Work Text:
“Are ya almost done?” Jedediah whined, sliding up behind Octavius and draping his arms over his shoulders. “I’m bored.”
Octavius was sitting at his desk, reviewing some recently contested laws. They hadn’t been updated in years. Jedediah didn’t exactly think this was the best use of his time.
“If you’re bored, my love, why don’t you sit and look at these laws with me? This one is quite interesting: livestock is not allowed inside a domicile except in cases of bad weather.”
Jedediah groaned, slumping forward and tucking his face against Octavius’ neck.
Octavius smiled. In all honesty, he could stop any time he wanted. But he always loved making a little game out of seeing how long it took before Jedediah’s impatience reached its limit. Plus, the various ways he tried to coerce him away from work were always endearing. Such as-
Jedediah began kissing gingerly along his neck where his face was buried. “You sure you don’t wanna come up to bed with me?” he sang.
“And do what?”
Jedediah mumbled something into his skin.
“I can’t hear you, amor.”
Jedediah pulled back the slightest amount. “C’ddle,” he muttered, tightening his arms around Octavius.
Octavius hummed. He couldn’t resist toying with him just a bit more. “Carissime, you really must speak up if you want me to hear you. And annunciate, and--aha! Ow!” Octavius started with a laugh as Jedediah nipped at his collarbone.
“You heard me, ya little weasel. Now come on already, you haven’t read a word in forever.”
“And whose fault is that?”
He could feel Jedediah smile against his skin.
“Fine,” he said, straightening up and sliding his documents across the desk. Jedediah popped up, untangling himself from around Octavius with renewed vigor. “I suppose I can be persuaded to abandon my work for the night and join you.”
“On one condition.” Octavius added. He stood, smiling, and slunk across the room. Jedediah didn’t realize he was getting closer to the door until it was too late. “If you can catch me,” he cried, and raced out into the palace.
Only a few seconds passed before he heard the sound of boots slamming against the tile behind him. He laughed, racing through the atrium.
They both loved little games like this -- challenges with no stakes. It brought back memories of the days in which they were adversaries.
Octavius fondly remembered chasing and being chased by Jedediah on the battlefield, winding elaborate paths between soldiers and horses. He remembered the rush of adrenaline from every near-miss. He remembered the overwhelming thrill of one party finally being caught, pinned to the ground, chests heaving as eyes met.
He felt the same thrill now, weaving between columns to throw Jedediah off his trail.
“Ain't nowhere to go, boy!” echoed from behind. “I'm gonna getcha!” That voice sounded a whole lot closer than Octavius thought. A broad grin broke onto his face instinctively.
He was reaching the end of the corridor. Left or right? He hesitated, and in that moment of uncertainty, Jedediah caught up to him.
He nearly knocked him over, grabbing him from behind, and Octavius screamed in delight.
“I gotcha now!” Jedediah laughed. “Can't do anything about it, can ya?” And he kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him. All the while, Octavius slumped in his grasp like a rag doll and accepted his fate with a smile on his face.
Just as Octavius was about to officially surrender, they heard a stomping of boots coming nearer from the next room.
He wasn't sure what made him do it, other than the fact that games were on his mind, but Octavius’ first instinct was to grab Jedediah's hand, whisper “Run!” and pull him away towards an alcove on the wall.
Sandals and boots skidded across the tiles, and the two wedged themselves into the gap between a column and the alcove walls. Jedediah's back was flat against the wall, and his chest was pressed to Octavius’. As soon as they made eye contact, it was impossible to keep from giggling.
“Shh,” Octavius admonished, half-heartedly, still succumbing to the giggles himself. He put his fingertips over Jedediah’s grin in an attempt to keep him silent.
Jedediah, in a heart-melting move, tamped down his giggles just long enough to place the softest, barely-there kiss against the pads of his fingers.
Octavius’ eyes went soft, while his insides turned to mush, and his heart felt ready to burst. “Quit being so cute!” he hissed. The next moment, he was squeezing even closer to Jedediah, grabbing onto his hips with both hands and nuzzling his nose with his own.
It was now Jedediah’s turn to whisper “Shh,” still shaking with laughter. He pulled Octavius’ face down to his chest with one hand. The other stroked gently up and down his spine. “You’re gonna get us caught, ya dork.”
“It would be your fault,” he whispered back. Pushing his face further into Jedediah's soft, warm chest, he took a deep breath. There was the familiar scent of gunpowder and freshly-chopped wood. It smelled like love.
He let himself be enveloped in the scent. In the meantime, he turned his ears to the wider atrium outside. It was completely silent.
“I believe the coast is clear,” he whispered.
Jedediah grinned. “You think we could make it all the way to your room without bein’ seen by anyone?”
Octavius bit his lip, thinking. “You and I combined?” His eyes narrowed mischievously. “Of course we could.”
“The game's on, then. After you, darlin’.”
Octavius rolled his eyes, hoping it would hide the blush that always appeared on his face whenever Jedediah called him ‘darling’ in his accent.
Peering around the corner, he found he was right: the atrium was completely empty. “Come on,” he whispered, reaching back for Jedediah's hand.
Grabbing tight to each other, Octavius pulled Jedediah through the atrium, through a hallway, and to a spiral staircase. He gestured upwards. “This way.”
