Chapter Text
The shop was a large tent and compared to the stone-made buildings around them, appeared shabby. But the pillars were made of the finest wood grown in the Tropical Forest in The Elven Kingdom. The drapes were made from worm silk, and it was strong enough to withstand any kind of weather, especially in this town between the borders of Kuppa Keep and The Elven Kingdom. It snowed constantly and in the rare moments when the clouds parted and the sun shone through, the crops they were gifted with would be enough to keep them fed until the next sun shower.
The small town was located on a main road of a trading route. Merchants from all over Zaron came through here from royals to farmers. Tweek Tweak had met a few folks who were travelers and told their grandiose stories of adventure and chaos. He didn’t really care for their over dramatic retelling of a tale he was most certain never happened. But he was a businessman now and if he wanted customers to come back, he had to put on a smile as they talked his ear off. At the end, it was worth it for the money they put in their pocket
He would gladly have his husband deal with the customers, but Craig was never good at being a salesman. He was too honest for his own good and his quick-witted comments had cost them good paying customers in the past. So, Tweek had to take matters into his own hands and banned his husband from handling the register and interacting with the people. He expected him to work on other matters such as organizing the crates of materials they had stored in the back. Instead, Craig designated himself as the shop’s bodyguard. He stood watch outside as if some kind of dangerous threat would appear out of thin air.
At first, Tweek reprimanded him for standing outside for hours in the cold. He could get sick! But as the days passed and Tweek truly watched his husband, he came to the realization that Craig really did think something was out there to get them. And Tweek knew the reason why.
~ ❄️ ~
The war between The Kuppa Keep Kingdom and The Elven Kingdom was a bloody one. When it first began, Tweek was the chief of his tribe. Barbarians were what they were called by the outsiders. They were isolated from all main cities and towns. The only reason they knew of the conflict was because of passing elves seen by their scouts.
Tweek knew that the rising tension between The Grand Wizard and The Elf King would only result pulling in innocent people like a whirlpool. Eventually, his suspicions were proven correct when The Grand Wizard attacked his tribe and forced his hand to join his army.
As chief, it was an embarrassing defeat, and the custom of such failure was to kill oneself with the dagger passed down by past chiefs. Yet when Tweek was forced to kneel by the feet of the wizard, he glanced at his people and knew that if he were to kill himself now the wizard would not hesitate to finish them off. Going against in what he believed in, Tweek gave in with the only condition being he would be the only one to go.
That was how he met his husband, Craig Tucker.
Their relationship was not one of love at first sight. Tweek acted like a beast. He was forced out of his home and placed in an unknown territory. He was hostile to everyone and didn’t hesitate to attack those who he deemed as a threat. He kept to himself and only spoke when spoken to and fought when ordered. He only continued to kill for the sake of his people.
One night, after a long day of battle, it was time to rest. It was his turn to keep watch along with Craig. He knew nothing of the man, only that he kept to himself much like him. At some point during the night, Tweek expected Craig to ask him a random question about his tribe’s lifestyle. A mistake many other soldiers had made in the past. Yet, none came. As the night progressed, Tweek began to grow curious why this human hadn’t spoken and much less spared him a glance.
Out of curiosity, he turned and saw that Craig was looking up at the sky. He was transfixed at what he saw so Tweek, too, followed his gaze. Where his home was located, they had a grand view of the night sky. They believed in Gods that communicated with the shapes seen in the sky and the elders would translate the messages. Most of the time, the Gods simply asked for new offerings on their shrines. In exchange, they were gifted great harvests and tranquility. To celebrate, they would dance under the moon and stars to express their gratitude.
Ever since Tweek was forced to leave his home, the night sky was the only company he found comfort in. As he looked at it now, he couldn’t help but feel the deep sadness that always overtook him every time he looked up. He prayed every night for the Gods to send him some kind of message and hope at a time like this. He had heard nothing back. Maybe they abandoned him just like how he abandoned his people.
“Is it true that the Barbarians believe that Gods communicate with the stars?”
