#Daephrin Astramente

[starsworn]

Junelezen #13: Airship

(Like I could let this one go by, broken elbow be damned.)

"It needs to be at least three fulms wide," Daephrin said as he eyed the ramp being fitted to the deck of his lover's airship. "I've measured. It has to be-"

"It's three-and-a-half fulms, Lark. Relax. They know what they're doing." Sorren ran a soothing hand down Dae's back. "Trust my engineers, alright? Or at least trust that Quinn wouldn't let anything be wrong."

That calmed Dae down a little. He chuckled wryly. "Alright, alright. If Quinn's involved, it'll be perfect. He wouldn't let it be anything less for Ri." It was hard to stand back and let others ensure the larger airship was fitted for a wheelchair ramp. The ship's railing had been altered too, and there were new grooves in the flooring to enhance grip. Still, no one wanted to allow Rion and his chair to be alone on the deck of an airborne ship, so no matter how many enhancements were made, there would always be another layer of safety. Dae wanted as many layers as Sorren would let him create on an airship that wasn't his own. Viewing windows had been inset lower in places, but nothing that would compromise safety for someone standing up. New tether attachment points had been welded to the railings. The steps down into the hull were unavoidable without building a whole new airship, but Rion had agreed that someone - alright, no one but Quinn - could carry him below deck when he needed to get down there.

Dae smiled to himself at the memory of how vehemently Ri had insisted that he would be fine and no one needed to rebuild anything just to suit him. Ri didn't seem to realize how eager his older brother was to provide enough accommodations to make Ri comfortable in his life again. Dae didn't just want to talk to his little brother again - he wanted to share with him.

And taking his wheelchair-bound brother on an airship would be sharing his favorite thing ever. Well, favorite thing he was willing to share with his brother, anyway. Travel and the openness of the skies made Dae's heart flutter with excitement and he could only hope that it did the same for Rion. It wouldn't ever erase the fact that it had been his push that cost Rion his legs, but Dae would do everything in his power to restore his brother's sense of adventure and excitement. And Rion seemed willing to try.

The sky pirate was shaken from his reverie by a friendly jostle from a scarred Garlean. "You're looking serious," Quinn said as he shook Dae's shoulder. "Careful or your brother will catch it."

"My serious face?"

"Yes. Don't you dare make him frown."

"Yessir!" Dae grinned and shot Quinn a playful salute as the other left to check another aspect of the retrofit. He leaned his side into Sorren's and sighed. "It's gonna be okay."

"It is." Sorren slipped an arm over Dae's shoulders. "He'll love it. You'll see."

[placesyoucallhome]

A holiday kiss for @starsworn!

🥺 I'm a sucker for things like temple or forehead kisses ngl

My Ko-fi!

[valdiis]

FFXIV Site Write #2: Horizon

If given half a chance, Daephrin Astramente was not a morning person. He could easily sleep 'til ten bells of the morning, utterly oblivious to the world, so heavily out that lovers had been known to climb over him to get out of bed and he still wouldn't wake.

As a sky pirate, however, Daephrin was rarely given half a chance. He had treasures to beat other pirates to. This morning wasn't about treasure hunting, but he was up much too early for his own good anyway. He stood on the balcony of his Limsa apartment and stared out at the horizon, watching the rosy fingers of dawn creep up along purple clouds over a dark sea.

"Couldn't sleep?" came the words from behind him. He blinked, having not even heard the door slide open.

"Mm." Very eloquent at this hour. "Not really."

"I'm usually up well before you. What's wrong?"

Daephrin sighed and leaned forward, bracing his arms on the balcony railing. His hands hung off the edge of it over a drop of two stories. The height made him think of other falls that had been taken from this height, and the lifelong consequences thereof. He thought about his little brother far too much.

"Gonna make me guess?" asked the dark-haired Elezen that had come to stand behind him. "You know I'm not a mind-reader like Rath, right?"

At first, the only answer was a grunt, then a sigh as Dae relented. "I'm thinking about gil," he said. "And how much of it must be left in the household after all the treatments and doctors Ri has seen."

Jaxon Tavard put a hand on Dae's bare shoulder. In Limsa, one could be bare-chested at dawn in the summer - unlike Jax's place in Ishgard. "You're worried he's running out of money?"

