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in the end, of course, it was always for you. across time and space, the labours of so many distilled to one shining point with one gatekeeper. all for you. including g’raha tia, crystal exarch, holder of a centuries-long crush on you that you’d seen only the first sparks of when you emerged triumphant from the crystal tower once again. he’d held a bow, then, his mismatched eyes sparkling. he’d been so full of energy, so bright and alive-
-and it’s not like he isn’t anymore, of course. but his intensity has calmed to a soft thrumming, his gaze less piercing. he’s matured. and so have you, after fighting your way tooth and nail through ending a war and starting several more. you haven’t realized how much you missed him, truly. you also haven’t realized how much he cares for you; not the same care as haurchefant used to lavish on you, but a more restrained version. you can tell g’raha’s become more patient. more calculating. he’s had 200 years to think things over, to bide his time. you think he’s beautiful.
you’re standing in the crystarium with him, giving a report on some aetherial fluctuations out in kholusia, and he’s facing the portal back to the Source. his hood is down, greying red hair tickling his ears, which twitch as the timbre of your voice changes with every sentence. “ah, well,” he says, turning to face you. “it seems like something we should assign ryne and thancred to investigate, i think, given that they’re already dealing with fluctuations in the Empty.”
You agree. G’raha’s eyes sparkle in the light the same way the crystalline half of his body does. it’s mesmerizing. “Was that all you had to report?”
Yes, you say, because if anything you’re honest, and you know now is when you make your departure. usually you mention something about the pixies needing helping hands, or chai-nuzz needing an ego boost, or some other busywork that the viera have asked of you. but you pause. you have nothing to do today, really. you’ve cleared your schedule. it’s just you and g’raha in this enormous crystal room, and the lack of outside responsibility allows a different tension to fall across your shoulders than what you’re used to.
you hope g’raha feels it too. he’s looking over at you, curious. “Is something wrong?” he asks, stepping closer.
No, you say. You can feel your heart hammering in your chest. You realize you’re hoping for something.
“You usually tear out of here like you’ve got vilekin in your pants,” he laughs. “It’s a nice change to see you a little more relaxed.” He’s still walking closer, definitely in your personal space. “I haven’t gotten to really catch up with you yet, you know.”
You say yeah, it really is a shame that it’s taken so long. you’re ignoring the insistent urge to close the distance, wanting to pull the tension of the moment as taut as possible. you’re patient, but the patience is fighting against your wanting, and it’s a difficult battle.
He steps forward once more, saying something else that you can’t even focus on over the rush of blood in your ears, and that’s it- he’s close enough that you can feel the heat off his skin. he reaches to brush a lock of hair off your forehead. his fingers feel electric on your skin, and you can’t help it; you grab his arm, pull him bodily closer, kiss him full on the mouth.
his lips are half flesh half crystal, but they’re soft and he’s so warm you can’t believe it. you hold him impossibly closer to you, desperate for his touch. his arms snake around your back and pull you towards him just as hard, just as insistent. he’s purring into your kisses now, eyes half-lidded. the red of them is piercing, overwhelming. you reach a hand up and run it through his hair, stopping to tweak an ear, and he moans.
you feel strangely similar to how you felt when the lightwardens’ light was infused into your being- full of sparkling heat that wanted to burst out of you in a crackling plume. but it’s just g’raha, it’s just him shining into you and giving what both of you had wanted for so many years, and you find that you’re whispering this to him, running your fingers down his chest, cupping his ass, wedging your thigh between his legs. he is purring incredibly loudly, full body rumbles that make him feel like a living earthquake.
you pull his robe open and take a second to gape at the gorgeous mingling of crystal and flesh; he’s kept himself in shape, and the glittering crystal half of him melds perfectly into taut muscle. you can feel the electric pulse of aether in the crystal half, and it’s intoxicating. you experimentally place your hand on the crystalline hip. he moans “oh,” short of breath, looking at you through thick eyelashes. you reach your aetheric presence out hesitantly, the same way you would when attuning to an aetheryte.
g’raha stiffens and shudders, and you momentarily feel exactly what he feels- your own hand on your hip, your own mouth on your lips, your own knee between your legs. it’s an incredible jolt of sensation. “what- what did you do,” he pants, face flushed and body slightly shaking. “did you just try to attune to me?”
you say yes, it seemed like a good idea, and he looks you in the eyes and grins. “only you,” he says, “would think to attune to a living crystal.”
and then he’s all over you again, suddenly taking the lead and surprising you with his ferocity as he bites down your neck and desperately gets you out of your armour. it falls with a clang on the floor but neither of you care- he’s trying to get as much of you into his hands and kissing down your torso at the same time, and you’re melting under his touch and being slightly embarrassed by it. he is taking you apart with every quick bite and kiss, leaving a trail of red splotches down your body that trails off at your bellybutton. he’s kneeling now, looking up at you. he asks “can i-“ and you don’t even need to hear the rest of the question because you want whatever he’s going to give you as soon as he’s able to provide it.
