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Caleb was giving him that look.
The one where he thought he had noticed something, but hadn’t committed to acting on it, yet. Essek knew, however, that it was only a matter of time. After all, he was doing a pitiful job of hiding his book behind a second, different book. As he pretended not to notice Caleb’s scrutinizing gaze, his mind was drawn back to a recent Mighty Nein dinner. Where, after several glasses of wine, Beauregard had wondered very loudly how the fuck Essek, long-undetected and long-escaped war criminal, and Dezran Thain, Lord Lord from Around, were the same person.
It was moments like these when Essek understood exactly what she had meant.
“Liebling.”
Caleb decided to act. Essek looked up from his read with the most neutrally curious expression he could muster. He was leaning with his back against one arm rest of the couch. Opposite of him, Caleb was leaning against the other. Their legs met lovingly tangled on the seat in the middle. “Yes, my love?”
“I was wondering; how is the book on transmutational experiments you are reading? Have you uncovered anything interesting, yet?”
Essek knew that damned tone, too. Caleb only asked like that when he knew things. That smug, beautiful man. It made Essek want to kiss him silly. “It is very informative, indeed. I have not found anything beyond what he had previously discovered, but there is still hope for the remainder of the book. As it stands, this author depicts a very interesting viewpoint on your field. I will be happy to leave this volume in your care once I have finished it.”
“Essek.” Amusement sparkled in Caleb’s eyes.
Names instead of terms of endearment. This mostly happened when Caleb was trying to dismantle an obvious, often playful lie of Essek’s. Not that Essek made a habit of lying to him. Rather the opposite, really. “Caleb.”
Caleb regarded him for another moment, then he closed his own book and put it in his lap. The amusement was still written into his features. “You know, when I was young, I would sometimes procure books that were not intended to be procured by me. For different reasons. And as I lived in close quarters, I had to find methods that, if someone were to find me with said books, it would appear as though I was reading something else.”
Essek wanted to huff being likened to a child, but he could see Caleb’s point. “Ah. I believe that many people have done such a thing, yes? It was never an option for me as my reading and my notes were rather damning. Having either near my Umavi would have been terribly foolish.” Distract. Essek just had to distract. “Especially the earliest notes on my Dunamantic experiments.”
Caleb raised his eyebrows. “That does sound more dangerous than what I used to do.” He was not taking the bait. He looked at Essek’s books. “You know, I have seen some of my students do that exact same trick.”
“I was not aware your students were practicing heresy.”
Caleb snorted. “If slacking off can be considered heretical.” He met Essek’s eyes with his again. “Liebling. You know that you can read smut around me, ja? I am the last person to judge you for it.”
Essek’s eyes went wide as his face became hot. “… What?”
Caleb gestured toward Essek’s poor attempt at literary subterfuge. “I can see what you are doing. Or, rather, I can see what you want me to think you are doing and I can see that you are not doing that.”
“I haven’t an idea what you are talking about.” Essek wasn’t sure why he was lying. He was well-aware that Caleb was not going to believe him at this point.
“You know that I won’t pry if you want me to drop it. Even if I am very curious about what you feel you have to hide from me. You have seen the collection of all the books I’ve laid eyes on in my life.”
Yes, but this was different. Essek hadn’t even meant to have this book around while Caleb was there. Really, he had wanted to make it disappear, but Caleb had come in earlier than expected and Essek’s components had been elsewhere and the Transmutation book had not. It had seemed like quick thinking at the time. And perhaps it had truly been quick, but it had certainly not been ‘thinking’.
Caleb sighed and there was something resigned in his expression. “No worries. I will push no further.”
“No, I will tell you,” Essek blurted out upon seeing the resignation. Any slight negative shift in Caleb’s demeanor always made Essek do stupid things. Then again, so did positive shifts. As it was, he was simply somewhat enchanted by the man. And the last thing he wanted was to put a rift between them. “But I fear that you might find it… ridiculous.”
“Essek. Liebling. I have read Tusk Love.” Caleb put his book aside. “I think I can handle ‘ridiculous.”
“Right, well, that may be a very ridiculous read, but in a fun sort of way, yes?”
