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nyanderenekoWord Count: 1,214
Summary: The nature of the struggle that brought them to this point only makes each moment they get to share that much sweeter.
*Author’s Note*: Kind of vague summary, which I know I default to…I just don’t know how to explain things very well when the fics are simple orz anyway, this is another short one featuring Nova and Cyrus, it’s a really cute exchange that made me feel all warm and fuzzy while I was editing it. What can I say, I’m a sucker for soft scenarios like this. I hope you enjoy!
Sometimes it was hard for her to remember this space was now her own. Luxurious yet modest ornamentation, if such concepts could truly coexist, rooms that displayed instruments of both music and learning that she’d come to cherish. A grand stone fireplace that absorbed and emanated warmth from its flames as if it had enough sentience to know its purpose. Even those flames were precious to her, considering they were almost always his. She often spent her evenings in front of them, on the loveseat or on the floor, appreciating their sight and smell and warmth. Both of them did, together. That was all she really wanted.
These walls, the furnishings that filled them, this place that she now proudly and happily called home, all of it made her heart swell to bursting with contentment. The sensation wasn’t uncomfortable enough to become unsettling, though—far from it. She wasn’t sure she’d ever even felt the same kind of comfort and serenity in the house she’d grown up in, the estate she once found it nigh impossible to separate herself from. Before she’d made the decision to embark on the journey of a lifetime, so much of the world had been closed off to her, sealed away just waiting for the key of exploration to finally unlock it all. The most unexpected and treasured thing to her, of course, was the love she’d found in the man that’d enchanted her from the moment she’d first laid eyes on him.
“I love you,” she uttered the words into the back of his vest, nuzzling her face against the smooth fabric as she slipped her arms around his waist. He was sifting through papers on the desk in his study, and upon seeing him she couldn’t resist the urge to sneak up and hug him from behind.
“I love you, too.” His response shook her heart like always. She wondered if the spur of emotion she felt every time she heard those words would ever die down. Part of her wouldn’t mind if it persisted, just as she knew their love would.
“Do you really mean that?” Her question caught him off guard, and he glanced over his shoulder to try and see as much of her as he could. She had such a tight grip on him, turning around was basically impossible.
“Of course I do,” he reiterated, voice tinted with wariness. “Why would you even ask such a silly thing?”
“I used to think it was impossible,” she confessed, burrowing closer against him. As hard as it was to interpret her words from this position, he dedicated all his focus to the task. “That you were in a completely separate realm compared to me, in terms of getting to know you, getting close to you. I was convinced that I’d never be able to reach you…and then one day everything changed. In the blink of an eye you weren’t just next to me…you were holding me, encouraging me. I kept telling myself I was imagining things, though, that you couldn’t possibly be reciprocating—”
“I loved you long before you knew,” he murmured, and her voice trailed off. “And that’s the truth. More than that, I think I probably loved you long before even I was aware of what was happening. I kept concluding it was just because I was intrigued by you, or happy to know someone that was so enthusiastic about what I had to say and share. I was perplexed and intrigued by your condition, but before long I found myself amazed by everything about you. Unfortunately, it took me an embarrassing length of time to come to terms with the truth for myself. You were a dedicated and passionate student…though I suppose in retrospect not all of that was for the sake of studying spells.”
“No, that’s not true!” She released her hold, and he took the opportunity to twist around and face her. “I mean, I wasn’t lying about those things! I really did want to learn from you…and I really did manage to do just that. You helped me discover things about both magic and myself that I never would have managed to figure out on my own.”
“It’s alright, I didn’t mean to accuse you of being deceitful,” he reassured, patting her head and giving her ear a soft pet. “I just mean…I was equally oblivious to the reality of the situation. I wasn’t only interested in teaching you for the sake of teaching or studying you to learn more about your condition. Of course, I was still curious about those things, but…there was always something more about you. I grew accustomed to brushing it off as overthinking, since that’s certainly something I’m wont to do. Yet in retrospect, it’s more than obvious just how blind I was. How much discomfort and resignation could have been avoided if I’d just stopped making excuses for the sake of my own reservations. The idea that I genuinely felt something like that for someone, possibly for the first time in my life, coupled with the risk of not having those feelings returned…I just wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Well, neither was I, so I’d say you’re excused from some of that.” She smiled slightly and grasped his hands in her own. “It’s kind of incredible to hear, though. That you may have been in love with me far longer than we both realized…it’s even a little comforting. Maybe I really wasn’t just imagining some of the things I was so convinced were nothing more than my own grossly exaggerated misconceptions. I was backpedaling for no reason, but at least now I know it wasn’t all for nothing. None of those feelings went to waste.”
“I apologize for putting you through such an ordeal,” he replied sheepishly, guiding the back of one of her hands to his lips. She was still helpless to the involuntary flush and fluff her features defaulted to in response.
“I don’t need to hear apologies,” she explained, cradling his cheek while she had the chance. “Hearing that you love me is enough to make up for that, and everything else. Although there really isn’t that much to make up for; we’re both at fault. I’m just glad we came to our senses before things got even more complicated. Perhaps even troublingly so.”
He kissed one of her fingertips and she shivered, eyes flickering between his lips and the sharp yet tender twinkle in his eye. “I’m glad, too. It would have been bothersome to have to deal with even more interference than we’d already managed to create for ourselves.”
She chuckled and retrieved her hands. “I suppose I should let you get back to work.” It was a small, seemingly forgettable exchange. But that’s what their lives were made of now, and the fact that they could share them in the first place was a blessing in and of itself. Casually conversing on a daily basis, seeing each other’s faces just before they fell asleep and first thing in the morning…it was such a reassuring routine. They fact that they’d both been yearning for a life like this far longer than they knew, both from themselves and each other, only made it easier to savor every moment they shared.
