#estinio
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wip whenever
i've been tagged by @myreia @thevikingwoman and @redwayfarers and surprisingly i have things to share already! idk who to tag since we're well past wednesday, but please consider yourself tagged if you are a writer/artist/gposer/maker of things. i wanna see it all!
i'm putting this snippet entirely under a cut because it's mature TM and kind of long. the miserable timeline is in full swing and i kind of love this kiss and its aftermath so:
✨💗✨
Io closes her eyes and nods. Her annoyance softens.
She lifts her hand to his chest. It whispers over his collarbone, winds around the back of his neck. The sounds of the stable fade from his mind when she lifts her chin and licks her perfect lips. He watches her make these tiny decisions; each one could bring their ruin, and she chooses to take the risk anyway. The rise and fall of her chest matches his frantic heartbeat.
His lips fall to hers.
There is something sacred in that first brush of their lips. A dizzying, deliberate attempt to drag it out, to breathe together, to crystalize the shape and taste and feel of this moment into something they might be able to keep.
Io stretches up, pressing closer. Her tongue rolls into Estinien's open mouth, soft and wanting–and she's smiling, for him. He answers in kind, his smile for hers, his tongue moving with hers. He tangles his hand in her hair and she moans, a little sound that fills his mouth.
Godsdammit, he needs to feel that again. There is no consequence Ishgard and all her high lords could dispense that would compare.
They could be closer without her fucking cloak in the way. He tugs the loose knot at her neck and it falls to the floor. He pulls her against him, hands roaming over her back, her waist, and down to where her dress drapes her ass. Her moan again, louder, shaking through them. His desire is no longer mere yearning; the reality of Io's reciprocations–once speculation, now unquestionable–earns a bodily reaction. He hardens, pressed between the tight squeeze of their bodies. She reaches for him, an indelicate, appraising touch that sweeps the front of his pants. Estinien groans and–
Io jerks away, a hand to her mouth and breathing hard. "Oh, gods."
It pains him to do so, but Estinien moves back. "Forgive me."
"For what? I should be the one apologizing."
They say nothing, standing in the dark with their hands at their sides.
Io's hair is tousled, a halo of flyaway strands catching in the light. Her dress is off-center, and she has taken the night's solitude to display her tattooed chest, if only for herself and the chocobo. Her expression has fallen into something serious, but her lips are swollen from his kiss. It is impossible not to want her, and she looks at him with the same conflict.
A breeze whistles through the open door, the birds coo and click, and the seconds drag on without extinguishing the heat in his chest or the greedy coil of need in his belly. Estinien closes the distance between them again. His knuckles ghost over her neck, and Io sighs at the touch. How long has it been since Haurchefant touched her like this? Estinien hopes he will never touch her again. He drifts to her chest, the jut of her clavicle, the barely-raised tattoo. He traces the bold triangle, lingering at its point until his hand skims the front of her dress.
Io holds his face between her hands, keeping him at a safe distance, refusing to let him go. Her dark stare is hard. She struggles with herself. Kiss him or don't. Estinien holds her waist.
"We can't."
"I know," he says. His grip tightens, and he guides her backward to the wall. Io's mouth parts when she meets the stone.
Her hands move from his face to his shirt. She toys with a button, looking from his chest to his lips. "If someone sees..."
"I know, Io." Estinien hoists her up the wall until she's almost a head above him. The rough stones scratch and snag her dress, and it slips down her shoulders an ilm or two. Io's legs circle his waist, pulling him closer until her breath washes over his face.
