In his arms, Hugh could feel Emmrich shudder and tense at the loss. Any other night, he might have drawn things out, but they were both tired, and Emmrich wasn't the only one who needed that connection that only physical touch offered.
"Hah—-" Words were punched out of him when he started moving. Replaced with thin moans and sharp exhales through the nose that made him sound like a bull. Hugh was not nearly as multisyllabic as Emmrich was once he found the proper rhythm to fuck his lover with.
Emmrich tugging at his hair, the sharp sting of pain made all the sweeter with the warm heat pressing in on his cock was ecstatic. Hugh dropped his head, burying it into the crook of Emmrich's neck as he kept pace. A shame he couldn't see Emmrich bringing himself off, but he was so overwhelmed by how good this felt, it would have sent him right over the edge.
"Love— fuck— you—"
Every word was fought out of him, punctuated with a few hard thrusts until Hugh collapsed on top of Emmrich as he spilled with one guttural noise that was sheer pleasure mixed with relief. His hips continued to rock weakly after he found release, his arm around Emmrich's chest clinging tighter as he mouthed at the older man's neck and shoulder. All the while whispering barely coherent declarations of his love and how wonderful Emmrich was.
Let it be always. That was his silent, mostly unconscious prayer as he got swept up in the physical. Hugh's noises were incoherent and beautiful, a veritable orchestra of pleasure that swept him along with his beloved, especially as Hugh pressed all the more closer.
"Love you too," he breathlessly assured Hugh, followed by a pleased whimper as Hugh slumped onto him. The little, prolonged thrusts after they'd both come made him half-laugh as Hugh continued to shower him with affection.
"You're so good to me." He was winded but that didn't mean he couldn't cast just a little fire again and trace abstract, warm shapes along Hugh's skin. It wasn't like he was nearly ready to get up to get them clean. "My beloved Hugh. How lucky I am to have you."
He pressed another kiss to his partner's forehead, brushing back Hugh's sweaty hair yet again. "And how I love you. Is there anything you need other than being clean before we sleep? Anything at all."
Hugh slid out of his lover as his entire body unwound and relaxed on top of Emmrich. He moaned pleasurably as it petered out into a sigh as he felt warm patterns dance across his back. Even the knots of scarflesh seemed to ease under the mage's expert, loving touch. Emmirch's words were a murmuring lullaby in his ear. Bloodlust satiated, a lover satiating everything else, all Hugh wanted to do now was sleep until the next Age.
"Only invent a spell where you don't have to get up to clean us," Hugh mumbled tiredly against Emmrich's bare shoulder. "Just want this awhile longer."
Perfect. While obviously it wasn't factually accurate, that Hugh felt it enough to say it made Emmrich feel it. There was no reason for Hugh to use such a strong word otherwise. Emmrich hoped he didn't disappoint when the other Wardens showed up, especially when he was worried about what advocating he might need to do for Akil's sake.
That was a thought for later, and thankfully it was gone as quickly as it came thanks to the warm weight of his love on top of him.
"Mm. I could, if I'd thought ahead, had something in reach and then pulled it over with force magic. But we were trying to research until you pressed your thumb to my lips." There was a smile on his lips and in his voice. That wasn't precisely what happened and he knew it. "But we can stay here for a little longer. I love the way you feel on me."
Which he probably didn't need to say, due to exactly how comfortable and safe he felt like this and how Hugh could read him, but reinforcement was good. He kissed Hugh's temple, continuing the slow backrub.
Inadvertently, Hugh's thoughts similarly drifted toward the rapidly approaching arrival of his fellow Wardens. What a mess he's made for them already, and having only been here a scarce few days. Lines would be drawn, and sides would be taken over the newest addition to their fold. Hugh still wasn't sure where he would be standing in all this, other than the dead center of its chaos.
Hugh pushed all that aside. Selfish as it was, the day had been long, and he didn't believe he could withstand any more emotional tumult.
"I've been told that I'm always sticking my fingers where they don't belong," Hugh smiled against Emmrich's collarbone. "And if you keep doing that magic with your hands, then I really will fall asleep and you won't be going anywhere fast."
They stayed like that as time passed in a humid, sleepy haze. It could have been minutes or hours, but eventually, limbs started to feel uncomfortably numb. Hugh rolled off the older man and onto his back with a grunt, stretching out overpulled muscles until he was a starfish of splayed out arms and legs.
"Want to clean up a little, then read in bed?" A remarkably domestic way to end a rather unusual day, he thought. They could stand to do so.
"Except your fingers do belong on me and in me," Emmrich said sleepily, content to keep touching Hugh and lure the man into staying put. He couldn't recall a sensation ever making him as comfortable as Hugh's weight on him did.
He drifted off, hands slowing and finally stilling on Hugh's back, until his lover's departure jerked him awake. At the question Emmrich stared at Hugh blearily, trying to process the words.
"Yes," he finally said. It sounded rather nice, he'd now had a catnap, and potentially he could convince Hugh that cuddling was an important part of reading. Emmrich hauled himself out of bed and to his bathroom, feeling a bit of his age in the initial stiffness of the movements. Clearly he just needed to work out like this more, he decided.