“I suppose. But I have also read Courting of the You-know-what from beginning to end. Few things you are holding there could be worse than that.”
Essek pressed his lips together. “That book is indeed very… questionable. At best. Though I refuse to begrudge your interest in a politically complicated love affair between a Drow and a Human. Misguided as the depiction may have been. For rather obvious reasons, I believe.”
Caleb rolled his eyes in a good-natured way. “The point I am trying to make is that I won’t judge you. No matter what.”
“It is not erotica,” Essek said in an attempt to mitigate expectations.
“Oh?” Caleb cocked his head. “Perhaps you should simply show me what it is.”
Essek hesitated still, almost clinging to the book. But then, with a deep breath and a deeper sigh, he lifted it up, holding out the formerly hidden tome so that Caleb could read the title. Caleb leaned closer, eyes scanning the cover quickly. His curious, somewhat amused expression changed. His eyes went wide, his brows raised for a moment, then they furrowed in confusion.
“Die zemnische Sprache: Grundlagen,” Caleb read out loud. “This is a… You are learning Zemnian?”
Essek found a spot on the wall to stare at. “A bit.”
“I don’t- And you wanted to hide this from me?”
“Not indefinitely. That is, perhaps I would have done that indefinitely if I had ended up dropping it.”
“Why?”
Essek considered his words for a moment. “There are multiple reasons. One is that I was not certain whether I would pursue it for a long time and I feared that you would be disappointed if I stopped studying it before a certain level of expertise. The second reason is that I was certain you would ask me to speak some of it and I… I believe you would find my pronunciation upsetting. And the third is that, well… I must confess to knowing how ridiculous it is for me to learn this language. I cannot spend a lot of time in any place where Zemnian is spoken fluently and it will have very little application in my life. Compared to other languages, at least. The only reason, the only person I would learn for… is… well, is you.”
There was a moment of silence as Essek felt his face heat with embarrassment. And then there was a palm cupping one of his cheeks, a little calloused and so wonderfully familiar and it guided his head to turn until his eyes met blue. “Let me assure you that no matter how far you pursue it you would not disappoint. And I will not force you to do anything you don’t want, though I hope you know that I would be thrilled to help. And lastly, Essek. That is not ridiculous. That is deeply flattering.”
“It is?”
“Ja. Do you have any idea how enamored I am with you right now?” Caleb tucked his legs to the side to lean closer. “You started to learn a language for me. I cannot express to you how deeply flattering that is.” He swallowed. “May I kiss you?”
Essek immediately shot up, his cover-up book cast aside someplace to sit closer. “Please.”
Caleb held his face with both hands then and pulled him close to press a kiss to his lips. Essek kissed back, leaning into the shared contact and deepening it as he tilted his head. There was something fluttering and excited in his body, coupled with something warm and soothing, paradoxical as that should have been. A moment later, all too soon, Caleb pulled away but held their foreheads together instead. It felt almost more intimate than the kiss itself. “You are… amazing. Incredible.”
“You are exaggerating.”
“Far from it. The opposite, perhaps. Every time I think I have processed that this between us is real, that we exist this way, you turn around and overwhelm me like this all over again.” Caleb’s thumbs stroked Essek’s skin. “You may be used to floating, but you keep sweeping me off my feet, Essek.”
Essek’s smile was almost giddy. “Well, perhaps you might find comfort in solidarity… as I feel the same about you, Caleb Widogast.”
Caleb smiled. A moment of quiet enveloped them and they let it pass, savoring each second shared. Then Caleb leaned back before speaking up again. “Now, addressing that second concern of yours… about speaking Zemnian.”
“Right. I dared to hope that something had slipped your mind for once.”
“No such luck, I’m afraid.” Caleb was still smiling. “Have you attempted to speak any of it?”
“A few words when I was certain I was by myself. But as I said, I think you would find the sound of it rather insulting.”
“You overestimate my capability to take offense. May I?” Caleb gestured at the language book.
Essek handed it over and Caleb opened it and began to flip idly through the pages. Essek maintained a close eye on Caleb’s expressions, hoping to discern anything from the shifts in them.
“How far into the book are you?”
“Well into chapter four, if memory serves.” Essek leaned closer to get a look at the pages, as well.
