Surr smirked with mischief as she sneaked inside the tent under her stealth skill, nearly giddy with joy as she spotted her mate, his mismatched, red-cyan gaze firmly focused on the ancient tome resting in his lap. He sat cross-legged, only in short, comfortable shorts as he rested his cheek on his palm, bracing his elbow on his knee as his eyes darted across the text.

She stopped, her breath stuttering as she admired him, her dark-purple eyes trailing hungrily over the expanse of tanned skin. Her mouth was watering at the subtle play of muscles on his back. They had been mated for a bit over a week now, yet she couldn't get enough of him…

"I can still smell you, you know…" he said with amusement, without lifting his gaze.

She pouted petulantly, canceling the skill as she moved. Soon, she wrapped possessively around his back and nuzzled against his shoulder with a content sigh when his own scent, so insanely delicious, filled her lungs.

He chuckled, marking the page, then closing the book. She smiled softly when he put it away, then immediately moved in its place, purring with satisfaction and bliss when he wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his face against her throat and nuzzling against her skin affectionately.

"Welcome back, my love," he whispered, smoothing his hands delicately across her back. She sighed dreamily, coiling around him tightly and resting her chin on his shoulder as she crossed her ankles behind his back.

She giggled breathlessly when his hands moved under her shirt, pulling it up as he started to nibble on her throat, his rumbling, insistent purr tickling her skin.

"I was only gone a bell," she chuckled, brushing her hands over his back, enjoying the warm, soft skin under her palms. Still, she tilted her head submissively, her tail wrapping around his waist as she purred loudly in invitation.

"Felt like forever," he hummed, dropping his hand to her thigh and sneaking it under the hem of her skirt, pulling it higher till it rolled around her waist. "A moment, a second without you… it's hell, my beautiful mate."

She gasped breathlessly, then squealed a laugh when he growled, turning around as he pushed her down on the tent's floor, his hot, hard body pressing on top of her immediately, his low, amused chuckle ringing in her ears.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" he whispered, making her shudder as he nipped on her shoulder, bracing over her on one elbow as his free hand hooked under her thigh, pulling it around his hip.

"Maybe…" she sing-a-songed playfully, running her fingers across his chest, down his stomach, enjoying how his muscles trembled under her touch. Then she giggled again at his curious hum. "It's going to be a surprise, my Raha," she sighed petulantly, then she squealed with delight when he bit her throat softly, immediately smoothing it with his slightly rough tongue.

"Tease," he accused with an amused lilt to his low voice. Then he stole her breath when he claimed her lips, his so hungry… as much as hers when she whimpered, coiling her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, drowning in his taste, and immediately dying to have him as she squirmed, undulating under him with demand.


She struggled to breathe, pushing her emotions hard under the mask of Warrior of Light, her face feeling completely numb as she finished packing.

"Surr.." a gentle voice behind her back, so careful, barely tore through the fog filling her head. "I'm so…"

"Please, Cid, have someone pack all of his things," she cut him off, knowing she'll break and start screaming if she hears anymore… He followed her around the camp since she stepped out of the tent, finally gathering enough strength to strangle her grief enough to at least pretend to function. Sufficient to pretend that her soul wasn't tearing itself apart. "I have to go. I promised Minfilia I'll meet her and the others in Ul'dah… But I'll be back to pick those up."

"Surr, please… you don't have to. We can send it all back to Old…" he quieted under her glare.

"It's all mine now," she hissed possessively, instinctively baring her teeth at the engineer.

It was all she had left of him…


In the quiet of her bedroom in Fortemps Manor, she sobbed breathlessly, for the first time since the banquet in Ul'dah, the stupor she seemed to drown in finally breaking as she coiled her arms tightly around her abdomen.

The dizzy spells and nausea that were bothering her lately finally made sense. The unusual sleepiness, when she could barely catch a wink ever since the crystal doors closed.

She closed her eyes, lifting her hand to rest it against her collarbone, wrapping her fingers around a small, blue crystal resting against her skin.

Her first mating gift was the only thing she grabbed from her room in Rising Stones before heading to Ul'dah. She intended to present it to him when they're done with the expedition. A souvenir of their meeting as they start their new lives together.

She never got a chance.

She sighed sadly, then opened her eyes as she dropped her hand and wrapped it together with the other on her belly, smiling through tears.