After cleaning himself off he brought back a clean, warm cloth and crawled back into the bed to stretch out next to Hugh and gently, slightly teasingly, clean off the Warden.
"Would you mind retrieving the books from the front room? You could use the robe hanging over the back of my chair." Emmrich gestured with his head toward the silky purple piece. It fit Emmrich loosely, which meant while it would certainly be long enough for modesty's sake on Hugh, it was very likely that the man's chest would still mostly be exposed. He would not mind the view.
With the bathroom not more than a few feet away, Hugh normally would have put off getting clean in the morning and just slept where he lay. Only his wish for the evening to end on a more peaceful note, and Emmrich's own fastidiousness trumped any post- coital laziness, for once. That didn't mean he was eager to hop out of bed, but Hugh at least was sitting up by the time Emmrich returned.
There was no hiding the way he ogled Emmrich as the older man walked back towards the bed. All loose-limbed and slinking towards him, laid completely bare but entirely relaxed. That rush of lust quickly turned into a sharp his as the damp cloth cleared away the evidence of their lovemaking on oversensitive skin. If they were going to get any reading done tonight, Hugh had to get a grip.
"'Course, love," Hugh answered as he gave another languid stretch before pushing himself off the bed.
"Should probably hide anything not safe for skeletons," he added with a bit of cheek as he retrieved the robe from where Emmrich left it.
The robe ended up being a bit snug. Hugh barely had much fabric to wrap around his waist, and left it mostly open at the torso. It was one of Emmrich's shorter silk robes, so the hem barely came to the middle of Hugh's thighs. Distantly, Hugh wondered if Emmrich's suggestion that he wear this was more out of design than any offer of modesty. Hugh shrugged and went through the door to make for the front room to collect their books.
Hugh returned moments later with a small stack of books and an offhand mention that Manfred was too engrossed in folding blank letters into envelopes to notice him. That was said with an easy chuckle as Hugh climbed back onto the bed, leaning against the half dozen pillows piled up against the headboard.
"I hope you don't mind," Hugh started as he plucked a book from the pile he made at the foot of the bed, "But I took the liberty of taking some old adventure novel off one of the shelves. Figured if I read any more old maps or treaties, I'd fall asleep well before we had any chance to cuddle all proper like."
Emmrich was not an exhibitionist, but he loved being looked at by a partner. He loved being on display for one, so Hugh's ogling was noted and appreciated. And, of course, such a favor should be returned. Emmrich's eyes trailed over Hugh's body pre- and post-putting on the robe, and it was clear his instincts were correct -- the robe was enough for the basic requirements of modesty and nothing else.
That it fell short on said requirements as Hugh climbed into the bed was not a mark against it. He wondered if he could get Hugh interested in wearing other skimpy or tight or even see-through things in the future. Maybe he'd need to model such things first. Emmrich wouldn't mind.
He retrieved one of the drier tomes for himself before coming up to join Hugh, brightening at the man's words. "And as you may have gathered by now, I'm incredibly fond of cuddling. Both proper and improper. All I ask is that you not mock my taste in adventure novels." Hugh knew more of his heart now, and he wasn't exactly afraid of a repeat of the fiasco in the palanquin, but that was a side of him he hid from most. Emmrich longed for dashing, romantic adventures... with low risk of death, and the opportunity to bring Manfred along, which meant that he was unlikely to ever find something like that. So books it was.
He cuddled in and got comfortable, burrowing against Hugh's side and resting his head on his lover's shoulder. "Manfred's taste, I mean. Obviously every adventure novel I own is due to him. He loves them." Only the last part of that was the truth, and he knew Hugh would know, which made the joke fun. Emmrich didn't care to actually lie unless lives were at stake.
When Hugh first met Emmrich, the older man was covered up to the throat in finery out in the middle of a desert. He had been politely guarded in a way that someone cautious to seek help would be. Everything about Emmrich, down to the erratic heartbeat and stiffness he carried in his posture, would have never hinted towards an exhibitionist streak. Emmrich was deeply private and valued that in a lover, so it made it all the more breathtaking when Emmrich was comfortable in such a vulnerable state. Emmrich was comfortable around him, and Hugh never could say that about anyone before.
"You may have intimated in the past about your feelings on the matter, both properly and improperly," Hugh said with a mildly teasing note as they settled in.
He sat with one leg out and the leg closest to Emmrich folded in, giving the older man room to sit halfway onto his lap. Once Emmrich was flush against his side, Hugh balanced his book on his thigh as he wrapped an arm around Emmrich's waist. They were as close as possible, Hugh planting a brief kiss on the crown of Emmrich's head.
"Of course, Manfred's taste in books must be given all the gravitas it deserves," Hugh said with a sly grin that said he knew what Emmrich was doing but was far too charmed by it to spoil the joke. He ran a hand up and down Emmrich's side while he opened the book propped on his knee.
"I can already tell this is a bit more verbose than the shilling books they sell at the docks," He mused aloud and with obvious motive. "Might need your help on some words."
He closed his eyes at the kiss, treasuring this moment for what it was. Here they were, from two entirely different worlds, one of them feared by many, and yet they fit together perfectly. Hugh even played along with his joke. Emmrich loved him, fully and completely, and sighed happily as he was touched.
