Work Text:
“We have moonlight, greenery, and a glittering lake all around us, yet you choose to stare at me instead,” Runaan said, voice velvety and light as his arms encircled Ethari’s neck.
Ethari blinked, his breath catching as he nested his palms on Runaan’s hips. “Do I?” He’d been so captivated, he hadn’t realized.
The assassin answered, but only with the shimmer of his turquoise eyes and the slow, deliberate bite of his bottom lip. Teasing.
His hands slid down Ethari’s chest, gripping the soft scarf that was loosely tied there. Fingers curled around the purple fabric and tugged as Runaan took one step back. Then another.
The message was clear: come with me.
And it earned Runaan his cherished left-dimpled smile from his beloved.
“Not fair,” Ethari said, his stern tone offset by the warmth blooming across his cheeks. “You know exactly what you’re doing.”
Runaan tilted his chin down just an inch, his eyes locked onto Ethari’s underneath long lashes. “Mm. I am entirely innocent.”
He looked like a painting, the trees his frame, the moon his lighting. Catching in his hair, in the proud curve of his horns.
Ethari’s hands hovered in the space between them as he stared at the divine masterpiece that was the elf he loved. Caught between tugging his scarf back or letting it be pulled forward like a leash.
“You are trouble,” he whispered, his resolve faltering like it never existed.
Another step back. “I am your trouble.” One more tug. “What are you going to do about it?”
The scarf grew taut between the two of them. Ethari, helpless to stop it, drew in closer.
They were supposed to be taking a quiet walk by the lake. You know, Romantic. Grounding… Normal fiancé things.
Yet here the blacksmith stood, heart hammering away as his soon-to-be husband smirked and slid his elegant fingers into the folds of the scarf.
“Catch me,” Runaan breathed.
Ethari’s eyes went wide in a second. “Don’t you dare—”
But Runaan had already yanked the fabric free in one smooth motion and took off into the trees. That beautiful bandit.
“Runaan!”
A rare, full-bodied laugh floated back through the forest, boyish and melting.
“Moon above,” Ethari said, his eyes alight with love and youth.
And he took off after him.
Branches snapped underfoot, leaves rustling as the cool night air nipped at his skin. Fireflies danced around them, scattering, oblivious to their little game.
The chase didn’t last too long. Mostly because Runaan wasn’t trying that hard. He darted between trees like a skilled shadow, lithe and swift. He kept glancing back, a flirty smile playing at his lips while the scarf fluttered behind him at every turn.
“You’re going to pay for that!” Ethari called out with a smitten grin on his face.
Runaan only winked, which was enough to make Ethari stumble.
But only for a moment.
Ethari pushed harder. Mine, he thought. That ridiculous, gorgeous elf is mine.
And with a final burst of speed, Ethari caught the menace by the waist, hauling him backward and off his feet with a triumphant sound that said gotcha! They both laughed bright as they landed into the moss and leaves in a tangle of limbs.
Ethari giggled, propping himself up above Runaan, straddling his hips as their breaths settled.
The stolen scarf was still clenched in Runaan’s hand. That is, until he lifted it slowly and looped it behind Ethari’s neck. Then he pulled him down, just close enough for their noses to brush.
Runaan’s eyes were soft now, the teasing glint mellowed into something molten. His long, white hair was sprawled in the grass like moonlight breaking through the clouds.
“Caught me,” he said, and drew his fiancé in.
Their lips met in a tender, slow kiss. Runaan’s hands slipped free of the scarf, only to find their home along the warmth of Ethari’s skin. He was soft, and familiar. And his.
When they parted, Ethari’s lips curved into a smile that stopped time. He tucked wild strands of Runaan’s hair behind his pointed ear, and whispered the first of many vows.
“I will always catch you, my shade.”
Find this post on Tumblr here