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thevikingwoman · 2 months

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Meryta gets a letter after defeating Tatiana

Fandom: FFXIV | Words: 987 | Read on Ao3

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Meryta Khatin x Tansui | during The Wheel Turns | romance Rating: Teen. Letter writing, longing, fear of death, fear of change, Ardbert friendship, dealing or not dealing with feelings

Letters and Longing, part 2

Despite her fears, Meryta manages to slay Tatiana. The Light crawls inside her body after, but she tries to ignore it. There are more important matters. Feo Ul crowned king, Eulmorians driven away, and now they’re safely back at the Crystarium, one unwelcome Ascian tagging after them.

She doesn’t think of him, not when an excited post moogle finds her on the way to the Pendants. It hands her a letter, her name scrawled on the front, along with a message across the back:

This better reach you, with the outrageous fee the moogle charged. There’s only so many ships in the sea

She laughs, sudden relief and happiness bubbling in her chest. Nodding at the attendant, she hurries up the stairs to her apartment, and sits on her bed, ignoring the table decked with food. She rips the letter open with a smile.

Dear Meryta

Glad I was to hear from you. Surprised too, given what you told me of your whereabouts, but the moogle assured me a special friend would help with a return post. I pray this finds you, somehow. I hope your fight goes well, as it customarily does. It is too much to ask, I suppose, that calmer waters await you, but I do wish for it. Here, things are much the same as usual. We have not had an influx of recruits since the last one, many staking their hopes on Doma restored. With the recent bolstering, we are not of want for people, and the Captain sets his hopes for profit along with a strong and allied Doma. Your friend, Lord Hien, does well in bringing together the most unlikely allies, I must say. Rasho has decided that I should play envoy, so I do travel to the enclave, which continues to thrive I may add.

We have not seen a swell in the Garlean ships, but I do thank you for the warning. We will keep a look out for unsavory behavior – more unsavory than our own, that is.

But, enough about that.

Please, Meryta, I wish you well for all your upcoming fights. I can only imagine they will be frightfully many. I hope to hear from you soon.

I likewise wish for you to be back with me. I will happily cook for you again, and see you back in my bed.

Stay safe,

Tansui

Her heart warms as she reads it, and her cheeks as well, at the last part. She misses him. His wit, his eyes and his hands on her. The way he listens to her.

There’s a long sigh from across the room, and when she looks up from the letter, Ardbert is there, an almost impatient look on his face.

“Happy news?”

“Yes.” She looks down at the letter, where it’s signed. She runs her thumb across his name. “Welcome news.”

“Someone you care about, then? Someone who cares about you too, I take it. Lucky.”

“Something like that, yes.” She does care about him, rather much she finds. An unfamiliar ache in her chest. The longing she feels for him is unfamiliar somehow, different from how she longs for her family, her friends.

“Really? Don’t waste your time pondering.”

“I suppose not.”

“Are you going to write them back? You should.” Ardbert gestures to the table, and the food she didn’t notice when she entered. She was too eager to open the letter, she realizes. “Got some nice food here too. He’s keeping you well fed, the Exarch.”

She nods and sites and eats and talks a little more with Ardbert, of Ascians, but of Seto too, and much more. It’s nice, and the food is good. When the conversation lulls, she starts writing. Ardberd does not have to remind her, but he smiles encouragingly when she fetches her parchment, and implores her to write now, not later, before he fades into – wherever he goes when he’s not hovering.

This time she writes not only Tansui, but manages short letters to Tataru, her family, and Emmanellain too. Tansui’s letter is the longest, and though she tells of her victory, it’s the only one where she doesn’t downplay the danger she’s in. He already knows how she feels, and he deserves to know all. She wants him to know. The extra aether is still swirling inside her, good food and good conversion and the happiness of correspondence can’t stop that. It’s a relief to be able to say all that’s on her mind.

She also tells of the good things, a little of the people at the Crystarium. The hope she sees in everyone, even as she leaves out her own role, in the myth people are starting to spin. They don’t know it’s her, and she doesn’t want to call herself some kind of hero, least of all to him. She writes of mundane things, of Frithrik and Moren and asks about the people in Onokoro. If she closes her eyes, she can almost feel the sea breeze.

Hand aching, she’s happy she took the time to write, to all of them. It is easier this time, and she worries less about messing it up – and it’s easier to write of a victory than of worries. She’ll worry about the other Lightwardens another time, and perhaps the Light inside of her will dissipate, perhaps this feeling of dread will too. She won again, and she shakes her head to dismiss the thoughts of the next battle and the next again. She finds she’d rather think of Tansui, of warm sand and sea, of the fumes of Hell’s Lid and the setting sun. Tomorrow will bring what it must. Pleased, she bundles her letters, and she goes to send them immediately instead of waiting for the morrow. She hopes they reach everyone soon, and sending them now is better than later. She’s not so tired that she can’t handle a few stairs.

#ffxiv #ffixv fanfic #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy 14 fanfic #wol x tansui #tansuiwol #relationship advice from ardbert! it's more likely than you think #ardbert is really ahhh waaaaah #I'm having fun thinking of the letters they send #how much she tries for him !!#we're sorting out our longing #meryta khatin #writing about meryta #viking writes #published 2/18/2024 #shadowbringer spoilers

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thevikingwoman · 2 months

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another letter reached Meryta before she sets out for the Rak'tika Greatwood

Fandom: FFXIV | Words: 786 | Read on Ao3

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Meryta Khatin x Tansui | during A Little Faith | romance Rating: Teen. Letters, longing

LETTERS AND LONGING, PART 3

The next letter finds her at the Imperative. They’re looking for remnants of the Church of the First Light, but before she starts looking in earnest, the post moogle bounces into her view.

“I came all the way from Fort Jobb, Kupo! You better be grateful.”

She ensures it she is, and sends it off with her thanks and a plea to wait and rest at least a little, to give her a chance to write back. The moogle hums and agrees, scuttling off to rest in the shade. It’s not been long since she sent her last letters, but when she opens it, it’s clear Tansui has received his already. The moogles – or Feo Ul – must be working overtime. Perhaps it helps to be king.

Tansui congratulates her on her win, and she’s not sure what to make of that. She fights and she wins and it’s what everyone expects. It feels different in his words, however, his expectations more like support, and less like a duty. Like he seems equally proud and concerned for her, between his teasing words. Or perhaps that he wants her to win for herself, and not because anyone else expects her to. He sounds relieved too, and it feels good to know he’s concerned.

Tansui tells news from the Confederacy, a long story about a hapless captain unwilling to let go of his cargo when met with mostly newer recruits. Until one of them had put an arrow between the man’s feet, perhaps backed up by Tansui’s scowl. His letter downplays his own role, and she can feel how proud he is of the people he trains. It had turned out that the captain had spent his very last gil on his cargo, and in a vain hope of maximizing his profits had all but forgotten about the ruby tithe. The ship’s hold had been filled with Hingan furniture bound for Eorzea, and now the Confederacy is the proud owner of gleaming red-lacquered garden benches.

She imagines it, pretty benches in the sand. Mayhap they will pass them on to Doma in a trade, but truly she does not know if the Domans need them any more than the Confederacy.

She chuckles at the story, as she sits on the stairs as she reads. Thancred passes by, a curious look on his face, but he doesn’t ask. She should help with the search, but mostly the letter makes her want to go to him again. With his letters, she knows that he did not tire of her visits, that he wants her. The thought makes her happy, warmth coursing through her. He says as much too, that he misses her, that he wants to hold her, kiss her, touch her.

She looks at the aetheryte, the sparks of aether currents humming about it. It would be so easy, to throw herself into the lifestream, to see him. To feel his hands on her.

His lips.

The warmth of his skin beneath her fingers, his beard scratching across her chest…

Minfilia bounces up the ramp to her left, a white blur of motion. Meryta shakes her head. As much as she wants to, she can’t leave now. Not even a day’s rest here, and who knows if a trip will be an hour or a week on the First. Maybe soon, when they’ve met with Y’shtola, she can find time. Or mayhap when they’ve delt with the next Lightwarden.

