He laughed quietly at the first, for it was a good point. He definitely had difficulty communicating when Hugh was inside him. The other got a blink before Emmrich was shaking his head, hands smoothing over Hugh's shoulders reassuringly before one went back to his hair.
"Or, perhaps, neither," Emmrich said with a small smirk before shaking his head again. "I do have additional experience that I haven't introduced yet, but it's not that I'm holding back, or that there's some sort of sex primer you missed. When fighting the gods there truly was no space or time for kink, and we're still finding a routine with living together."
He went quiet for a few moments, playing with Hugh's hair and thinking. "A safeword can help if you hit previously unknown limits, or fears, or boundaries when trying something new. Take being tied up, for instance. It can be liberating, in a strange way, but I did tie a fully consenting partner who then discovered it set off traumatic memories. If they'd simply said stop, we would have stopped, I would have waited for more guidance, and perhaps they would have been overwhelmed with panic or anxiety. They used their safeword, so without any further clarification I got the rope off them with great haste. They didn't need to say anything more."
Emmrich shrugged. "I've also been submissive once, fully so, and knowing that I had that word let me relax. I've never quite managed to dominate someone, but even tonight I did like knowing that there was something to signal clearly that a line was crossed. You're not always... communicative or forthcoming, and I want to never hurt you."
"I'll study a sex primer if you're the one teaching," Hugh said with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrow. "Would there be a quiz afterward? Please tell me it concerns this 'additional experience' I'm just now learning about."
He knew that Emmrich wasn't keen on the whole professor-student thing for good reason. Whereas Hugh's formal education ended when the Chantry in West Hill was razed, Emmrich clearly had no interest in bringing his active professional life into the bedroom. There was no loss to either of them, but Hugh did like to tease on occasion.
The mood shifted as Emmrich went on, and the space between Hugh's brow furrowed as he considered what was being conveyed. Being tied up didn't immediately appeal to him. Confide spaces could remind him too much of the Deep Roads, but he wouldn't dismiss it entirely. Emmrich would know more, and perhaps that was where a safeword would come in handy. Hugh didn't know his own limits because this was all uncharted territory.
If that wasn't enough to make him second-guess his proficiency between the sheets, Emmrich pointing out Hugh's reticence certainly hammered the point home. Hugh winced at the reminder and, now more clearheaded, was replaying the day's events that led them here. He doubted this line of conversation would lead them into another near-fight like in front of the restaurant, but it did get Hugh thinking. About them, about certain disparities between them that were meaningless when they were saving the world but steadily becoming apparent as they settled into an actual life together.
"Emmrich, can I ask you something?" Hugh lifted himself onto his elbows, off Emmrich's lap, and reclined in a half-sitting position to be closer to eye level. "What we're talking about now and everything that's happened today. Does it...bother you that you're older than me?"
"I'll see if I can find time to write that between all of the other things I'm writing," Emmrich said dryly. "But there may be a few books that can assist with learning more in the library. I'll take a look tomorrow."
The thought of having to take lead in all of it was daunting, which felt odd until he considered what had been going on of late. He'd had to keep taking lead. He'd had to plea for Hugh to think about them, fail, and then plea for Hugh to only vanish for two months, he was having to make nearly every call about the wedding, he was trying to get Hugh to realize that he had worth as a person, and it was so very much on top of being a professor teaching and mentoring multiple students, while having an apprentice.
He needed a break in the bedroom. He needed to not have to make all the calls, and that's why teaching sex and a 'quiz' simply didn't appeal.
Hugh's question surprised him, but it almost felt like it fell parallel to his own thoughts. Emmrich exhaled, looking past his partner as he tried to sort out the full answer to that because oh, was it complicated.
"Yes and no," he finally said. "I'm no longer nervous about the age difference. But I feel you often expect me to take point on everything because I've more experience in the world, rather than partnering with me on matters. Taking the obvious example of a wedding -- I've never planned one before. I've had fleeting fancies, it was a dream to find someone to marry, who would marry me, and then I'd stopped looking as I prepared for lichdom. I don't have some grand vision. There are so many details, details that apparently matter to the people that do weddings as their jobs, and it isn't making it easier on me for you to step back. It puts all of the work on my shoulders."
He shook his head. "You are my partner. I have gotten over my issues with our ages. But I think matters would be easier if you could accept that you are my equal. That you are a person, deserving of life, love, happiness, freedom, and joy. That my offer to buy a cottage wasn't a simple, silly whim, it was saying that I want you to have what you need to be happy. I... I think I need you to start figuring out who Hugh Thorne is. I didn't think of that as an age issue so much, as personally I feel the Wardens made you feel like who you were was inconsequential, but it feels relevant.
"I treasure what I know of you, what I've seen of you. You should try treasuring it too."
The brevity and clipped way in which Emmrich responded to what Hugh thought was gentle, playful prodding at first now had him on edge. A nerve had been struck, and it put Hugh on tenterhooks as if he had just heard the distinct 'click' of a wire trap being sprung. All levity had fled the room, and now Hugh was faced with the cracks in a new foundation beginning to show.
It was then that Hugh noticed Emmrich didn't just look annoyed or unimpressed by Hugh's flippancy and the turn of events but tired. This wasn't only about the wedding. Hugh realized maybe a little too late but that in the next month, he would be leaving Emmrich with a ludicrously unbalanced timetable. Between work and wedding arrangements, the latter Hugh had dragged his feet on at almost every turn, and he'd be handling everything by himself. Emmrich would have, at best, Hugh's sporadic and unplanned appearances for the next two months, where he'd be shipped off to Maker knows where with no idea when he could so much as send a letter.
At some point, Hugh had sat up, legs drawn under him to where he moved to the opposite side of the bed. He was still close to Emmrich's side but far enough apart to start to feel the chill of the room's still air against his cooling skin.
"I..."
Hugh glanced down at his hands, fingers picking at the skin around the nails as he fidgeted to fight the guilty flush burning across his face. Swallowing the lump that choked in the back of his throat was about as easy as forcing a stone down, but he managed. He wanted the words to be right, but he struggled even to get that far in his own head. Hugh took a deep breath and met Emmrich's eyes again or tried to. What he liked less about how poorly this made him feel was Emmrich not looking at him.
"I think when I said that I trusted your judgment and didn't want to screw things up was only partially true," He started, cautiously as if feeling the shape of the words around his tongue before speaking them. "The other part of me was relieved I wasn't making the calls anymore, that I wasn't 'in charge' for once. That isn't fair to you, and I let my fears gnaw at me because of it.
I know it won't be a walk among the roses, and don't take this the wrong way, but maybe the next two months will let me...well, it will give me time to think. You're right about everything, but figuring out who Hugh Thorne is shouldn't be your burden to bear when I'm not doing much to begin with."
Hugh then reached out and placed a hand on Emmrich's knee,
"What I do know about Hugh Thorne is that he wants this, that he wants you. That he meant what he said: that a wedding is only a day, but he wants to be with you forever."
With a reticent smile that waned, Hugh gave a weak and breathy laugh.
"Alright, now I'm talking in the third person. I— should we maybe clean up? We can spend the rest of the evening going over some of the arrangements, maybe sneak up to the gardens later and just sit. Whatever you like."
He felt guilty when Hugh started to talk, immediately hearing how nervous he'd made the man he loved. It was good that they were talking about this, good that it was being thought about, but the space Hugh was taking said Emmrich had made him feel judged and that hadn't been his intention.
Once Hugh stopped talking, Emmrich met his eyes with a small smile, took the hand on his knee, and raised it to his lips for a kiss.
"And I want to be with Hugh Thorne forever," he said in his gentlest voice. "Thank you for the acknowledgment, and I'm sorry that I voiced my thoughts in a way that clearly made you feel uncomfortable."
Emmrich glanced toward the bathroom. "I think those sound like excellent plans." Hugh's hand got another kiss, a squeeze, and then he released it so he could start to scoot off the bed. Hugh thinking about himself while dealing with Warden matters seemed especially fitting; if anything could break the man away from viewing himself as a sacrifice maybe that would finally do the trick.