"You beat me to it, Raha," she whispered.


Her heart broke as she leaned over the crib, cooing soothingly into two pairs of crimson eyes.

"We will keep them safe," her dad whispered behind her back, and she didn't have to turn to know he leaned against the door to her old bedroom, now turned into a nursery.

"I know," she smiled at him over her shoulder, then turned back, delicately smoothing her fingertips over soft, delicate cheeks, brushing them against the tips of tiny noses. "Behave, my darlings. I love you so very much," she sighed, then straightened with inhumane effort.

Without looking, she unclasped a necklace from around her neck, struggling to breathe as she curled her fingers around it, looking at the small, blue crystal with a tiny, wistful smile. She sighed softly, then turned around and soon stopped in front of her father, grabbing his hand and putting her treasure in his palm, curling his fingers around it.

"If I ever… don't come back," she whispered in a tiny, broken sound. "I want them to have it."


"I thought I might find you here," an exasperated voice shook her out of her reverence, and Surr smiled sheepishly, opening her eyes and looking up at the red-clad twin.

Alisaie bounced on her heels, looking at her with a frown, before sighing and soon sitting next to her, leaning her back against the colossal crystal gate.

"They need me?" Miqo'te whispered, closing her eyes again and resting the back of her head against the cold crystal again.

"Everyone always needs you," the teenager snickered, then sighed and rested her head against her shoulder. "But don't worry. I realized the date, so I told them to give you some peace tonight."

"Thank you," Surr curled her legs up, resting her hands on her knees as she opened her eyes, looking with unseeing eyes down the dark, Allagan corridor leading back into the labyrinth. "Don't think I would be much of an use today."

The second anniversary… yet the pain was never waning, never going away. At this point, she doubted it ever will.

"Do you want to tell me another story?" Alisaie's gentle voice made her ears twitch, and she smiled involuntarily, closing her eyes again.

"Sure," she sighed, relaxing and letting her mind drift back to the days when everything seemed so much easier, vibrant, and just… better. "One day, during the lull in the expedition, I sneaked out of the camp to the market in Revenant Toll to pick a gift for him…"


She giggled madly, resting her cheek against the cold, crystal mirror and purring loud and insistent as his hot, hard body pressed her against its surface. Mismatched hands, one crystal and one not, clasped around her wrists, pinning them next to her head.

"Tease," he growled against her neck, his breath so fast and uneven when he pulled her arms up, crossing her wrists and holding them with his crystal hand, freeing the other to smooth down her belly, and under her short skirt, pulling it up around her waist.

"This time, I didn't do anything," she laughed breathlessly, shuddering when he nipped on her neck.

"Oh, really?" he chuckled, moving slightly back. Her ears twitched at the rustle of the heavy material, and then she purred with delight when he pulled her hips back, soon pressing inside her with a soft, quiet groan. She moaned breathlessly when he bottomed out, pressing against her back tightly, his parted robes teasing the skin on her sides. "Not wearing any underwear is nothing now…? I could smell your arousal all the way across the room," he growled, nuzzling against her shoulder. His free hand clenched around her hip, holding her completely still. "Wicked white, but I thought I'll die…"

"They couldn't leave fast enough, hmm?" she giggled, then gasped when he started to move, panting against her neck as soon he fucked her in earnest, slowly, deliberately driving her mad. "It's your own fault, my Raha," she murmured, clenching her hands in his grip to try to keep her composure, even as her body burned and needy whimpers tried to slip her throat. "Leaving the bed before I… ah… woke up," she tried to sound petulant, though her voice sounded breathy and hoarse even in her own ears.

"Aww, missed me already?" he chuckled breathlessly, then nipped on her neck, speeding up as he rolled his hips against her backside, his thrusts growing sharp and nearly brutal. "I thought you could use rest after… last night," he gasped, soon freeing her hip to move his hand between her legs, turning her quickly into a writhing, whimpering mess between him and his crystal mirror.

"I… always miss you," she managed with an effort between her ragged breaths. She lost her mind between her moans and mewls as she arched her back, trying to press against his thrusts. "Raha, please… harder…" she hissed.

"Me too," he whispered, and she blinked against the lust fogging her mind at his low voice's quiet, infinite sadness. "Whenever you leave… I miss you," her heart lurched, but before she could say anything, try to soothe his anguish, he bit her, soon stealing her mind as he brought her to the brink and beyond it.