"Yeah..." Dae tilted his head towards the hand on his shoulder, rubbing his cheek on it like an affectionate cat. Even when his mind was caught in distressing thoughts, he could find soothing in Jax's steady, calm demeanor. "I haven't talked to him about the Astramente finances yet. I just-"

"Worry," Jax finished. "If you don't know, why are you borrowing trouble over it already?" He squeezed Dae's shoulder gently and stepped closer to blanket the smaller Elezen from behind. One arm wrapped around the sky pirate's waist and the other reached over the edge of the balcony to tangle fingers with Dae's own. "Have I told you lately that you worry too much?"

That drew a little laugh from Dae and he shook his head. "Not this week, yet."

"Well, don't start fretting over something when you don't even know if it's worth being upset over. Next time we visit, talk to him about it."

Dae blew out a breath and pushed himself to relax in his lover's embrace. It wasn't hard. "Alright." He paused a moment before a hint of mischief entered his voice, "What's for breakfast?"

"I don't know. What are you cooking?"

Dae laughed, thoroughly trounced in his attempt to hint that Jax should cook instead. "How about pancakes and eggs?"

Jax nuzzled Dae's temple before pressing a little kiss there. "Sounds like a plan, Lark. Do you want to finish greeting the dawn first?" he teased.

"Ugh. No. Sunrise is pretty and all, but I'd much rather be seeing the backs of my eyelids."

(Jaxon belongs to @briar-ffxiv!)

[mimble-sparklepudding]

Aeluan Hoshinata

A Paladin, noble and brave,

Aeluan's always ready to save

The day through combat,

And if he's not doing that,

He's probably out catching a wave.

What's this washing in with the tide? It's another piece of ridiculous poetical silliness! This time to celebrate the lawful good (and lawful handsome) Aeluan Hoshinata of @sword-and-surfboard. Not only is he heroic and courageous, he's also Eorzea's foremost surfer!

Although Aeluan is a fantastic character in his own right, he is actually only one of a selection of equally engaging characters with their own blogs. These include Daephrin Astramente, the dashing sky pirate of @starsworn, and the jeweller Vy'thanis Lusignon of @vythanis. Even Aeluan's little brother Hinan Akaruta has his own blog at @chocoblep. I heartily recommend that you follow all of these blogs - and follow their main blog @valdiis whilst you're at it as well.

For not only are all these OCs interesting and really good fun, their creator is a thoroughly nice sort and entirely pleasant to interact with. Quite a bonus! I hope you will check out all these blogs if you haven't already.

[starlightinitiative]

Hello! My name is Valdiis ( @valdiis ) . I can be found on Mateus, playing Aeluan Hoshinata (or Daephrin Astramente, or a few other alts). I joined up with the Starlight Initiative because I have more gil than I know what to do with and a burning desire to make people happy with it! I love gathering too, especially when it’s gathering mats for my friends to make their housing items or submarines (TeamCraft is amazing). I also love to RP in the game, though a lot of my writing ends up in Discord these days due to time constraints and scheduling.

While I’m a tank by practice, I’m a bit of a shy tank and prefer to take things at a slower pace. I usually do the newest content with friends who can help with call-outs because I tunnel-vision during fights. That said, I’m happy to help tank for people who are patient with cautious tanks!

When I’m not in Eorzea, I enjoy cross-stitch, embroidery, silver-smithing, making mead, collecting indie perfume, and snuggling in blankets with a book or Kindle. Ask me about my nail polish of the week!

I’m so excited about the Starlight Initiative and the weekend of gifts. Please look forward to it!

[chocoblep]

#26: Change in Plans

He kept reminding himself that this was necessary. Though he’d had a will drawn up already, it needed to be revised. Taking a deep breath, M’rath stepped into the office of the official in Gridania who was in charge of the document’s safekeeping. He was also one who specialized in such things.

“Ah, Master Highvale,” said the Elezen, standing from behind his desk to approach and hold out his hand. Rath shook it, tail swishing slowly as he put a smile on his face.

“Master Perrier,” he replied, and the pair seated themselves on opposite sides of the desk. “I thank you for meeting with me today.”

