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There are three certainties in life that Edgin is sure of:
First, he will do anything for Kira, until his dying breath.
Second, you should never, ever, touch one of Holga’s potatoes, even when she says she’s already full.
And third, Xenk Yendar will find a way to stick his nose in Edgin’s business and his life without abandon. At first, it had been an annoyance to see him passing through town with a message for him about Forge. Then, he came back when he was hired by a local family to ward off an invasion of local creatures. The third time, he’d asked to consult Edgin about Harper business.
It just kept going and going and going.
“Are you sure you didn’t accidentally stick me into some sort of temporal vortex?” he asks Simon, when they’re getting drinks.
Simon eyes him warily. “...did you want to be stuck in a temporal vortex with Xenk? I could do that.”
Edgin feels like his brows are doing a lot of emotional labor these days, maybe because his friends keep trying to torture him by bringing Xenk up so often. Why would he want to spend all his time with Xenk? Sure, he’d be nice to look at, but then he’d have to deal with his personality and that’s just…well, that’s…
Fine, it’s stalwart and noble and admirable.
Edgin is not saying that out loud.
“I just don’t get why he’s always hanging around here,” he complains, nodding to Holga as she sits on the other side of Simon.
“We talking about Xenk again?”
“Unfortunately,” Simon sighs.
“See? Finally, someone else is on board! He’s awful, right?”
“You know what I heard,” Holga says, leaning in with a grin as the bartender fills her mug and sticks a potato on the coals. “I heard that he’s always coming around this way because he’s fallen in love.”
Edgin inhales sharply, scoffing when he suddenly feels a weird tight feeling right in his chest – just, a weird thing, a weird thing he’s not going to think about. “Isn’t that against some code or something he holds?”
“Not if the person he’s fallen for follows the same moral guidelines as him,” Simon says thoughtfully. “You know, I had heard the same thing.”
They’re messing with him. That’s it. They are absolutely just messing with him because of last week when they complained that he’d been playing the lute too loudly when they wanted to sleep.
Though, it does beg the question – why would they mess with him by saying that Xenk’s fallen in love? More than that, why does Edgin actually care about that?
“You’re both not funny.”
“No, that’s Xenk,” Holga says, with a baiting smirk that says she’s just waiting for Edgin to argue with her, and he would because it’s not true. Sure, that stick up his ass could probably stand to be removed, but he’s got a dry sense of humor and…
Nope. He’s not doing it. He refuses.
“Whatever, he’s in love,” Edgin says with a dramatic flip of his hand that accidentally takes out Simon’s tankard of ale. “...sorry,” he says, but then, “No, you know what? Not sorry. You deserve that for being such an asshole to me about this. You’re my friends! My family! You should be on board with me complaining about someone.”
“We are,” Holga says, squeezing Edgin’s shoulder (way too hard, that’s going to bruise later, but he’s not going to say anything). “And as your family and friends, we’re also allowed to want to beat the shit out of you because you can’t shut up about someone.”
Simon mutters something like, “Worst crush I’ve ever seen,” but he goes completely silent when Edgin catches his eye. “What?”
“You guys really are the worst,” Edgin sighs and orders one last drink (and one to replace Simon’s).
At least when he goes home tonight, he’ll be able to complain to Kira. She rolls her eyes, but lets him complain as much as he likes.
Now that’s real family.
On Xenk’s next trip through Targos, Edgin watches him like a hawk for signs of love.
He seems like his normal self – annoying, ridiculous, handsome, perfect – but he doesn’t blush or get flustered. No one is drawing his eye for too long. Edgin has to stop looking because Xenk keeps catching him staring and raising a calm brow, challenging that look.
“Is something amiss?” Xenk asks.
Edgin forces a smile on his face, mouth open to ask who Xenk’s fallen in love with, until he thinks better of it. Why spread ill-informed gossip that has no actual truth to it? Xenk’s spent the whole night trading stories with Edgin and buying him drinks. There’s no one else around for him to bother with his ridiculous everything.
Holga and Simon are wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time they were.
“No! No, I’m fine,” Edgin says with a dismissive shake of his head. “You were saying about the basilisk?”