“And how has it been going so far? Has anything been giving you problems? Anything that comes more naturally to you than other things?”
Essek glanced at Caleb and he swore he could see the teacher in him. The enthusiastic professor with a hunger to learn and a love to teach. Enthralling each of his students with his wit and care alone. It was… terribly attractive. Essek forced himself to look back at the book. “Not much of it comes easy to me, I’m afraid. Multiple things are giving me a difficult time. You would assume that at this point I would be able to string a sentence together and speak it but…”
Caleb nodded, still scanning the book. “But you do not even know how to introduce yourself,” he concluded.
Essek tensed. “I am usually a rather quick learner.”
“Ja, I know. You are the most intelligent person I have ever met,” Caleb said casually, like it was just a truth of the universe, as he clapped his book shut. “This book is simply awful and is not going to teach anybody anything.”
“Really? I did find it rather odd but it has been a long time since I attempted to pick up a new language.”
“Yes. Unless you were attempting to deconstruct Zemnian, rather than to speak or even write it. Something like a language is largely taught over application first and information second. Only very specific languages deviate from that and Zemnian is not one of them. You learn a lot more when you start out by learning a few sentences, rather than by starting with grammatical structure. Or conjugation. Like this book attempts. I am sorry, Schatz, but I cannot in good conscience leave your education up to this.” Caleb put the book aside. “As a teacher, as a native speaker and especially as your partner-“ Essek’s heart leapt “- I refuse to let this be your introduction to the language.”
“Well, ‘introduction’ may not be quite right. You were my introduction to the language.”
“Fair enough, but what about your further education, then?” Caleb turned to look at Essek fully, he draped one arm over the backrest of the couch. “Would you entrust me with it, perhaps?”
“Caleb. You are already working at the academy. I would not dare to impose on you to request your tutoring.”
“You are not.” Caleb’s eyes held another glint in them, his cheeks were lightly flushed. “I am offering. I would be happy to teach you. More than ‘happy’.”
Essek hesitated. He knew that Caleb had a tendency to overwork himself. “Are you certain?”
“Ja, I think this could be fun. And to address your first concern: I will not be disappointed at all, if you choose to abandon the language. That is how these things go sometimes. And I will not begrudge you if you choose to pursue it on your own or some other way. I hold no monopoly of the time you spend studying or learning.”
He didn’t have to for Essek to want to give him all of it. And not just the time he used to study or learn. But all of his time in general. “Alright, but you must inform me if it inconveniences you. And you cannot let this become an obligation or something that causes you stress. I will be upset if you let it come to that.”
“I will tell you if it becomes a problem, but I sincerely don’t think that that will happen.”
“You seem so sure of that,” Essek observed.
Caleb’s intensity waned and gave way for something softer. “I am. I cannot put into words how the thought of teaching you my native tongue makes me feel.” He looked down for a moment, then back up. “The only people in my life who also have a connection to that language and who speak it are tinted in bittersweetness or… bitterness. I am not precious about it, but I wouldn’t mind having someone to add more… sweetness. If that analogy did not run away from me there.”
“Not at all.” Essek’s heart felt warm and full. It felt that way very often these days, so much that it had become almost difficult to recall a time when it had been the exact opposite. Even though it had been that way for years and decades and a century. “I am humbled to be that person for you.”
The affection on Caleb’s face was as evident as it was infectious and he leaned in close to gift Essek another quick kiss. “You beautiful, wonderful, dangerous man. What are you doing to me?”
“Nothing that you are not doing to me in kind, my love.”
Caleb’s adoring gaze lasted for another moment before he leaned back. “Well then, let us make sure you can express those sentiments to me in another language, yes?”
“Right now?”
“If you are amiable. You were just reading how to conjugate some irregular verbs and I feel we have to make up for the time lost to what amounts to the educational value of a dictionary.” Caleb’s eyes were full of that excitement again. “Unless you have other places to be?”
“I would not dare having ‘other places to be’ right now.”
“Gut. That means ‘good'.”
Essek huffed in amusement. “I know that much.”
“I know, but it is important to expand on a student’s pre-existing knowledge.”
“Student, hm?”
