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Dogwarts was freezing.
The grass was covered in a thin layer of frozen dew, the dirt grew harder and the wind grew more biting. The only solace brought by the harsh weather was that the other factions were too busy trying to keep warm to make any moves. Visitors became surprisingly few and when they did come, they were usually allies. Martyn and Ren spent the time alone in their base underground, trading and enchanting and brewing- anything to pass the time.
"You know," Martyn said one day, "I thought it was going to be a figurative Red Winter."
Ren laughed.
"That's what I thought too. The cold will pass over eventually."
The days grew shorter and the two of them grew more restless by the second. But they could hardly do anything outside- it was so cold it was dangerous. So inside they stayed. They often found themselves sitting against the furnaces for warmth. It was a rough time, but they enjoyed the break from conflict. Martyn knew he did. Ren said he did too.
But Martyn was sort of suspicious. He'd noticed the little things. How Ren's ears were near perpetually down in some type of upset. The way his gaze would linger on dangerous potions and weapons. The way his hands curled into fists when a trade was out of stock. Even the way he'd irately tap his fingers if he'd been sitting still too long. Ren wasn't a person who liked being pent up, and he was Red. He had no way to take out the energy and the... more violent urges.
"My lord?" Martyn said, approaching him one day. Ren jumped a bit.
"Yes?" he asked.
Martyn thought about how to phrase his question.
"...How are you feeling?"
"Me?" Ren asked, "I'm fine, why?"
Martyn carefully, gently, put his hand over his king's and removed his fingers from where they were white-knuckled around his sword. Ren looked away.
"Ah-" Ren said, "That's just-"
"Ren, can I help you at all? With this?"
Martyn gestured at Ren with 'This.' Ren furrowed his brow.
"What, with- with the red...ness?"
Martyn nodded.
"Martyn!" Ren laughed a bit "I- geez, dude, I'm not going to hurt you just because we've been locked up a couple weeks."
"I mean-"
"No, no way."
"Well, is there anything else we can do to... to let out some energy, I guess?"
"Uh," Ren chuckled, "Wanna try that again?"
"What d'you-" Martyn's eyebrows shot up, "Oh. Oh no, I didn't- God-"
Ren burst into laughter as his comment made Martyn go a bright shade of pink. Martyn ended up laughing as well, albeit a bit embarrassed. The thin tension dissipated in moments.
"I'm sorry," Martyn said, laughing nervously.
"I mean, if you're offering..." Ren said teasingly. Martyn went red.
"You-!"
"I?" Ren feigned confusion.
"Oh, don't look at me like that! You know what I meant."
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Ren laughed, breaking, "I'm just messing with you."
"Well, good, because I'm not in the mood to be embarrassed," Martyn laughed back, hands going from his face to combing through his hair and adjusting his bandana. Ren smiled.
"Bit late for that, I think."
Martyn shot him a look, and Ren relented. Martyn huffed lightheartedly. Even if this was slightly mortifying, Martyn saw the way his king was lightening up, so this was a win regardless.
Martyn took to distracting him as much as he could- and Ren was clearly grateful. He'd take that. His boss' ears were perked up more than they lay flat, so Martyn was happy.
It was one day, when Martyn had gone to do his best to take care of their crops and returned with maybe a stack, that he came back to Ren sitting with his back against the furnace wall, dozing. Not quite asleep, but very close. Martyn quietly set down the carrots and looked over at him. Ren's hands and crown were in his lap and his sunglasses were sliding down his nose.
Martyn walked over and sat next to him- doing his best to not touch or otherwise disturb him- just trying to get warmed up.
That was the only reason. For sure.
Ren opened one eye as he sat down and smiled.
"Hey Martyn," He mumbled.
Martyn smiled back.
"Hey Ren. I didn't wake you, did I?"
Ren shook his head "Nah, nah," he yawned, "You're fine."
Martyn chuckled as he watched him shift down, getting comfortable against the furnaces.
"Do you think maybe you should try out, you know, the bed?"
