hearthwarming | inbox 🌙 songerein

[ Thoma doesn’t want to totally let Ori go, so it’s a little awkward as he wiggles around and digs into his pocket. Finally he pulls something out, hidden by curled fingers. ]

I wasn’t home for months and months like you were, but a lot still happened in that short amount of time.

The festival we attended? It was a celebration. The Raiden Shogun finally lifted the Sakokou Decree. Inazuma’s borders are finally open again!

[ He takes Ori by the hands, pressing a small object into her palm. ]

This is a lucky omamori. My mom gave it to me when I left Mondstadt. I really believe this is what guided me all the way to Inazuma, even through the storm.

But the storm’s gone now, so I don’t need it anymore. I want you to have it, so that one day, you can find your way to Inazuma too.

[ Thoma's enthusiasm and happiness has always been a contagious force of nature on their own, and this time is no different. As he continues to recount his memories from home, she smiles more and more. She can somewhat imagine the elation that must have accompanied the news of Inazuma's borders being open again, its people finally free to come and go as they please and free from a stifling oppression, having seen what that sort of isolation did to the people of Duskvale in her own realm.

Still, she can't guess at where Thoma is headed, so she listens to him carefully, even as she peers down at the small, red charm in her hand. And with every word, her heart and soul are moved, filled with no small measure of gratefulness, awe, and complete adoration for the incredible man before her. ]

Oh, Thoma...

[ He's so endlessly thoughtful and kind, and for just a second Ori almost slips back into an old habit, to think herself undeserving of such a gesture. But instead her fingers close around this small, but utterly precious gift, and she closes her eyes and holds it to her chest. She wants to remember this moment and his words forever. ]

I... Thank you, my sweet sun. This is an incredible gift, and I promise to keep it forever. I... I'll find my way to Inazuma, to you, [ with her free hand, she reaches over to cup his cheek, ] and then we'll find Diluc in Mondstadt. And then we can give this back to your mother together, and thank her for keeping you safe and leading us back to each other.

[ He knows that while he was back home, he had no memory of Reverein or the people he had met, but true to his words – his heart remembered. Though he went about his business as usual, there was some small feeling nagging at the back of his mind that he’d left something precious. Try as he might, he couldn’t just grab onto that thread to tug it and see what unraveled.

But if any of them could do it, surely Ori can. Her heart is the biggest of them all.

So he chooses to have faith that one day, all of them will be reunited in the waking world, no matter what it takes. ]

I really like the sound of that. My mom would love you guys.

[ Thoma's faith is well-placed; Ori only seems to be getting more powerful with her magic, her connection to both nature and dreams strengthening with her experiences from the waking world and a nourishing confidence in herself. It stands to reason that her grasp on dreamotion would grow stronger, too.

Now, as she resolves to do whatever she can to protect this gift, and to fulfill this promise when the time comes, the bed of flowers around them grows and flourishes even more, even as she offers Thoma another smile. ]

Ah, I'll do my best to impress her.

[ As if her crossing over literal worlds to be there in the first place wouldn't be impressive enough. Her lighthearted tone suggests that she's joking, at least. ]

[ With more flowers springing up around them - something Thoma figures is a sign of happiness on Ori's part - he loops his arms around her again to flop back into the bed of blooms. Sure, they're on the floor in the middle of the entryway, but he can't quite bring himself to move. ]

Trust me, you're gonna endear her immediately.

[ With that, he angles his head to catch Ori's lips again. Even if it has only been a few days by his reckoning, that's an awful long time to go without getting to kiss Ori. He has some lost time to make up for! ]

[ Ori is more than happy to be pulled back down onto the beflowered bed to kiss her sunshine. After all, it had been nearly a month since he had been awake before she left, and now she's been without him for eight more months on top of that. She'll be spending a lot of time making up for all of that in the days to come, too.

So of course she kisses him back gladly, her fingers curled against his chest - omamori grasped tightly within and all. It's not until they absolutely must break the kiss for air that she pulls away just barely, just to mutter against his lips: ]

Spirits, I love you so much.

[ In a lot of ways, kissing Ori feels more like coming home than actually going home did, and he hopes that she feels the same. A part of his heart and his loyalty will always remain in Inazuma, and another part still in Mondstadt, but this is where he truly belongs.

He smiles against her, breathing out a soft laugh. ]

I love you, too, starlight. Always.

[ Another kiss, this one shorter than the last but just as sweet. ]

But I should probably stop keeping you all to myself and let Diluc know you're back, huh?

[ Home has never really been about any particular place for her. "Home" is about the people she's with. Growing up, home was wherever her she and Valphi could be together. Home is with her friends, through thick and thin. And now home is in Thoma and Diluc's hearts, across the boundaries of realms and now across time, too.

