#I just love them so much..... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blissfulalchemist · 2 years

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❛ i want to see your true face. ❜ whoever you’re feeling!

Sooooo I couldn't put the exact prompt in this but it does have the vibes I hope as I really did write this with the intention to put the exact phrasing in there but it just didn’t work out as such. but I do hope you’re able to enjoy a little Anthea and Hythlodaeus!

spoiler warning for Endwalker things, no other warnings needed other then them being sweet and cute.

word count: 5k

“Anthea,” Hythlodaeus begins, “I’ve been curious about something.” They look up, giving a small tilt of their head, “Why don’t you feel comfortable taking your mask off?” Anthea touches the smooth mask frowning, “I’m not saying that you have to, I would never dream of forcing such a thing on you, I just don’t believe I’ve ever seen you without it.”

“Oh, I guess I just start to forget that I even have it on.” They let their fingers trace along the edges, “I don’t mean to disrespect you or hurt your feelings in any way.”

“You haven’t,” he says with a smile that shines ever more bright in the late afternoon sun, “I feel we’ve known each other for quite awhile and I guess I just assumed that you would have felt comfortable enough to take your mask off around me.”

They pull their knees up, hugging them to their chest, “I do. I would. I just,” Anthea hums a moment, eyes staring off the edge of the Twelve Wonders, “well I don’t think I’ve ever removed it for anyone beyond my parents or for identification.” Anthea gives a light laugh, glancing back over at Hythlodaeus, “It’s not like I hang around that many people outside of work, so there isn’t too much of a point is there.”

“I guess you’re right,” he moves closer, watching to see if they shift unconsciously like they have before, which doesn’t happen, Anthea staying in place, making him smile. “You said that you forget that you have it on at times, do you believe it to be something that is so integral to who you are that it feels natural?”

“I-. Huh,” they hum, eyes fixating on the green grass below them, “I’m not sure.” Anthea looks up once again, “I would assume as much.”

“Would you like to try and see if it is?”

“How would we determine if it feels natural when the first instinct is to quickly put it back on?”

He chuckles with a shake of his head, “You make a very good point.” He taps the side of his head three times before his face lights up once more, “We shall give it five minutes.”

Anthea’s brow furrows, “Five minutes? That doesn’t seem like a lot of time?”

“It will feel a lot longer if it makes you that uncomfortable. If by the time five minutes is up and you wish to have your mask back on then you are more than welcome to do so.”

“But only if I agree?”

“Of course, my darling,” he moves closer, fingertips lightly holding onto the mask, Anthea’s hands placing themselves over his, “I just wish to see the face that belongs to a color I hold so dear.”

Gently he lifts the mask away from them, Anthea hanging their head as the light breeze tickles their cheeks. Hythlodaeus sets the mask aside, smiling as he watches them shake their hair out, their smile meek. Anthea’s cheeks never lose the tinge of pink he thought came from the initial chill and doesn’t match the red he can see start to sneak up their neck. Still they keep their head down and he finds himself gently laying a hand on their face, thumb caressing Anthea’s cheekbone as he tilts their face to his. He can’t help but laugh softly when their eyes still remain cast down. Their pale skin is so soft against his, their dark teal hair falling into eyes that he assumed would be bigger, but possible their long eyelashes will create such an illusion once open….and he wants nothing more than to bring his lips to theirs.

He finds himself stopping when Anthea finally opens their eyes revealing them to be so pale a grey he has to blink a few times to make sure the light hasn’t washed away any other color. Anthea looks up at him with a fading smile, eyes growing bigger the longer Hythlodaeus stays silent. “For such a bright color of a soul,” he begins softly, “your eyes were the last thing I could have imagined to be lacking in color.”

“O-oh, I um, is-is that a bad thing? Not what you imagined,” Or wanted I’m sure.

“Quite the opposite really. You’re absolutely fascinating, Anthea,” his other hand joins in cupping their face, “You never cease to surprise me and I look forward to the next one.”

They can feel the heat rushing to their cheeks, wanting to turn away but stuck in his eyes and the way he moves closer to them. Their eyes close at the same time and Anthea can feel their heart pound away with each millisecond his skin is in contact with theirs. His breath against their lips, space between them closing until….