She shudders at the thought. She’ll keep going, no matter how terrified she is, for the sake of those she can save, but right now her mind turns to Tansui first. His smirk and the challenge in his eyes. The affectionate words in his letters, and the appreciation in his hands.Curiously, she finds determination in thinking of him, a promise to see him again, her battles done. There’s a hunger to not only win for herself, or the scions, or everyone else; but so that she can go to him, victorious. She’ll never give up and flee a battle, that is not her nature, but this kind of longing is new.

Across the courtyard, Urianger braces himself against a heavy door. It’s probably stuck from disuse. He seems to have the task well in hand, as it swings open, and he disappears into the darkness.

She should write tonight, at least. She wonders what he’d think if she put her desires, her yearning, on paper, but she’s not sure she can find her words as easily with pen in hand as in her mind. He surely wouldn’t mind, his boldness always evident. She blushes, want running through as she think of his touch again, and tucks the letters into her clothing.

#ffxiv #ffxiv fanfic #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy 14 fanfic #wol x tansui #tansui wol #one more letter ah #getting confident #not quite admitting to herself how much he means #but we're getting there #meryta khatin #this is it !#for now #writing about meryta #viking writes #first published 2/25/2024 #ffxiv tansui

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thevikingwoman · 4 months

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Meryta passes through Onokoro on the way to Riesen temple, and has a very good time.

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV | Words: 4518 | Read on Ao3

Meryta Khatin x Tansui | After SB patch 4.3 | smut Rating: Explicit. SB 4.3 spoilers, mild Four Lords trial spoilers, Sexual content, casual relationship, Tansui being cheeky, Meryta too tbh, piv sex, oral, a bit roughness, aura head canons, confederacy headcanons, pwp

Passing Through

Meryta could, perhaps, have travelled by way of Tamamizu, but no matter how nice the kojin are, she does prefer staying above water. So, when she needs to go to Riesen Temple again, she finds herself in Onokoro.

And when she’s here, it would be rude not to pay a visit to Tansui. And Rasho of course. They are – allies, of sorts – with the Scions, and it would be discourteous to make use of their aetheryte without a greeting.

She finds Tansui on the docks, working on a small boat, painting its stern. He’s bare-chested, a paint streak on his shoulder where he has brushed against the boat.

“The Warrior of Light graces us with her presence. What doom do you bring now? Are there Garleans in your tow?”

Meryta barely stops herself from rolling her eyes. There is trouble if they don’t fix Koryu’s ward, but she doesn’t need to trouble the Confederacy with that.

“I’m just passing through, Tansui. And it’s Meryta, please.”

He grins, and turns to the boat and his paint.

“Alright, Meryta. Will you be staying a while, then, or does your errand demand haste of you?”

She looks at his back and his sunburnt shoulders.

“Perhaps I will.”

Tansui bends and washes his brush in the seawater. “I am all but done here. Did you give your greetings to Rasho already, or did you seek me out first?”

Heat rises in her cheeks, and she ignores it.

“I saw you from the aetheryte plaza.”

“Walk with me then.” Tansui bends to pick up his haori, folded neatly on the dock.

“Wait!” Meryta reaches for it, stopping his hands. Tansui raises an eyebrow. She runs a gloved finger across his back, below the sun-yellow paint. “You have paint on your shoulder – you’d ruin it.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

He kneels on the dock, and scoops the seawater in his hands, splashing it across his back, missing the paint entirely.

“You missed,” she says, already kneeling next to him, unbuckling the fastenings of her armored gloves.

“Ever ready for battle,” Tansui shakes his head and grabs a rag from his bucket, dipping it in water. Her left glove lands with a clatter beside her, and she simply takes the wet rag for his hand, and wipes it awkwardly across his back. She does not linger.

“And ever helpful,” Tansui continues, eyes sparkling.

They both get up, she holding her glove in her hand, and him shrugging on his embroidered garment. She knows exactly how soft the silk feels against her skin, and fights the urge to look away, instead holding his gaze.

Together, they walk the dock towards the beach settlement, back where she came from.

“Let me put these away,” he gestures to his paints and brushes, “and then here is the matter of the tithe, of course. You better go see Rasho as I mentioned.”

“I already paid the aetheryte fee,” she grumbles.

Tansui laughs. “That is not collected for us. And I had rather hoped you would stay a little, to catch up if you have interest.”

His smile is bright, the sun reflecting off his black and purple hair. She remembers it, unbound and spread beneath her. This time, she looks away from him.

“Let me settle the tithe, then.”

They make their way up the beach, waves crashing, idly talking of the returned Domans, the many who have joined the Confederacy – and some of their number who left, to be reunited with their family. She wonders about Tansui’s family, but she does not ask. They pass a guard standing lookout at a rock, Tansui nodding at him. There’s a dead landjelly by his feet, and no more around. She keeps her hand on her katana just in case.

“And what of the viceroy? The former viceroy. All snuck and tucked in with the Domans?”

Meryta frowns, a bitter taste on her tongue. It seems he is not aware of the details of what happened in Castrum Fluminis.

“She’s dead.”

“I sense it was not a well-considered dispersal of justice.”

“Her brother – her step brother – goaded her until she turned into a Primal. At that point there was no option but to slay her.”

Something about it feels hollow, another day, another primal, but here in the sun she doesn’t dwell on it. She tells the whole tale – how Asahi had planned this, provoking Yotsuyu until she remembered her past, smuggling crystals under the guise of a gift. How he was killed too.

“I don’t think she deserved the end she got,” she says “Or the life she lived. I – see things, with the Echo, of people’s lives and past sometimes. It’s powerful and sometimes unpleasant, and I saw how her stepparents treated her, sold her away to a brothel.”

Something passes over Tansui’s face, something she can’t quite read. Anger replaced by grief or determination.

“We all get hands dealt to us we may not like, but it’s up to us to make of it what we do. She didn’t have to hurt that many people. Perhaps it was for the best. Tell me, what do you mean – you see things of the past?”

She tries to explain as best she can, how it’s beyond her control, seemingly at random and sometimes with headaches to follow. How it made her see enough of Yotsuyu’s life to feel saddened at the way it ended.

“I wasn’t sure sparing her was the right call, initially, and glad it wasn’t my choice,” she says. “But now I’m less certain, other than it shouldn’t have ended like that. She wasn’t going to hurt anyone.”

“You believed her. That she lost her memory.”

She nods, as they reach a shed. Tansui unlocks it to put away his paints and Meryta follows him inside.

“I guess the choice was taken from us – but I shall tell the Captain. Had he insisted, I would have slain her if no one else had.”

She regards him, defiant chin and eyes, and she’s not going to argue. His loyalty is unquestionable, bright and simple, and she respects all that comes with it. She nods in understanding.

“For better or for worse, it’s over now.”

“Aye – and I’m glad you made it through another fight.” Tansui smiles, and in the darkness of the shed, he raises a hand to her face, brushing the hair out of her eyes. Something undefined changes between them, alone as they are here. “You’ve cut it.”

“I wanted a change.”

“It suits you.”

His hand is still on her face, and he buries it in her hair, pulling her close and then they’re kissing. The spark of desire she’s felt every time she’s run into him since Isari, every time he’s helped; flares and bursts into flame. The kiss is gentle at first, but it quickly turns demanding, Tansui’s tongue running across her lips and she yields to him, letting him in, their tongues entangled. He backs her against the table, lifting her up. The feel of him is intoxicating, and she wants more. She can feel him harden against her, and she’s wearing far too many clothes and armor and layers. Tansui kisses her throat, running the flat of his tongue against the scales there, and he pushes closer.

A jar of brushes clashes to the floor, tin clanging and the brushes scatted on the dirt floor. She gathers herself a moment, and he’s too damn handsome as he grins sheepishly, scratching his beard.

“Stay for dinner?” he asks.

“I should have time.”

“Perhaps I can also offer a bed this time.” Tansui winks, and leaves her to follow, her cheeks heating as she straightens her collar.

As the sun goes down, the confederates gather at the wooden platforms up above, under the stars. Tansui brings her there, sitting with him and Rasho and others at a long table. Hearty foods are served, grilled fish and rice and miso dengaku. The conversation is lively and loud and happy. It’s not every day they share a communal meal, Tansui tells her, but it is not infrequent. It seems this week has been especially profitable, the seas rife with ships. Not to mention the gil she dropped in Rasho’s lap earlier, while Tansui made sure they made space for her at dinner. She’ll call it dinner payment and be done, no matter how indignant Tataru will be of it. It’s her own money and she doesn’t have to justify her spending.

