Chapter Text
Hans took in a deep breath of the forest air and closed his eyes. The rhythmic beating of his horse’s hooves underneath him and the smell of the summer forest around him were the best feeling in the world for the young noble at that very moment.
“Finally, freedom!” he exclaimed to the world at large.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Sir Hans,” came a voice from behind him. Hans glanced to the right where Henry was spurring on Pebbles to ride up to Hans’ side.
“Don’t tell me you’re not glad to get a break from that…” he moved his hand in a vague flourish, “place.”
Their situation had taken quite the turn for them to be holed up in such a place as the Devil's Den with such company as the Devil's Pack. Though a part of Hans appreciated the rough honesty of his new compatriots to the painted walls with which the high and mighty surrounded themselves. He was honestly growing quite tired of those games as of late.
But that didn’t mean that he wanted to spend more time than necessary in that… establishment. The place reeked of spilled ale, old piss, and dried blood. All of which had sunken deep into the place’s floorboards. Not to mention the many dark and narrow corners.
No, Hans very much preferred the deep blue sky and dark green forests of the late summer, thank you very much.
“I’m with you,” Henry concured. “I almost slipped on some vomit this morning. That place is really living up to its name.”
The young blacksmith rolled his shoulders. “It's quite nice to spend some time out of armour, too. I've been lugging around entirely too much metal on my person in recent times.”
Hans looked at the man riding next to him with a smile. Instead of plate armour, he was dressed in a green coat today with a dark blue hose and soft-looking leather boots.
He looked quite dashing in it.
It was kinda funny, Hans mused, how Henry was the only thing that had stayed with him from when he set out from his home. And he was endlessly glad for that little piece of familiarity. Which was a weird thought, considering that he had wanted nothing to do with the blacksmith’s boy when he first showed up in Rattay; all scraggy and full of ill-advised confidence and stubbornness.
At least he wasn’t quite as scraggy anymore.
“We’re almost there, my friend. So you don’t have to worry about your arse getting sore again!”
Henry chuckled. “I’d prefer a sore arse over the sore feet I got on our last hunting trip.”
“Ahhh yes I recall. I admit that wasn’t my most graciously handled moment.”
“At least we both had to walk back on foot after your horse bolted.”
“That truly was a bonding experience for us.”
Hans recalled bleeding onto Henry quite a lot as he leaned against him during that grueling track back to Rattay.
He basically carried me all the way there. Even after I had just treated him like a dirty novelty the entire trip.
Sometimes Hans was struck by the realization that he truly didn’t deserve Henry. But he was glad that God chose to place this loyal menace into his life anyway. It wasn’t a gift he would squander again any time soon.
“I’ll also have you know that I improved my hunting skills quite a bit since the last time. The one hare I managed to shoot on that day wasn’t even the one I was aiming at,” Henry said with a laugh.
“Oh? And where, pray tell, have you improved your hunting skills? Did you become a gamekeeper while I wasn’t looking?” Hans asked with a raised eyebrow directed at his page.
"Ohhh, you know. Nothing special,” Henry had the decency to look at least slightly bashful. “Just a few hares here and there in the woods around Rattay. Maybe a boar too. And some deer.”
Hans pressed a hand against his chest in exaggerated shock.
“Don’t tell the local lord,” Henry said and winked.
“I’ll have you quartered for that, peasant!” Hans was unable to keep the grin off his face, despite the dramatics.
“Nah… you won’t.”
Hans sighed, still with a smile on his lips.
It was always so damn easy to talk to Henry. And Hans was endlessly glad to be able to do so again after being stuck with no one but Brabant for so long. The Frenchman's company had been preferable to being in captivity alone, but nothing could replace the witty banter and the absolute disrespect for his noble status that Henry offered him.
At last, they turned their mounts off the main path and trotted down the narrow footpath into the woods that lead to the old hunter’s camp.
They hitched the horses by some trees and Hans left Henry to take off the saddles as he inspected the open tent. Everything was exactly as he left it which was a relief. It really seemed as if there was no one using this place besides him.
Henry arrived, carrying his horse’s saddle and saddlebags. Dumping them in the back corner of the tent he looked around to take the place in. “So this is your little love nest where you took that lass, eh?”
Hans nodded, suddenly feeling quite bashful about his earlier boastings now that he was actually standing here with Henry. “Indeed it is, my friend. There's also some nice, soft furs and good wine in that trunk over there. What do you think?”
Why did he ask that.
Henry took in the bedrolls, the view of the dark forest across the camp, and half-burned candles which had been used to set ‘the mood’.
