by T D Cloud
The kiss he got soothed him instantly. “It was all thanks to you that she took pity on me at all,” he said quietly, burying his face in Khouri’s hair. A sigh ruffled his fringe, tickling Khouri’s ear. “She never would have listened to me if you hadn’t come in.”
“Really?” That didn’t make much sense at all. “What did you say to her?”
“The same thing I just said to you,” Navidae mumbled, kissing Khouri’s pulse point. “She thought I had been selfish. Acting out of childish pique. She didn’t… I don’t think she could punish me for doing the same thing she did back then.”
Navidae took that moment to laugh a little to himself, pulling his head free so he could look Khouri in the eye. “I think we both realized we’re a lot more similar than we thought,” he admitted. “And she’s… She seems like she’s eager to see how else we’re alike too... Khouri, pet,” he crooned, squeezing Khouri’s arms. “What’s wrong?”
Khouri let out a weak laugh, his grin no doubt stretching from ear to ear. It must look a bit more manic than he intended. Oh well. “I’m just so happy,” Khouri whispered. He cupped Navidae’s face in his hands. “You have your family back. The one you always dreamt of having.”
Instead of answering him, Navidae just leaned in for another kiss. It was deep and sloppy, graceless from the crying and bordering on unpleasant were it not for the emotion that still managed to carry through. Navidae held Khouri around the waist, hugging him tightly. “We have a family,” he corrected once they broke for air. His dark red eyes burned Khouri to the core. “And when you’re home, we can see about meeting them properly.”
Khouri blinked. “When I’m home?” He tucked a lock of Navidae’s tousled hair behind his pointed ear. “But I’m home now.”
Navidae kissed his cheek. “For how long, though?” he breathed, glancing back at Sorin who Khouri could guess was trying to pretend like he wasn’t watching. “You’ll leave for the surface again, won’t you?” Khouri wasn’t… He didn’t know what their plans were for that. In all the stress of the past days, he hadn’t thought about the surface at any great length. But they would go back above, right? Even if he was happy now, he knew well enough that the urge to move and see and roam would come back eventually, and probably stronger than ever. Not to mention the promises he made to Jarrett and Heddi and Yula, and, oh, Gods, not to mention Sorin. Sorin wasn’t going to want to stay down here for—
“Not for awhile,” Sorin cut in, and they both turned to look at him. With his beard short, it was so easy to see how he felt about all of this. His cheeks were positively ruddy. “We can stand to stay here for a bit. It’s nearly winter anyway. Might as well wait it out down here. Set out in the spring.”
Khouri looked at Navidae. Navidae looked back at him, sharing his look of confusion. “The winter?” his lover posed.
“Spring?” Khouri added.
Sorin rolled his eyes and chuffed, giving them a wry smile. “Four-ish months for you Drow,” he clarified, shaking his head fondly. “That way Khouri doesn’t freeze to death and I don’t have to worry about getting snowbound with the remains until thaw comes around.”
“Do you have any idea what he’s saying?” Khouri whispered in a voice that wasn’t really a whisper.
Navidae held him tight, pressing a happy kiss to his ear. “No idea,” he said, savoring how Sorin grunted at them. “But I think it means I have you for awhile longer yet.”
Khouri opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get out a single word, the door behind them clicked. Then, it opened.
Navidae let out a pained grunt as it smacked against his head.
“What the—” “...Vida?”
Everything froze. Khouri nearly fell out of Navidae’s lap in his effort to back away from the door, and Navidae paled, scrambling after him to stand up. “Mother?” he called out, opening the door fully as he tried to fix his hair in vain. “I thought you left already.”
The Lady Lichenith hovered near the doorway, wringing her hands and looking decidedly uncomfortable. That made four of them, Khouri had to think, glancing back to see Sorin shifting anxiously on the bed. Did he think about how that might look? Khouri ducked behind Navidae as unobtrusively as he could. It was too late to help Sorin but hopefully he could save himself, so long as she kept her attention on Navidae first and foremost.
Navidae’s mother cleared her throat. “I was about to head out,” she said stiffly, trying and failing to ignore the contents of the room before her. “But I found myself curious.”
