Chapter Text
“It’s Rommath.”
“Darling, hey.” Lor’themar shifts his phone to his left ear, tucking it between his head and shoulder to sort through his mail with both hands. He could’ve sworn he saw something from his eye doctor the other day… “I hope I’m not calling at a bad time, are you busy?”
“No.”
No further information from Rommath. That’s… weird. It had taken unusually long for him to pick up, too. Were Lor’themar a more jealous man he might worry about that. Now, he just worries about his partner.
Putting the assorted envelopes back down, he takes the phone in his hand, giving it his full focus as he asks,
“Are things okay over there? Room alright? Bed too small, perhaps?” he dares to joke, earning a derisive snort on the other end of the line.
Rommath’s off on a conference up north, something about space and whatnot, so he should be having a good time. Maybe the hotel is substandard.
“It’s fine. Cold, but I don’t mind.”
“No, you run hot, after all. Hear any interesting presentations yet?”
He’s trying to joke a little, lure a few more words out of his most reticent partner. The chance to verbally eviscerate a colleague usually does the trick, but this time…
“Not really.”
“Rommath… Is everything alright? Please, talk to me.”
“Just.” He hesitates, and Lor’themar holds his breath, waiting. “I don’t want to be here.”
Like floodgates bursting open, he continues in a rush,
“I want to be at home, in my own space and doing my own things, not wasting time with these people I hate, away from…”
He trails off, and Lor’themar tries,
“Your research?”
“You. Idiot.”
Oh.
“Oh. Oh, darling. I miss you, too.”
“I’m sure you do.” Lor’themar can hear the rolled eyes even through the line and the thick bitterness, and he doesn’t like it one bit.
“Rom, you had better not be using me to hurt yourself, or I’ll get in my car and drive up there right now.”
“I’ll text Halduron and he will hide your keys,” Rommath threatens. “It’s a twelve hour drive, the fuck you will.”
“So let the me in your mind be nice to you, and I won’t have to! We’ve been over this; I love you, and I miss you when you’re gone, and no amount of Hal, or Aethas, or anyone else can replace you. You’re my darling.”
There’s a suspiciously shaky breath on the other end of the phone, and Lor’themar aches.
“My arms feel empty without you here.”
“Shut-! Gah, just. A moment, please.”
He hears shuffling and rustling as he waits patiently for Rommath to be ready. Halduron had called him a stray cat when Lor’themar and Rommath first started dating, and the descriptor is not inaccurate. The man requires patience, his trust is something to be earned. There’s a ping and a buzz, and Lor’themar pulls his phone away to take a quick look, unwilling to leave Rommath for anything less than an emergency.
Rommath wants to start a video call.
Lor’themar nearly drops his phone in his haste to answer in the affirmative. Rommath’s face appears on the screen, looking tired and a bit more stubbly than Lor’themar is used to seeing him, but so infinitely lovely in every imperfection.
As Rommath had gradually lowered his walls over the course of their early relationship Lor’themar had quickly come to realize that every moment of “weakness”, of a less-than-shining exterior, was an extraordinary gift from Rommath, a man who would most prefer to appear as a marble statue to all who would gaze upon his form.
Michelangelo would look at Rommath’s cheekbones and weep, Lor’themar thinks but doesn’t say. Rommath sighs deeply, his eyes dark and stormy.
“I’m sorry.” Quiet, like all his admitted mistakes. Lor’themar tries to resist his instinct to coddle.
“That’s alright. I know you try, I see it and appreciate it.”
Rommath opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again with a huff, letting it twist into a wry smile instead.
“I’m learning, even this sort of thing. Don’t actually drive anywhere though, I will worry about you and my sleep is already pretty shit, not gonna lie. Aforementioned reason.”
The faintest hint of pink dusted across those cheekbones is his only tell, but Lor’themar has kinda made it his life’s mission to learn everything there is to know about this thorny, amazing man. He says nothing about his embarrassment, letting it slip on by unremarked upon, instead asking,
“You were hoping to meet someone specific there though, right? Have you?”
“Aran, yes – and I did, in fact!” Rommath lights up, and Lor’themar smiles, ambling over to the couch to get comfortable. “He actually knew me by name, if you can believe it, and he had read my paper on flares. We had a fascinating discussion on the subject, and I believe he is going to do a last-minute talk tomorrow afternoon…”
Lor’themar ooh’s and aah’s at the appropriate places, not following the scientific specifics but enjoying Rommath’s enthusiasm, drinking in his smile like a flower thirsting for the sun. Rommath’s tirade reaches a natural lull and Lor’themar takes the chance to say,
“I’m glad you’re having some fun, after all.”
“Psh. This is work, not fun,” Rommath says, but he looks pleased nonetheless.
“Still,” Lor’themar insists, “I’ve been to one single conference in my life and was bored out of my skull the whole time. Turns out, security isn’t as interesting to talk about as it is to actually do, go figure.”
Rommath laughs and shakes his head at him, exasperated but fond.
“I hope you were at least paying attention to the important parts.”
“Sure, sure. Helped to have something to look forward to afterwards. For me, that was to get to go home and do actual work.”
“Mm, I suppose I can relate,” Rommath says with a slight smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
Lor’themar grins at him.
“Hope you’re thinking about me with that smile on your face.”
“You can’t prove anything!” Rommath tries to insist, but the smile is growing out of his control, now.
“Maybe not, but I have my theories. I’ll show you some of them once you get back.”
Suddenly serious again, Rommath says it like a mantra,
“Two more days.”
“Two more days,” Lor’themar agrees, already making plans.