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Ichabod was getting ready for the day, pulling out his favourite book for the third time and setting water to boil on the stove when Koth came into the room. He looked ready to go training, when Ichabod got an idea.
“Where are you going? Can I come?” He told himself he wasn’t going to bring up what happened in the Feywild, that was just a one time thing and it was in the past now. But he couldn’t stop noticing the way Koth looked at him when he thought he wasn’t looking, or how he would catch himself staring at the constantly shirtless man, admiring how strong he was…
“I’m going out to train. Would you like to come with?” Koth asked, which was exactly what Ichabod was hoping for.
He nodded, went to change into more suitable clothing, and they made their way to the small clearing in the forest they had found one day, which turned into their spot. A spot they went to when they needed a break away from the rest of the party, or take a moment to just enjoy the outdoors. Most of which was done by Koth, he enjoyed the outdoors far more than Ichabod, who preferred to escape into books with a nice cup of tea instead.
Ichabod loved being with Koth though, the more they spent together alone it seemed the more they were actually able to be themselves. The rest of the party, especially Bauble, always seemed to be judging whenever Ichabod and Koth were just existing together, like they were expecting more to happen.
But it wouldn’t. They were just friends, who kissed once and that was it. Sure, there may or may not be more, but Ichabod was happy with their current relationship, and he was sure Koth would say something if he wanted more. And so, they would walk to their spot, Ichabod telling Koth about the book he was reading for the third time, Koth nodding his head and looking at Ichabod like he would sometimes. But they were just friends. That was that.
Koth made sure Ichabod did proper stretches before they started sparring, saying something about muscles growing and healing better when you’re properly warmed up. He felt kind of ridiculous, but it did end up helping later on. (remember, stretches are important, and so is fear /ref)
“Let’s start with the basics then. I’ve seen you fight, and you’re honestly shit at it. Just do as I do and you’ll get the hang of it eventually,” Koth said. Ichabod couldn’t even argue with that. The one time he did fight, he barely survived, and it was only because of them that he did.
Koth showed how to stand properly so you wouldn’t get knocked over right away if you were strong enough, which Ichabod decidedly wasn’t, but he did feel more confident. And because Ichabod’s magical sword from God (he wasn’t sure but it felt right) floated and he was able to control it without needing to hold, they worked on foot work and how to dodge out of the way.
They worked on that for hours, the occasional small creature coming up and running away just as fast when it didn’t like the sudden movements of the two men.
“That was really impressive, Ichabod. You seemed to have learned a lot in a short amount of time, you’ll be able to fight better already,” Koth praised, which made Ichabod’s stomach flutter a bit. He was used to the friendly way that Koth would compliment by now, even when at times it seemed a little excessive, but he reasoned it was just because they were such close friends. Or Koth did actually like him, but again, Ichabod was sure he would say something.
“I feel like I’m going to fall over, my legs don’t want to move anymore,” Ichabod whined. It wasn’t exactly true, he could walk back to the place they were staying at if he really needed to, but the training did take a lot out of him. “Why don’t we stay here for a little longer. And just sit here. It’s almost dark and watching the sunset is always one of my favourite things to do.”
“That would be nice. I also have something that I need to talk to you about. If you don’t mind,” Koth didn’t meet his eyes, and Ichabod immediately thought about everything he’s said and done with Koth in the past 24 hours to see if there was anything he could have done wrong.
“O-of course, you know I always want to hear what you say,” Ichabod didn’t mean for it to sound the way he did. He always thought communication was the most important part of any relationship, but he also did like whenever Koth talked about things, which wasn’t often. A man of few words, which was also just as okay with Ichabod as anything else.
They sat down against the largest tree, which was big enough for them to sit comfortably next to each other. Except Koth did something unexpected. He was sitting on the opposite side of Ichabod.
“What are you doing?” Ichabod asked, laughing a little at the situation.
“It helps me talk better. My sister and I would do this whenever we fought because sometimes looking at each other would only make us fight again. And so if there was a barrier between us, then it made it easier to talk,” Koth explained. The way he talked about Yarn was adorable, Ichabod could tell he really cared about her.
They sat there in silence for a while anyways, seemingly neither of them knowing how to start the conversation. It was comfortable though, the birds softly calling to each other, and at one point a deer came up and started grazing quietly.
“Ichabod. What are we?” Koth asked, startling both the deer and Ichabod. The deer fled, which Ichabod frowned at.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean are we dating? I know you stare at me, and I know you see me staring back, but you haven’t said anything and I just wanted to make sure.”
Ichabod didn’t know what to say to that. He knew it was obvious, and he KNEW Koth would have said something, but he was still tired from training, and that came out of nowhere enough to still surprise him.
“It’s okay, I understand if you don’t want to or-”
“No, sorry, you just caught me off guard,” Ichabod said, laughing again. “I didn’t think you would want to, after you talked about your husband, and we kissed, I didn’t know if you would actually want to… you know, do anything with me. It’s hard to put into words, sorry.”
This time it was Koth’s turn to be silent. Ichabod waited patiently though, and he thought about how much harder this would have been if they weren’t separated by the tree.
“Do you want to date then?”
Ichabod stopped breathing. Of course he wanted to, but the way Koth just asked, it was like a blow to the stomach. He couldn’t help but laugh AGAIN. “Yes. I mean, I don’t really know how to, or what to say or-”
“Just shut up,” Koth said, appearing from the side of the tree. He was smiling, which Ichabod smiled back at as he stood up. Koth leaned in to kiss Ichabod again, and they went back to the party.
“I’m in love with you,” Ichabod said, Koth smiled.
“I know, I love you too.”
They agreed it was best to just show the party instead of telling them they were together, neither of them were great with words, as seen by the conversation they just had. Ichabod was happy though, and it would lead to them being happy together and nothing bad ever happens.