A/N: BIG spoilers for the latest Inazuma Updates! This is post the current Archon Quest. Mentions of mild injuries, but otherwise tame and full of comfort.

Komore Teahouse was quiet and still. Though the shutters on the window were tilted down, closing out the outside world, the noise from the streets still filtered in. Heavy regimented boots patrolled the roads. The crowd, dispersed as it was, formed in newer, smaller clusters, chattering nervously to each other. An hour had passed since the failed ceremony, and Inazuma City was still in an uproar.

An hour had passed since the failed ceremony, and Thoma still couldn't hear himself think over the sound of his racing heart.

He was trying to ignore it. The minute Aether peeled away from him, heading for the lower parts of the City, he'd been ushered into the teahouse and stuffed away in one of the empty rooms. No sign of Ayaka, only a few teahouse workers whose faces blended together as they brought bundles of discrete clothing and a cloth to clean the cold sweat off his face. Bandages, too, to wrap his bruised and aching wrists.

Thoma ignored the stack of supplies, pacing back and forth, keeping away from the window. Nobody came to visit him after that, but he heard noise in the corridors as people scurried by. He knew better than to go out wandering in this state, but every part of him wanted to be out there, fighting and gathering information. He wanted to see Ayaka. He wanted to know if Aether was okay.

Taroumaru barked from somewhere near the front of the teahouse. That was where he always was, and barking was what he always did, but the abrupt sound still sent a jolt of fear through Thoma. Not fear, he tried to tell himself, as his heart pounded. It wasn't fear that he felt. It was a healthy respect for the troubling circumstances, that was all. A rush of anticipation.

The door creaked open, and Thoma shot upright, reaching for the familiar warmth of his Vision. But the first hint of Ayaka's pale hair soothed his panic, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ayaka," he said, his shoulders slumping. "I didn't think I'd see you for a while. You don't have duties to attend to?"

"My duties can wait," Ayaka said. "I wanted to… forgive me, but I had to see that you were okay with my own two eyes."

Ayaka had already seen him, but only very briefly outside the teahouse before she was swarmed with clan members, seeking advice and orders. She'd been quickly swept away before Thoma could get near enough to guess at her emotional state, but she had seen him. He was careful to make sure of it. But forgiveness wasn't necessary, and although he understood why she asked for it, given her upbringing, it still made his heart twinge.

"I'm fine," Thoma said, plopping down on the nearest cushion, the table between them. "Not a scratch on me, see?" He carefully turned his wrists over, hiding the raw marks from view, and waggled his fingers demonstrably. "Right as rain, I promise."

There was a sing-song quality to his voice that felt strained, unusually forced. Ayaka said nothing, biting her lip. Worry struck him suddenly, and he leaned forward over the table.

"Did you hear anything?" Thoma demanded urgently. "Did they make it okay?"

It wasn't right to speak to her that way, not in his position, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Ayaka dipped her head, an elegant motion, as she shut the door behind her.

"The Traveller and Paimon made it safely to their boat," she said, smoothing down her skirts. "We had eyes on them until they reached the shore, and there was no trouble. They should make it to the Resistance soon if they don't make any stops. I expect they should arrive within two days, with any luck. It's up to them now."

Thoma gripped the edge of the table, the forced cheer peeling off him. He didn't have the energy to pretend to be completely fine, but with Ayaka, it wasn't necessary. She saw right through him, even though she was usually kind enough not to point out the cracks in his mask.

"That's good," Thoma said. "Gorou can take care of them. I suppose we just have to wait and see what happens."

"We have contacts in the Resistance," she said softly. "Someone will contact us when they arrive. Aether is fairly strong, don't you agree?"

There was no question of that, not anymore. Any doubts Thoma might have had about Aether's capability were laid to rest not long after their first meeting, but they were thoroughly buried after the show-down with Baal.

"You don't need to worry," Ayaka continued, settling gracefully on the cushion opposite him. "Aether can handle himself, and Paimon will make sure he keeps himself safe. Focus on yourself, Thoma."