“Curious?” Navidae fidgeted, taking a step back to grasp Khouri’s hand in his own. “About what?”
“About how much this place has changed since…” She paused, swallowing. Her eyes settled on Navidae. Her expression softened. “Since you made it your own. This was once my room. I thought… Forgive me, I didn’t think you would have taken it for yourself.” Khouri stilled when Navidae squeezed his hand. His lover held his head downward, glancing at the carpet and then the wall before slowly making his way back up to look at his mother properly.
“Ah, well,” he said quietly. “It seemed fitting. Master suite, master of the House. Dezik insisted on it, really. Said it’d be odd to tend to the Master in his childhood room.”
The Lady smiled, nodding her head. “Yes, I do suppose that’s fair.” She lifted a hand to fiddle with her hair, her eyes drifted further into the room. She took in Sorin, and then Khouri. The weight of her gaze settled on Khouri fully. “So. This is… Khouri.”
This time it was Khouri’s turn to squeeze Navidae’s hand. He took in a breath and slowly peeked out from behind Navidae’s shoulder, inching around until he was standing at his side instead of behind him. He nodded his head, inclining it respectfully. The way he should have initially, he thought regretfully.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said quietly. He only lifted his head when Navidae nudged his shoulder with his own.
Somehow Khouri managed a weak smile. “It wasn’t my intention to offend you. Please, welcome to our home.”
“Think nothing of it,” she told him, waving her hand in the air a little as if to brush the words off. “Today’s been… It’s been a strange day for us all. If you’d do me the kindness of accepting this as a fresh start… I’d appreciate it.”
Khouri tried to swallow around the knot in his throat. He smiled and nodded, wrapping his arms around Navidae’s to hug it to his chest. “Of course,” he whispered. “I’d love that.” Her eyes softened when she took them in. The corners of her lips curved upwards into the slightest ghost of a smile. A sigh left her, and then she looked back to Sorin. “And who is this?” she asked next. “A human? You didn’t mention him before.”
Navidae shifted on his feet, turning a little to take in Sorin sitting rigidly on the bed. “Oh. Him. Right. That’s—”
Sorin stood up and crossed the room, his most charming smile on his face and his hand outstretched in his customary surface- gesture. “Sorin Tolgrath,” he said, introducing himself. The Lady Lichenith looked at his hand with wide, curious eyes, only taking it when Navidae leaned over to whisper an explanation in her ear.
She colored a little and took his hand gently. They let go quickly but Khouri didn’t see any sign that Sorin had given her the same treatment as the last noble to make the mistake of shaking his hand.
“Sir Tolgrath,” she said, inclining her head. “I can’t say we see many humans down here.”
“It’s Hunter, ma’am,” Sorin corrected. “And I can imagine.” “Hunter…” She glanced at Navidae, her lips going a little
tight. “Is he…?”
Navidae nodded, crossing his arms as he averted his eyes. “Yeah. He’s the one who brought Khouri back.”
“But wasn’t that months ago? Why is he still here?”
The room fell silent. Sorin coughed and Khouri colored, and Navidae, emotionally wrung-out as he was, kept his eyes down and tried not to look like he wanted to bolt. He didn’t do a great job of i
t. Khouri reached out a hand and settled it on Navidae’s arm.
Khouri began, unsure of what to say but confident he’d be able to lie well enough anyway. “That’s because—”
“Do you love him too, Vida?”
Khouri choked on his words while Navidae choked on nothing but the air in his lungs. Was that how he got her to change her mind? He’d told his mother before he told Khouri; a little voice in Khouri’s head told him he should be upset about that, but when the result was an end to their problems, maybe it was a small price to pay. Sorin stood as rigid as a statue at Khouri’s side, his pale skin reddening at an alarming rate. This day certainly kept on giving.
“Oh, Merciless Inden,” Navidae groaned, covering his face with his hand. “Mother, please.”
This was too much. Khouri had a startling sense of deja vu. What was it about mothers that made them ask such things so easily?
Lady Lichenith began to smile, showing them well enough that she felt no guilt over it. “Ah. I see. I think it would be best that I take my leave now,” she murmured, looking at her embarrassed son.
