FFXIV Fanfic- “Professional Admiration”

Title: Professional Admiration

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn

Ship: Alphinaud x Male Warrior of Light

Characters: Alphinaud, Alisaie, Miqo’te Warrior of Light (Ahleh’li)

Rating: T (because I’m paranoid)

Summary: On the way back to Eorzea after freeing Doma, Alphinaud can’t help but watch the Warrior of Light- something that amuses his twin sister to no end.

Fingers ran along the weathered border of the codex, his quill quickly dipping into the inkwell to the side. Even from this distance, the smell of old books and ink filled the air as the owner began the meticulous process of studying and copying over new formulae and arcane geometry into the newer book's pages. His gloves lay to the side of the desk as he peered through his monocle to the pages, examining each letter and curve of the glyphs with sharp criticism and consideration. The quill swept across the newer book's pages, copying ancient wisdom from ages past. Black ink blossomed from the tip, drying as he carefully kept his white coat from smearing his meticulous work. Each dot of an "I" and each crossing of a "T" was done with a precision that few afforded the man at first glance. Indeed, even as his eyes stayed steady and his fingers precise with practiced grace, his feline ears twitched, catching each and every sound of the room as people bustled back and forth through it. His tail, long and fluffy, seemed like it wanted to do anything but lay still despite his own diligence. His usual energy was tightly bound as he continued his craft, his knowledge and soul being etched by the instrument into each page he wrote in. The dark charcoal skin of his fingers had a few hard-to-see stains of ink on them; a cause of slight embarrassment by the man, if his near-constant use of gloves and gauntlets was any indication. Here though, his guard was down as he engaged in an activity that some could only call therapeutic for the warrior. 

Candle-light flickered, reflecting off his dark skin and darker tattoos, running up his face and on his forehead. His snowy eyebrows furrowed as some wayward thought crossed his features. An ear tilted down in a way that could only indicate he had come across a problem, some conundrum his scholastic intelligence was now racing to solve and beat into submission like so many Garlean soldiers.

"Brother, you're staring again." Alphinaud jerked a bit, caught off guard by his twin sister's sudden whispered words near his ear. He gasped as she chuckled, a light and airy sound. Blood rushed up into his face, pooling beneath his cheeks as he realized he'd been caught. Of course, he could not get anything past Alisaie, even when he hadn't intended to try and cover up his actions.

"Ah, Alisaie, I-I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that," He said distractedly, looking away from his original object of study, Ahleh'li. "I was simply checking to see if our beloved Warrior of Light was getting adequate rest!" He said flustered, "After all, the siege of Doma Castle was only a few days back and you know how he can overwork himself!" Alphinaud said in his defense, his sister giving him a bemused glance all the while. 

"Oh yes, he certainly does have the habit- you would know that first hand wouldn't you dear brother?" She said, leaning back against the wall, crossing her legs. Alphinaud had to say, he did not like the smirk that she bore across her face. "Long days and nights traveling alongside him, watching him slay primal and Imperial alike. You've always been there by his side to assist him should he need it. Hm, but I will say, Ahleh'li is always quite willing to help you out as well should you need it in turn. He's quite eager to in fact."

Alphinaud huffed a little bit, the blood staying coalesced in his cheeks. Yes, he had traveled quite extensively with the Warrior of Light over the past year. From Ahleh'li helping him with the Crystal Braves to them tracking down and dealing with primals- even when they had been betrayed, Ahleh'li had been by his side, and Alphinaud had been by the other's as well. He wasn't sure what Alisaie was implying- oh, confound it, he knew exactly what she was implying with all this. Not that he was going to amuse her by coming out and saying it.

"Well! We are colleagues and friends after all. It only makes sense that we would journey with each other at least once, sister." he was distracted by movement from Ahleh'li and his heart raced- had the keen-eared Scholar overheard their conversation? Alphinaud calmed a bit when he saw Ahleh'li had merely been brushing aside his snowy bangs from his eyes. He looked back at Alisaie, who was smirking in triumph. Damn it all, his heart had betrayed him once again, and so openly.

"We are twins are we not Alphinaud? And as Krile said herself, you've always been such a terrible liar. I've seen you moony-eyed over many a girl, though I didn't expect such infatuation with our Warrior of Light." Alisaie teased him with a falsely-innocent smirk. She tapped the sketchpad that he'd left on the table next to him, a knowing grin adorning her features. "How many pages of this includes very detailed sketches of a certain cat?" 

Alphinaud gaped at her, wisely not denying her comment nor challenging her to examine it. Even the more innocent of sketches would be enough to indict him, let alone the ones he'd managed to do when Ahleh'li was training shirtless. "I assure you Alisaie, it is not what you think. While I do count Ahleh'li as one of my closest friends and most trusted confidantes,  it is not in the way you assume!" Damn his body for betraying him; he could feel the very obvious blush on his cheeks refusing to leave despite his best efforts, "It is simply... professional admiration for him, as a fellow man of summoning and as a man of action."

His sister let out a good laugh at that, "A man of action, eh? And what, pray tell, are those 'actions' you are thinking of?" She stood as Alphinaud spluttered, taken off guard by such a comment from his sister of all people. She smoothed out her clothes, a wide smirk still on her lips as she made to leave, apparently having decided she had tormented him enough. "You know, you should really do more than admire from a distance. Proper admiration is done up close and personal," Alisaie said, giving him a wink before leaving him behind, leaving him a blushing mess. By the Twelve, what was that about! Could he not sit in peace! 

Alphinaud pinched his nose as he fought down his blush. He had merely been lucky that Ahleh'li had not overheard their conversation.

"What was that all about Alphinaud?"

The short elezen's eyes shot open wide as he squeaked, a bit more girlishly than he'd care to admit, as he realized the dark-skinned Miqo'te was standing above him, Codex in hand and a questioning look on his face. Alphinaud quickly shook his head, letting out a short but nervous laugh, "Ah-ha! It's, ah, nothing to worry about Ahleh'li! My sister was simply being her usual self, nothing to be too concerned about," He promised his friend, pale face still a bit red.

A snicker from the Warrior of Light made Alphinaud smile. The Miqo'te's tail swished behind him as Ahleh'li motioned to the seat next to Alphinaud that his sister had just vacated, "Well then, if you wouldn't mind my presence I had a few things to talk to you about." Alphinaud nodded quickly, smiling as Ahleh'li took a seat.

"Thank you Alphinaud; I was theorizing about ways to possibly improve my Aetherflow in the midst of combat to extend my healing spells." Ahleh'li explained as Alphinaud looked over at him, having to look down slightly for once. The other male was barely taller than him when standing and with Ahleh'li's natural hunch when sitting, the feline man was just shorter than him. "With Krile and Y'shtola back in Eorzea, I have no one to bounce my ideas off of. Plus," Ahleh'li seemed a bit sheepish now, "It's always awkward talking with people with so much more learning than me when I'm mostly self-taught. And you're just a little younger than me and all so..." He trailed off a bit awkwardly as Alphinaud gave him a bright smile.

"It's fine Ahleh'li! I'm more than happy to help you with anything you need- I'll admit I don't know much about the ancient Scholar arts, but hopefully my arcane knowledge will be enough to suffice..." He said as they began to animatedly talk, leaning over the same books, shoulders touching and Ahleh'li's tail curling up near Alphinaud.

Alisaie watched them from the doorway, the gentle sway of the ship underneath her feet. She shook her head, chuckling as she watched her twin blush and talk with the other male. "Professional Admiration" indeed.