Young botanist Adair and his knight in shining armor. Before MSQ brought Adair back to Coerthas, a job from the botanists' guild did. He wasn't yet strong enough to fend off the beasts that roam the area, and overestimated how well he could sneak past hungry beasts in the snow.
Outside Camp Dragonhead he was cornered by a huge, hairy feral croc, his calls for help being heard by nearby House Fortemps knights. The knights rushed to help the distressed botanist, Haurchefant among them.
That's how Adair and Haurchefant first met. In the following months, Adair made a point to accept any and all gathering requests located in the Central Coerthas Highlands, and Haurchefant eagerly accompanied him on his treks through the snow as his body guard. The two young men's friendship quickly blossomed into soft feelings for one another.
A drabble about Adair and Ori and a new adventure.
6.55 MSQ spoilers.
Adair's heart lept at Wuk Lamat's request to come to the Tural. A new adventure in a completely new place, a chance to meet new people, and discover new plants to put in his next book - it was an irrisistable temptation. Plus, her seemingly selfless desire to become the next leader of Tural warmed his heart. Adair is always glad to help a good cause, and her intentions feel sincere.
But, Adair could tell that this adventure will keep him away from home for much longer than his foray into the First, or his journey to the end. His had missed his son terribly while he had been away, and Grandpa Edmont had reported that little Ori would fuss and cry when Adair was gone for too long. Adair couldn't bear to put his son through that again, not for something that isn't a life or death situation.
Wishing to follow his heart, Adair informed Wuk Lamat that if he was to come to Tural, he would likely need to bring his child. She cheerfully assured him that there are plenty of little ones in Tural for Ori to meet and play with, and caregivers to look after him when Adair has duties to attend to.
Reassured, Adair decided it would be best to give Ori a choice. Before their nightly bedtime story, Adair asked Ori what he would like to do.
"Ori, how would you like to go on a real adventure with me?"
The almost-four-year-old's eyes lit up at the idea like he had won the prize of a lifetime, "I get to go?!"
Adair smiles at the awestruck look. "Yes, if you'd like to. This one should be fairly safe."
Ori doesn't wait for Adair to finish before he's chiming in with a chorus of "Yes, yes! I want to go!"
Stifling a laugh at his little adventurer's eagerness, Adair waits for him to calm down and continues, "Okay, now I need you to listen carefully for a moment." Ori diligently nods and sits as still as he's able, "If you do go with me, you won't see your friends from the Firmament or Grandpa Edmont or your uncles for a long time. You can talk with them over my linkpearl, but you'll be too far away to play together. Are you okay with that idea?"
Ori's brow furrows as he considers this. He loves his friends and family, but he was so sad when his daddy was away. After a pause Ori asks, "Daddy and Ori will go 'venturing, then we'll come home when we're done?"
Considering Ori's words carefully, Adair confirms "Yes, but the adventure will be a long time, and you might still have to have a babysitter sometimes. If you want to stay here at home with Grandpa Edmont instead that's okay too, and I'll call you every night just like before."
After a pause while Ori thinks over his father's words, he reasserts "I want to go with Daddy!" and hugs Adair tight. Adair returns his son's hug, and Ori settles into his lap as Adair opens their storybook to a brand new tale. Ori hardly listens to the story, dozing off with thoughts of what amazing new things he'll get to see in Tural at his dad's side.
Adair and Hastaloeya, the main tank from his grand company squadron. They're open about their relationship and both agree that it's a casual thing and see other people. Everyone in the grand company knows that they're sweet for each other. It doesn't interfere with their duties, and since Adair is so busy with other things now he's become more a mascot than an actual commander anyway, so the higher-ups that may have taken issue because of their difference in rank turn a blind eye to it.
Hastaloeya may look tough, but he's a big teddy bear and Adair loves being wrapped up in his arms. Their relationship isn't deep, but it makes them both happy.
They've been friends for several years now, I'll copy their story below the break.
art by @/kokuou-ji
oleander was tasked with crafting a near-lethal poison, the resulting effect a deathly sleep. he had been using mistletoe in a lot of his recent creations and theorized it could work in a high concentration. and if not, he could still use it in smaller doses in potion crafting.
but being located in Ul'dah, it was expensive and not available in the quantity he desired for his testing. he instead opted to go as near to the source as he was willing to. (he generally prefers staying near the comfort of city life, and avoiding heavy manual labor).
so, he opts to find a botanist to do the hard work for him, cutting out middlemen and merchants. with what his client is paying for this brew, he'll surely be able to tempt one into being his personal supplier. he takes an airship to gridania.
when inquiring at the greatloam growery about who may be available and willing to help an alchemist with "a large order for potions", the guild master directs him to their novice, starting he's from the region where the desired herb grows and eager to accept honest work.
oleander continues his lie with adair, introducing himself as a potion crafter hoping to acquire a large sum of mistletoe. he offers above what a merchant would pay for it, but still less than what it retails for in the faraway desert city.
