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“Fuck!”
Tiny drops of blood beaded up on the lightkeeper’s cheek. The spear had only barely grazed his skin, and the cut didn't hurt, but the idea of having such a sharp point so close to his eyes made Illuga’s stomach turn. Falling back on shaky legs, he brought up his own polearm to counter another of the vice-captain’s relentless blows.
“Oh, please. That hardly touched you!” the other’s voice mocked, the clash of metal on metal punctuating each word.
“It could’ve taken my eye out! You have no sense of-”
A particularly loud clang cut him off. One moment he was holding his weapon, the next second it was laying on the grass beside him and another blow was headed his way. The force from the flat of Lohen’s spear smacking into his chest had him gasping for a breath, and that was all the time the captain needed. The shaft of the other’s polearm swept under his feet, tripping him up. Illuga awkwardly grabbed at the air in front of him like it might somehow save him from his impending fall and then promptly fell on his butt in a far from graceful manner. Laughter split the air between them, and Illuga felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“No sense of what? Sparring tactics? That seems more like your issue.”
Lohen knelt down in front of the other and pinched the ratnik’s chin between thumb and pointer. He tilted Illuga’s head back slightly, fixing him with intense examination. Eyes traced milky skin, then fixated on the shock of red marring its perfection. The captain slipped a glove off and brushed his thumb across the split in the other’s cheek, head cocking curiously.
“Would explain why you’re on your ass right now.”
Illuga bristled.
“My sparring tactics are not an issue,” he hissed through gritted teeth, ready to lay into the other man.
He stopped himself, however, as Lohen brought his bloodied thumb to his mouth. A tentative swipe of his tongue followed, and Illuga stopped dead.
“What are you doing?”
“Letting my curiosity get the better of me?” the other offered up with a sheepish grin.
“That can’t taste good.”
As if to prove a point, Lohen sucked his thumb into his mouth and made an obscene show of relieving it of every remnant of Illuga’s blood. Once Lohen had deemed that the ratnik seemed sufficiently unsettled, he pulled it out of his mouth with a resounding ‘pop’, humming in an over-the-top pleased manner.
“You’re an asshole,” Illuga muttered.
“Your favourite asshole?” Lohen pushed, blinking innocently.
Illuga decided it would be pointless to dignify that with a response, instead focusing on shifting his weight so he could stand again after his rather unelegant fall. His muscles felt sore with the last half an hour of sparring, and Illuga was about ready to call it quits and head back to Cliffwatch Camp. Lohen’s body followed him, seemingly eager to make sure Illuga knew no semblance of personal space around him.
“I think we should head back to the camp now. It’s getting late. We don’t want to get caught out here after dark,” Illuga told Lohen as he gathered up his belongings: his polearm slid into place behind his back and his backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Seriously? But this was just starting to get good!” Lohen complained, eyeing the still faintly bleeding wound across the ratnik’s cheek, but Illuga was already moving, forcing the knight to follow along like a puppy.
The sun was already setting, casting a warm glow across the hills. A pretty enough sight, except that if it had set completely before they had at least reached the Favonius Keep… they’d pretty much be fucked. Everyone knows that travel at night in Nod Krai is far from recommended, even for a knight and a lightkeeper.
Of course, they weren’t quick enough.
Between Lohen constantly pestering the ratnik to spar and Illuga almost losing Aedon in the trees at one point, they had to find a safe space for the pair of them to wait out the night. With no reinforcements and nobody knowing where they are, getting caught by the Wild Hunt could be extremely dangerous. Hence why they’d decided to take shelter in a half-hidden cavern they’d found on the side of a hill. The pair of them had to chase away a few angry moles before they could set up a makeshift camp, but eventually, they had settled in front of a small fire.
The smell of cooking meat wafted between the two of them as they sat in a suffocating silence. Aedon had disappeared once more to scout the area for the presence of the Wild Hunt, leaving the lightkeeper alone with Lohen.
“So,” Lohen started, lips quirking upwards into a grin, “what about a friendly spar whilst the food cooks?”
Illuga’s immediate response was a roll of his eyes, exasperation seeping into his bones. This man still wouldn’t quit! The ratnik stood up suddenly, and Lohen’s eyes followed his movements with amusement he didn’t bother to conceal.
