Chapter Text
The fireplace crackled with life as Kehda slotted the stoke back into the iron holder under the mantle. The smell of charcoal and burning wood warming the atmosphere of the house as much as the temperature.
She blinked the heat out of her eyes as she walked back to the couch and got comfortable. The weather had thankfully started shifting to more mild temperatures outside, allowing her the chance to utilize the new addition to her home.
The chores were taken care of for the day and the latest harvest placed in Preserve Jars, she preferred to only sell her goods after processing. They wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow at least, allowing her to give some time back to herself.
The routine she had in place, while comforting, had become more loose and flexible as she settled in. She began allowing herself to be present in the moment each day; Allowing herself to take a break and relax seemed wrong at first, but felt healing once she released the weight of expectations from others.
She had been strict with her savings and had upgraded to copper chests, allowing her to easily continue harvesting and storing until the fruit could be processed.
To her left she could hear birds singing in the courtyard and she smiled to herself. It was beginning to feel more comfortable here. More like she was where she belonged. Kehda remembered how when she first started her life here how she was scared that she wouldn’t fit in, how for days she only wished for the void to suddenly swallow her back into nothingness. She was glad now that it hadn’t.
A rap on the door startled her from her daydreams as she jumped, squeaked, and fell off the couch in one motion.
“sh*t. Coming!”
She regained herself and stood, brushing her clothes back flat before answering the door, copper curls slightly disheveled.
******
Reth grinned and laughed good heartedly before extending a friendly arm and adjusting her wayward curls.
“Good to know it’s definitely you and not some impersonator trying to trick me, it’s kinda comforting to know I’m not the only mess around here.”
He tucked the curls behind her small round ear gently as he spoke, his calloused skin ghosting against her neck. He blushed magenta and pulled his arm behind his back holding his hands there in one another, as if afraid they may act on their own accord.
Reth was always a flirt by nature, it was easier to slip around unnoticed that way. No one pays much mind when they see you out late at night, when they already expect you to be sneaking around with multiple partners. It was the one part of his life that he could control, and without that to support him he would fall apart entirely.
This felt completely uncontrollable; The energy he felt between them seemed more powerful than any illegal flow devices he had encountered.
He felt guilt and shame as the thought of his crimes rose to mind, agonizingly drowning out the butterflies in his chest. The tattoos on his body suddenly felt like they were carrying the weight of their meaning in pain. He was no good for her and he knew it, but she was perfect to him. That only made him want to close the gap between them more, he wanted to run his hands over every inch of her skin. Reth felt intoxicated. Was she that soft everywhere?
Reth released his hands from behind his back and gestured animatedly as he spoke, struggling to find the words that typically flow so easily. He was desperate for her to somehow not notice the chemistry and emotional intimacy of the moment. Get out of your own head, Reth.
“Anyways! Now that we’ve established you’re not an imposter, Ashura forced me to take the day off and I was hoping you’d be willing to help me forage for some spices? I can show you where they grow the best.”
Nice, Reth, cause you definitely need more spice to cool yourself off.
“Totally understand if you say no, in fact, that’s actually what I am expecting you to say. This way though Tish has no excuse for calling me a recluse.”
He grabbed his neck nervously, all too aware that he would rather be touching hers.
“Actually, Reth, it must be your lucky day!” She smiled, and Reth felt like he might melt despite it being rather mild outside. Seeing her here in front of him, the way the light reflected off her tresses and the purity of her soul shining from her blue eyes were enough for him to consider having won the luck jackpot.
She continued, “I have all my chores around here taken care of and could use a chance to stock up on wild herbs and spices myself. Plus Kenyatta wants me to look for mushrooms for her.”
He expected Kenyatta would use her medicinal training to make psychedelics, sure, but he did not expect Kehda to agree and take his breath away once more.
“Oh! Before I forget I wanted you to have this,” Reth handed Kehda some wallpaper that was reminiscent of the setting sun and carrot soup, “It’s the color of my starstone, Citrine. You can toss it later if you want, I know it’s bold and hard to style with. Or at least I’ve been told as much from Tish.”
