#so! so! he takes That frustration out on the cryptic poor soul with the bird mask | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sami-at-ciela · 3 years

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Prompt 3: Scale

Or: “I was chomping at the bit to write about feeding the Exarch, but then these two dingdongs decided to get serious with each other.”

So much for slow burn. =3=

Shadowbringers timeline spoilers, probably.

Rhea wasn’t expecting a knock at the door of her suite in the Pendants at this time of night (yes! Night! Finally! Glorious night! Even if she ended up being a weird aether sponge to make it happen). She looked up and scanned carefully to see if the former (?) Warrior of Darkness was making an appearance, but…

Right. Ardbert couldn’t knock even if he wanted to. Poor soul.

“Who is it?” she asked even as she headed to check the peephole in the door.

“Rhea, it’s me,” said the Exarch from the other side.

“What do you want?” Rhea said, partly because she knew better than not to ask and partly by accident.

“I need to discuss something with you in private,” he replied, sounding ever so slightly tense.

“So? I’ll come to the Ocular first thing in the morning,” Rhea grumbled back.

“Rhea, please, this is important-” A disgruntled huff came from the other side of the door. “I’ll admit that it’s not that important, and perhaps we could discuss it in the Ocular for the sake of privacy, but it wouldn’t be the most comfortable place for me to do it. Does that satisfy you?”

Rhea tilted her head at an angle that made her egg earrings bob from her Viera ears, equal parts confused and intrigued. “People are going to talk about this, you know. ‘Did you hear? The Crystal Exarch was knocking on a woman’s door last night! And then she let him in! So scandalous-’”

“Rhea, please!” the Exarch half-whined before regaining his composure. “A yes or no will do.”

“Fine. Come in,” Rhea muttered, opening the door to let her favorite pain in the rear into her room. He entered, and when he hesitated, she added, “Do you want to take your hood off?”

The Exarch sighed. “Might as well, since you ruined my cover earlier. Thank the Twelve no one else saw.” Once the door was shut behind him, he revealed himself.

“So, what’s so important that you had to barge in right before I went to bed?” Rhea asked, taking a seat on her bed.. “I’d really appreciate getting to remove my brassiere at some point. Men just don’t get that-” A beat passed, and her face scrunched up. “Please tell me that’s not what you came here for.”

“N-no, of course not, I wouldn’t dare!” the Exarch sputtered, holding his hands up. He released the gesture, and a quiet mutter escaped his lips: “I’ve already been pressed to your bosom at least twice already.”

Rhea caught the mutter and straight-up cackled, causing the Exarch to jump. “You want another go? C’mon, sit on Momma Rhea’s lap, tell her what’s going on.”

“Rhea, please!” the Exarch full-whined this time, drawing out the syllables in distress. “I assure you, none of that is what I came for. Rather, I… need you to see something. On me.”

“Oh? You want to give me a show instead?” Rhea’s tone became less mocking, partly because she wouldn’t mind at all and partly because she wanted to know what his angle was.

The Exarch grumbled, growing frustrated with all the teasing. “Perhaps this will all make sense if I preface this with the following: please stop sending food back to the Ocular. Alphinaud doesn’t finish his, Alisaie eats like a bird, and then Alisaie in particular thrusts her leftovers at me.”

The mention of the food and Alisaie’s specific insistence on giving her leftovers to the Exarch made Rhea burst out laughing all over again. “Oh, yeah! I told Alisaie to keep an eye on you and make sure you were eating and taking care of yourself while I wasn’t there to nag you about it, because I got the impression that you don’t take care of yourself.”

“What?! What do you even mean by that?” The Exarch’s ears flattened in consternation.

“You work hard and often. Maybe too often. I’ve barely seen you rest since I got here,” Rhea said. “So I’m making sure you’re properly fueled and rested, whether it’s by nagging you, or having Alisaie do so.” The Exarch seemed to pout, folding his arms, only for Rhea to coo at him, “Aww, you made that pouty face back in the Source too!”

“I appreciate the concern,” he growled. “But now I have a concern.” He unfolded his arms, giving Rhea a view of his robes. “Does my robe appear to be hanging… differently to you?”