“Truly, it is my pleasure,” the man said, going through the motions. Though it wasn’t exactly a lie, it was not said for the same reasons that might have been present in someone who liked him particularly well. He respected the man’s honesty, which was why he was still his client. “You wished to make some changes to your will, yes?” He asked.

“Yes. Specifically, I want to add two people to it, and I want to make a specific provision that no changes are to be made to it after my death for any reason.” Rath drummed his clawed fingers against the armrest of the plush chair he perched upon, and the Elezen nodded.

“Go on.”

“Two next of kin, though they are not related to me,” he continued, and then took a deep breath. “The first is Daephrin Astramente. He is to receive a sizeable amount equal to one-fifth of my holdings. The second is Jaxon Tavard, to be left with the same amount as Daephrin. Of what remains, my estate and the remainder of my holdings will go to Illian Runetide, on the condition that he keeps my staff employed. If he decides to dissolve the estate at any time, he has agreed to pay out two thirds of his inheritance equally divided among the staff.”

When Master Perrier had finished his notations, he leaned forward and smiled. “So still no children?”

“I would be an unfit father,” M’rath said, shaking his head. “The best I can do is give what I can to those I care for.”

“You know that it is often the very same people who say such things who are the best caregivers,” the Elezen said softly.

“I am the not-so-often situation,” M’rath said with an entirely too predatory smile as he stood. The Elezen seemed to understand, then, what M’rath did not say out loud.

He was simply too dangerous to trust with a child’s life.

“I will have this drawn up and sent to you for review within the sennight,” he said, standing once more to extend his hand for a shake. Rath took it again, squeezing, and then let go. “Thank you, Master Perrier. A good evening to you.”

As he walked the short distance to the Aethernet shard, M’rath smiled. He’d not told either Daephrin or Jaxon that he was leaving them anything; he knew they would both likely protest. Still, it felt good to finally get things in motion. And it was necessary, because taking care of his people was the thing first and foremost in his thoughts.

(( @tavard-ffxiv and @starsworn for mentions!))

[valdiis]

Look at how lovely this art is! I'm so happy and honored to get something so good!

FFxivWrite2023 Participation Prize

drew this for FFxivWrite! @valdiis 's character, Daephrin! ty to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for putting this together!

[starsworn]

Junelezen #3: Plains

As Daephrin's airship drifted over the frozen plains of the western highlands of Coerthas, he was glad that he had a mammet piloting the ship. Because Fury knew he wasn't paying a lick of attention. His gaze was snagged on the iced lake below and his thoughts snagged on an old memory.

-----

All of a proud eight years old, Dae swam towards the shore of the lake like a fish. Alright, so the sun-browned arms flailing out of the water weren't as fish-like as he imagined, but he truly wasn't a bad swimmer for someone who'd just learned that summer. He took a deep breath and dived under the surface, kicking harder to go fast. When he surfaced, he heard yelling and he reached for the bottom of the lake with his feet; it was only about four fulms deep now. Bright green eyes sought out the source of the noise, just as it stopped. In the shallows, his little brother Ri was pointing at him and shouting - but the shouts died off as he rose from the water.

"Did you think I was drowning?" he asked the four-year-old as he came close.

"Dae-dae," sniffled the toddler, nodding.

"Oh sweetheart." Though he was gangly, Dae was stronger than he appeared and he scooped up his little brother with ease. Water streamed off them both as he strode out of the shallows with Ri on his hip. "You'll learn to swim too," he reassured. "It's fun! We can start practicing by holding our breath. Do you want to try?"

Before he could even ask the question, he heard Ri take in a big gulp of air and hold it, little cheeks puffed out stubbornly. Dae laughed and set Onaerion down in the sand of the shore's edge. "Alright, I'm counting!" The toddler gasped a few moments later. "Ten seconds!" Dae declared. "That's pretty good!"

"Pre'e good!" Ri echoed with a little cheer.

"I'm proud of you," Dae said. The gods themselves knew that the children didn't hear enough of those words from their parents. He ruffled Ri's dark hair, already grown long like all the Astramente boys. Settling down in the sand, the two boys practiced holding their breath until their faces were red and their chests hurt. Their mother found them giggling and light-headed half an hour later.

