by T D Cloud
Avarria tucked some of her hair behind her ear. She looked overwhelmed by it all. “I’d welcome that,” she said eventually. She let out a breath and smiled, taking in all of them one by one by one. “I’ll take my leave now,” she said next. “Perhaps next time we meet it won’t be under such dire circumstances.”
Navidae slowly untangled himself from Khouri’s body, letting out a weak laugh. “Yes,” he said, taking his mother by the arm to lead her towards the door. “Let’s try to avoid that in the future.”
What they said next was too low for Khouri to hear. His ears perked, his curiosity itched, but he told himself to leave it be.
He moved towards Sorin and leaned against his side, watching Navidae open the door and bid his mother goodbye. She paused at the threshold to cup his cheek in her hand, pulling him down for a quick kiss on the cheek that neither of them seemed to expect. A whisper, then she was off. Navidae covered his cheek with his hand and watched her go.
“She’s nice,” Khouri murmured, looking up at Sorin with a soft smile.
Sorin looked down, quirking a brow. “She’s a work in progress,” he corrected, giving Khouri’s hip a squeeze. “They both are.”
Khouri shrugged, going up on his toes to kiss Sorin’s cheek. “I’m willing to be optimistic,” he said, savoring Sorin’s warmth. He purred when Sorin turned his head to kiss him properly.
“You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t,” the man murmured, breaking away to look at Navidae still by the door.
“So…” Sorin drawled, crossing his arms and smiling smugly at Navidae when he looked back. “Vida, was it?”
“Oh, shut up,” Navidae muttered, pushing off the door. He made a beeline for Khouri and dragged him away from Sorin’s side, only to bury himself in Khouri’s arms once he was free. He embraced Khouri eagerly, and Khouri smiled when Navidae hid his face in his neck. “I’ve had a trying few months. The least you could do is let me keep my dignity.”
“Dignity? I wasn’t aware you had any of that left.”
Khouri rolled his eyes. “I don’t think we need to hear that from you of all people, Sorrie,” he delivered cleanly over Navidae’s shoulder. Navidae’s laugh tickled, and Khouri reluctantly drew away from his lover, holding him at arm’s length. “Are you okay, though? If this is too fast for you—”
Navidae shook his head, holding Khouri’s hands in his own. “It’s perfect, blackbird,” he said quietly, stroking his thumb over Khouri’s knuckles. “I feel about as stable as a used napkin, but it’s… not a bad feeling. Just different.”
“Crying does that to a person,” Khouri teased.
“Remind me never to cry again in that case,” he muttered, looking at Sorin for a moment. “How are you faring? You look rather out of sorts.”
“How am I faring? I should be asking you that,” Sorin grunted, coming a little closer. He let out a sigh. “Your mother is intense.
Wish you would’ve given us some warning beforehand.”
Navidae deadpanned. “Are you... Warning? Give you warning? What have the last few weeks been if not warning?” he wondered, slowly letting go of Khouri to cross his arms in a glower. “Have you not been paying attention? Or has your memory finally reached its limit?”
Sorin opened his mouth to shoot something back, but Khouri could smell a fight between them brewing like a not-so-distant storm, and he quickly put himself between them, a hand to each chest.
“Hey,” he cut in. “No fighting. You were getting along so well, so don’t ruin all of that progress for something like this.”
Khouri’s eyes widened when instead of escalating the argument the two of them just stalled.
“For something like this?” Navidae murmured.
“Is there some other way you’d rather us ruin it?” Sorin wondered, mischief building in the air between them. A warm hand covered Khouri’s, and then another. Khouri colored when both men took his hands in theirs and closed the distance be- tween them, trapping him between two firm chests. He let out an abortive yelp. Sorin grinned at him from on high, sharing a look over his head at Navidae that Khouri couldn’t quite make out from his current angle.
“What are you two planning?” he demanded, whining when Navidae began to kiss the back of his neck. “I… I think I liked it more when you were fighting.”
“Oh, you don’t mean that,” Sorin chuckled, his hand finding Khouri’s hip to give it a squeeze.
“You like it when we get along,” Navidae crooned. “It’s been a trying day, hasn’t it? And it’s only thanks to you that things worked out in the end.”