Now, she’s talking with a Hyur woman who recently joined, a former Garlean conscript. Happy and bright-eyed, the women tells of her day on patrol. She seems excited by her new life here, free and full of hope. Meryta wonders, if she’d left home through the Ruby Seas, if she’d ever made it to Eorzea, or simply stuck here, found the life of adventure she was seeking. No need to speculate – her travels took her elsewhere and there is little point in regrets or second guessing.

Tansui laughs at something Rasho says, and her attention drifts to him, from his dark eyes to where his thigh is pressed against hers. She doesn’t regret stopping by here now either.

After dinner, everyone seems to scatter in a rush of activity – a number of people start to clear away the tables and some leave for patrol, exchanging places with those coming back grabbing bowls of still warm food. Someone opens a bottle of sake, and someone brings out a deck of Triple Triad.

“I’ve hope you’ve enjoyed our hospitality tonight,” Tansui says. “And I hope you’ll enjoy it further.”

“I wouldn’t say no to a game,” she says, tilting her head towards the cardplayers, and winks.

“Here I thought I could offer your something better, in ways of entertainment.”

“And what may that be, Tansui?”

“Mayhap a tour of the lieutenant’s quarters.” He steps into her space, crowding her, and then shrugs with feigned indifference.

“A private tour, I assume?”

“Very much so.”

“Lead the way, then,” she says and sneaks her hand into his.

They pull off their shoes outside his door, and step inside. It’s a simple room in the larger dwelling, a kitchen area with a small table separated from the rest by a screen. A bed, a drawer, a washbasin and a mirror. A chair with pillows and more strewn on the mat on the floor, the room bathed in warm lights.

“Well, here we are. Not much, perhaps, but it’s mine.”

“It’s lovely.” She drops her gloves on the mat, and turns to him, and takes him in, her eyes roaming over him, his cheeky smile and his broad chest. “I’m enjoying the tour.”

Tansui steps forward and kisses her, fierce and passionate. His beard scrapes against her lips, and she opens her mouth to let him in. He pulls her close as the kiss goes on, eager as if he’s been waiting all night to do this once more. She knows she has, and wraps both hands around his neck.

After a while he pulls back, and she chases him, wanting more, already pushing his garment off his shoulders, the very same accursed ones she saw from the aetheryte earlier, making her pause her trip. His skin is warm under her hands.

“Better get those off you before you poke my eyes out,” Tansui says, hands moving to the pauldrons, and true enough, she’s overdressed and over armored. The pauldrons follow the gloves in the pile on the mat.

“I was on my way somewhere,” she says, fidgeting with her belt.

“Yet you found time,” he says, and deftly works the knots on her coat.

“I found time.”

The sashes and belts on her coat undone, Meryta places her katana next to where his lance rests against the wall in the corner. Her coat slips off her, and she’s no longer overdressed, and returns her attention to him, hungrily follows the trail of hairs from his belly down below the hem of his pants with her eyes. She wants to touch, and she does, sliding her hands down his chest, question in her eyes as she dips her hands beneath his pants. He’s half hard and she caresses him, as he nods and pulls her in for another searing kiss.

She slides his pants down his legs, and Tansui undoes her breast band, flinging it somewhere. Their hands are roaming, exploring, and he bends, his mouth on her neck, his hand on her breast. He caresses, mapping her skin under his hands, and so does she, tracing a scar on his shoulder, kissing where she can reach. A thumb teases her nipple and she whimpers, causing him to repeat.

“Gorgeous,” he says.

“Handsome,” she counters, and she kisses his chest, experimentally flicking her tongue over his nipple in turn. He lets out a low sound at that, so she does it again. His hand scramble on her back, and she wants – she wants him, and she want to taste and touch all of him.

She kisses a small scar on his sternum, white with age and almost invisible. He’s pressed hotly against her, his hardness enticing against her skin. Meryta sinks to the floor in front of him, kissing his belly, the top of his thigh, avoid his cock jutting out in front of him, tempting as it is.

“Meryta…”

“Yes?” She kisses his other thigh, and scrapes her teeth along it experimentally. His hips jerk slightly and she does it again. She looks up at him, his strong legs and solid shoulders, his handsome face above her. His eyes burn with desire, igniting her own.

“Something you wanted?”

She kisses the point of his hips, careful of the tips of her horns. His skin is soft all over, no scales to protect him. She ghosts her hand over his cock, then runs a finger up it, watching him twitch.

“Suck me,” he says, rough and demanding. She shivers and complies, engulfing the head of his cock in her mouth. She swirls her tongue around it, delighting in the groan she elicits from him.

Gripping the base of his cock with one hand, she takes him deeper, her hand preventing her from scratching her horns against his groin. His hands clench at his sides, before one strokes her cheek, the other landing awkwardly on her shoulder. She hollows her cheeks and sucks, moving her hand along with the mouth. Tansui digs his blunt nails into her shoulder, the pressure on her scales welcome. She moans around his cock, looking up at him, hopefully encouraging.

He moves his other hand along her horn to the back of her head, gentle like a question. She nods as she can, breathing through her nose and taking him a bit deeper, moving a bit faster with her hand and her mouth. Tansui groans and adds pressure on his hand. She feels hot, slickness pooling between her legs, trapped between the hand in her hair and the heaviness of his cock in her mouth. He pushes into her, moving his hips in a even rhythm, not forcing himself into her but holding her steady. Her own need grows with his loss of composure, with every thrust he makes into her mouth. Her cunt clenches and throbs, wanting him to lose himself in her.

“Meryta, I…” He gaps and tugs on her hair until she lets up, reluctantly letting him slip out of her mouth. She looks up at him, tall above her, his eyes glassy and breath coming in pants. He must be close, the salty taste of him on her tongue and she wants to continue, to swallow him down and have him come in her mouth, but she waits.

Tansui takes a breath and smiles down at her, caressing her cheek.

“There was something about a bed, I believe. I want you in it.”

She’s not opposed, not at all, the thought of being close to him excites her too, feeling all of him above or beneath her. She gets up and he kisses her, hungry and openmouthed and without restraint. She groans into his mouth or maybe he does, his hips stuttering. Arms sliding down to her ass, he lifts her and carries her to the bed, three steps across the small room.

He sets her on the colorful bedspread, running her hand down her torso, pushing her back. She falls willingly. Following, he caresses her breasts and she arches off the bed when he rolls both her nipples between his hands. Back in control of himself, he observes her, how she moans and gasps – his name too, which makes him grin. She files that away for later. He drags his hand down belly, pressing into her scales. She wants more, she wants him closer, and she’s tired of waiting, already so slick and wanting from sucking his dick. She pulls him down over her, but he resists and she relents.

“Eager,” he says, and runs a single finger down to her slit, to her wetness. She’s not ashamed of wanting, and barely stops herself from grabbing his hand and pressing it closer, harder. He has something in mind it seems, so she watches him, nodding and canting her hips.

“Turn around,” he says, a bit fast and hoarse, and perhaps she’s not the only eager one. “Please.”

Scooting a bit up the bed she does, getting on her hands and knees, tail lifted. She wants him to see what he’s done to her. One of his hands finds her tail and she hisses in pleasure when he wraps his hand around it, when he presses his fingers against the base. It’s almost too much and she wants more. She wants to tell him, pull it, harder, but when she opens her mouth all she gets out is a gasp as his other hand wanders across her ass and he slides one finger into her.

“So wet,” he mumbles, and she slides her legs outwards and pushes back against him. She’s rewarded with another finger inside of her. It’s not enough.

“More. I need. I need you inside of me, Tansui.” She looks back over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of his handsome face, jaw slack and mouth half open. “Please, Tansui.”

“Since you ask so nicely,” he pants and he obliges, his cock pushing her lips apart, entering her wanting cunt slowly and gently. Much bigger than two fingers, it stretches with a pleasant burn and a moan tears from her mouth. She pushes against him, wanting to feel him, all of him, now.

“Meryta!” Tansui gasps, digging one hand into her ass, scrambling for a semblance of control. He holds her still, both hands on her hips. She wants to force him to move, but with a shallow breath she lets him have control, settling for an embarrassingly impatient whine in her throat, a flick of her tail across his body.