When she returned to Dawn's Respite, her ears were still ringing with Alisaie's scolding. Young Scion was beyond fed up with her and Alphinaud, and Surr, as guilty as she felt, took her ire with uncharacteristic humility, knowing she deserved it.

Yet it slipped her mind as soon as she crossed the threshold, an involuntary grin spreading her lips as she spied three figures deeply asleep on top of one of the beds. She neared silently, watching her small family with teary eyes, sitting carefully on the edge of the mattress.

She stayed like that for a long moment, enjoying the quiet purrs and the happiness filling her chest. Until she spied one set of crimson eyes blinking open sleepily, a tiny fist soon rubbing the sleep off her eyelids.

"Hey, mommy," a tiny voice had her ears twitch, and she leaned in with a smile, brushing back soft, white locks.

Sura giggled softly, then untangled herself from her father's embrace and soon crawled over him carefully to climb into her lap, peering at Surr with a wide grin as she rested against her.

"Hey, baby," she sighed, wrapping her arms tight around her kit. "Slept well?"

"Mhmm," tiny Miqo'te yawned widely, resting her head against Surr's chest with a content purr. "Papa smells nice."

"He does, doesn't he?" she sighed, then exchanged a wide smile with her daughter.


Surr blinked hard, smiling involuntarily as she woke up. Then she pouted, realizing she was alone in the bed. She frowned, tossing a quick look at the timepiece at the bedside table, and cringed, chuckling sheepishly.

She slept in again.

She sighed, sitting up and soon slipping out of bed, yawning widely as she headed toward the bathroom. One quick shower later, she dressed and braided her damp hair. As soon as she left the bedroom, she heard the giggles coming from downstairs, and she grinned, heading toward their source.

No matter how many times she saw it, she never could get enough, she thought as she stepped inside the kitchen. Twins giggled between each other at their seats at the table, their tiny heads nearly pressed together as they undoubtedly schemed their next prank, judging by the excited waving of twin tails. She chuckled, ruffling their hair as she passed them, earning their indignant huffs.

"Morning," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her mate's waist from behind, smoothing her hands over his hard stomach. Enjoying warm skin under her palms as he was wearing only shorts. She wouldn't dare over the stove, but he was a much better cook than her.

Raha chuckled, turning slightly, and raising his arm. She immediately used it to press against his side, purring with delight when he leaned in, kissing her long and sweet, before he straightened, pressing his lips against her forehead.

"Good morning, my love," he hummed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, and pressing her tight against his side even as she saw him focus again on what he was doing. "Just in time, too. Breakfast is almost ready."

"They woke you up again?" she chuckled, nuzzling her cheek against his chest, taking a deep breath, and enjoying his smell. She felt his shrug, and when she looked up, she saw his face coloring visibly, though he looked away, with a tiny, sheepish tilt to his gorgeous lips. "Oh," she giggled softly. "You woke them up?"

Another shrug and his blush darkening was her only answer, which was more than enough to make her laugh. Her gaze softened as it dropped to a small, blue crystal resting against his collarbone. She couldn't help herself but lift her hand and wrap her fingers around it, smoothing her thumb over its surface.

"It'll be a while before I get used to having you… and them," he admitted in a whisper, turning off the stove and wrapping his hand around hers. Her heart squeezed painfully at the sight of his small, wistful smile before he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, my star."

"And I love you, my lord," she grinned at his quiet huff of laughter, wiggling her eyebrows meaningfully when crimson eyes opened and peered at her with amusement. "Now, I'll set the table and get the little beasts to wash before their new scheme takes life."

"Mhmm," he pressed his lips against her forehead again before releasing her. "I think I saw them playing with sugar. The giggles became especially loud then, so I would check twice before you use it."

"Got it," she laughed, then twirled around and headed to sort out their children.

Sadly, she forgot about his warning when they sat for breakfast. But she didn't even mind that much the salty tea. Not when her expression caused twin, mad giggles to mix with a low, amused laugh.

No, she could never get enough, she thought, theatrically sticking out her tongue and making faces at the kits, earning twin peals of laughter. Afterward, she caught her mate's slightly dazed stare - her heart stuttering at the sight of love and wonder in crimson depths - and they grinned at each other simultaneously.