He grabbed a clean cloth, ran water into the washbasin, heated it, and wiped himself off quickly before grabbing a second one and bringing cloth and basin back.
"What set of arrangements would you least mind tackling with me? If we choose a date we can also tackle the invitations, which are..." He shook his head as he sat back on the bed and gently began to clean Hugh, washcloth perhaps wandering just a bit more than was necessary. "I knew there were a great many varieties of paper. I had to go over many sorts with the publication of my books. I also know what I prefer to take notes on, and give written exams on. But invitation paper is ridiculous. Further, there's a booklet on all of the font choices and their meanings. Which are, of course, different in different nations and we're sending invitations out to people of every nationality. Which is not selling the task, I realize after I've said all that. So. Flower arrangements? Table arrangements? Final guest list? Ceremony parts?"
He'd even inquired about hiring a wedding planner, and likely still would, but it seemed like they didn't do the planning so much as make sure the plan stayed on track. Truly there was a great deal to do.
"That's the thing about the truth, love," Hugh used his other hand to pull Emmrich in close enough to kiss his brow. "It won't always be a comfort, and I don't want that standing in the way of speaking from your heart. Especially to me and especially when it concerns us."
Hugh knew that went both ways, as he was already well aware of his own shortcomings. This was a work in progress, and by now, he had accepted that anything meant to last was. There would be a lot in the fallout of the next two months. Apprehension and dread hung over them both — it would be the first time apart in over a year. As Hugh watched him gracefully slide off the bed, he knew Emmrich was worth it all.
"How about— Maker your hands are too clever by half," Hugh was about to get a word in edgewise when Emmrich's hand holding the warmed washcloth cleaned somewhere already oversensitive, and he had to fight against his own short refractory period.
Once recovered, Hugh pulled a dressing gown off the baseboard of the bed. His own was a gift from Emmrich, larger and more plainly designed. Hugh rarely wore it, usually only when he was up and about in the mornings when Emmrich and Manfred were still there, and he didn't want to be seen in the buff by the latter accidentally.
"How about we start with the flower arrangements over a glass of wine," Hugh continued where he left off, hooking his chin on Emmrich's shoulder and running a hand up the other man's arm. "Then work on the table arrangments. We can even make a game of it — by category or Worst Possible Seating Arrangments, the Funniest, and the one we officially settle on."
"Likewise," he said quietly. "I want to hear what you're thinking and feeling."
The upcoming two months were terrifying in many ways. The worst was the chance Hugh might simply not come back; even though the assignment was leading a troop transfer Emmrich had no faith that it would stay that simple. Why would it, when this was the last opportunity the king and queen of Ferelden would have to use Hugh? There was also a chance (slim, but his mind refused to let go of the thought,) that after a break Rook would decide he'd simply been infatuated and swept up, and no longer was into Emmrich. It wasn't a ridiculous possibility considering Hugh was going to be trying to figure out himself. Perhaps Emmrich wasn't truly what Hugh wanted.
All that was certain was that Emmrich would be stressed about Hugh's safety, he'd struggle to get to sleep without the man's warmth near him, and he'd have more time to work on the wedding and his own job but he didn't welcome that.
They'd just have to make the time they had before then very worth it. Emmrich's smirk at the comment about his hands said he'd been going for a reaction just like that, but he didn't follow up any further. They were going to actually get something done.
He took back the basin, put the cloth in the laundry bin, and added the panties to the pile before unbuckling, pulling down, and putting to the side the stockings. They'd take special care. After choosing his purple and silver dressing gown he was glad to return to the bed to where Hugh was, and leaned into the touch.
"That sounds good, except for the part where I have to move again," he teased before indeed getting right back up. Emmrich took Hugh's hand for another kiss because why not and lead the way out to the main room.
"If you don't mind getting out and pouring the wine, love, I'll locate what I have for those." He took a seat on the couch and started going through the folders, pulling out everything he had on flowers and setting that in one pile before doing the same with the guest list and all the notes on tables and fitting them into a place.
Emmrich grabbed a lap desk, his quill, ink, a few additional pieces of paper, and sat back with the first stack. "So the obvious central flowers are lilacs and lily of the valley. We will want an arrangement for each table, smaller ones for Neve and Bellara to carry, and I need to remember to ask Taash if they'd like to carry one or not," he said, making a note, "and a central one for the ceremony itself. There's the option of an arch for us to marry under that would be covered in flowers which I'm not certain on. It's romantic, but it may feel like gilding the lily, so to speak."
Just from a slight shift in expression and movement in those hazel eyes of his, Emmrich's thoughts were deafeningly loud. Hugh could tell he wasn't the only one thinking about the impending two-month intermission in this relative peace they had created for themselves.
For a while now, Hugh had wanted to allay any fears Emmrich carried, but nothing that came to mind seemed sufficient. The last thing Emmrich wanted to hear was how Hugh's average deployments were months longer and often in far worse conditions, with any correspondence regulated to wishful thinking. That wasn't going to help Emmrich sleep at night, or Hugh for that matter. Within the last year Hugh had been sleeping better than he had in, well, his entire life. The thought of not having that heartbeat against his ear at night was already putting dark circles under his eyes.
Only that was the future, and Hugh wished to remain in the present for as long as they could. After stealing one more kiss, Hugh let himself be led out into the main room. As Emmrich settled, Hugh made his way to the impressive wine cabinet tucked into the corner. After retrieving two glasses and a bottle of Montsimmard white that he had been wanting to try settled on to the long back couch beside Emmrich.
"Be a love and chill these for us," Hugh asked as sweet as honey after generously pouring two glasses and setting them down. One benefit to being engaged to a talented mage was never having to wait for a properly chilled glass of white.
Hugh sat with his arm propped on the back of the couch, listening to Emmrich's thoughts before offering his own.
"Taash should be in Rivain next week. I planned on swinging by to say hello." If by 'hello,' Hugh meant he was going to get ripsnorting drunk at the Hilt after helping Taash and possibly Davrin hunt down something gargantuan. "I'll ask them."
Hugh then made a thoughtful noise between slow sips from his wine glass — sweeter than he normally liked, but the tartness was agreeable. He made a note to consider it for a dessert wine when they started planning the menu.
"I thought we could make space in the library and hold the ceremony in there," Hugh said. "Room could be made, and we could wreathe the banisters in flowers without it being too overwhelming."
Somehow they'd survive, one way or another. Emmrich had to believe that.
"The true reason you're fine with having a mage around," Emmrich teased as he touched the glasses and chilled the wine instantly. "I'm useful. And excellent. Please make sure to consider how you're getting home rather than trying to wander the Crossroads alone and drunk."
Previous trips had been as a group, splitting up for various activities and then there'd been assistance to get the inebriated warriors back to the Lighthouse. But Emmrich hadn't been invited, doubted the other mages (or rogue) were, and wasn't going to foist himself on Hugh's plans. Separate outings, even with mutual friends, were healthy.
He blinked at the idea, and felt a little silly for not thinking of it first. It would be far safer than the Lighthouse, considering the lack of abrupt edges.
"I like that. I'll have to consult with Audric and make sure he's all right with the idea, but I can't see him having an objection. And then the reception could be in the main hall, under the bell. There's plenty of room for tables for sitting and eating around the edge, and the center could be used for dancing. It won't be the first celebration to happen there by far."
And he can't see Myrna or Vorgoth objecting either. There's just one concern.
"Will everyone be fine with the sheer quantity of skeletons wandering around, do you think?" He was mostly concerned with the Fereldans, but even while everyone else had been exposed to Manfred, they were used to that single exception to the norm rather than the usual skeleton helpers.
"Oh, don't sell yourself short. You're leaving out being able to make me cum until I'm cross-eyed with that little sparkle trick," Hugh tilted his glass in Emmrich's direction in an approximation of a toast with a wink before taking another sip. "As for the last part, just don't be surprised if you wake up to Taash sleeping on the couch."
For the same reasons that Emmrich only asked Hugh if he wanted to meet with Viago and Teia in Treviso for a lengthy tour of the local art museum or opera to be polite, Hugh hadn't asked if Emmrich wanted to tag along. They respected each other's diverging interests, and in the end, that worked for them. Even when Emmrich was less than thrilled with the warriors of the Veilguard stumbling around his pristine apartment with raging hangovers.