-----

Daephrin blinked a few times as the frozen lake passed by beneath his airship's hull. He could still feel the warm sand beneath his bare feet. I'm proud of you. The words echoed in his memory and he wondered if Ri would be offended to hear them now. He was still proud of his little brother. More than ever, really. Ri might've had good reason to despise him, yet he forgave Dae instead. Ri had lost the use of his legs and given up on more than existing, yet when presented with a chance to live again, he'd taken it with both hands. Dae didn't think he could be that strong himself. He was so damn proud of his little brother. If only he could say so without getting smacked.

[placesyoucallhome]

For the couples pose meme, how about 1C for Dae and Yvet, just because it would amuse me.

Yvet isn't even actually mad at anything, his face is just Like That. And Dae sweating about it a little is cute. Also now his shirt is undone.

[valdiis]

A super cute chibi of Daephrin that @baronvontribble did for me! They were a sweetheart to work with, very fast, and very accommodating. Hire them for art today!

[starsworn]

Junelezen #4: Order

(Sorry y'all don't get many gposes from me. It's not my skillset.)

Daephrin wrapped tape around the box one last time to ensure its contents would be staying firmly inside until delivery. He didn't trust the postmoogles as far as he could throw one. Usually, he delivered orders himself, but this one needed delivering during a time he was going to be busy.

And Fury knew he wasn't giving up a nameday weekend celebration with his lovers for anything - even an expensive order for Allagan spare parts.

The disassembled node inside the box could (in the right hands) be reassembled into a functioning note-taking node, complete with hologram projection. Daephrin could do that kind of work himself without breaking a sweat, but it was work he charged for and several Allagan enthusiasts fancied they could do it themselves for cheaper. They usually came back to him a moon later with a heap of parts, begging to pay more gil for a functional node.

This particular client was a new one, so Dae didn't know yet if he'd be seeing these parts again or if the client was skilled enough to do their own assembly. He hummed as he spun the box on the table, checking that every seam was taped shut. As long as the postmoogle got it all there in one piece - or several pieces, as the case was - he didn't really care what the client did with it afterwards. Perhaps he was an incurious man, or perhaps he valued privacy - he wasn't sure which.

After a thorough check of the box, the sky pirate scooped it off the table and headed for the door, only to stop there so he could set the box down and put his boots on. Once fully ready to step outside, he left his apartment and headed down the lift to the ground floor and the lackadaisical postmoogle in the lobby.

"I will give you extra kupo nuts if you deliver this safely," he told the postmoogle.

"Kupo?" The moogle sounded skeptical.

"Five extra kupo nuts."

The moogle squealed and twirled around, making grabby hands for the box. Reluctantly, Dae handed it over and left the lobby. He had a date to get ready for.

[valdiis]

FFXIV Site Write #11: Surrogate

"...Once the contract holder has appointed a surrogate, the barrister must..."

Daephrin's eyes crossed. He'd been studying contract law for the last five hours. At this point, the seventeen-year-old boy would beg for arithmetic just to break up the monotony - and he hated sums. Sure, the way one could twist contracts up in knots to benefit the one drawing up the contract was interesting, but even that could only hold so much water.

"I am so bored!" he groaned as he fell back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. At least he was alone, so he was free to gripe in peace. If he didn't know he would have an exam on this in the morning, he would've entirely slacked off and not bothered with it at all. Failing the exam - any exam - was not an option for an Astramente boy. Lucarian would probably beat him bloody, and while he'd developed a peculiar taste for pain, black eyes weren't the type he enjoyed.

Still, the thought of turning his attention back to the book nearly made him sick to his stomach. Five hours was plenty. Another one wouldn't change what he did or didn't know.

Daephrin got up from his desk and crossed his room to his bed. No one would be checking in on him tonight on account of not wanting to bother him while he was studying, but just in case, he arranged his pillows in a particular fashion so that it would look like he slept soundly in his bed. That done, he found a coat, shrugged it on, and went to the window. His bedroom was on the second floor, but he was very good at climbing. No one saw him as he crept out the window and climbed down the trellis to the ground. Carefully, he sneaked past the house and off the grounds.

Freedom was a heady thing. Daephrin had fled the house in this fashion many times before, but every time made his heart sing with elation. He couldn't stand all the restrictions of his life. It drove him crazy.