"I'll help you with anything you'd like," Emmrich promised, reopening his eyes. "Once I could read and no longer simply rely on the tales told at pubs around the docks, I took to it voraciously. Everything I could get my hands on I read. Poetry, histories, novels, epistolaries, oh, the realms I have glimpses of simply due to a book I happened across. I even experimented with making scented candles as a hobby, for a time, thanks to my knowledge of plants, particularly flowers, and one that spoke of creating oils to use in wax."
There'd even been a skull who wanted a black candle coming out of it. He'd obliged, and Johanna had mocked him and it until she realized that the skull's willingness made the veilfire flame brighter. She never apologized, but that was always the way of things with her.
Emmrich set his own chosen book down, off to the side, ready to be a part of Hugh's reading. If the man was offering storytime, of course he'd love to join in.
"You were skulking around dockside taverns for the odd story when you were a boy?" Hugh let out a breath that was more an amused huff than a full-blown laugh. He dipped his head and planted another kiss, this time on the curve of Emmrich's shoulder. "I'm not sure if that's adorable or horrifying given half of what comes out of a sailor's mouth when he's in his cups."
Hugh kept his chin on Emmrich's shoulder as the man continued to talk. A grin broke across his face as he thought of something and then said, "If you made a clove-scented candle, that could introduce a host of interesting problems."
A shame they were both rather exhausted, and that Hugh really did want to spend the rest of the evening cozying up and making a dent in the book he grabbed. Otherwise, he would have suddenly gained an interest in candlemaking. Speaking of, he peered down at the book in his lap. The edges of the leather binding were a bit worn, hinting that this book had been read several times over.
"The Silver Knight," Hugh read aloud as he opened to the first page. "Sounds grand."
He wasn't sure if he should answer or not, if he should let the misunderstanding stand and simply enjoy the amusement and gentle kisses, or speak. They knew very little of each other's early life. Emmrich wasn't ashamed of his childhood, but it was extremely far from the image he projected now. Which meant sharing might be important.
"I ran messages from the taverns as a boy. I was fast, honest, and reliable. Everything else that came out of their mouths I could ignore. For the most part." Being fast helped in many ways, and being smart complemented that. He'd survived.
At the suggestion he was quick to shake his head. A clove-scented candle when now he associated that scent with sex with Hugh? No. That would be an incredibly poor choice. He already wanted Hugh to a distracting level.
"Quite grand," Emmrich said, getting comfortable. "With a dalliance or two along the way, as a knight does. And this retelling will be easier than most; you don't have to make emphasized clanging and clonking noises for Manfred. You may, however, attempt to make accurate kissing sounds. I have faith in your abilities there."
"Quick and clever since you could walk," Hugh remarked with a note of fondness. He understood having to do whatever it took to get by as much as the next poor wretch, but Emmrich had long since grown past that. Still, it was refreshing and a little heartening to hear the older man be honest with him without looking back in shame. Too many people looked down on themselves for just making it another day, and Hugh never cared for it.
Sad backstories and sex candles forgotten, Hugh pushed the pages of his book open to the first chapter, and he and Emmrich settled in comfortably. Hugh had one hand on the book while the other idly trailed up and down Emmrich's back.
Initially, Hugh made an effort to read aloud. The problem was he was so concentrated on working his way through both the story and certain words he didn't recognize that the actual reading aloud part fell through the cracks.
It was after a lengthy lull when Hugh's expression pinched, and he finally spoke aloud to say, "Oh, I didn't know that's how you spelled 'nauseous...'"
Emmrich relaxed as Hugh didn't judge. Most took Emmrich as nobility at first glance now, and he knew Hugh had been no exception. As time had gone on Emmrich had watched Hugh realize there were no titles or lands in his lineage. It was no little relief that as illusions dropped, Hugh's warmth didn't.
Hugh's fingers moved on him and his voice eased Emmrich into a shallow slumber, deepened by the pause. Hearing Hugh speak again actually startled the older man awake and he blinked blearily at the page.
"Mm. Nauseous. Yes." How else would one spell it? Mentally sounding it out gave Emmrich that exact spelling, but then again, he did know the word. Perhaps he was biased. Emmrich rested his hand over Hugh's. "Would you like me to read for a time? Or are you enjoying this too?"
Admittedly, Hugh wasn't sure what to make of Emmrich at first. Initial impressions were that he had money, not that he was necessarily noble despite his multisyllabic last name and good posture. No one, no matter how desperate, would send blue blood out in the middle of the desert to ask for help. Typically, he had always dealt with couriers or the sort until something was set in stone. Emmrich, having been the first one he met, already spoke highly of him, and everything that came out after...well— it led them both here, didn't it?
The man was a rare bird, after all.
"The words I can recognize well enough but couldn't spell worth a damn could fill half a dozen books," Hugh retorted with an air of waspishness he could curb quick enough. He hadn't meant to bristle, and regretted it more that Emmrich's tone of presumed indifference was just simple exhaustion. Hugh flushed when he realized Emmrich must have been nodding off.