“It’s a lovely spot and I’m quite flattered you’d take me here, my lord. Though I’ll have you know that a nice spot and some wine alone won’t do it for me,” Henry stated drily. “I’m not some easily impressed village girl.”
“No, you’re a right bastard.”
“Astute observation as always, Sir.”
Hans rolled his eyes. “Let’s get out and scout for some game before I have to listen to further critiques of my seduction techniques.”
He made to leave the camp, bow in hand and with Henry falling in step beside him. The bow in his page’s hand was the one Hans had gifted him the days after Maleshov. Hans was quite happy to see his gift appreciated and used.
“Oh I have quite a lot to say about your ‘seduction techniques’ after I almost got my balls chopped off during that whole fiasco with the butcher’s daughter.”
“Don’t remind me,” Hans groaned.
“I still have that awful love letter you wrote.”
Hans stilled. “Why? ”
“Because I think it’s fucking funny.”
“God, free me from this suffering. Strike me down.” Hans opened his arms and faced the heavens. Alas, nothing happened.
Yet another disappointment in the life of Lord Hans Capon.
They fell into a comfortable silence after that, sneaking through the underbrush in search of game. The wind was picking up around them, rustling through the leaves and helping in masking their steps.
“Look, roe deer tracks!” Hans pointed out excitedly. He loved the hunt, being out amongst vegetation and getting to prove himself with what he was good at.
“Yeah and they seem to be fresh, too,” Henry added after crouching down.
“Let’s go then,” Hans nodded his head in the direction where the tracks lead. They stayed crouched, silent. But at some point a stronger gust of wind ruffled the forest and Henry stopped, glancing up.
“I hope there’s no thunderstorm approaching,” he mumbled. Hans followed his gaze. There were indeed some light grey clouds covering what little he could see of the sky now, but there was no way to scan the horizon from where they stood. “Don’t be so negative, Henry! Just hurry up and let’s get to those deer. I’m not going home without at least one roe”
A few minutes later they finally found what they were looking for. A group of roe deer were grazing peacefully in a meadow next to the forest.
“Show me what you’ve learned since last time, then,” Hans prompted his page.
“Gladly, my lord.”
Henry lifted his bow, nocked an arrow, and drew it taut. Hans’ attention was drawn from the small flock towards his companion. The man’s steely blue eyes were focused, his jaw tight, strong hands gripping the bow and holding it steady.
Hans swallowed and was about to ask when Henry would finally shoot when a flash of lightning split the air, immediately followed by thunder so loud that the ground shook around them.
All the deer disappeared in a flash, leaving only the sound of rustling leaves behind as they made their panicked escape into the woods.
“Shit,” Henry cursed under his breath, standing up high and looking towards where the deer had just grazed. “They’re gone.”
Hans looked up towards the sky again. It was dark gray now and another bout of thunder cracked nearby. “Well this is just great.”
And then the rain started rolling in. It moved like a wall quickly closing in on them; approaching as rapidly as a well-planned ambush.
“Quickly, back to the camp!” Hans shouted. But it was hopeless to try and escape the heavy downpour. They clambered through the forest accompanied by lightning and thunder in the sudden darkness.
By the time they made it back to camp Hans’ blond hair was stuck to his forehead and he could feel his clothes clinging to his skin.
“Kurva,” he said as he plopped down onto a bedroll inside the tent and brushed his hair back with his fingers. “I really hope this tent can deal with this,” he didn’t quite trust the old canvas held up by beams of questionable integrity, but it was better than being outside in that waterfall.
Henry settled down next to Hans with a grunt and wearily looked at the dark gray colour the world had taken on in this storm. He didn’t fare much better than Hans, short hair flattened by water and his green coat stuck to his shoulders.
“Well this is just typical,” Henry muttered. “I should’ve learned by now to never accompany you on any ventures. It always goes to shit!”
“Aww c’mon, Henry.” Hans nudged his shoulder against his page’s. “You love it! Just imagine how boring your life would be without me!”
Henry huffed a laugh and glanced at him with a smile. He didn’t say anything, but Hans chose it to mean “Yes, my lord. You are absolutely correct, Sir.”
They sat in silence for a few moments as thunder and lightning kept shaking the world around them.
“I hope the horses aren't too frightened,” Henry said eventually.
“Ahh they'll be fine. They're trained war horses who've been outside in all kinds of weather before.” Hans stretched his shoulders. “I need to get out of these clothes, they're soaked.”