“Ja, that is what you would technically be called when I am teaching you things.”
“Well, I am thrilled to experience a true Widogast-lesson. I have heard those are quite adored and sought after within the halls of the Soltryce Academy.”
“Ah, if you want that experience, I will need to set up a proper curriculum, get just a little more stressed and lay heavily into the Empire now and again,” Caleb pondered, “also you will have to share me with a herd of pubescent young wizards who are way too interested in my personal life for their own good.”
“I see. Unfortunately, you lost me at ‘sharing you with a herd of pubescent young wizards’. I much prefer this… private lesson.” Essek laced his words with something flirtatious.
Caleb regarded him, eyes just a little hungrier than they had been a second ago. He averted them. “Then I shouldn’t keep you waiting any longer. One moment.” He got up, left and returned a moment later with some parchment, ink and a quill. “In Ordnung. Lektion 1.Lesson 1.”
Essek perked up the way he hadn’t since the last time he had been tutored, which had been many decades ago at that point. “Yes, professor.”
Caleb cleared his throat. “Alright. I suppose we best begin with the basics. That would be enabling you to introduce yourself. Listen closely: Hallo, mein Name ist Caleb.” Caleb gestured toward himself. “It means ‘hello, my name is Caleb’.” He gestured toward Essek.
“You wish for me to speak right away?”
“Trust me, speaking is the best way to start learning it. Here, let me write down the sentence for you so you can match how it sounds to how it is written.” Caleb took the quill, dipped it in the ink and scribbled a sentence onto a sheet of parchment. He handed it to Essek. “Do you think you can try?”
“Try, certainly, but…”
“We can stick to written words if you really don’t want to speak, but I promise I won’t judge you, no matter how it sounds.”
Essek stared at the paper, Caleb had filled in his name, instead of Caleb’s and Essek was way too captivated by his name in Caleb’s handwriting, even though he had seen it before. He took a deep breath. It was words. Only words. Essek could do words. “Ha…” Already, he resented it. “Hallo. Mein-” No. “-Name-” Gods, no. “-ist Essek.” There was one thing that sounded right in that sentence. And that was Essek’s name. His ears and cheeks burned with embarrassment.
“Well done,” Caleb praised in spite of it, “that was good.”
“My pronunciation was abysmal.”
“You are being far too hard on yourself. It was unpracticed. Because this is new to you.” Caleb shook his head. He took the parchment from Essek again before writing down another sentence. As he wrote he spoke, “We are going to speak a few more sentences together so that you can get a feeling for it and start to build up a first vocabulary. Then I can hear which parts of the language are giving you the most trouble and we can work on those and then later expand with more sentences once you can feel more at ease trying to speak them, yes?”
“That sounds harrowing but efficient.”
Caleb chuckled. “It is designed to be the least harrowing experience, I assure you. We will get the biggest pronunciation issues out of the way early so you can get comfortable with speaking and learn more easily. And besides.” Caleb shot him a smirk. “You do not have to worry. I heard that your tutor is quite fond of you. I am sure he doesn’t mind your pronunciation.”
“Ah, is that what you heard? Have you heard any more than that, perhaps?”
Caleb met his eyes again. “I heard that he thinks that your accent when you speak Zemnian is unfairly cute.”
Essek blushed even more, if that was possible. “Well, he should know that he will be asked for his interest in Undercommon soon enough.”
“He may have a lot of interest and may find learning it very agreeable.” Caleb chuckled and noted down another sentence. Essek kept glancing at the sheet as he did, already unnerved by what was to come. “Continuing our conversation, Schatz… Now that you have introduced yourself to me, I might say: Hallo, Essek, schön dich kennenzulernen.”
Hearing his own name tucked in between the rest of Caleb’s language did things to Essek, even as Caleb spoke very slowly and deliberately, allowing him to get a sense of each syllable. “Let me guess, it means ‘nice to meet you’.”
“It does. Though, literally speaking, it would be closer to ‘nice getting to meet you’, not that anyone says that.” Caleb paused in thought. “’Jemanden kennen lernen’, when translated literally means ‘learning to know someone’. So, actually I am saying ‘It is nice learning to know you’.”