"The Lighthouse could still play its role," Hugh said as he got back on track, "Maybe host the rehearsal dinner there? Keep the guest list smaller, make it a more intimate affair before the ceremony proper.
As for the skeletons..." He shrugged with ambivalence. "They're well-behaved, right? Late enough into the reception, I don't, anyone cares who or what is pouring their wine."
"Exactly. Useful," he said, smile growing as he took his own first sip. "I'll be sure to have the fire blanket on the couch just in case." Blankets that could smother fires were invaluable for mages. While he hadn't had a bad reaction to a nightmare in decades, there was always still a risk. And now they knew a firebreather who liked getting drunk with his fiance, so there was an added benefit to having one.
The suggestion got a nod and Emmrich made a note. "Us, our attendants, earring bearer, and officiant. Then it's entirely people who have been to the Lighthouse before as well, so there's no requirement to warn them or guide them in."
It would be bittersweet to be back there with this group. Sweet, because of all the memories attached to the place, and bitter because they were down one. Emmrich knew he'd check out the building that used to be Lace's if it was accessible, but he also knew he'd be saddened if the garden had done what was most likely and fallen apart.
"We'll include a note with the invitations regarding them so everyone is forewarned." There, locations were settled nearly for certain as he truly couldn't imagine any objections. "So. Just lilacs and lily-of-the-valley, or do we want pops of yellow in there as well, or more purples and whites for variety? Actually, for the banisters perhaps yes, a little more since that will be a continuous length. For the others we could keep it simple with just the two? Further shades can be introduced with the table fabrics and place settings."
"And thoughtful, too," Hugh added with a crooked smile.
Taash had yet to visit, and the last time they stepped foot in the Necropolis, it had been to put down the demon-possessed corpse of a centuries-old dragon. Part of Hugh knew Emmrich would cut no corners if it meant softening Taash's opinion of the place. Even if that meant their first night here potentionally nursing a powerful hangover.
"The Lighthouse just feels..." Hugh drew his legs up onto the couch as he reclined further into the cushions, closer to Emmrich as he settled in with his thoughts and fiance. "I don't know, sacrosanct. I'd love for it to be part of the wedding, but only a small part with the people who would truly appreciate it."
The ceremony itself would have more people, guests of friends he had never met and only knew in passing. To try and fit them all into their little safe haven tucked into the Fade was a logistical nightmare that sat ill with him for more reasons than just that. It had been home when Hugh thought the word had lost all meaning, and he wanted to keep it close and undisturbed.
"Yellow would be grand," He agreed readily, happy for his thoughts to drift back to something less melancholic. His attention then drifted to watching Emmrich start to work himself up into the moment, his love already weaving the mental image of flowers twisting like colorful vines up the library banisters. Emmrich was getting excited, and it was cute when he got excited.
At some point, the grey and purple silk of Emmrich's dressing gown slipped over his shoulder. Hugh's gaze immediately fell on the elegant slope of pale, slightly olive-toned skin like a hawk spotting movement on the forest floor. Setting his wine glass down, Hugh leaned forward as Emmrich continued.
"What about azaelas?" Hugh asked, casually as though he wasn't now pressing his lips to Emmrich's shoulder as a hand slipped under the lap desk and rested on Emmrich's knee just under the hem of the gown. "They come in yellow."
"I understand. It does." The Lighthouse had been their haven even more than a base of operations. After he'd arrived, whenever something had gone wrong they'd regrouped and supported each other at the Lighthouse. It had felt safe despite the disasters going on in the waking world.
It would be perfect for a small reunion.
At Hugh's agreement Emmrich happily made the notes, estimating the ratio of yellow to purple and white that would liven it up without being distracting, sketching the banisters to remember how long the ones facing the main study area were, as that would be the best part of the library to commandeer.
"Perhaps five every section, and azaleas--" he cut off as he was kissed and touched. He hadn't even seen Hugh moving in. "Um. Yes, yellow azaleas would look fantastic. They, bright, yes."
Thankfully he could at least function enough to write down 'yellow azaleas' on the paper.
"Um. The Lighthouse won't need them." Emmrich half-turned his face, looking clearly tempted to start kissing Hugh back. "And maybe around the, the dance floor. The room can, you know. Be sombre."
It could all be sombre. He liked that usually. Almost always. "That, ah, that's the flowers, then?" They'd been going to talk table arrangements too, but he'd had enough time to recover and Hugh's touch never failed to make him respond.
He could always play hard to win over, though. Or rather, he could try to play it even though he knew he was eternally transparent. "Funniest seating arrangement, Mila and her father with the Shadow Dragons. Dorian's always, Archon Pavus has always been flummoxed by children, while Maevaris, um, I think Maevaris would be delighted at the least."
"There are pale ones with streaks of white I saw at the florist's," Fingers teased the bend of Emmrich's knee as Hugh continued to talk as if nothing had changed. "Lemon lights, I think she called them.
"Those and some enchanted sconces would liven up the ballroom, skeletal company notwithstanding."
The bite marks that peppered Emmrich's skin from his shoulder to just beneath his jawline had gone from welting red to blushing pink. Hugh smiled at his handy work before pressing a kiss to the largest indentations of teeth on his love's skin just above the clavicle.
Peering down, he could also see that Emmrich's normally impeccable handwriting had started to become more inconsistent and drift out of the margins. The note 'yellow azaleas' had a too-long whorl on the 'y' that nearly cut into the paper from pressure from the quill before Emmrich righted himself.
"If we're humbling the leadership, then I suggest it would amuse to seat Isabela with the Ferelden king and queen," Hugh said as his mouth trailed up the length of Emmrich's neck until he was kissing him just behind the shell of the other man's ear. At some point, his hand had started to wander north to Emmrich's inner thigh. "From what Isabela intimated last time we caught up at the Hilt, it'd be an interesting reunion."
Emmrich's leg twitched as Hugh's hand moved, but that was nothing on the shudder that ran through him as one of the earlier bites was teased. If he hadn't been assured of how bad he was at acting unbothered before, he'd be very convinced now.
...but he was liking this game, too.
"Lemon lights," Emmrich repeated. It took a moment for his brain to work so that he could write that down, along with enchanted sconces. Normally they were enchanted to be green in the Necropolis, but he could mess around with the shades and see what worked best.
"And I don't, oh," he breathed out. The continued kisses had been excellent, and the gentle current kisses were lovely, but they worked especially well as Hugh's hand kept drifting up. Emmrich closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a few seconds before trying again to focus. "I doubt that would humble either. We can, Evka and Antoine."
Evka and Antoine deserved better company, but they'd manage it. Everyone deserved better. But also he wasn't going to try to make someone feel awkward or ashamed about their past sexual history.
"If eight a, a table... No, six. Six, then five tables." He could not think. Or count. But he was pretty sure that would be enough tables. They didn't have a massive invitation list, which he knew was going to cause some comment considering what they'd done this last year and his own status, but Emmrich wanted an event where he could mostly relax. Only mostly, with the Queen and King there, unfortunately. If they came. Maybe they wouldn't. Either way, he had a beautiful, amazing partner beside him who deserved far better than him dwelling and he was weak.
Emmrich turned his face to indulge in a short kiss, trying to see if that would be enough to tide himself over to get through a realistic seating arrangement.
"The complicated, difficult table, difficult guest, will be Johanna." No one deserved to have to deal with her either for the whole thing. He'd put her with the Fereldans but he didn't want to risk the skull being smashed. "With Isabela she might, could be fine. And Rowan."
"With white candles lit with an amber flame to make the room look warmer, like spring," Hugh said, a touch of wistfulness in his voice. He loved Emmrich and he loved living with him, but sometimes, his taste for the sky above his head was made known. A touch of spring in the Necropolis halls was a tall order, but he figured they could manage something.
"Think you can write all that down?"
This had definitely turned into a game of testing Emmrich's composure—certainly not his acting skills; the cracks were already beginning to show. Hugh would have stopped if he sensed any annoyance or unwillingness from Emmrich, but the other man seemed keen on playing along.