"What's there to focus on, other than my dazzling good looks?" Thoma shrugged blithely, a small, tired grin on his face. "I told you, Ayaka. I'm fine. And there isn't much to think about right now. I can't leave Komore Teahouse, can I?"

"I don't think Taroumaru would allow it even if there was a safer option."

Thoma drummed his fingers restlessly on the table. They didn't speak for a while, and the light grew low and dim, shining through the shutters like sunlight through leaves. It dappled the table. Ayaka arranged to have onigiri and fresh tea brought to them. When it arrived, she set their plates and poured the drinks, vapour coiling in the air. Thoma came back to himself at the clink of clay, and shook himself out of a doze.

"I should be doing that," Thoma said, reaching out to take the teapot.

Ayaka's delicate fan darted out, quick and deadly, and slapped his hand away with frosty precision. He yelped, pulling his arm against his chest. He'd not even noticed the fan until it was being used to beat him.

"Ayaka!"

"Thoma," she said, as though they were greeting each other cordially. "Sugar?"

"You know how I take my tea by now," he grumbled, but he begrudgingly accepted the cup when she pushed it towards him. "You're going to run me out of a job at this rate."

"That is hardly possible."

Thoma paused. He met Ayaka's kind, soft eyes over the cups, and something warm swelled inside his chest. It felt too big and overwhelming to be simple gratitude, but he thanked her anyway.

"Oh, drink your tea," Ayaka said, which was her polite way of telling him to shut up. Thoma's dearest wish was to hear her say it outright, the way common folk do. "We can discuss what to do afterwards. The Kamisato Clan have enough influence to keep anyone from investigating here too closely, and the Teahouse comes with its own reputation, of course, but we still have to be careful."

"I'll lay low," Thoma said. "I have a feeling we won't be able to stick around for too long if things keep picking up the way they have been. I know things have been bad on the front line, but don't you think it's funny how everything seems to have kicked off now? Aether really is the catalyst you thought he'd be, isn't he?"

It wasn't a question, but Ayaka nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

"Admittedly, he's not quite what I expected," she said, lowering her teacup with a faint frown. "I agree, though. It's almost as if change follows him whether he wants it to or not. From what we've heard of his exploits, that seems to be the case everywhere else too." Her voice softened. "It's no wonder that he seems so tired."

"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Thoma asked, urgency filling him again, even if he didn't know why. "I've seen a lot of fights, and I've had my fair share of battles, but nothing like that. He fought like he didn't care what happened to him."

Aether wasn't just strong. He was recklessly strong, so determined to throw himself into battle on behalf of almost-friends that he didn't spare a second for what it might do to him. Thoma had met plenty of people in his life, but none quite like the traveler. He'd expected to like him when he arrived at the port, but he didn't expect this attachment, this fierce urge to protect him.

"I noticed something unusual," Ayaka admitted. "I took note of it before now, when we journeyed to the festival together. There was something in his gaze that I couldn't pinpoint. It was almost as if he had given up, but knew that he couldn't stop."

"I can't tell why he saved me," Thoma said, raking a hand through his hair. "We don't know each other very well, but he threw himself in front of me. Literally threw himself, Ayaka! He used Electro against the God of Eternity, all to stop my Vision from being taken. You should have seen it. I've never seen anyone stand up to Baal like that. Even at the end, when he was lying on the ground, I kept expecting him to jump up and start fighting again. I think he would have if it was just him there."

That was the terrifying part, Thoma thought. He remembered the way Aether crashed into his arms, and the way his feet dragged against the floor as they stumbled away from that overbearing statue. He'd been dazed and confused and injured, but the moment they were back at the Teahouse, Aether was on his way again.

Granted, it wasn't as if they had the time or the luxury of sitting around while guards swept through the streets, but the way he shook it off and pressed on without a second thought was worrying.

"I told him not to worry about me, but really I wanted to tell him to worry about himself," Thoma said, meeting Ayaka's sympathetic gaze. "Clearly he's got something important to do, and I know we need his help. But even after all the trouble we went through to get him to help us, I almost wish we could turn him away from Inazuma."