Henry sighed. “Yeah, me too.”
“And even when this storm is over I think it'll take a while for any animals to come back out from whatever far corner they've fled to,” Hans said as he unbuttoned his pourpoint. He nodded towards the chest at the side of the tent. “Get the furs and wine from there. Might as well get comfortable.”
“And there won't be any suspicious spots on any of those furs?” Henry, who by now had gotten rid of his outer garments and soaked undershirt, asked with raised eyebrows.
“Shut up. Just get them.”
A short while later, the two men had built themselves a nice place to recline against out of saddlebags and furs. Henry had revealed that he brought along fresh bread and cheese for their outing and they popped open one of the wineskins to share between them.
“This is the life,” Hans said as he leaned back, chasing a bit of cheese down with a gulp of good wine and enjoying the feeling of soft sheep fur against his bare upper body. They were both topless with their shoes kicked off into some corner.
Their clothes had been thrown over the saddles, even if there was little hope of any drying with the way the air was satuated with moisture.
The rain continued to fall heavily, though the lightning and thunder had moved on at least a little bit and didn't seem to originate directly above them anymore.
“Maybe God decided to strike you down after all with this,” Henry said as he tore off a bit of bread.
"Well, too bad. He missed. Also I changed my mind so He can fuck off.”
Hans handed Henry the wine and he immediately took a big gulp before biting off from his piece of bread.
“So…” Henry said after a few minutes of silence in which they ate and drank in turn. “What are you gonna do about that engagement?”
Hans laughed, despite himself. “You want to ask me about that now? ”
Henry shrugged, looking out into the forest. “I'm just wondering, is all. You haven't talked about it much.”
“I haven't talked about it much because I don't want to think about it.”
A new silence stretched between them.
And then Hans sighed.
“And also because right now there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not thrilled, but I'm also stuck out here being embroiled in this whole mess. So there isn't much use in me worrying my pretty little head about it.”
Oh but he had been worrying about it. To a painful degree.
He just didn't want it to spoil what little time he got to spend with Henry these days.
An affirmative grunt came from Henry's side of the fur pile. “I'm sorry I brought it up.”
“Truth be told…” Hans started the conversation up again after a few beats of silence, “I just kind of hope that… the whole thing just disappears. Maybe Hanush comes to his senses, or the girl finds someone who actually wants her, or maybe… they'll all just forget.”
He chanced a glance at Henry, who was looking at him with a sympathetic smile and held the wine out for him. Hans gladly accepted and took several large gulps.
“Fuck all this. Let's play a game.”
“A game?” Henry asked around a mouthful of bread and cheese.
“Yes! A drinking game. I've played it in taverns a few times. One person states something they've never done before and you have to drink if you have done it before.”
“Aye, I've played that one. Learned quite a few things about Matthew and Fritz during those evenings.”
“Great! I'll start then.”
It started out simple enough. They both had never been bitten by dogs, Henry had fallen into a river before, Hans had been stung by a bee.
They drank, both for the prompts and in-between, and got lulled into a sense of tranquility by the wine and the rain.
“I've never poached,” Hans started, lifting a finger to silence Henry who had opened his mouth to protest, “in the woods around Rattay.” He grinned at Henry.
“That's not fair! You literally couldn't do that if you wanted to!” The blacksmith protested but drank anyway. “I've never gotten an arrow in the arse,” he then stated once he was done.
“Upper thigh.” Hans drank and Henry hummed in mock agreement. “Okay enough of that. This game is about finding out stuff about your friends, not make them drink about stuff you already know!”
“You started with that!”
Hans ignored that. “I've never… heard or seen my parents, or other legal guardians, have sex. Thank the Lord.” He quickly made the motion of the cross over his chest as he sent a quick prayer so that it may remain that way.
Henry, on the other hand, grimaced. And drank.
“Oh no!” Hans laughed.
“I was coming home from the tavern late one evening. And as I walked past our house's window…” he drank again, an even bigger gulp this time. “I then decided to sleep outside for the night.”
“My good friend I am so, so sorry,” Hans said, a mirth in his voice which may lead one to doubt the sincerity in that statement.
The questions got raunchier after that. Henry had never been in a threesome, but he had also never left a girl unsatisfied (“I was drunk and fell asleep the moment I was done, even when she wasn't. She told all of her friends about it, stop laughing, Henry.”).
“Alright, alright. But listen,” Hans said a few prompts later, finger in the air. They were on the second wine now and the mood had only gotten merrier. “I've never slept with a married woman!” he proclaimed proudly. He didn't mention that there had been attempts.