Because Hugh was a notorious cheat in any game or chance or skill, he let his canines drag across one of the more sore-looking bruises. That should ratchet up the pressure on Emmrich to keep his head on straight.
"Thoughtful as ever," Hugh mouthed around the words with wet kisses at Emmrich's pulse. "What about Taash? I think they're a little fond of Hezenkoss, or at least they seem to do a pretty good job of keeping her in line. It's our wedding, and I'm sure we want everyone to be on their best behavior."
At the words 'best behavior,' Hugh's hand had crept far enough up the length of Emmrich's thigh for his thumb to knead into the older man's pelvic bone.
Hugh's question got a half-laugh from Emmrich. Normally not only would writing something down be easy, he also mentally retained information quite well. But his brain was rather distracted, and made all the more so with teeth on extra-sensitive skin that drew a quickly-stifled whimper from him.
Somehow he got the note down, more or less. 'Amber color like spring,' was all it said but that should be enough to bring back the rest of it. Hopefully.
"Taash, our table," he breathed as Hugh kept lavishing attention on him. "The, the party table. Wedding party. Longer head table."
Hugh's hand went higher, warm and insistent on ever-more-sensitive areas. His partner seemed to be enjoying the 'game' as much as Emmrich, thankfully, as the mage had no doubt that the moment Hugh got truly impatient he could throw Emmrich over his shoulder and haul him back to the bedroom. There should be enough signs by now, especially with Emmrich being half-hard, that any protest would be token.
"You, me, Davrin, Taash, Lucanis, mm, Myrna, Neve, Bellara. Vorgoth and Manfred with chairs too, if either chooses to, to, sit, or linger. That's, that's the head table." He leaned against Hugh, spreading his legs just a little. "So table one, nearest, nearest me. Isabela, Rowan, Johanna. Plus ones if Isabela and Rowan want. Leave like that until we know? Nearest you, table 6, Queen, King, Morrigan. Um. Kieran if he, if they want."
Words were hard. Arranging was hard. Thank everything he had names on a different sheet of paper he could reference, and only had to put a number by these.
"Tentative Evka and Antoine there. Or Strife and Irulen." That could be promising. "Two, table two, Shadow Dragons and, and Rana." That was five. "Can move around if Dorian and Maevaris want company." Company's the wrong word, but the right one is escaping him now. The odds of planning out all six tables are slim to none, but at least they have a foundation.
"Of course," Hugh would have been grinning ear to ear at the spectacle of Emmrich's composure slipping if his mouth wasn't already preoccupied. "My mistake, I forgot about our table. Very important, that."
He had not forgotten about their table at all, but anything to keep this charade going insofar as Emmrich could play along. The vagaries of wedding planning were numerous, and they would eventually need to sit down and properly plan things out before Hugh's departure. But after the long day they had and Hugh still wired with energy from earlier, a little fun wouldn't derail them.
"Teia and Viago would likely appreciate their table situated somewhere they have eyes on the dining cart and exits," Hugh said after spending the better part of a minute kissing each jut of vertebrae along the back of Emmrich's neck.
Hugh moved back to nuzzling into Emmrich's shoulder as his hand caressed further along the inseam of his lover's thigh until he was palming at the man's ever-growing interest.
"We're moving right along," Hugh said casually as he wrapped a hand around Emmrich's half-hard cock. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Hugh didn't sound contrite in the least, which might be because he'd simply forgotten and it was an easy correction, or it might be because he hadn't forgotten at all. Emmrich couldn't make a guess either way. He could barely hold his pen at this point with the sweet kisses down his neck.
"Yes," he said in agreement. "Three." Three and four would both be fine for that, but since one and two were semi-set it was easiest on his brain if they went in some sort of order. "Candide and, Catarina with them. Um."
That was four at a table again. Maybe setting out the groupings entirely and then mixing in the pairs would be a good way to go, but his quill hovered over the list of potential guests rather than tapping any for the next table as Hugh's hand kept sliding up. Emmrich stopped breathing when Hugh had nearly reached his cock, and outright moaned once he was taken in hand.
There was no chance he could focus past this. Not right now. He put his quill back in its stand with a shaky hand as he gave up.
"Were," Emmrich said, eyes pressing closed for the briefest of moments before he moved the lap desk to the nearest end table. He wasn't losing, they were both winning, he told himself as he threaded fingers through the hair at the back of Hugh's head and urged his mouth up for a deep, hungry kiss. They were making progress, past tense. And they could continue to do so later.
The moment the quill dropped into the inkwell, Hugh knew he had won. He had intended to make headway with the planning, honest. Only now, he was making the mental note that they should both be fully clothed in all future attempts if they planned on being wed anytime soon.
Still, it was admirable that Emmrich endeavored to write out what he could before setting aside his writing set. Had Hugh been in his position, the moment Emmrich's hands were on him, everything else would have been an obstacle to be thrown aside.
"Were," Hugh agreed just before their lips locked together in a kiss that drew the air from his lungs.
Drawn in, Hugh moved both hands up under the hem of Emmrich's dressing gown, pawing up his waist. The loose knot of the sash around the gown unfurled, and the silk spilled off Emmrich's shoulders onto the couch beneath him as Hugh pulled him onto his lap.
"Can I ask you to trust me?" Breathless, Hugh pulled back and gazed up at the man now firmly held in his arms. "I mean, I'd certainly hope so given what we were planning for, but...I had an idea. What was that word of yours again? Skeletal?"
He groaned into the kiss as he was undressed and pulled in. Quickly Emmrich reached down to untie his love's dressing gown as well. There was no way he'd ever tire of feeling Hugh against him, but especially naked Hugh against him. Before he could conceive of how to pay back Hugh for distracting from the planning, the kiss was broken and he was being asked that.
Emmrich blinked and nodded, bemused, only to be mostly illuminated a moment later by the rest of Hugh's questions. He swallowed and nodded again.
"I trust you, darling, and yes, that's the word." Curiosity and anticipation merged; he had no idea what Hugh might be thinking. After opening up Hugh's dressing gown he slid his palms all the way up his partner's chest, over his shoulders, and then linked his arms behind Rook's neck.
"I'm at your mercy." A little pink in his cheeks might reveal how he wasn't necessarily asking for mercy.
There was an awkward moment between them as Hugh tried to help wrestle off his dressing gown, with Emmrich pulling at it as he fought to keep the man on his lap from tipping over. They got there, eventually, and Hugh took a moment to soak in one of his favorite sights. Emmrich, skin flushed and warm, in his arms and perched astride his thighs with a tousled and wanton look that made him look so relaxed.
"Maker, you're gorgeous..." Hugh said in a distracted voice as if that half glass of wine hit him harder in the senses than it should.
Hand at Emmrich's back, he pulled him in closer for another kiss. Hugh kept it brief, not wanting to keep Emmrich in suspense. When they pulled apart again, Hugh was holding something in his hand up for Emmrich's to see. It was the sash from Hugh's own dressing gown, dark silk dangling in his hand like a length of rope.
"Something you mentioned in passing earlier — about having been tied up once before," Hugh said as he peered over Emmrich's shoulder and nodded to the large oak table set between the two couches that dominated the center of the main room. "I was looking at the wrought iron lattice of the table frame, and it occurred to me.
"I could secure your wrists to that. The silk would be easy enough to get out of if you wanted, but how sweet would it be to have you strapped down and entirely at my mercy? Always did want to put all those sailing knots I learned to good use."
He could have laughed as they wrangled the garment off Hugh, but the way he was looked at after, the way he called Emmrich gorgeous, made Emmrich's smile soft and fond.
"As are you," he said warmly before the all-too-brief kiss. Everything about Hugh was beautiful and powerful, including the vision he painted with his words. Emmrich looked at the table and could see it in his mind's eye, him writhing and needing Hugh's touch. A flush spread over his cheeks.
"Yes." The answer was rushed. The table might not be the most comfortable surface, but he was incredibly confident that everything else would make up for it. "Yes, please."
It didn't matter that he didn't know what knots were sailing knots, and if there were quick ways to release them or not. All he wanted in the moment was that.