….Slowly, tentatively, and all at once their lips meet for the first time….

He crosses his arms leaning against the wooden light pole, smiling as he watches Ellen set up the flower stand with the other botanists. Her smile bright, laughter music, her grey eyes shining against her sun kissed skin, and shoulder length aquamarine hair blowing in the wind, a color that complements her sapphire soul making it shine brighter than the dark teal he had once known her to have bringing out the green undertones. It’s the only confirmation he has to know that she was once the love of his life, that distinct color he swears he had never seen anywhere else, one he had memorized and studied long before he memorized the subtle blues of their eyes, I wonder if I’ll still find those same colors in your eyes Ellen. He looks down at the ground with a sigh, still warring over if he should attempt to awaken Ellen’s memories to when she was Anthea.

Hythldaeus didn’t need the memory stones according to Emet-Selch, but there was one still out there for her, with the Warrior of Light, along with the one made for him. Emet had told him the tale of how Artemis awoke the memories of his beloved Gaia without one, but there were costs that could come with it, for Gaia it was the continual loss of her memories, from those of before the Final Days and any in her current life. So the question became one of him being selfish enough to try when, as Ellen, she seemed so much happier and livelier, unknowing if they would be able to hold the burden of their past. Not to mention the answer to whether or not they would even still feel the same way about him, or did his sacrifice cause a permanent rift between them. He’s still sure that Anthea was upset with him, would want little to do with him, had only stayed all those years on the moon for Venat, and that his message he requested of the Warrior was lost on them.

He looks back up with a sigh, starting to pull up the hood of his cloak to cast bigger shadows over the half mask he wears to hide the three lined scar across his right eye, a habit of who he was before the Final Days struck the star once again. He’s checking once more that his black hair isn’t going to impair his vision when a bright orange tinted hue catches his peripherals. Hythlodaeus turns quickly to see a face that is recognizable beyond the talks and legends of his deeds, the face of this shard of his old friend’s soul, the famed Warrior of Light Demos. He’s still dressed in the signature dark forest green from the two times they first met and looking much more at ease among those he’s grown up with assisting with some crates brought from the blacksmiths of Thavnair if Hythlodaeus remembers correctly. He’s just saying goodbye, readying to move onto the next set of individuals that will no doubt ask for his help and he will in turn no doubt accept, when Hythlodaeus approaches him. Demos’ lilac eyes pass over him even when he waves to signal his approach.

“Hello my new old friend,” Hythlodaeus says when he gets close enough, Demos stopping in his tracks. The warrior turns slowly with a furrowed brow, “It is lovely to see you again.”

“Do-. Do I know you?” He asks, eyes looking up and down Hythlodaeus, “If we’ve met before I’m sorry if I can’t remember your name. I’m better with faces.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it with the artistic skills I was told you possess.” Demos still looks at him confused, “Oh! Right the mask, I apologize, but I’m afraid it will be of no help to you, my friend, we have not met while in this form,” He chuckles, a loose fist placed in front of his mouth, “Or at least from what I can recall.”

“Not while in this-,” he repeats softly, eyes getting bigger as the pieces fall, “Hyth-Hythlosaeus? Is that really you?”

“It is indeed. Did I not tell you that we would meet again under much better circumstances.”

The warrior laughs, crossing his arms, “I believe you said that you hoped we would.” He shakes his head, brow furrowing, “Wait how-how did you get your memories back? Did Emet-?”

“No. They came back when the sky darkened for a brief moment and the towers appeared.” Demos nods solemnly, “It seems it was a big enough trigger to bring such things back.”

“So how did you get here of all places,” Demos smirks, crossing his arms, “Did you come looking for me?”

He laughs, “No, meeting you here was merely a happy coincidence.”

“Then how?” He gestures to the Ishgardian crest that pins his cloak together in the front, “Seems like you didn’t live here your whole life.”

