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The artificial sun hung a little low at the Lighthouse, the only sign that time had passed in the Fade. Davrin paced slowly back and forth in the courtyard waiting for Rook to arrive. They had agreed to have a sparring session once the rest of the team had settled into their respective rooms. Every day there seemed to be some mission or quest, and they hadn’t had any time together in what felt like forever. The two had decided to pursue a romantic relationship but were keeping it under wraps for the time being. They didn’t want a certain detective or a little scout sticking their nose in their business.
“Where is he?" Davrin wondered, tapping his foot in frustration. He stared at the large double doors hoping that Taash or Emmrich wouldn’t walk through instead of Rook. Nothing. Davrin sighed “He should’ve been here by now. Maybe he fell asleep?” He chuckled and shook his head then quickly looked up when he heard the Lighthouse doors creaking across the courtyard. It was Rook! ‘Finally,’ he thought to himself.
As Rook jogged lightly up to where he was standing, Davrin raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. He was not wearing his usual Tunic Noir which covered him from the neck down to his feet. Instead, he was now dressed in purple high waisted pants rolled into cuffs at bottom, sandals, and a purple-tinted silver vest that left his golden-tattooed chest and arms exposed. It was accompanied by a golden necklace with and his hands were now wrapped in white cloth. “This is… a different look for you.” Davrin could now see faint the lightning scars that traversed Rooks body. He’d overheard Rook and Harding talking about them as well as the job he'd received them on, but he’d never actually seen them. He decided not to pry figuring Rook would tell him about them when he was ready.
“Yeah, I know, but I thought it’d be more appropriate for the training session. What do you think? I got it from the merchant in Rivain.” He did a little spin showing off the outfit. Davrin couldn’t deny he looked good in the flashy clothes, especially from behind. “It’s…well-fitted; I can’t say I don’t like seeing a little more of you.” He smirked.
“Well, it’s only fair since your always showing off your chest.” Rook retorted.<
Davrin chuckled, “I’ll let you have that one.”
Rook smirked but then began squinting. He scanned the courtyard, swiveling his head around like an owl. “Where’s Assan?” He asked.
“Don’t worry he’s taking nap in Harding’s room. He fell asleep in her garden.” He shook his head and smiled.
“He’s a sweet little griffon.” Rook beamed.
“When he wants to be.” Davrin sneered. Rook tilted his head and said, "Cut him a little slack. The little fellow's been working extra hard this week.”
Davrin relented, not wanting to waste any more time. “Yeah. Yeah you're right.” He sighed with a smile. “Ready to get started?”
“Ready when you are. Any conditions for the session?" Rook asked as he began stretching to loosen his muscles.
“We’ll be using dummy weapons. Here, I got you a staff.” He picked up the wooden staff off the ground and tossed it. Rook caught it and held it up vertically to lean on it. “I’ll be using a sword, obviously.” He picked up the wooden blade and fidgeted the hilt in his hand until it felt balanced.
Rook could sense that there was more to it than just the weapons.
“So, what’s the catch?” Rook asked. Davrin replied with sly grin “You can’t use any magic.”
‘Of course!’ Rook thought to himself, but he did his best to appear unfazed. He inhaled deeply and replied, “Fair enough.” Davrin couldn’t help but smirk. He could always see through the mage’s façade, no matter how much make-up he applied to his face.
“Don’t worry I’ll only be a little hard on you.” He chuckled but then began to ponder. He gave Rook a puzzled look before asking his question.
“Why are you still wearing your make-up? It’ll get messed up from all the sweat, won’t it?”
“It's oil based.” Rook answered. “That’s why it didn’t come off when I fell in the water that one time.”
Davrin held back a laugh “One time?” Rook let out a huff “Ok, two times.”
Davrin titled his head and raised an eyebrow. Rook, now annoyed, tapped the bottom of the staff on the ground “Alright! So, I fell more than a few times! Happy now?” He snapped with a rolling of his eyes.
Davrin let out a low chuckle and said, “I’ll be happy when you’re flat on your back.” Teasing him had become one of his favorite pastimes.
Rook twisted his face into a scowl. “Did you forget my father leads legions of soldiers? Do you think he wouldn't teach me how to fight close quarters or hold a blade just because I’m a mage? Think again, warden!” Rook flipped the staff into a horizontal position and took a defensive stance.
“Well, let’s see if any of that training stuck.” Davrin raised the sword into position and took a stance that would allow him to attack or defend if necessary.
The two combatants stared each other down intensely, both waiting for the other to make a move. They carefully shifted their feet and swayed their bodies back and forth, each combatant trying to goad the other into attacking too soon. This sparring session wasn’t just a test of their abilities, but a test of will.