"Mmh," Ren shrugged, "Bed's cold. Just a catnap."
Martyn smiled and reached over to pet Ren's ears "Catnap?"
"Oh, whatever," the king mumbled, closing his eyes leaning into Martyn's side with a smile.
It didn't take long for Ren to fall asleep, breaths evening out. As the time stretched out, Ren curled closer to Martyn. Martyn let him get as close as he wanted. As long as his king was comfortable.
"Hey boss!" Martyn greeted him cheerfully one morning. It was definitely warming up as he replanted the crops and it had him in excellent spirits. His chipperness was contagious it seemed, as Ren smiled as he approached.
"Hello!" He said, taking carrots from the nearby chest to help replant, "Crazy weather we're having."
Martyn laughed, genuine and bubbling from his chest. Ren saw his eyes crinkle with his wide smile. Ren was happier that he was happy than he was about the weather. Martyn's smiles always made Ren giddy, it was just such a good sight to see that his Hand could still feel joy in a place like this. Martyn pushed his hair from his eyes and bent down to continue working the crops. He said something. Ren blinked.
"Uh- sorry, what was that?" He asked. Martyn laughed again.
"I said it's not over yet, but hopefully these crops will grow nicely," Martyn repeated. He asked playfully, "What's got you so distracted?"
Ren laughed, a bit nervously.
"Just happy we won't be cooped up downstairs anymore."
"I can tell," Martyn said, with a glance up at him.
Ren furrowed his brow "Whaddya mean?"
Martyn looked up at him again, this time gazing pointedly at-
"Oh, geez-" Ren said. His tail. He could feel it swishing in the wind. He leaned down next to Martyn and tried to focus on getting it to stay still. It was marginally effective.
Martyn was laughing again.
"I'll never get why you're embarrassed by that, M'lord," He said, "It's endearing."
Ren tried to ignore the way his face slightly heated up and his tail kept wagging.
The warmth, sadly, wasn't there to stay, and the next night the two found themselves again sitting up against the furnaces.
"...This sucks," Ren said eventually. Martyn laughed.
"You think bringing the blanket over would be a fire hazard?"
"Oh, do it anyways, dude," Martyn laughed and stood up, walking towards the bed, "I think burning alive would be a funny way to die right now anyways."
Martyn snorted as he returned with the white comforter.
"Surprised no-one's died from the cold yet," he said. Ren took the comforter from his hands and, after a second's deliberation, put it atop one of the furnace racks. Martyn raised an eyebrow.
"You sure that's a good idea, my liege?"
Ren waved his hand. "It'll be fine."
A minute or two passed and Martyn had sat back down when Ren pulled it back out. It wasn't charred and was very warm- almost hot. Ren gestured Martyn to get closer and wrapped it around them both.
"Oh, wow," Martyn said, "That's nice."
Ren chuckled at the way his Hand practically melted against it. Though, Martyn noticed, the chill coming from the front of them, where the blanket did not cover, seemed to become even worse in comparison. He hummed and decided on the best course of action. He scooted over as much as he could, toeing the line between against and on top of Ren. He took his side of the blanket and pulled it mostly around them, still not covering them entirely.
He heard Ren's hammering heartbeat, and that was when it occurred to him how close he'd gotten. His head was against his king's chest and their legs were on top of each other. He jumped back, but not enough to undo the blanket, so not far at all.
"I'm sorry, um-" He started, "Is this-?"
Ren interrupted Martyn with a hand on his forearm. He was smiling, amused.
"If you're alright with it, I am too."
Martyn hesitated, then resumed his position against Ren. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. Maybe a bit more than he expected. He distracted himself from that train of thought.
"My lord, your heart," He said quietly. He could hear his boss' heart pounding under his ear.
"Uh..." Ren cleared his throat sheepishly, "Yeah," is all he came up with.
Martyn looked up at him, concern tinting his face. The image may as well killed Ren then and there. He cleared his throat again.