“No. We are literally stuck in this tiny cave, waiting out deadly monsters on our own and all you can think about is sparring and drinking my blood or whatever weird shit that was back there! I know you’d prefer to be out there fighting, but I’m exhausted and I don’t want the possibility of having your death on my conscience. So sit down, wait for your food and stop talking!”
That same silence fell over the pair of them once more. Lohen’s eyes were wide, though more with a mix of shock and intrigue than any actual shame. His gaze travelled up and down the lightkeeper, as if trying to imagine where this sudden aggression had come from. Illuga seemed fed up, pacing back and forth, but that had never really stopped Lohen, had it?
“Okay, okay. No need to be so tense, birdie. If you wanted me quiet you could’ve just asked politely.”
“You see- this? This, right here? This is what I just told you to stop doing, and if you keep it up then I’ll-”
As Illuga turned on his heel to continue pacing back the other way, he came face to face with Lohen. Archons, when had he gotten up? When did he get so close? Why did he-
“You’ll what, birdie?”
Lohen’s tone was soft, yet it struck a weird mix of heat and fear within Illuga’s gut. The knight’s unwavering stare almost felt like a challenge itself, daring him to follow through on a threat, begging him to.
Before Illuga had much of a chance to come up with some clever retort or creative threat, he realised that Lohen’s lips were on his. They were kissing. Holy shit, they were kissing.
Immediately, it was overwhelming. Lohen kissed like his life depended on it, like the world was hanging in the balance: all that mattered was that he needed to kiss the lightkeeper in front of him and he couldn’t stop to take a breath because it may be his last. It took the knight a good moment to realise that this fiery feeling in his gut was desire, and having said realisation just seemed to throw gasoline straight onto it.
Lohen’s palms grabbed at Illuga’s face, bringing him closer, and the other didn’t resist (in fact, Illuga was leaning in just as much as Lohen now). He scraped the side of his nail against Illuga’s cheek, etching a twin cut next to the one from earlier, which had the other yanking at his cloak in protest. Being shoved about seemed to have an effect opposite of which Illuga intended, seeing as Lohen was now rubbing his thumb across both wounds, reopening the old one with a delighted hum against Illuga’s lips. The knight pulled back, still holding Illuga’s face firmly in place and-
Illuga almost screamed as Lohen’s teeth ripped into his lip. He then almost punched the man as Lohen stopped to admire his handiwork. At this point, the lightkeeper’s face was covered in blood. Illuga could feel the sticky residue dripping down his cheek and beginning to gather at his lip.
“What the- did you just bite me?” the man fumed.
Lohen simply shrugged and leaned forwards to lick up a droplet of blood that had spilled over Illuga’s lip.
“You can’t be serious,” Illuga began grumbling, whilst Lohen tried to go back for seconds.
The lightkeeper caught him, however, with his own lips, pressing them hard against the knight’s. Blood smeared, mixing with saliva as Illuga slipped his own tongue inside a more-than-thrilled Lohen’s mouth. Whether he was excited at the metallic hint of blood shared between them, the fact that Illuga was finally being assertive, or just that they were kissing, Illuga had no idea. Maybe all three. That wouldn’t surprise the ratnik.
It becomes teeth knocking and bodies stumbling very quickly, and Illuga ends up backing into the cavern’s hard stone walls. The shock of his head hitting the rock makes him gasp, and his eyes blink open for a split second, only to be met with Lohen watching him eagerly. It would be endearing how entranced he looked if he hadn’t just started rubbing a knee between Illuga’s legs.
The shorter of the two flinched like he’d been electrocuted, body leaning back on the wall for some support with these new sensations. Illuga grabbed at Lohen’s coat, eyes widening.
“What are you doing?” he whisper-hissed.
“Why are you whispering?” Lohen whisper-hissed back, face split by a stupid smile.
Illuga was about to shoot Lohen a nasty look, but his movement aborted halfway through in favour of his body tensing up. The knight’s knee swayed gently from side to side, rubbing up into Illuga’s crotch. The lightkeeper bit down hard on his lacerated lip (immediately regretting it because of the pain that shot through his face) to stifle the way a groan ached to bubble from his throat. He knew that he should be scolding Lohen for this. Anything could wander into this cave and rip them to pieces whilst they have their guards down. Strangely enough, Illuga couldn’t bring himself to care. Not when Lohen was kneeling down in front of him. Not when he knew exactly where this would lead.
