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It had been two and a half months since Bertrand and Flynn established themselves as lovers.
On one particular Sunday, Flynn had visited Betrand's living quarters at the guild, what had become to be their usual meeting spot. Now, the two of them lay on the bed, the blonde on his back, reading a book, and the redhead splayed atop his partner, clinging to him like a needy cat.
"It's so hotttt..." The bard complains, eliciting a chuckle from the wizard.
"Imagine how I feel, with you all over me like a blanket." Flynn retorts, scooting up on the bed to lean back against the headboard.
"You're just so comfortable to nap on, love, it's hard to resist..." Bertrand teases, sitting up as Flynn shifts position. "What's that you're reading this time?" Bertrand asks, finally shrugging off his jacket.
Flynn yawns. "There's an article in here about the ethics of the dissemination of magical knowledge. It's quite interesting." He says, turning the page.
Bertrand seems to blank. "Flynn, I love you, but you lost me at "disemin– something."
Flynn does his best to suppress a giggle at his partner's mispronunciation. "Dissemination, love. It means spreading information or some sort of message."
"You and your big, smart words..." The bard mutters, craning his neck up to kiss the side of Flynn's face before wrapping his arms around the blonde entirely.
Flynn practically melts at the sudden affectionate fit from the other. "Bertrand, I'm trying to read..."
"And I'm trying to kiss you." Bertrand says, pouting slightly before going right back to attacking his lover's neck with little kisses.
The barrage of soft kisses continues until Flynn can't help but let out a giddy laugh. "Bertrand!"
"Ah, there's what I was looking for~"The bard says, pressing a longer kiss to the wizard's neck, letting his lips linger for more than usual, "Your laughs are always so adorable, darling~" he whispers slyly, now fully straddling his partners lap.
Flynn huffs out a surprised noise at the sudden use of a new petname. "Now where's this coming from?" He asks, tilting his head, immediately laughing as he unknowingly gives his partner better access to attack his neck.
"Mh..." Bertrand mumbles between kisses, "Heard someone in the hall use it," kiss, "thought I'd try it out," kiss, "see if it gets that cute smile out of you."
Flynn chuckles, leaving Bertrand to his ministrations. "No, I mean, all this... What's with you today, hm?"
Bertrand pauses, straightening up to sit on Flynn's thighs at the question. "Sorry, am I overwhelming you?"
The blonde smiles at his partner's sudden concern, "Oh, no... I'm just curious... Why are you suddenly so... clingy, per se, all of a sudden?"
The redhead leans a little further back on Flynn's lap. "Hm. Not sure. I was never this clingy with my other partners..." He starts, fiddling with the rings on his fingers, "I don't know why I'm suddenly more... Um... There's a word for that, I know.."
"Unbridled? Unabashed? Unashamed?"
"Authentic."
Flynn pauses. There's something in the bard's tone that feels so... vulnerable, much more than he ever has been, at that moment.
Bertrand lets out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, we've only been together a few months, I probably should take my..." he huffs, "affections down a peg, no?"
"That's not–"
He runs a hand through his orange locks with a shaky sigh, "People don't really get this touchy in the first few months of their relationships, do they?"
"Hey–"
"I'm so sorry, I don't know what to do or what to say right now, I've never been with someone where it's been so real–"
"Bertrand."
The redhead freezes mid-spiral at the mention of his name. It's at that moment that he realizes just how much his hands are shaking until Flynn places his own over them.
"Can you just... breathe for a moment? Then we can talk, alright?"
Bertrand can only nod before Flynn guides him through some breathing, in through the nose, hold, out through the mouth.
"There. Better?"
Bertrand nods slowly, now more calm. "Sor–"
Flynn shakes his head before the rest of the apology follows. "Don't be. You don't have to be sorry," he sighs, "you're still learning about relationships. We both are. So we can go as slow as we want and take as much time as we need to get the hang of these things, alright?"
As Flynn gently takes Bertrand's face in his hands, the bard lets himself sink into the comforting touch, tilting his head to kiss the blonde's cool palms.
"I... like you very much, darling, and... I just can't stand the fact that I might ruin what we have..."
Flynn can't seem to respond to that. It's a very real possibility. There's always a nonzero chance either of them could mess up, especially in the starting stages of their relationship.
Instead, he leans forward and gathers Bertrand into a hug, offering a silent comfort.
And Bertrand understands.
And wordlessly hugs back.