Countless nights and days. Golonzo became an all too familiar place at this point, the boy waiting for the one day that the Grandcypher might show up. It surely helped that it was a hub for many skyfarers to come and get repairs – a real plus. When would he come back with the Grandcypher, realizing that it wouldn’t fly anymore? Noa waited. He waited for days, months, and years, for that one day that Rackam would show up, proclaiming that he couldn’t get a ship to run. Due to that promise, Noa vowed to stay and wait until he came back, no matter how long it took.
About twenty years pass. But, to him, it’s the blink of an eye. He’d only leave the town sparingly, practically having made it his home. In all honesty, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to tell what Rackam looked like, especially after so many years. He would be much older – probably look older than him, even. All he could remember were those eyes; a rich brown, deep, and determined. The eyes of a skyfarer. Even if he became unrecognizable, he could look for those eyes. That’s how he would recognize him.
It hurt a little to know that he’d forgotten him and the promise, but that was no problem. It was normal, wasn’t it – for humans to forget memories of their childhood – knowing that, there was some leniency. Of course, he would wait for him to fulfill that promise. He would wait forever for Rackam to remember. Somehow, he was a little grateful that the promise was keeping him in Golonzo until he remembered… as selfish as it was.
Now they were here, traveling the skies together. Could he make it to the end of the sky? Perhaps with that promise, there would be more than enough power for them to make it from the beginning to end. But for Noa, he hoped that it would never end. Back on the Grandcypher with Rackam, who so adamantly wanted to fly his ship… what more could he ask for? When the Grandcypher was created, he didn’t imagine that someone who wanted to fly it because they liked the ship would ever happen. After all, that was never her purpose. At the time, it seemed impossible… but with the turn of events, it happened. Grandcypher was all theirs, flown by someone who truly loved her.
On another bright morning, he was fast asleep in their shared cabin. To be honest, it wasn’t so necessary for him to sleep as humans did, but he did so since Rackam did. When he felt his hair get tucked behind his ear, fingertips just barely grazing his cheek, he exhaled with a little smile.
Primals weren’t created to live like this. Whatever their relationship was, it would be short-lived in his time. So, for as many years as Rackam would stay around, he’d enjoy it to the fullest. Living along with humans for a little under a century didn’t sound too bad. Surely, he would be lost when it was all over. But he would remember the helmsman that loved the Grandcypher and him with all his heart.
His eyes slowly open. There’s a soft smile as he sees Rackam with glossy eyes, biting back his sobs. Reaching over, Noa wiped a tear away with his finger. Honestly… at this age, you’re still like a child.
“…good morning. I’m still here, Rackam.”
He’s startled by the feeling of a gentle hand against his cheek, soft fingertips wiping away the tears that fell so freely from his eyes at the realization of all that he still had. That nightmare that had been so vivid was slipping away, tearing at the seams when that quiet voice reached his ears. Noa’s calm eyes, casting away fears that the helmsman didn’t know had continued to lurk in the shadows, Rackam was only able to sigh in response as he leaned into the primal’s soft palm. His sobs are quiet, & surely Noa would laugh at him, to see a grown man crying the way he was. He couldn’t quite recall if he’d ever told the primal of the events that had continued to haunt his dreams the way they did, of those nightmares that blurred the lines between dreams or reality.
While the helmsman would usually urge the primal awake, making him rise so they can prepare for the day’s events, this morning he opted instead to lie back down. Pulling the smaller male into his arms, Rackam embraced him with a tight grasp. The primal was warm, alive -- he could feel each breath being drawn, & it helped to ground him & remind him that this was the reality he was in. That nightmare that kept replaying was no more than just that; a nightmare of which he would wake up from time & time over no matter how many times the scenes played out.
❝Just stay still for a bit...❞
He’s not usually like this, & it’s obvious to see that whatever had resulted in the broken sobs he’d tried to hide was still fervently weighing on his heart. However, the warmth that the primal gives off, each breath that Rackam can feel against his cheek was helping to calm the anxiety that begun to crawl its way to the surface. The helmsman hadn’t ever known that he would have come to rely on such an existence as he has, how important that Noa had become to him was a fact that still frightened him. He’d thought for sure that the only thing he would have needed in his life was a ship to fly through the skies, a crew to follow through the clouds.
But how wrong had he been.
This small primal, fitting so easily in his arms whenever he held him, was everything to the helmsman. The fact that his nightmares played on the key role that Noa played, reminding him over & over what his life would be like had he never met the shipwright again, everything pointed to the emotions that Rackam continued to build & strengthen towards Noa. While he’d play shy, look the other way whenever someone commented on the relationship between them, he wouldn’t deny that Noa was the most important person in his life.
When asked, he wouldn’t deny that he loved the primal.
Even now as he held Noa within his embrace, his heartbeat stuttered. The nightmares had been quelled if only for a time, & he would thank every higher power that there was that this was his reality.
❝You can make fun of me later, just stay with me for a bit...❞