Davrin breaks the stalemate with a surge of speed and lunges himself at Rook with the wooden blade. Rook is taken aback by his burst of speed but manages to raise staff to block the attack just in time. Davrin swings the blade again, putting a little more force behind it. Rook, once again, blocks the attack but he stumbles a bit. He catches himself and puts more space between them. Davrin smirks, and taunts “I’m not seeing that training, Rook!” He was trying to get a rise out of him.
Rook didn't respond. He knew what the warrior was trying to do and wouldn’t let himself fall for it. The Grey Warden came at him again, but this time with a flurry of swings and swipes. The mage deflected and dodged each blow before using the staff to swipe at the big elf’s feet. Davrin jumped back, spun and swung his sword, expecting to land a blow. Only for it to be parried causing him to stumble backwards. The nimble human took advantage and hit the elf in the stomach straight on.
Davrin falls, his back hitting the cobblestone of courtyard with a loud “THUD!” He groans and pushes himself back up only to see Rook twirling the staff while wearing smirk on his face and make-up still intact without even a smudge.
“You got in a lucky shot, pretty boy!” Davrin sneered. Rook rolled his eyes and strutted while still twirling the staff.
“You're one to talk.” He retorted. “Care to try again?”
Davrin, now on his feet again, smirked and charged towards the mage once more. The two continued to clash their weapons and exchange blows for a while until Rook gains the upper hand by swatting the sword out of Davrin’s hands. “What were you saying about my training not sticking?” He held the staff at his opponent’s neck. “Not bad… for a Shadow Dragon.” He raised his hands in the air in surrender. Rook shakes his head in annoyance and began to slowly lower the staff. Suddenly, Davrin grabs the staff and before Rook can react snatches it out of his hands and tosses it on to the ground. “Seriously?” Rook shouted.
Not wasting any time, Davrin pounces and knocks Rook to the ground. The two men roll around and tussle for a moment, but Davrin’s size and strength allows him to overpower the mage and pin him down on his back by holding his wrists. Rook strains one last time in rebellion and shouts, “That wasn’t fair!”
“It is fair. Fair, like that time when we played Wicked Grace.” Davrin smirked as he watched Rook squirm.
“That is not the same thing!” Rook protested but Davrin couldn’t have cared less. “Sure, it is."
Rook thought back to how he had unfairly outplayed Davrin and the rest of the team in the card game. None of them could figure out how he did it. That's when a ‘wicked’ thought flashed in his mind.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Rook asked. Davrin, pondered his next move and replied with a wide grin, “I have a few... ideas.” Rook picked up on what he meant immediately. “Oh! Is that so?” he responded with an inviting look.
“Yeah, are you thinking what I'm thinking?” He wanted to make sure they were on the same page. “Come closer and find out.” Davrin leaned closer and became almost hypnotized. He removed one of his hands from Rook’s wrists and ran his hand through his hair with short, tight coils, much like his own, then down to one of his cheeks appreciating their well- defined structure as well as the softness of his rich, deep bronze skin. He looked into his hazel eyes each surrounded by dark indigo eye shadow that lay on top of painted golden wings and then tenderly kissed the scar on his nose before going in for a kiss from his full lips. A terrible mistake.
As the monster hunter leans in to kiss him, Rook uses his, now, free hand to slip under the warden’s shirt and starts vigorously tickling his side. Davrin’s eyes go wide at the sudden sensation and pulls away causing him to release Rook’s other hand. “Hey! Cut it out!” He tries to hold back his laughter, but his opponent sits up, taking full advantage of having both hands free, and continues to tickle him on his stomach and sides with both hands.
“I’ve got you now!” Rook grins widely and playfully as his hands glide and wriggle across his lover’s abdomen, amused at the warrior’s attempts to stifle his laugh while trying push his hands away. No longer able to contain himself, Davrin lets out a roar of laughter as he falls on his back twisting and writhing at the mercy of the mage’s wriggling fingers.
“Do you surrender?” Rook asks. Davrin, still laughing, didn’t respond. Instead, he fights through the sensation, grabs one of Rook’s wrists once more and begins to exact his revenge by taking advantage of the mage’s exposed skin. He begins tickling Rook back, hard. So hard, it forces him to fall on his side and howl in laughter.
The two continued to tickle each other until they were both lying next to each other on their backs exhausted and heaving for air.
“Not bad…for a Grey Warden." Rook said chuckling. Davrin turned his head to face him and simply responded with a smile. "How about we call it a draw?” asked Rook, still heaving for air. The elf, who was also out of breath, responded begrudgingly, “A draw.”
They looked at one another and began laughing once more at the silliness of it all. Davrin sat up slowly, his abdomen sore from their tickling session. He then pushed himself up onto his feet, rolled his shoulders, and then extended his hand to Rook, who was still lying on the ground, make-up now slightly smudged from their tussling.