#wip whenever#estinio#how am i going to keep this entire thing a decent length!?#i'm skipping around to the parts that spark joy but i have roughly 10-13 'scenes' planned. depending on motivation#i talked to kels about a part with haurche today and now i'm itching to dig into that skjdhks#praying some of these will turn into like 300-400 word things and not monster (for me) 1.5-3k things so i can post them all together
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REJOICE! ESTINIO BE UPON YE
for @coldshrugs 💜💜💜💜
#hopefully this is in a better resolution than discord messages jkghdlfkgh#but considering tumblr's reputation for crunching things i honestly don't know#how is it even legal for io to be so cute and pretty#the poetry of io's silver and white moonlet earring + estinien's gold and white moonward bracelet.....#i am giggling and smiling like a fool but i am also doing the dead man float in the goofy pool#it's a tiny detail but. it's everything to me#anyway on to part 2 of this lil project >:3#io laithe#estinien varlineau#estinio#ffxiv#gpose
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i've seen you, and i know you
and i'm not going anywhere
#azia gposes#io laithe#io/estinien#sorry for. the last one#i have to go to work but here have some estinio hugs :>#i love all of these but the first one is probably my favorite thing i've ever made for them#that pre-ultima thule hug is everything to meeeee
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their hands are cute. the rest of this tho... 😳
#io laithe#io/estinien#azia gposes#will this get sniped? let's see!! i'm willing to gamble#please do not click that read more unless ur prepared to see estinio banging#i just worked really hard on their hands and her expression and hair. and i think it's worth looking at :>#anyway. i am obsessed with them and this weekend the thoughts have taken A Turn.
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my love, a silence surrounded in white noise
#azia gposes#io laithe#io/estinien#just my regularly scheduled estinio in love gposes at 2am. nothing to see here#elegyworks is doing some heavy lifting here with the lil pajama set and the shader#and the stini scar mod is still killing me. forever grateful it exists MWAH to foamofthe-sea
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maybe my concept of someone "working slowly" on a commission is just messed up 😂 for both artists and buyers, what would you mean by, or expect from, a vague "I will probably work slowly on this"?
#i feel like. 6-8 weeks is a slow and leisurely pace. surely?#most commissions i buy have a turnaround of 3-6 weeks and feature some updates and approval stages#it has been. 3.5 months and one update because i asked djdhfhr#i want the comm!! but ough i can't say i'm not regretting it#the wait i will endure to see estinio smooching.... 😔 pray 4 me#azia stuff
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i can see that all along, love, it was you all the way down
#azia gposes#io/estinien#io laithe#thank you foamofthe-sea for this gorgeous scar mod. TRULY thriving now#like it is SO nice to have both io and estinien looking how i picture them between her freckles and his scars#and this is so lovingly made. i was so distracted by the lil moles on his back.... wild for that tbh#canon to me#also. new hozier album my beloved#i carrion (icarian) the most estinio song of all time#i missed them so much !!! glad i took a break from xiv but io is my favorite child and i've been thinking about them constantly#they're just... so comfy and happy and in love T^T#okay bye i need to sleep o/
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can't stop thinking about io and estinien raising havi, so have some gentle and proud dad!estinien. i think he might miss her when she leaves home. just a little.
#azia gposes#ffxiv#havi laithe-varlineau#io is next for a set like this#i just needed to get the estinien ones out of the way since i took the nap one earlier this week#but ough i just think they'd be inseparable !! equally like#'that's my dad!' 'that's my daughter!'#i love havi so much. they are precious to me#i was gonna give them a little brother because i think estinio would have 2-3 kids but idk!!!#there's something so sweet about her being their only kid and their literal pride and joy!!#okay byeeeee.
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heavy copacetic
#azia gposes#they are hanging out!#i'm too sleepy to tag ramble but i love them all so much and they can have a weekend in sharlayan to catch up#SORRY to inject estinio into everything but everything is about them always so. you understand#io laithe#y'shtola rhul#alisaie leveilleur#estinien varlineau#alphinaud leveilleur#io/estinien#ffxiv#posts at 3:30 am and runs
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@redwayfarers tagged me to make some babes in this meiker, so here are the girls i love too much :> pretend everyone has their ears, i guess.
io laithe (ffxiv/wol) | mene (ffxiv/azem)
ephyra metaxas (wayfarer) | ulysse bishop (bg3)
with a bonus io in the middle because i have her modern au on the brain and particularly with the thing i'm working on, the cozy sweater vibe hits.
#my girls!! (gn in ulysse's case)#okay bye i'm gonna go think about estinio having thanksgiving with alberic
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debating posting vierapril stuff out of order. do we really care? is it not enough to just celebrate them all month? in the month we are apparently sharing with lalas and au ras?