your fingers are weaving into his hair before you’re really conscious of it, making his ears flick involuntarily. he’s focused, looking up at you, red eyes shining. his tongue is so warm, slightly raspy. the sounds he makes are sending lightning down your spine. you breathe some kind of approval at him and he smiles but doesn’t stop. you can feel your aether pouring out of you heavier than air, and realize he can feel it too- his tail curls and thrashes and all this plus the sound of him panting sends you over the edge. He purrs. You can feel the reverberations through your leaking aether.
you realize, closing your eyes for a moment and panting, that you can feel his aetherial presence as well. he’s got a better hold on it than you do, more practice. it’s warm, comforting, and wraps around you like soft velvet as he stands up, leans in to kiss you again. his mouth feels perfect against yours. you pull him closer, feeling him dig his fingers into the flesh of your back as you kiss and bite down the flesh side of his neck. then you switch to the crystalline side, and try to attune to him again-
-the sound he makes sends electricity down your spine. he’s shaking like a leaf, eyes unfocused, clinging to you for balance as you gently send waves of your aether into his crystal. you can only imagine how it feels to be so intimately connected with a person’s raw energy. G’raha seems to like it, at least. He’s panting against your chest, fingers scrabbling down your back. you angle a thigh between his knees and feel him hard against your leg.
G’raha, you say, as he moans into your shoulder. Can I touch you.
He leans back to make eye contact and rolls his hips meaningfully against your leg. “please, yes.”
so you do. you unbutton his pants and kiss him and touch him, and he melts into your touch like he’s been waiting for it for years. because he has, and you know he has, and you can’t imagine the years he must have spent pining for this moment alone in this room. you picture him staring at the portal waiting for you, wondering if his grand plan would ever work, hoping against hope to find you again one day. and then you’re back in the present and G’raha is leaking in your hand and turning his face up to kiss you. you take him up on it.
can you lie down, you ask him, and he pulls you down over him as he lies on the smooth tile. he’s still got his robe on, albeit open, and it pools around him. you take the opportunity to kiss down his neck and leave a few bright red marks; he grumbles a little when he realizes what you’re doing, but it’s good-natured. as you move down his chest you can again feel him rumbling with a purr under your lips. his skin is soft, flushed a soft pink. his aether drapes itself over you again in warm heavy velvet. you inch his pants down, nuzzle his inner thigh.
“oh, oh please,” he breathes. you suddenly feel one of his hands in your hair. you smile. “if you want me to beg i’ll beg,” he says. he’s nearly whimpering. you kiss his thigh, move up a little to breathe softly on the head of his dick.
you say he doesn’t need to beg, he’s been so patient, and his mouth opens up to respond. he never gets his words out because you lick a wet stripe from the base to tip of his dick, and instead he makes an adorable surprised gasp-moan that only gets louder as you swallow him in earnest.
He tastes good, smells good, with the particular spicy muskiness that miq’ote have. he tastes clean, most of all. you can tell he’s meticulous about taking care of himself. but you’re taking him apart now, his hands curled in your hair as you move. you can hear him muttering something to himself, but it seems to be mostly gibberish. his aether is nearly suffocating you with its warmth.
you pull off him, kiss the tip of his dick, look up to make eye contact. he is staring down at you with his mouth open, eyes half lidded. “by the gods,” he whispers. “please don’t stop.”
you say you won’t, and go back to trying to swallow as much of his dick as you can. he’s gently guiding you now with the hand that’s still tangled in your hair, whispering to you little things like “you’re doing so well,” “you’re amazing,” “that feels incredible.” you momentarily wonder who’s in charge here, really, because it doesn’t seem to be you anymore, but g’raha’s hips are bucking and he’s making tiny desperate noises and you don’t particularly care anymore. you try to relax your throat as much as possible, help him feel as good as he can, and are rewarded by him coming in your mouth, thick and hot.
which is immediately followed by a wave of his aether crashing into you, like physical sunshine in its warmth. you shudder and moan as it wraps around you. G’raha is still purring, but his eyes are nearly closed now and he’s trying to pull you up to kiss him. you oblige. you know you still taste of him, but he doesn’t seem to care. “thank you,” he whispers. “i can’t say that enough.”
you tell him it was your pleasure.
he laughs, quietly. “well, it was both of our pleasures, if you want to be precise.”
you roll your eyes. a moment passes as you lie there on the floor, bodies tangled. you ask if you could take him to a bed, or somewhere a little more comfortable.
he says “oh, yes. my chambers- they’re just-“ and moves to get up, but you’re faster. you pick him up bridal-style, awaiting directions.
“i can walk, it’s not a big deal,” he starts, but you give him a meaningful look and he relents. he guides you to his bedroom, which as you expected is relatively large and extremely plush, and you place him gently on the bed before joining him. you’ve decided to be the big spoon for the time being.
you say how long were you waiting for that, g’raha?
he doesn’t answer for a beat, preferring to flip over so his face is against your chest. you give him the moment, wrapping your arms around him. finally, muffled, he says “two hundred years, and then some.”
the whole time, you say.
“since the crystal tower.” he seems embarrased by this. you touch the crystalline side of his face, run your fingers along his cheek. so long, this beautiful man waited.
you say you want to give him everything he wanted, and he nearly wails into your chest with joy.