Rook gave him a playful glare. “This isn’t another trick, is it?” He sat up but hesitated to take Davrin’s hand. “Only one way to find out.” Davrin smiled and kept his arm extended. Rook smiled back and placed his hand in Davrin’s. He began to push himself to his feet while using the offered hand for support, but Davrin pulled him up with one quick motion and then into his arms.
Rook was startled initially but quickly settled into the embrace. “So, what now, hunter?” He asked coyly.
Davrin responded in a low growl “You do still owe me a kiss.” He moved his arms from Rook’s back to his waist. Rook looked around as if he was truly pondering how he could owe such a thing, “Do I?” Davrin had learned from all their flirtation that no one played “hard to get” better than Rook. While he would normally enjoy their little game of chase, he genuinely craved a moment of intimacy.
“Please…Amir.” He pleaded tenderly and lifted one of his lover’s hands and kissed it. Rook was taken aback by the sudden use of his real name. ‘He must be serious,’ he thought to himself. He gently pulled his hand from Davrin and then placed his arms around his neck and said, “I’m all yours”. He then leaned in for a kiss.
Davrin leaned in as well and their lips met each other tenderly, but he longer they pressed their lips together, the more passionate the kiss became. Rook moved his arms from the hunter’s neck to his upper back, completing the embrace, while Davrin’s slid his hand from the mage’s waist to his lower back and started move his hands lower.
“SQUAWK!” The two men jumped and spun around as they saw Assan bounding towards them. Davrin opened his mouth to scold him but heard another familiar voice. Very familiar.
“I knew it! I knew you two were a thing!” The scout had finally caught them red-handed.
“Harding? What are you doing up?” Rook expected her to be out cold from the intensity of their earlier mission. “Oh! I had another dream!” She shook her head in disbelief. “It felt like I was falling from way up somewhere high and then right before I hit the ground I woke up! Have either of you had dreams like that?”
“Yeah…” Davrin responded dryly, perturbed at having his moment ruined. Rook simply nodded his head up and down.
“Anyway, Assan was also up and was pacing around in excitement, so I figured he needed to go and relieve himself.” The little griffon let out a cry as if to agree with her. “And that’s when we came out and you saw you two... you know.” She shaped both of her hands the best she could to each simulate a mouth and then pressed them together to mimic a kiss and giggled.
“I can’t wait to tell Bel; she owes me and Neve another khachapuri now.”
“Wait! You all were taking bets? How did you even know?” Davrin was curious to know what gave them away as well as who else on the team was aware.
“Seriously? It was written all over your faces since you two came back from your trip to Arlathan; not to mention the flirting you two did beforehand.” Harding rolled her eyes and added “Especially you Davrin. You’ve been strutting around like you won a prize since then.”
“I did.” He glanced over at Rook, who became flustered and looked away to avoid his gaze.
She then pointed an accusatory finger at Rook. “See! You’ve been doing that whenever he smiles or looks at your way and you've been spending even more time preening in the mirror than usual. I don’t know how Bellara could deny it.”
“Preening? That’s a little harsh don’t you think?” Rook asked, sincerely stung by her choice of words. “Besides, now I have to put in more effort to measure up to handsome over here.” He gave Davrin a gentle smile back.
“Alright! I get it! I’ll let you two have some time to yourselves.” Harding looked at Assan and gestured to him to follow her. “Come on, Assan. I’ve got some ginger wort truffles stashed back in my room.” The griffon’s ears sprung up and he quickly followed behind her.
“Guess the cat’s out of the bag.” Rook shrugged. “Seems as though we weren’t as careful as we thought we were.”
“If Bellara’s in ‘denial’, who else on the team do you think knows besides Harding and Neve?” Davrin pondered curiously.
“Lucanis, definitely. No doubt Neve told him, if hadn't already figured it out. Maybe Taash, but knowing Lace, the whole team will definitely know by tomorrow.” Rook chuckled.
Davrin grinned and pulled Rook back into an embrace, “Good. Now we don’t have to sneak in kisses anymore.” He teased but then pondered for a second. “Though it was kind of nice feeling like a teenager again,” he admitted with soft smile.
“Yeah. It did, didn’t it?” Rook reflected on his own youth for a moment and argued, “There is some fun that we can still get into as adults.”
The hunter’s eyes widened as did his mouth into a big cheeky grin. He went for another kiss only to be stopped by the palm of his prey’s hand.
“But first! Let’s get something to eat and drink from the kitchen. I’ve worked up an appetite after our training session.”
As if on cue, Davrin’s stomach growled loudly. The two lovers both laughed as they locked arms and headed to the dining hall for a well-earned respite.