[ cyno is certainly an honest man by nature, rarely telling even harmless white lies, keeping his counsel only in matters related to work. though of course, he'd needed to be honest, growing up the way he did, distrusted by most of the people around him; attempting to fit in would have been even more difficult, had he not made the attempt to be trustworthy and truthful.
call yourself my mate again.
a surge of fondness fills cyno's breast, and his arms around tighnari gather him closer, his chin dropping to rest against his lover's shoulder. cyno's hands smooth over tighnari's, weaving their fingers together beneath the warm water, and he hums softly, whispering against his jaw. ]
I'm yours. Your partner, your friend, your mate. I love you, always.
[It takes a moment for the words to sink in; for him to realise just what Cyno said. The fact of it has never been in question. He knows that Cyno loves him just as much as the other man knows that love is wholeheartedly returned, but outside of those four little words at the time of their initial confession to one another it is something that has remained unspoken between them.
Hearing it here, now, makes the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end in the best kind of way.]
I love you too. [He tips his head back, smiles, kisses at the corner of Cyno's mouth.] I love you so much.
of course cyno knows full well that tighnari loves him, knows full well that tighnari knows that cyno loves him in return, but that does not mean that it isn't worthwhile to hear it said aloud, to profess it in measurable words. he'd been waiting for a good moment, and this is it. this must be it.
tighnari's head leans back, lips brushing, warm, and cyno turns his head to kiss him without hesitation, locking their mouths together in something deep and pulling, feeling that sweet tug of talons on his insides. he hums against tighnari's mouth, both arms around him tightening, pulling his body against his own. ]
Mmn-- Cy, you're going to get me worked up again...
[It doesn't take much right now, after all.
He would like to have an hour or so to regain some of his energy before he starts having to battle against his instincts and urges again, so he gently scolds his lover and lightly thwaps one hand against his shoulder.]
I thought I was the one who was supposed to be having trouble controlling myself right now.
I always have trouble controlling myself around you.
[ he admits, but he relents, sitting back again, his head resting against the wall behind the tub. his arms, however, remain tightly bound around his lover's middle, keeping him close, thumbs brushing soft skin in gentle circles. ]
[That's... fine, he can deal with that. He sighs and settles back again, half closing his eyes and resting one of his hands against Cyno's forearm. This is nice... and with his mind not racing like it was he can just enjoy it for the time being.]
Do you think you'd want to do that again?
[A few minutes of silence pass before he asks this, turning his head slightly to look over at the other man.]
[ tighnari rests back against him again, and cyno revels in the warm weight of his body, the scent of his hair so near. it never gets old, being close with tighnari, holding him - it feels like the easiest, most natural thing in the world, an extension of their solid, deep friendship that feels so comfortable and right. ]
Mm?
[ cyno tilts his head to better catch tighnari's eyes. ]
Yes. Absolutely. Forceful or not, that was.. good. Very good.
Good. He's glad that all of... this didn't do any damage to what was growing between them. Not that - if he was being rational about it - he would have really thought he had anything to worry about on that count.
Tighnari shifts and closes his eyes, one of his long ears flicking slightly against Cyno's temple.]
I should probably tell you... my people mate for life.
[ tighnari relaxes against him again, and cyno hums softly, gathering his arms around him again, until they're in a loose loop around him. his head turns to nuzzle at that invading ear. ]
I know.
[ he doesn't sound at all surprised. cyno has done his research. ]
I've known that for a long time. It doesn't frighten me away.
[Of course Cyno has done his research. Tighnari's people are few and reclusive and information about them in any form is limited, but he has no doubt that the other man has found every single scrap of information he can and has committed all of it to memory. His eyes dip half closed as he finds himself warmed by the thought.]
I'm lucky to have someone like you. [Another sigh as he relaxes completely, the toes of one foot poking up over the water. He wiggles them slightly.]
[ cyno feels his heart swelling in his breast, and he can't help but smile against tighnari's hair. honestly, he's the lucky one, to have earned someone like tighnari, someone so wickedly smart, sharp yet kind and warm. there's no one else cyno could ever want, no one else he could love. ]
Well, thankfully you'll never have to deal with it alone ever again.