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wip roundup
tagged by: @lavampira @birues and @fourteenthz !! thanks frens!
tagging with no pressure: @scionshtola @hythlodaes @impossible-rat-babies @galadae @lilas @hylfystt @thevikingwoman @ghostwise @the-rogue-mockingjay
rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it!
okay well... i don't name my wips :c they're all "untitled document" until they're posted. and i usually work on something for a week and then post it right away so i don't have much to offer here 😂
veyer-y angry [wayfarer: effie/veyer]
landmark 2 [estinio modern au]
haurche scars [ffxiv: io/haurche]
flying2garlemald [ffxiv: io/estinien]
esti pining [ffxiv: io/estinien]
(these next three are all me starting and stopping the same WIP because i can't figure it out aaaaaAAAAA)
tired in thavnair [ffxiv: io/estinien]
distracted io [ffxiv: io/estinien] (suggestive)
demi4demi feels [ffxiv: io/estinien] (suggestive)
#wip roundup#i named all of these just for this thing lmao#leaving off misery AU because that's all one mega doc and i've talked about it ENOUGH#we're in the estinio sitcom era!!!!!!!!!!!#does anyone have a brain that feels like you constantly need to beat your own high score at pinball?
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1, 13, 15, + 24 for io?
hello gigi, that last one is killing me 😂
Are there any names they like to be called in bed/names they call their partner? Any names they wouldn’t use/can’t stand?
i have the lil "mon âme" headcanon, and she will melt every time estinien uses it. it's something that is hers alone, and rare for him to use it? he may feel it all the time but he is at his happiest and most vulnerable when he says it so. it gets her. and for him, she will default to "stin" or "love."
i was severely weakened at work the other day by hearing a couple in their 80s calling each other "baby" and i think in a modern setting, that would be super welcomed in any context for her.
13. Morning vs evening sex—do they have a preference?
no preference! both welcomed and enjoyed! whether it's winding down together or waking up together, she is just happy to share the intimacy found on either side of actually sleeping with someone?
15. Describe their favorite sexual encounter.
i feel like picking her favorite encounter ever is a broad question. she's had maybe 5ish partners, but multiple encounters with each. so i'll pick from the ones i've written for her.
it was early in her relationship with esti, right before they were publicly A Couple. they were in garlemald at camp broken glass and some bruise tending turned into teasing, turned into fucking on a table. this event is probably how folks outside of their circle started to catch on, because they were meant to be staying in separate rooms on this trip but came out of the same one the next morning.
24. A song they would fuck/get fucked to
this is SO funny, i don't think i have many "sexy" songs on their playlist laskfjslkd. here are some contenders tho:
movement - hozier
cherish you - mikky ekko
kiss a loser - sunny war
loved by you - kirby
alabama haint - penny and sparrow
and idk that the last one would work but imo it's the song with the sexiest lyrics on their playlist asjdfs at least the first verse and chorus (because the rest is a breakup song 😂)
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i need to go to bed but i've been listening to this song for over an hour now and i have at least two listens left. at least.
#azia stuff#i am first and foremost a noah kahan girlie. dermot and hozier complete the trinity but they aren't noah.#call your mom is giving me the most estinio mutual rescue thoughts i am DEEP in this pit...#when will i be well again? maybe never
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what i see in you, i hope you find in me
characters: io laithe (wol), alisaie leveilleur, estinien varlineau
wordcount: 1.6k
note: io feels out of sorts in garlemald. her friends seek to comfort her. the first part of this is directly before "in from the cold" and the second part is the following day.
[read on AO3]
There is a fragile warmth in Camp Broken Glass.
The Ilsabard Contingent troops, faces familiar and foreign to Io, begin the difficult work of welcoming the Ist’s soldiers into their camp. There are wounds to mend, fires to stoke, and enormous pots of soup to simmer and disperse. Not all of her people are cheery about it, but there is a sense of purpose in each of them. This is why they’ve come all this way, faced the perils of the north, faced their bloody history.
Healing is rarely a painless act.
Io stays on the fringes. At best, she is a divisive figure in this land–at worst, she is the manifestation of Garlean terror. It’s better if she lets the soldiers process their new circumstances without meddling and, truthfully, she could do with a moment of peace.
