[Alphinaud stirs slightly at the sound of his doorknob turning, but it isn't until he feels another weight in the bed that he wakes halfway. Still half-asleep, he instinctively turns into her and wraps his arms about her tight, like when they were kids. Normally he was the clingy one but sometimes he could hold her too, so close she might not be able to wriggle free without a bar to pry herself off. But that was the nature of children-- to think in terms of absolutes. Either they were together, or apart. Grandfather was here, or he was lost. Either a friend, or an enemy.

The truth is rarely so simple.

He breathes in slowly, deeply, and his lashes flutter. He's no use in the darkness. But he realizes immediately why she's here because he felt it too, his dreams haunted by the thought of Alisaie perishing in his arms. Her pulse had been so thready when Emet-Selch lay waste to them. He thought he was dead as much as anyone, and that unsettling cold feeling hasn't left him since they were released from the crystal.]

Alisaie, [he whispers, and presses the softest kiss into her hair, like their mother used to when they were small.] I am here.

[His voice is thick with conviction (and sleep).]

My world has become bigger since we sailed to Eorzea. And yet, the heart of it remains the same because it lies with you. You are my heart, Sister. And to you I shall always return—this I swear, with everything I have...