"I mean—" Hugh sat a little straight and pulled Emmrich closer, "You sure? You seem to be fighting to stay awake."
The aggravation in Hugh's tone snapped Emmrich out of his grogginess and he pulled away a little to take a closer look at the man, despite how he wanted simply to relax in that hold. He had no idea as to the source of the irritation.
"Activities today have certainly been... taxing," he admitted, working to make certain there was a lightness to his voice. "Of which I have no complaint. But something has you on edge, my dear."
There would be so much stress awaiting them shortly. It was possible Hugh was already feeling it and was bothered by Emmrich drifting off. Emmrich wasn't unstressed by any means. Hugh's physical presence simply helped push that back.
Much as he wanted to reel Emmrich back in, Hugh loosened his grip when the older man leaned away. Immediately, Hugh felt far too exposed under the gentle scrutiny of those olive-hazel eyes and wished they were still unfocused by exhaustion. True, it wasn't very fair of him to feel that way. Given that Emmrich couldn't even have the passing thought of frowning without Hugh picking up on it.
"I'm not-" Hugh bristled but caught himself this time and shook his head. No one had ever been this on top of his own emotional state the way Emmrich was. It wasn't overwhelming, just different, and Hugh wasn't about to let his temper get the better of him. "Maybe I'm more keyed up from earlier, or worried about tomorrow, than I realized, sorry."
Emmrich reached up slowly to cup the side of Hugh's face. He didn't want to risk startling his love, or make him recoil.
"It is entirely understandable. We have been in a whirlwind for days, and there is more yet to come." He shifted so he could kiss Hugh's cheek. "Would you like to talk? I'm here for you, either way. We could also return to the book, or curl up close together until sleep claims us both."
While he could easily fall back asleep, he was awake enough now to stay that way if Hugh needed him to do so.
No, Hugh wanted to say, and far too quickly. He had never been one to avoid his problems, but his feelings on them were another beast entirely. Emmrich had never called Hugh out on his reluctance to say what was on his mind, or what weighed on his heart, but this— well, what they had was still so new.
Hugh was admittedly torn by one simple question. He didn't want to discuss the days ahead, and his reluctance to face them. Neither did he want to upset Emmrich.
"More like a maelstrom," He said dryly after a silence. The kiss to the cheek was welcome, though, and Hugh leaned into it gladly.
"I think," Hugh continued as he set the book aside and curled in closer until he could rest his head on Emmrich's shoulder. "That I'm ready to turn in for the night. Mind's been too loud for one day, I'm ready for it to shut up."
Maelstrom was not an understatement, unfortunately. Especially once Hugh's fellow Wardens arrived. The Necropolis would fight for one of their own, and Emmrich was going to have to find a way to mediate. Akil deserved choices in his life, everyone did, but they couldn't reveal that Nevarra was ruled by mages for the sake of one. The longer the pretense that King Markus was still alive lasted, the better for the entire country. So war it could not be. Not to mention he didn't want such conflict with Hugh.
All of that meant that Hugh made a very good point. It was time to sleep. Emmrich kissed the top of Hugh's head before shifting, pulling them both down and under the blankets while encouraging Hugh to be on top of him.
"I think that sounds like an excellent idea. Come, be my blanket? I find your weight to be incredibly reassuring." It would mean he might face a challenge when it came to stretching in the morning, something he'd been skipping for far too many mornings at this point, but he longed for this nonetheless. He could figure out extricating himself when he woke up.
The knowledge that the day when the Wardens would arrive was fast approaching weighed heavily on Hugh's heart. The risk of tensions between his people and Emmrich's growing to a potentially catastrophic fever pitch meant he had to keep a level head. How was he supposed to do that when pulled between his brothers and sisters, and Emmrich? He hadn't come to Nevarra expecting to find something to lose, let alone something he desperately didn't want to.
All that had to be pushed down, for now. They needed to rest. Being tired and miserable over a probable disaster was worse than just simply miserable.
"Maker only knows why," Hugh huffed out a laugh and put on a brave face as he settled in, "Just hit me in the ribs if I get too heavy. Night, love." The last several hours had drained Hugh entirely, so he was fortunate enough to find a quick plummet into a blessedly dreamless sleep.
Without sunlight, it was his own circadian rhythm that eventually roused him to blinking groggily with his face pressed into silk sheets. Hugh groaned and turned his head, expecting to need an apology ready for drooling on Emmrich's neck. Only that wasn't the case, and instead, Hugh found himself groping around cool sheets without a familiar body to pull in close. With another groan, this time one of petulant complaint, Hugh pushed himself on his hands and knees. Fully prepared to whine to Emmrich when he came out of the bathroom or from the front room with tea for abandoning him.
That wasn't where Emmrich was at all, and in fact, the older man was far closer than Hugh assumed. There, on the open floor space between the bed and the vanity, was Emmrich. Only he wasn't drying off from a shower or enjoying his morning tea. Emmrich was currently stretched in a position Hugh would have called impossible if he hadn't put the man in something similar before.
"Well, well," Hugh said before giving a low whistle. "Thought I'd miss the sunrise down here but I have to say this view more than makes up for it."