He fucks her, frustratingly slow at first, a measured, almost lazy pace that makes her ache for more. Letting him do so brings its own appeal, every single part of her body focused on him, her want climbing with every stroke until she is almost shaking.

Once Tansui realizes she’s letting him do what he wants, he releases the bruising grip on her hip, a short-lived disappointment when he grips her tail, his hand once again wrapping around the base of it. He tugs on it, pulling her back on his cock now, speeding up a little. Like this, she can’t reach him or tease him, she has to let him fuck her however he wants, and it leaves her desperate and quivering.

“Like that, do you?”

“Yesss, more, you can… more, I’m —"

He understands her, and grasps firmer, pulls harder, slamming into her. He grunts and increases the pace, but he doesn’t lose his control. She’s tethering on the brink as pleasure washes over her, a burning need for her climax that’s just out of reach.

“You feel so good,” he says, and he strokes her tail. She can’t help to push back now, gasping when he changes the angle of his thrusts.

“Tansui, I need –”

He likes his name on his lips, and she will say it as many times as she must.

“What do you need, Meryta. Say it.” He pulls on her tail again, and slams into her.

“I need you to touch me, please, Tansui!”

“Very good.”

He leans forward over her, covering her and reaches around her. His hand finds her clit, uncoordinated and messy but it’s good, pressure where she needs it. She collapses forward and he follows, kissing her neck, teeth scarping over her scales. He uses his new leverage to thrust harder, faster, his hand moving over her slippery clit, and she screams his name as she tumbles over her crest, her orgasm striking her when he bites down on her shoulder.

Tansui grunts and snaps his hips and shudders above her, his own climax fueled by hers as she still rides the waves pleasure. He falls completely on top of her, kissing her neck as she stretches out under him. He’s heavy and pleasant on top of her, his arms trapped beneath her. She doesn’t want to move, and she doesn’t know why she should.

Eventually, he rolls off her and they clean up and he returns to his bed to lie next to her. Their legs entangled he throws an arm across her, and they lie in silence for a while, enjoying the nearness of each other. She feels achy and tired in the best way, and almost ready to drift off to sleep, when she hears people – laughter, and someone beating at a table perhaps – from below them. She thinks of the tall wooden structure, dotted with doors. Living quarters for many of the pirates, all sharing walls.

“I fear your comrades may have heard us. I’m sorry.”

“Us? You mean when you were screaming my name from the top of your lungs?”

Her cheeks heat furiously, and Tansui laughs. “I do not mind. It is hardly the first time I’ve had someone do that here.”

“Bragging, are you now?”

He just smirks at her and kisses her soundly.

“Do you mind, Meryta? That they know you’re here?”

She thinks on it for a moment. She likes the people here, when they’ve passed through, and how they’ve helped her and the scions and Doma, and she’s helped them. But she does not need them to put her on a pedestal, and she does not need to keep any secrets. There are no political implications of their second in command fucking her out of her mind. And she does not mind Tansui’s posturing; not when he leaves her boneless and satisfied.

“No. I don’t.”

They fall silent and shuffle, tired of her tail trapped under her she turns to her side and wraps it round his hip. Tansui runs his hand across her back, caressing her scales there, now idly wandering up and around and he pulls her a little closer. She yawns, glad that his pillows are soft enough for her horns to sink into.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, kissing her shoulder. “I suppose it’s my turn to apologize.”

“Whatever for?” she says, half asleep and wondering why he’s apologizing for his pillows.

He traces her shoulder, lightly brushing her scales. There’s a light soreness, she’d barely have noticed was it not for his attention. Ah. The bite.

“Mayhap I should have asked. It’s the kind of thing that is polite to ask for.”

She turns around and looks at him.

“You don’t strike me as overly polite in the first place – not to your neighbors either.”

He chuckles, and does look contrite.

“Ah, but –”

“I didn’t mind.” She’s never had a lover that was quite so forceful, so intense, and yet he understood what she needed. Taking care of her. “I liked it.”

“I shall keep that in mind, then.”

His gaze is fixed at where he bit her, and she wonders if he likes leaving a mark, like he likes to hear his name spilled in passion. Suitable, somehow, that he should take what’s due, though she’d hardly call him selfish.

“That confident I’ll be back again?”

He seems to falter a moment, a slight blush on his cheeks, before giving a confident smirk.

“You did just scream loud enough to wake my neighbors, so perhaps it’s not too presumptuous.”

“It was all but happenstance I came by at this time,” Meryta says and smiles. She does not want him to feel too self-assured, even if warranted. “A favorable one.”

“I’ll ask no promises from you, but perhaps another errand will take you here - violence in its wake or not.”

“Must you always say so?”

“You came into my life in strife and blood. Not that I’m unhappy you’re here.”

She frowns. He has the right of it, in a way, but it also does not feel entirely fair.

“I don’t bring it. I’ll go where the strife is. Where I’m – needed. I wish it wasn’t so.”

He nods and runs a hand over her cheek.

“Well - I’ll be torn then, to have you needed here.”

There’s something soft in his eyes and an undefined feeling rises in her chest. She ignores it.

“You never know – perhaps I’ll catch a break.”

“Glad I would be of that,” he says, brushing a lock of her hair away from her face.

She has nothing to say to that, hope and worry for Alphinaud gnawing in her gut, along with the possibility of an Ascian walking in Zenos’ skin. Hopefully Alphinaud will arrive safely and untangle the mystery and Thancred will bring them news. For now, she settles into his arms, content to let her worries fade as she slips into sleep.

She wakes early, the sun filtering through a curtain. Are there even windowpanes? She wonders just how many people heard her last night. No matter. She needs to get going, Genbu has waited long enough, so she slides from the bed to find her clothes, her armor. Tansui mumbles something, and looks at her bleary eyed.

“I need to go,” she says, biting her lips.

“Your important errand, I see.”

“Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

He waves his hand. “No need. I assume it will let us all safely conduct our operations, and not bring doom on the waters.”

“That’s the hope,” she says. “It’ll be fine.”

The light falls across Tansui, half covered by his blankets. Sleepy eyes regard her.

“Last night was fun.” She reaches to touch him, a hand on his cheek. “Thank you.”

He kisses her hand, stretches, and sits up to kiss her on her mouth.

“That it was. I should thank you.”

“A mutual benefit.” She winks, and grabs her armguards, buckling them, and gets her katana. She looks at his well-worn lance next to it. There’s a notch on the blade. Someone should fix that.

“Take care you there, Tansui, on the waters.”

“You too, Meryta.”

She slips out the door.

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thevikingwoman · 4 months

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Still not sure what compelled her here, of all places, her aether stretched thin from travel for no need, and yet so full, bursting at the seams. But his arms around her is the best she’s felt in days, in weeks. She’s entirely unsure what to do about that.

fic: Solace and Breakfast

Meryta Khatin and Tansui by @harumeau

Hannah has blessed me with this gorgeous, tender art of Meryta and Tansui. I've had this scene in my mind for a fic and she captured it perfectly and wonderfully. Thank you so much!!

#the posing!!#the light #their expressions!#I've been dying screaming crying over this #meryta's scales! ahh #the tenderness!!!!#AHHHHHHHHHH #they way he holds her #they way she sits into him UGH #Hannah I cannot thank you enough #ffxiv #ffxiv wol #meryta khatin #tansui #ffxiv tansui #tansuiwol #art of Meryta #art for viking #meryta x tansui

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thevikingwoman · 3 months

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Meryta struggles with her fears, feelings, and putting words on paper.

Fandom: FFXIV | Words: 1553 | Read on Ao3

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Meryta Khatin x Tansui | after The Key to The Castle | romance Rating: Teen. Letter writing, longing, fear of death, fear of change, Alisaie friendship, dealing or not dealing with feelings

Letters and Longing, part 1

Meryta’s pen hovers over the parchment, frustration marring her face. The pen is frozen as she thinks, ink dripping on the page. She groans and puts the pen back in the inkwell, carefully mopping up the extra ink on the page. At least it didn’t ruin what she’d already written. The letter is a mess anyway, but she can’t fathom rewriting it, little as it is. It’s hard enough already. Not only are the words hard to come by, but the act of writing itself – the echo might grant her ability to speak and understand any language, but it doesn’t confer any scholarly skills, including letter writing.