“That is… oddly poetic.”
“A little. It has certainly been much more than nice learning to know you.” Caleb smiled gently. “Well then, would you speak some poetry to me?”
“What comes out of my mouth is far from poetry. No matter how you might disagree.” Essek focused again. He looked at the words Caleb had written onto the parchment. They made sense, somehow, with what Caleb had said. But understanding that was a far cry from reproducing what he had said. Already feeling another surge of embarrassed heat in his cheeks, Essek gave it a shot. “Hallo, Caleb-“ Easy enough. “Sch… sch…” Essek narrowed his eyes at the little ‘ö’ staring back at him maliciously. That was not Common and certainly not Undercommon.
“Schön,” Caleb assisted.
“Schön,” Essek tried.
“Almost. Not ‘shone’, it is not an ‘o’. It is a tiny bit like the ‘i’ in the word ‘Sir’.” Caleb grimaced. “Not quite but it is the closest approximation I can think of.”
“Right.” Essek cleared his throat as though it was going to help. “Schön. Dich kennen…zu, no wait, zu lernen.”
There was a stifled noise and Essek’s head shot up to look at Caleb, who was wearing the sweetest small smile on his lips, no matter how he was trying to hide it.
“What did I say?”
“Nothing that I had not asked you to. It is- Your accent is really adorable. I mean that in a not condescending way. I will need some time to get used to it. Apologies.” Caleb took the parchment from him again to write down another sentence.
“Adorable,” Essek echoed, “You know of everything I have done in my life and yet, the word adorable comes to your mind.”
“Last I checked, one of those things does not exclude the other. You are many, many things, Essek. And sometimes, ‘adorable’ is one of them.”
Essek stared at him a moment longer. He tried to remember when someone had last called him ‘adorable’. If someone had ever called him that. “What is ‘adorable’ in Zemnian?”
Caleb regarded him and then blinked. “Oh, the translation.” He inclined his head in thought. “Niedlich, I suppose. Though, words like that often translate poorly. As is probably the case with Undercommon. ‘Cute’ could also mean niedlich, but those things are used in very different contexts.”
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry, I wish I had a better answer. Languages tend to be very vague and situational. More than we would sometimes like them to be, at least.” Caleb turned back to his parchment. “If you provide me with context, I can give you a better answer. Although… are we not getting a bit ahead of ourselves with compliments? You don’t even know how to ask my name, yet. That is very unlike you.” Caleb sounded amused.
“Perhaps I am accelerating our curriculum to the essentials. And you have already given me your name freely. What point is there in asking?”
“So you do not deny trying to learn compliments.” Caleb turned to him again. “Tell me, are you planning on romancing me with your future language skills? Because I can tell you that a lot more than my name is freely given without you taking up Zemnian.”
“Well,” Essek averted his eyes. “I do not think that there is much in the ways of romance to be had when I am butchering the language. But regardless, I do not perceive this as a necessity. But I do believe that me complimenting you in your native tongue might be… well-received, yes?”
Caleb focused back on his writing. “You will have to learn and find out, I suppose. So let us get you there quick. Next sentence.”
“Very well.”
Caleb taught Essek more sentences much in the same way. Extremely basic sentiments and statements as, Essek supposed, was the norm when taking up a new language. Always, Caleb wrote it down, said it out loud and then had Essek repeat after him. They managed to stay a little more on track this time around. Essek learned to ask after a person’s well-being – Wie geht es dir? – and to respond to that same question positively – Mir geht es gut. He learned under much duress how to say that he only spoke a bit of Zemnian – Ich spreche nur ein Bisschen Zemnisch – and how to ask whether someone spoke Common – Sprichst du Common? And several more things to navigate a basic conversation.
He learned what each sentence meant, what pieces it was made up of and Caleb began to point out things like sentence structure or grammar. Essek even began to risk a few questions.
“So ‘dir’ and ‘du’ both mean ‘you’, yes?”
“Ah, yes. In Zemnian you have four cases for nouns and pronouns, depending on the position of it in a sentence, it changes. You use ‘dir’… sort of as the recipient in a sentence.”
