Work Text:
“Unacceptable.”
Olruggio was pacing the floor in the living room, shadows bouncing wildly across the walls from the hearth. His body was sore from the river rescue, and he was already exhausted from his travels back to the atelier that morning. A lifetime ago now. Every inch of him begged for his bed, for his long overdue rest, but he had been waiting all day for this. Qifrey would not slink his way out of this one.
The man himself sat perched beside the fire, hair cast gold against the flames. His legs were crossed, chin in hand, eyes tracking him back and forth, looking all the part of a professor waiting patiently for his student to finish their thought.
It twisted something sharp in his stomach.
“You find this girl, you bring her here,” he hissed. The girls were sleeping in their rooms, and he would not wake them with this. “You risk everything you’ve worked so hard for, and now you act evasive. Qifrey, I’m not asking much, please.”
“Olly,” his voice was gentle and a bit of him rioted at the sense of calm that graced his nerves at the sound. “I cannot say—”
“And why not?”
“Yet! I cannot say yet. But I will as soon as I am able.” He reached out and tugged Olruggio’s sleeve, like he had when they were children. Olruggio stopped, staring at the wall. “Please trust me, old friend.”
“Qifrey,” his voice was a whisper. “I understand Coco’s situation is unideal, but you threatened me. You turned your magic against me. Do you even—“
His fist tightened then fell loose against his skirts.
“You’ve hurt me today. Deeply.”
The silence stretched between them, and it was then the bone-deep exhaustion set in.
Olruggio rubbed a hand over his eyes. His fingers felt rough, calloused from his pen. Qifrey still hadn’t let go of his sleeve.
“Do you even trust me, Qifrey? Wait,” he paused as he felt Qifrey jolt to his feet behind him, “don’t answer that right now, I don’t know if I could stomach your answer.”
“Olruggio—“
“Just—no more tonight, please. I have to be up early to deliver a commission, and I’d rather get some rest than have it out right now. Plus the girls are sleeping. I’d hate to wake them.”
"Another so soon?" The surprise in Qifrey's voice was genuine, tinged with sadness. Olruggio let it lay between them like a mangled wreck.
Qifrey tightened his fingers in his sleeve a final time before dropping his hand, and Olruggio knew he was conceding.
“Yes, you are right as usual, Olly. How sharp you are.”
Olruggio didn’t turn to look back as he made his way into the shadowy corridor of the atelier.
“One of us has to be.”
—
Dawn came quickly, and with it, Olruggio pulled the atelier door closed behind him as softly as he could manage. Luckily, the kingdom he was headed toward was close enough that he didn’t need to take the windowway.
The morning air was sharp enough to nip at his exposed skin, and he bundled his cloak tighter around him as he flew.
His new contraption was secured snugly in his hip pouch, a request from a local king as a present for his young son that liked to wander the castle at night. It was a simple thing to be honest, a small, two-part tube that when pulled to its full length would emit a small ball of light. Olruggio had been especially proud of how the seal would complete itself once extended, all carefully hidden away inside.
Qifrey had been delighted when he demonstrated its capabilities, even calling him clever. Olruggio had thanked the dimness of his room for hiding his heated face.
But he wasn’t thinking about that now.
He also wasn’t thinking about how he had promised Qifrey he’d fashion one for each of the girls and would now have to make four rather than three.
The fourth girl. The new apprentice. Coco.
She’d been at the atelier for barely any time at all, and she was already causing trouble. The empty bed of the river and the fear in her young, wide eyes shot a spike of anxiety to his heart. Qifrey had hid her. He was continuing to hide her. Even asked for Olruggio’s blessing in not so many words.
Lashed out at him when he tried to take her away.
He blamed the vertigo on his wobbly landing at the castle.
The delivery itself was smooth and clean. The king was happy, his child delighted, and even Olruggio couldn’t repress a smile at the simple joy in his face. A hefty bag of gold was exchanged, and Olruggio was on his way.