Kehda gladly accepted and placed the wallpaper into storage gently, as though she was handling a fragile work of art, “I have just the place for this.”
******
Kehda’s mind drifted to the moment they had shared just hours earlier, thinking about how warm Reth’s hand was, the undeniable spark generated between them when they had touched. How he smelled like Dari Cloves, Spice Sprouts, and sapwood.
She was too caught up in her thoughts and took her next step directly into a chapaa hole, somehow stumbling and recovering her stride in the same step.
“Falling for me already, huh?” Reth asked in his usually melodic tone as he caught her shoulder and helped her to recover.
They laughed off her clumsiness and made it to their final foraging destination for the day.
The sounds of wind swimming through the tall sunkissed grass, brushing the blades against one another in a soft gentle melody. The waterfalls nearby were present, but somehow quieter than the whispering melody of the wind.
Reth showed Kehda where to find his favorite ingredients, how to tell when they were ready and when they had gone too far ripe. It felt comfortable and peaceful. For a few moments, the world only existed for them as they followed behind one another with no real destination in mind. The sun began to set behind the horizon and reminded them that the rest of the world still existed around them.
“Thank you.” Reth said to Kehda, voice confident and calming. There was something new there as well, a different tone than his usual charm. His voice was almost breathy.
She thought how she preferred that tone from him and blushed, looking away from the setting sun in a poor attempt to hide the way her body seemed to be responding to him.
Oh, Dragon. Do I like Reth? Does Reth like me?
“O-of course! I needed to restock anyways, I was running low after trying some new recipes.”
“Hey, that’s my job! Are you trying to replace me at the Inn? Gasp!”
Kehda couldn’t help but laugh, he always knew just what to say to get her out of her head. Their minds, she was convinced, operated in the same manner.
“Want me to walk you back to your plot? Ashura gave me the day off, but I promised Zeki I would do him a favor so I do still have to head off for that soon.”
His eyes saddened as he spoke, as though the words could be ignored and fake until they became spoken and real.
“No, it’s okay! I wanted to go see Caleri and Elouisa anyways. Caleri may actually be willing to let me work at the library for some reason.”
“Woah, maybe your Oneness is to be a diplomat of some kind, that takes serious skill. Just promise to overlook any soup stained pages you may find.”
Kehda laughed and gave him a tight hug, lingering a few moments longer than needed but hoping Reth wouldn’t mind.
“You know, she actually told me she would overlook that herself the day the Inn special isn’t soup.”
“Impossible standards.”
Reth returned the embrace, soaking in her warmth and the scent of heartwood, leather, and lillies emanating from her skin. He tempted fate by resting his head gently onto Kehda’s shoulder and wished he was a little more like everyone else, normal, so they could have more than just this moment.
Fate is a cruel mistress, however, and Kehda slowly unwove her arms from around him, knowing any longer and she would not have the strength to leave at all. Kehda sighed softly, feeling the weight of unspoken feelings between them.
They said their goodbyes, only a fraction of what they wanted to tell each other.
Before she left, Reth pulled something out of his pocket before tucking it away safely in Kehda’s bag for her under their forage collections from earlier that day.
“If you ever want to come see me sometime, that’s the key to the storeroom beneath the Inn. I… I, uh. I usually crash there between shifts. It’s not as bad as it sounds!”
Her concerned gaze touched his fragile heart in ways he forgot were possible, so he added on the end to try and convince her as much as himself.
“Sure! I’ll swing by tomorrow evening.”
His heart thumped against his ribs as he watched her walk back towards town. If only his life of crime felt a fraction as good as spending time with Kehda. He would have to come clean tomorrow. No excuses this time, Reth. Just follow through. Just this once.
Kehda glanced back momentarily, giving Reth a fleeting smile that sent warmth through his chest despite the chill of the evening.
