The Gentle Guardian | Tighnari Fluff

Family

Tighnari and Collei brought you to camp safely, and Tighnari decided he would be hunting from then on. You couldn't even argue. You had failed them, like how you failed your brother.

You sat down on a stump as Tighnari sat next to you.

"So, do you mind telling me what happened?" He asked, concerned. "Nothing happened. I just fell asleep, and I told you I was sorry." You reply defensively. Tighnari sighed.
"I don't believe you, and it's no use trying to convince me."
"I don't want you and Collei to worry," You say. It was true. You didn't want their pity.
"If you don't tell me, I'll only worry more." Tighnari replied calmly.

You sighed. "I..saw my brother," you admit. Tighnari stares at you for a second, not expecting that answer. His face suddenly turns panicked. "Wait, did he hurt you?" He asks. "No," You reply. Technically, he did hurt you, emotionally. But you didn't want to make anyone worry.
Especially since they could get hurt.

"What did he do?" Tighnari asked. "He..spit out some personal insults," you reply, trying to make it seem as harmless as possible. Tighnari frowns. "That's it? That's why you were breaking down? I don't believe you," he replied strictly.

"Words hurt. His words still sting," you shot back. Tighnari sighs, still not convinced. "You're okay now, right?" He asked. You simply nod as he hugs you.
"You promise he didn't hurt you?" Tighnari asked  again. "Yes, I promise."

The rest of the day went by quite fast. Tighnari went out to hunt again, this time coming back uninjured. Your brother was probably the one who attacked Tighnari, which was one of the reasons you hated him.
If he had hurt Collei, you probably would've done the same to him.

Night approached, and Tighnari suggested that all three of you should have another bonfire.
Of course, you agreed.
One of the things you found special were how these two treated you. They treated you like family.
Collei was like a little sister and Tighnari..you didn't know what you wanted with him.

He treated you like his partner, and so did you.
So what were you?
You figured you'd ask him after Collei went to bed.

The three of you settled near the campfire while roasting meat.
"I have a question, Y/N." Collei started.
"Huh? Oh, what is it?" You asked.
"What happened in the forest?"

You sat there, trying to find the words to explain it.
You knew that you wouldn't be able to convince Collei that you just fell asleep, so you felt you should just tell her the truth.

"I saw my brother." You started. Collei looked surprised, but expected you to continue. "And he explained why he abandoned me." You state.

"He abandoned you?" Collei asked, surprised.

Shit.

You forgot to tell them he abandoned you.
"Yes, I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry," you awkwardly apologised.

Collei waved it off. Tighnari was also surprised, apparently. You forgot to tell him as well.
"Um, well, he didn't hurt you did he?" Collei asked. "No. Thank you for asking." You reply.

"Umm..have you been to Monstadt?" Collei asked, trying to change the topic.
"Oh! Yeah, I have. I grew up there." You reply. Your brother worked as a knight there. It wasn't a particularly hard job, considering Monstadt's current state, but it was still quite impressive.

"Oh! I um- did you meet someone who goes by the name of Amber?" She asked hopefully.
"Amber..Oh! The Outrider girl, right? I did meet her. We were pretty close. I treated her as a sister," you reply. Sometimes, you missed Amber.

Considering you grew up in Monstadt, leaving her was pretty sad.
When you were kids, the both of you usually played around in the Favonious Headquarters.
She was one of your first friends.

Sadly, your brother wanted to leave the knights and go adventuring. You never passed up a chance at adventuring, so you said goodbye to Amber and left with him.
It took a lot of begging to let him come with you, but you enjoyed your adventures.

And you thought your brother did too.

"Oh, do you know how she's doing right now?" Collei asked, snapping you back to reality.
"No, not right now. I left before she turned eighteen," you said.
"What a shame.." Collei mumbled.

"Y/N, I have a question." Tighnari says out of the blue.
"Huh?" You asked simply.

"How do you see us?"

You froze at the question.
You didn't really know how to respond. You knew them for around a week, Collei even less.
But they felt so comforting.
Their presence made you feel safe.
They made you feel loved.
They felt like Family. Something that you didn't have much of.

"Family." You saw simply, catching the two of them off guard.
Tighnari starts to blush as Collei simply smiles.

"I feel loved around you both," you say, looking at your feet. Collei's smile widened as she walked up to you and gave you a hug.

Tighnari joined in as you smiled contently.
You didn't feel like a burden anymore.
You were around your loved ones.
What else could you ask for?

Collei released herself from the hug, stretching and yawning as Tighnari walked back to his stump shyly.
"I'm gonna go to bed now," the girl says, walking off. You wave her a good night and look at Tighnari.

You walk up to him and position your stump next to him.
'It's now or never, Y/N.'

"I love you."