Chapter Text
— ❁ —
There was an ear in Cyno’s mouth.
It was an ear he had seen before. He was quite familiar with this ear. He had even touched it a few times, when his quiet curiosity had gotten the better of him.
When he had first felt that ear a few years ago, the short dark hair had felt cool to the touch as he rubbed it between his forefinger and his thumb; rubbing in the wrong direction caused the hair to feel rough and bristly and had earned him a little sound of reproach.
He had last felt that ear weeks ago, however. And that had, of course, been with his fingertips, which were decidedly not the inside of his mouth. Had Cyno not had an ear in his mouth, he would have said that the remembrance of the texture of the ear on his fingertips was “neither ear nor there.”
He could not, however, make that brilliant joke because for some reason, Tighnari’s ear was in his mouth.
It was certainly an odd way to wake up, only made possible by the fact that Tighnari himself was sprawled atop Cyno, softly snoring with his head pressed into Cyno’s neck. Tighnari’s location relative to the entirety of Cyno’s body prevented him from doing much more than open his eyes and stare at the ceiling and the walls of the room.
A brief glance told him that they were back in Tighnari’s lodgings in Gandharva Ville. Cyno almost didn’t recognize the place with the ornate curtain covering the usually-open door frame. Pale, watery light was leaking through some of the gaps, signaling that beyond the darkened room, dawn was breaking. The sconce above was not lit, and the decorative leaves attached to Tighnari’s ceiling gave Cyno the distinct feeling that he had fallen asleep in a big round tree trunk.
In his peripheral vision, Cyno saw something shining on the floor; he tried to subtly move to see what it was, but then Tighnari groaned and shifted in his sleep. This was unfortunate for Cyno in multiple ways. The most urgent misfortune, however, was the fact that in shifting, the pointed tip of Tighnari’s ear traveled quite far into Cyno’s mouth.
Cyno’s instinctual recoil toward the headboard nearly launched Tighnari sideways off of the bed. His hacking cough then startled Tighnari fully awake, causing him to fully plunge onto the wooden floor. If Cyno hadn’t been coughing so hard, he would have heard the distinct thwump of Tighnari landing hard on his tail.
Cyno did, however, hear his hiss of annoyance, which was a far more animalistic sound than he was used to hearing from his friend.
Glancing over the side of the bed, Cyno was caught in an accusatory glare. Tighnari had shifted himself upright, and his tail puffed up behind him like an angry shadow. Grouchy-Tighnari opened his mouth to speak, and Cyno’s mind switched into battle mode.
Tighnari hasn’t been sleeping well lately and is probably pretty mad about being startled awake and hitting the floor so hard. I should defuse the situation. Element of surprise. Shock him out of his anger.
“What the he—”
“You seem very grounded this morning.”
Just beyond the covered doorway, a dusk bird sang.
“...”
“...”
Cyno stared at Tighnari, wondering if he understood the pun.
“Get it? Because—”
“Stop.”
Tighnari stared at Cyno, wondering many things indeed.
Now that Cyno was sitting up, he could see what the shining thing was: the old magnifying glass that typically hung on the small of Tighnari’s back. Tighnari’s white outer garment was lying in an unceremonious pile nearby, his purple sash tossed on top. Various pieces of Tighnari’s clothing were scattered around the room: a yellow flower here, a leather bag there, cufflinks detached from their cuffs. Even Tighnari’s precious research journal, which he always kept safely on his desk or in a bag, lay open face-down near the pile of clothes.
Cyno kept scanning, and noticed that his own accessories had joined Tighnari’s on the floor. His headdress was propped up by a watering can, bathed in an eerie blue light from the hydrophilic plant tank nearby. His golden belt and its layers of fabric appeared to be draped over the foot of the bed.
Tighnari’s boots were nowhere to be seen at all.
Cyno’s eyes fell back on Tighnari, who, thankfully, was still clothed fully in the dark blue garments he wore under his many layers of accessories. Glancing downward, Cyno realized that he didn’t really need to examine himself: he was always shirtless anyways. His shorts were right where they should be.
He watched as Tighnari glanced around the room. His eyes raked over the headdress, the belt, the various pieces of jewelry around the floor, his journal which undoubtedly now had bent pages. He then, rather obviously, glanced down to confirm that he was still wearing something. A very subtle sigh of relief left his lips.
Neither of them had spoken in the aftermath of Cyno’s brilliant pun, but his plan had worked: Tighnari was clearly too baffled to be angry.