They curved up and around. Octavius kept his attention on their surroundings -- keeping an ear out for any noises. Jedediah’s attention was… elsewhere. Octavius realized that when he suddenly felt a sly pinch to his backside.
Smiling, he sharply slapped the offending hand away, and heard a stifled giggle from behind.
After climbing a few flights, they reached the correct landing. Octavius peered out into the quiet corridor, then turned back. He squinted against the rays of light beaming through a nearby window. “If we run for it, I think we’ll make it.”
Jedediah didn’t reply. He just stared up, lazily smiling. “You look awful pretty right now.”
Octavius tilted his head. “You complete sap,” he said, and leaned down to kiss his cowboy. Jedediah hummed happily against his lips.
“Now let’s go,” he said, pulling back. “I thought you wanted to cuddle.”
“Never said that. You must be hearin’ wrong.”
“Oh?” Octavius stepped around him, back down the stairs. “In that case, I’ll go back to working and--”
A gloved hand wrapped around his wrist and dragged him back up to the landing and into the corridor. He smiled, letting Jedediah lead him to his room.
But he couldn’t resist a bit of revenge. He reached out, and in one swift move, pinched at the seat of Jedediah’s jeans.
He let out a yelp that echoed down the hall.
The two of them froze, hoping no one heard.
And then, a voice.
“Who’s there?”
Their eyes met, wide and wild. Jedediah hissed, “Run!” They did.
They ran, hand in hand, as quickly as they could, until they reached Octavius’ door. They frantically got inside, shut the door behind them, and locked it for good measure.
Octavius, still at the door, let out an incredulous laugh. He turned back to see Jedediah, hat-less and boot-less, falling back onto his bed like he owned the place. In Octavius’ mind, he practically did.
“Guards, zero, Jed and Octy, one,” he bragged, arms behind his head.
Octavius shed his armor and strode towards the bed. “I suppose I should have a talk with them about being more thorough in their rounds.” He climbed onto the mattress, swung one leg over Jedediah’s hips, and cuddled up on top of him. It was amazing, how perfectly they fit together.
“Nah,” Jedediah said, already starting to play with his hair from where it was pressed flat to his head from his helmet. “It don’t really matter anyhow. After all, you already got yer biggest enemy wrapped around yer finger.”
“You know, you’re right.”
“I’m always right, darlin’.”
“Go ahead -- compliment me more.”
“Fishin’ for compliments now?”
“Always from you, my love.”
“You wanna play The Game?”
Octavius straightened. Ah, The Game. Their own invention, born from Octavius’ love of sappy poetry and Jedediah’s love of goofy pet names -- plus their love for each other, of course. The Game was simple: one at a time, try to keep from melting while the other person bestows you with the gooiest, mushiest compliments and nicknames.
“The Game, hmm?” Octavius said. “Even though you always lose?”
“Hey! I won three times before. Three! Plus,” he waggled his eyebrows. “I got some new techniques I’ve been cookin’ up.”
“Alright then,” Octavius said, unable to resist that face. “I accept.”
“Any addendums?”
“Nope. Anything’s game.” Octavius smiled. “You first.”
“Aww, yer always the gentleman, my sweet.”
“Well, you are as lovely as a lady.”
“Yer as lovely as a rose, ya little flowerbud.”
Octavius smiled, feeling confident. “You are as lovely as you are loveable.”
Jedediah gave a small smile at that one, but kept going. “I love you more than there are stars in the sky, moonbeam.”
“I love you more for every freckle on your face.”
“I love you for every cute little curl on your head, pookums.”
Octavius twitched. Gods -- why was it always the stupid, meaningless nicknames that got to him? But he wasn’t worried. He still had more tactics.
“I love you more and more every day.”
“I’ve loved ya since the moment I laid eyes on ya, dumplin’.”
Octavius felt his blush return. Mentally, he cursed it, especially because Jedediah still looked perfectly cool and collected. Maybe he needed to stoop to his level.
“I was made to love you, my -- my sugar… bun?”
Jedediah looked even more confident. “You’d know about good buns, wouldn’t ya, mella?”
Octavius’ face was burning now. “That’s not fair,” he mumbled between his half-hidden smile. “You can’t use Latin.”
“Didn’t make that rule when we started,” Jedediah sang, smiling. “Now, you givin’ up or what?”
Octavius shook his head and cleared his throat. “I love you like -- like a lizard loves the sun.”
Jedediah took a second. He looked up at Octavius, blue eyes blazing, and Octavius immediately knew he was gearing up for something. Then, he struck. “I love you like yer adorable smile loves its dimples, my lil’ honey pie.”
Octavius whined, then groaned, then flopped forward against the very weapon of his destruction. “I cannot stand you.”
“Yes!” Jedediah cheered, pumping his fists in the air and doing a little shimmy on the bed, jostling Octavius around as well. “That’s number four, baby!”
He tucked his chin down to try and get a glimpse of Octavius, who was burying his face into the buttons of his shirt. “I won,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to Octavius’ temple.
Octavius hummed, peeking out with one eye. “Oh, my love. You already won my heart.”
Jedediah smiled back. “Yeah.”