"I'm yours, my love." And entirely shameless about it. He could never have enough of Hugh, or have enough of Hugh having him, just like he'd never have enough of Hugh's company, attention, conversation, or anything else. Emmrich craved Hugh, needed Hugh, and somehow, miraculously, had Hugh.
He stretched out briefly so that he'd be more limber for the hard surface, and then leaned in to brush his lips against Hugh's. While he'd also never get enough of kissing the man, he didn't want to distract from the proposed activity.
Hearing Emmrich already eager to the point, a note of desperation coloring his words when not so long ago he was the one holding all the cards was music to Hugh's ears. This mutual give-and-take they played with never failed to excite him. At the risk of being mawkish and too on the nose, Hugh would say when it came to Emmrich, he was always learning something new.
The sight of Emmrich limbering himself up, stretching those long and elegant limbs that always reminded Hugh of a dancer, made his cock twitch. It took considerable effort to not just fuck the man there on the couch, but after they kissed, he knew he wanted nothing more than to see Emmrich laid out, bound, and willing.
"Hold out your wrists for me, love? Hands in a loose fist pressed facing each other...perfect." The request was as gentle as Hugh's touch when he looped the silk sash around Emmrich's wrists, loosely at first.
"This..." Hugh explained as he made two loops and fed the end of the sash through, "Is a bowline knot, secure but easy to untie if you pull at the lowest knot here from the standing it."
Hugh demonstrated once how he secured the knot, then untied it slowly so a step wouldn't be missed before he secured the knot back around Emmrich's now bound wrist.
"There." Leaning forward, Hugh kissed Emmrich on the cheek before sitting back on the couch to inspect his work. "Shouldn't tighten on you. Test the give of it before I latch you to the table. Make sure you've good circulation."
The smooth silk wrapped around his skin was intense now that it had a purpose. Emmrich followed the guidance and lesson, smile growing all the more fond as Hugh patiently taught him what he was using.
"Anything for you," he promised. Carefully he flexed his wrists, trying the hold out, seeing if there was a movement that would cause the fabric to tighten.
"It seems safe." Emmrich's eyes twinkled. "And quite secure, other than the lower knot. Are you sure you wanted to give me that little trick?" The information was appreciated. Hugh was showing how careful he would be, and Emmrich valued it. That didn't mean he wasn't going to tease a little.
If Hugh hadn't leaned back he would have looped his tied arms around his love and pulled him close, but alas. He'd have to settle for shifting in Hugh's lap, grinding just a little, because he was going to be unable to do so very soon.
"And we can explore some of the decorative knots another time." Hugh would look very good with a deep green rope outlining his many muscles, Emmrich thought, contrasting with however flushed Emmrich managed to make him.
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"Or, perhaps, neither," Emmrich said with a small smirk before shaking his head again. "I do have additional experience that I haven't introduced yet, but it's not that I'm holding back, or that there's some sort of sex primer you missed. When fighting the gods there truly was no space or time for kink, and we're still finding a routine with living together."
He went quiet for a few moments, playing with Hugh's hair and thinking. "A safeword can help if you hit previously unknown limits, or fears, or boundaries when trying something new. Take being tied up, for instance. It can be liberating, in a strange way, but I did tie a fully consenting partner who then discovered it set off traumatic memories. If they'd simply said stop, we would have stopped, I would have waited for more guidance, and perhaps they would have been overwhelmed with panic or anxiety. They used their safeword, so without any further clarification I got the rope off them with great haste. They didn't need to say anything more."
Emmrich shrugged. "I've also been submissive once, fully so, and knowing that I had that word let me relax. I've never quite managed to dominate someone, but even tonight I did like knowing that there was something to signal clearly that a line was crossed. You're not always... communicative or forthcoming, and I want to never hurt you."
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He knew that Emmrich wasn't keen on the whole professor-student thing for good reason. Whereas Hugh's formal education ended when the Chantry in West Hill was razed, Emmrich clearly had no interest in bringing his active professional life into the bedroom. There was no loss to either of them, but Hugh did like to tease on occasion.
The mood shifted as Emmrich went on, and the space between Hugh's brow furrowed as he considered what was being conveyed. Being tied up didn't immediately appeal to him. Confide spaces could remind him too much of the Deep Roads, but he wouldn't dismiss it entirely. Emmrich would know more, and perhaps that was where a safeword would come in handy. Hugh didn't know his own limits because this was all uncharted territory.
If that wasn't enough to make him second-guess his proficiency between the sheets, Emmrich pointing out Hugh's reticence certainly hammered the point home. Hugh winced at the reminder and, now more clearheaded, was replaying the day's events that led them here. He doubted this line of conversation would lead them into another near-fight like in front of the restaurant, but it did get Hugh thinking. About them, about certain disparities between them that were meaningless when they were saving the world but steadily becoming apparent as they settled into an actual life together.
"Emmrich, can I ask you something?" Hugh lifted himself onto his elbows, off Emmrich's lap, and reclined in a half-sitting position to be closer to eye level. "What we're talking about now and everything that's happened today. Does it...bother you that you're older than me?"
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The thought of having to take lead in all of it was daunting, which felt odd until he considered what had been going on of late. He'd had to keep taking lead. He'd had to plea for Hugh to think about them, fail, and then plea for Hugh to only vanish for two months, he was having to make nearly every call about the wedding, he was trying to get Hugh to realize that he had worth as a person, and it was so very much on top of being a professor teaching and mentoring multiple students, while having an apprentice.
He needed a break in the bedroom. He needed to not have to make all the calls, and that's why teaching sex and a 'quiz' simply didn't appeal.
Hugh's question surprised him, but it almost felt like it fell parallel to his own thoughts. Emmrich exhaled, looking past his partner as he tried to sort out the full answer to that because oh, was it complicated.
"Yes and no," he finally said. "I'm no longer nervous about the age difference. But I feel you often expect me to take point on everything because I've more experience in the world, rather than partnering with me on matters. Taking the obvious example of a wedding -- I've never planned one before. I've had fleeting fancies, it was a dream to find someone to marry, who would marry me, and then I'd stopped looking as I prepared for lichdom. I don't have some grand vision. There are so many details, details that apparently matter to the people that do weddings as their jobs, and it isn't making it easier on me for you to step back. It puts all of the work on my shoulders."
He shook his head. "You are my partner. I have gotten over my issues with our ages. But I think matters would be easier if you could accept that you are my equal. That you are a person, deserving of life, love, happiness, freedom, and joy. That my offer to buy a cottage wasn't a simple, silly whim, it was saying that I want you to have what you need to be happy. I... I think I need you to start figuring out who Hugh Thorne is. I didn't think of that as an age issue so much, as personally I feel the Wardens made you feel like who you were was inconsequential, but it feels relevant.
"I treasure what I know of you, what I've seen of you. You should try treasuring it too."
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It was then that Hugh noticed Emmrich didn't just look annoyed or unimpressed by Hugh's flippancy and the turn of events but tired. This wasn't only about the wedding. Hugh realized maybe a little too late but that in the next month, he would be leaving Emmrich with a ludicrously unbalanced timetable. Between work and wedding arrangements, the latter Hugh had dragged his feet on at almost every turn, and he'd be handling everything by himself. Emmrich would have, at best, Hugh's sporadic and unplanned appearances for the next two months, where he'd be shipped off to Maker knows where with no idea when he could so much as send a letter.
At some point, Hugh had sat up, legs drawn under him to where he moved to the opposite side of the bed. He was still close to Emmrich's side but far enough apart to start to feel the chill of the room's still air against his cooling skin.
"I..."
Hugh glanced down at his hands, fingers picking at the skin around the nails as he fidgeted to fight the guilty flush burning across his face. Swallowing the lump that choked in the back of his throat was about as easy as forcing a stone down, but he managed. He wanted the words to be right, but he struggled even to get that far in his own head. Hugh took a deep breath and met Emmrich's eyes again or tried to. What he liked less about how poorly this made him feel was Emmrich not looking at him.
