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„Someone’s been spending too much time with a certain blond apprentice?“
Not the kind of words Karl would have expected after a mind-blowing orgasm. “Someone needs to work on his pillow talk.”
“I’m not the only one.”
He understood the accusations about who could only be Anders; if he was being honest, they were close enough to the truth to strike a nerve, though, and also he was annoyed at Niall for bringing him up. He understood what had been said about Anders. He didn’t understand why the other mage thought it worth mentioning. He also didn’t understand the last comment. Did he say something wrong? He couldn’t think of anything that might have prompted this.
Niall looked at him expectantly while running his hand up his side, caressing him. Upon realising Karl had no idea what he was talking about, he even had the guts to start smirking. So maybe he did say something. Clearing his throat he tried to think of the least awkward way to ask what this ‘something’ was exactly.
Thankfully Niall wasn’t completely evil and took pity on him, before the situation got even more embarrassing for Karl than it already was. “You’ve been talking Ander for about... five minutes up until...” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but a suggestive wiggle of eyebrows tells him all he needs to know. No, actually, more than he wanted to know. There, that’s more like it.
“That can’t be... I did not!”
“Yes, you did. I may not speak the language myself, but I know enough to recognise it, when I hear it, Karl.” And there is that smirk again. “As a matter of fact I think I recognised a few choice words as well.”
Maker! This was getting worse and worse.
“I know I heard ‘gut’ and ‘mehr’ and there was a ‘Schatz’ somewhere in there, too.” Karl hid his face in his hand, but didn’t try to stop Niall as he went on; most likely it wouldn’t have done much good anyway.”And you want to know my favourite? ‘Lieblimg’.”
“You mean Liebling” Karl corrected him instinctively and regretted it almost instantly.
“Yeees, right. Sweet. Very, very sweet. Maybe that’s what you were going for, too, when you called me ‘Sahneschnitte’ and ‘Erdbeertörtchen’.”
“Now you’re just making things up. How do you even know these words?”
“Guilty. But only for the last two. You did say everything else. Which brings me back to my initial question. To summon it up in one word: Anders?”
Karl sighed and sat upright extracting himself from Niall’s embrace. “Okay yes, you’re right. We’ve gotten... closer over the last few weeks.” He didn’t want to discuss this, not right away, things were still kind of new between the apprentice and him, but he knew Niall and how persistent he was likely to get, if Karl kept evading his questions.
“I thought so.” The tone of their conversation changed. Finally Niall sounded serious and Karl found a matching expression on his face, when he turned to look at him. “I like him quite a lot, don’t you?”
“That should be obvious after what you have heard.” Karl searched the other mage’s face and considered asking a question himself. The thought was foolish, but he needed to know for sure. Emotion like this could be dangerous. “You are not asking me this because you are... jealous?”
Niall had a dismissive come-back for him, he could see it in his eyes, but whatever it was, he chose to refrain from saying it out loud. Instead he smiled, got up and pulled his robe back on. “No, I’m not jealous.” Karl believed him. “However, I’m a little concerned. I guess you can understand why.”
“Of course.” For the same reason Karl just had to ask his question.
Niall bend forward and placed a soft kiss on Karl’s lips. “I have to go. Don’t be a stranger. I’m sure your blond apprentice can spare you for a few hours every now and then, Lieblimg.”
“It’s Liebling. If you have to keep using it, get it right at least.”
“You make it sound so easy, Erdbeertörtchen.”
“Yet a complicated word like that you seem to have no trouble with.”
“You should put some clothes on.”
Confused by the quick change of topics Karl looked down at himself, just to see what he probably should have been aware of. Looking back up he found Niall already halfway to the door. The door to the heavily frequented hallway. The door allowing a nice view of the bed Karl was still sitting on.
And then someone knocked. Thinking back, believing his day couldn’t possibly get any worse in a situation like this, might have cursed him. “Karl? Are you there?” The voice from beyond the door was Anders’, of course.
Karl had never dressed more quickly and that’s saying something in a tower where mere seconds could be the deciding factor whether or not a templar caught you with your pants down.