Adair accepts despite his initial hesitance at hearing the viera man is from the same city he fled just a few months prior. oleander's calm, straightforward demeanor and the flattery of being personally recommended by the guild master was enough to get him to agree to the job.
early the next morning Adair begins his trek to the highlands, arriving in the first frozen settlement past fallgourd float after night has fallen. He gets some strange looks, but is able to get a room at the small inn easily enough once it's clear he's not here for trouble.
The next day he begins his search, looking for trees hosting the parasitic herb. his steps are agile and near-silent and he sneaks past several fearsome looking beasts. suddenly he hears a loud snap and flinches, looking down. he's stepped on a fallen branch and the sound has caught the attention of a very large and hairy crocodile nearby. the beast roars as it charges him, and Adair drops his hatchet in a panic and runs. with no clear path to safety, he calls out for help. within moments he hears a bright voice yelling "look out!" and as the crocodile rears up to attack, it suddenly yelps in pain and turns to face it's attacker.
flashes of silver steel dart above the glistening snow and the raging beast is quickly surrounded by armored fighters. Adair retreats to a safe distance and watches in awe as the skilled archers, lancers, and one fierce knight fell the beast. the knight jogs over to check on the would-be victim, and offers him help finding his dropped tools and a warm place to rest. Adair accepts, asking his savior's name. Haurchefant is curious why the young botanist is traversing dangerous lands alone, and suggests that he accompany him on the remainder of his journey through coerthas and keep watch for danger as Adair works.
this is how Adair and Haurchefant first met - thanks to a greedy alchemist and a lie. Adair accepts the same job from Oleander several times, happy to have a chance to see one new friend and help another.
a couple years later, the poison oleander has invented with the mistletoe Adair had been innocently gathering for him is used to hurt the sultana, and Adair is blamed for it. Adair flees to the safety of Haurchefant, by now newly his romantic partner. during his lengthy stay in camp dragonhead, it comes to light that oleander had been the one who crafted the poison that Adair had been framed with. heartbroken, Adair cuts ties with his former friend.
oleander hadn't realized until then, but he had grown to return the friendly sentiments the auri man had shown him. feeling guilty for what his greed had caused, oleander resolves to turn over a new leaf, and abandoned his shadier dealings.
He joins a bodyguard agency as their resident apothecary/medic, intending to pursue honest work only. he apologizes to Adair, who sensing sincerity in oleander's words, accepts and the two slowly mend their friendship.
oleander stays on the wholesome new path for a while... until the temptation of mountains of syndicate gil and the opportunity to craft delightfully clever new creations tempts him back into black market dealings.
he's more cautious than he was before, managing to keep his side business a secret from his friend for several years now. and he intends to keep it that way.
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Shortly after mending his friendship with Oleander, Adair found out he was expecting Haurchefant's child. Oleander was eager to help his friend, and prepared safe brews to help ease Adair's morning sickness.
Adair trusts Oleander to watch his Ori. Despite his general disinterest in things that aren't profitable or his passion, Oleander enjoys babysitting the bright little one. Ori likes the kid-friendly experiments that Oleander entertains him with. Ori is also one of the few people who can get away with calling him Ollie 🤭 it started when he was little and still learning to talk, and the nickname stuck. Sometimes he even calls him Uncle Ollie despite not being related.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Haurchefant Greystone/Warrior of Light
Characters: Haurchefant Greystone, Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Additional Tags: Explicit Sexual Content, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, little bit of angst in the notes, Mpreg
Summary:
The night before a dangerous mission to save a friend in The Vault, Adair and Haurchefant release some tension together. Short PWP, but lore-relevant to my WoL.
I want to think about Adair's body and gender identity today.
Adair is a chimera, he has intersex chimerism. it shows most prominently in his eyes and the tendency of his scales to be lighter than usual except when he's close to shedding, when they darken to the standard sandy beige. He's also the shortest man in his family, and shorter than expected for the tall Auri body type.
I've been mulling over how having two sets of DNA would affect him being a shard of Azem, but am still working on that idea.
His version of intersex is a little different than how it is in the real world, but I try to listen and learn from people who really do have conditions like this, and I hope to keep how I characterize him as respectful as possible since this is something that does happen to real people and may cause them troubles.
Like a lot of Au Ra havers, I like to think that despite the extreme sexual dimorphism Au Ra actually have very ambiguous and open views on gender and sex. It's not uncommon for petite ones to have traditionally male body parts, or for tall ones to have traditionally female body parts, and having a body that falls somewhere between the two is relatively common. Parents are supportive of their children and encourage them to use whichever pronouns, or lack of pronouns, they are comfortable with, and they educate them about health in a holistic manner, covering all potential body types.
Adair has always considered himself male, using he/him pronouns. He does have a uterus and ovaries, but rarely ever had any reason to believe that they might be functional (he doesn't have a monthly cycle, only rarely a light hint of it). His penis stays inside himself most of the time (dragon within mod). He is not capable of impregnating another, and he spent most of his life assuming that he was totally infertile. That he was able to conceive with Haurchefant was a one in a million stroke of luck.