Distantly he heard Hugh groaning and moving around on the bed, but his focus was a world away. The stretches were meditative just as much as they pushed his body and kept him in shape. Emmrich reached the end of one series. Before he could shift to neutral and start the next, a whistle pierced through his detachment.
He turned his head to see his audience and couldn't help but smirk, just a little.
"Are you saying you're the type to greet the sunrise? That wasn't the impression I'd gotten, but perhaps I was wrong." Slowly Emmrich stretched out before shifting a position that started exactly zero of his stretch sequences, on his hands and knees. "Would you care to join me? Staying flexible requires constant work."
It was an earnest enough offer, to join him in actual stretching exercises... but he wouldn't object to Hugh joining him for other exercising. It might be rather smart to blow off a little steam before the day truly started. On the other hand, he might be thinking with something other than his brain. It was hard to tell when Hugh was involved.
At first glance, once the cobwebs of sleep were brushed out from behind his eyes, Hugh noticed Emmrich seemed off in his own world. A few Wardens knew did something similar during his time at Weisshaupt. Instead of contorting themselves into rather sinful positions, they would sit cross-legged outside for hours. Hugh vastly preferred this sight over the other.
That whistle did its job, and Hugh was now grinning broadly.
"Not always by choice, no, but my point stands." Hugh reclined on the bed and propped his head up on his bended arm. "I think I'd rather enjoy the view from here, thanks. Though..."
Hugh made no effort to hide the wolfish hunger in his eyes as he devoured the sight laid out before him.
"I'll be a lot more eager to greet the day ahead if you come up here and demonstrate some of that flexibility before the morning gets away from us."
Being an enjoyable view sent a thrill through him, he wouldn't deny it. The way Hugh looked at him encouraged his heart, ego, and spirit, among other things. It also served as quite the distraction. If Hugh had joined him Emmrich might have continued with the routine he'd sorely neglected these last several days.
But Hugh was remaining on the bed, and Emmrich was incredibly weak for his love. Emmrich shifted back onto his knees and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Who am I to deny you?" Smoothly he rose to his feet without using his hands, partially to show off, and partially to untie the sash of the robe he'd slipped on. Now it was open Emmrich climbed onto the bed and knelt beside Hugh.
"What position would you like me in, gorgeous?" Emmrich reached over to take the hand that wasn't currently holding Hugh's head up and placed it on his hip. "And if you need a little sustenance to further assist with the day, you could consider biting somewhere around here, somewhere a little... erogenous."
"Are you trying to impress me?" Hugh asked as he watched Emmrich rise with a fluidity that would have sent himself toppling forward and flat on his face. The smile on his face widened. "Because it's working."
If Hugh hadn't been fully awake before the sight of the silk robe sliding down Emmrich's slender shoulders, revealing the long torso and a waist Hugh could easily wrap both hands around, certainly got him alert. He was already halfway 'risen' by the time Emmrich was by his side. Hugh nearly, unthinkingly, wanted to reach out with the hand not guided to Emmrich's hip to touch him more. Having his head knocked against the headboard wouldn't have been grand, so he caught himself in time.
"Maybe, and I can think of a few..." Hugh replied, his grin going noticeably more toothy as he rolled languidly onto his back with his hand traveling further along Emmrich's hip until he was heavily petting the older man's inner thigh.
"You know, what with those skelehorses, I imagine you don't do much, if any riding...you could always try your hand riding me, though." Because, of course, Hugh would lead into sex with a pun this early in the morning.
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In his arms, Hugh could feel Emmrich shudder and tense at the loss. Any other night, he might have drawn things out, but they were both tired, and Emmrich wasn't the only one who needed that connection that only physical touch offered.
"Hah—-" Words were punched out of him when he started moving. Replaced with thin moans and sharp exhales through the nose that made him sound like a bull. Hugh was not nearly as multisyllabic as Emmrich was once he found the proper rhythm to fuck his lover with.
Emmrich tugging at his hair, the sharp sting of pain made all the sweeter with the warm heat pressing in on his cock was ecstatic. Hugh dropped his head, burying it into the crook of Emmrich's neck as he kept pace. A shame he couldn't see Emmrich bringing himself off, but he was so overwhelmed by how good this felt, it would have sent him right over the edge.
"Love— fuck— you—"
Every word was fought out of him, punctuated with a few hard thrusts until Hugh collapsed on top of Emmrich as he spilled with one guttural noise that was sheer pleasure mixed with relief. His hips continued to rock weakly after he found release, his arm around Emmrich's chest clinging tighter as he mouthed at the older man's neck and shoulder. All the while whispering barely coherent declarations of his love and how wonderful Emmrich was.
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"Love you too," he breathlessly assured Hugh, followed by a pleased whimper as Hugh slumped onto him. The little, prolonged thrusts after they'd both come made him half-laugh as Hugh continued to shower him with affection.
"You're so good to me." He was winded but that didn't mean he couldn't cast just a little fire again and trace abstract, warm shapes along Hugh's skin. It wasn't like he was nearly ready to get up to get them clean. "My beloved Hugh. How lucky I am to have you."
He pressed another kiss to his partner's forehead, brushing back Hugh's sweaty hair yet again. "And how I love you. Is there anything you need other than being clean before we sleep? Anything at all."