“What is happening.” Tighnari said it more as a statement as opposed to a question. What was certainly happening.
Finally realizing it was awkward to stay seated on the floor, Tighnari sprang up. He moved as if to sit on the bed next to Cyno, but appeared to think better of it and settled for picking at the ties of his hoodie and shifting from one foot to the other.
“Your ear was in my mouth. Sorry.”
“What?”
“That’s why I was coughing. Your ear hit the back of my throat pretty hard and my reflexes kicked in.”
“Why?”
“Why what? My reflexes are just sharp, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s obviously not what I’m asking. Why was my ear in your mouth?”
“I didn’t put it there.”
Tighnari groaned. “Are you suggesting that I put my ear in your mouth?” As he spoke, he began to rub his ear in agitation. His earring bobbed back and forth. Cyno even thought he heard Tighnari mutter the words “disgusting” and “slimy.”
Grabbing his chin in thought, Cyno laid out the evidence and his theory. “I woke up because your ear was in my mouth. You were lying on top of me with your face in my neck—”
“—highly unlikely—”
“—snoring soundly—”
“—I do not—”
“—because you’ve been sleep-deprived for a while now. Weren’t we getting dinner and drinks with Kaveh and the Traveler last night?”
Tighnari furrowed his brow and finally sat on the edge of the bed next to Cyno. He was nodding slowly, as if scanning what he could remember of the evening before. “Right… that’s right.”
“We must have both had a bit too much to drink and ended up in bed together.”
Tighnari’s mouth dropped open in horror. “We’re both clothed!” His voice was almost a shout, then he shot a panicked glance at the curtain-covered doorway that most certainly had no soundproofing. He whisper-yelled “We are both clothed!” again, as if Cyno hadn’t heard him the (very loud) first time. “There is absolutely no way we—I can’t even say it.” His voice kept getting faster and hoarser with each word.
“Slept together?”
“Stop!” Tighnari hissed, flinching as if to stand up and put distance between them.
Sometimes, being highly literal was more fun than puns. “I meant that we literally slept. You only have one bed.”
“Right. Obviously.”
Tighnari nodded vigorously.
They both looked around at their strewn garments.
The dusk bird sang again.
Tighnari’s posture relaxed as if he had resigned himself to sitting with Cyno.
“Okay.” He began, turning to face Cyno fully. “So we were drinking and—what is that?” His voice had dropped to a hiss again.
He was glaring at Cyno again, eyebrows furrowed under his bangs.
“Hold still.”
Cyno, eyes wide, nodded obediently.
Tighnari crawled on top of him again, taking a similar position to the one they had been in when Cyno first woke up. Hands made their way to Cyno’s neck, fingers pressed firmly, and he vaguely wondered if Tighnari was finally going to kill him in retribution for all of the puns.
“Why do you have a hickey here?”
Cyno felt his own eyebrows climb towards his hairline.
“Given the present circumstances, that seems like a question for you.”
“There is absolutely no way I gave you a hickey.”
“That’s pretty much the exact spot where your mouth was when I woke u—”
“—absolutely no way.”
Tighnari’s thumb pressed harder at the spot on Cyno’s neck, as if he could erase it. This, of course, caused Cyno some pain and difficulty breathing.
“I’m pretty sure choking me to death is a crime.”
“Strangulation is a crime regardless of the victim’s identity.”
“Killing me, specifically, is a political crime.”
“How did you get this hickey?”
Gently pushing away Tighnari’s hand, Cyno sat up. Their noses almost touched for a second as Tighnari scrambled backward. “Listen.” Tighnari’s ears twitched at Cyno’s more serious tone. “You probably drooled on my neck and irritated my skin.”
There was a huff of breath, a roll of the eyes, and Tighnari was up and pacing around the circular room, tail twitching sharply behind him. “I don’t drool. I also don’t snore. And why are you saying that so seriously? Are you gonna sue me for damages?”
“Are you admitting that you gave me a hickey, then?”
“Absolutely not.”
“What color is it?”
“What?”
“Purple? Red?”
Tighnari furrowed his brow, then came closer to the bed. “Reddish purple, I guess. Why?”
“Does the skin look dry?”
“No. No flakes.”
“Okay, so it’s probably a hickey—”
Tighnari threw up his hands. “We’ve established that.”
“—or a generic throat bruise.”
“A what.” Tighnari stared at Cyno for a beat, then squinted. “You’re either really hungover, or still drunk.”
“Fighting is a fairly large portion of my work. It’s not unlikely that I got hit in the neck and my garments covered it until now.”