“The recipient, Love? Interesting. We do not have that in Undercommon, but we have three different pronouns for ‘I’ and ‘you’ each.”
“Really? You have to tell me sometime.”
“Oh, I will.”
And sometimes the teacher in Caleb overtook and he started to ask Essek questions.
“You can see that ‘sprechen’ is conjugated differently in the sentences. But ‘gehen’ in the other sentences does not change – do you know why?”
Or to give him tasks.
“Try to say this in second person, you have all the pieces there.”
Generally, they ended up getting a little bit off-track within their track, if that made sense. Rather than critiquing Essek’s pronunciation, Caleb got thrilled about all the parts of Zemnian and wished to demonstrate and present them all to him. His enthusiasm was a contagious thing and Essek understood why he was so beloved at the academy. Though, in the back of Essek’s mind, he was still a man on a mission. Even if he had let himself get distracted and ask about use of the formal ‘you’.
“We have been using the impolite ‘you’,” Caleb replied, “Anyone you do not know or whom you wish to show respect to, you would address with the formal ‘you’. Which is ‘Ihr’. But this changes the grammar, so we will get there some other time.”
“That sounds like a good plan. Though, if we are being honest, I will likely have no use of it.” Essek felt emboldened, then. “As I plan to only speak Zemnian with du.”
Caleb smiled. “Dir. But close.”
Essek cursed.
“But I think only focusing on speaking with me may be missing an opportunity. This may come in handy with others just yet. Better to cover all the essentials. And by that I mean basic conversation. Not flirting.” Caleb smirked.
Essek was never going to live this one down, he could already tell. “Does making assessments about someone else not count as basic conversation, though?”
“I don’t know about you but I rarely open with ‘you look nice’ when talking to a stranger.”
“Not like that, no. But what if I was to ask someone directions and found myself incapable of telling them that they are helpful?” Essek challenged.
“Ignoring the many convoluted variables that will have to be set a certain way for you to be in need of asking someone directions in Zemnian, that is a moot point when I can teach you the Tongues spell. Which is faster. Though, I suppose that is not much in the spirit of learning a language.”
“I concur.”
Caleb smiled. “Fine, I admit defeat. It is simple, anyway. When you wish to tell someone just what you think of them you say ‘Du bist’ followed by an adjective. Or, perhaps, ‘Ich denke du bist’ instead, which means ‘I think you are’. Keep in mind that this is a bit clumsy-sounding. If you wanted to tell a stranger they were helpful you would say ‘Ihr wart sehr hilfreich’. But as that is not really your intention…”
Essek nodded, already going back over the book he had been reading and remembering a list of adjectives. Most of them completely useless at this point. “Du bist schlau.”
Caleb blushed. Perfect. “Ah, danke.”
“Is there something like ‘very’ in Zemnian?”
“Yes, it’s ‘sehr’, used almost exactly like in Common.”
Essek nodded. “Du bist sehr schlau.“
Caleb smiled. “Du auch.“ He hesitated. “That means ‘you too’.”
“I am sorry that I can only compliment your intelligence as of right now.”
“That does not warrant an apology.” Caleb’s face was full of earnest affection. “Here, let me help. Du bist hinreißend.” The way Caleb focused on that last word told Essek volumes about what it meant.
“That… is a bit of a mouthful. What does it mean?”
“Hinreißend is a close translation for, ah, ‘gorgeous’,” Caleb explained and Essek smiled involuntarily, “literally, it consists of ‘hin’ which is an adverb that describes something going someplace and ‘reißend’ which is a form of ‘tearing’. It essentially means that you are tearing gazes to yourself. It is commonly used for looks. Like ‘Du siehst hinreißend aus.’ Which means ‘You look gorgeous’.”
“Alright.” Essek cleared his throat. “Caleb…” He hesitated, he decided to borrow a bit from Caleb’s vocabulary. “Mein Schatz… du siehst… hin-rei-ßend aus.”
Caleb’s cheeks went a shade redder. “You can be a fiend, Essek.”
Essek smirked. “I was under the impression that these were wanted attentions.”
“You know I cannot deny that.”
“I am well-aware.”
Caleb moved a bit closer. “Well, since you are intent on doing this right, let us adjust your pronunciation.”