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Hugh slid out of his lover as his entire body unwound and relaxed on top of Emmrich. He moaned pleasurably as it petered out into a sigh as he felt warm patterns dance across his back. Even the knots of scarflesh seemed to ease under the mage's expert, loving touch. Emmirch's words were a murmuring lullaby in his ear. Bloodlust satiated, a lover satiating everything else, all Hugh wanted to do now was sleep until the next Age.
"Only invent a spell where you don't have to get up to clean us," Hugh mumbled tiredly against Emmrich's bare shoulder. "Just want this awhile longer."
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That was a thought for later, and thankfully it was gone as quickly as it came thanks to the warm weight of his love on top of him.
"Mm. I could, if I'd thought ahead, had something in reach and then pulled it over with force magic. But we were trying to research until you pressed your thumb to my lips." There was a smile on his lips and in his voice. That wasn't precisely what happened and he knew it. "But we can stay here for a little longer. I love the way you feel on me."
Which he probably didn't need to say, due to exactly how comfortable and safe he felt like this and how Hugh could read him, but reinforcement was good. He kissed Hugh's temple, continuing the slow backrub.
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Hugh pushed all that aside. Selfish as it was, the day had been long, and he didn't believe he could withstand any more emotional tumult.
"I've been told that I'm always sticking my fingers where they don't belong," Hugh smiled against Emmrich's collarbone. "And if you keep doing that magic with your hands, then I really will fall asleep and you won't be going anywhere fast."
They stayed like that as time passed in a humid, sleepy haze. It could have been minutes or hours, but eventually, limbs started to feel uncomfortably numb. Hugh rolled off the older man and onto his back with a grunt, stretching out overpulled muscles until he was a starfish of splayed out arms and legs.
"Want to clean up a little, then read in bed?" A remarkably domestic way to end a rather unusual day, he thought. They could stand to do so.
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He drifted off, hands slowing and finally stilling on Hugh's back, until his lover's departure jerked him awake. At the question Emmrich stared at Hugh blearily, trying to process the words.
"Yes," he finally said. It sounded rather nice, he'd now had a catnap, and potentially he could convince Hugh that cuddling was an important part of reading. Emmrich hauled himself out of bed and to his bathroom, feeling a bit of his age in the initial stiffness of the movements. Clearly he just needed to work out like this more, he decided.
After cleaning himself off he brought back a clean, warm cloth and crawled back into the bed to stretch out next to Hugh and gently, slightly teasingly, clean off the Warden.
"Would you mind retrieving the books from the front room? You could use the robe hanging over the back of my chair." Emmrich gestured with his head toward the silky purple piece. It fit Emmrich loosely, which meant while it would certainly be long enough for modesty's sake on Hugh, it was very likely that the man's chest would still mostly be exposed. He would not mind the view.
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There was no hiding the way he ogled Emmrich as the older man walked back towards the bed. All loose-limbed and slinking towards him, laid completely bare but entirely relaxed. That rush of lust quickly turned into a sharp his as the damp cloth cleared away the evidence of their lovemaking on oversensitive skin. If they were going to get any reading done tonight, Hugh had to get a grip.
"'Course, love," Hugh answered as he gave another languid stretch before pushing himself off the bed.
"Should probably hide anything not safe for skeletons," he added with a bit of cheek as he retrieved the robe from where Emmrich left it.
The robe ended up being a bit snug. Hugh barely had much fabric to wrap around his waist, and left it mostly open at the torso. It was one of Emmrich's shorter silk robes, so the hem barely came to the middle of Hugh's thighs. Distantly, Hugh wondered if Emmrich's suggestion that he wear this was more out of design than any offer of modesty. Hugh shrugged and went through the door to make for the front room to collect their books.
Hugh returned moments later with a small stack of books and an offhand mention that Manfred was too engrossed in folding blank letters into envelopes to notice him. That was said with an easy chuckle as Hugh climbed back onto the bed, leaning against the half dozen pillows piled up against the headboard.
"I hope you don't mind," Hugh started as he plucked a book from the pile he made at the foot of the bed, "But I took the liberty of taking some old adventure novel off one of the shelves. Figured if I read any more old maps or treaties, I'd fall asleep well before we had any chance to cuddle all proper like."
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That it fell short on said requirements as Hugh climbed into the bed was not a mark against it. He wondered if he could get Hugh interested in wearing other skimpy or tight or even see-through things in the future. Maybe he'd need to model such things first. Emmrich wouldn't mind.
He retrieved one of the drier tomes for himself before coming up to join Hugh, brightening at the man's words. "And as you may have gathered by now, I'm incredibly fond of cuddling. Both proper and improper. All I ask is that you not mock my taste in adventure novels." Hugh knew more of his heart now, and he wasn't exactly afraid of a repeat of the fiasco in the palanquin, but that was a side of him he hid from most. Emmrich longed for dashing, romantic adventures... with low risk of death, and the opportunity to bring Manfred along, which meant that he was unlikely to ever find something like that. So books it was.
