16: Upside-Down Kiss with alistair and Zyia please? *i spelt his name right right?*
There were mornings when Ziya slept in, stretched out in a lanky, exhausted pile of limbs, and on those mornings, Alistair couldn’t bring himself to wake him. He knew better than anyone that the burden on Ziya was heavier than on the others: he led, he healed, he fought, and when the others lost hope, he smiled. He always smiled. Smiling through a Blight took more energy than anyone could ever comprehend, and how Ziya could manage it was a wonder.
Ziya was a wonder, and it was a wonder that he’d lasted this long without him.
Alistair sat silently with Ziya while the sun rose outside of the tent, casting dim, warm light on his gold-bronze skin, as if Alistair needed the light to admire him. Ziya’s eyes opened slowly, and he stretched, bumping his arm into Alistair’s thigh, then glanced up and to his side to see him sitting quietly, smiling. With two fingers he beckoned him, and with care, Alistair leaned over Ziya’s prone body, kissing first his chin, then the warm, half-parted curve of his familiar, beloved mouth.