Essek adored the closer proximity. He did not adore being called out on all the mistakes he had been making. “I suppose you will not let me escape this.”
“I promise this will not be unpleasant.”
Essek raised his eyebrows.
“You know it is my profession to make learning… engaging.”
Essek had not missed the tones Caleb’s voice had dipped to on that last word. That made it all the more confusing when a beat later he went back to providing critique.
“Let us begin with the vowels. You are making them sound very Common. From what I have heard, Zemnian is more like Undercommon in this regard. The vowels tend to sound the same from beginning to end.” When had Caleb gotten even closer? “For instance, notice how the ‘O’ shifts in sound? You can even see it when you observe someone’s lips…” Essek sure had a difficult time not doing that right then. “Or, the ‘A’. It is not pronounced ‘ay’, but rather ‘ah’.”
All things considered, Caleb had no right to be this captivating when going through vowels. But as he presented them all one after the other, Essek’s gaze jumped between the intensity in his eyes and the soft curves of his lips. He was unable to focus completely on either, but was terribly drawn to both.
“Do you understand?”
Essek nodded, or he hoped he was nodding, finding himself a little dazed.
“Then try saying it again.”
It was only then that Essek really remembered that he was supposed to be learning. He chalked that one up to not being his fault. He took a moment to collect himself, pushing away the things Caleb had, very clearly deliberately placed in his chest and gut just before. He fixed his eyes on Caleb, ready to retaliate. “Du siehst hinreißend aus.”
Caleb waited a beat too long to reply and Essek knew that his response had worked. Caleb then smirked. “Sehr gut, Essek.” That voice had to be illegal. “But your consonants still need some work. Try to put a little more emphasis on them. Not a lot, just a touch. Make them a bit more dynamic… More intense, so to speak. Can you try that for me?”
“For you?” Essek leaned closer to mirror Caleb a little better. “Ja, Caleb.”
Something flickered through his partner’s eyes and it filled Essek with pride. He let his gaze linger longer and then repeated that same compliment again, trying to both, actually pronounce it better and pronounce it in such a way as to draw the biggest possible response out of Caleb. The sharpened consonants proved easier to him as he let himself draw more on Undercommon. And the suggestive tones came naturally to him as they had been doing for a little while now when around the person he loved.
Caleb’s eyes also got stuck on Essek’s lips for a moment and though he quickly gave him an appraising look that seemed to try for something more composed, Essek had noticed that expression of raw attraction on his face.
“Well? How did I do?” Essek asked, not letting go off his own grip on the intensity. Sometimes their flirting was clearly lead by one of them, other times it was more subtle on both parts. And sometimes it was like this, a back and forth like romantic chess. Like a battle of charms. It made sense to Essek. They were two ambitious wizards, each in their own way. And if they could trade theories like this, why not their affections?
“Hm, it was not bad at all,” Caleb said, “though there are a few letters that I believe we need to work on in depth with you.”
“Did they not satisfy you? I would hate to disappoint my gracious tutor.”
Caleb swallowed. “You did not-“ Ah, he wasn’t giving in, yet. “You never disappoint, Essek. We will simply have to work a bit on how you wrap your mouth around the letters. So to speak.”
So to speak. “Of course. Which letters would you like in my mouth first?”
Caleb blushed a bit, he averted his eyes. There was a saying about tables that Essek found very fitting. Caleb cleared his throat. “I think we should start with your ‘R’.”
“My ‘R’?” Genuine interest disturbed a bit of Essek’s flirtation.
“Yes,” Caleb immediately took the change to reclaim some self-control. “You always roll them a little, right? I have noticed it in your accent. You do not speak them as they are usually spoken in Common. And they are very different from how they are spoken in Zemnian. Or how they are sometimes spoken, depending on the placement in the word.” He hesitated. “It is a bit difficult to explain.”
“Perhaps you ought to demonstrate, then.”
Caleb looked at him again and Essek felt like he was the only person in the universe. “A demonstration? Good idea.” He paused for a moment. “When you roll your ‘R’, you speak it here…” Caleb raised his hand and rested his fingertips against Essek’s lips. “Yes? Close to the lips, just behind your teeth.”