After they returned from Dohn Mheg with the shell crown, a silent thanks to Soroban and the Kojin, she’d decided it was time to write a letter. Urianger had been pleased enough to supply the pen and parchment when she asked, his golden eyes kind. She is glad to see them. At any other time, her attention would have been drawn by how handsome he is, free of whatever caused him to hide before. But all she can think of is warm brown eyes and a dark beard, her thoughts returning to the Ruby Seas and to Tansui.

She wants to tell him – something.

They’ve been rushing, ever since they ran from Ran’jit in Lakeland. She’s not afraid of him, not the way she’s afraid of the Lightwarden, but to deal with Ran’jit she has to fight another Lightwarden.

She’d have to fight it anyway, or so the Exarch says. She’s afraid, and she’s not used to it. Not that she hasn’t been afraid before, but it’s been the good kind of fear. The fear that keeps on your toes, harnessed into a razor edge for the coming battle. Fear that makes you throw yourself into combat, teeth bared. No, now she’s filled with dread. She doesn’t want to fight the Lightwarden. She doesn’t want to see the sin eaters, the ones arisen from people lost. She doesn’t want to absorb the aether from the Warden, the Light overwhelming and itching beneath her skin.

The castle looms above the lake, glittering and beautiful and unreal.

Soon enough, they’ll rush away to find the last two artifacts, and with the post moogle improbably spinning in humming circles in Lydha Lran. It probably gets on splendidly with the faeries. She decided to write and send a letter while she still could.

She worries – she worries she’ll not survive, or change – or unable to stop or go to the Source. And when she left Tansui last, she... Well, she doesn’t want him to think she forgot about him, or that she doesn’t want to come back. Or she wants to thank him. Or tell him…

She groans again.

If you do not see me again, it is not for lack of trying.

That doesn’t quite encompass all she wants to say, and it’s not quite the right way to say it. So far, all she’s said is that she is alive and well, for now, and they’re trying to end another Lightwarden. She should perhaps tell that she’s with her friends, that they are hale and well – but it’s too complicated, too long winded, and besides he’s met neither Urianger nor Thancred. Yet it’s strange not to mention them.

I’m with more of the scions, my friends. I do wish to visit again, but if I don’t --

She tries again, mulling over the sentences in her mind. How does one spell scion anyway? If the Lightwarden doesn’t defeat her and the Light doesn’t – change her – will Ran’jit catch up with them? Will the faeries trap them here forever, chasing their artifacts? She wants to explain and to write a proper letter – but it’s a jumbled mess along with her thoughts.

“Hello, Meryta.” Alisaie, pulling out a stool and sitting across from her. “I thought you had already left.”

“I wanted to write this letter, but – words are eluding me.”

“A letter? For whom?”

“It’s not important.”

“It’s important enough that you’ve not yet left.”

Alisaie leans over, attempting to read it upside down. Meryta wants to cover it up, but it’s messy enough and she’s unsure if the ink is dry and she won’t ruin it more. She’s certain Alisaie has beautiful handwriting, like her brother.

“Tansui? The pirate?”

The embarrassment over her handwriting is not the only reason she wants to hide it.

“He’s a friend.” She feels like she should add something, but afraid it will come out defensively.

“Sure,” Alisaie says, interrupting her thoughts. “A friend happy to extort money from us, I guess.” She narrows her eyes. “But mayhap that’s not quite what you think of.”

She fights the instinct to hide, she can’t truly explain what he is, not fully. It’s not the times they’ve fucked, but the way he held her, last time she was there. How that makes her want to go to him again. How, despite her happiness to see her friends again, and her sympathy for the plight of the people here, all she wants is to rest in his arms again.

“I’ve visited and I –“ she stops, and freezes. Another thing she doesn’t want is to worry Alisaie, how her need to write is bound up with her fear that she’ll not be successful in the next fight. That whatever they do will not work, that the Light may consume her. She thinks of the other things she wants to tell him too, words of both affection and practicality stuck in her head.

“Feo Ul said he’d get the letters to the Source somehow,” she explains, backing up. “I want to tell him – at least to be aware of Black Rose and of the things Urianger saw in his vision. Be I’m not used to writing letters, and –“

Alisaie’s eyes soften, any judgement leaving them. “Mayhap I can help?”

She has never found it difficult to talk to Alisaie, and she shouldn’t find it so now. She’s not embarrassed, she’s perhaps just reluctant to both name her fears to those who depend on her, and to admit she ran from them. Or that – it would be easier to share if she understood her thoughts herself. She longs for the simplicity in visiting Tansu and the Confederacy, and that peace feels private.

“I would be glad.”

With her friend’s help she manages to compose something sensible, and not too long. Simply asking him, and the Confederacy, to be careful with any run-ins with Garleans and their cargo. She also tells a little of what has come to pass for her here on the First. She thinks he might find the faeries amusing, as long as he’s not on the receiving end of their shenanigans. A kinship of making people pay for their trespasses, perhaps.

“I miss him,” she blurs out at the end, wanting to add that too, needing to voice it despite her confusion. Her mind circles back to the notion that should she die or be unable to travel, would he know? That he should know he’s not forgotten, but that he means… something to her.

“You should tell,” Alisaie says. “I am not sure I’d name the Confederacy a steadfast ally, but – regrets can come too soon.” There’s something painful in the other woman’s eyes, the raw hurt unhidden.

“I’m sorry,” Meryta says. “If we’d been faster, if we’d – “

“She did what she had to do. It’s no need – it’s over now.” Alisaie shakes her head. “Please. I just – see to your letter. Mayhap I shall take my leave and trust you can write the rest without out my help. I surmise you’d rather it be so. And I think I’ve left my dear brother alone with the fairies a tad longer than he finds amusing.”

“Thank you, Alisaie.”

“Of course, my friend. Good luck with the artifacts. We will keep the Eulmorians busy.”

Meryta watches Alisaie leave, confident steps, her rapier ever ready. Meryta has no doubt about hers, and Alphinaud’s, capabilities. They will keep their pursuers at bay.

She does manage the rest of the letter, trying to shape her feelings into words, her mind occupied with the memory of brown eyes and calloused hands, and marks sucked into her flesh.

Tansui, I do not know if I will win this fight. I do not know if it will change me. I miss you. I wish to see you again. I hope to see you again if can. If I cannot know that I tried.

I would like to eat breakfast with you again. I long for it.

Satisfied, she seals the letter. At least he will know she did not abandon him, should her end come. The risk is always there, but somehow here, it feels closer than ever. Meryta shakes her head, and looks at the flowers in the blinding light. Her thoughts spin in circles.

Feo Ul and the post moogle is more than happy to accept her letter, exorbitant fee agreed on. One less thing to regret.

She doesn’t want to die. The castle on its high peak, pretty and bright. Most of all, she doesn’t want to absorb the Light of a second Lightwarden, a third, a fourth – how many are there?

She has no choice but to set out.

#ffxiv #ffxiv fanfic #ff14 fanfic #final fantasy 14 #wol x tansui #she's trying!#I wanted to write of her fear too #this is really not a good time for her #everything is so pretty and she's so worried #meryta x tansui #woltansui #writing about meryta #meryta khatin #viking writes #published 2/11/2024

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thevikingwoman · 4 months

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After dealing the with the Lakeland Light Warden, Meryta is feeling out of sorts, and runs to the first place she thinks of - to the Ruby Seas and Tansui. Neither of them certain of their feelings for eachother, or able to voice them, but still comfort is offered and given.

Beautiful, wonderful art to go along with this

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV | Words: 2969 | Read on Ao3

Meryta Khatin x Tansui | Early Shadowbringers | romance/comfort Rating: Teen. Spoilers up to MSQ 'Warrior of Darkness', fluff, angst, emotional comfort, feelings are hard, wol having a no-good time in msq

Solace and Breakfast

The first thing Meryta does, once the hum of the aetheryte quiets behind her, is to look for Tansui. It wasn’t a conscious thing, to grab the aether current to Onokoro, but it worked and now she’s here. She has no real reason to, other than a strange wish to Tansui’s face, to see that the people here are alive and well. Tansui is not in sight, however, and she finds she has no desire to find Rasho and ask, or for idle chatter with anyone else.