The question was sudden and Tweek was brought out of his musing. He felt the familiar anger rising within him. The need to lash out and keep himself safe by isolating himself from the other. But the question wasn’t mocking and ignorant. Nor was it an offense.
“Yes,” Tweek found himself saying. “Our Gods talk to us by the shapes and figures they weave by their very own hands.”
Craig hummed. “What shape do they make when something good is about to happen?”
Tweek glanced up and saw it. “There!” Excited that he finally saw a message, he scooted over and pointed to it. “It’s that cross looping together. Do you see it?”
Craig nodded and sighed with a smile on his face. “I’ve read that the Barbarians always have a great view of the night sky.”
“Do you not?” Tweek turned, his eyes wide.
“The light the cities produce makes it hard for it to be seen,” explained Craig, a frown on his face.
“Then how will you know what your Gods are trying to tell you?” Tweek furrowed his brows.
Craig shrugged. “The people in the cities believe and worship different Gods. Some don’t believe in any.”
Tweek let that horrifying information sit with him.
“Gah,” he whimpered, trying his best to be quiet. It was a trait of his that he fought hard to cure. As he grew older, abrupt vocalizations became less. In moments where he was highly stressed or overly emotional, they would make a reappearance.
“Does…does it bring you comfort?”
“Huh?” Tweek turned to look at the human. Craig was still looking up. Tweek thinks he never looked away this whole time. “It-It does,” he stuttered, surprising himself at the honest answer.
“Me too.”
Nothing was said after because they were ambushed by elves. But the conversation stuck with Tweek and made him view Craig differently. There was no mockery on Craig’s part as they conversed. Just simple curiosity.
For some reason, it made Tweek want to approach him again. During the nights that they were given the task to keep watch, Craig would start the conversation with a simple question that Tweek would answer and, eventually, asking his own question to Craig. There was a turning point that began to help bridge the gap between them.
It was a gruesome battle that day and one that had many casualties. Tweek suffered a deep wound on his arm and stomach. The elf he went up against was a formidable foe. It was with great sadness that Tweek had to take her life. At night, he was once again assigned to keep watch with Craig.
Tweek tried to find a comfortable position as he sat down, wincing when a sharp jolt of pain ran up and down his back. Craig wasn’t fairing any better. His cape was gone and his chullo hat was missing. He had a bruise on his cheek and his arms and legs were bandaged.
There was silence between them, something that Tweek learned was a necessity for Craig, until the noiret spoke up.
“What message are your Gods…telling you now?” he wheezed. He winced and placed a hand on his stomach.
Tweek looked up to search. The stars winked at him, and the moon was full tonight, casting her white glow on them. It was harder to see but, suddenly, he found one. The usual bubbling feeling he would get quickly burned and was replaced with dread.
“It’s,” he licked his lips. He turned to see Craig. Instead of looking up like he usually did, he was gazing down and plucking the grass. “They’re saying that someone is in deep mourning right now.”
Only because Tweek was looking that he saw Craig flinch.
Silence blanketed them and it wasn’t the one that Tweek was used to. It was heavy and unsettling. He fidgeted with the dagger he always carried with him and treasured deeply. It was the one given to him by the last chief, his father. If he were to lose it, he knew he would be devastated.
“Did you lose something?” he asked, putting the dagger away.
Craig didn’t answer and Tweek didn’t push. They had all night long.
“Yeah.”
The response was small and if it wasn’t for Tweek’s superb hearing, he would have missed it.
Tweek felt that rising vocal tic and he swallowed. “What was it?”
Craig didn’t say anything. He simply pulled out something from under his shirt. It was his chullo blue hat. It was torn in two and was dirty with dried mud and blood.
“My mom made it for me,” began Craig. Tweek felt like he had more to say so he waited.
He shook his head and Tweek swore he had tears in his eyes.
“I was forced away from my home and it’s the last thing I have that reminds me of her…of my family.”
“I didn’t want to leave my home either,” confessed Tweek, feeling vulnerable. An idea popped into his head. He glanced up and saw a constellation of a circle, prominent among the night sky. A message that it was okay to finally bridge that gap.
“I can fix it for you.”