She hums thoughtfully, casting her gaze idly out the nearest window and seeing that it seems to be a bit late in the afternoon. ]

Hmm... Is he at the winery? I think I'd like to surprise him.

[ She sits up, although her free hand goes right back to playing with his hair. ]

I could go get him and bring him back for dinner here. What do you think? I... I have a lot to tell you two about everything that happened at home.

You sure surprised me, and I don't see why I should get to have all the fun.

[ This time when she sits up, he does the same for a few moments, letting her toy with his hair before finally easing her from his lap so he can get to his feet.

He offers her a hand up. ]

I think that sounds like a great idea! I'll get dinner ready. Any requests? I'll make whatever you want. It'll be like a little celebration.

[ She pulls herself back up to her feet with his assistance. The moment that he asks her what she'd like for dinner, though, her response is immediate, and filled with no small measure of excitement. ]

Miso soup, please!

[ Punctuated by the many flowers in her hair - some woven into her braids for the wedding she'd just been at, and some newly sprouted from the dreamotion manifesting around her - doing a little bounce.

Now that she's up, Ori carefully deposits the omamori into a small pouch hanging at her hip before she takes a moment to look down at and straighten her dress out a little bit. ]

How do I look?

Edited (words are hard!!) 2022-06-10 21:50 (UTC)

[ Ah, he should have known that would be the first thing out of her mouth. It's only fitting that the first meal they shared together would be the first meal they shared upon her return. He laughs brightly, sweeping into a bow. ]

As my lady wishes.

[ When he straightens, he finally gives her a once over, and realizes that... she's dressed rather beautifully. It reminds him of the way she was dressed up for the Flower Festival. ]

You look absolutely radiant.

[ Though she's much less unsure of her entire existence as she had been before, there will always be some part of Ori that will feel a little bashful when praised so highly. It's far from the first time that she's been called "radiant" by one of her lovers, but it's been quite some time since she'd heard herself described as such - so she can't help but blush a little even as she smiles, her hands clasping each other. ]

Ah, thank you, Thoma. Hopefully Diluc agrees.

[ At least nowadays, she wouldn't outright refuse the compliment. ]

I was just at my friend's wedding. I guess I must have started daydreaming in the middle of it to have finally ended up back here.

Daydreaming about us in the middle of a wedding, huh? Is there something you’d like to tell us?

[ The crooked little smile on Thoma’s face clearly says he’s joking – but perhaps not entirely. The three of them are so wholly devoted to each other that it wouldn't be too far-fetched to imagine them going that extra step, even if only privately.

Hm. ]

Well, congratulations to your friend! It sounds like things are going well back home.

[ Her hands move to rest at her hips, as she proudly says, ]

Nothing that you don’t already know, sunshine.

[ If he detects a teeny bit of sass in her response, that’s because there is. Having been faced with the realization that she had been eight months without them, and having just made a promise to overcome the boundaries of worlds and realms to be reunited with them in the waking world some day, she’s more certain now than ever of her commitment to Thoma and Diluc, to spending the rest of her life with them. ]

Things are going well back home… Though now I can’t help but think it would be even better if you were there. Diluc, too. I’m sure Cibark wouldn’t mind if I had two more plus ones!

[ There is a brief moment of stunned silence from Thoma as Ori takes his teasing and sasses him back without even a hint of her usual flustered embarrassment. It's different to be sure, but Thoma would call this an improvement. With every moment, every word from her lips, Ori shows him just how much she's grown, and his heart swells with love to see it.

Ori has always been amazing, but now she realizes it for herself, making her all the more radiant.

He laughs, the sound sudden, like it's been startled out of him. Perhaps it has, as he adjusts to this new side of his beloved starlight. ]

You didn't even bat an eye, did you? I like this new side to you.

[ In true Ori fashion, though, as soon as her remarks are met with silence, even briefly, she has to wonder if she was maybe a bit much— until he dispels that momentary worry with the sweet sound of his laughter. She joins him in it, chuckling even as she reaches up to idly tuck her hair behind her ear. ]

Good. I can't promise that it'll always be like this, [ everyone has bad days, after all, but she's more forgiving of herself when those days do happen than she would have been before. ] but I'm doing my best.

[ And, she can't help it, but she closes the distance between them once more to wrap her arms around his waist. ]

I hope that I can keep surprising you every now and then, though.

No one is one hundred percent happy and confident one hundred percent of the time, you know. It just… it makes me really happy to see that you’re more confident in yourself overall.

[ As if he’s going to pull away from her when she steps close. He slides his arms around her waist in turn, dipping down to rest his forehead against her own. The way he grins illuminates the space between them with the soft glow of sunlight. ]

I always knew you had it in you. [ A pause, as he presses a brief kiss to the tip of her nose. ] Plus, I’m really fond of surprises.

Thank you for believing in me all this time, Thoma.

