for @citer

[cashewlater]

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[cashewlater]

Better than the cloth ones will. If you destroy those, too, we'll go from there.

[ it just pleases him to know that tighnari is using them at all. exhaling roughly, cyno slumps against the bedding, his eyes stinging with fatigue. ]

Will you come to bed?

[citer]

I will, in a moment. [ he returns the oils to their appropriate place, wiping his hands off with a bedside towel. they use far too many towels, he thinks - there must be a better alternative than having to clean these on the regular. but that's another thought for another day. he carefully places the seeds where he will fetch them tomorrow, then slips into bed with cyno.

his hands are warm from having exerted themselves. it feels nice, comforting. his hand brushes cyno's side. ]

Sleep in tomorrow. You need to give your body rest. We can then break fast together.

[cashewlater]

[ through lidded eyes, cyno watches tighnari as he moves, wiping his hands clean and setting the seeds aside before he's gliding into bed. cyno rolls onto his side to face him, his heavy head resting against one curled arm. tighnari's hand against his skin raises light goosebumps. ]

I'll try.

[ he's absolutely one of those people who wake up at the crack of dawn without an alarm. sleepy, exhausted, and comfortable, cyno lifts a hand to run his callused thumb along the soft slope of tighnari's jaw. his skin feels like cream. ]

Knock me out if I wake up too early.

[citer]

[ it's instinct to lean in. he allows cyno's fingers to trail, his own eyes lidding in the warmth of it. like being graced by the gentle glow of the morning sun, he thinks. his ears lower, a sidelong canopy, as his tail curls between them for warmth. ]

I will. [ he promises with a smile. ] Good night, Cyno.

[cashewlater]

[ tighnari's plush tail comes between them, and cyno drops his hand to it thoughtlessly as his eyes close, his rough fingers carding through soft, dark fur, a sound like something warm and content moving in his throat. already his body feels heavy, like he's sinking into the mattress like a stone. ]

.. good night.

[citer]

[ mornings are an odd, competitive thing - two early risers and a rising sun to chase means that it's a coin's toss as to who's up and about before the other. if tighnari wakes first today, however, it's because cyno's exhaustion must've taken the man far. he spends a few minutes observing the rise and fall of cyno's chest, listening for labour, and then critically examining him in the morning light. he seems like he's resting well, his hand having wormed its way into his tail sometime in the night and has yet to displace itself. extracting himself from cyno's grasp is a tricky thing, but he thinks he's managed it - pads across the room to begin his morning ablutions, and then, once he feels refreshed and has put on some proper clothes, he begins to harangue the kitchens.

he brings in hearty, well-baked flatbreads on stone trays, piled high with crumbly feta cheese, eggs, a smattering of walnuts and creamy sasheer smeared on a dried lotus leaf. he had fought the disapproving head chef, and won, the right to two namkeen lassis despite the early morning, along with a bowl of fruit sourced from the orchard in the outlying villages. the smell of a robust and hearty breakfast wafts throughout their shared room; he balances the trays on the low sitting table, and sets to wake cyno proper. ]

Cyno.

[cashewlater]

[ it's a testament to his exhaustion - and comfort in current company - that cyno does not wake when tighnari leaves the bed. he's an incredibly light sleeper, not only by nature, but by necessity. he's the dictionary definition of the phrase sleeping with one eye open. there are too many people who would take advantage of him in a vulnerable state. he does not move while tighnari observes him, nor when he leaves the bed, nor when he returns with laden trays piled with fragrant food.

it isn't until tighnari calls his name that cyno stirs against the bedding, his scarlet eyes cracking open, blinking blearily. he's normally the sort of man to be fully aware within seconds of waking, but this morning he is groggy, his body heavy, still both sore and satisfied from tighnari's massage. ]

'Nari.. [ he murmurs, and turns his face into the pillow with a yawn. ] .. morning.

[citer]

Ah. [ says tighnari, as he laughs. he pads over to the bed so that he can get a look at cyno proper. ] Your hair looks like a jadeplume terrorshroom.

[ his finger skims the line of cyno's hair, and then along his cheek. a quick tap to his forehead, and he leans back once more. ]

Get out of bed, and come to the sitting room. Breakfast is here, and it won't be kept warm for much longer.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno chases those fingers, leaning his head thoughtlessly into tighnari's touch, still far too bleary to follow anything but pure instinct. the moment passes quickly. ]

Mm. All right.

[ his voice is rough, and cyno clears his throat, sits up, and runs both hands through his wild hair, before he's sweeping the blanket off of his legs. ]

Thanks.

[citer]

[ cyno wakes as if he has a kshahrewar puzzle embedded in his head - flip of a switch, and his body moves to vacate the bed, an animal following its ancestral trail by instinct alone towards its destination.

tighnari shakes his head, and makes to set the table. ]

Cyno, bring out a towel when you're done. They overdid it with the oils for the flatbread, and I don't want your table to stain.

[cashewlater]

Mhm.

[ another yawn, and he's up, meandering toward the bathroom to ready himself. by the time he emerges some two minutes later, he's much more alert, refreshed and washed up, though still in his comfortable bedclothes. he'll change after breakfast.

and in his hand, a small towel, which he hands to tighnari before dropping onto the sofa. ]

Smells good. [ and ah, he even got namkeen lassi. and tighnari says he doesn't spoil him.. ]

[citer]

[ in turn, tighnari applies the towel to the table. the flatbreads steam; he grabs one and chews on it as he drops the oil-soaked towel onto the side of the platter. ]

The scent's a bit strong for me, but they did a good job with the seasoning. How is your back?

[cashewlater]

Much better. Still a little sore, but good.

[ snagging a flatbread for himself, cyno begins to dig in; he's often quite voracious in the mornings, it's one of the few chances he has to eat in the day, without interruption. ]

You did a good job. I could stand to get used to it.

[citer]

[ heh. ]

You would have to have major muscle tension issues for me to massage you that regularly. But before you get to that point, I would be obligated to intervene. Do you want to have back problems by the age of thirty?

[cashewlater]

Might be worth it, if it means I get more of that treatment.

[ heh, indeed!! ]

[citer]

This is why medicine shouldn't taste better than the suffering of the illness.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno just chuckles. ]

I'd have to be out of my mind not to enjoy a massage.

[citer]

And you'd have to be out of your mind to want back problems, but I suppose that's the issue. You are out of your mind.

[ tighnari shakes his head. ] I'm willing to concede to a massage once a week. Perhaps spacing it out will give you less excuse to over-exert.

[cashewlater]

Once a week then. No excuses to back out of it.

[ being with tighnari puts him in a good mood.. ]

[citer]

[ oh my god. ]

Cyno, that's terrible.

[cashewlater]

Not funny?

[ and, finishing off his flatbread now. ]

Back out, as in escape your duty, but it's funny, because you're also tending to my back. Wordplay.

[citer]

- I understood it! You didn't have to explain. But that joke is objectively terrible. [ JUDGMENTAL FLATBREAD EATING. ] You're in a very good mood for someone who hasn't had rest in four days.

[cashewlater]

I thought it was hysterical. [ don't you judge him you sassy fox!! ] Mm. It's good to be home, I suppose. And to have had a good night's rest.

[citer]

[ at this, his ears still in their flicker. tighnari looks at him. ]

... I see. [ in something like thoughtful wonder. ] This is your home, then.

[cashewlater]

I - well..

[ cyno hadn't meant for the conversation to deepen in this way, it had been an offhand comment, but.. his gaze drops to the plates. ]

I live here. I enjoy coming back here. That makes it home, doesn't it?