She heads toward a building adjacent to the cookfires to escape the frigid wind. This is as good a place to hide as any. She tugs her fleece-lined coat around her more tightly and leans against the near-frozen wood.
Miles away, the Tower of Babil looms over the city, angry, crimson, and waiting for her. The next leg of her journey, perhaps the final one, will take her there.
To him.
For nearly three years, Zenos has consumed Io’s thoughts. He has stoked her rage, sometimes indirectly, most of the time for his deranged satisfaction. He reaches for the darkness in her that no one else wants to touch, let alone acknowledge, and he sets it aflame. She hates him for it, yet she is grateful to him. One feeling lays on the other, like oil on water, and she cannot find a way to blend them.
At least not one that makes her sound sane.
Footsteps approach and the crunch of snow shakes Io from her thoughts.
“There you are.” Alisaie stops at her side. She glares at the Tower for a long moment, then turns to Io. “Are you alright? Some of the Contingent have asked about you.”
Io nods and pulls her attention away from the repulsive skyline. “I’m fine, Alisaie. Trying to stay out of the way for the evening.”
Alisaie frowns. “Would you care for company? Alphinaud and I have tended the worst of the injured, and have been all but forced to rest. He’s run off to find that witless oaf he admires so much.”
“He’s not so bad,” Io laughs, and gestures for her friend to settle in against the battered building. “In a few short months, you two will be thick as thieves.”
“You are not often wrong, but I fear this will be the exception.”
Io glances across the camp. It takes a moment to spot them, but Alphinaud, Alberic, and Estinien sit on a couple of low benches, sipping hot soup from hammered metal cups. All three appear to be in good spirits, smiling and laughing as Alphinaud recounts some story or other.
Something strange and sharp twists in her chest at the sight of them. The knowledge she isn't welcome to join them, perhaps.
Her second reason to hide.
“He’s angry with me. I suppose that is his right. I shouldn’t have let them take you two.” Io grits her teeth, fighting against the knot of guilt that has resided in her stomach since the morning.
Estinien is her friend, perhaps the closest she has here besides Alisaie. She understands him, so she can hardly blame him for being upset with her. They are family to him, Alphinaud, and Alisaie by extension. No less than they are to her. He has given Io little more than one-word responses since the twins were found. She may pretend otherwise, but his cold shoulder wounds her.
“Oh, to hells with Estinien.” Alisaie waves a gloved hand dismissively in his direction. “He’ll get over it. Would he have you fire upon civilians while negotiating peace? He may love my brother like a… well, brother, but he must admit there was no ideal series of events to be had. We all did our best, and we all made it through.”
Her hand lands on Io’s arm. Her fingers must feel like ice inside her glove, but Alisaie squeezes anyway, firm and reassuring.
“Thank you, Ali,” she whispers, and her gratitude hangs as a visible breath between them. They stay tucked between the buildings until Y’shtola calls them to dinner.
○––––––––––––––––––––––––––––○
Articulating what it is like to be outside oneself is something Io cannot bring herself to do. How could she describe watching her loved ones nearly cut down by her own hand, while she occupies the body of another? While an intruder operates hers. To be the stringless puppet and the feeble voyeur all at once
She has never been more afraid.
And Zenos… Though something in her heart still quakes like a plucked string at the thought of him, a modicum of sympathy she can't seem to erase, she finally accepts what she has known for so long: there is nothing for her there. Her most monstrous facets are reflected in him, a dark mirror she's been staring into for too long, but she could never do that to someone. Never.
With nothing more she can say to the others, she retreats to her closet-sized room in one of the less-dilapidated buildings. Io shrugs out of her coat, sighing with exhaustion. The icy air bites at her skin, even through her shirt, and she moves toward the ceruleum heater struggling to keep the temperature up in the corner. There is no time to rest. The assault on the Tower is happening in mere hours, and she needs to be armored, armed, and briefed.
Someone knocks, two heavy raps. Io leaves the tepid warmth to open the door.
Estinien?
He's the last person she expected right now.