That seems to throw him off his suspicion. He takes Edgin’s interest at face value (sucker) and continues droning on about it, letting Edgin fall into something of a meditative state where he stares at Xenk and admits to himself that he truly is one of the most perfect specimens that Edgin’s ever seen.
Who wouldn’t fall in love with him?
Xenk falling for someone else, though? Well, that person must be something to look at and that’s why Edgin wants to meet them. That’s absolutely and totally it. There’s no jealousy here, he absolutely doesn’t need this person to prove themselves worthy of Xenk’s admiration.
Nope.
It’s just good old-fashioned curiosity. Edgin’s really good at that, so why wouldn’t he put it to use now?
When Kira asks to go on a trip, Edgin decides it’s been far too long since they saw Doric and he wouldn’t mind a trip out to Neverwinter Wood to see how the regrowth is taking.
It’s a nice trip. It’s a lovely trip. He gets asked to sing a song three times in the tavern as they wait for Doric and even though Kira rolls her eyes every time he starts with the same song, he can see the fondness there too. She missed this as much as he missed her. Apparently not enough for a fourth rendition of ‘Bright Bubbling Brews’, because she slams a hand down over the lute’s strings.
“Dad. No.”
“Dad, yes?” he suggests hopefully.
“How about I make it two against one.” Doric sits down in the spare seat, giving Edgin a pointed look and putting her hand on top of Kira’s on the lute. “No.”
Everyone’s against him.
“Besides, Simon asked me to poke into your business,” Doric goes on, further proving that this is all a vast conspiracy. Edgin isn’t sure he wants to hear it, but he’s not the one who can transform into a bird and fly away from this.
Looks like he’s getting interrogated.
“Simon needs to find another hobby because he’s clearly got too much free time,” Edgin complains. “We should really encourage him to take up magic shows again.”
Doric gives him an unimpressed look. “You mean his pickpocketing fronts?”
“Half a dozen, six of one,” Edgin says, feeling like this isn’t doing much to stop the oncoming inquisition. Kira is on the edge of her seat, staring at Doric with her eyes big and round as dinner plates.
Who’s he to deny his baby girl a story?
“Fine,” he sighs, submitting himself to this. “What is it you’ve heard? Why are you poking at my personal life?”
“Simon wants me to ask if you’ve heard the rumors about Xenk falling in love.”
This again? He’d been hoping that there was some news about Forge or maybe there was a clandestine conspiracy afoot that involved the Harpers. Maybe even something terrible about Sofina resurfacing, impossibly.
No. Instead, Doric wants to gossip about Xenk’s love life.
Edgin presses his lips together tightly, reminding himself to be a good example to Kira, which means not flying off the handle and having an apoplectic fit that this topic keeps coming up when he absolutely doesn’t want to discuss it.
“Is he really?” This is just proof that Holga’s had too much influence in Kira’s life, because she sounds way too excited about Xenk’s love life when it should absolutely not even be in the list of top ten things she even thinks about.
Edgin gives Doric an unimpressed look, but she doesn’t seem to mind in the least.
“If he is, I haven’t seen it. If it stops him smiling stupidly at me all the time, I say he should have at it and fall in love all he likes,” Edgin says, his hand flying over the table with the emphatic power of someone who does not care at all.
So what if it burns a little imagining someone that Xenk might like that way? That’s not Xenk’s fault. That’s just Edgin feeling sorry for someone. Right?
Doric doesn’t actually change into another animal, but Edgin is convinced that she does something with her eyes that makes them so playful and teasing. “Oh? He smiles stupidly? You noticed that?”
“Of course I do!” Before she can get any wrong ideas, he hurries forward. “I’m the plan guy, remember. I make plans, that means I need to notice things. So, when he keeps smiling so stupidly, I notice.”
“Maybe you should offer those planning services to Xenk. I’m sure if he really is in love, he’d welcome it.”
“That’s a great idea!” Kira says excitedly before Edgin can shut that down. “Dad, the next time we see him, you should offer!”
How did he get backed into a corner like this?
Kira is radiant in her happiness and her eagerness. She thinks this is the best idea in the world and Doric is clearly doing nothing to dissuade her. This is proof that he really needs to make new friends, but that’ll take a lot more time.
For now, all he can do is go with it.