Henry glanced down, licking his lips bashfully, and then drank with a smirk.
“No way!” Hans gaped at him. “Who was it? Do I know her?”
“I think you know both her and her husband quite well, yes.”
Hans tried his best to guess, still flabbergasted by his friend's revelation. He went through several of the women he knew from Rattay, getting a shake of the head every time.
“Come on, give me a hint! I'm dying !”
“Curiosity killed the cat, as they say,” Henry said and moved to take another sip of wine.
Hans quickly snatched it out of his hands and took a big gulp himself. “Please, Henry!” He felt giddy; lightheaded and warm in that way good wine and good company tended to do when combined. It was still raining outside their little bubble, but inside the tent it was warm and comfortable.
Henry rolled his eyes at his Lord's pleas. “Alright then. We… rescued her recently. She was being held captive alongside my father.”
Hans took a few moments to put that information into place in his brain. Then, he let out an incredulous laugh.
“No way! Lady Stephanie?! Henry you dog!”
Henry laughed at Hans’ reaction. His cheeks were flushed from the wine and he let his head roll back as he said, “She wanted me to help her prepare some things for some wedding in the family. And… when I had done everything for her she invited me to her room.”
“I can't believe this.”
“It was a bit weird, not gonna lie.” Henry turned his head and looked at Hans, a drunk smile on his lips. “She… gave me a nice shirt, her father's I believe. Only to then get me out of it again immediately. But I'm not one to deny a noble their wish.” He pressed his hand against his heart.
Hans rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are.”
“Only for you, my lord.”
After a few moments he added, “I… never went back to see her alone. I didn't quite know what to make of what had happened and I was quite busy with other things.”
Hans looked at Henry for a few moments. “Did that girl of you know about it? Theresa?”
To Hans’ knowledge had Henry and the Miller's niece been going quite steady during his stay in Rattay. He would see them around town sometimes, lost in conversation and smiles. He hadn't dared to walk up to them then, not wanting to disturb. Instead, he had always quickly averted his gaze and his path away from the two.
Henry's smile turned more sober. “This was before anything happened between us.” He looked at the canvas ceiling above them. “And even then… what we had was always quite… uncomplicated.”
“How do you mean?” Hans inquired turning on his side to look at Henry.
“We were a comfort for each other, after what we both had been through. It was nice to have this piece of normality, to reassure each other that life was still worth living, and that nice things such as a simple day out with someone dear to you were still waiting for us whenever I managed to make it back home.”
Hans waited for Henry to continue as the other man pondered his next words.
“But we both knew that marriage wasn't exactly on the table. Not with the way my life kept shifting at the time; I wasn't ready to settle down. She also wasn't that interested in the prospect. We decided to end things amicably before I set out with you.”
Hans mulled over his friend's words for a while. The rain had mostly stopped by now and the first birds had started singing again amidst the last drops.
“It must be nice,” the young noble said eventually, turning his head towards Henry, “having someone dear to you who cares about you in return.”
Henry didn't answer immediately. One of their horses could be heard whinnying from the side of the camp.
“It is,” he said eventually, not looking at Hans who was lost studying the blacksmith's face.
Hans was too tipsy to care if he was staring. Instead, he just let his eyes linger on the other man's features as he was lost in thought.
“Fuck,” he eventually concluded his train of thoughts, rolling onto his back and closing his eyes. Thanks to the wine, the world felt as if it was swimming around him in the darkness.
“I've almost died several times and I've never even fucked anyone I truly cared about.”
He raked a hand through his hair with a sigh.
“Shit, I've never even kissed anyone I truly cared about.”
There was silence again. A gust of wind rustled through the leaves outside but thankfully it avoided the opening of the tent.
Then suddenly, quietly, Henry spoke up.
“You care about me, right?”
Hans opened his eyes again to turn his head. Henry was leaned over towards him, eyes a bit unfocused but with a smile on his face as if he just had an idea that was only good to an inebriated mind.
“Yes, of course I do, Henry. But it's not like we've ever kis- ” Hans was cut off by something pressed against his lips. Warm, chapped, gentle… and accompanied by the scratch of light stubble.
“There,” Henry said after pulling back, a self-satisfied and lopsided smile on his face. “Now you've kissed someone you care about.”
Hans was dumbfounded, mouth still half open from the word he was interrupted from uttering halfway through.
And his silence seemed to cause Henry's brain to catch up. The man's smile faltered, his eyes focused.
“Oh fuck,” he said, touching his lips.