"I think when I said that I trusted your judgment and didn't want to screw things up was only partially true," He started, cautiously as if feeling the shape of the words around his tongue before speaking them. "The other part of me was relieved I wasn't making the calls anymore, that I wasn't 'in charge' for once. That isn't fair to you, and I let my fears gnaw at me because of it.
I know it won't be a walk among the roses, and don't take this the wrong way, but maybe the next two months will let me...well, it will give me time to think. You're right about everything, but figuring out who Hugh Thorne is shouldn't be your burden to bear when I'm not doing much to begin with."
Hugh then reached out and placed a hand on Emmrich's knee,
"What I do know about Hugh Thorne is that he wants this, that he wants you. That he meant what he said: that a wedding is only a day, but he wants to be with you forever."
With a reticent smile that waned, Hugh gave a weak and breathy laugh.
"Alright, now I'm talking in the third person. I— should we maybe clean up? We can spend the rest of the evening going over some of the arrangements, maybe sneak up to the gardens later and just sit. Whatever you like."
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Once Hugh stopped talking, Emmrich met his eyes with a small smile, took the hand on his knee, and raised it to his lips for a kiss.
"And I want to be with Hugh Thorne forever," he said in his gentlest voice. "Thank you for the acknowledgment, and I'm sorry that I voiced my thoughts in a way that clearly made you feel uncomfortable."
Emmrich glanced toward the bathroom. "I think those sound like excellent plans." Hugh's hand got another kiss, a squeeze, and then he released it so he could start to scoot off the bed. Hugh thinking about himself while dealing with Warden matters seemed especially fitting; if anything could break the man away from viewing himself as a sacrifice maybe that would finally do the trick.
He grabbed a clean cloth, ran water into the washbasin, heated it, and wiped himself off quickly before grabbing a second one and bringing cloth and basin back.
"What set of arrangements would you least mind tackling with me? If we choose a date we can also tackle the invitations, which are..." He shook his head as he sat back on the bed and gently began to clean Hugh, washcloth perhaps wandering just a bit more than was necessary. "I knew there were a great many varieties of paper. I had to go over many sorts with the publication of my books. I also know what I prefer to take notes on, and give written exams on. But invitation paper is ridiculous. Further, there's a booklet on all of the font choices and their meanings. Which are, of course, different in different nations and we're sending invitations out to people of every nationality. Which is not selling the task, I realize after I've said all that. So. Flower arrangements? Table arrangements? Final guest list? Ceremony parts?"
He'd even inquired about hiring a wedding planner, and likely still would, but it seemed like they didn't do the planning so much as make sure the plan stayed on track. Truly there was a great deal to do.
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Hugh knew that went both ways, as he was already well aware of his own shortcomings. This was a work in progress, and by now, he had accepted that anything meant to last was. There would be a lot in the fallout of the next two months. Apprehension and dread hung over them both — it would be the first time apart in over a year. As Hugh watched him gracefully slide off the bed, he knew Emmrich was worth it all.
"How about— Maker your hands are too clever by half," Hugh was about to get a word in edgewise when Emmrich's hand holding the warmed washcloth cleaned somewhere already oversensitive, and he had to fight against his own short refractory period.
Once recovered, Hugh pulled a dressing gown off the baseboard of the bed. His own was a gift from Emmrich, larger and more plainly designed. Hugh rarely wore it, usually only when he was up and about in the mornings when Emmrich and Manfred were still there, and he didn't want to be seen in the buff by the latter accidentally.
"How about we start with the flower arrangements over a glass of wine," Hugh continued where he left off, hooking his chin on Emmrich's shoulder and running a hand up the other man's arm. "Then work on the table arrangments. We can even make a game of it — by category or Worst Possible Seating Arrangments, the Funniest, and the one we officially settle on."
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The upcoming two months were terrifying in many ways. The worst was the chance Hugh might simply not come back; even though the assignment was leading a troop transfer Emmrich had no faith that it would stay that simple. Why would it, when this was the last opportunity the king and queen of Ferelden would have to use Hugh? There was also a chance (slim, but his mind refused to let go of the thought,) that after a break Rook would decide he'd simply been infatuated and swept up, and no longer was into Emmrich. It wasn't a ridiculous possibility considering Hugh was going to be trying to figure out himself. Perhaps Emmrich wasn't truly what Hugh wanted.
All that was certain was that Emmrich would be stressed about Hugh's safety, he'd struggle to get to sleep without the man's warmth near him, and he'd have more time to work on the wedding and his own job but he didn't welcome that.
They'd just have to make the time they had before then very worth it. Emmrich's smirk at the comment about his hands said he'd been going for a reaction just like that, but he didn't follow up any further. They were going to actually get something done.
He took back the basin, put the cloth in the laundry bin, and added the panties to the pile before unbuckling, pulling down, and putting to the side the stockings. They'd take special care. After choosing his purple and silver dressing gown he was glad to return to the bed to where Hugh was, and leaned into the touch.
"That sounds good, except for the part where I have to move again," he teased before indeed getting right back up. Emmrich took Hugh's hand for another kiss because why not and lead the way out to the main room.
"If you don't mind getting out and pouring the wine, love, I'll locate what I have for those." He took a seat on the couch and started going through the folders, pulling out everything he had on flowers and setting that in one pile before doing the same with the guest list and all the notes on tables and fitting them into a place.
Emmrich grabbed a lap desk, his quill, ink, a few additional pieces of paper, and sat back with the first stack. "So the obvious central flowers are lilacs and lily of the valley. We will want an arrangement for each table, smaller ones for Neve and Bellara to carry, and I need to remember to ask Taash if they'd like to carry one or not," he said, making a note, "and a central one for the ceremony itself. There's the option of an arch for us to marry under that would be covered in flowers which I'm not certain on. It's romantic, but it may feel like gilding the lily, so to speak."
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For a while now, Hugh had wanted to allay any fears Emmrich carried, but nothing that came to mind seemed sufficient. The last thing Emmrich wanted to hear was how Hugh's average deployments were months longer and often in far worse conditions, with any correspondence regulated to wishful thinking. That wasn't going to help Emmrich sleep at night, or Hugh for that matter. Within the last year Hugh had been sleeping better than he had in, well, his entire life. The thought of not having that heartbeat against his ear at night was already putting dark circles under his eyes.
Only that was the future, and Hugh wished to remain in the present for as long as they could. After stealing one more kiss, Hugh let himself be led out into the main room. As Emmrich settled, Hugh made his way to the impressive wine cabinet tucked into the corner. After retrieving two glasses and a bottle of Montsimmard white that he had been wanting to try settled on to the long back couch beside Emmrich.
"Be a love and chill these for us," Hugh asked as sweet as honey after generously pouring two glasses and setting them down. One benefit to being engaged to a talented mage was never having to wait for a properly chilled glass of white.
Hugh sat with his arm propped on the back of the couch, listening to Emmrich's thoughts before offering his own.
"Taash should be in Rivain next week. I planned on swinging by to say hello." If by 'hello,' Hugh meant he was going to get ripsnorting drunk at the Hilt after helping Taash and possibly Davrin hunt down something gargantuan. "I'll ask them."
Hugh then made a thoughtful noise between slow sips from his wine glass — sweeter than he normally liked, but the tartness was agreeable. He made a note to consider it for a dessert wine when they started planning the menu.
"I thought we could make space in the library and hold the ceremony in there," Hugh said. "Room could be made, and we could wreathe the banisters in flowers without it being too overwhelming."
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"The true reason you're fine with having a mage around," Emmrich teased as he touched the glasses and chilled the wine instantly. "I'm useful. And excellent. Please make sure to consider how you're getting home rather than trying to wander the Crossroads alone and drunk."
Previous trips had been as a group, splitting up for various activities and then there'd been assistance to get the inebriated warriors back to the Lighthouse. But Emmrich hadn't been invited, doubted the other mages (or rogue) were, and wasn't going to foist himself on Hugh's plans. Separate outings, even with mutual friends, were healthy.
He blinked at the idea, and felt a little silly for not thinking of it first. It would be far safer than the Lighthouse, considering the lack of abrupt edges.
"I like that. I'll have to consult with Audric and make sure he's all right with the idea, but I can't see him having an objection. And then the reception could be in the main hall, under the bell. There's plenty of room for tables for sitting and eating around the edge, and the center could be used for dancing. It won't be the first celebration to happen there by far."
