#because now they've realized they're in love they just wanted to speed-run the courtship part since they're already basically married)

[haledamage]

The Last to Know

(So a little while ago, I was doing the Flora of Eora prompts, and in this one I wrote, in regards to Kai/Edér, “There’s probably a universe out there where the two of them end up together romantically, but I haven’t written it yet.” Well, my husband, in his infinite wisdom, challenged me to do just that.

And then, the lovely folks in the Writers of Eternity discord presented a challenge too, for all of us to try and write and share something this week while we’re all stuck at home under quarantine so here we are :)

Kai/Edér, set a couple years after Deadfire, I think)

(EDIT: Now also on AO3!)

“Mayor Teylecg?”

Edér looked up from his desk as a man stepped into his office. He was wearing a traveling cloak and a wide, friendly smile. His accent was obviously Raedceran. Edér tried not to hold it against him. “Somethin’ I can do for ya, sir?”

The man took off his hat and held it between both hands, looking a bit like he was using it as a shield. “Actually, I was hopin’ to talk to the missus. Is she available?”

“The who?” Last Edér checked, he was very much unmarried and had no real interest in changing that.

“Why, your Lady Watcher, of course.“

”Kiki? You think she’s my…" he cut himself off with a sharp shake of his head. “She’s at one of the farms to the west, helpin’ the midwife deliver a baby. Should be back by nightfall if all goes well. If this is important, I can send someone to fetch her.”

“That will not be necessary, Mister Mayor. It’s nothin’ that can’t wait ‘til tomorrow.” He bowed, the formal bow of someone who did it a lot. “Please do give her my regards. Good day.”

“Yeah. Good day to you too.” Edér watched the man leave and stared at the door for a long time after he was gone. “Huh. That was weird.”

He tried to shrug it off and go back to work.

He was still trying to get back to work when the door opened and Kai breezed in just before sundown. She looked exhausted, but in good spirits, and she smiled wide when he looked up from his desk. “You can add two more to the population count for the town. Twin boys, both very loud and healthy. Good evening, dear.” She kissed the top of his head as she walked past him to the living area. She called back at him as she walked away, “I ran into Mrs. Sammesbury on the way home and she gave us some of those cakes you like.”

He gave up on working and followed her into the kitchen, leaning against the doorway and watching as she unloaded what looked like most of a bakery from one of the baskets she was carrying. “Hey, Kiki?”

“Yes, my dear?” she said distractedly, placing what appeared to be an entire pot of stew on the table.

“I’ve been thinkin’…” He took a deep breath. May as well get it over with. “How come you’re still here?”

“In Dyrford?” Kai finally looked up, studying his expression with a curious, bird-like tilt of her head. “You wanted to come back, and I came with you. I like it here.”

“Sure, but why me?”

“Why not you?” She came around the table until she was standing in front of him, arms crossed. “Edér, what’s this about?”

“Are you in love with me?” he asked all in a rush.

She stared at him, slack-jawed. A noise escaped that might have been the start of a word before she snapped her mouth shut and fell quiet for a long time. Edér tried not to get antsy as the silence stretched on. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it,” she finally said.

“Yeah. Me either.” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to put his thoughts in order. “A man came by the office today lookin’ for you. Asked if my wife was available to talk Watcher business.” It hadn’t been his exact words, but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t respond well to being called ‘the missus’ even if it had been true. “You weren’t home, so he went on his way, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Do other folks think we’re married?”

“Well, we do share a home,” she said slowly, a knot in her brow saying she was trying to do the math too like he had been all day. “And a bed.”

“Yeah, but we don’t do anything in it.”

“How would they know that?” A thought crossed her face, and she pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Are you in love with me?”

He threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “How would I know?”

“I have no idea!”

They fell silent again, staring tensely at each other. It felt strangely like they were having an argument about this, but if they were it was the stupidest thing they’d ever fought about. And that was saying something.

A sudden idea came to him, half-formed and probably a bit reckless, but that’s how most of his best ideas started. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” she answered without hesitation.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Edér grabbed both sides of Kai’s face and pressed his lips to hers. They both stood there, not moving, staring at each other, faces so close his eyes crossed just to keep her in focus. There was no spark, no fireworks. Wasn’t that what was supposed to happen, if you were in love with someone?

She pulled away just enough that she could speak. “I don’t think we’re doing this right. I thought you’d done this before.”