Khouri pouted. “You did it yourself, Navi,” he mumbled, turning his head to catch the corner of Navidae’s lips in a kiss.
A sigh tickled his ear. “I really, really didn’t, blackbird.” Navidae’s arms wrapped around his waist, his head resting on Khouri’s shoulder. “I think we’ve all earned ourselves a day of rest. A real one this time. Would you like that?”
“I’d… love that,” he whispered, looking up at Sorin. The man was smiling at him, that soft little smile he only ever showed him when they were alone. But they weren’t alone right now; Navidae was here, kissing soft kisses against his neck, looking at Sorin too in a way that didn’t dull the adoration radiating from the man before them.
Warm arms embraced him. A warm chest met Khouri’s cheek. Khouri… Khouri just savored the warmth.
With the two of them holding him, he doubted he’d ever be cold again.
Epilogue
The next four months in the Duskriven passed quickly compared to how they had on the surface.
Khouri should have assumed as much. The first day of spring emerged from the darkness like a promise just within reach, and when Khouri found himself opening his eyes on the long-awaited day of their departure, he couldn’t help but wonder, why?
Not why he was leaving. He certainly knew that. They’d taken the four months of winter to plan accordingly, and the conversation was never far from straying into what they would do once they were back above. The reason why he was going was never a question, really.
Why he was awake at the crack of dawn, however, certainly was.
The lips against Khouri’s shoulder smiled, but that wasn’t what woke him. The heavy arm thrown over his waist wasn’t it either. Khouri yawned, wide and open, stretching luxuriously against the silk sheets with an indulgence he rarely got to enjoy. It wasn’t his bed-mates who woke him this morning, shockingly enough. Could it have been the excitement?
He frowned a little. His stomach wasn’t fluttering, and though he was eager to go back up, he couldn’t say it was to the extent of rousing him. Khouri let out a sigh and gave up trying to think of a why. He was awake regardless. A better question now would be what was he going to do about it.
They had packed the night before and their bags lay waiting for them on the landing. Their outfits for the day were already prepared and hung in the large wardrobe across the room.
Should Khouri get up and check that they hadn’t forgotten anything? He rolled onto his back and glanced at the sleeping faces on either side of him. A smile tugged at his lips when he looked a little lower and saw how the two men touched each other over Khouri, how the tips of their fingers brushed the other’s ribs or shoulder. It was a small thing to notice, but it made Khouri feel warm all the same.
“You’ve really gotten better at getting along,” he observed, stroking his fingers through Navidae’s hair. Navidae shared the pillow with him, his breath a warm, steady caress that teased Khouri’s cheek. He slept so soundly, the dark exhaustion marks from the start of this visit completely gone in the wake of everything that had come from it. Khouri gave in to the urge to kiss him, so proud that he couldn’t resist.
It shouldn’t have surprised him so much that it only took a kiss to pull Navidae from his sleep. His eyelashes fluttered, and before Khouri could pull back to apologize, Navidae’s ruby red eyes were open, staring into his own with a warmth that hit Khouri somewhere in his
gut.
Khouri turned his head and broke the kiss. His cheeks burned.
“Sorry,” he said quietly. “Go back to sleep.”
Navidae raised a lethargic brow, moving his arm to tug Khouri back against his chest. “Sleep?” he mumbled, his voice low and rough. “Who can sleep when you’re being so sweet?”
“Navi,” he sighed, letting Navidae kiss him again. Only for a moment, though. Just a few seconds. “I have to leave soon. I should go check on things, let you and Sorin sleep.”
“Absolutely not.”
Khouri twitched a little. He could feel himself beginning to pout. “I have to, though,” he mumbled, squirming and turning to try and wiggle himself free from Navidae’s surprisingly strong grip. He let out a bit of a grunt when a leg hooked over his own.
“Oh, no,” Navidae sighed, holding tighter to Khouri’s hips. “No, no, no. You certainly don’t need to leave. You can stay here a while yet, pet. The day is young; let’s play a little instead.”
“Navi,” Khouri whined, reaching out to rouse Sorin when Navidae buried his face in his shoulder to layer kisses upon kisses against his neck. “Come on. We’ll be late.” Sorin grumbled and rolled onto his shoulder, blinking away sleep and the stray hair that lingered atop his eyes. Finally some help. “Sorin, tell him we have to go soon.”
