Chapter Text
Something had happened to the clock when Valentýn and Ivoren eventually got out of bed and back out on the street. If Ivoren would be completely honest, then he didn’t care all that much. But it was a shame. The clock was beautiful and very useful. He could see why the people were upset.
What he could not see, however, was why the angry mob that had stormed the clock building took Katie hostage and forced the sculptor to fix the clock. To him, it was obvious that Katie wasn’t guilty and that the sculptor had no idea about how to even go about fixing a clock. Not to mention that small… sheep thing that the sculptor had with him. No doubt it would mess things up. But a hanging was pretty fun, he supposed, even if it was at the loss of Katie.
That’s until he got the news that he and Valentýn would be keeping the sculptor in the clock building until he repaired it. Which meant that not only would they be standing there for god knows how long, they would also miss the hanging! Ivoren had very little faith in the sculptor who wasn’t even from Prague. He had barely even seen him around before and suddenly he was messing about in their clock. The clock that had taken years to build. At least Valentýn would be there, next to him. That was at least something, even if he’d rather have Valentýn next to him during the hanging which he actually really wanted to see. Entertainment didn’t come often in Prague.
The sun was shining, though not burning. It wasn’t too warm in the iron armor as Ivoren and Valentýn stood by each side of the door, keeping guard. Ivoren’s arms were crossed and he was sighing. Valentýn didn’t seem all that excited either, when Ivoren glanced over. He expected his partner to be sad about the clock. His eyes had been so filled with wonder the first time he saw it, Ivoren could remember it like yesterday… because it was yesterday. Nevertheless, he was sure that image would be forever stuck in his mind. How beautiful Valentýn had looked in the sunlight.
Ivoren glanced over again. Valentýn looked beautiful today too. Perhaps even a bit more now that Ivoren was allowing himself to think and feel that way. Of course it still felt wrong. Very wrong, in fact. He knew what they were doing was wrong. But he didn’t care. He didn’t have the energy to care. And if someone found out, perhaps they’d move cities. That would be a hassle though. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
A deep sigh pulled him out of his thoughts and when he glanced over, he saw Valentýn hang his head.
“Bored?” Ivoren asked, a faint snicker on his lips as he saw the way Valentýn’s helmet had tilted to its side.
“Yeah…” Valentýn confirmed in an even deeper sigh. “I want to be at the hanging…” Ivoren nodded in agreement. The street was so empty. There wasn’t even anything to really look at, except maybe the dark walls of nearby buildings and the dirt on the roads. Almost a week ago, he had thought about how Prague was beautiful under all that dirt. But now it was just ugly. Ugly and boring. If only it was night or, perhaps a bit cloudy, then maybe it would look better. But it wasn’t. It was just boring and bland and bleak.
Ivoren tilted his head, glancing up at the clock that still wasn’t ticking. There was no way for them to see the hanging and get their clock back. If that sculptor somehow managed to repair the clock, then there’d be no hanging. And if the sculptor didn’t repair the clock, then there’d be a hanging, but they wouldn’t be allowed to see it. It all seemed so unfair.
There was a faint clatter of metal as Valentýn shifted restlessly. He really didn’t care much for hangings and things, even though they were faintly entertaining. He just wanted the clock to work again. Ivoren didn’t blame him for that. But he knew that Valentýn would just continue shifting. The man was restless with nothing real to stand guard for, no people to occupy his mind with and nothing to talk about.
Ivoren shook his head at Valentýn. Then he glanced around the city. It was completely empty, just like last time he checked. Taking pity on his partner, Ivoren walked up to Valentýn’s side, choosing to leave his spear leaning against the wall. Valentýn looked up, a bit confused that Ivoren was leaving his post for no reason, even if he only moved a few feet away.
“What are you doing?” Valentýn asked, to which Ivoren leaned forward, resting his chin on Valentýn’s shoulder and pressing a light kiss to Valentýn’s skin. At the touch of Ivoren’s lips, Valentýn sucked in a light breath through his teeth. After a few moments of standing like that, their chestplates pressed together, Ivoren replied in a low murmur.
“Giving you something to do.” Another short pause. “You’re antsy.”
Valentýn lifted his hands to Ivoren’s shoulders. The idea was to push him away, though he didn’t do it. At least not yet.
“Get off,” Valentýn hissed. “Not in public.”
“There’s nobody here…” Ivoren mumbled against Valentýn’s skin. That was true. There was no one else here. Everyone, and that was literally everyone, was at the hanging. Not a single soul was on the streets, and even less souls were in the homes. Everyone was at the hill.
When Valentýn didn’t reply, Ivoren kissed his neck again. And then again. He worked his way down Valentýn’s neck until he reached the start of the other’s chainmail. Valentýn’s head tilted back against the wall, his lips parting. The hands that had just a moment ago been on Ivoren’s shoulders slowly moved down, wrapping around Ivoren’s waist, pulling him closer to Valentýn. Ivoren took this as a signal to keep going and he responded by sinking his teeth into Valentýn’s skin. Not violently, of course. Not to draw blood or anything. But to leave a mark where it would be slightly visible when Valentýn wore his armor next.