He stopped in the castle town, his own accursed fame coming in handy for once. Word of his arrival had spread through the surrounding village, and a modest bunch of townsfolk met him in the square, eyes wide and hoping. This, at least, he could handle.
He was lucky enough that the requests were simple ones, fixing a creaking door, refilling a drying well, and everyone was sent on their way satisfied. Nothing to tempt his mind into thinking what if, nothing that kept him up at night when the evening chill soaked through the stone walls of his room and not even his enchanted blanket could keep it from sinking into his bones like a memory of snow.
The day grew late. Even in his exhaustion, Olruggio was torn. He wasn't home nearly as much as he wished, so every chance to sleep in his own bed was a blessed one. To see the excitement on the girls' faces to eagerly show him what new spells they had learned while he was away, to see Qifrey attempt to hide a smile as he gently sent them off to dinner, his face growing even softer as he met Olruggio's gaze...
He could only deny himself for so long.
But would it be that way this time upon his return? There had been no shouts at the door, no glances shared and swept away like a secret. The way Qifrey looked kneeling in the rain, his quire and pen in hand, was something he could not shake.
He knew a coldness lived within Qifrey, though it had never been directed at him. It stung more than he’d like to admit.
But Olruggio wasn’t entirely free of blame either. His final words to Qifrey had been purposeful, meant to draw a wound against him. Doing so even after Coco’s visit to his room, her pure joy at his magic, and their taxing day was cruel. Petty to a level he liked to think himself above.
He sighed. It gave him no relief to run these thoughts over and over in his mind. In the end, he knew the truth. He and Qifrey were equals in this, like they were in everything else. They had dealt the damage, they would fix it together.
Which meant going home.
Olruggio passed by the final few stalls, shopkeepers packing the last of their wares away, their amicable chatter a pleasant buzz. Most markets ran late in the warm summer, but even the townsfolk couldn’t resist the simple joy of an evening ale and good company.
As much as he insisted otherwise, Olruggio could understand their sentiment.
He paused at a stall where the owner was only just starting to pull out her crates. Small, jewel-like sweets lay wrapped in thin cellophane, molded to look like precious gems. Their shine was bright enough to reflect the last of the sunlight peeking over the castle towers. A pink, a blue, a deep purple, and...a bright green.
Hmm. As if he could say no now.
"Excuse me, ma'am." The shopkeeper looked over, her round face brightening when she saw him.
"Ahh, mister witch! I was about to close up, but there's always time for you. Can I help you with anything?"
"Ah, yes," Olruggio rubbed the back of his neck at the praise. "May I purchase some of these? Four of them, one of each color, please."
"Of course!" She packed them up in a small cloth bag, tying it shut with a short stretch of ribbon before handing it over. "A gift for the kids back home?"
They both paused as her words ballooned between them, each with one hand still on the bag, staring at each other.
"Oh!” The shopkeeper let go with a jump, face flushed with embarrassment. “That was too presumptuous of me, my deepest apologies—“
"No! No, it's fine." Olruggio didn’t believe his face looked much better. "Yes, it's—the girls. Kids at home. Yeah," finished lamely.
The shopkeeper laughed. "Well, if you're able to sneak a taste and you enjoy it, I also carry a few bottles of honey tree wine, homebrewed, same base as the candies. Maybe a treat for the missus?”
Olruggio thought of the warmth of home. Of laughter. Of worries over a fire burning much too late into the night. He gave a crooked smile before digging into his coin purse. "Sure, something like that."
–
It was that peculiar stretch of time where the clock mark could either be read as late or early when Olruggio finally landed back at the atelier. As he suspected, the house was dark minus a dim flickering in the window of their living room. He had scolded Qifrey more than once about leaving the fire unattended while sleeping, even one carefully controlled with magic, but tonight he was overwhelmed by a sense of fondness.
He entered as quietly as he left, taking a moment to latch the door before heading into the living room.