“Ah, right,” Hythlodaeus traces the edges of the clasp, “I was traveling through Coerthas, sent to assist in the efforts of rebuilding parts of Gyr Abania when it all happened. Seems that while I lost most of my creation magics they instead manifested in various forms of carpentry. I actually came here in search of….,” he glances back over at the stand where he sees Ellen handing a small corsage to a little girl bringing a smile to his face.

Demos glances over, giving Hytholdaeus a soft smile, “You came in search of Anthea.” He nods with a sheepish smile as he looks away, “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it would be Ellen of all people.”

“Seems I was correct in that Anthea’s love for plants stayed with their soul.”

“It sure did,” Demos chuckles, “You know when I was younger and wasn’t inclined to learn the business side of blacksmithing I would climb the trees, trying to draw the leaves better, and once I got too focused and fell out of the tree right into her freshly sprouted carrots I think it was. She would not let me hear the end of it.” The two laugh, “More so when she was ‘hired’ to be my babysitter whenever we visited Gridania until I was twelve I believe.”

“Anthea got that way once when some creature or another decided to make a meal of something they just created,” he chuckles at the memory, “and I made the mistake of agreeing to watch it while its assigned researcher rounded up the others.”

“And let me guess, you had to go somewhere for all of five minutes?”

“Twas not my intention to make them a babysitter. It was adorable seeing them huff the entire time.”

Demos takes in the way that Hythlodaeus gazes at Ellen with a sad smile, “So why are you over here and not there?”

“She doesn’t remember her time as Anthea. If I’m being honest she is much different than the Anthea I once knew, much like you are nothing like the Azem I knew.”

“And so you don’t feel the same way about Ellen as you do for Anthea?”

He shakes his head, “No. Quite the opposite. I ended up falling in love with her.” He lets out a sigh, smiling, “I love Ellen, Demos, and because of that I can’t bring myself to potentially awaken those memories.” He faces Demos once more with eyes cast down, “They spent thousands upon thousands of years all alone on that moon. I left them to save the star. They may never want to see me again if I remind them of how much pain they’ve endured.”

Demos looks down at his hip to the journal he found among his things that contained some of his time on Elpis. “Do you remember when you asked me to show the Elpis flower to them back on the moon?”

“Yes. I asked you to show them the color it became when you thought about love.”

“Yeah, and they immediately asked if I had seen you. If it was you that had me show them the flower. When I said yes they spoke much happier and it was how we even knew to find out more about the past.”

Hythlodaeus smiles, “That is a comfort, I will admit.” The two look over at Ellen who waves excitedly when their eyes meet going back to work, “Still there is the question on how their life will change once they remember. I seem to be the one that didn’t have many connections in this life, but Ellen as you can see has a life here.”

“One that you could easily become a part of,” Demos points out, catching how Ellen glances at Hythlodaeus before turning away with a blush, “I think she likes you too.”

“What!” He says, taking a step back, “I-. I was not-. She-.”

“I can see her looking at you, trying to act like she’s busy.” He laughs as Hythlodaeus’ mouth falls open, “Look you said it yourself, you love Ellen too, so why not just focus on that? You have a chance to live out a full life with them, so don’t let it go to waste.”

“Have you heard nothing of what I just said? It's a little more complicated, my friend.”

“All I hear is how you’re scared to take a chance,” he nudges him towards the flower stand, “So take it from someone that was scared once also and ask her before it's too late.” Hythlodaeus sighs, shoulders hanging, “Come on. I’ll even go with you.” Before he has a moment to protest Demos grabs his arm dragging him towards Ellen, who’s smile brightens seeing them approach.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Demos Reyes,” she says with a laugh, hands on her hips, “Come to study your flowers again now that you’ve saved the world?”

“I’ve moved beyond flowers at this point, Ellen,” he says with a laugh, “But if you got any new ones for me I’d consider it.”

She shakes her head, “He would ‘consider it’. Do you hear this man Heath?” Ellen crosses her arms with a smirk, “Can’t believe you think you’re too good for my flowers. You know I was thinking about selling this.” She pulls out a battered journal, “How much do you think the first ever completed journal of sketches done by the Warrior of Light would sell for?”

“You kept that?”

“Of course I did, you gave it to me as a gift,” she flips it open to the first page, “You even wrote a nice little note in here.”