“What a good idea,” Edgin lies with a tight smile. “I’ll start that as soon as I see him.”
There’s no way he’s helping Xenk with his romantic life. The guy’s already too perfect and handsome for most people, and Edgin is not going to be the reason that someone else goes and falls for him.
Only because he’s so annoying. That’s it. Edgin wouldn’t wish that on anyone else when he’s already coping with it.
Yup. That’s it. That’s all.
That is totally the reason and he’s absolutely not in any kind of denial.
“Edgin Darvis. Wake up.”
Is he dreaming about Xenk again? Edgin groans as he turns over, shoving his face into a pillow, swatting at the air above him. “I don’t have time for this dream,” he complains and tries to turn over to face the other way in bed.
Unfortunately (or very fortunately, depending on your perspective), Xenk places both his strong hands on Edgin’s shoulders and gently squeezes him as he rolls him right back. Edgin opens his eyes, lying flat on his back with Xenk leaning over him, only inches away, and he thinks that this is definitely a dream.
“...Hi?” Edgin hates the way his voice creaks, but at least that goes a long way to proving this is real.
He’d be a lot more suave in a dream.
Wait. “How did you get in here?”
“There’s no time,” Xenk says, extending his hand to him. That hand has been a feature of a lot of Edgin’s dreams, and seeing it right there (while he’s lying there, half-clothed in bed) feels like a very dangerous thing.
He barely has time to get his clothes on and his lute strapped to his back before he follows Xenk out the door, not sure why he’s the one being tapped for this little quest of his. From the sounds of it, Xenk’s got it all in hand and seeing as he’s already got a plan, Edgin’s not entirely sure why he’s there.
(There’s a tiny voice that whispers that maybe Xenk wants companionship, but Edgin shuts it up by humming an old song aloud until he drowns it out)
It’s not necessarily awful. It’s a nice day and if you remove the frustration inherent in following Xenk with little explanation apart from, “There’s a creature that requires attention and your assistance,” then Edgin’s just on a pleasant walk in the woods … with Xenk.
Worse, he’s not even sure it’s that bad. His aggressive humming softens and every once in a while, he hears a soft harmony, proof that Xenk’s been listening.
The music lulls him into a comfortable state and that’s the only reason Edgin decides to broach a topic he thought he’d tucked away for good.
“You know, I’m something of a plan guy.”
Xenk doesn’t reply. He keeps moving forward with his sword drawn and his attention steadfastly forward. “I know that well about you,” he says without looking back. “You wouldn’t be half the excellent Harper you are if you weren’t.”
That … feels like a compliment. He’s just going to take it and move on.
“I’m just saying that if you ever needed help in something other than questing or monster slaying, I would be happy to devise a plan for you.”
He knows he said he wouldn’t do this, but time’s given him perspective. If he offers to help and Xenk takes him up on it, then he can actually find out exactly who it is that he needs to warn away.
Not because Edgin’s staking a claim! Nope. He’d just warn them away so they didn’t have to endure the stalwart steady stubbornness that is Xenk.
“Forward,” Xenk says, fully ignoring Edgin’s kind offer and proving why no one else should be subjected to this. “I hear the creature stirring. With luck, we’ll return by nightfall with victory on our heels.”
Edgin exhales past his frustration, but he lets his hands strangle the air in front of him. He knows Xenk will hear whatever it is he says, but that doesn’t matter - sometimes, he needs to hear it.
“How are you so frustrating?” he mutters under his breath.
Edgin’s not expecting the winsome smile that Xenk gives him when he looks back, the picture of many a fantasy (he’s sure). “Talent,” is the serious response, because he’s always serious.
Which means that if he’s in love, then it’s really serious, right?
So why won’t Xenk let Edgin help (and casually scope out who it is in the process and see exactly what kind of person would catch his eye)?
Edgin sighs and digs the heel of his hand into his eye. “Wait up,” he hisses. “The last thing I need is to break my ankle on some quest where I’m absolutely useless.”
“You could always sing me another song?”
Edgin could also stick his lute in uncomfortable places. He does neither, instead hurrying after Xenk to watch him do his thing and let his mind run in circles around the problem he still hasn’t solved (but refuses to back down from).
One day, he’s going to figure it out.
