Work Text:
“Are you almost done?”
Keralis’ voice rang from inside the house. “Five more minutes!”
Beef sighed, smiling to himself before calling back, “Okay. Five more minutes.”
He leaned against the outer railing, feeling the sea breeze in his hair and watching the waves crash softly across the sand. The view from the bamboo hut, out across the sun-dappled coral reef, was perfect for their “seasonal honeymoon”.
It was a simple enough plan. Do just enough to establish themselves existing in the new season and make sure they’d have bases to return to, then sneak away in the middle of the night and go a few thousand blocks out from where anyone would look. Never mind that it was a bit early in the season for a getaway; Season 10 had run so long, Keralis had reasoned, that they were due one, and they could do a second later if they wanted.
And if they happened to wait until all the hard work of Road Networks and Nether Hubs and Shopping Districts was done for them, and they could come back with diamonds to just buy everything they’d need to catch up (or better yet, get gifted the pieces from friends who thought they were still poor), well. Who could call them on it?
Beef had laughed when Keralis had proposed it; then he’d started packing. He knew better than to argue when Keralis had his teeth in a bit, and time for just the two of them was never a bad idea in his book.
And Keralis’ voice broke back through his thoughts. “Okay, you can come back in now!”
Beef turned away from the view, ducking back through the doorway to the equally gorgeous view of Keralis standing next to the mantle, beaming at him.
The painting hanging above the mantle had been Beef’s way of keeping his hands itching for something to do out here, after they’d judged the diamond stash good enough. Emperor Keralis had taken several sessions of getting Keralis to lie still enough for the pose, several paint stains on the bamboo flooring, and two canvases lost to mistaken brushstrokes from Keralis' distractions, but the end result was worth it. Keralis in a toga, lounging lazily on a plush couch and feeding himself grapes, in the sunset-shadows of a coliseum. Perfect in theme for Keralis’ base once they finally returned home, as a memento.
“You know it probably would’ve gone faster if you let me help you, Keralis,” Beef chuckled, stealing a kiss before staring up at the painting. His eyes darted over it, already filling with the harsh judgment of his own creation–did he make the robe too long? Was one of the columns wonky in the background? It was good, but could it be bett–
“Nonsense.” Keralis crossed his arms over his chest imperiously. “You already went to all the work of the making of it, I was not going to make you do the cleaning up and the hanging! Otherwise I am making you do work on our honeymoon, instead of just making the most beautiful art in the world!”
“And we both know how you feel about working on a honeymoon.” Beef grinned, his eyes finally pulling back down to Keralis. “You really like it that much?”
“Of course, of course I do! Except, no, I don’t just like it–I love it!” Keralis emphasized. He lounged backwards onto the couch, mimicking the painting’s pose before gesturing Beef to come join him. “When we get back, I give it a week before every Hermit has one of these displayed in their home. Maybe two.”
“Oh, well, that’s a given,” Beef returned, sitting on the couch and giggling as Keralis immediately sprawled across his lap. He sighed contentedly, running his hand through Keralis’ hair. “But not because of the art, because of the subject. I mean, who wouldn’t want your sweet face on their wall?”
Keralis just tilted his head back into Beef’s hand and hummed, his eyes sliding shut in an expression of pure bliss.
They sat that way, talking quietly, until the setting sun dipped low enough to glint right into Beef’s eyes. His hand disentangled itself from Keralis’ hair with the same reluctance as his words.
“We really should be thinking of packing. The rest of the server’s probably starting to worry by now, even if they did figure it out.”
Keralis hummed for a moment. Then he shifted, stretching like a lazy cat in a sunbeam and settling his head more firmly on Beef’s lap, smiling up at him. His eyes opened, just slits, peering pleadingly at Beef. “Five more minutes?”
And for the hundredth time, Beef sighed, and smiled.
“Okay. Five more minutes.”