Work Text:
Urianger gives a solemn nod as the door seals shut with a muffled click. That he didn’t offer his typical gentle smile of reassurance instead would give Popono Pono, the recently christened Warrior of Darkness, pause, were it not for his present company commanding his focus.
“Well?” Y’shtola asks, her arms folded across her chest as she leans back against one of her many book-laden desks. “You asked for my attention and now you have it.”
Popono blinks, the countless thoughts swimming through his head shouting over one another with such ferocity that none are able to make themselves properly known, at least not in the moment. Settling on the easiest one first, he offers the Miqo’te a warm, loving smile.
“It’s really good to see you again, Shtola”
“Apologies, but I believe I asked that you refer to me as Master Matoya while in the Greatwood.”
Popono’s mouth hangs open for just a moment too long, the words on his tongue somehow getting lost just shy of the tip.
“I… o-okay. Either way, I’m really happy to see you.”
“And I you. At least, to the extent that I am able.” Her voice trails off, the hint of caution in her voice not completely lost on her Lalafell companion. “You’re exactly the salvation we’ve been waiting for. The pieces in this drawn-out game can finally begin to move.”
“…” Nothing but a restrained breath escapes Popono for the better part of a moment. “I’m flattered that you have such faith in me, but I was speaking more personally.”
“Is there an impersonal way to tell someone you’ve missed them?”
“I… suppose not,” he says with a quiet, forced chuckle. “I was worried about you, you know.”
“Oh? Perhaps I haven’t done a fine enough job at convincing you of my ability to take care of myself.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just… the Exarch told me you’ve been here for three years.”
“Give or take a couple of months, yes, that’s correct.”
“For me, it hasn’t even been three WEEKS. That’s a lot of time to miss.”
“Well it certainly wasn’t time wasted, I can assure you of that.”
“Haha! You wouldn’t be Y’shtol- er, Matoya if you spent that time lazing about.”
“Then what’s there to worry about?”
“Three years is a long time to be separated from your partner.” Popono nearly pauses as he watches Y’shtola’s gray, unfocused eyes shift away from him. “From the moment the Exarch explained everything to me, you’ve been on the forefront of my mind. ‘How has she adjusted?’ I wondered. ‘What adventures has she been on that I couldn’t support her for?’ ‘What if… what if she’s moved on without me?’” He idly taps his fingers along the edge of the table as he finishes his thought. “But knowing you, I was getting worried over nothing.”
“…” Y’shtola takes a deep breath before responding, her words brief and sharp enough to cut Popono like the finest of blades. “You’re a lot clingier than I gave you credit for, hero.”
Silence. The Blessed are no strangers to the concept, and Y’shtola herself has come to, on some level, revere it just as they do. But this is different. This is not a silence born of peace nor contentment. This is a silence of trepidation, of tension, of patience, or perhaps a lack thereof.
It’s the silence that comes when a heart is broken.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Look, Popono. I’m happy to have you back. Really, I am. But we have more important matters to attend to.”
“Do you think I don’t care about Norvrandt? Or that I’ve forgotten what we came to the Greatwood to do in the first place?”
“I’m simply trying to say that starting this very conversation runs counter to that goal. We need to translate this tablet first and foremost, and your attempts at adding intimacy to our reunion is certainly holding up that process.”
“Oh, gods forbid we take five bleeding moments to check up on one-another! We may as well surrender to the Calamity!”
“Do NOT raise your voice in these premises, Pono! Hero or not, I’ll have you removed as I would anyone else!”
“You’ve changed.” A deep sigh. “What happened to you, Tolly?” A tiny gasp catches in her throat, her unfocused glances coming to a stop as she stares at Popono’s feet, unable to meet his gaze at the mention of a name she hasn’t heard in a long, long time. “Is that all I’ve become to you? The ‘Hero of Darkness’ that’s going to finish your work and save your beloved Blessed? A living weapon, no different than the wand on your back. Tsk.” He clicks tongue, tearing his eyes away from his long-separated lover for the first time since the conversation began. “You sound just like everyone else.”
“I’d forgotten about that name. ‘Tolly.’” Her voice is quieter, and uncharacteristically uncertain. “Popono, you… you’re more than that. You know that.”
“…”
“…Perhaps I HAVE changed.” The sound of a heavy footstep echoes through the dark chamber, followed by another, then another. It isn’t until Y’shtola has planted herself in front of the Lalafell that the sound comes to an abrupt end. “Your aether is different now, you know.”
“It is?”
“I used to take so much comfort in being able to sense you nearby. Right now, it almost feels like I’m standing before a stranger.”
“Tolly, I–!”
“May I… touch you?”
“…You may.”
With a nod, she brings herself to a knee allowing her to meet her companion at eye level. With hesitant precision, she places her palms against both sides of his jaw, her slender fingers gently tracing along every contour of his face. They run along his button nose, brush his hair out of his eyes, squish his cheeks with a gentleness he’s so sorely missed, and finally come to rest right where they began as she cradles his head in its entirety.
“I’d almost forgotten what you look like,” she whispers, her voice nearly inaudible. “You’re just as beautiful as I remember.”
“And you’ve only become more so,” he adds as he gently grasps her wrists in response. “Three years, huh? Sometimes it feels like I’m speaking to a stranger, then you’ll do or say something only my Tolly would ever dare and I’m reminded of why we started seeing each other in the first place.”
“You know,” she starts, unaware of the water beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes. “It wasn’t until now that I realized just how much I missed hearing your cheesy lines.”
“H-hey!”
“Hmhmhm!” For the first time since reuniting with the most important person in the world to him, Popono hears his beloved Y’shtola offer him a warm, genuine laugh. If he weren’t on the verge of tears already, this was the final push to take him over the edge. “I suppose I never realized just how much I’d let slip from my mind. I’m… I’m sorry, Popono.”
“Don’t apologize, Tolly. You’ve gone through a lot over here.”
“I’ve many stories to tell, that’s for sure.”
“And I’d be glad to hear them. Though, perhaps that should wait until this Light business is taken care of.”
“Now who’s in a rush?”
“Or we could swap tales to lull ourselves to sleep at night?”
“Oh? Inviting yourself into my bed so soon?”
“I, er–!”
“Hahah! My talent for making the famed Warrior of Light blush hasn’t dulled with time, I see.”
“Sh-shut up, Tolly.”
“That said, three years is more than enough time to grow fond of the freedom that comes with sleeping alone. Have you the ability to coax me out of the habit?”
“You offered a similar challenge not long after our first date. Last I checked, all it took was one evening of you squeezing me like a stuffed toy for you to tell me you’d ‘slept better than you ever believed possible.’”
“I could go for a sleep like that right about now,” she chuckles. “Very well then. Once we’ve brought the stars back to the Blessed… I’ll be waiting for you.”
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Moving his hands from her wrists to her cheeks, Popono smiles sweetly before closing what remains of the gap between them. Their lips touch, gently at first, then with enough force that one would need to pry them apart. Their eyes close, and as Popono wraps his arms around his beloved partner, Y’shtola gently runs her hands along the length of his comparatively small body, being sure to etch each and every inch of him into her memory. Their war against the Lightwardens might mess with his aether, but never again will she allow herself to forget the form of her closest companion. Never again will she allow herself to forget to show him how much she cares.
Never again will she allow herself to forget what he means to her.