Demos’ smile quickly dissipates, “Did I?”

She nods, “Oh yes. Here let me refresh your memory.” Ellen clears her throat, “My dearest Ellen. Never before have I witnessed-.”

Demos lunges for the book, Ellen evading him with ease, “I think that’s enough.”

“Oh no,” Hythlodaeus says with a chuckle, “Please do continue.”

“Gladly. Never before have I witnessed such beauty than the musical sound of your laughter. To see the way you arrange such colors as you tell me about each flower fills my heart-.”

“Please stop,” Demos tries again, Ellen holding the book above her head.

“Fills my heart with such joy that I must try,” she laughs, jumping to try and avoid him, Hythlodaeus taking it from her hand holding it higher.

“Oh not you too!” His fingertips just brush the edges of the journal, “Look I was twelve! Ellen please.”

She giggles, putting her hand out, “Come on Heath, I’ll show it to you later.”

“You know speaking of Heath, I originally came here because he,” Demos takes a step back pushing a wide eyes Hythlodaeus forward, “wanted to ask you something.”

“Is this true,” she asks looking at him adoringly, blush forming, “Do you have something to ask me?”

He takes a deep breath, nodding, “Uh, I was uhm, wondering-,” he clears his throat, “I was just wondering what you have special for the festival today?”

“Oh, right,” she says, her smile falling causing Hytholdaeus’ breath to catch as Demos shakes his head, suppressing a groan. “Well I….,” she starts to look around the stand catching sight of the heartbloom hidden among the woven baskets, her smile returning, “I actually have something special to show you. But!” She says a curiosity coming to mind, “Only if I get to see you without that mask for once.”

His fingertips trace along the edges, heart beating faster, “I-. I don’t know about that.”

“Just for a little bit?”

“Why are you so curious now?”

She looks down, hands clasped in front of her, “Well I always have been, I’ve never seen you without it, but I was also thinking maybe we-.” She shakes her head, giggling, “Never mind. Just uh forget it. It’s stupid anyways.” She waves the comment off, “You’re just a little odd sometimes you know that?” Ellen leans over the counter grabbing hold of the potted heartbloom.

“I just wish to see the face that belongs to a color I hold so dear.”, The memory pulls at him, breaking his heart knowing they’ve switched roles, and knowing exactly how she feels, “You just simply wish to know the face that belongs to a friend you hold so dear.” Hythlodaeus pushes his hood back, looking down at the ground, “And you should know that I hate to disappoint. Especially you, Ellen.”

She looks up at him, nodding slowly, “Only if you feel comfortable doing so. I-. Well, uhm, you don’t owe me the story behind the mask.”

He smiles, taking the mask off, “Maybe it's about time that I see if it really is a part of me.” She watches as he looks up at her with amethyst eyes that enrapture her and freeze her in place.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall on you. You’re not hurt are you.” “I’m quite fine, so there’s no need to be sorry.”

“You should join me for dinner with some friends. No sense in you eating all by yourself.”

“I-. I don’t want to lose you! Please! Reconsider Hythlodaeus.” “Anthea please understand-.” “I do and that’s what makes this all the harder.”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him happier than being with you, Anthea.” “He can’t be that-.” “If I can be frank, Venat and I can almost recite his stories about you. The only one who listens as if it's the first time with each retelling is Deimos.”

“I’ve been asked to become the head of the Bureau of Architecture.” “Meaning you’ll be much too busy to make as many trips out here.” “And you’re busy enough as it is with your work here. I also would never dream of making you stop your work.” “But there are plenty of others that can take my place. Why don’t I move with you to Amaurot?”

“You know there is a possibility that you may never return to him.” “I know, but I owe it to him to fulfill my purpose which I know now is to keep watch until it's time to shepard the sacrificed to the aetherial sea.”

“Demos, this is Anthea, a brilliant researcher and creationist of Elpis.” “I wouldn’t say that, and its former researcher. I’m simply consulting today since you decided to run off from our picnic.” “I shall always try to answer the call of a friend, besides you didn’t even try to stop me.”