[ he murmurs, slipping his fingers through tighnari's beneath the water, squeezing. ]
[That does sound... very nice, and a kind of confirmation of their relationship that he hadn't had until this point. Not one that was needed - he always knew Cyno would stay by him - but it's still good to hear it regardless.
He squeezes his hand around the other man's in turn and exhales slowly. That itch to mate is still present in the back of his mind and having Cyno's naked body pressed against him is not helping matters at all but he does his best to ignore it for now.
Just for now, he just wants to stay like this.]
There's a tea I can make that should help some of my symptoms. Would you come out with me later to find the ingredients I need?
[ cyno can feel it in tighnari's stature, the slowly building tension that he's trying to ignore, but his body does not lie, and cyno is well-trained to notice physical changes in a person. rising pulse, flushed skin, the slightest tightness in his voice..
but this is tighnari's time, cyno will defer to whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. ]
I'd be more than happy to.
[ as if he needs to ask. cyno would pluck the sun from the sky from tighnari if only he asked it of him. humming, he presses a kiss between tighnari's ears, his thumbs sliding over the ridges of his knuckles. ]
[One of his ears flicks but he manages not to hit Cyno in the head with it this time. Instead he just sinks a little slower against the other man's chest and pins both of his ears back, tucking them against the sides of his head.]
I can't put my entire life on hold just because of a biological urge.
[It would drive him to distraction and no doubt Cyno knows that. He's not the kind of person who can just sit around doing nothing.]
Besides, you'll be with me. What do I have to worry about?
Well, no.. but taking some time to yourself to rest and recover - there's nothing wrong with that, either.
[ and cyno would be more than happy to retrieve whatever tighnari needs on his own, quickly and efficiently. but he knows tighnari, knows that he likes to feel capable and independent, and also knows that he can't be easily talked down once he's made up his mind about something.
so. they'll be going out later. cyno hums, and rests his chin between those folded ears. ]
But, all right, we'll go together whenever you're ready.
[They really could be as stubborn as each other but thankfully understood that level of stubbornness and that it simply can't be argued against. Admittedly, if Tighnari found he was not feeling up to it later, he would probably conceed that it wasn't a good idea for him to go anywhere after all.
Right now he just doesn't want to let this get in the way.
He stretches, pressing himself back against Cyno's warm body, and reaches one hand up to play with the other man's hair.]
Before that, though... I think we could both use a nap.
[ stubborn recognizes stubborn, indeed. they know one another well enough to know which battles are worth fighting, and which are not, and this one is not. if tighnari thinks he's up for going out, then he's up for going out - he knows his body, and his limits.
when those fingers curl into his hair, cyno closes his eyes and nudges his nose gently against tighnari's jaw. ]
[And going back to bed..? That's just going to make him want to be all over Cyno again and he does want to give the other man some chance to rest before that happens. There are some things he can do to keep himself occupied.]
I'm in the middle of some research I need to complete, that should be good enough.
[ oh, cyno just figured that this was going to be a whole marathon-sex-never-leave-the-bed sort of deal here; he's both relieved and disappointed to hear that it isn't.
but whatever tighnari wants and needs - that's what's important right now. cyno hums, still nuzzling his nose to tighnari's jaw, and presses a kiss there, before he's reaching for the latch to drain the tub. ]
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call yourself my mate again.
a surge of fondness fills cyno's breast, and his arms around tighnari gather him closer, his chin dropping to rest against his lover's shoulder. cyno's hands smooth over tighnari's, weaving their fingers together beneath the warm water, and he hums softly, whispering against his jaw. ]
I'm yours. Your partner, your friend, your mate. I love you, always.
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Hearing it here, now, makes the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end in the best kind of way.]
I love you too. [He tips his head back, smiles, kisses at the corner of Cyno's mouth.] I love you so much.
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of course cyno knows full well that tighnari loves him, knows full well that tighnari knows that cyno loves him in return, but that does not mean that it isn't worthwhile to hear it said aloud, to profess it in measurable words. he'd been waiting for a good moment, and this is it. this must be it.
tighnari's head leans back, lips brushing, warm, and cyno turns his head to kiss him without hesitation, locking their mouths together in something deep and pulling, feeling that sweet tug of talons on his insides. he hums against tighnari's mouth, both arms around him tightening, pulling his body against his own. ]
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[It doesn't take much right now, after all.
