his fingers work gently through soft blonde strands, carefully twisting the longer parts of thoma’s hair into a braid. they’ve stopped at wangshu inn for the night, prepping to make the rest of the trip to fontaine in the morning, but the lancer has been obviously restless from the moment they stopped—it took a marked amount of effort from diluc just to coax thoma into bed when he’d rather be keeping busy to occupy his mind. it’s why he’s taking his time with the braid, paying extra attention to his partner’s hair where he can, hoping to relax him a little. “ there are a lot of aquatic animals in fontaine. have you ever heard of blubberbeasts ? “
indisposed left a lot to be desired. what did that mean, exactly? what state was the harbinger in, being indisposed? a part of thoma feels as though he already knows, considering what little correspondence the courts of fontaine sent back to their homestead, but another part of him tries for optimism in the back of his mind. which comes out in the form of lots of pacing throughout the day, talking a little too fast, and restlessness in the evenings. he almost convinced diluc to let him walk about the inn a bit that night, but dawn has managed to coax him to bed while they wait for morning to come.
"hmm," his first response, fingers tracing the hem-line in his pajama pants, legs curled up underneath him. he heard diluc, but the question doesn't register right away. it takes a few moments. he knows what the man is doing; trying to distract him with the prospect of animals. some of thoma's favorite things. he appreciates the effort, really.
"i haven't," he admits, trying to focus on the feel of his partner's hands in his hair rather than the unknown that was the state of their third after no doubt causing an uproar in the city of water, "they sound large..." a faint smile, he trails off. his heart just isn't as in to it as he wants.
"i'm sorry. i feel like i can't focus," he turns to face diluc, uncaring of the braid left unfinished. at least for now, "not just about him. he can handle himself, you and i both know that. but...more the effects of whatever he may have caused. if i-..." he catches himself, what he tends to do. shoulder more than he should. thoma rephrases, "if we can fix it."
there isn't much of a care for what ajax has done. maybe he should, but thoma doesn't see the point. he loves both dawn harbinger, with and without their fangs.
"i just want him to come home. that's all." // @piercingdark