Craig finally looked at him with wide eyes. He clutched his hat closer to his chest. They stared at each other for a long time. Tweek felt like it was an eternity. He never noticed just how green Craig’s eyes were until now.
The hooting of an owl broke the spell and Craig extended the ripped hat to him.
“Okay.”
The night after, Tweek handed Craig his blue chullo hat. He sewed it in the middle and even went so far as to scrub off the dirt and blood. Watching Craig’s eyes light up as he put it on made the small cuts on Tweek’s fingertips worth it.
From then on, Tweek couldn’t stop himself from falling in love.
~ ❄️ ~
Tweek was brought back to the present when he began twisting his silver ring, and he couldn’t help himself as he brought his hand up and kissed it. For a traditional wedding from his tribe, the couple would go through several steps until they finally traded vows and completed a blood oath under a full moon.
For Craig and Tweek, however, they had no time for a celebration. They eloped when they realized they had no idea how the war would end, if it ever would. Vows were exchanged under the night sky, a taste of each other’s blood on their tongues, and a kiss sealed their union
Suddenly desperate to see his husband, Tweek stepped out of their shop. Craig’s attire was the perfect choice for the heavy snow but if one were to stand outside as long as he had, the cold would eventually seep through. He saw his husband shiver and he clicked his tongue.
“Craig,” he chided and saw his husband roll his eyes in response.
“Honey, I’m fine.”
Instead of pointing out just how red his nose was, Tweek stepped beside him and pulled him into a hug. Immediately, his husband wrapped himself around him and rested his cheek on his head. In the beginning, Tweek hated how much taller Craig was than him. It was almost offensive. Now, however, he enjoyed how close they felt when they hugged like this. Pressed so close to his chest, Tweek could hear every beat of Craig’s heart. If he could, he wouldn’t want to hear anything else for the rest of his life.
“Are you waiting for the merchants?” Tweek suddenly asked, pulling his husband closer.
“Sure.”
“You think anybody will be coming by?”
He felt Craig pull back to look at the roads and Tweek did the same. The snow had piled up considerably and he knew it would make traveling troublesome if not impossible. It was so stark white that his eyes began to burn when he stared too long. He blinked and rubbed them to clear off the black spots in his vision.
“No, I don’t think so,” answered his husband after a beat.
He turned to look back at him and ruffled his hair. Tweek shot him a glare and Craig smirked.
“I think we should close the shop early,” suggested Craig. “Get home, drink some of that liquor we have saved up, maybe even try that new position I was talking about yesterday…”
He didn’t let his husband finish because Tweek smacked him on the shoulder and shrieked, “Craig!” He laughed, “Shut up!”
Tweek hated that just with a few words, his husband was able to rile him up in more ways than one. He blushed, unable to stop himself from thinking about the position his husband had brought up over dinner last night.
“Actually, I’m waiting for a shipment.”
Tweek forced himself out of the fantasy he began to conjure and answered, “From one of your merchants?”
“Yeah.”
Before Tweek could recall if they had any upcoming appointments in their logbook, the sound of horse hooves echoed in the empty street. Tweek looked to the side to see a carriage coming closer to their shop. The wheels looked about ready to get swallowed up by the snow and Tweek could see how much those poor horses were struggling. But the rider seemed determined to deliver whatever goods his husband had ordered.
“My love, go back inside. I’ll handle this.”
Tweek snapped his head to Craig and crossed his arms over his chest. “I can carry heavy crates too, you know.”
If there was one thing that surprised Tweek about Craig it was his overprotectiveness. It was hard to get used to at first. Tweek came from a tribe that valued independence and it was a trait needed for survival. When Craig began to focus on Tweek’s wellbeing more than his safety during battles, Tweek believed that Craig thought him incapable of protecting himself. It led to a confrontation and resulted with Craig yelling his fear of losing him.
Tweek tried his best to understand his husband’s worries. However, it didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to put his foot down every once in a while.
Craig quirked his brow in challenge and Tweek held eye contact. Their stare down only lasted for a few seconds before Tweek sighed in defeat.
“Fine,” he pouted and turned to head back in.