Rhea squinted. “Are you seriously asking me if your dress makes you look fat?” A surprisingly pointed look jolted her out of teasing mode. “Whoa, geez! For the record, no, I don’t see anything different. You look like the same cryptic stranger you’ve been this whole time.” She had a feeling that his ears could steam, they would.

The Exarch raised his crystal hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve tension. “You’re right. It’s probably too hard to see anything with this on.” He then promptly began disrobing, causing Rhea’s mouth to hang open. When all was done and his robe hit the floor, he put his hands on his hips and looked her dead in the eyes. “How about now?”

Rhea stared as she scanned him over. She remembered how he looked when they’d met in the Source (perhaps from looking at him a bit too often), and even if he’d supposedly gained weight, she still thought he looked thinner. Drawing her attention more, however, was the spread of crystal inclusions across his body. There was, of course, the large area ensconcing his shoulder, neck, and right arm, but there were smaller streaks along his sides, almost giving the illusion of stripes. Mysteriously, his legs were free from crystal, and they were perfectly good, muscular legs that almost made Rhea think about what part of him she wanted to touch first. “Come here,” she said, after mouthing the words silently once.

He tilted his head, then approached, his lips pursed.

Rhea raised her hand, hesitating before resting it on his chest and stroking downward to his stomach, an area mostly free of crystal. He shuddered, and she pulled her hand away. “Oh, uh, sorry.”

“No, no, that’s nothing,” the Exarch murmured. “It… feels nice.”

“Is that so?” Tilting her head, Rhea rested her hand on his stomach once more, then traced over to his side, at which point he jolted again. “Ticklish?”

“Maybe a little.” A thin smile spread across his lips. “Forgive me. Sometimes… the skin that still feels longs for a touch that is not fabric.”

“Honey, you’re fine,” Rhea said, “honey” slipping out of her mouth somewhat by accident. “You’re still a man. No, you’re still a person. I can only imagine how lonely you’ve been. It makes sense that you, not your skin, want a little intimacy now and then.”

“Ah… I suppose you’re right,” he said, lowering his head. “I promise that isn’t why I came here. I wouldn’t dare abuse your trust for something like that. So…” He swallowed nervously. “Do I look fatter to you?”

“Not at all.” Rhea shook her head. “Obviously I don’t know where you were at when I got here, but you look fine, okay? Maybe even like you could use a few more loaves of the mushbread or whatever that was.”

“Never again,” the Exarch blurted out. If he wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now, looking off to the side as the pink in his cheeks highlighted the blue of the crystal on his face. “Very well… thank you, Rhea. I couldn’t ask anyone else to do this.”

“Wait. Don’t go anywhere.” A small but tender smile spread across Rhea’s lips. “I… wouldn’t mind if you got comfortable here for a while.”

“Ah- really?” His breath caught in his throat.

“I’m not going to force you into it. I’m just giving you an option.” Rhea watched the Exarch carefully. “If it makes you too anxious, don’t do it.”

“I… the truth is…” He sucked in a deep breath and released it. “I would like to. I would very much like to, but I feel as though I’m breaking the rules of our engagement, or… something to that effect.”

“G’raha, I offered,” Rhea said, and she thought he twitched at the mention of his old name. ��In fact, let me make it clearer for you: I would be happy if you made yourself comfortable, even if you crawled in bed with me, even if you asked me to rub your head and make you feel good. How’s that?”

The Exarch swallowed nervously once more. “That’s more detailed than you originally specified, but I’m not complaining. Would you do those things for me?”

Rhea scooted over and patted the spot next to her. “Just get over here. Want me to tuck you in?”

“N-no, that’s fine,” he muttered as he slid under the covers and turned onto his back, looking up at Rhea expectantly, almost pleading.

“There you go.” Rhea went under the covers next to the Exarch, drawing him close and positioning herself to rub his head. With gentle motions she stroked through his hair, periodically massaging his scalp or scratching behind an ear. A soft hum not unlike purring escaped him, and the pleasant sound nearly lulled her into drowsiness until a whimper broke it. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing is wrong,” the Exarch murmured. “I haven’t felt like this in so long… warm, cared for, connected, secure. It’s…” He sniffed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I’d end up quite so emotional.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Rhea stared at the Exarch, and he looked so vulnerable in that moment that she felt compelled to act. She put both arms around him and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. “I want you to feel cared for.”