He would like to have an hour or so to regain some of his energy before he starts having to battle against his instincts and urges again, so he gently scolds his lover and lightly thwaps one hand against his shoulder.]
I thought I was the one who was supposed to be having trouble controlling myself right now.
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I always have trouble controlling myself around you.
[ he admits, but he relents, sitting back again, his head resting against the wall behind the tub. his arms, however, remain tightly bound around his lover's middle, keeping him close, thumbs brushing soft skin in gentle circles. ]
It's a real wonder I managed all those years.
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Do you think you'd want to do that again?
[A few minutes of silence pass before he asks this, turning his head slightly to look over at the other man.]
In a few days, when I'm not quite so... forceful.
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Mm?
[ cyno tilts his head to better catch tighnari's eyes. ]
Yes. Absolutely. Forceful or not, that was.. good. Very good.
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[Sigh.
Good. He's glad that all of... this didn't do any damage to what was growing between them. Not that - if he was being rational about it - he would have really thought he had anything to worry about on that count.
Tighnari shifts and closes his eyes, one of his long ears flicking slightly against Cyno's temple.]
I should probably tell you... my people mate for life.
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I know.
[ he doesn't sound at all surprised. cyno has done his research. ]
I've known that for a long time. It doesn't frighten me away.
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[Of course Cyno has done his research. Tighnari's people are few and reclusive and information about them in any form is limited, but he has no doubt that the other man has found every single scrap of information he can and has committed all of it to memory. His eyes dip half closed as he finds himself warmed by the thought.]
I'm lucky to have someone like you. [Another sigh as he relaxes completely, the toes of one foot poking up over the water. He wiggles them slightly.]
This can be very lonely to deal with by myself.
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Well, thankfully you'll never have to deal with it alone ever again.
[ he murmurs, slipping his fingers through tighnari's beneath the water, squeezing. ]
I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere.
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He squeezes his hand around the other man's in turn and exhales slowly. That itch to mate is still present in the back of his mind and having Cyno's naked body pressed against him is not helping matters at all but he does his best to ignore it for now.
Just for now, he just wants to stay like this.]
There's a tea I can make that should help some of my symptoms. Would you come out with me later to find the ingredients I need?
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but this is tighnari's time, cyno will defer to whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. ]
I'd be more than happy to.
[ as if he needs to ask. cyno would pluck the sun from the sky from tighnari if only he asked it of him. humming, he presses a kiss between tighnari's ears, his thumbs sliding over the ridges of his knuckles. ]
Are you going to be up for going out?
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[One of his ears flicks but he manages not to hit Cyno in the head with it this time. Instead he just sinks a little slower against the other man's chest and pins both of his ears back, tucking them against the sides of his head.]
I can't put my entire life on hold just because of a biological urge.
[It would drive him to distraction and no doubt Cyno knows that. He's not the kind of person who can just sit around doing nothing.]
Besides, you'll be with me. What do I have to worry about?
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[ and cyno would be more than happy to retrieve whatever tighnari needs on his own, quickly and efficiently. but he knows tighnari, knows that he likes to feel capable and independent, and also knows that he can't be easily talked down once he's made up his mind about something.
so. they'll be going out later. cyno hums, and rests his chin between those folded ears. ]
But, all right, we'll go together whenever you're ready.
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[They really could be as stubborn as each other but thankfully understood that level of stubbornness and that it simply can't be argued against. Admittedly, if Tighnari found he was not feeling up to it later, he would probably conceed that it wasn't a good idea for him to go anywhere after all.
Right now he just doesn't want to let this get in the way.
He stretches, pressing himself back against Cyno's warm body, and reaches one hand up to play with the other man's hair.]
Before that, though... I think we could both use a nap.
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when those fingers curl into his hair, cyno closes his eyes and nudges his nose gently against tighnari's jaw. ]
Ready to get back to bed, then?
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[And going back to bed..? That's just going to make him want to be all over Cyno again and he does want to give the other man some chance to rest before that happens. There are some things he can do to keep himself occupied.]
I'm in the middle of some research I need to complete, that should be good enough.
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but whatever tighnari wants and needs - that's what's important right now. cyno hums, still nuzzling his nose to tighnari's jaw, and presses a kiss there, before he's reaching for the latch to drain the tub. ]
All right. I'll be around if you need anything.