Title: proper rest and care
Rating: G
Fandom: Xenoblade Chronicles
Relationship: Fiora/Melia
Wordcount: 780
Short summary: Fiora makes sure Melia is taken care of, including smoothing the wings on her head.
Fiora’s life back in a Homs body has been full of errands as she’s supported the reconstruction efforts, which includes making sure her brother and Shulk and Reyn won’t starve from their lack of ability to cook edible food, but her day is not complete until she gets to see the most important person, who should be resting right now or Fiora will give her an earful. She doesn’t care if she’s a little strong on the “nurturing” but someone needs to take care of Melia, especially since Melia continues to have the habit of taking on too much herself.
So she barges into her and Dunban’s home, up the stairs to the bedroom that Melia currently shares with her, and scans for the High Entia. It’s not hard to find Melia when she’s sitting on the bed reading a book. Good, Fiora didn’t actually want to yell at Melia. However…
“Glad you’ve taken my advice, but proper resting is sitting up against the wall with a pillow behind your back.”
“Is that so?” Melia looks up from her book and smiles. “Welcome back, Fiora.”
Melia scoots back to the wall just as Fiora finds a pillow to tuck behind Melia’s back. Then Fiora does the same with another pillow before sitting on the bed next to Melia in the same manner. Alright, perfect. Melia is more relaxed and Fiora can just look at her and…Melia looks kind of disheveled though. Not in her clothes but in her…feathers.
Fiora itches to smooth them out, to care for them like she sometimes helps Melia care for other parts of her body. But she doesn’t know if it would be okay, especially since as a Homs she has no idea what it feels like to have wings like that.
“Fiora, is something wrong?”
Melia closes her book and frowns at Fiora. She must have noticed Fiora’s staring.
Fiora blushes. She feels bad about attracting Melia’s attention in this way, but their relationship is such that not telling Melia what’s on her mind, no matter how silly or out of place it may be, would make Melia feel worse. “Melia, sorry if this is rude but I was wondering…” Fiora’s gaze flicks to the feathers. “Can I…touch them?”
“You mean…these.” Melia motions at the small wings on her head. She smiles. “Go ahead.”
Fiora does her best to give Melia plenty of chances to back out, to say no, before touching the wing on Melia’s right side. She runs her hand over the feathers slowly and gently. “Sorry, they were looking a little ruffled and… Does it feel okay?”
Melia nods. “A little strange, but…good, I think.”
She turns her head so that both wings are easily reachable, which Fiora assumes to mean that Melia wishes for her left wing to be taken care of as well. Fiora does her best to touch both wings with equal pressure and softness.
“Melia, you’ve just looked so stressed lately,” Fiora comments as she smooths out the feathers. “I know you’re still unused to physical touch but I… I want to help relax you.”
Melia lets out a soft exhale. “You are doing a good job.”
“Really?” Fiora feels her entire body warm at that thought.
“Just you being here helps me feel better. And that…oh, do that again.”
Fiora would do that without asking, because the noises that Melia is making are so cute and delightful that Fiora wants to hear them over and over again. “I’m glad this makes you feel good. It’d be awkward if my enjoyment came at the cost of yours.”
“Fiora?”
Fiora blushes when she realizes what she said. That’s a bit much even coming from a lover, let alone whatever relationship they have currently (more than friends but less than…). Thankfully Melia is facing the other way so she can’t see the blush. “Never mind. Just let me know if I should stop.”
Melia chuckles. “Alright.”
Melia tilts her head back a bit more, which Fiora takes as permission to continue. For a while the only sounds in the room are Melia’s soft sighs, a song that Fiora wouldn’t mind having on repeat. But soon Fiora senses that Melia is drifting to sleep. Fiora moves her hands from the wings to Melia’s shoulders and helps her lie down.
“Thanks, Fiora,” Melia says as she gets settled, closing her eyes.
“No problem!” Fiora brings the sheet up to cover their bodies properly. Melia is already asleep; the treatment must have worked like a charm. “Any time.”
Tomorrow will be another busy day, so getting proper rest and care is all the more important, Fiora thinks before she too falls asleep.