He cuddled in and got comfortable, burrowing against Hugh's side and resting his head on his lover's shoulder. "Manfred's taste, I mean. Obviously every adventure novel I own is due to him. He loves them." Only the last part of that was the truth, and he knew Hugh would know, which made the joke fun. Emmrich didn't care to actually lie unless lives were at stake.
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"You may have intimated in the past about your feelings on the matter, both properly and improperly," Hugh said with a mildly teasing note as they settled in.
He sat with one leg out and the leg closest to Emmrich folded in, giving the older man room to sit halfway onto his lap. Once Emmrich was flush against his side, Hugh balanced his book on his thigh as he wrapped an arm around Emmrich's waist. They were as close as possible, Hugh planting a brief kiss on the crown of Emmrich's head.
"Of course, Manfred's taste in books must be given all the gravitas it deserves," Hugh said with a sly grin that said he knew what Emmrich was doing but was far too charmed by it to spoil the joke. He ran a hand up and down Emmrich's side while he opened the book propped on his knee.
"I can already tell this is a bit more verbose than the shilling books they sell at the docks," He mused aloud and with obvious motive. "Might need your help on some words."
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"I'll help you with anything you'd like," Emmrich promised, reopening his eyes. "Once I could read and no longer simply rely on the tales told at pubs around the docks, I took to it voraciously. Everything I could get my hands on I read. Poetry, histories, novels, epistolaries, oh, the realms I have glimpses of simply due to a book I happened across. I even experimented with making scented candles as a hobby, for a time, thanks to my knowledge of plants, particularly flowers, and one that spoke of creating oils to use in wax."
There'd even been a skull who wanted a black candle coming out of it. He'd obliged, and Johanna had mocked him and it until she realized that the skull's willingness made the veilfire flame brighter. She never apologized, but that was always the way of things with her.
Emmrich set his own chosen book down, off to the side, ready to be a part of Hugh's reading. If the man was offering storytime, of course he'd love to join in.
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Hugh kept his chin on Emmrich's shoulder as the man continued to talk. A grin broke across his face as he thought of something and then said, "If you made a clove-scented candle, that could introduce a host of interesting problems."
A shame they were both rather exhausted, and that Hugh really did want to spend the rest of the evening cozying up and making a dent in the book he grabbed. Otherwise, he would have suddenly gained an interest in candlemaking. Speaking of, he peered down at the book in his lap. The edges of the leather binding were a bit worn, hinting that this book had been read several times over.
"The Silver Knight," Hugh read aloud as he opened to the first page. "Sounds grand."
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"I ran messages from the taverns as a boy. I was fast, honest, and reliable. Everything else that came out of their mouths I could ignore. For the most part." Being fast helped in many ways, and being smart complemented that. He'd survived.
At the suggestion he was quick to shake his head. A clove-scented candle when now he associated that scent with sex with Hugh? No. That would be an incredibly poor choice. He already wanted Hugh to a distracting level.
"Quite grand," Emmrich said, getting comfortable. "With a dalliance or two along the way, as a knight does. And this retelling will be easier than most; you don't have to make emphasized clanging and clonking noises for Manfred. You may, however, attempt to make accurate kissing sounds. I have faith in your abilities there."
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Sad backstories and sex candles forgotten, Hugh pushed the pages of his book open to the first chapter, and he and Emmrich settled in comfortably. Hugh had one hand on the book while the other idly trailed up and down Emmrich's back.
Initially, Hugh made an effort to read aloud. The problem was he was so concentrated on working his way through both the story and certain words he didn't recognize that the actual reading aloud part fell through the cracks.
It was after a lengthy lull when Hugh's expression pinched, and he finally spoke aloud to say, "Oh, I didn't know that's how you spelled 'nauseous...'"
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Hugh's fingers moved on him and his voice eased Emmrich into a shallow slumber, deepened by the pause. Hearing Hugh speak again actually startled the older man awake and he blinked blearily at the page.
"Mm. Nauseous. Yes." How else would one spell it? Mentally sounding it out gave Emmrich that exact spelling, but then again, he did know the word. Perhaps he was biased. Emmrich rested his hand over Hugh's. "Would you like me to read for a time? Or are you enjoying this too?"
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The man was a rare bird, after all.
"The words I can recognize well enough but couldn't spell worth a damn could fill half a dozen books," Hugh retorted with an air of waspishness he could curb quick enough. He hadn't meant to bristle, and regretted it more that Emmrich's tone of presumed indifference was just simple exhaustion. Hugh flushed when he realized Emmrich must have been nodding off.
"I mean—" Hugh sat a little straight and pulled Emmrich closer, "You sure? You seem to be fighting to stay awake."
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"Activities today have certainly been... taxing," he admitted, working to make certain there was a lightness to his voice. "Of which I have no complaint. But something has you on edge, my dear."
There would be so much stress awaiting them shortly. It was possible Hugh was already feeling it and was bothered by Emmrich drifting off. Emmrich wasn't unstressed by any means. Hugh's physical presence simply helped push that back.
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"I'm not-" Hugh bristled but caught himself this time and shook his head. No one had ever been this on top of his own emotional state the way Emmrich was. It wasn't overwhelming, just different, and Hugh wasn't about to let his temper get the better of him. "Maybe I'm more keyed up from earlier, or worried about tomorrow, than I realized, sorry."