“I hate that that makes sense.” Tighnari sighed, turned, picked up his research journal, snapped it shut, and set it down on his desk with a huff. He then began gathering up the random accessories scattered around the room, and Cyno rose to join him. The pile of clothing and accessories that belonged to Tighnari was full of bright colors, intricate fabrics, and trinkets. As Cyno gathered his garments, he noticed that his pile was almost entirely gold.
Tighnari began to put on his white outer clothes, but paused. “Wait.”
Cyno, too, paused in searching for the clasp of his belt.
“Do I have any hickeys?” He began rifling through his shelves. “I can’t find my mirror… check for me, would you?”
Tighnari sat down on his bed, and Cyno approached with an eyebrow raised. “You wear a turtleneck every day.” Said turtleneck was snugly in place.
“Your hickey has an alibi.” Tighnari tugged at the stretchy fabric around his own neck. “If I have a hickey, then there’s reason for concern. That would show intent. Deliberate action.”
“Are you accusing me of being a pain in the neck?” Cyno wanted to point out that Tighnari’s plan had some holes in it, but the angry twitches in Tighnari’s left eye once again steered Cyno towards defusing with jokes instead.
“You’re absolutely a pain in my neck. Now check.”
Tighnari was sitting on the bed, and Cyno stood over him. Tan, gloveless fingers tugged at the edge of navy blue fabric. He drew in close to better see Tighnari’s neck.
“Master Tighna—Oh! I’m—! Sor—!” Frozen in place, they heard the swoosh of a curtain falling back into place, then the distinct thumping of Collei’s boots against the wooden deck of Gandharva Ville, thumping further and further from Tighnari’s dwelling.
Tighnari’s eyes snapped to Cyno’s as they took inventory of the situation. Their clothes and accessories were in (neater) piles around the room. Both were significantly less clothed than usual. Cyno’s bare upper body would have certainly obscured Collei’s view of Tighnari. Their faces were mere inches apart. They were on Tighnari’s bed. Tighnari’s hands were on Cyno’s shoulders for stability, and Cyno’s hands were supporting Tighnari’s head and tugging at his shirt.
“...there’s no hickey here.”
“Can you please get off of me, General Mahamatra?”
— ❁ —
For better or for worse, Cyno had a busy day ahead. As it turned out, Collei had intruded to try and find Tighnari to deal with some adventurers who managed to stir up 5 rishboland tigers. Cyno had been the first to emerge, and a forest ranger soon approached and asked him for his help since no one had seen Tighnari that morning. Cyno noted, internally, that this ranger did not comment on the fact that he had just exited Tighnari’s house. Tactful, or lacking all situational awareness?
When he arrived at the destination, he found a group of tigers circling the base of a large tree. Three people were sitting in a high branch, clawing at the tree trunk and looking terrified. A few high-pitched mews informed Cyno that there were two cubs hiding in the nearby brush. A rustle to his right clued him in to Collei’s presence at the end of the clearing opposite to the tigers.
Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment as he drew nearer, but she prioritized her observational work. Her professionalism was a testament to Tighnari’s mentorship.
“There’s three people in the tree. Not sure what nation they’re from. Sorry, I probably could have taken out the tigers on my own, but it seems wrong to punish them.”
“You made the right call.” He whispered. “Besides, even with a vision, taking them on would have endangered you.”
Collei nodded, still not quite meeting his eye.
“So, what have you observed about this situation? How can we save them without hurting the tigers?”
She pointed out the presence of the cubs and the fact that the tigers could absolutely have climbed the tree already, and Cyno nodded along.
“So I think they just want the adventurers to stay away from the babies. Cubs. Sorry.”
“Good observations. So what would be the best possible solution?”
“Getting them out of the tree without descending and getting closer to the cubs. I think.”
“Sounds like a good idea, but what’s the plan?”
The redness in her cheeks had diminished a bit because of his even demeanor, but she still wouldn’t meet his eye. He listened as she stumbled through a plan involving securing a rope ladder and using it as a walkway between the trees.
“...or something like that… Cyno, what do you think we should do?”
She was technically Tighnari’s student, but Cyno felt a certain amount of responsibility to her. In saving her, he had once caused her immense pain.
“We should go with your plan.” When Collei looked like she was about to protest, he continued. “We can adjust if things go wrong, but I doubt they will. I like your plan.”
And so, they set to work. Collei rushed to retrieve a rope ladder from Gandharva Ville as Cyno leapt through the trees closer to the huddled group. His presence seemed to unsettle them a bit, but when they understood that he was offering help, they stopped crying out.