The hand slowly fell away from Navidae’s face. He looked at her for a second before the words seemed to process. He looked a little hesitant. Perhaps he didn’t want her to leave just yet. “Let me walk you out,” Navidae said. He turned towards Khouri and reached out a hand, carding his fingers through his hair. More to comfort himself than Khouri, he had to think. “I’ll be back in a bit, pet. Can you wait for me here?”
Khouri caught Navidae’s hand and pressed a kiss to his palm, nodding. “Sorin and I can—”
“Actually,” Lady Lichenith cut in, “would you all mind escorting me out?”
Khouri tightened his grip on Navidae’s hand. His heart thudded in his chest, his cheeks a little warm. Sorin shifted uneasily behind him. There was no polite way to say no, and certainly no valid excuse they could offer against doing as much. Khouri looked to Navidae and Navidae squeezed his hand back. This was important. Navidae’s mother… She had done a lot to hurt them, but she seemed like she wanted to make up for that now. Navidae… He seemed like he wanted that too.
Khouri was willing to let her, for Navidae’s sake if nothing else.
“It’d be our pleasure,” Khouri said quietly, reaching behind him to find Sorin’s hand. He carefully let go of Navidae’s, nodding at him to go ahead and lead. Glancing up at Sorin, he gave the man’s hand a squeeze and smiled. “Wouldn’t it, Sorin?”
“Right,” Sorin said, standing a little straighter. “Our pleasure.”
Navidae’s mother smiled. “Good,” she said, holding out her hand to snag her son by the arm. She coaxed him forward, pulling him through the door and into the hall.
Sorin held tight to Khouri’s hand, keeping him from following. “We can make a run for it,” he said, eyeing the doorway and the voices that could be heard just outside. “They wouldn’t notice.”
Khouri smacked Sorin’s shoulder and yanked hard, pulling him towards the door. “Oh, come on,” he muttered. “It’s just his mother, right? We can walk her down to the gate.”
“You really don’t know what mothers are like if you think this is going to be anything but mortifying,” Sorin hissed, reluctantly following Khouri into the hall. Navidae and his mother were nearly at the landing, but it didn’t take long to catch up. Khouri made sure of that.
“You’ve really made this place your own,” he heard Avarria remark, her head turned upwards to take in the numerous paintings and decorative pieces lining the walls around the staircase. “I hardly recognize it anymore.”
“I didn’t want to remember him either.” Navidae’s hand followed the banister as they descended, his head turned away from his mother. “What would be the point of living with his ghost? I hardly think he’d be much better as a memory, so I took measures to see he didn’t live on as even that.”
Sorin squeezed Khouri’s hand. Khouri blinked, looking up at him. The man looked concerned. What sort of expression did Khouri wear to garner that? He swallowed and managed a smile, taking to the stairs until they reached the main parlor.
There was a lot about Navidae he didn’t know. Fifty years they’d been together, but this monumental part of his past… It’d been a mystery to him. Probably for the better, really, since he only needed to glance at Navidae to know this was a part of himself he wanted to keep long buried.
“Vida,” Avarria said, standing near the door. Khouri broke from his musings in time to see her tug Navidae around to face her. She settled her hands on his shoulders, taking him in as if for the first time in a long time. Her lips were tight. Her grip looked tighter.
Navidae had to try twice to find his voice. “Yes, Mother?”
She relaxed minutely. Her hands eased, sliding down his arms to cradle his forearms loosely. “Rest assured that your worries are over,” she whispered. “We’ve both lived too long with a specter hanging over us. It poisoned our minds as it did in life, and… and I’m sick of letting that memory dictate my actions any longer. I’ll see to the Council. So, please. Smile.”
A hand looped around Khouri’s shoulders, turning him away from the two by the door. Khouri looked up at Sorin, but Sorin just shook his head, mouthing, “Give them some privacy.” A flush of warmth overtook Khouri’s cheeks. He quickly nodded, staring instead at the fancy tiles on the floor. Voices murmured behind him. He did his best not to listen.
“Sir— I mean, Hunter Tolgrath,” Avarria called out. Sorin jumped a little and turned, taking Khouri with him.