“Ah… come on…” Valentýn mumbled in what was probably supposed to be annoyance. But his hands tightened around Ivoren’s waist anyway. He didn’t mind much right now. Though he knew he would mind later when he heard the comments he knew was coming. That wasn’t now though. Right now was all that mattered, being in the moment. And in the moment, Ivoren was kissing and biting his neck. And it felt really good, too…
“Don’t tell me you mind…” Ivoren murmured, grinning at Valentýn’s quiet words. “You didn’t last night…” Just the mention of last night made Valentýn’s heart beat faster. He knew he didn’t mind. Valentýn did not mind at all. He had so many marks all over his body to show for how little he minded.
Ivoren bit down again, prompting Valentýn to gasp quietly. And then he felt Ivoren run his tongue over the newly created bite mark. His eyes closed and his breath grew shallow. This was so completely unacceptable. Especially since they were still on the street. But Valentýn didn’t have the mind to care anymore. Ivoren had taken up his whole mind, leaving nothing for other useful things, like thinking.
“Come on…” Ivoren murmured. He’d grown tired of just the neck. He wanted more. He wanted to feel Valentýn’s skin under his fingers. He wanted to run his hand through the red hair. Valentýn exhaled quietly, his eyes closing. A quiet goran grumbled from his throat as his hands moved over Ivoren’s waist, rubbing the chainmail slowly.
When Ivoren pushed Valentýn forward a bit, Valentýn didn’t stop him. Instead, he pressed his back further against Ivoren’s chest, letting Ivoren’s arms wrap around his stomach. He could tell where this was going, even if he’d never been in this position before. Valentýn took a slow breath, guiding Ivoren’s hands as he prepared for some serious backshots.
Valentýn’s eyes opened as he suddenly felt Ivoren’s arms let go of around him. The door behind them flew open and the sculptor tried to get out. For a moment, Ivoren could smell him. He smelled of dirt and sweat and worry. Ivoren however was a bit faster and quickly resumed his guardly duties.
“Get back in there and fix that clock!” Ivoren demanded, pushing the sculptor back in through the door and closing it in his face.
Valentýn just stared ahead, surprise evident on his face. Ivoren blinked at the door, almost equally surprised. The sculptor had tried to get out before he had fixed the clock. Normally, he should be punished for that. Then again, Ivoren and Valentýn had other things on their minds. They supposed that getting shoved back in would have to be punishment enough.
“What…?” Valnetýn mumbled, slowly turning to Ivoren, confusion surging through his mind. Ivoren shrugged in response. He, truthfully, had no idea. The sculptor had never given them trouble before. He knew the rules, no matter how unfair they were. For a moment, they just silently stared at each other. Faintly, they could hear the sculptor returning further into the clock building, seemingly accepting the fact that the door was guarded.
Ivoren blinked slowly. He had never dissliked being interrupted as much as he did at this moment. It felt unfair, in a way. Even though they knew they weren’t supposed to be doing this, it really was a shame to be interrupted. But… just because they were stopped once didn’t mean that had to stop completely, right?
Valentýn was the first to act, reaching out and grabbing Ivoren’s hand.
“Come on. We can continue somewhere else,” he suggested. Ivoren looked at their joined hands before slowly glancing back at Valentýn. From the look of things, the small interruption had not dimmed Valentýn’s eagerness. So with a nod, Ivoren took a step forward.
“Yeah. Okay.”
Valentýn pulled Ivoren along down the street. Right now, it didn’t matter where they ended up. There was no one else around anyway. The two guards manage to stumble their way into some small… closet… somewhere. It didn’t matter where, really. Once again, the two of them were all that mattered.
…
They got to hear about the hanging later, about how the body had been suspended in the air. About all the souvenirs they had bought, and how the candy had tasted. They didn’t care much that they had missed it though. They had been doing something even more exciting than watching a girl die.
When the people returned to the square though, the clock was ticking again. Ivoren and Valentýn were then promptly sent to set the clock to the right time so that the mayor could take credit for it.
Ivoren didn’t like that. Someone ought to tell the mayor off sometime. But he knew that wouldn’t be him. He didn’t want to lose what he had. He didn’t want to lose his job or his house or his friends. Or Valentýn. He didn’t want to lose Valentýn the most.
Valentýn was working on the inside of the clock while Ivoren stood on the outside. It wasn’t appropriate to stand around and yell, but this time they had an excuse. Valentýn had, after almost 30 minutes, found the gear that set the time and was now working on slowly turning the larger clock hand to where it should be. On the outside of the clock, Ivoren was standing, shouting into the building and telling Valentýn that he had to keep going. There were still 5 more hours until the clock handles showed the right time.
But at least, when the work was done, Valentýn and Ivoren could take the time to relax over a couple beers. And the mayor made an announcement out in the square, the words barely audible through the open door of the pub. Something about repairing the clock all on his own. Ivoren couldn’t care less though, at least not at the moment, because Valentýn was sitting right next to him, their fingers interlocked and their shoulders touching. Who could want more than that?
“Jsem do tebe zamilovaný…” Ivoren whispered quietly, giving Valentýn a gentle nudge with his shoulder.
“Zbožňuju tě…” Valentýn replied, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to Ivoren’s cheek.
I am in love with you.
I adore you.