Qifrey lay sleeping on their couch, legs curled beneath him, chin tucked to his chest as he breathed deeply. He was holding a book open in his lap, and upon peering closer, Olruggio saw it was an old favorite, a novel gifted by Beldaruit when they were children. He knew it was something he reached for in times of stress.
Olruggio swallowed his smile and shook his shoulder gently.
"You'll hurt your neck if you sleep like that."
Qifrey woke with a start, he was always a light sleeper, and for a moment simply stared at Olruggio.
"Olly..." He blinked once, then blinked again, lucidity finally settling in and slipping over his features. Qifrey quickly shut the book, placing it aside as he stood. He dusted his hands over his skirts, a nervous gesture. He couldn't quite meet his eye.
"Olruggio! You're home! I wasn't sure how long you'd be away on your commission, but I did make a little extra for dinner if you'd like some. The stew is easily heated, and I'm happy to help toast the sandwich if—"
"Qifrey. I'm sorry."
Qifrey gaped at him for a moment before grabbing his hands and leaning closer. "Oh, Olly, please don't apologize! I'm the one who made a mess of things. You may have been away, but I should have told you about Coco. I should not have left things as they were the other night.”
"And I shouldn't have been as harsh as I was. I hurt you, too."
"Well, that's not—"
Olruggio gripped his hands tight. "It is important, Qifrey. If I want you to be open with me, I need to first be a person to be open with. I'm irritable and grumpy and maybe too gruff with the girls sometimes, but I promise I'll try."
Qifrey gave him a wobbly smile. "And I'll try to be more open in the future."
Olruggio felt the sharp knot inside of him loosening, and he hid his relief in an over dramatic sigh. "Thank god that's over, I was half worried I was gonna have to crawl through some window or sleep in the dirt if you locked me out.”
Qifrey gave a single bell-peal laugh and moved closer, Olruggio wrapping his arm around him. It was always this way, this warm thing between them that he was too anxious to look at head on. This was enough. It had to be.
"The girls would never forgive me," Qifrey said, voice full of mirth and put-upon severity. "Oftentimes, I think they rather wish you were their professor instead. You should see the way they clamor about for ‘Master Olly’ whenever they hear you're coming home.”
"Yeah, yeah," Olruggio fought to urge to cover his face before remembering his gifts. "Oh, speaking of the girls—"
He stepped back, just a bit, to pull out the small cloth bag. Qifrey took it with a questioning glance. The ribbon came loose with a single tug, and the sweets poured out like gems into the palm of his hand. Qifrey gasped in delight, murmuring the girls' names over each one before lingering on the bright green candy.
He looked up at Olruggio, face bright with some emotion he hesitated to name but made him flush deeply with embarrassment and something more. "Oh, Olly—"
"It’s nothing!" his voice was strangled, and he hoped to whatever gods were out there that Qifrey didn’t notice. "Just something to keep them quiet during lessons. I know how they like to chatter. I’ll pass them out after breakfast tomorrow. Anyway, I, uh, also got something for us. Or, you, rather, if you'd like."
He pulled out the bottle of honey tree wine, looking everywhere in the room but the other man. He handed it over and waited, feeling much too much like a child again.
"Olruggio."
It was his turn to look up at Qifrey's face, soft enough to make his heart spasm in his chest.
"Would you care to share a glass with me? Though, oh dear, you’re probably too tired from your travels, I shouldn’t keep you up any later…"
Olruggio was exhausted. He was still sore from the river, and his legs ached from flying all day. He desperately needed to catch up on sleep, and if he wanted to wake up early enough to give the girls their presents, that would mean even less. The thought of his bed so close was a siren call, and he knew the moment his head hit the pillow, he'd be out.
Olruggio felt a smile tug at his mouth, and he stepped closer to Qifrey. "I'm not tired at all."
Qifrey smiled back, brilliant as always in the firelight, and took his hand to lead him to the kitchen. "Wonderful. Perhaps we'll break out the crystal for the special occasion."
And as always, Olruggio laced together their fingers and followed him down.