That, or the frustration of the mystery will kill him off and he won’t have to worry about it anymore.
“Edgin! You’ve come to free me!”
“...I’ve come to visit you,” Edgin says warily, keeping a suitable six foot distance from Forge and his chains after having been warned by the warden about Forge’s slipperiness (as if Edgin needed the reminder). “Kira might hate you six days out of seven, but then on the seventh she wants to know how you’re doing.”
Love is complicated. Forge might not have loved his daughter, but Kira hadn’t known that.
Edgin leans back against the wall, eyeing the prison uniform he absolutely doesn’t miss. Luckily, given the wonderful fake mustache Holga had made him with her last haircut, he’s safe from being recognized and thrown back in – unless someone looks too closely, or decides to start yanking on the hair.
The danger of even that possibility reinforces why this has to be a one-time thing.
“Oh. Well, you’ve heard that they extended my sentence? There was an incident,” Forge confesses, leaning forward to whisper, “With Jarnathan.”
Should he be worried that he and Forge went down the same road when it came to escape plans?
“I hadn’t,” Edgin says cautiously, unable to shake the feeling that they’re being watched. He tells himself it’s because of Forge’s escape attempt and not because his mustache is attempting to droop and give him away. “Look, I’m just here because Kira wants to know that you’re okay.”
“I’m doing horribly,” Forge complains, ever the insufferable prima donna that he is. “The food is awful, absolutely tasteless, and the company is even worse. The work they make you do!” He holds up both hands, grabbing Edgin’s collar. “Edgin, they’ve made me work. I’m not made for that!”
He’s not, but it’s only the tip of the punishment pyramid that he deserves.
“You’re not getting a shred of sympathy from me,” Edgin warns. “I just came to make sure another prisoner hadn’t shanked you while you were sleeping.”
“Not yet,” Forge sulks. “I do wish they would and put me out of my misery.”
He’s not the only one hoping that, but Edgin bites back the comment, because he’s here to be magnanimous and take the high road, for his daughter.
“If you won’t give me sympathy, will you at least give me gossip?” Forge asks desperately, half-crazed with hope. “I overheard the judges speaking before my last parole review about Xenk Yendar.”
Why? Why are they talking about Xenk up here? Why is this what Forge wants to know about?
Forge still hasn’t let go of him, so Edgin does the work for him, beginning to peel his fingers off his collar one by one until he’s finally free. “What about Xenk?”
“I’ve never met the man officially, not really, but from what I’ve heard, he’s quite formidable! The judges were saying that they never thought they’d see the day that he fell in love and that we ought to be looking for signs of the end of the world.” Forge is all laughs and smiles.
It’s almost like he forgot that he nearly caused the world to end.
Edgin shoots him an unimpressed look to remind him, which seems to at least subdue Forge slightly. “Right, well, you know what I mean. Well? We don’t get any romance novels in here,” he complains.
They really don’t. Edgin had similar complaints.
“Is he? In love?”
This visit had been a mistake. “No,” he says sharply, because he doesn’t want to talk about this and it’s not like Forge deserves anything other than Edgin’s brief check on him to make sure that he’s still breathing.
Does everyone know about this? How did Edgin miss it? He’s clever. He’s attentive. He’s a good friend (even if he’s not sure Xenk is a friend, which is a whole other complicated can of purple worms).
Forge’s face falls when it becomes clear he’s not going to get what he wants. “And you’re sure you’re not here to rescue me?” he asks, prodding and poking at Edgin’s vest as if he’ll suddenly find tools for an escape in there.
Edgin yanks himself away, not trusting that Forge won’t do something underhanded to try and sneak himself out or, worse, get Edgin locked away again. “I’ll tell Kira that you’re still breathing,” he says curtly. “Goodbye, Forge.”
“Do come back!” he shouts after Edgin as he walks away. “Give Xenk my best and if there is to be a wedding, let him know that I’m an excellent guest. That would be cause for parole. Yes? No? Right.” Forge clearly isn’t getting the answer he wants from the guards. “Back to the cells and the work, I suppose.”
With a confirming grunt, he’s led off and Edgin is safe to leave.
He’s decided that he’s done waiting around for the truth to find him.