“I’ve watched them look over us everyday for thousands upon thousands of years, and I find that of great comfort knowing they’re there safe.”

“Did you happen to encounter Hythlodaeus down there? Of course it would be him, even after all this time he still has his big hopeful heart. I hope to be a part of it again one day.”

“You are full of surprises, and I can’t wait to see the next one.”

“I’ve never met anyone like you. Never met anyone that I feel the most comfortable to be myself around.”

“….I love you….”

Anthea’s breathing stops as the whispered memories of a kiss at the edge of The Twelve Wonders linger on their lips until his purple eyes come back into focus. For a brief moment they no longer see the short black hair of the man before them, but that of the long and braided lavender from the first time they saw his face in that office with the bright glowing white flower between them, just as it is now. Their eyes start to fill with tears as the world shifts back to that of Gridania preparing for one of its festivals, hand slowly reaching for him. They take in the pale skin, black hair, jaw that’s now harsher in its angles, the significant height he now has on them, and the scarring on their right eye that still doesn’t take away from eyes that they would know anywhere.

“Is-? Is it really you, Hythlodaeus?” He smiles, nodding as the tears fill his eyes, Anthea’s breaking free as they wrap their arms around him. “You found me. You found me, my love!”

He buries his face into the crook of their neck, his own tears falling free, “Of course I did. I would never have stopped looking for you.” His arms tighten, Anthea attempting the same despite the flower they hold, tears falling freely as their bodies finally relax into each other. “I had to make sure you were safe.”

“I always will be, now that you’re here.” They pull away first wiping away at their face smiling, “I just can’t believe it still. Of all the ways we could have ended up, out of all the people on the star-.”

“Neither can I, my dear.” He holds onto their face, leaning down for their lips to meet, both smiling as they kiss deeply. Demos looks away, his eye focusing instead on the Elpis flower that begins to shift in color. Swaying between a blue and magenta before settling on a violet color he’d only seen once before, his time on Elpis revealing it the color to be that of sadness and despair. He casts his eyes down, frowning as the color stays and he gathers the words needed to tell them.

“Hythlodaeus,” Anthea says excitedly, “look. It glows. Just like I was hoping it would.”

“Hoping it would?”

“Well I-. I was wanting to show it to you hoping that you would finally get the hint that I-,” they laugh, rubbing the back of their neck, “Guess it doesn’t matter anymore since well-.”

He grabs onto their hand, “But now we get to see it together as we should have been able to all those years ago.”

“So then you think this is-.”

He nods, “What comes from the emotion of love.” He looks up at Demos who begins to shake his head, “Remind me what color had appeared when you showed it to Anthea?”

“It was a pink rose color,” he sighs, “But you should know-.”

Hythldaeus holds his chin, Anthea holding the flower up to his eye level, “Interesting. Have you seen it be a consistent color for the same emotion?”

“Wait-.”

Anthea shakes their head, “No. In fact this was just a fluke that I was even able to grow it. Heartblooms are rare flowers.”

“How did you come across it?”

“Guys I have-.”

Anthea hums, “I traded with a Gleaner, long time ago. They claimed to have all these seeds they knew nothing about and so I got curious. I didn’t know what any of them would be either, so I planted a new one every month. Some were roses, carnations, lilies-.”

“And then your Elpis flower. Which has me curious just how much is known about dyn-.”

“Hey!” Demos says a little more forcefully, the two finally looking back his way, “You both should know that I know what that color means. I’ve seen it once before.” The couple nod, facing him, “It represents sadness and despair, not love. I’m-. I’m sorry.”

Anthea and Hythlodaeus look down at the glowing flower, faces losing any emotion on them. Anthea is the first to look back over at Demos with a furrowed brow, “Well see now that doesn’t make any sense. I’m certainly not feeling anything close to sad. Are you?” Hythlodaeus shakes his head, “So that just leaves you Demos and well it's two of us feeling the opposite so unless you’re that down, in which case we need to get you help right away, you can’t be affecting it.”

“Should we be concerned for your well being Demos,” Hythlodaeus asks.

The warrior shakes his head, “Uh, no? I’ve-. I’ve been doing pretty good since coming back home.”