Because he had never thought it possible, Adair was wholly unprepared for childbearing. It was never something he believed would happen to him and honestly it wasn't something he had ever had any desire to go through, at least not as the one carrying the pregnancy. He felt terribly dysphoric throughout the experience. But, he chose to keep the child and carry them to term despite the unexpectedness and bad timing because it was the last little piece of Haurchefant he had left. Auri babies are small because it's usually the petite Au Ra who bear children, so the bump on his tummy was easy for him to hide with the right clothes until nearing the 5th month despite it being half Elezen.
Regarding Adair's gender expression through his appearance, he usually opts for gender neutral or masculine clothes, occasionally enjoying wearing skirts of varying lengths and sometimes dresses, but never anything super frilly. He learned to use makeup from an ex-girlfriend, and has found that taking the time to do his eyes and lips every day and style his hair gives him a boost of confidence, he rarely is seen without it.
Lately I wanna think more about Adair's relationships outside of Haurchefant. As much as I adore that ship, my mind keeps wandering to the other love interests in Adair's life.
He and Haurchie had an open relationship until they became engaged, then they chose to be monogamous for at least until they had a chance to enjoy married life for a little while, just the two of them. "I'm yours, I don't want anyone but you" that sort of thing. Unfortunately they never had that chance.
Adair and Hastaloeya first met as fellow adventurers during ARR. They flirted, but nothing much came of it. They started getting closer during the time just before the drama with that saucy book being published that fully exposed Adair's past as an ul'dahn brothel worker and escort - which he had rather successfully kept secret until around the time the Crystal Braves were gaining traction.
Following his sudden boost of renown after defeating the Ultima Weapon, a former client who had become too invested in his perceived relationship with Adair took the opportunity to brag about his closeness to the handsome young Warrior of Light, and wrote a book detailing (and fantasizing) their encounters. Hastaloeya was shocked by the revelation that his friend and crush had hidden such a big secret, and was wary about trusting Adair for what else he may have been hiding. They grew distant, and made up not long before the bloody banquet happened. Then suddenly Adair found himself framed as a wanted criminal, and disappeared into frozen Coerthas for many months.
He coincidentally reunited with Hastaloeya some time after rescuing Raubahn. Hastaloeya had been surrounded by the ul'dahn loyalist perspective that Adair was a criminal, and upon seeing Adair again he was cold towards the Auri man - he felt betrayed. It wasn't until Raubahn appeared to vouch for Adair's character that Hastaloeya was willing to let down his walls and listen to Adair's side of the story. After that talk, they quickly rebuilt their friendship and trust, but were slow to resume flirting. Hastaloeya was one of the tanks that Adair would often call upon while on his quests through Gyr Abania.
After his recovery from childbirth following Stormblood (4.0, during the patches), Adair found an odd peacefulness in helping to train recruits for the Immortal Flames (mostly as a favor to his friend Raubahn). Adair oversaw a squadron of his own, with Hastaloeya as his second in command. Slowly they fell back into their old routine of playful flirtation, and became casual sweethearts.
Their relationship is flirtatious friends who often smooch, and sometimes share a bed. Both openly see others, and while what they have isn't a deep bond like Adair felt for Haurchefant, they cherish their good chemistry, trust, and compatible energies. A fun, relaxed open relationship.
from a wol qotd and i wanted to elaborate on it here: "What is your wol’s ‘type’? Moreover, what do they yearn for in their lover(s)?"
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Adair has learned that positivity, optimism, and kindness are traits he values most both in himself and his partners. What will really win him over is when a partner has patience, empathy, and shows respect for his boundaries.
When they first met, Adair and Haurchefant had great chemistry almost immediately. Their smiles and laughter brightened up the dreary Coerthan winter, basking in each other's happiness at connecting so well with a new friend and sharing adventuring stories over a hot chocolate.
After spending the evening enjoying his company, Haurchefant made a move and invited Adair to his bedroom. The connection was there, so it felt natural to try asking. But Adair was still healing from trauma regarding such things. Haurchefant instantly noticed the change in his attitude.
The bright, cheerful young Auri man was suddenly tense and withdrawn - as if Adair felt small. The thoughts running through Adair's head were "Of course this man wants this from me, isn't that always what I'm for." He plastered a practiced smile on his face but couldn't meet Haurche's eyes as he opened his mouth to offer a weak "okay" out of habit.
Haurchefant countered that feeble yes with a gentle "no", apologizing for crossing that line too quickly. He could tell this subject had made Adair uncomfortable and he wouldn't pressure him. He stated that "A night spent together should be shared with genuine enthusiasm. It's alright my friend, you're safe here."
Adair's mind was blown at that. Nobody had ever taken the time to pay attention to him in such a way once sex had been brought up. In Adair's experience it had always been expected of him to consent so that's what he did, ignoring his own feelings. Being treated as a person to be respected rather than an object to be used, suddenly so much of the pain in his heart made sense.
The two continued as friends, then a couple for several months before Adair felt he was ready to bring up the suggestion again with Haurchefant, who was overjoyed that Adair felt confident enough with him now to genuinely want to share a bed with him.
His relationship with Haurchie was eye-opening, and after fate tore them apart Adair kept what he learned with him in his heart, setting boundaries and communicating them clearly with his partners - and anyone who disrespects those boundaries is no longer an option for him.