[ Really, he's believed in her since the moment they first met. It feels like a lifetime ago that he happened to walk by her fussing over wilted flowers in town, encouraging her through the unfamiliar experience of harnessing a new magical power to make flowers bloom once more…

And now, as is usually the case whenever the sweetness of their love manifests tangibly, more flowers bloom in Ori's hair, unfurling and greeting Thoma's soft sunlight in turn. She presses a gentle kiss to his cheek in turn, although she huffs a little laugh against him as a thought crosses her mind. ]

I see. Then maybe I’ll surprise you again later, with Diluc…

[ A beat, before she pulls away just enough for him to be able to see her wink at him and add, ]

That is, if you’re a good boy.

[ Thoma is too busy being lost in Ori’s eyes, soft and sunshiney like the manifestation of his emotions, and basking in their closeness that he absolutely does not see that remark coming at all. It strikes him somewhere deep in his chest, sending the clarion call of desire straight through him. ]

Ori-!

[ He doesn’t often blush, but there is certainly more color rising to his cheeks. ]

You can’t just say things like that. [ Unable to resist, he leans in to bury his face into the crook of her neck, pressing a series of heated kisses against her skin. ] You have no idea what that does to me.

[ Or perhaps she does, and she’s suddenly realized just how much power she holds. ]

[ Slowly, but surely, she's realizing such things about herself. It certainly helps that she's much less trapped in her own thoughts, these days, and to add to that she's in something of a romantic state of mind thanks to attending Cibark's wedding and now after being reunited with Thoma (and soon, Diluc) in this dream realm.

Her calling him a good boy had been as much a playful, lighthearted remark as it was a testing of the waters, to see how Thoma would respond to it. Her sunshine doesn't often fluster, so she was quick to notice that her calling him good earlier had some effect, and she's not left disappointed in this moment as he leans in and leaves a path of kisses on her neck. In response, she offers an approving hum that trails into another soft laugh. ]

I'm sorry.

[ She is most certainly not at all sorry. ]

I wanted to see how you would react. You're just so cute.

You’re not sorry at all.

[ She can’t see it, but she can no doubt feel the way he smiles against her skin. His hands run the length of her arms, down and up again, while he simply relishes this intimate, playful moment. ]

Mm. This newfound confidence of yours might be the death of me, starlight. [ He nips at her neck, not hard enough to leave a mark. Not yet. That can come later, when she and Diluc are back home and the three of them inevitably tumble into bed together. ] I can think of worse ways to go.

[ Ori can’t help but draw a sharp breath in as he nips at skin, following it shortly with a sigh. Gods, she’s missed this so much, the reverent, sweet intimacy that the three of them share and into which they pour their love and devotion for one another. She’s earnestly looking forward to her first night back in the arms of her lovers.

She lifts a hand, the tips of it finding their way into his hair. She’s well-aware of the nature of what he says, that he doesn’t literally mean dying, so her tone remains playful even as she says, with utmost devotion, ]

Well, that’s no good, sunlight. How are we supposed to go on if that happens? I’ll just have to keep healing you for the rest of my life, hmm?

[ He laughs against her skin, the sound tapering off into an affectionate murmur. This is true bliss, Ori in his arms, with the promise of Diluc joining them later, and he can’t think of a better way to celebrate being reunited after a month and more apart. ]

I like the sound of that.

[ At last, he pulls away from her neck to press a heated, lingering kiss to her lips. As much as he longs for more, there is still one missing piece to this puzzle, so he leans back after too long. ]

I should let you go fetch our moonlight. Then we can celebrate properly.

[ The kiss that she returns is just as heated on her part. She wonders, in that moment, if they’re going to end up having dinner at all— and she finds herself deciding that she wouldn’t mind if they skipped it entirely.

She’s been without them for eight months.

When he breaks the kiss, her hands move to frame his face. Behind the spring green of his eyes that she missed so much she finds a longing and want that are surely mirrored in her own eyes as she looks up at him with a smile. ]

I’m looking forward to celebrating. [ “Celebrating.” ] Let’s hope he can be convinced to leave work early just this once… I’ll be back soon!

[ She pulls away completely, then, taking a step back before twirling on her ball of her heel, the soft pink fabrics of her dress twirling in tandem before she makes her way over to the door of their home. As she opens it, though, another thought occurs to her and she looks back over her shoulder at Thoma with another teasing smile. ]

Be a good boy and wait patiently while I go get him, okay?

[ And with that, she departs. Surely Thoma and Diluc will see the full force of Ori’s newfound confidence brought to bear this evening, and it will be beautiful, but above all else she simply wishes to show them how much she truly missed them, and how much she loves them all the more for the time she’s now spent apart from them. Now, with her worries and fears from home to rest, she is irrevocably and wholly theirs, now and forevermore. ]

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