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"It is entirely understandable. We have been in a whirlwind for days, and there is more yet to come." He shifted so he could kiss Hugh's cheek. "Would you like to talk? I'm here for you, either way. We could also return to the book, or curl up close together until sleep claims us both."
While he could easily fall back asleep, he was awake enough now to stay that way if Hugh needed him to do so.
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Hugh was admittedly torn by one simple question. He didn't want to discuss the days ahead, and his reluctance to face them. Neither did he want to upset Emmrich.
"More like a maelstrom," He said dryly after a silence. The kiss to the cheek was welcome, though, and Hugh leaned into it gladly.
"I think," Hugh continued as he set the book aside and curled in closer until he could rest his head on Emmrich's shoulder. "That I'm ready to turn in for the night. Mind's been too loud for one day, I'm ready for it to shut up."
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All of that meant that Hugh made a very good point. It was time to sleep. Emmrich kissed the top of Hugh's head before shifting, pulling them both down and under the blankets while encouraging Hugh to be on top of him.
"I think that sounds like an excellent idea. Come, be my blanket? I find your weight to be incredibly reassuring." It would mean he might face a challenge when it came to stretching in the morning, something he'd been skipping for far too many mornings at this point, but he longed for this nonetheless. He could figure out extricating himself when he woke up.
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All that had to be pushed down, for now. They needed to rest. Being tired and miserable over a probable disaster was worse than just simply miserable.
"Maker only knows why," Hugh huffed out a laugh and put on a brave face as he settled in, "Just hit me in the ribs if I get too heavy. Night, love." The last several hours had drained Hugh entirely, so he was fortunate enough to find a quick plummet into a blessedly dreamless sleep.
Without sunlight, it was his own circadian rhythm that eventually roused him to blinking groggily with his face pressed into silk sheets. Hugh groaned and turned his head, expecting to need an apology ready for drooling on Emmrich's neck. Only that wasn't the case, and instead, Hugh found himself groping around cool sheets without a familiar body to pull in close. With another groan, this time one of petulant complaint, Hugh pushed himself on his hands and knees. Fully prepared to whine to Emmrich when he came out of the bathroom or from the front room with tea for abandoning him.
That wasn't where Emmrich was at all, and in fact, the older man was far closer than Hugh assumed. There, on the open floor space between the bed and the vanity, was Emmrich. Only he wasn't drying off from a shower or enjoying his morning tea. Emmrich was currently stretched in a position Hugh would have called impossible if he hadn't put the man in something similar before.
"Well, well," Hugh said before giving a low whistle. "Thought I'd miss the sunrise down here but I have to say this view more than makes up for it."
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He turned his head to see his audience and couldn't help but smirk, just a little.
"Are you saying you're the type to greet the sunrise? That wasn't the impression I'd gotten, but perhaps I was wrong." Slowly Emmrich stretched out before shifting a position that started exactly zero of his stretch sequences, on his hands and knees. "Would you care to join me? Staying flexible requires constant work."
It was an earnest enough offer, to join him in actual stretching exercises... but he wouldn't object to Hugh joining him for other exercising. It might be rather smart to blow off a little steam before the day truly started. On the other hand, he might be thinking with something other than his brain. It was hard to tell when Hugh was involved.
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That whistle did its job, and Hugh was now grinning broadly.
"Not always by choice, no, but my point stands." Hugh reclined on the bed and propped his head up on his bended arm. "I think I'd rather enjoy the view from here, thanks. Though..."
Hugh made no effort to hide the wolfish hunger in his eyes as he devoured the sight laid out before him.
"I'll be a lot more eager to greet the day ahead if you come up here and demonstrate some of that flexibility before the morning gets away from us."
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But Hugh was remaining on the bed, and Emmrich was incredibly weak for his love. Emmrich shifted back onto his knees and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Who am I to deny you?" Smoothly he rose to his feet without using his hands, partially to show off, and partially to untie the sash of the robe he'd slipped on. Now it was open Emmrich climbed onto the bed and knelt beside Hugh.
"What position would you like me in, gorgeous?" Emmrich reached over to take the hand that wasn't currently holding Hugh's head up and placed it on his hip. "And if you need a little sustenance to further assist with the day, you could consider biting somewhere around here, somewhere a little... erogenous."
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If Hugh hadn't been fully awake before the sight of the silk robe sliding down Emmrich's slender shoulders, revealing the long torso and a waist Hugh could easily wrap both hands around, certainly got him alert. He was already halfway 'risen' by the time Emmrich was by his side. Hugh nearly, unthinkingly, wanted to reach out with the hand not guided to Emmrich's hip to touch him more. Having his head knocked against the headboard wouldn't have been grand, so he caught himself in time.
"Maybe, and I can think of a few..." Hugh replied, his grin going noticeably more toothy as he rolled languidly onto his back with his hand traveling further along Emmrich's hip until he was heavily petting the older man's inner thigh.
"You know, what with those skelehorses, I imagine you don't do much, if any riding...you could always try your hand riding me, though." Because, of course, Hugh would lead into sex with a pun this early in the morning.
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