Just as he reached the flaps, his husband twirled him around and kissed him deeply. Tweek instantly felt as hot as the sun and returned the kiss desperately. Just as he was about to use tongue, Craig pulled back with a knowing smile. Tweek felt the blush on his cheeks and knew he looked dazed, judging from the look on his husband’s face. Before he could say anything, Craig pecked him one last time before shooing him away.
Tweek huffed once he was inside. He’ll get him back later tonight. Tweek heard the man getting off the carriage and the muffled conversation between the merchant and his husband. Tweek bent down to check over the wares they had when he heard a name that he was all too familiar with.
“Feldspar?”
Tweek froze in a half-crouch, half-standing position. He strained his ears to hear the rest but silently cursed when he realized his husband must have cast a muffling spell over their shop. Tweek knew what he heard, however. It was too distinctive to play it off as his imagination.
Feldspar was the alias Craig used when he was a wanted thief in Zaron before he got forcefully recruited to fight in the war. There was no mistaking what was happening outside. Tweek knew what his husband was doing but he wasn’t expecting to find out about his secret so soon.
When the war finished with a treaty of peace, it left an impact on many people in Kuppa Keep Kingdom, especially the soldiers, and caused a rise in homelessness due to the lack of jobs. The Grand Wizard didn’t bother to compensate any of the soldiers for their part in fighting in a war that they had no desire to be part of in the first place.
Left with nothing to their name, Craig and Tweek were forced to accept the possibility of having to live on the streets as beggars. Suddenly, a month after the war ended and they were on the brink of losing their small hut to an investor, Craig came home with a proposal of opening a shop.
Tweek immediately called him out on his delusion. They had no money, much less items to sell. It was then his husband procured a chest of miscellaneous objects. Just with a glance, Tweek knew they held a high value. Craig explained that he had already bought a piece of land on the main road to open a shop and that they could start by tomorrow.
Tweek could only give his husband a smile and hug, thanking the Gods for the blessing. However, Tweek knew Craig inside and out. He knew the lengths he would go to make sure he was safe and sound. To make sure their future wasn’t unstable.
The sacrifices he was willing to make if it meant they would live another day.
So, Tweek kept up the façade of obliviousness of his husband’s rather illegal business. If his husband didn’t want him to know what he was doing, he was willing to look the other way. Tweek knew what they were selling were stolen goods. A good man would have reported the crime by now, but Tweek was no good man.
He was Tweek Tucker, husband to Craig Tucker, and he had made a vow a long time ago to follow him wherever he went.
Tweek heard the carriage riding off and took a deep breath so he could prepare to play his role of obliviousness. He stepped out of the tent just as the carriage disappeared in the horizon.
“Everything alright?”
Craig flashed him a smile, too forced to be natural. Oh, dear. His husband was never a good actor. “Of course, honey. I got the goods right here.”
“What is it this time?” Tweek crouched and knocked on one crate. “Jewels? Weapons?” He already had a feeling what was inside.
“Some clothes in this one,” pointed Craig. “Seeds and farming equipment in that one,” he kicked a crate. “This one has some rare ore we could sell to passing blacksmiths.”
Tweek hummed and stood back up. He looked at Craig and couldn’t help but think about the secret he was keeping and how much it must be killing him. Craig Tucker was a great man who would go against law and order to make sure they would be safe and sound for the rest of their lives.
Tweek held Craig’s gaze for a while longer before he smiled.
“I love you, you know.”
Craig laughed shakily and bent down to carry two crates. Tweek easily picked up the last one.
“I love you too, my sun.”
Tweek guffawed, “God, you’re so cheesy.”
Craig bumped his hip against his husband. “Only for you.”
They entered the shop together and rearranged the items. Tweek watched out of the corner of his eye as his husband frowned. He knew what Craig must be thinking—about what just happened. Tweek looked around the shop and marveled at how far they had come. Later tonight, Tweek will remind his husband of the accomplishments they had built together so far. He will tell him that they were safe now and there was no threat hanging over their heads.
And if it meant having to repeat it for the rest of their lives, so be it.