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"Lord?”
He feels the boy shift behind him and Uhtred clicks his tongue sharply and shakes his head.
“Uhtred.” Sihtric corrects quickly. “What…”
“Shhhh.” Uhtred shushes him softly. “Don’t wake him.” He whispers, his voice barely a breath.
Sihtric shifts closer, moving slowly and delicately. Uhtred wouldn’t have even been able to tell that the boy moved except for the body heat he can feel at his back and the warm breath on his ear. “What are you doing?” He whispers into Uhtred’s ear.
Uhtred shivers at the closeness and he feels the boy’s lips smiling against his ear. If he wasn’t still so exhausted from their earlier activities, he might consider rolling over and pushing Sihtric down against the bed so he could crawl into his lap. But he didn't think he'd even be able to lift himself off the bed let alone overtop of the boy. He smiles at the thought anyways and reaches out to touch Finan’s face. He keeps his caress light, his fingertips barely gliding against the man’s cheek, right above where his beard starts. He lets his fingers dance up to the man's forehead and through his hair for a moment. Then back down the side of his face to his jaw. He combs his fingers gently through the coarse hair and can't help the smile on his face.
Despite how many times Uhtred has been chastised over the years for his insatiable carnal appetite, it is not the man’s rather impressive cock that is his favorite part of this man beside him. Though that particular body part has brought him many hours of enjoyment. But no. Finan’s beard was the first thing to captivate him the first time they'd met. And sometimes, he still can't believe the circumstances of that fateful meeting, of how they were thrown together, of how they were broken almost beyond repair but they held onto each other, they kept each other alive until they were rescued. And then Uhtred’s boy put their broken souls and hearts back together and he became their boy.
Uhtred smiles and breathes out and his fingers graze Finan’s lips. Finan stirs and Uhtred feels Sihtric gasp against ear and his smile intensifies, realizing the boy is just as captivated by the sleeping man as he is. Luckily the man doesn't wake. Instead, he reaches for Uhtred’s hand in his sleep and holds it against jaw, rubbing against it.
"Sometimes…" Uhtred breathes out and smiles still.
Sihtric nods as if accepting it as an adequate answer. Then he shifts again until he can rest his chin against Uhtred’s arm and both continue to watch the sleeping man.