“I have!” he said defensively. “It’s just been a while. And none of them were… like you.” He felt weird comparing her to the women he’d been with in the past. They’d all been nice enough, of course, but Kai was… different. He just wished he knew why she was different, and what it meant.

She grabbed his arms, though he couldn’t tell if she was trying to pull him closer or push him away. “Then kiss me like I’m one of them.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Then close your eyes.” Her eyes immediately fluttered shut, completely trusting of him, and that warmed his heart like it always did. Even if he didn’t know if he loved her, he knew he loved her. That, at least, was never in question. “You know you’ve even got freckles on your eyelids?”

“How could I have possibly known that, dear?” she asked dryly, but one corner of her mouth lifted in amusement.

He brushed his thumb over one of her eyelids, tracing the little cluster of freckles there, and Kai gasped, her lips parting as if she was going to say something. Before she could, Edér closed the distance and kissed her again.

This time it was different. It was still stiff at first - he could actually feel Kai overthinking the whole situation - but he shifted, trying to find an angle that could make the difference in their heights a little less uncomfortable, and suddenly everything clicked into place. Suddenly, everything felt right. All the awkwardness fell away and in its place came a hunger that Edér hadn’t felt for a long time. 

He deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, almost lifting her off the ground in an attempt to pull her closer. She caressed his face, carding her fingers through his beard, and there, there were the sparks. Her hands left a trail of them along his cheeks and jaw, shooting straight down his spine. He broke away with a groan and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to put a little distance between them so he could think again.

Kai was staring at him like she’d never seen him before, like she was trying to put the pieces together for a puzzle she hadn’t known was there. He knew the feeling. “That was…” 

He huffed out a breathless laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, it was.”

“What does it mean?”

“I don’t know,” he said, but he was lying. He had a feeling he knew exactly what it meant.

This time, she kissed him first and he let himself stop thinking for a little while.

Edér wasn’t sure when they’d moved to the couch, but that’s where they were the next time they came up for air. Kiki stared up at him, her hair a cloud of wild curls covering the pillows. Her face was flushed, lips red and swollen, her eyes dark with emotions he’d never seen from her, and it was all he could do not to just dive back down and kiss her again. Had she always been this beautiful? How had he never noticed before?

He pressed his face into her neck and her arms curled around his back and this, at least, was familiar. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but the fire-and-wildflower scent of her did nothing to calm the racing of his heart. “What are we doin’, Kiki?”

“I was rather hoping you could tell me.” Her voice was low and rough, but her words were as prim as ever and he couldn’t help but chuckle. His lips brushed her throat as he did, and she gasped and arched her back, pressing herself against him. He did it again deliberately just to see if he would get the same reaction, and he did, this time followed by a helpless little laugh. “That really isn’t helping, darling.”

“I dunno. Depends on what you’re lookin’ for help with.” He left a meandering trail of open-mouthed kisses up her neck. She clung to him, hands clenching in his shirt and hair. “If I’d known it would be like this, I’d’ve kissed you years ago.”

“Maybe years ago, it wouldn’t have been.” She pushed against his chest until he moved back enough to look her in the eye. “Hey, Edér?”

“Yeah, darlin’?”

She was so close he could barely keep her in focus, just like when he’d first kissed her. How long ago had that been? Minutes? Hours? So much had changed so quickly. “Are you in love with me?”

Edér didn’t answer right away. Instead, he slid his arms under her and sat up on the couch, pulling her effortlessly into his lap. She smiled at him like she couldn’t believe this was really happening, tracing her fingers over his cheeks, his brow, his lips, the slope of his nose. There was such an unexpected tenderness in the way she looked at him that it left him breathless. 

If he hadn’t known the answer to her question before, he knew it now beyond a shadow of a doubt. “Yes. I am. I love you, Kiki.” He’d said it before, hundreds, maybe thousands of times, but it felt different this time.

Kai pressed her forehead to his, and the last bit of tension drained out of her. The relief in her voice was obvious. “Good. Otherwise this would be really awkward, because I’m in love with you too.” She closed her eyes, as if the effort of saying the words out loud had been too much, but she was still smiling. “I don’t know why we couldn’t see it.”

“Guess everyone else could. If that guy comes back, I’m gonna have to buy him a drink.” It was all so obvious, now that he was looking for it. How long had they been in love and not realized it? When had things changed? Maybe it had always been like this, and they just didn’t see it. “I��m sorry it took us so long to figure it out.”

“Better late than never.”

She kissed him again, and it felt like the start of something new.