Within an hour, Collei’s plan had gotten them a safe enough distance to descend from the trees and finish the walk back to Gandharva Ville.
The young blonde adventurer woman grabbed Collei’s arm. “I can’t thank you enough!” Cyno winced, remembering Collei’s discomfort with being touched.
The mustached brunette man in ornate clothes clapped his hands together loudly. “The two of you really saved us!”
The gloomy-looking man in Inazuman garments seemed to read the discomfort of both Cyno and Collei. “Liliya,” he chided, “you’ll hurt the girl with your freakish strength.”
The blonde lady—Liliya, evidently—let go of Collei’s arm with an apology that Collei immediately brushed off. They were now climbing the steps up into the tree huts.
“None of you are from Sumeru, I suppose.” Cyno’s voice came out chillier than he intended, but somehow he figured it wasn’t time for jokes. “What were you doing in the rainforest?”
Liliya was the first to respond, not at all phased by Cyno’s stoic demeanor. “Kagehiko commissioned the Adventurer’s Guild for an escort through Sumeru while he conducts research. That’s what I’m here for!” Beaming, she pointed a thumb at the bow on her back that noticeably had not been drawn during their encounter with the tigers.
“Research?” Collei cocked her head.
“For my light novel.” The Inazuman man responded. “I had moderate success writing an adventure story set in Mondstadt, but the terrain and atmosphere there are so gentle there that my story was too tame compared to everything else on the shelf.”
“So you’ve come to Sumeru to experience an adventure that’s a little more life-threatening?”
“Yes.” He seemed unenthusiastic. “I met Liliya, Jean-Jacques, and the rest of our companions in Nod Krai and we decided to travel here together through Bayda Harbor. Well, the rainforest certainly is not as pleasant as Mondstadt, but I guess some stories need a hostile setting.”
Cyno was glad Collei was willing to talk to them. His own mind was torn between the many jokes he could make about the untouched bow on Liliya’s back and the way he did not trust the men of this group. They all now stood on a wooden platform.
Quivering too much to use the bow?
Jean-Jacques, in his ornate clothes that Cyno recognized as Fontainian, spoke up to add to their story: “Our companions stayed to rest a few days in the city and hire Eremite guards. We just couldn’t wait to get started on the adventure!”
The tigers were stringing them along?
Kagehiko crossed his arms. Liliya nodded vigorously, then added: “Jean-Jacques used to work for the Fontaine Research Institute.”
Fighting the tigers seemed aimless?
“They don’t see cultural anthropology as a worthwhile pursuit, so I’m conducting solo research.” Despite this seemingly sad tale, Jean-Jacques was beaming.
It’s called a bulls-eye, not a tigers-eye?
“It’s the Institute of Kinetic Energy Engineering. I’m surprised they hired you in the first place.” It was clear that Kagehiko disliked his companions.
“You disturbed a den full of cubs.” Cyno was glad that it was something serious that finally left his mouth. The puns weren’t as good as usual. “You shouldn’t create extra work for the forest rangers by being unobservant like that.”
“And who are you to talk to me like that?” At this outburst, Liliya and Jean-Jacques gaped at Kagehiko, shocked by his bluntness.
Cyno had a strong distaste for pulling rank and Collei shrank away from conflict after her difficult childhood.
A nearby forest ranger, Kamran, however, had no such qualms. “How dare you speak to the General Mahamatra like that!”
“I don’t really care. This place is…” Kagehiko trailed off with disdain, examining the copious amounts of mud at his hem.
Kamran drew closer, getting into Kagehiko’s space. “And after the general took the time to save y—!”
Tighnari emerged from his home, pushing aside the elaborate curtain with one arm while balancing a basket of fungi in the other. He interrupted Kamran’s tirade deftly.
“We’re all glad you’re safe.” This was said in the flattest tone Cyno had ever heard. “Please stay on the established paths to make your way back to Sumeru City when it’s time to rejoin your companions.” He turned his head. “Collei, we need to classify these.” His eyes landed on Cyno. “We can finish our conversation later, once we’ve conducted our own investigations.”
“Wha—?”
“—And you.” Tighnari ignored him, facing Kamran. “You don’t even like Cyno. Why are you acting like that?”
Before Kamran could respond, Tighnari raised one hand in a dismissive wave toward Cyno. Leave while you can. I’ll handle the idiots.
So Cyno returned to the city.
— ❁ —