"It's just that you're, uh. Really close. Not in a bad way!" He quickly amended. "Not... not bad at all," He trailed off.
They looked at each other for a long moment, the crackling of the furnace the only sound to break the silence.
"Yeah?" Martyn asked eventually.
Ren swallowed. That hadn't been too much, he hoped. He didn't want to make Martyn uncomfortable.
"...Yeah."
Martyn nodded and lowered his head again. He gently snaked his arms around Ren's waist. Ren wrapped his around Martyn's shoulders. The cold, it seemed, was forgotten. They both felt impossibly warm, and the furnaces had nothing to do with it.
Ren took his chance and placed the gentlest of kisses on the top of his Hand's head. Martyn looked up again and Ren looked away to save as much embarrassment as he could. He felt Martyn kiss his cheek. He turned and the two of them met eyes. Ren cupped Martyn's cheek and both their hearts were racing as they leaned in.
The kiss was chaste to begin. Martyn could tell how Ren smelled of coal and blood, and Ren could smell that Martyn's scent was that of blaze powder and grass. They marveled in the feeling, one that both of them had been anticipating for a long time.
Ren was the one to gently nip at Martyn's bottom lip, and Martyn's stomach turned as he got the hint and opened his mouth. Their tongues slipped into each other's mouths and Martyn could feel Ren's incredibly sharp canines. Ren hummed quietly against his mouth and Martyn's head was buzzing. Ren's hands went to Martyn's hips and he pulled him into his lap. That was when the kiss turned deeper.
Their lips entwined and their tongues danced. Their breaths were now matched, and they were both panting into each other's mouths. Their hips were moving in sync and they were completely lost in the feeling of it all. Reluctantly, though, they had to part for air. Ren pulled back, holding Martyn by the waist. Martyn couldn't help but notice how long his king's gaze lingered on his lips.
"...God," he breathed. The two of them laughed.
"God," Martyn agreed.
Ren took his face into his hand and swiped his lip with his thumb.
"Do you want to..?" Ren asked softly.
"Please," Martyn responded.
Instead of going for his lips, Ren dipped his head and went to Martyn's neck. Martyn gasped in surprise, then sighed as he started littering it with kisses. Martyn's hands slid into Ren's hair. Ren began pressing open-mouthed kisses to his Hand's skin, hot breaths making it very difficult for Martyn to keep his composure. Ren nipped at a spot near his jawline and Martyn's breath caught in his throat. He tugged at Ren's hair and Ren let out a whimper- but if the way his grip tightened on Martyn's waist and the way he started working his neck said anything, it wasn't a bad thing.
He began sucking and biting at the sensitive spot and Martyn's head was clouding over, small sounds of pleasure escaping his lips. He could feel Ren's signature grin against his neck.
"My lord," He said breathlessly. Ren hummed, a low sound that came from his throat. He relinquished that one spot and moved to another, working it over in the same way.
"My lord," Martyn repeated, "You're- leaving marks."
"Good," was the one word Ren muttered into his neck.
Martyn's head went blank of anything but pleasure as Ren left more hickeys- but, eventually, he pulled back. He'd made his Hand a mess, and he figured he wasn't looking much better. Martyn leaned back down, putting his head back on Ren's chest. His heart had slowed down. He could feel Ren's chest vibrating as he spoke.
"This isn't how I expected to spend my night," Ren said, pulling the blanket back around them, it now covering both of them "But I'm definitely not complaining."
Martyn laughed. "Thank god for the cold," He said sarcastically. Ren's chest shook as he laughed.
Martyn felt amazing, laying in his boss' arms, wrapped in a warm blanket. He didn't ever want to leave. He wanted to freeze time forever, right here in this moment, in this embrace. They sat there, quiet and perfectly content exactly where they were, until eventually, Ren spoke up.
"Hey, Martyn?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you- Do you remember when you asked me if you could help with, uh... y'know?"
"I do."
"That... That definitely helped."
Martyn laughed a little.
"Well, shame," He said playfully, "Seems we'll have to do it again."