Essek couldn’t even manage a nod, he found himself instantly addicted to the brush of skin against skin.
“The Common ‘R’…” Caleb brushed his fingers over Essek’s skin as he moved his hand. Essek felt the gentle pressure slide over his cheek and Caleb’s thumb came to rest close by his chin. “is spoken here,” Caleb said and drew a circle over Essek’s cheek, “a little further back with more of the breadth of your tongue.”
Essek was almost unable to follow Caleb’s words at this point, his head swimming with the searing sensation of touch.
“But what you have to learn for my ‘R’…” Caleb’s hand moved once more, light fingertips brushing down below Essek’s jaw until they settled on his throat. Caleb’s voice was only whisper. “Is to speak it here. You will have to learn to create friction in your throat with your tongue.”
Essek then swallowed and he felt the movement press against Caleb’s touch.
“If you do it right,” Caleb continued and he took Essek’s hand to guide it upwards, “you will know because,” he placed Essek’s fingertips against his own throat, mirroring the placement on Essek’s, “when you try to be romantisch and tell someone you find them hinreißend, or charismatisch, or attraktiv… you can feel the vibration right here.”
Essek could. Gods, he felt that and much, much more. Against his fingertips there was a tremor whenever Caleb’s speech met an ‘R’ like that. “I see… It will be some time before I get that right.”
Caleb smiled and it was almost devious. “No worries, we have plenty of time to practice.”
Essek focused on the points of connection between them. Though nothing new, they were burning hot to the touch. Then he looked into Caleb’s eyes and he saw the twinkle of victory there and he noticed how flushed he must have looked. Not yet, Widogast. “That we do… But until I get it right you will have to make do with me calling you hinreißend and charismatisch and attraktiv.” Essek said with his accent and leaned yet closer until he could see every single detail of Caleb’s face.
Caleb’s breath hitched, a spasm of his throat against Essek’s touch. “I have no objections.”
Essek inclined his head as if to kiss him but stopped a little ways short of it, letting his breath tease Caleb and invite his imagination. “Caleb, love… how do I tell you I want you?”
Caleb’s gaze was one of desire and mirth. “Ich will dich.”
Essek nodded. “Ich will dich, auch.“
The rope snapped. The tension broke as both of them surged forward to close the distance, meeting each other in a fierce kiss. Brushes of the fingers were abandoned to find purchase on shoulders and waist. Every inch between their bodies was an inch too much. Breath became secondary and kissing a priority. They gave and took and shifted and moved into each other, tugging and pulling and offering. When they broke apart, they came back together stronger.
Fingers found hair, lips found everything. Each time they parted for breath Caleb muttered. Sweet nothings in a foreign tongue and Essek didn’t know what he was saying except he knew exactly in a way that made perfect sense. And he listened to each uttering shared with him like prayers.
Du bist atemberaubend. Du bist mein Licht. Du bist alles. Ich liebe dich, ich liebe dich, ich liebe dich…
Those last prayers, he knew by heart.
They both gave and took for what never could have been long enough before Essek leaned back, delighted when Caleb’s head followed a few inches as if pulled along by a magnet. Caleb was disheveled, then, ponytail a mess, cheeks and lips red, eyes curious and wanting. How this was Essek’s partner, his lover, he was never going to grasp. His lips curled into a smile. “I believe that this, er, lesson has escaped us somewhat…” He cupped Caleb’s cheek, running his thumb over Caleb’s bottom lip.
Caleb’s breath shuddered. “I don’t know what you mean… we were just discussing movements of the tongue…”
“And friction.”
“Ja, and friction.” Caleb swallowed and he sat up a bit straighter. “We can stop and go back to studying if that is what you prefer.”
So thoughtful. “Hm, how would I say ‘I would much rather progress to the part where you finally remove all of your clothes?” Essek smirked.
“Essek.” Caleb sounded exhausted but his smile gave his interest away.
“Now, I am certain that that is not it. Though, if you wish to continue saying my name, I will certainly appreciate hearing it. After all, your accent is… much more than ‘adorable’.”
“Du machst mich wahnsinnig.”
“Ich liebe dich auch.”
Caleb crushed into him again.