In the end, she decides for a walk along the beach, the quiet rush of waves against the shore calming her. Maybe she could fish, an excuse as good as any. She keeps walking though, until she sits, the warm light (normal light, fading light) of the sunset casting long shadows from the cliffs. Everything is calm and quiet, and she can almost pretend there’s no extra aether still buzzing beneath her skin.

Tiredness wars with the bright unease within her. She barely slept last night, she couldn’t. She tossed and turned in the room in the Pendants, after the ghost – Ardbert – left. Trying not to think of the horrors she’d seen, of how it felt when the light was flooding into her. Even the return of darkness hadn’t helped her, her mind too busy. Too sad. Too angry. She had no desire to see if the Exarch had any messages for her the next morning, no desire to confront him on all he didn’t – and doesn’t – tell. She’d rushed into the lifestream, a vague notion of testing the Exarch’s reassurances that she could teleport to the Source. Grabbing on to the first beacon that sprang to her mind.

Running away, she supposes.

The sun is setting, casting a rosy glow over the sand. The waves sighs gently against the shore. She tries to calm her mind, and push all thoughts away, focusing on the waves and the wind.

Why is she here?

Tataru and Krile must be out of their minds with worry, and since travelling to the Source is possible, she should have thought to go there, to reassure them. But she didn’t want to go to the Rising Stones, it was Onokoro she thought of. The sea and the sun and sand. And perhaps a cheeky smile and dancing eyes and nights under the stars. She doesn’t have the energy to examine it too closely.

She lies down on the sand, and it’s still hot from the day. She digs her fingers deep into, the grains running across her skin and scales and claws. Beneath the surface where it’s cool, where the light doesn’t reach it. She wants to be buried in it, heavy and cool and deep. She breathes, and digs.

A hand brushes against hers, warm and calloused. She didn’t know she closed her eyes.

“Do you need help with that? I can almost guarantee there’s no buried treasure here – that’s more the style of your friends in Limsa Lominsa as I’ve come to know.”

She lets out a huff of silent laughter, a breath she held too long.

“No, I – I’m not –” She stops digging, and holds his hand in hers. She feels brittle, like she’ll fly apart at any time. “Can you – hold me, please.”

Tansui does, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her up and out of the sand and lifting her to him. She lets herself relax into him. He is not a large man, but he’s still broader and bigger than her, and wraps himself around her, heavy and fast.

“What’s brought this on?” he asks, and rubs his cheek against her horn, familiar and far too intimate and not intimate enough.

She shrugs, as best she can. Still not sure what compelled her here, of all places, her aether stretched thin from travel for no need, and yet so full, bursting at the seams. But his arms around her is the best she’s felt in days, in weeks. She’s entirely unsure what to do about that. She buries herself deeper in his arms. She breathes in the scent of him, sweat and seawater and tar.

“Relax, relax,” he murmurs, sweeter than she expects. His arms move up her back, kneading the knots he finds there. She breathes and tries to do as he says, to relax into his embrace.

“So, are you on your way to reckless, life-threatening troubles again? Or on your way from them?” He kisses her gently. “I am truly glad to see you again after such a while, Meryta, but I do hope you don’t bring trouble in your wake.”

“No –” not this time, she wants to say, but her thoughts are too scatted to argue, too occupied with her current woes. “It cannot come here. Or – it cannot follow me here, though the danger is… everywhere. To everyone.” She halts and goes on slowly, telling as well as she can of the First, the Sineaters, the Lightwardens. The apparent looming Calamity. Tansui’s arm stays around her, faltering only briefly, his fingers momentarily digging into her shoulder.

“I know this all sounds queer –”

“— even for you.”

She smiles into his chest and gives and halfhearted chuckle. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t burden you, I know you’re not – I’m not good company, I just – so much has happened.”

“This is … quite outside my experience, but it’s alright. If you need to talk, talk. Let it go. I can listen.”

He squeezes her hand tentatively, and keeps her close. It’s comforting and intimate, the waves and the stars their only companions. The customary spark of want between them is absent, and yet he does not leave. He waits patiently, and lets her continue, telling of the scions, souls transported and the relief of seeing them again, mixed with despair of them being stuck. She forces the bitterness out of her voice and goes on.

She breaks when she tells about Tesleen, the kindness repaid by sorrow. Alisaie’s quiet grief, and her inability to prevent it. The villagers of Holminster, all turned to sineaters, bright and empty. She sobs, and buries her head in his chest and barely makes sense, words coming in stuttering hiccups. The Light Warden. The Light she absorbed. She doesn’t know when she last cried like this, but Tansui just holds her, his strong arms around her; hand gently stroking her back.

She wakes when she’s jostled, and realizes Tansui is carrying her, walking along the beach. She must have fallen asleep in his arms.

“I can walk,” she mumbles, embarrassed she fell asleep on him. Her head is swimming with tiredness, and she fights against it, against the comfort of his chest.

“Do you want to?” he asks. “I know you’re capable of incomparable feats – even walking while dead tired – but you don’t have to.”

His voice rumbles against her, his tone the jesting bite she knows, but his care earnest and kind. Does she want to? This makes her eyes water again, as she’s trying to hold herself together. Perhaps she’s been running ragged for days, exhaustion finally catching up with her. So much for the grand savior the Exarch wants her to be.

“Are you certain?”

“I wouldn’t have offered if not.”

“Alright.”

Something gives, and she allows herself to soften into him and let him carry her. She’s snug against his chest, held with a care she shouldn’t need.

The lights of the village come into view soon enough, but he makes no motion to put her down. He carries up the stairs as if she weighs nothing, mumbled protest shushed you weigh less than a boat. It almost lulls her asleep again, until he kicks the door open to the small room of his. He gently puts her on his bed, soft pillows surrounding her.

“Sorry, I’m not much good company.” She yawns. “No fun.”

He’s tall and handsome in the lamplight, and there’s the flick of desire she always feels around him, but she’s just so tired.

“Shhhh, Meryta. You can barely stand on your feet; you need the sleep. Even heroes don’t work without it, I surmise.”

Undressed, he helps her out of her shirt, and tucks himself behind her underneath his blanket. His arm work in steady patterns up and down her back, avoiding her tail and the spot above it that makes her squirm. All she can do is accept the comfort offered, her weariness fueled by anger and grief giving way to sleep as he gently holds her.

---

Tansui wakes before her. She’s curled up next to him, her tail across his legs and heat radiating off her. There’s a new scar on her back he didn’t notice last night in the dark. Long and straight, some kind of blade, probably. He hovers a hand above her skin, before he gets up without disturbing her.

Meryta looks tired, and somehow smaller than he recalls, curled up like this on his bed. She looked worse yesterday. She’s a warrior, and he’s seen her fight – Garleans and their war machines, tearing them apart. He knows she’s fought other things, things he can barely comprehend. Right now, she just looks young and worn out.

Feeding branches to his stove, he sets to work, soaked rice and water and dried meat. He chops scallions and considers fetching eggs, but opts against it. She could wake any time. So, he goes on and chops and cooks and lets the smell fill the room.

He’s seen something like this before. Perhaps he’s even experienced it himself so very long ago. When recruits, eager and fresh-faced and ready to start a new life run into their first trouble. Someone who won’t pay, someone who attacks. The Confederacy tries to avoid violence, but they’re pirates and at some point reality sets in, and there’s no turning back from this life. You draw blood, you kill your first man. The recruit comes back shaken and pale. And then he’ll feed them and tell them to get a good nights rest, and he’ll send them back out again until they’re used to it.

He looks at Meryta’s still sleeping form, and the way she shook in his arms last night – she’s no recruit, young as she is. He’s heard enough of her deeds of heroism, and he’s seen her bold and fierce on the battlefield. But something’s unsettled her. He wonders if she has anyone to feed her and tell her it will get better – or at least that she will get used to it. If anyone can get used to what she faces. He’s comforted countless recruits, but he’d also had the luxury of telling them to rest, to slow down and get help. It sounds like people tend to expect her aid instead.