And he can't see Myrna or Vorgoth objecting either. There's just one concern.
"Will everyone be fine with the sheer quantity of skeletons wandering around, do you think?" He was mostly concerned with the Fereldans, but even while everyone else had been exposed to Manfred, they were used to that single exception to the norm rather than the usual skeleton helpers.
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For the same reasons that Emmrich only asked Hugh if he wanted to meet with Viago and Teia in Treviso for a lengthy tour of the local art museum or opera to be polite, Hugh hadn't asked if Emmrich wanted to tag along. They respected each other's diverging interests, and in the end, that worked for them. Even when Emmrich was less than thrilled with the warriors of the Veilguard stumbling around his pristine apartment with raging hangovers.
"The Lighthouse could still play its role," Hugh said as he got back on track, "Maybe host the rehearsal dinner there? Keep the guest list smaller, make it a more intimate affair before the ceremony proper.
As for the skeletons..." He shrugged with ambivalence. "They're well-behaved, right? Late enough into the reception, I don't, anyone cares who or what is pouring their wine."
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The suggestion got a nod and Emmrich made a note. "Us, our attendants, earring bearer, and officiant. Then it's entirely people who have been to the Lighthouse before as well, so there's no requirement to warn them or guide them in."
It would be bittersweet to be back there with this group. Sweet, because of all the memories attached to the place, and bitter because they were down one. Emmrich knew he'd check out the building that used to be Lace's if it was accessible, but he also knew he'd be saddened if the garden had done what was most likely and fallen apart.
"We'll include a note with the invitations regarding them so everyone is forewarned." There, locations were settled nearly for certain as he truly couldn't imagine any objections. "So. Just lilacs and lily-of-the-valley, or do we want pops of yellow in there as well, or more purples and whites for variety? Actually, for the banisters perhaps yes, a little more since that will be a continuous length. For the others we could keep it simple with just the two? Further shades can be introduced with the table fabrics and place settings."
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Taash had yet to visit, and the last time they stepped foot in the Necropolis, it had been to put down the demon-possessed corpse of a centuries-old dragon. Part of Hugh knew Emmrich would cut no corners if it meant softening Taash's opinion of the place. Even if that meant their first night here potentionally nursing a powerful hangover.
"The Lighthouse just feels..." Hugh drew his legs up onto the couch as he reclined further into the cushions, closer to Emmrich as he settled in with his thoughts and fiance. "I don't know, sacrosanct. I'd love for it to be part of the wedding, but only a small part with the people who would truly appreciate it."
The ceremony itself would have more people, guests of friends he had never met and only knew in passing. To try and fit them all into their little safe haven tucked into the Fade was a logistical nightmare that sat ill with him for more reasons than just that. It had been home when Hugh thought the word had lost all meaning, and he wanted to keep it close and undisturbed.
"Yellow would be grand," He agreed readily, happy for his thoughts to drift back to something less melancholic. His attention then drifted to watching Emmrich start to work himself up into the moment, his love already weaving the mental image of flowers twisting like colorful vines up the library banisters. Emmrich was getting excited, and it was cute when he got excited.
At some point, the grey and purple silk of Emmrich's dressing gown slipped over his shoulder. Hugh's gaze immediately fell on the elegant slope of pale, slightly olive-toned skin like a hawk spotting movement on the forest floor. Setting his wine glass down, Hugh leaned forward as Emmrich continued.
"What about azaelas?" Hugh asked, casually as though he wasn't now pressing his lips to Emmrich's shoulder as a hand slipped under the lap desk and rested on Emmrich's knee just under the hem of the gown. "They come in yellow."
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It would be perfect for a small reunion.
At Hugh's agreement Emmrich happily made the notes, estimating the ratio of yellow to purple and white that would liven it up without being distracting, sketching the banisters to remember how long the ones facing the main study area were, as that would be the best part of the library to commandeer.
"Perhaps five every section, and azaleas--" he cut off as he was kissed and touched. He hadn't even seen Hugh moving in. "Um. Yes, yellow azaleas would look fantastic. They, bright, yes."
Thankfully he could at least function enough to write down 'yellow azaleas' on the paper.
"Um. The Lighthouse won't need them." Emmrich half-turned his face, looking clearly tempted to start kissing Hugh back. "And maybe around the, the dance floor. The room can, you know. Be sombre."
It could all be sombre. He liked that usually. Almost always. "That, ah, that's the flowers, then?" They'd been going to talk table arrangements too, but he'd had enough time to recover and Hugh's touch never failed to make him respond.
He could always play hard to win over, though. Or rather, he could try to play it even though he knew he was eternally transparent. "Funniest seating arrangement, Mila and her father with the Shadow Dragons. Dorian's always, Archon Pavus has always been flummoxed by children, while Maevaris, um, I think Maevaris would be delighted at the least."
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"Those and some enchanted sconces would liven up the ballroom, skeletal company notwithstanding."
The bite marks that peppered Emmrich's skin from his shoulder to just beneath his jawline had gone from welting red to blushing pink. Hugh smiled at his handy work before pressing a kiss to the largest indentations of teeth on his love's skin just above the clavicle.
Peering down, he could also see that Emmrich's normally impeccable handwriting had started to become more inconsistent and drift out of the margins. The note 'yellow azaleas' had a too-long whorl on the 'y' that nearly cut into the paper from pressure from the quill before Emmrich righted himself.
"If we're humbling the leadership, then I suggest it would amuse to seat Isabela with the Ferelden king and queen," Hugh said as his mouth trailed up the length of Emmrich's neck until he was kissing him just behind the shell of the other man's ear. At some point, his hand had started to wander north to Emmrich's inner thigh. "From what Isabela intimated last time we caught up at the Hilt, it'd be an interesting reunion."
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...but he was liking this game, too.
"Lemon lights," Emmrich repeated. It took a moment for his brain to work so that he could write that down, along with enchanted sconces. Normally they were enchanted to be green in the Necropolis, but he could mess around with the shades and see what worked best.
"And I don't, oh," he breathed out. The continued kisses had been excellent, and the gentle current kisses were lovely, but they worked especially well as Hugh's hand kept drifting up. Emmrich closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a few seconds before trying again to focus. "I doubt that would humble either. We can, Evka and Antoine."
Evka and Antoine deserved better company, but they'd manage it. Everyone deserved better. But also he wasn't going to try to make someone feel awkward or ashamed about their past sexual history.
"If eight a, a table... No, six. Six, then five tables." He could not think. Or count. But he was pretty sure that would be enough tables. They didn't have a massive invitation list, which he knew was going to cause some comment considering what they'd done this last year and his own status, but Emmrich wanted an event where he could mostly relax. Only mostly, with the Queen and King there, unfortunately. If they came. Maybe they wouldn't. Either way, he had a beautiful, amazing partner beside him who deserved far better than him dwelling and he was weak.
Emmrich turned his face to indulge in a short kiss, trying to see if that would be enough to tide himself over to get through a realistic seating arrangement.
"The complicated, difficult table, difficult guest, will be Johanna." No one deserved to have to deal with her either for the whole thing. He'd put her with the Fereldans but he didn't want to risk the skull being smashed. "With Isabela she might, could be fine. And Rowan."
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"Think you can write all that down?"
This had definitely turned into a game of testing Emmrich's composure—certainly not his acting skills; the cracks were already beginning to show. Hugh would have stopped if he sensed any annoyance or unwillingness from Emmrich, but the other man seemed keen on playing along.
Because Hugh was a notorious cheat in any game or chance or skill, he let his canines drag across one of the more sore-looking bruises. That should ratchet up the pressure on Emmrich to keep his head on straight.
"Thoughtful as ever," Hugh mouthed around the words with wet kisses at Emmrich's pulse. "What about Taash? I think they're a little fond of Hezenkoss, or at least they seem to do a pretty good job of keeping her in line. It's our wedding, and I'm sure we want everyone to be on their best behavior."
At the words 'best behavior,' Hugh's hand had crept far enough up the length of Emmrich's thigh for his thumb to knead into the older man's pelvic bone.