He followed winding streets at random, letting himself get lost in a city he couldn't truly get lost in. Before he knew it, he was at the edge of the Brume - not exactly the best place for a well-dressed youth to be. He was about to turn around when a flash of pale hair caught his attention - just in time for a hard object to press into his right side. The owner of the pale hair had something pressed to him as a slender arm wrapped around his middle and groped at his waist.

"Go a little lower," he drawled, "if you're looking for the prize."

Great. Sassing his robber. He was going to get himself stabbed.

The ruffian giggled and Daephrin realized he was being mugged by a girl. A girl was no less dangerous, he knew, but this one was a waif and he had a pretty good chance of overpowering her, if he didn't get gutted first.

"Is that a knife?"

"O' course 'tis," she retorted, jabbing him a little harder as she searched for his money pouch. The joke was on her, though; he didn't have one on him. The fact that she was pressing the object pretty firmly against him and he wasn't yet bleeding meant it probably wasn't sharp - if it was a knife at all. Dae decided to risk it.

He dropped his weight straight down, slipping free of the girl's arms and twisting as he did so to sweep an arm out at the side of her knee. She yelped as she went down, a short stick clattering to the ground beside her. A full turn and a swing of one leg and he had her pinned to the cold cobblestone, sitting on her small chest. That's when he realized she was a Hyur, which made it all the easier to manhandle her smaller frame.

"Gerrof!" she growled, fists flailing.

"Not a chance," Dae said. "That was very rude of you to try to stab me with a stick. I don't even have any money to give you."

"Fuckin' nob!"

He chuckled and caught one of her hands. She was small and dirty and fierce, but under the dirt she was rather pretty. Daephrin liked pretty things - especially dangerous pretty things. He stared at her narrowed brown eyes. "How about I bring you dinner to make up for having no gil?"

"Wot." Her tone was flat. "Why would ye do that?"

"Because you're hungry?"

The girl scowled darkly at him. "Am not," she said mulishly. She couldn't have been more than sixteen herself. After a moment, she relented, "A'right, so I am. Gerrof me. I ent takin' yer charity. Like yer some bleedin' saint?" Her free hand whacked his thigh, but not hard enough that he couldn't ignore it.

"Definitely not a saint," Dae said. "Because my price is a kiss. I bring you dinner, you give me a kiss."

Daephrin, why are you flirting with your mugger?

He gave her a charming grin and let go of her hand. She stopped wiggling underneath him and stared at him like he had just turned into a dragon. "Yer fuckin' bonkers," she said, but her voice held a note of intrigue.

"I'm bored. You're entertaining. And pretty."

She snarled.

"My name's Daephrin. What's yours?"

The girl growled at him for a moment before relenting. "Sophia."

[starsworn]

Junelezen #6: Control

"You're not very subtle, Lark."

"Wh-" The Elezen blinked big green eyes at his lover, attempting an innocence he hadn't had since he was a teenager. "What makes you say that?"

It took every onze of Sorren's control to not laugh outright at that expression. His face was a carefully schooled neutral that gave away none of the mirth lurking beneath. He didn't want to give Daephrin too much too easily. "You're not pacing the room; you're showing off your arse in those pants."

Daephrin - Lark, to his lover - gasped dramatically. "Sorren! What sort of a man do you take me for?"

"The sort that's angling to get railed."

There was a long, pregnant pause in which Daephrin just looked at Sorren. Then he fluttered his eyelashes. "Is it working?"

Sorren's control snapped. With a hoot of laughter, he doubled over on the couch. Through mirth-teared eyes, he watched as his Lark put on an air of dramatic - and wholly false - offense that he was being laughed at. It was a pretense Dae couldn't hold for long either as his upturned nose and puffed cheeks melted into a giant grin. He sank to his knees (and Fury knew that man was built to be on his knees) beside the couch and put a hand on Sorren's thigh. As the laughter turned to wheezes, he looked up at Sorren, meeting his one eye unflinchingly. "You really should give your beloved what they want. What's the saying - 'a happy wife is a happy life'?"

"Are you my wife now?"

Daephrin hesitated a second too long. "Do you want me to be?"

Sobering, Sorren reached out a hand and ruffled Lark's hair gently. "Let's talk about that more seriously some other time, yeah?"