Shaken wasn't really a word Thoma had ever applied to himself. He was cheerful and matter-of-fact, a smooth talker without being smarmy. He didn't like manipulating people, but he prided himself with being able to make friends with anybody, and smooth over any situation. It only worked if he looked a certain way, acted a certain way. Playful guises only got you so far. You had to be steady as well, a pillar that could never be uprooted.

But the fight with Baal, the brief loss of his Vision, the tearing in his chest as that warmth was stolen and the cold crept in—the way Aether had soared across the ceremony on a haze of electric purple light, only to collapse against the ground, wounded and vacant—the way Thoma's heart still pounded in his chest and his arms still trembled with the phantom weight of his friend's body, all of it conspired to say one thing: it had shaken him, and Thoma had never felt more unsteady in his life.

"His stories are already growing in size and power," Ayaka said, twisting her fan between her fingers with a faint frown, her teacup abandoned. "Many of his tales seem to downplay his achievements, rather than embellish them. It seems that he truly has encountered the other archons, and we know he has a great journey ahead of him if he plans to make friends with them all. I would like it if Inazuma could be a place he could come back to when he feels weary, but as things stand…"

"We'll make it happen," Thoma said, straightening up. He winced as his wrist collided with the underside of the table.

"Thoma," Ayaka said, her sharp eyes following the motion.

"It's nothing," he insisted, but she was already rising gracefully, rounding the table to kneel beside him, her cool hands pulsing with icy magic as they slid against his chapped skin.

"Oh, Thoma." Ayaka's brow creased, and she poured a little more cooling magic into her touch, sending shivers up his spine. "I wish you had said something."

"You shouldn't have to do these things for me," Thoma said. "That's not how this works."

"Oh? Do tell me more about how this friendship of ours works."

Ayaka tugged him up before he could reply, drawing him over to the window, where the tatami mat was laden with clothes and the bandages, thrown carelessly aside. They knelt together, and Thoma stayed silent as Ayaka tended to his injuries. They weren't open wounds, and he'd received far worse just from playing tag with some of the younger clan members, or tackling the sewing on too little sleep. But Ayaka was still careful and gentle, decisive and firm but never pressing, never hurting.

"You are my friend, even when you insist on being foolish," Ayaka said, winding the bandage tightly around his wrist. "Even when I don't have time to… to be here, the way I want to. When I got word that you were taken, that they had chosen you for the ceremony, I was…"

Thoma's mouth fell open a little at the blatant emotion in her voice, the mix of guilt and hurt and fear. Some people looked at her and thought she was removed, aloof and distant. The screen didn't help. Neither did the secrecy that surrounded her, or the busy way she attended to everything without ever really stopping to take it all in. They never had a bad word to say about her, but truthfully, she kept her heart tucked away inside, where nobody could ever see how badly things affected her.

He was lucky enough to glimpse it a few times. Thoma knew how strong she was, and he also knew how sweet and fumbling she could be. Hearing it spoken out loud, how much she cared, was different from knowing something instinctively. It sent a rush of warmth through him, and he laughed. He couldn't help it. His eyes crinkled up as she glanced up at him through her hair.

"Who knew that all it took was a little rope-burn to get you to crack. I should have gone up against a god ages ago!"

Ayaka was too poised to do any damage, but she did yank primly on the bandage she was tying, sending him reeling back with a little yelp and another burst of laughter.

"This is why I call you my assistant, and not my dear friend," Ayaka said, though her mouth was twitching. Her eyes softened, and she gripped his hands briefly before letting them go. "I'm glad you're okay, Thoma."

Thoma grinned at her. "So am I. All thanks to you and your expert medical skills, of course. Now, shall we go and bother Taroumaru? I know I'm supposed to be laying low, but one look at his cute face should be enough to get me healed all the way."

The worry wasn't gone completely, but it was hard to feel afraid. The noise of boots on the streets was still loud and grating, but it no longer seemed electric, as though it was set on igniting every fearful impulse inside him. It was hard to feel afraid when he knew Aether was okay, and heading for the Resistance. The wheels were in motion, but regardless of what happened next, things would turn out alright.

It was hard to feel afraid when Ayaka held out her hand.

[Word Count: 2,597]