Summary: The nature of the struggle that brought them to this point only makes each moment they get to share that much sweeter.
*Author’s Note*: Kind of vague summary, which I know I default to…I just don’t know how to explain things very well when the fics are simple orz anyway, this is another short one featuring Nova and Cyrus, it’s a really cute exchange that made me feel all warm and fuzzy while I was editing it. What can I say, I’m a sucker for soft scenarios like this. I hope you enjoy!
_____
Sometimes it was hard for her to remember this space was now her own. Luxurious yet modest ornamentation, if such concepts could truly coexist, rooms that displayed instruments of both music and learning that she’d come to cherish. A grand stone fireplace that absorbed and emanated warmth from its flames as if it had enough sentience to know its purpose. Even those flames were precious to her, considering they were almost always his. She often spent her evenings in front of them, on the loveseat or on the floor, appreciating their sight and smell and warmth. Both of them did, together. That was all she really wanted.
These walls, the furnishings that filled them, this place that she now proudly and happily called home, all of it made her heart swell to bursting with contentment. The sensation wasn’t uncomfortable enough to become unsettling, though—far from it. She wasn’t sure she’d ever even felt the same kind of comfort and serenity in the house she’d grown up in, the estate she once found it nigh impossible to separate herself from. Before she’d made the decision to embark on the journey of a lifetime, so much of the world had been closed off to her, sealed away just waiting for the key of exploration to finally unlock it all. The most unexpected and treasured thing to her, of course, was the love she’d found in the man that’d enchanted her from the moment she’d first laid eyes on him.
“I love you,” she uttered the words into the back of his vest, nuzzling her face against the smooth fabric as she slipped her arms around his waist. He was sifting through papers on the desk in his study, and upon seeing him she couldn’t resist the urge to sneak up and hug him from behind.
“I love you, too.” His response shook her heart like always. She wondered if the spur of emotion she felt every time she heard those words would ever die down. Part of her wouldn’t mind if it persisted, just as she knew their love would.
“Do you really mean that?” Her question caught him off guard, and he glanced over his shoulder to try and see as much of her as he could. She had such a tight grip on him, turning around was basically impossible.
“Of course I do,” he reiterated, voice tinted with wariness. “Why would you even ask such a silly thing?”
“I used to think it was impossible,” she confessed, burrowing closer against him. As hard as it was to interpret her words from this position, he dedicated all his focus to the task. “That you were in a completely separate realm compared to me, in terms of getting to know you, getting close to you. I was convinced that I’d never be able to reach you…and then one day everything changed. In the blink of an eye you weren’t just next to me…you were holding me, encouraging me. I kept telling myself I was imagining things, though, that you couldn’t possibly be reciprocating—”
“I loved you long before you knew,” he murmured, and her voice trailed off. “And that’s the truth. More than that, I think I probably loved you long before even I was aware of what was happening. I kept concluding it was just because I was intrigued by you, or happy to know someone that was so enthusiastic about what I had to say and share. I was perplexed and intrigued by your condition, but before long I found myself amazed by everything about you. Unfortunately, it took me an embarrassing length of time to come to terms with the truth for myself. You were a dedicated and passionate student…though I suppose in retrospect not all of that was for the sake of studying spells.”
“No, that’s not true!” She released her hold, and he took the opportunity to twist around and face her. “I mean, I wasn’t lying about those things! I really did want to learn from you…and I really did manage to do just that. You helped me discover things about both magic and myself that I never would have managed to figure out on my own.”
“It’s alright, I didn’t mean to accuse you of being deceitful,” he reassured, patting her head and giving her ear a soft pet. “I just mean…I was equally oblivious to the reality of the situation. I wasn’t only interested in teaching you for the sake of teaching or studying you to learn more about your condition. Of course, I was still curious about those things, but…there was always something more about you. I grew accustomed to brushing it off as overthinking, since that’s certainly something I’m wont to do. Yet in retrospect, it’s more than obvious just how blind I was. How much discomfort and resignation could have been avoided if I’d just stopped making excuses for the sake of my own reservations. The idea that I genuinely felt something like that for someone, possibly for the first time in my life, coupled with the risk of not having those feelings returned…I just wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Well, neither was I, so I’d say you’re excused from some of that.” She smiled slightly and grasped his hands in her own. “It’s kind of incredible to hear, though. That you may have been in love with me far longer than we both realized…it’s even a little comforting. Maybe I really wasn’t just imagining some of the things I was so convinced were nothing more than my own grossly exaggerated misconceptions. I was backpedaling for no reason, but at least now I know it wasn’t all for nothing. None of those feelings went to waste.”
“I apologize for putting you through such an ordeal,” he replied sheepishly, guiding the back of one of her hands to his lips. She was still helpless to the involuntary flush and fluff her features defaulted to in response.
“I don’t need to hear apologies,” she explained, cradling his cheek while she had the chance. “Hearing that you love me is enough to make up for that, and everything else. Although there really isn’t that much to make up for; we’re both at fault. I’m just glad we came to our senses before things got even more complicated. Perhaps even troublingly so.”
He kissed one of her fingertips and she shivered, eyes flickering between his lips and the sharp yet tender twinkle in his eye. “I’m glad, too. It would have been bothersome to have to deal with even more interference than we’d already managed to create for ourselves.”
She chuckled and retrieved her hands. “I suppose I should let you get back to work.” It was a small, seemingly forgettable exchange. But that’s what their lives were made of now, and the fact that they could share them in the first place was a blessing in and of itself. Casually conversing on a daily basis, seeing each other’s faces just before they fell asleep and first thing in the morning…it was such a reassuring routine. They fact that they’d both been yearning for a life like this far longer than they knew, both from themselves and each other, only made it easier to savor every moment they shared.