“Yes, ma’am?”
Avarria had let go of Navidae and was approaching them now. Navidae watched with wide eyes. Khouri carefully eased himself free from Sorin’s hold, leaving him to face her alone.
She moved in front of Sorin and looked him up and down.
Then, she held out her hand.
Sorin blinked. He took it slowly. “Ma’am?” he murmured, brow furrowed and posture stiff.
“For respect shared,” she said, no doubt referencing what Navidae had told her before. Her small hand looked all the smaller in Sorin’s, her head craned to look him in the eye.
Despite the height difference, she hardly looked intimidated. “You helped my son. You’ve been helping him all this time, and…” She paused, clearing her throat. “Please, continue to help him. In whatever capacity you can.”
Sorin relaxed instantly. “Of course, ma’am,” he said, nodding his head. “He’s got a thick head, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Sorin,” Navidae hissed, but Avarria just smiled, letting go of Sorin’s hand to wave her son off as she pulled away.
“The stories I could tell of his antics as a child would prove that view of him entirely too true,” she admitted. Navidae grunted again, protesting the thought, but all he got for his attempts was another wave of her hand and Avarria’s attention turned towards Khouri and Khouri alone. “But that can be a story for another time.”
Khouri tried not to fidget when she came to a stop only a few inches from him. Her eyes took him in from head to toe, her expression utterly unreadable. Up close Khouri couldn’t help but look for pieces of Navidae in her appearance. The hair was completely different in color, but not shape. She had that same sort of messy elegance that Navidae wore so well, and her eyes… Khouri could see easily where Navidae got his eyes.
Staring into Avarria’s was like staring into Navidae’s, only this time he felt calculated, not adored.
She cleared her throat. It took everything in Khouri not to jump. He lifted his head and looked her in the eye even though it was a struggle. “Thank you,” she said, absolutely the last thing Khouri expected to hear. “For taking care of Vida. For caring for him. And letting him care for you in turn.”
Khouri swallowed around his tongue. It was harder than it needed to be; his tongue felt big and clumsy. “You don’t need to thank me for that,” he whispered, holding his arm self-consciously. He gave up the fight to look her in the eye. Instead he looked at h
is bracelets, and then lower at the floor.
Warm hands settled on his shoulders. Khouri looked up and saw her smile. That… looked like Navidae too. Just a little.
“I do,” she disagreed, shaking her head a little. “I have to thank you.”
Before Khouri could try to convince her otherwise, she pulled him fully into her arms, embracing him tightly.
“Thank you, Khouri,” she whispered, squeezing him tighter. Her fingers found his hair, combing through it gently. “If you need anything, anything at all, send for me without hesitation. I’ll help.”
Khouri tried to find his voice and failed. He brought his hands up instead, wrapping them around her carefully. He managed to nod. She smelled nothing like Mastha but her hug felt just as secure.
She combed through his hair a few more times before slowly breaking the embrace. Khouri went reluctantly, and when she caught sight of his face, she smiled, cupping his cheek carefully. “Leave it to my Vida to find himself such a beautiful love,” she murmured, shaking her head a little. “I can see why he’s so fond of you.”
“Mother, please,” Navidae muttered somewhere behind them. “You’re embarrassing him.”
“It’s… It’s okay,” Khouri said, his cheeks burning hotter than the fire lighting the room. “This is what mothers do, I think. Right, Sorin?” “It definitely is,” Sorin said with a clipped tone, and Khouri didn’t need to look at him to know he was rolling his eyes.
“Yes, well, that’s all well and good, but let’s not overwhelm him with too much all at once,” Navidae interjected, walking over to wrap and arm around Khouri’s waist. “You can come back and humiliate me again some other day.”
Avarria raised a brow, her look hopeful. “Really?” she whispered. “You’d let me?”
Khouri felt Navidae hold him a little tighter. He rested his cheek on Khouri’s head, nodding. “If you’d like,” he mumbled.
Khouri rested a hand over Navidae’s on his hip, smiling warmly at Avarria. “For dinner sometime,” he offered, giving Navidae a break. “Navi always has an exciting menu.”