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It had been almost a year since they had defeated the Devil by trapping the old goat in his own realm and saving the worlds from collapsing, and Julian managed to convince everyone involved to throw a party the following week to celebrate such a feat.
Even Muriel had agreed to come, if only because Asra coaxed him and assured that he’d be able to go home whenever he felt like it.
Still, it was a full week before this party, and Roser had a shop to run and clients to please and smile to. Thankfully, Asra was there to help her and share the load of work.
Hadn’t been for her former mentor, Roser didn’t know how she would have survived the week because not even when she closed the shop and came back home did she had a chance at relaxing in the arms of her boyfriend since said boyfriend had been nowhere to be seen, working on the plans for the city’s new aqueducts, coming home when Roser was already asleep and leaving before she awoke, only Malak’s squawks reassuring her that Julian actually had been there for the night.
Day after day, four days went by and she still hadn’t been able to spend real time with her partner, the young magician was close to lose her last shred of sanity, having to fight harder and harder every time not to snap at the next rude client, only the baker’s pumpkin bread and the prospect of unwinding all her pent up stress in the upcoming party in three days, helping not to do so.
That Roser missed Julian was an understatement, that Julian was an insomniac workaholic was another. And those were two things that did not really agree with each other.
But someone seemed to be looking out for her and her wishes because, that same night after closing the shop, her dear doctor was there waiting for her, going to hug her once she finished setting the last protection charm up, telling her he was sorry for being so absent the last few days.
Once the hug finished, Julian looked her up and down, her trademark smirk making an appearance and telling her that he just had an idea of how he could make it up to her, and if the mischievous look on his face plus the faint blush painting his ears a soft hue of pink were anything to go by, Roser knew that she would probably enjoy said idea quite a lot. And so, she grabbed one of Julian’s gloved hands and dragged the man home.
Once the two of them reached their shared home, Julian told her Roser to sit down on the bed and to close her eyes, making her promise she wouldn’t peek nor open them, and so she did.
Few minutes went by, and when Roser was about to break the promise and make sure Julian hadn’t made his escape, she heard Julian’s voice asking her to open her eyes.
Whatever she had expected to happen, it surely wasn’t what she had in front of her at that moment.
Because as soon as she opened her eyes, her eyes landed on Julian’s chest and the full body leather harness and the red garter belts on his thighs, an outfit that left little to the imagination.
“You know,” the doctor started, his voice seemed to be far away “this actually was my gladiator outfit, even if I never actually got to use it in the arena.” only then did Roser realize that Julian was actually wearing some light pieces of armor in his forearms and one of his shoulders, her face probably matching Julian’s hair at the realization she had been out of it, not really listening as she stared at her very good-looking and very naked boyfriend’s body up and down.
“But I thought I still could use it to have some fun while wearing it.” he finished.
At that, and after a quick recovery coming to her senses again, Roser just raised an eyebrow as she stood up and walked up to Julian, who upon seeing his lover's face knew he was about to have one of the best nights of his life, an impressive blush making an appearance on his face and covering his chest at the prospect of it, as the skilled magician finally kissed him for the first time that night, her hands on his chest as she pushed them towards the bed.
What happened next is like a dance, as precise as it was maddening and desperate; like the first storm after a drought. Two lovers reuniting after a long time apart.
****
When Roser finally awoke, the sun high on the sky, she tried to get up until she felt a familiar weight around her, tightening its hold around her. Julian groaned in his sleep, didn’t seem very eager to let her go just yet, coaxing her to stay a while more, his slumbering form and his arm around her waist posing two very convincing arguments that, in the end, won her over as she laid down once again.
A soft smile adorning her face as she looked over Julian’s sleeping features, highlighted by the golden sun rays, making the man laying next to her look like an enticing heavenly creature. His mouth slightly open as soft snores escaped from it with each breath, eyelashes fluttering lightly as he dreamed, the light map of freckles covering his fair skin accentuated by the golden daylight entering through the windows.
But the most impressive was none of that. What caught Roser’s sight was Julian’s impossibly bright red hair, that had seemingly set ablaze, a fire so alluring that she felt a warmth spreading, enveloping her by just looking at it.
So otherworldly did Julian look that Roser moved one of his hands, cupping his boyfriend’s face and softly caressing his freckled cheek with her hands, just to make sure that Julian was actually real, actually there with her, to make sure she hadn’t just dreamt all this.
So enamoured was she by Julian’s beauty, that when her eyes slowly closed again and she fell asleep again, her hand still caressing his face she had not realized the man she had been captivated by had woken up and had been looking at her with the same amount of admiration in his eyes, absolutely enthralled in her love.
A little soft smile was in Julian’s face as he kissed the top of Roser’s head before abandoning himself to sleep again, not a care in the world between them as they held each other in their arms, one being the other’s safe haven.