Adding salt to the pot, he stirs the porridge and wonders if it will get better. Well, it’s the illusion that matters. He can’t help her with her fights, and barely her fears, with what little he understood of different worlds and beings of terrible light. He slices a handful of mushrooms finely.

She stirs as he’s frying the mushrooms, stretches and then sits up suddenly, as if she’s surprised. Her eyes dart across the room.

“You’re in my humble dwelling, Meryta.” He grins, and takes the mushrooms off the stove. He sits next to her. “I know you’ve been here before.”

“Oh I – I apologize, I – I do recall. You carried me here. I’m afraid I’ve been taken advantage of your hospitality, falling asleep with nary a word.”

He resists the urge to wrap his arms around her, just as he resisted tumbling her on the bed the moment she woke up.

“Were I supposed to have left you on the beach?”

That gets him a smile, and a frown. “I did not sleep well, after – after I absorbed all that aether, even with the night returned. There was…” She stops and he does not pry. “I’m afraid I was not good company.”

“Did you sleep well here?”

“Verily.” She smiles, beautiful and bright, and he can’t resist that, he leans in and kisses her, and she kisses him back warm and soft until she draws back, frowning. “I’m afraid I can’t linger – the time – I barely understand it but time may pass at different speeds, and –”

“You should at least break your fast. You must have time for that. No matter your power, you still require sustenance.”

“It does smell good, Tansui.”

Kami preserve him, he still likes his name on her tongue and if that isn’t enough, making the whole thing worth it.

She eats hungrily and he’s glad he took the time to cook. Glad his small kitchen can offer succor and she smiles and he remembers suddenly – a stolen sweetcake, shared with his siblings, the little ones asking for more, far too hungry. No one should go hungry. Tansui shakes his head. No need to be sentimental or think of things too far in the past. But there’s a reason no one goes hungry among Confederates.

He sits and eats with her in silence. She looks far less tired than last night, the weariness no longer clinging to her. The sun comes through the window in the kitchen where he’s pulled the curtain aside, highlighting her green and yellow hair to a crown of blazing spring. Beautiful. He found her beautiful from the moment she and her friends showed up like strays on their doorstep, determined to win their aid – as they did. But she’s more than beautiful sitting here, sunlight in hair. It’s the first time she stays for breakfast, and yet seems like the most natural thing in the world. The wooden grain of the table, the warm food, the beautiful woman, the unbeatable hero. Go forth and come back, he wants to say.

“More?” he asks instead.

“I can’t tarry.” She looks at the pot. “Perhaps a little.”

“I wish I could stay,” she says, when she’s done with the second portion, “but – and I should help with cleanup,” she continues as she puts her dish in the sink, and he waves her off.

“I understand. World saving can’t wait and all.”

She gives a tight smile, and he knows her weariness will creep back before too long.

He follows her outside, where she finds her sandals. Fastened, she reaches for him, her palm cupping his face and her fingertips scratching his beard. Her eyes glow, large and bright purple in the shade of the building. He bends and kisses her, compelled by her nearness.

“I have to leave,” she says again. “Thank you.” She looks away from him, lowers her eyes to fixate on his shoulders. “For your kindness, Tansui. I didn’t expect – you didn’t have to.”

“You’re welcome anytime,” he says, and kisses her hair. “When you can – if you can.”

He doesn’t fully understand her troubles, but he knows enough to realize the world hangs in some sort of balance, and of course her, and her friends, are part of it. She takes a step back, and engages her anima, the hum of the teleport spell filling the air. He stares at her as she leaves, and the space left behind. The complexities of crossing worlds confound him, but it does not change his hope that she’ll be back again, in his bed and in his kitchen.

“Inviting her back, I see.” Rasho’s voice booms behind him. “Did you even charge the tithe this time?”

“If it’s a problem, you can take it from my private share.”

“That’s not what I mean, Tansui. You cooked her breakfast, didn’t you?”

“And what if I did?”

“We’ve had plenty of new recruits, and yet I’ve not seen you take any to your quarters. Save her. It makes one wonder.”

“Are you keeping tabs on my private life now, captain?”

“As your friend, perhaps I am.” Tansui bristles, but Rasho just steps closer, taking advantage of their familiarity. “She’s not quite like us, Tansui.”

“And is that a problem?”

“Hm.” Rasho drops a hand on his shoulder. “Be careful, old friend. She must go where you can’t follow.”

“We’re just friends enjoying each other’s company, that’s all.” It comes out more defensive than he’d like, and the memory of the way her face softened after she cried herself to sleep in his arms comes to his mind, unbidden. So, he cares for her, and wishes her back hale and well and victorious. That’s not unreasonable.

Rasho lets go of his shoulder and regards him solemnly. Tansui wants to leave, but he’s not backing down. He holds his friends gaze fiercely.

“I see.” The big man shrugs with indifference, and Tansui knows him well enough to know it’s anything but. “Mayhap you should consider what you are to each other. For your sake and for hers.”

“I – “ He doesn’t know how to respond. He hates it, suddenly and fiercely, that she goes to her friends and danger, and he’s here with only dirty dishes in the sink and her scent in his bed. No matter her closeness, he holds no claim on Meryta, just a hope to see her again, his hands on her skin, his name on her tongue. Smiling and eating at his table. He’s not ready to face what that means, nor talk with Rasho about it.

Rasho nods and walks off. Leaving him to his thoughts roiling in his head. Naught he can do about those thoughts and desires, so he pushes them to the back of his mind. It does not matter - he will wait, and she will be back. There’s still more than a half-bell until he asked the recruits to muster for training at the Coral Banquet, and he should have time to clean up after their breakfast.

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thevikingwoman · 8 months

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Couldn't get the thought of Meryta and Tansui having a fling out of my head, so here we are. Stormblood spoilers.

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV | Words: 2085 | Read on Ao3

After freeing Isari village and Gosetsu, the group decides to stay the night for a celebration in the village. The Warrior of Light; finds brief relief in the arms of kindred spirit Tansui.

Meryta Khatin x Tansui | After MSQ Tide Goes In, Imperials Go Out Rating: Explict. Sexual content, outdoors sex, fling, au ra scale sensitivity headcanons, slight timeline divergence, ode to Tansui's hair I guess

Under Familiar Stars

Someone has lit a bonfire at the beach, and there are plenty of people drinking and bragging, a release after the dread of oppression. Kicking the Empire out of their waters, and Isari, feels good, and she suspects especially for the Confederacy to feel at home in their own waters again. The wounded taken care of, and the fighters resting, many have chosen to remain here for the evening rather than return to Onokoro.

Their gambit worked, and it’s not as if she’s surprised – it had to work, but that it worked so well is very good. It would have been better had they captured the viceroy, but all in all the outcome is as good as she can hope for.

She walks through the people on the beach, young pirates and villagers sitting in the sand. Someone has pulled out a Shamisen and plays a happy tune, someone else is singing along.

Neither Lyse, Alisaie, or Gostetsu are with them, and perhaps they’ve already made their way to the beds the innkeep offered. They’re setting out early next morning; it was only on Alisaie’s insistence Gotsetsu relented to take a night’s rest.

She checks the porch in front of the inn, and she doesn’t find them there, and not many other people. Most have joined the revelry at the beach. She does find Tansui, leaning against the railing, an empty cup in his hands.

“Meryta,” he says.

“Tansui.”

She comes to stand next to him.

“So, things did work out for you. Mark you, I’m glad it did, you and the little Miss’s plan.”

“It had to work,” Meryta replies. “And you all did your part, too.”

“Only after –” he pauses, and looks directly at her. “Is that how things are for you? Just…” He snaps his fingers and gestures vaguely.

She thinks over the question. She does impossible things, with the crystal’s blessing and all that comes with it, whether she understands it or not. Another day and another primal dispersed. But not just that, and she thinks of Aymeric drawing his bow against Estinien possessed without a pause, about Papalymo telling her to leave, Ysayle falling from the sky. The dead bodies at Rhaelgar’s Reach and the blood in her mouth as Zenos rounded on her. (She doesn’t think of Haruchefant, dead on walkway, the fading light in his eyes)

“Not at all,” she says. But the truth is; they’ve won enough, whether in the crystals light or by the whim of an old dragon. “Sometimes. Often enough,” she amends.

“I can’t believe it. Glad am I you came here.”

