Work Text:
It is on a gently rocking night in the belly of Caron’s newly purchased dhow, the Hand of Berath, when Aloth asks with an academic’s interest how Berath appears to Caron. They are laid out in the most comfortable bed Caron could purchase in Defiance Bay, tired and quiet and together.
"They appear as the Pallid Knight," Caron says, and then, quietly and like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "It wouldn't be the Usher. This is all too important to leave to implications and smiles." He tilts his head just so, and Aloth knows that Caron is looking past him, into the distance. "She is the most beautiful woman I've seen. Thin and tall, pale, with dark hair. Her eyes are so black they seem to draw in the light itself. I think I could be pulled into them and never escape."
It's melodramatic, but Caron says it so sincerely that Aloth can't hold it against him. He sounds lovestruck in a way he's never sounded when talking about Aloth.
Aloth may not have much experience with love, but he knows you're supposed to feel jealous when your—
There's the inexperience. He's not sure what word he should even use to describe what Caron is to him.
He should feel jealous to have Caron talking about another person like that, but he doesn't. Maybe it's because Caron's talking about a god, or maybe it's because it's Caron, but Aloth just feels very… fond? Tender? In love. He loves Caron, and Caron loves Berath with an intensity rare even from priests. That's not why Aloth loves Caron, but it's part of who he loves.
Caron shifts on the mattress, rolling more onto his side, and looks up at Aloth with that little twitch-of-the-lips smile that makes something in Aloth melt. "She looks very little like me." He tilts his head to show and emphasize the broad side of the carapace that is his head. "But I know they chose these features for me, because they're dear to them." He puts his hand on Aloth's thigh, and Aloth is—
Aloth is old enough that it shouldn't be so easy to get a reaction from him.
Caron keeps talking like he doesn't know the effect he has on Aloth, but his tone says he does. "It pleases me that we reflect two parts of Berath."
What?
"I carry their touch, but you! You look so much like the Pallid Knight."
Oh.
"Lovely dark hair." Caron looks Aloth up and down, and Aloth can follow his gaze, even if he can't see his eyes. "Pale and thin."