heat reaches beneath her skin, her head falling back when she feels her neck give way beneath it. Feeling this... feeling him is exactly what she needs.]

I do.

[Her eyes slowly blink open to look at him, and a fear swims in her gaze.]

I... do worry that the nightmares might return again.

[ramuhs]

If they do, I'll be here for you.

[He continues to gently caress and massage her before an idea forms.]

Perhaps...if I wake up and notice, I could use my levin again like I did before.

[garudas]

[She tilts her head at him.]

You mean to reach her...?

[ramuhs]

Reach you.

[A light smile as he raises a hand to cup her cheek.]

Just to remind you you're not alone.

[garudas]

[The realization is clear on her face, and she reflects his smile when his hand finds her cheek.]

I never am these days...

[Even when he isn't physically there... Her hand goes to the pendant around her neck, and her eyes close.]

But I would like for you to hold me tighter... just for tonight...

[ramuhs]

As if I would have it any other way.

[He smiles then, his lips finding hers as he pulls them back down with his arms tight around her.]

But it won't be just tonight.

[His voice is soft against her lips as he gives her his warmth, legs entangled together.]

[garudas]

Every night...

[She corrects herself as she lays beside him, and she kisses him again, sighing against his lips.]

After all this, I just... want to go home...

[ramuhs]

As do I.

[A low sigh as he kisses her gently first on the lips and then on her nose and cheek and her brow just above her eye.]

Suppose the move was aptly timed, hm?

[garudas]

[Her nose crinkles with a smile when he peppers those kisses across her face.]

Was it? Or perhaps not... I feel like we have not had the proper time to truly live in it yet.

[ramuhs]

Hmm, true, but that just means this will be another memory to build upon it.

[garudas]

Good memories from here on out, I hope...

[She breathes out an exhausted sigh.]

Today being the last of the bad ones.

[ramuhs]

It will be.

[He gently strokes her hair as he pulls her closer to him.]

Let's get some rest, hm? Should be back at the Roost on the morrow.

[garudas]

[Her pout disappears into his shoulder when she's pulled close.]

We could go back now if we wished to...

[Though she knows that's a tall order for the Captain.]

[ramuhs]

[A quiet laugh at that because yes.]

Ah, I wish, but alas I do have my own responsibilities.

[Unfortunately he does have his duties to perform, and he is also worried about the others.]

[garudas]

[She knew already, but that doesn't change her wish to have their warm bed and the fire crackling with him beside her, without all the noise of the ship and the sea surrounding them. Just peaceful silence filled only with the sound of his breathing.

She pulls back so that she can look at him, her finger gliding along his cheek and the curve of his jaw.]

You may perform them for as long as we are on this ship, but after that...

[A tender kiss pressed to his lips.]

After that, you rest.

[ramuhs]

[He can't help but give her a wry grin as he looks up at her.]

As you wish.

[There's then a low exhale like a sigh as he closes his eyes.]

And speaking of rest, think I could use it now.

[It's things like this that remind him of his age.]

[garudas]

[A pleased and equally sleepy smile crosses her face before she leans in to kiss both of his eyelids.

And while she lowers her head so that it rests more on his chest, and a brief silence stretches between them, she does finally whisper...]

... Cidolfus?

[ramuhs]

[He can't help but smile at the touch of her lips, and when he hears his name there's just a low rumbling hum from his throat in question.]

[garudas]

[She glances up at him, brow furrowed. Had he already fallen asleep!?

But when her head falls back down again, she is slow to respond.]

I am... grateful for you.

[She has said it to him a hundred times before, but tonight most of all, it bears repeating.]

Had you not reached me, I am not sure what I would have done.

[That little spark that had weaved its way into her aether and her mind to awaken her from that nightmare had been a beacon for her. Her little spark...]

[ramuhs]

[His arms just shift over her, hand gently caressing her back in response before there's a small sigh as his eyes slowly open just enough for him to stare up at the ceiling.]

I always regretted not being able to reach you before.

[Not just before her death, but all those other times when they could no longer hear and listen to each other. When they rejected each other's hands.]

So I'm glad...that I've been able to now.

[Not just against Ultima, but when she had also transformed into Garuda. And that's one thing he always wondered—if he had faced Garuda instead of Clive, would anything have changed? Or would that have also been the day he fell as he barely had enough left in him to deal with Ifrit? He couldn't even beat Benedikta when she semi-primed, surely it would have been the same even primed, especially since it was within hours.

Which is why while it may be foolish and just sending him straight down the same path, he was willing to give everything to do whatever he could to save her.]

[garudas]

[She knows what he means by that, and in that moment, she too wonders whether or not that would have changed anything. If he had been there, or if he had tried... Or if it ultimately would have ended then and there in the way that Ultima had kept trying to show her. Ramuh and his Dominant dying at the hands of Garuda, with Benedikta following not long after.

It's something that she does not wish to dwell on, but it's not an easy thing to ignore at a time like this. Even as her mind and her body have already started to rebel against her, the warmth of him wrapped around her only making that wave of exhaustion crash harder and faster. But there is still so much on her mind that she isn't sure she'll be able to rest peacefully until they are truly back in their home.]

Should there ever come a day when you need it, I hope that I could do the same.

[ramuhs]

I hope there isn't.

[Sincerely... If there was ever a time that he lost himself like that, then it could only mean something terrible had happened. Worst case, he lost his mind completely somehow.]

But if should such a thing come to pass, I know you will.

[garudas]

It does not even have to be something terrible.

[She is aware of what she had implied and yes, that offer still stands, but it goes beyond that.]

I wish to do better... with helping you.

[A light wind caresses him, warm and gentle and inviting. It brushes his hair back, kisses his cheek, and then disappears.]