"Okay." Dae turned a winsome smile on the half-Elezen, easily accepting the deflection of what could've been a very emotionally fraught moment.

Relieved, Sorren relaxed back against the side of the couch. "Come here. I've stared at your arse long enough." He opened his arms to his lover and Dae climbed willingly into them, snuggling until his head was tucked beneath Sorren's chin - which wasn't hard, given that Dae was nearly a full head shorter. Sorren bent his head and planted a kiss on Dae's temple. "Tell me about your day first and why you're pacing, and then I'll fuck you silly."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

((Sorren belongs to @sorren-greystone.))

[starsworn]

Hello! I'm @valdiis for my main blog (almost entirely OOC until September's Site Write) and this is my side blog for Daephrin Astramente. Daephrin is an Ishgardian sky pirate - a handsome rogue with a warm heart and a lot of ambition. And tight pants; can't forget the tight pants. One of two "main" characters for me, he's been around in some form or another since...oh gods...2001.

I'm a writer in their early 40s who loves slice of life, adventure, romance, and even a bit of smut-with-plot. Most of my RP occurs on Discord due to ease of use, but I also love going to small, intimate venues in game and hanging out. My favorite character interaction on tumblr is ask games, so please ask me questions if you see me reblog a game!

Hi all! New year, new outreach post. Which means...

🫵 You

Yes, you! Are you a Final Fantasy XIV blog? I am looking for more people to follow!

Specifically, I like to use these posts as an excuse for a bit of community outreach and to find new blogs and people I might not know of otherwise! If your blog is primarily XIV orientated, or you have a sideblog, please like/reblog this post so myself and anyone else looking for people to follow can have a look through. You never know who you might meet or friends you'll make.

Am I following you already? Too bad, someone new to the community might not be! Let them know you're around!

Under the read more is my own introduction, but I absolutely welcome people to reblog this post and add their own. ✨ Tell me (and others) about you! If you're shy, I promise I don't bite.

If you don't know me, my name is Sea. If you do, I'm still Sea. (See what I did there?)

I'm a jack-of-all trades gposer, writer and roleplayer, with far too many oc's!

You might know me from my various projects including, but not limited to; Sea's Community Compendium (with updates posted here); Sea's Character Questions, including my single-word fic drive; and The Fireside! I'm also an officer of Firelight Trading Company <FTC> on Balmung and run a casual Tumblr Community / Discord over at SEAFLOOR!

I also have a permanent interaction call you can like here for any dash games!

Thanks for reading this far, have a great day. 🐋

[starsworn]

Junelezen #7: Death

The one to find Lucarian's body was his valet, Ivrault. By then, Daephrin was well-acquainted with death. His older brother, Sarin, had been killed by a dragon. His mother, Ilystra, had faded away due to pneumonia. Still, it was a bit of shock when his father was found dead on the floor in his study. Heart attack, or so the chirurgeons said. Daephrin had been convinced that the old bastard would live forever.

The bigger shock was realizing then that he was Lord Astramente. The study was no longer off limits. It was his. Everything in the house was his. The farms in the Coerthas Highlands were his.

As he stood beside the casket before it was to be lowered in the ground, he wondered if anyone would notice if he spit on the box. His little brother, Onaerion, looked downright relieved at the funeral. As a small stream of well-wishers passed the two young men by, each nodded and murmured something appropriate but ultimately meaningless and shook hands. Daephrin grew increasingly annoyed with all the ceremony and tradition. He just wanted Lucarian in the ground and over with. He suspected Ri felt the same.

By the time the last well-wisher was gone, Daephrin was out of patience. "Sir?" He startled to find one of the priests of Nald'thal at his side.

"Mm?"

"Would you like the shovel?"

Dae blinked dumbly at the priest. "I'm sorry?"

"The shovel. Some families find closure in throwing the first shovelful of dirt."

"Really?" Dae looked from the priest to the casket in the ground and then back to the priest. And his shovel. "Actually... Yes. Yes, I would." He took the shovel a lot less eagerly than he felt, aiming for decorum over glee. The spade went into the dirt, lifted out a sizeable amount, and then he dropped it on top of the casket. He was silent for a moment. Then... "Ri?" He held the shovel out to his younger brother. "Surprisingly therapeutic," he said. "Give it a shot."

