A/N: Griffin has started her evening ritual when Faragonda shows up to offer a hand in more than one way. I tried to keep this fluffy but... that's not my strong suit so a bit of angst sneaked in there too.

A little gust of magic caressed her senses. The energy was calm and flowed easily through the air, reaching her and making the knots her nerves had been tied into come undone just like her brush was doing with her hair, although it was way more pleasant that the pull on her purple strands.

"Need some help with that?" Faragonda asked, stepping closer. She'd barely arrived and she was already offering her assistance, making all troubles seem far and inconsequential.

Griffin didn't fight the smile pulling at her lips. "Well, I don't need it, but it would be very much appreciated," she said, her fingers opening to allow Faragonda to pull the hairbrush out of her hand when she'd barely finished her sentence. It just made the smile widen, especially when she caught Faragonda's look in the mirror.

"It will be my pleasure," Faragonda said as she tangled her free hand into the purple locks and gently combed the hairbrush through them, making Griffin close her eyes to enjoy the moment fully. "You seem content," Faragonda noted with discernible smugness in her voice.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Griffin asked, letting herself just enjoy the moment and passing up the opportunity for some playful banter. All she needed currently was the gentleness with which Faragonda was brushing her hair.

"You mean that as long as I'm here all the troubles stay away?" Faragonda asked, but the smile that could still be heard in her voice was somewhat more insecure now. As if she had doubts about the effect she had on Griffin. Or it was simply that her own troubles couldn't melt away just because she was in the arms of someone who loved her. Either way, it was concerning to a point that Griffin couldn't allow.

"You mean that my presence doesn't make you forget your problems?" she teased as she opened her eyes to look for a reaction, hoping to lighten the mood and tell Faragonda everything she needed to hear. They'd never needed to speak to communicate but she was prepared for a heartfelt conversation if that was what was necessary to disperse the clouds over Faragonda's mind.

The smile that appeared on Faragonda's face was enough to let her know she'd succeeded. "I would never dare to insinuate that," she teased back, making Griffin roll her eyes playfully at the feigned fear of her.

She reached behind and caught Faragonda's hand, waiting for her to untangle it from her hair so that she could lace their feelings together. "Good," she said, making sure to hold Faragonda's gaze in the mirror, "because I need your whole focus while you're helping me with my evening routine." She placed a kiss on the back of Faragonda's hand to show her gratitude in advance.

Faragonda sighed dramatically, looking to the sky as if it could open and suck her up to save her from Griffin's special brand of sweet torture. "Magic rituals require less preparations than your bedtime does," she whined while she kept brushing the purple locks which defeated the purpose of her complaining.

"Shut up," Griffin pulled her hand out of Faragonda's, trying to play offended but the laughter bubbled in her, making the task impossible. "I'm doing all of this to be beautiful for you," she said, immediately regretting the words when her voice got smaller, the insecurities the existence of which she was doing her best to deny jumping on her despite the playful tone of the conversation, threatening to ruin everything with her own fragility that she hated so much.

"You're always beautiful to me," Faragonda said, having sensed where her mind had gone to, but that only made Griffin look away since she didn't want to face her own weakness in the mirror. She had enough of that every morning. "Griffin, look at me," Faragonda urged softly, both of her hands on Griffin's shoulders now, even if she was still holding the hairbrush, and compelled her to comply with the request. "Always," Faragonda said, her gaze so intense that it was impossible for any doubts not to crumble under it.

Griffin felt her whole face soften as her heart relaxed. "Sweet talker," she murmured as she couldn't quite find it in herself to give the charade her everything when Faragonda had genuinely touched her. But accepting reassurance meant admitting the insecurities had gotten the best of her and she wasn't ready to admit that defeat.

"Well, I don't need to talk to convince you of how beautiful you are," Faragonda said, knowing her well enough to not get offended even when Griffin was slightly offended by her own behavior on her behalf.

She raised her eyebrows and let her lips form a silent 'oh?' that was that much more comedic for it before turning around in her chair to face Faragonda. "I might give you a chance to prove that claim to me if you ask nicely," she said, pulling the hairbrush from Faragonda's hand in an invitation to make a move and employing her magic to drop it off on her vanity.

Faragonda didn't need more. She leaned down and captured Griffin's lips in an intense kiss while she tangled her hands in the purple locks, pulling on them slightly as she did so and making Griffin moan in her mouth as sign number one that she believed her. And if she knew Faragonda, she wouldn't stop before she'd gotten at least, like, a hundred of those and made her forget everything from her insecurities to her unfinished evening ritual.