dream drabble with Ran and Eva?
He never understood the significance of touch.
Ran’s perception of it was different-he knew that. But how could something so painful be so delightful to other people?
There was a gate in front of him, opened by a small winged figure. He followed her and a sudden weight felt cool against his chest. He touched it, before remembering that it let him feel touch the same way everyone else did, apparently.
He could suddenly feel her hands on his face, and looked to her. Being touched by a living thing made him feel so exposed- and the intensity of his gaze and slowly blushing face showed that. And Eva asked for a kiss… Going further than a hand touch… It made him feel so restless.
“Eva, why do you want to touch me?” He asked, not opening his mouth. He looked away, too embarrassed to meet her gaze. He usually chose his words so carefully, if he spoke at all. She opened her mouth and spoke an answer, but it only sounded like the vague nostalgia of waves of thought, endless yet specific possibilities, but somehow Ran could think of what it might be.
“Is it… love?” He asked. The figure of Eva and the sensation of her hand faded away into mist, and Ran was left in blank confusion.
“Is that what love is?” He asked no one, touching his face; the place where he first felt Eva’s cautious hand and she had brought him to his knees. Hearth’s warm claws that had pricked his skin… Nuzzling his cheek despite his winces…
“Is that what love is too?” He asked.
“Life begins inside of a creature. Being warm and safe in the beginning… Isn’t that where the desire stems from?” Hearth spoke suddenly on his shoulder, and for some reason Ran did not find it strange.
“Fire can give me warmth. A home can give me safety.”
“Isn’t that why you named me Hearth? Because Eva reminded you of that?”
Ran slowly nodded, starting to walk. The world opened into a jungle, and Ran stopped in front of a giant flower.
“Is love safety and warmth, then?” He asked.
“I think it’s a bit more than that.” Hearth responded, and they watched the flower bloom. A sweet scent wafted strongly enough through Ran’s senses to make the world around him fade.
He quickly realized he was on his bed as the smell of warm muffins wafted through the room. A hand lightly touched his hair, brushing it out of his eyes as he looked up to Eva.
“Good morning.” She said, pulling her hand back. Ran sat up and untangled himself from the sheets, his dream faintly remembered but enough to make him look at her with a small curiosity.
“Good morning.” He rumbled back, taking a muffin off the tray she was holding. He bit thoughtfully into the muffin, not taking his eyes off Eva.“Is there something wrong?” She asked, tilting her head. Ran looked away, and she frowned a bit. She didn’t like it when he hid things from her. Ran swallowed.
“… I don’t understand things.” He said simpily, “Why do you touch me, Eva?”
Eva faintly blushed at his wording before bringing herself up to make a response, “Because it’s something… affectionate.”
“It’s how you show affection?” Ran seemed confused by this.
“Yes, that we trust each other.”
Ran considered that, before responding with certainty, “I trust you and Hearth.”At the sound of his name and the smell of food, Hearth shot from a hidden corner of the room and fluttered to the bed, peeping a hello and bunting Ran’s arm. Ran cautiously pet the dragon’s long neck, and Eva sat beside him to also give the dragon attention. And in a voice, that Ran could barely hear, Eva spoke,
Ran still didn’t understand and it still felt odd to him to touch a living creature even with his pendant, but perhaps Eva could help him know the significance, little by little.