Onaerion took the shovel and followed suit with his own chunk of dirt. "You're right." The younger Astramente couldn't quite stifle his chuckle; it sounded a little mad, but they both felt at the end of their tethers. Rion handed the shovel back to the priest. "Shall we?"

The Astramente boys nodded their thanks to the priest, joined hands, and walked away from their father's body. No more would he scream at Rion for not completing the accounts on his time schedule. No more would he throw brandy glasses at Dae's head. No more would they live under the weight of expectation and obligation from a man who only had children because he had a quota to fulfill. Sure, they were now alone in the world, but they truly had been for a year now, since Ilystra died. At least they had each other.

[valdiis]

FFXIV Site Write #23: Cloud Nine

(Includes a short excerpt of actual RP with @briar-ffxiv's Jax.)

"Anyway. The main thing I wanted to talk about is us. You and I."

Daephrin took a sip of his orange juice, then gave Jax a wan smile. "Us. Which, as far as I'm aware, is just friends. Who bang. Repeatedly. Enthusiastically." He chuckled a little, clearly trying to lighten the mood with his silliness. It was something he told himself regularly, whenever he started to forget that what Jax wanted was something casual. Of course, it had long since stopped being casual for him, but the reminders remained necessary.

Jaxon huffed quietly. "We're not friends, Dae." About half-a-second later, he literally dropped his fork in horror. "Wait-- Shite," he said intensely enough that a few people glanced toward their table and he blushed, lowering his voice. "No, wait, please," he said, gripping the other's hand almost desperately. "That's not-- Fuck, that came out so wrong, Lark."

Dae started to pull his hand back, hurt in his expression at Jax's words, but when the other bid him wait, gods...yes...fine, he would wait. But he looked wary of what Jax might say next. His heart was a lump in his throat, his earlier attempt at mirth feeling flat and unwarranted. "Not even friends...?"

A shaky sound escaped Jax. "Fuck, I'm so bad at this. This is why I don't talk about my feelings," he hissed quietly, picking up the fork and setting it down quickly as he realized he was squeezing the poor metal hard enough to warp it. "I didn't mean it like--"

Jaxon set his jaw and visibly steadied himself. "I love you, okay?

And in four words, Jax erased all that hurt and the nerves in Dae's stomach and the fears he had that he was 'too much' for Jax. Dae ducked his head a little, ears going pink as he murmured, "I know. Every time you kiss my temple, I know. I just didn't think you'd ever recognize it."

Brunch continued and Daephrin remembered most of it, but that moment was crystallized in his memory. The point at which his heart catapulted to cloud nine. Those little kisses Jax liked to give him had said what Jax himself could not for months. Sure, he'd known, but it was different hearing Jax actually admit to his feelings - to recognize it himself and begin to come to terms with it.

In the ensuing days, they'd said those words a lot to each other, affirmations that both aching hearts needed in order to mend. They'd cuddled a lot too and Dae had no complaints about that. It was that love that finally convinced him to listen to Jax's advice and write his little brother an apology letter.

That had worked out far better than he expected. Rion and Dae had reconciled - to a degree - and they now had plans for helping Rion regain some agency, if not some healing. Love had a funny way of fixing a lot of things.

As Daephrin laid in bed in Jax's bedroom and daydreamed about the moment Jax had admitted he was in love, he smiled up at the ceiling. It was one of those goofy, besotted smiles and he knew it, but no one would care.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Okay, one person would care.

Dae turned his head, still pillowed on folded arms, and leveled that smile on Jax himself. "Oh, nothing. I was thinking about your cock."

Jaxon couldn't help but snort. "You're terrible. And probably lying."

"I'm not allowed to daydream about your cock?"

"And smile like it's just told you there's double-chocolate cookies in the kitchen?"

Dae gasped and sat up. "There's cookies?!"

That drew a laugh from Jax. "Yes, I brought cookies." He crossed the room to the bed where his lover sat in naught but flannel pajama pants (it was cold in Ishgard). Bending down, he touched his lips to Dae's temple in the softest brush of a kiss. "But no cookies in bed, Lark."

"Pff. You're no fun."