If everyone is convinced that Xenk has fallen in love with someone, then Edgin will put together a plan and find her out. If no one else is willing to do the hard work of making sure that someone is ready to love Xenk the way he deserves, then fine. Edgin will do it.
He doesn’t have to like it, but he’ll do it.
“That was an excellent performance.”
Edgin sets his lute aside, not surprised at all to hear Xenk’s warm voice. He should probably feel a lot of complicated things about the fact that he likes hearing it, but that doesn’t matter right now.
What matters is that Edgin had been last to know the gossip and he’s annoyed because he actually thought Xenk respected him. That, or he enjoyed tormenting him with his consistently positive ‘I believe the best of you’ and the whole ‘I enjoy watching you succeed’ routine he’s so good at.
So, why wouldn’t he tell Edgin that he’s tumbled into a romance?
He visits constantly. He’s had every opportunity to tell Edgin all about this wonderful and incredible woman who’s stolen his heart. Doesn’t Edgin deserve to see Xenk’s warm eyes turn molten hot with that subdued smolder? Why isn’t he allowed to see those hints of boyish smiles that Holga and Simon have seen?
Why is Xenk always trying to make Edgin’s life so damn hard?
“So everyone keeps talking about you.”
“From my experience, this is fairly common,” Xenk says evenly, as if being the subject of a bunch of gossip-hounds isn’t even outside of his normal occurrence.
Months ago, that kind of oblivious confidence would have made Edgin gnash and grind his teeth until they were dust. Now, though, there’s this twisted part of him that finds it charming that Xenk takes it in stride like that.
Yeah. He’s a goner. Now he’s beginning to understand those knowing looks that Holga kept shooting him every time Xenk rolled into town.
“They’re saying that you’re in love. Which is ridiculous, right? You’re you,” Edgin says with a generous gesture to him. “You’re all about honor and duty and doing the right thing, which means that you falling in love is complete nonsense. It’s ridiculous. It’s clearly overinflated gossip. It’s…”
“It’s true.”
The lute makes a discordant noise, which means that Edgin dropped it. When did he do that? Right. Probably right around the time Xenk agreed to being in love.
“Wow. Okay. That’s…” Edgin is going to process all of this really quickly and he’ll come up with a reply any second now. He ducks down to pick up the lute in a hurry, smacking his head on the table in the process. “Ow, shit. Fuck.”
“Let me help you,” Xenk says, and before Edgin can protest, warm fingers cup the back of his neck and Edgin suddenly remembers how long it’s been since anyone’s touched him like this.
Holga’s a lot more aggressive when she hugs him and obviously he loves Kira, but that’s a whole other kind of affection.
“Okay,” says Edgin, beginning to process the news. It’s no big deal. It’s just Xenk in love. That’s it. Good for him! Good for his person! “And?”
“And what?”
“Xenk,” Edgin sighs, long-suffering. “Who is it?”
He’s not sure what’s so confusing about that question, but Xenk stares at him as if Edgin’s just asked him to solve some of the most complex questions of the universe. He keeps stroking his thumb along the curve of Edgin’s neck, which is soothing and distracting at the same time, especially when Edgin keeps having to remind himself that this is all very hands off, for a whole host of reasons.
“Is this one of your jokes?”
“Why would it be one of my jokes?” Edgin asks. Yeah. He definitely missed something. “Who are you in love with?”
“There is only one soul in the whole of the world that I would traverse mountain, dale, and glen for. There is but only one whose heart and loyalty strikes a passion within my chest that can only be rivaled by the elemental plane of fire. One whose beauty can render me speechless and whose bravery and devotion makes lesser men wilt in his shadow.”
Wait.
His?
All this time, Edgin thought he’d lost Xenk’s attention to some woman. Now he’s finding out that it’s another guy? Does this mean he’d had a shot? Once he’d peeled back the layers of denial, there’s no avoiding the part where his obsession with Xenk had been hiding a deeper truth – that he couldn’t stop thinking about him and that he didn’t want anyone else to have him.
Now, some other random hero is going to win Xenk’s heart.
They’ll probably even ask Edgin to write a song about it.
Great.