The wind blows freshly from the seas. Tansui’s braid has loosened, the purple strands whipping about his nape. She tied her own hair back again earlier, a mess after the storms called by the Lord of Revel. She has the sudden desire to unravel his more, to see it falling loosely around his face, to run her fingers through it.

“Walk with me,” she says on impulse. She’ll miss him, and the boldness of his convictions.

They descend the stairs from the inn together, and walk away from the village and the people. The air smells like sea and salt. They reach the shore, the sea lapping at their feet.

“The Ruby Seas are yours,” Meryta says, gesturing to the dark waves. It’s incidental to why they’re here, but she’s happy it turned out this way. Despite their initial distance, she finds she likes the Confederacy pirates. The Ruby Tithe seems a way to maintain a balance here, but mostly they are just a comfortable and uncomplicated group.

“At least until the Empire turns it’s gaze upon us again.”

“Hopefully not too soon. We need security at our backs for what we need to do.”

Hopefully the Empire and the Viceroy will never gain a foothold here again, and they’ll succeed in all they need to do. For Lyse. For Raubahn. For Yugiri and her people.

“Did you bring me here to demand more from us?”

“No, just for a walk. I’m but thankful for all you did, and I’m glad you were here.”

“Were you now,” Tansui says, and he smiles. Meryta looks away.

Together they make it up from the beach towards the grass and trees. They talk quietly about the Confederacy and the delicate balance of nations around the Ruby Seas, and how the Garleans disturbed it, scorching all in their path. They meander their way past the fishing huts and up in the hills behind. She tells a little of Eorzea and her adventures, but mostly she turns the conversation to the Ruby Seas and the rhythm of the land and sea.

Mertya looks up and the stars are familiar, constellations in sky aligned in well-known positions from her childhood. The constellations are the same, but their placements in the sky are different half a world away. They’ve fallen silent now, Tansui follows her gaze up at the heavens.

She can’t help looking back at him, her eyes roaming down his neck and his chest, his haori sliding to reveal more of it. There’s a thin line of blood with a bruise blooming around it which she didn’t notice before. It’s likely the nick of sword.

“You’re injured,” she murmurs. Unbidden, she reaches for him. She doesn’t have much aether left from all the ordeals today, but perhaps she has enough, reaching for those stars above –

“Nothing serious.” Tansui smiles at her, his dark eyes tender in the moonlight. “There’s no need, unless - is that an excuse to touch me?”

She places her whole hand on his chest.

“Perhaps.”

The crisp air stills, and they’re alone, far from everyone else and Tansui’s hands land on her hips. He bends his head as she reaches up, both of them drawn to the spark between them. His lips are chapped, tasting like sea salt and battle, his beard delightfully rough against her skin. She groans and draws him closer, slipping her hands around his neck. They kiss hungrily, deeper, and she buries her hands in his hair, her desire to unravel it still in her mind.

Panting, they lean their foreheads against each other. She toys with hairs at his nape and leans in again, kissing him slower this time, savoring the taste of him. She brings her lips to his jaw, his beard scratching her lips, and she groans when his fingers carefully slide along her horns.

“Meryta, come. Let us celebrate our victory beneath the stars.”

There’s a question in his eyes, and when she nods, he leads them a little further uphill, then spreads his haoki on the ground, and pulls her down with him for a lazy kiss on the ground.

He has her undressed shortly, where they lay, and his hands are on her, tracing her scales across her hips and her belly. His touch is firm and bold, and she can’t help the sigh that escapes her as she reaches for him. His chest is firm and warm, old scars and new bruises. She makes short work of his pants too, the sea air embracing them.

She kisses him, and puts her fingers through his hair, finally unraveling it completely. Tansui’s hands wander back around her waist, and she gasps when one of them finds the base of her tail and strokes. He grins and does it again, his other hand cupping her sex.

“You do like that, hm?”

“Yes,” she hisses, hands roaming his body without focus. All she can feel is him, stroking the sensitive scales at the base of tail, now gripping the top of it, letting go. His other hand is busy too, finding the wetness between her legs. She gasps and she wants, grateful for a lover who’s been with an auri before, someone without shyness or questions.

He slides one finger between her slit, finding her clit. Another adds pressure, and she bucks her hips towards him. Her own hands slide lower, through the coarse hair on Tansui’s belly, following its trail lower still. Her fingers brush against his cock and it’s his turn to groan. Pleased, she takes him in hand, pushing herself towards him once more. She almost let go of him when he slides one finger into her, and his other hand down and up her tail.

“Please, Tansui,” she gasps, her hips tilting, seeking his hand, his fingers inside of her.

Instead of granting her what she wants, he grasps her tail firmly around the base, his hand almost wide enough to circle it, and he holds her in place as his other hand withdraws, featherlight strokes to tease her. She whines in frustration and claws at his hips, trying to pull him closer.

“Tell me, what do you want, Meryta?” he smirks, his breath thankfully still a bit strained.

Her cunt clenches around nothing, the fire of need building in her. Frantic, manic, and suddenly her ears are ringing, filled with the laughter of the Lord of Revel. She summoned him, and slayed him, all within today, and she needs and she wants and she’s here on their clothes spread beneath the stars.

She wrenches herself free, and moves them, putting Tansui on his back with her above him. He looks dazed and flushed.

“I want you, Tansui.” He lets out a little laugh at that, and she hovers above him, letting her slick coat his cock. “Do you want me?”

He nods, his hands on her waist now, but he doesn’t pull her down, waiting on her, letting her tease him now. Her impatience burns in her though, and she lowers herself on him, only a bit careful to adjust to him, letting him fill her, relishing in the fullness inside of her.

She moves slowly, at the pace she wants, drawing gasps from him. His hair is fanned out beneath him, almost evenly dark in the moonlight, the purple only a tone of grey. Tansui puts his hands between them, grinning as he finds her clit again.

Meryta rides him faster, his dark eyes never leaving hers. Even like this, his fingers are skilled and confident, his other hand caressing the sensitive scales on her hip. She tries to hold on a little longer, but she can’t, her orgasm washes over her, inevitable like the ocean far behind them.

“Beautiful,” Tansui whispers, “no, don’t close them!”

Meryta manages to keep her eyes open, but she sways and slumps in the aftershocks. Tansui’s strong arms catch her, and suddenly she’s on the ground beneath him, staring up at him, his hair in a curtain around his face.

“May I go on?” he asks, his voice rough. He accentuates with a small thrust of his hips. She gasps and nods and it’s enough for him as he moves faster, his eyes hungry. She sighs as he moves into her, swollen and sensitive, a pleasant feeling with no urgency. She’s free to observe him, how his veins strain in his neck, how he gasps and – unfairly, squeezes his eyes shut when as he comes, collapsing on top of her with her name on his lips.

They kiss, and Tansui rolls off her, cleaning them both with a scrap of fabric found somewhere, his calloused hands gentle and careful.

Without need for words, they curl into each other, and fall asleep beneath the stars.

It’s a short walk back to the village the next morning – much shorter than she expected and she’s thankful an early riser didn’t stumble upon them.

“There you are,” Alisaie says when she sees her, buckling her pack. “I was afraid we’d have to send out a search party.”

Meryta’s cheeks heat, and she ducks her head. “The inn was too crowded.”

Alisaie eyes narrows, focusing on the pirate behind Meryta, and then she smiles, far too innocent.

“I normally leave diplomacy and it’s intricacies to my brother, but I’m certainly glad we could arrive at a mutual beneficial conclusion.”

Meryta sputters and busies herself finding her travelling coat and packing her gear. She’s saved from further discussion when Gosetsu bellows from below, his rightful impatience showing. They all hurry outside for their final goodbyes.

“As Rasho said, our fates are intertwined. I do hope our future cooperations will be fruitful.”

Tansui addresses them all, but his gaze lingers on her, and when they get on their way, his hand brushes against her arm. She winks at him, one more levity before they return to their journey and grave task ahead.

#Final Fantasy 14 #ffxiv #ffxiv fanfic #wol x Tansui #meryta x tansui #writing about meryta #meryta khatin #I had fun with a fling #mery has a good time #much love for Tansui's hair #stormblood spoilers #viking writes #published 8/16/2023 #tansui #ffxiv tansui #woltansui

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