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Somehow he got the note down, more or less. 'Amber color like spring,' was all it said but that should be enough to bring back the rest of it. Hopefully.
"Taash, our table," he breathed as Hugh kept lavishing attention on him. "The, the party table. Wedding party. Longer head table."
Hugh's hand went higher, warm and insistent on ever-more-sensitive areas. His partner seemed to be enjoying the 'game' as much as Emmrich, thankfully, as the mage had no doubt that the moment Hugh got truly impatient he could throw Emmrich over his shoulder and haul him back to the bedroom. There should be enough signs by now, especially with Emmrich being half-hard, that any protest would be token.
"You, me, Davrin, Taash, Lucanis, mm, Myrna, Neve, Bellara. Vorgoth and Manfred with chairs too, if either chooses to, to, sit, or linger. That's, that's the head table." He leaned against Hugh, spreading his legs just a little. "So table one, nearest, nearest me. Isabela, Rowan, Johanna. Plus ones if Isabela and Rowan want. Leave like that until we know? Nearest you, table 6, Queen, King, Morrigan. Um. Kieran if he, if they want."
Words were hard. Arranging was hard. Thank everything he had names on a different sheet of paper he could reference, and only had to put a number by these.
"Tentative Evka and Antoine there. Or Strife and Irulen." That could be promising. "Two, table two, Shadow Dragons and, and Rana." That was five. "Can move around if Dorian and Maevaris want company." Company's the wrong word, but the right one is escaping him now. The odds of planning out all six tables are slim to none, but at least they have a foundation.
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He had not forgotten about their table at all, but anything to keep this charade going insofar as Emmrich could play along. The vagaries of wedding planning were numerous, and they would eventually need to sit down and properly plan things out before Hugh's departure. But after the long day they had and Hugh still wired with energy from earlier, a little fun wouldn't derail them.
"Teia and Viago would likely appreciate their table situated somewhere they have eyes on the dining cart and exits," Hugh said after spending the better part of a minute kissing each jut of vertebrae along the back of Emmrich's neck.
Hugh moved back to nuzzling into Emmrich's shoulder as his hand caressed further along the inseam of his lover's thigh until he was palming at the man's ever-growing interest.
"We're moving right along," Hugh said casually as he wrapped a hand around Emmrich's half-hard cock. "Wouldn't you agree?"
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"Yes," he said in agreement. "Three." Three and four would both be fine for that, but since one and two were semi-set it was easiest on his brain if they went in some sort of order. "Candide and, Catarina with them. Um."
That was four at a table again. Maybe setting out the groupings entirely and then mixing in the pairs would be a good way to go, but his quill hovered over the list of potential guests rather than tapping any for the next table as Hugh's hand kept sliding up. Emmrich stopped breathing when Hugh had nearly reached his cock, and outright moaned once he was taken in hand.
There was no chance he could focus past this. Not right now. He put his quill back in its stand with a shaky hand as he gave up.
"Were," Emmrich said, eyes pressing closed for the briefest of moments before he moved the lap desk to the nearest end table. He wasn't losing, they were both winning, he told himself as he threaded fingers through the hair at the back of Hugh's head and urged his mouth up for a deep, hungry kiss. They were making progress, past tense. And they could continue to do so later.
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Still, it was admirable that Emmrich endeavored to write out what he could before setting aside his writing set. Had Hugh been in his position, the moment Emmrich's hands were on him, everything else would have been an obstacle to be thrown aside.
"Were," Hugh agreed just before their lips locked together in a kiss that drew the air from his lungs.
Drawn in, Hugh moved both hands up under the hem of Emmrich's dressing gown, pawing up his waist. The loose knot of the sash around the gown unfurled, and the silk spilled off Emmrich's shoulders onto the couch beneath him as Hugh pulled him onto his lap.
"Can I ask you to trust me?" Breathless, Hugh pulled back and gazed up at the man now firmly held in his arms. "I mean, I'd certainly hope so given what we were planning for, but...I had an idea. What was that word of yours again? Skeletal?"
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Emmrich blinked and nodded, bemused, only to be mostly illuminated a moment later by the rest of Hugh's questions. He swallowed and nodded again.
"I trust you, darling, and yes, that's the word." Curiosity and anticipation merged; he had no idea what Hugh might be thinking. After opening up Hugh's dressing gown he slid his palms all the way up his partner's chest, over his shoulders, and then linked his arms behind Rook's neck.
"I'm at your mercy." A little pink in his cheeks might reveal how he wasn't necessarily asking for mercy.
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"Maker, you're gorgeous..." Hugh said in a distracted voice as if that half glass of wine hit him harder in the senses than it should.
Hand at Emmrich's back, he pulled him in closer for another kiss. Hugh kept it brief, not wanting to keep Emmrich in suspense. When they pulled apart again, Hugh was holding something in his hand up for Emmrich's to see. It was the sash from Hugh's own dressing gown, dark silk dangling in his hand like a length of rope.
"Something you mentioned in passing earlier — about having been tied up once before," Hugh said as he peered over Emmrich's shoulder and nodded to the large oak table set between the two couches that dominated the center of the main room. "I was looking at the wrought iron lattice of the table frame, and it occurred to me.
"I could secure your wrists to that. The silk would be easy enough to get out of if you wanted, but how sweet would it be to have you strapped down and entirely at my mercy? Always did want to put all those sailing knots I learned to good use."
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"As are you," he said warmly before the all-too-brief kiss. Everything about Hugh was beautiful and powerful, including the vision he painted with his words. Emmrich looked at the table and could see it in his mind's eye, him writhing and needing Hugh's touch. A flush spread over his cheeks.
"Yes." The answer was rushed. The table might not be the most comfortable surface, but he was incredibly confident that everything else would make up for it. "Yes, please."
It didn't matter that he didn't know what knots were sailing knots, and if there were quick ways to release them or not. All he wanted in the moment was that.
"I'm yours, my love." And entirely shameless about it. He could never have enough of Hugh, or have enough of Hugh having him, just like he'd never have enough of Hugh's company, attention, conversation, or anything else. Emmrich craved Hugh, needed Hugh, and somehow, miraculously, had Hugh.
He stretched out briefly so that he'd be more limber for the hard surface, and then leaned in to brush his lips against Hugh's. While he'd also never get enough of kissing the man, he didn't want to distract from the proposed activity.
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The sight of Emmrich limbering himself up, stretching those long and elegant limbs that always reminded Hugh of a dancer, made his cock twitch. It took considerable effort to not just fuck the man there on the couch, but after they kissed, he knew he wanted nothing more than to see Emmrich laid out, bound, and willing.
"Hold out your wrists for me, love? Hands in a loose fist pressed facing each other...perfect." The request was as gentle as Hugh's touch when he looped the silk sash around Emmrich's wrists, loosely at first.
"This..." Hugh explained as he made two loops and fed the end of the sash through, "Is a bowline knot, secure but easy to untie if you pull at the lowest knot here from the standing it."
Hugh demonstrated once how he secured the knot, then untied it slowly so a step wouldn't be missed before he secured the knot back around Emmrich's now bound wrist.
"There." Leaning forward, Hugh kissed Emmrich on the cheek before sitting back on the couch to inspect his work. "Shouldn't tighten on you. Test the give of it before I latch you to the table. Make sure you've good circulation."
A beat, "Please."
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"Anything for you," he promised. Carefully he flexed his wrists, trying the hold out, seeing if there was a movement that would cause the fabric to tighten.
"It seems safe." Emmrich's eyes twinkled. "And quite secure, other than the lower knot. Are you sure you wanted to give me that little trick?" The information was appreciated. Hugh was showing how careful he would be, and Emmrich valued it. That didn't mean he wasn't going to tease a little.
If Hugh hadn't leaned back he would have looped his tied arms around his love and pulled him close, but alas. He'd have to settle for shifting in Hugh's lap, grinding just a little, because he was going to be unable to do so very soon.
"And we can explore some of the decorative knots another time." Hugh would look very good with a deep green rope outlining his many muscles, Emmrich thought, contrasting with however flushed Emmrich managed to make him.
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