Lohen tugged down Illuga’s trousers without any hesitation, admiring the way the other’s face had begun to bloom a satisfying hue of red. He could feel the way the lightkeeper was beginning to shudder at the thought of what was about to happen, those shaky breaths betraying his anticipation. The knight came face to face with a small wet-patch in the other’s boxers, slowly spreading as Illuga leaked more pre-cum. Being the teasing asshole he is, Lohen palmed very slightly at the ratnik’s hardening dick- just a test. Just to see him squirm.
Illuga’s fingers, twitching uncertainly, ended up grasping the knight’s mint-green hair to steady himself. The man’s languid motions drew a wobbly sigh from him, and Lohen had to move an arm to support the lightkeeper above him. He could feel it too, that buzzing deep in his abdomen. Like fireworks fizzling, waiting for a spark, waiting to be released. Driven by the need for said release, Illuga yanked on Lohen’s hair, guiding him forwards.
“Please,” he murmured, voice raw, half-broken already.
Lohen’s lips curved upwards before he nodded, already slipping fingers beneath the elastic of Illuga’s boxers. Gentle strokes coax his sensitive cock to fill out, and Illuga lets his head drop back against the walls. Quiet moans escaped him, half-hidden behind the bloodied lips trying so desperately to muffle them.
“Enough,” the lightkeeper rasped, angling Lohen’s head up slightly so he could fix him with what he hoped was a commanding glare. “I’ve had enough of your teasing.”
Whilst encouraging Lohen to pull his boxers down completely, Illuga never broke eye contact. He could see the exhilaration mingling with submission in the knight’s eyes, the constant battle between being good for the other and shoving him up against the wall so he could take a chunk out of him. Typically, Lohen’s brain would urge him to choose the latter, but something about how Illuga had fixed him with such a hard stare had him succumbing to this foreign eagerness to please. Lohen wasted no time in indulging in this, taking Illuga into his mouth as far as he could. He liked the way it made his eyes burn with tears as he gagged a little, that slight sting that reminded him how well and truly alive he felt right now.
Illuga felt a blissful wave wash across his body as the knight swallowed him whole, heat sparking up and down his spine, making him feel feverish. He could hear himself whispering expletives under his breath unconsciously. That intense fervour was consuming him like nothing else ever had before, burning, blazing. Fireworks.
Bobbing his head in a practically leisurely manner, Lohen’s own hands also sought the other. He wanted to be all over him, touching every last spot, mapping every inch of skin with the same dedication he had only previously held for fighting. Rough hands found Illuga’s thighs, gripping at the pale flesh, nails digging ever-reddening marks into what (to Lohen) was essentially a blank canvas. He could barely notice the way his hips were rocking against the other’s shin, the mounting pleasure it drew out of him in the form of deadened whimpers.
The sudden sharp pain in his thighs made Illuga yank hard on the knight’s hair, which in turn had him moaning at the vibrations of Lohen’s whining around his dick. It was like a never-ending domino effect that had an odd tenseness building in both of their guts. Illuga manoeuvred Lohen’s head back and forth, faster, harder, and Lohen kept rubbing up against Illuga’s leg like a dog in heat. They could both feel it, coiling tighter, hotter-
Lohen fell first, his hips stuttering in their movements as he came straight into his pants with a wail. Eager to see Illuga feel the same, he hollowed out his cheeks, and a few pumps up and down later saw the ratnik shooting into Lohen’s mouth. He held the knight still, nestled between his legs as the pair of them slowly calmed down.
“I’m sorry,” Illuga mumbled to the other as he carefully eased his head back.
Lohen just grinned back at him, still half-dazed, and brought their lips together for another kiss. The lightkeeper had to fight to restrain the way his face begged to scrunch up at the unexpected saltiness coating Lohen’s mouth. He wanted to voice his disgust as he pulled away, but the satisfied way the vice-captain’s lips had quirked up stopped him before he could.
“What for?” the other replied hoarsely, tilting his head.
Staring back at the other, Illuga could only smile and pull him closer. Did he hate himself for letting his guard down? Yes. Was he unsure how to act around the knight now? Yes. Did he feel like an absolute mess right now? Yes. Did any of it matter when Lohen was there…?
No.
Not at all.