Xenk grips his neck tighter, as if he can sense Edgin trying desperately to look away. It forces his attention back to Xenk, stuck here, straining to escape, and then, he simply lets himself have this moment.
The moment doesn’t exactly end though. Xenk doesn’t let go and Edgin’s not about to fight it.
“Xenk,” Edgin exhales, knowing heartbreak and not wanting to feel it again. He can barely admit his own feelings to himself. How can he possibly cope with having his heart stomped on when he won’t even say what he feels for Xenk?
Oh, and he does. He feels too much. He feels all the good and bad, and maybe the bad is easier to talk about, but it’s going to consume him.
“I have been in love with you since I took your hand and knew that you would do the right thing – that you would always do the right thing. There is no plan required, because it is you that I wish to love, Edgin Darvis, whether you love me back or not. I am well-suited to patience and to loyalty.”
Him. Xenk loves him. He’s still holding onto him, too.
This is a lot. Suddenly, he’s scrolling through his memories to see if he can’t cobble up evidence of exactly what Xenk is saying – luckily, within seconds, it all starts to slot into place. The constant attention, the thrilling grins, the faith in him, the neverending visits, the way he seeks Edgin’s advice, his company, his touch…
“You choose fast, huh?” Edgin probably shouldn’t be making light of this, but his nerves make him turn it into a joke because he’s not entirely sure he’s ready to take this seriously.
That’s a lie.
He’s desperately ready for it to be serious and real. He’s just scared. He’s loved his wife for so long, even though he’s made peace with saying goodbye to her, and while he’s ready to love again, he’s not ready to lose again.
Xenk is staring at him with a tender look on his face, as if he can somehow sense Edgin’s despair, but he doesn’t say a word. He’s being patient and kind and noble, the bastard. It only makes Edgin want him more.
“I chose well,” Xenk corrects. “Will you give me a chance?”
Then, he extends his hand, as if he isn’t still cupping Edgin’s neck with his other one. If he thinks a handshake is how they’re sealing this deal, then Xenk is absolutely mistaken about this one.
He may be noble and thoughtful and loyal and so handsome that Edgin could scream, but sometimes (just sometimes), he’s just a little dim.
“I’ve done stupider things in my life,” is all Edgin says before he throws caution to the wind, smacks Xenk’s hand away, and grabs his face so he can haul him in for a kiss, because this is not a moment for a handshake.
Edgin might not have such a serious love confession of his own to make, but he crowds Xenk’s body and pins him to the booth with that kiss, making sure that there’s no confusion about the chance that he’s planning to give him.
Xenk kisses like he does everything else, it turns out. Intensely, amazingly, and infuriatingly (mainly because he really is better than Edgin had expected).
Edgin has to choke back a whimper of a sound before he goes and loses a little more dignity, but when he eases back, he’s content to let a fluttering sigh of a breath give away just how much he’d enjoyed that.
“If the gossip mill is as strong as it’s been, people should know that we’re together by tomorrow,” Edgin shares, stroking his thumb steadily up and down Xenk’s neck – a little possessive because that fear of loss isn’t going away and if he can just hold onto him, then maybe he can somehow keep that fear at bay.
Xenk doesn’t seem to mind – either the touch or the threat of gossip. “I hope they describe that kiss accurately.” He raises a brow calmly. “Then again, if they get it wrong, I imagine that would give us more chances to correct their information.”
Well. When Xenk puts it like that, Edgin can’t help but hope that they get it absolutely, terribly, horribly wrong.
If kissing Xenk a dozen more times to make sure the rumors circulating about them are accurate, then that is a sacrifice that Edgin is more than willing to make.
It turns out that news travels scarily fast.
Within a few days, the rumors have shifted from ‘I hear Xenk is in love’ to ‘Congratulations on bagging an incredible boyfriend.’ No matter where he goes, someone knows about them. Edgin’s not entirely sure how to feel about that, especially when the implications quickly turn into pointed comments that Edgin is climbing the ladder to reach a new league.
“I’m handsome,” he complains over drinks with Simon. “I’m smart! Maybe I’m the catch!”
Simon gives him a dubious look. “To anyone else? Maybe. This is Xenk, though.”
Damn it. Edgin even agrees, he just doesn’t want to say that too loudly.