“I’m very glad to hear that,” he smiles before his attention focuses back on Anthea, “But, Anthea, that does mean it's something else for you to look into,” Hythlodaeus says, “Well if you wanted to return to being a researcher. Guess that could have changed considering-.”

“I do still have a bit of an interest in such things. It’s just a bit harder to do.”

“Ah I see.”

Demos clears his throat, “Did you ever want to maybe visit Old Shaylan? They have a ton of research there.”

Their eyes grow wide, “That-. Well it’s- it's similar to the Anamnesis Anyder, correct?”

He shrugs, “I guess something like that. Would you want me to-?”

“Yes!” They exclaim before clearing their throat looking down at the ground, Hythlodaeus hiding his laughter, “I mean, uhm, that would be kind of you, yes.”

“Be my honor and pleasure. I’ll let you know, when I find out,” he smiles, taking a step back, “In the meantime I’ll just uh give you guys some space.” The two of them have already turned back engaging in conversation so quickly and animatedly that the only thing Demos picks out is Anthea asking Hythlodaeus if he said his name was Heath because he almost told Ellen his real name. He backs away, taking out his journal and flipping to the sketch from when the three of them sat and watched as Emet helped with the charybdis, smiling as he looks back up at them to see the similarities despite their bodies being completely new. The way Hythlodaeus always tries to look polite in his laughter, the way Anthea always has a blush to their cheeks, his smile still having this sneakiness that Demos couldn’t ever hope to capture fully, and the gentle way that Anthea looks at the individual pet-.

He winces hearing the loud ringing in his ears, clutching onto the nearest thing to balance himself as he starts to look through the eyes of another.

“Over here my friend!” He hears his friend, Hythlodaeus, call out, waving to the soft spot of grass they frequent whenever he visits Elpis. He smiles, waving back, hiking the bag on his shoulder just a bit higher. Anthea smiles and shifts to make a little more room for him on the grass making Hythlodaeus sit up against them more. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I come bearing gifts!” He says letting the wind blow off his black hood and blonde hair into his eyes. He settles himself with a groan, shaking his hair out once the mask of the Convocation is removed, “I figured you of all people should bear witness to the success of my latest endeavor.”

“No need to thank me, Deimos, it was no trouble for a dear friend.”

He laughs, “Well I doubt you’ll be saying that once you get your lecture. Emet-Selch had much to say on the matter to me.”

“As if that should be much of a surprise to you at this point,” Anthea says with a giggle, fingers starting to run through Hythlodaeus’ lavender hair, “but he sure did make it clear he did not approve of your actions my love.” Hythlodaeus gives her a small shrug in response.

“He will soon get over it, for even he can’t deny that it was a very clever plan.” He pulls out the plans for the Ifrit, handing them over, “Still, best to put this back as soon as you can.”

Anthea sighs, smile never leaving their face, tapping him and Hythlodaeus lightly with the rolled up schematics, “You two need to stop encouraging each other one of these days.”

He laughs pulling out the small container of fruit, “Awww Thea, where's the fun in that?” They roll their eyes, “Besides if I hadn’t then I wouldn’t have been able to get you these,” he hands over the tied bundle of flowers to Anthea, “I made sure to keep the stems long since I hear you’ve been practicing and coming up with new methods.”

“Well see now I forgive you and have ample incentive to defend you,” they give a small tap to Hythlodaeus who sits up letting Anthea settle with the flowers in front of them. They begin to braid the stems inspecting each bloom intently, all the while he and Hythlodaeus share in the food waiting for the inevitable handmade flower crowns discussing the finer details of this act of heroism.

Demos rubs his temples, inhaling deeply, steadying himself as the world shifts back to one he’s always known, the ringing long gone and replaced by the idle chatter of Gridania. He looks up to watch as the couple walk away hand in hand, Anthea’s head resting on his arm. Smiling he whispers, “See you soon my old new friends.”

#I just love them so much.....#like you don't even know how much room they decided to take up in my brain #hythlodaeus #hythlodaeusxoc #ffxiv #x: as long as you exist #the written word #we also say no to banners because I want to get this out there

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