“I…” He turned over onto his side, his face tense from what Rhea guessed was trying to hold back tears. “Forgive me for being selfish. If you can’t do this for me, I understand… but I would like more. A proper kiss, like the one you gave me now, but on my lips.”

A brief silence passed as Rhea mulled the request over. As much as she loved to tease the Exarch and bully him about the stupid things he’d done to her and her friends, she found herself concerned and wanting to care for him. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to punch him for soul-napping my friends, do what he wanted, and get out. Why is he so easy to forgive?

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, lingering for a precious few seconds before parting. Her hand rose to his chest, where she felt the pleasant yet quickening beats of his heart.

“Please, allow me one more indulgence, just for the sake of saying it- take it how you will…” The Exarch’s voice went low. “I love you.”

Rhea stared at him, the words zapping her like a sharp, potent spell. She felt she had mere seconds to put her feelings in order. Could she say she loved him back? Did she love him at all? What were her real motives for caring for him?

Then again, what need was there to say anything when she could let her actions speak for her?

She lowered herself to kiss him once more, adjusting herself so that she could be over him without pressing her weight on him.

The Exarch had closed his eyes at that moment. He slowly opened them, looked into the eyes of the wonderful woman above him, and smiled. A beat passed. “You know, this position is kind of…”

“Hmm?” It took Rhea a moment to realize that she was in a rather compromising position. “Oh.” Another beat passed. “Do you want to…?”

There was a lengthier pause as the Exarch thought the implications over. “I don’t know. Do you?”

“Only if you want to.”

“I don’t know,” he repeated.

“Maybe not now, then.” Rhea repositioned herself so she was back at his side. “It’s okay.”

The Exarch exhaled through his nose, reaching to hold Rhea’s hand in his, making sure he used the flesh one and not the crystal one. “I am happy,” he murmured.

Rhea gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m glad.”

A few quiet minutes passed, and Rhea used her free hand to stroke the Exarch’s head once more. Suddenly, he chuckled. “How did we get here? I was just coming in to ask you a personal question…”

Smiling, she gave his hair a ruffle. “I don’t think that’s important.” She paused, then added, “Look, one of these days, if we have a moment between all this crap, we’re going to have a proper date. I’m going to get some amazing chocolate, and I’m going to spoil you rotten with as many treats as you’d like.”

“So much for me being worried about tipping the scales!” He leaned back into her touch. “But I think I can handle a little pampering.”

“Please. One night of wining and dining won’t turn you into those Miqo- those Mystel from Eulmore. I think you’ll like it.” Dulia-Chai is kind of cute in her own way though, Rhea mused as she mentally prepared a shopping list for the date.

“I’ll look forward to it,” the Exarch said before glancing towards the door. “I… should probably leave when no one is around to see me do so.”

“I’m sure they’ve got security out here, not to mention the person at the front desk. I think we’re busted no matter what,” Rhea said. “Might as well stay the night, if you would like to?”

“I would like to,” the Exarch said with a nod. “You ought to get comfortable as well. And…” A smirk crossed his face. “I promise I won’t look when you remove your brassiere.”

It took Rhea a moment to remember where that came from, and she broke out into giggles. “That’s up to you, hon, though I don’t think you’ll be able to see me in the washroom from here.” She got out of bed, went to the wardrobe to pull out some pajamas, and turned around to flash the Exarch a wink. “Don’t make any trouble while I’m gone!”

“I’ll behave myself,” he replied with a grin.

As Rhea prepared for sleep with an unexpected companion, she tried to sift through her emotions and determine how she truly felt about tonight’s episode. She could not bring herself to admit that she loved him in any way, which concerned her. Still, she had decided firmly on one course of action.

I will hold him close, keep him safe, and give him all the care he could ever want.

#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2021 #crystal exarch #WoLRhea

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