#clover rambles

Ever since the Abyss had taken up root in Nod-Krai, the storms seemed to have gotten worse generally, but they were particularly rough on the nights of their infiltration. Your mind couldn’t help but think of the worse, that he was out in this. Of all the nights he was on patrol it had to be tonight, the night that there were two Fatui attacks on Mondstat and a predicted Abyssal attack here in Nod-Krai. 

You tried to press on to finish the short chapter you were on, managing to make it half way down the page before getting distracted again as the rain grew heavier and more aggressive, the wind knocking one of the small planted pots on the path to the garden over, luckily not breaking it but enough to frighten you. You kept reading on, managing to finish the chapter but not taking in anything from the book in the last hour. 

You lay on the couch, propping the book on the small side table by the lit candle, looking at the dancing flame in the hopes he’d come back soon. Soon enough, you fell asleep. Your head resting on the arm of the couch with a black cat perched at your side. The cat in question being a stray that you and Flins took in on a night like this about a year ago which you named Oleander or that Flins named more so than you. You didn’t process that you had fallen asleep. Not even noticing the small blanket that was draped around you and the glass of water with mint and lemon on the side table, something Flins got into the habit of making for you on stormy nights. You didn’t notice the candle being extinguished and extra logs being put on the fire. Not until you felt the couch beside you dip as none other than Flins sat down, hair damp and stuck to his face and his body seeming exhausted but not visibly hurt, not that you could tell from the pyjamas he threw on anyway. 

“Thank the gods,” You muttered, tiredly clambering towards him much to Oleander’s dismay. You lay your head on his chest, feeling the instant coldness from his skin through his shirt. You heard him chuckle softly, his hand sliding behind your back to pull you in closer. “Missed me that much, mhm?” He teased, stroking small lines over the skin by your side soothingly, smirking slightly seeing you jump and how cold his fingers were. “Not missed as per se, more like worried that there was a raging storm and two attacks in Mondstat and Abyssal activity earlier on,” You murmured, letting out a sigh as he pressed a small kiss on the top of your head. Your eyes started to gently flutter shut again listening to his heartbeat, the cat nuzzling in the small space between you and him like he was meant to sit there. “Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? Besides, it's not just me at my post you know?” He mused, looking down at you with a small smile. 

Flins, who was normally quite stoic and serious to others, always had a soft spot for you. Ever since you came to Nod-Krai, helping Nefer and Jahoda in the Curatorium where he first met you when reporting back to Nefer about something in the outpost, he knew he liked you. He knew you were different from everyone else. He felt at ease with you, as did you with him. It’s very few and far between you two are affectionate around others not for any particular reason more so that you two rarely see each other out and about despite working in similar fields. Moments like these you cherished, just laying down with him and cuddling up close after a hard day or even just chilling at home. 

You both sat in a moment of silence, comfortable and content with the moment before you spoke up. “Don’t you think that they should just up the measures and patrols across Nod-Krai now? Hell, maybe just Tayvat in general.” You mumbled, sleep lacing your voice as you spoke. You heard Flins huff out a laugh, his hand pausing and sitting on the curve of your hip. “You’d think so but I don’t think we have enough people to patrol and keep the activity at bay. I said to Nefer about trying to recruit more people through the Curatorium as intel but no one really wanted to,” He sighed, playing with the hem of your shirt out of habit, which he normally does when he’s thinking. “What’s stopping you from gathering troops? Or even asking Varka for help?” You asked, comfortably sliding a hand under his shirt to try and warm him up.