His jaw is locked, and his hard stare passes over her in quick inspection, missing nothing. Fury lingers in his gray eyes, but unlike yesterday, it’s not her he wants to burn. Is he no longer upset with her?
Unable to meet his gaze, Io looks away. “Is something wrong?”
“I came to ask how you’re doing,” he says, “after yesterday.”
Io opens the door wider, inviting him into the space. He glances at the wooden stool in the corner, then back at her, and crosses the threshold with a reluctant step.
She sits on the cot, too far from the meager rays of heat. The air is heavy between them. Something is on his mind, and Estinien is never one to hold back for long.
“Are you hurt?” He asks after settling on the creaky stool. It’s too small for him, and she bites back her amusement. This is not the time to fall back into their comfortable patterns, no matter how much she longs for them. “They tell me you aren’t, but I would hear it from you.”
“I’m uninjured.”
“And your mind?” Estinien presses, facing her head-on. He searches her face, grey eyes refusing to shy away from whatever the answer may be. She has seen him like this before, harboring an indignant, singular focus, though that was years ago. Yesterday’s irritation was a shadow of this.
“Fine.” She tucks a knee under her chin. It is almost the full truth.
“Io. You're shaking.”
“Perhaps you should blame the climate.”
He grimaces, teeth grinding in frustration. “I have seen you cold before. Do not pretend we're strangers.”
Io runs a hand through her hair. Trying to fool him is as futile as attempting to forget the last twenty-four hours. But he is here, talking to her, and she doesn't want him to go just yet. “And what of your mind, Estinien? You don’t seem yourself.”
His next breath stutters out of him, followed by hesitant words. “Before I found them,” he starts, and she knows he means the twins, “I could only see the worst outcome behind that door. How late would I be, this time? What could I have done to save them? …I prepared my grief. Then the door opened, and they were fine. Just whinging about the cold. It was easy to blame you for what could’ve happened. Easier than going back to the first time I lost family.”
He pauses and looks at her. Looks into her. And there’s the man she knows like the back of her hand. The friend she knows so well, they communicate across silence and stillness. She offers him a half-smile.
“I scoffed when you disappeared, still angry at the false burden I thought you cast upon me. Had I known what happened to you…” The words trail into silence as Estinien forces his eyes away from her to the window and the malevolent tower beyond. “I realized you, too, are… I will lose no more family, Io.”
Her sharp inhale stings her lungs. She watches him as he gazes out the window, projecting his anger toward Babil, Zenos, Fandaniel. Everywhere but her direction.
“Estinien,” she calls across the small room, embarrassed by the soft crack of her voice, and he turns back to her. “We’re alright, all of us. I would never let the twins come to harm. Garlemald has taken much from me, so much that offering aid to this land is agonizing, but it will not take them. I hope you trust me.”
He rises and gives her a firm nod, lingering by the window as if he’s not finished here. He shakes his head, clears his throat.
“Don’t let it take you either.”
That doesn’t feel like the end of it, but he leaves before she can say more.
#azia writes#io laithe#io/estinien#io and friends#i guess that can be a tag#endwalker spoilers#idk man. idk#anyway you don't have to read this. it's the ramblings of a madperson suffering from brainrot#like i've told ellis and ash i'm trying to find the end of zenios and the beginning of estinio#and i think this whole situation is when io realizes zenos is making her insane and when estinien realizes he's has feelings for her#it's not the right time to act on it#and io doesn't catch romantic feels until the big UT moment and thinks#'ofc this is happening. ofc i realise i want this right as it's ripped away. that's my lot in life'#IDK OKAy#and alisaie!!!! io sees so much of her younger siblings in her!!!#she's the only scion who would feel comfortable just intruding on an obviously introspective moment#and the only one io wouldn't prickle about tbh#love their lil bond so much#idk what i'm doing with the juxtaposition of zenos seeing io's darkness and attempting to stoke it versus#estinien just. seeing and knowing all of her#io thinking the one thing is more intimate than the whole of it#BYEEEEEEEEEE
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oblivious
characters: aymeric de borel, estinien varlineau, io laithe (wol)
word count: 1590
rating: general; some swearing but this is pre-estinio pining
note: vague references to endwalker happenings.