Besides, eventually the gossip fades because something new and exciting happens when a new scandal rocks their little village. Then, everyone forgets about them, which is fine by Edgin, because what doesn’t stop are the most toe-tingling, heart-stopping, skin-prickling kisses. What doesn’t end is the time he gets to spend learning more about Xenk and how wrong he’d been about him at the start.
Don’t get Edgin wrong. He’s still infuriating. He’s just come around to liking it.
Life goes on, and things go back to normal, until suddenly, one day, Edgin feels like someone’s cast a spell and punted him right back to the beginning of all this.
“So, I heard some interesting gossip,” Holga says, nearly giving Edgin a heart attack.
This is the problem (one of them, at least) with them living together – she does things like lurk around his bedroom door and then accost him first thing in the morning when he’s barely put-together and his brain definitely isn’t working.
After his heart has settled back to a normal state, he shoots her an annoyed look. “What happened to our rule? I get ten minutes in the morning after leaving my door where you let me become a person.”
“Pretty sure this news is more important than our rule.”
He follows her down the stairs, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. “Unless the world is ending, nothing is more important than allowing me some dignity.”
They hit the last step and that’s when Edgin sees Xenk sitting at the breakfast table with Kira, a substantial meal already prepared (far beyond the potatoes with potatoes breakfast that Holga favors).
“...Xenk. Why are you in my house?”
“Our house.”
Edgin shoots Holga a disbelieving look. “Is this what you were talking about?”
“When’d you decide that you wanted your new boyfriend to move in?” Holga asks, clearly having the time of her life. Edgin’s both glad that he’d told Kira about his relationship and also is now regretting it, because she’s also peering at him excitedly.
Wait. When did he ask Xenk to move in?
“We never talked about this,” Edgin insists with a pointed look Xenk’s way.
“No,” Xenk agrees. “I simply looked at the options in front of me and surveyed the potential for good and decided that being here is the best place possible for me.”
“You decided, unilaterally, that we were at the point in our relationship that we should cohabitate? Where are you sleeping?” he asks suddenly, when he realizes that Xenk didn’t exactly come to bed with him last night. “...Kira, did you know about this?”
“Of course,” she says, serving herself some breakfast. “Who do you think Xenk asked for advice?”
Edgin will give him this – he knows exactly where Edgin goes for a trusted opinion.
“And you’re okay with this?” he checks.
Kira eyes him warily over a piece of toast. “...are you, Dad?”
“If this is too forward, I can move my things out of the spare bedroom, but I thought it would be beneficial to begin cohabitating in a casual environment to better learn one another’s habits, while also being in a place that best suits our happiness and relati…”
He doesn’t get to finish that sentence.
This time, there’s no rumor mill to feed, but Edgin kisses Xenk like there is anyway.
“Why not,” he murmurs against Xenk’s lips, easing away so he can platter breakfast for himself. “At least now when you wake me up in the middle of the night, I don’t have to wonder about how far you traveled to do it.”
“He’s staying?” Holga asks evenly.
“Did he not clear it with you, too?” Edgin doubts that, very much.
“No, he did. I’m just checking you haven’t lost your head and decided to throw away the fourth best relationship you’ve ever had.”
Edgin doesn’t need his fingers to count that one off – his wife, Kira, and Holga.
“Their faith in me is so inspiring,” Edgin deadpans as he gives Xenk an amused look. “But yeah. He is absolutely staying,” he promises, stroking his thumb along Xenk’s temple, as tender and soft as he currently feels knowing that his boyfriend will be a shout away from here on out.
“Excellent. Shall I tell the lurkers outside your kitchen window?” Xenk asks matter-of-factly.
This is probably why they should invest in curtains, but that’s a problem for another day.
“Let them look,” Edgin says, cupping Xenk’s face. “They can seethe in jealousy that I’ve got the most incredible boyfriend.”
“Unlikely, seeing as I have you.”
He’s just so good at this. How is he so good at this? Edgin ignores the pointed look from Kira, the mock-gagging from Holga, and decides that those are questions that don’t need answering. He’s spent too long suffering, and right now, he gets to indulge in a roof over his head and a good number of the people he loves under it.
Let them look and talk and gossip all they like.
Edgin’s proud of all of it.