“‘ave ta go soon,” the man mumbled, managing to lift his head for a few seconds before dropping it onto his arm with a grunt. Khouri gaped when a second or two later Sorin began to snore.
“Sorin? Sorin?!” Khouri smacked at his bare shoulder, letting out a muted yelp when Navidae rolled completely on top of him, pinning his arms to the bed. “Navi,” he whined, twisting and turning until he could look his clingy lover in the eye. “Don’t be mean.”
It was so unfortunate that Navidae looked handsome at any time of day. His smile was… Gods, it was painfully handsome.
His rust red hair half-hid his eyes, but his charming grin made up for it, sending duskmoths a flutter in Khouri’s stomach. His hands cupped Khouri’s cheeks, his thumbs stroking the lines of his cheekbones.
“Me? Mean?” he crooned, leaning down to kiss the frown from his lips. “I wouldn’t dream of being mean to you.”
The kiss was impossible to resist. Khouri’s eyes closed, his lips parting to let Navidae take control. It’d be awhile until he enjoyed it again. So what if they had spent the night saying goodbye in the best way they could? A little more in the morning was just a sweeter way to make sure their parting was memorable.
Navidae seemed to sense his acceptance because he smiled into the kiss, pressing deeper. Khouri moaned, carding his fingers through thick, messy hair, savoring the kiss until they were forced to break it to breathe. They gasped against one another’s lips though, too reluctant to pull away. Khouri looked into his lover’s eyes. He couldn’t help but smile.
“What is it?” Navidae crooned, carding his fingers through Khouri’s hair with one hand as the other curved around his throat, playing with his ability to breathe. Khouri shook as a thumb pressed down on his trachea. Navidae kissed his cheek sweetly, letting up to show he was only teasing.
“I love you,” Khouri mouthed, his voice a ghost too weak to be heard. But Navidae didn’t need to hear it to know it. His lips were close, the words traced and taken in by his tongue. Khouri bit down on his lip and whined weakly when Navidae kissed a line down his neck. The sharp tease of teeth answered him easily.
“And I love you, blackbird.” The words kissed his ear before the teeth kissed his shoulder, digging deep until Khouri couldn’t breathe at all. He arched instinctively and whined louder, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Sorin finally waking up for real, his pale eyes wide and his cheeks coloring from the spectacle occurring only a few inches away.
“You two sure do have a lot of energy in the morning,” the man muttered, lifting himself a little closer until he could kiss Khouri’s gasping mouth himself. Khouri looked into blue eyes wantonly, going limp when they both pulled away to take in the mess they’d made of him.
“About time you woke up,” Navidae said by way of greeting, leaning over to kiss Sorin with his bloody mouth. His eyes narrowed teasingly, his hand following the line of Sorin’s shoulder until it disappeared beneath the sheet entirely. “I was beginning to think nothing would wake you.”
Sorin growled a little, biting down on Navidae’s bottom lip in a way that never failed to make Navidae flush. “Excuse me if I intended to get a proper rest after the workout you put us through last night.” He turned away from Navidae to take in Khouri, sitting up a little to evade the hand no doubt eagerly trying to pull him into the morning fun.
Khouri smiled easily when Sorin’s expression softened. “Good morning,” he said quietly, biting his lip when he tried to sit up as well. The movement just pulled at his new bite, sending little flickers of warmth through him in dull waves.
“Good morning, brat,” Sorin sighed, combing his hair from his eyes with careful, considerate hands. “I didn’t think you’d wake up this early. Did he get it in his head that he wanted another farewell or something?” Navidae rolled his eyes and then rolled the rest of himself onto his back, stretching himself languidly. All conversation stopped for a moment to watch; the sheets he usually eschewed were completely lost in the movement. “I’ll have you know he woke me up,” Navidae said smugly, crossing his arms behind his head. “Who am I to turn away such a sweet visage in the morning?”