Nearly a year has passed since Aymeric last visited Ala Mhigo. He finds the city as lovely as ever; beautifully laminated red stone carved into labyrinthine streets, elaborately-adorned domed roofs, and enormous granite griffins standing guard beneath the midday sun. These sights are the stark opposite of his snow-covered, gray Ishgard, yet the two nations have found enough common ground to forge bonds of allyship that, at least for his part, go beyond official accord.
As friends and allies gather to announce the recent fruits of their labors, it is with a heavy heart that he excuses himself to return home. Lucia is more than an extension of his command now. She has come into her own, and he is not the only person who needs her. Difficult as it may be, he must say farewell.
He descends the palace steps, shielding his eyes from the sun’s glare with a gloved hand. A small crowd is gathered at the landing, but it’s another flight down before he recognizes their faces. General Aldynn and Maxima, and ah, the guests of the hour.
The Scions of the Seventh Dawn are in top form. Armed for the worst, they need no uniform to feign confidence and cohesion. The eight of them are a unit, flawlessly in sync. Their presence alone should lift the spirits of those who await their arrival in the palace, even with worry lines creasing their brows.
But there is one among them who will unequivocally bolster the Contingent inside, as she always does, intentionally or not.
The Warrior of Light stands near the rear of her entourage, something that has not changed over the years. Though her escapades have won the hearts and minds of the realm, the woman behind the fame is reserved and soft-spoken, often shying away from attention if her voice isn’t needed. Oddly enough, she seems in good spirits today. A company of hundreds awaits an address from the Scions–from her–yet Io is beaming.
Most unusual...
Estinien stands by her side, arms folded across his chest. His posture is as uninviting as ever, but there is something relaxed about his stance. He looks at home among the Scions–more than he ever did with the Knights Dragoon or any military order. Relief washes over Aymeric; he’d prayed this would be a good change for his friend, that he would finally find his people and purpose after a life filled with painful memories and the near-unquenchable thirst for vengeance. The Fury has indeed smiled upon him.
From his vantage on the stairs, Aymeric watches the pair. They observe the others chatting around them, their attention split between the larger conversation and quietly-spoken words between themselves.
Is… is Estinien smiling?
Aymeric is close enough to call to them without being inappropriate. “My friends!” He says, bounding eagerly down the last of the stone steps. “Full glad am I to see you all before I take my leave of the city.”
Thancred reaches for a handshake, clapping him on the elbow, and Urianger sweeps into a bow far deeper than his station deserves. The Leveilleur twins bow as well, curt and polite. Alphinaud smiles. “Lord Commander, what a welcome surprise! Are you not staying for the meeting?”
Aymeric explains his involvement and Lucia’s deft handling of Ishgard’s hand in the Ilsabard Contingent, but his attention is on his oldest comrade. Estinien leans into Io and whispers something unintelligible, and she covers her mouth to keep from laughing and responds in kind.
Hm.
With the other pleasantries finished and the Scions continuing their business, Aymeric steps through the small crowd and toward his friend. Suddenly something far more interesting than wartime geopolitics is brewing, and Aymeric won’t find this in his pile of reports from the front. He extends a hand. “You seem to be settling in rather well, Estinien. Tis good to see you.”
Estinien clasps his wrist, and Aymeric tugs him into a tight embrace.
“Must you?” A resigned sigh ruffles Aymeric’s hair. After a few seconds, the hug is accepted, and Estinien lifts a hand to pat his back twice. Good enough.
“Yes, always,” Aymeric says, releasing the cantankerous bastard and turning to the Champion. Her eyes are alight with amusement at the sudden display of affection. “Mistress Io, how is he doing? I trust you see that he’s eating enough? Avoiding moogle-infested lands?”
She glances over at Estinien, mild surprise raising her brows, but he offers only a shrug in response.
“What did I tell you?” Estinien's voice is dripping with a lighthearted smugness that Aymeric can only describe as playful. His brows knit.
“Wonderful to see you, Ser Aymeric. But I’m afraid I’ve been instructed to tell you only that Estinien is getting on well. Offering details could come at a great personal cost–he knows where I live now.” Io’s soft laugh bubbles through her words.