Khouri’s ears burned. He pulled the sheets a little higher around himself, if only to hide how his body was reacting all the more. “Don’t blame me,” he muttered, looking at the familiar red sheets and how they seemed to accentuate Navidae’s dark skin. “I don’t know what woke me up. I was going to get up and get ready while I waited for the rest of you. I already said I was sorry.”
Humming, Navidae reached out a hand and caught Khouri’s thigh above the sheet. He gave it a squeeze, and Khouri a smile. “Never apologize for it,” he said, content in a way that defied the mood the day should carry. “I’m always happy to entertain you.”
Before Khouri could even blush, Sorin let out a scoffed, “Speak for yourself.” He tossed off the sheets to begin the arduous process of getting out of the massive bed. “Some of us need our rest. Where the hell did you throw my pants last night? I swear you hide my things when I’m not looking.”
Navidae and Khouri shared an indulgent look. Khouri laughed a little and scooted towards the headboard, leaning against it to watch Sorin search the room after he so considerately pushed back the curtains surrounding the bed. “We set out our stuff last night, remember?” he offered up, pointing helpfully at the wardrobe on the opposite side of the room from Sorin’s current hunting grounds. “Perhaps you should look in there before blaming us.” Sorin gave Khouri an unimpressed look before going to the wardrobe, muttering under his breath the entire way. He opened the door and pulled out his clothes, tossing Khouri’s onto the bed with a pointed look thrown over his shoulder. “Get dressed too, brat,” he said, stepping into his pants.
Navidae let out a disappointed noise, tossing a pillow for good measure. “There’s no need to do that already,” he complained, still flaunting his own nudity proudly. “It’s still only just dawn. Surely you can wait a little longer to leave.”
“Khouri, talk to your lover.”
Khouri rolled his eyes, nudging at Navidae with his foot. “He’s your lover too, you kn—” He flushed when Navidae took him by the ankle, pressing kisses to his arch and toes. “Navi, come on,” he muttered, snagging the outfit by the sleeve and pulling it to him quickly. “If we stay in bed with you, you’ll just make us late.”
“When have I ever done such a thing?” Navidae demanded, only letting go of Khouri’s foot when Sorin came back to the bed and caught his attention instead.
“How about when we were supposed to go to your mother’s for breakfast and you decided you wanted to make a mess of me first?” Khouri offered up, dressing quic
kly while Sorin distracted Navidae with kisses.
“Or the time I told you I needed to give Alacrita that letter for Mastha before she left and you rolled on top of me and told me it could wait ten minutes?” Sorin added, breaking the kiss to watch Khouri climb free of the bed, fully dressed and as ready as he was likely to get. His eyes returned to Navidae, brow arched pointedly. “In case you didn’t pay attention, it took longer than ten minutes.”
Navidae pushed Sorin back and sat himself up, crossing his arms petulantly. “Ganging up on me isn’t fair, you know,” he muttered. He let out a sigh when he saw Khouri had escaped his clutches. “Fine. Ruin the wonderful morning we could have.”
Khouri moved to the wardrobe and pulled out Navidae’s favorite robe, tossing it to Sorin who then handed it to Navidae. Khouri spared a look at the contents, trailing his hand down the silks and satin of the clothes he wouldn’t get to wear until he came down here again. He closed the door with a sigh, and then turned back to see Navidae slipping on the robe that Sorin held open for him, still bickering away unhappily.
“Your mother is coming over soon, isn’t she?” Khouri asked, interrupting Navidae as he tied the robe loosely around his waist. “For breakfast, I think. Shouldn’t you be getting things ready?”
His open mouth closed with an audible click. Navidae looked at the ground and crossed his arms. “Yes,” he said reluctantly. “I suppose…” He sighed, meeting Khouri’s eyes. “I suppose I should be seeing that the chefs are aware.”
Khouri offered him a smile, holding out his hand as he moved back towards them both. “You can open up one of the jars of jam I made,” he said, kissing Navidae’s cheek. “I think she’d like it, and it’s something to talk about.”
“We’ll send some things back with your next messenger,” Sorin said, taking up Navidae’s other hand to begin guiding him out of the room. “Some candy or whatever. I bet you’ve never had licorice before. The black kind.” Navidae and Khouri both blinked at him. “Licorice?” Navidae repeated, only stumbling a little over the unfamiliar word. “What is it?”