Was that what he whispered as Aymeric came down the stairs?
He hums, “Instructed or coerced? So long as ‘getting on well’ is the truth of the matter, I should have no cause for concern. Perhaps I–”
“Laithe, Varlineau–” Raubahn calls, one heavy foot on the steps, ready to make the trek to the palace. The other Scions have left without them. “Shall we?”
Io’s smile is a tight line, “Right behind you, General.” She turns to Estinien and the smile softens. “But you should stay a moment and catch up. For such dear friends, you don’t spend nearly enough time together. I will live vicariously through your tardiness, and you might be spared the clumsy speech they’ll ask me to give.”
Estinien snorts a breath of laughter, and Aymeric balks, blinking in wide-eyed shock. Neither seems to notice him and if they do, they do not care.
Estinien nods as Io turns away, trailing behind the general, and Aymeric gives her a short bow.
The dragoon's gaze follows her up the steps, half-entranced, almost as if he has forgotten where he is and next to whom he's standing. Aymeric does not miss the way his eyes pass over her form–soft, protective, bordering on desperate.
Aymeric clears his throat once Io begins the second flight of stairs. “Getting on well, indeed, aren’t you?”
He drags his stare back to Aymeric, squinting against the sun gleaming off his blue and gold armor. “They pay me generously and provide lodging. Besides, someone must make sure the boy keeps himself out of trouble. All these fucking academics–rattling off endless facts and theories, frequently wanting for common sense.”
“And Mistress Io?”
“What about her?”
Of course he's oblivious. In the early days of their knighthood, Estinien was popular among the young onlookers that would gather to watch the new recruits spar. More than a few approached him with charged suggestions, but so singular was his focus, so sharp his rage, that word soon spread his affection was an impossibility. He would have some small number of short affairs over the years that followed, a need for distraction perhaps? But this… this is a shade of Estinien he has not seen in all the long years they have been acquainted.
The man is smitten.
“The two of you seem closer than I remember.” Aymeric considers his next question carefully. Estinien is as likely to hit him with his lance or walk away without a word as he is to answer. “What do you think of her? Of working with her so closely?”
He makes a low, rumbled sound Aymeric is familiar with, thinking over his reply. "Io is a force, but surely that is not news to you. The realm has no shortage of problems; big or small, she treats every last godsdamn farmer, shopkeep, and wailing child as if they were you. Too good for the lot of us."
He crosses his arms again, meeting Aymeric's eye. "Why do you ask? You still correspond with her on occasion, do you not? She is as much your friend as mine."
He cannot see it, right in front of him, plain as day.
"Mm, perhaps 'friend' is erroneous in both cases. Nevertheless, I am pleased you have someone like her," Aymeric pauses, "for support, of course, as you adjust to– what was it again?– 'all these fucking academics.' Though, I am confident they are thrilled to have you on their side."
Estinien leans back on his heels, chuckling at Aymeric’s weak-voiced swear. “Aye, they’re a hospitable group.” He glances up the stairs. Io and General Aldynn are inside now, and though his face does not betray him, there is a gravity to his pining. It pulls at him. He takes a step forward, clapping Aymeric on the shoulder. “I should go inside. It was good to see you, my friend. Give my regards to our brothers in arms, will you?”
He begins his ascent, taking the first several steps in twos.
“Estinien,” Aymeric calls, blocking the harsh light with his hand once more. “When you figure it out, I hope you reach for what you want. You deserve nothing less than happiness, brother.”
His brows knot with confusion. Then he grins, eyes narrow and spirited. “Save your tender words for the House of Lords, Aymeric. I assure you, I am fine.” He waves, continuing his climb, up and up, and Aymeric watches until he reaches the door, then heaves a sigh, unable to hide his smile as he makes for the aetheryte plaza.
There is something terribly romantic about it: with calamity looming in the distance, perhaps even heroes might find the time to fall in love.
#azia writes#io/estinien#io laithe#continuing the tradition of posting fic very late and fleeing#love that autocorrect tries to change estinio to 'destined'. yes yes they are#idk i just thought it would be really funny that no one else has noticed something brewing between these two#but aymeric sees them for five seconds and KNOWS
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