"What a day," Gortash sighs, undoing the belt of his coat as he enters his quiet office. Between Orin running a muck and not hearing anything from the Dark Urge on the whole stone deal, it was anxiety on steroids. Anything could go wrong at this point and he was trying his damnedest to keep it all together. If only he could-
Gortash halts halfway across the room and finally glances around. There, standing at the window in the sleeping area of his office, was a familiar figure with their back to him, their arms folded neatly behind them.
"Tav? How did you get in here?" he lowers his voice as he glances back toward the door.
"You know better than to ask that. What happened to "your favorite assassin"?" the Dark Urge shoots a glare over their shoulder. The coldness in their eyes makes Gortash pause. This demeanor is different from the one he saw back at the coronation. This is familiar. "Were you that quick to throw away memories of me?"
"No, I-" Gortash tries to answer as he pushes himself to close the gap between them. "Nevermind. I hope your presence here means you got Orin's stone."
"Straight to that, hm? Makes me wonder how much you really missed me," Tav turns back to the window. "It's starting to make more sense that Orin was able to pull off what she did. No. I do not have Orin's stone yet. My companions and I are still tracking down her whereabouts. She will get hers once I corner her, and then some."
Gortash watches Tav out of the corner of his eye as he moves in a cautious circle around them to access the rest of his sleeping area, removing his coat and gauntlet.
"I see. You misunderstand me, my friend. I am merely worried that without Orin's stone, the netherbrain will break free-" he tries to explain. "It has nothing to do with how much I've missed you. And I have missed you oh so much."
"You sound better. I take it some of your memories have returned or you wouldn't have found your way here. You sounded too... innocent, before."
Gortash wanders to his bed, sits on the edge of it, and leans forward with his hands clasped together, watching Tav with intrigue.
"Some. But what you said to me during the coronation may have played a part."
"How we didn't "meddle in each other's affairs"... How convenient for you and what a poor excuse," Tav's head snaps in his direction. Gortash visibly flinches. He can taste the bitter poison in their tone. "You welcomed my bloodkin in my place and did not bother checking to see if I was still alive. You took her word for it that I was dead."
"Tav, as I explained at the coronation, she came to us as Bhaal's chosen-"
Tav whirls around on their heel, and Gortash sits up straight, half expecting to see a dagger in their hand. Before he can react, Tav stands over him with a glare.
"So what?! If it were the other way around, if I had known someone had usurped you, I would have dropped everything to find you, plot be damned. This whole affair was to include you, Ketheric, and myself. No one else should have been involved!"
"Enough!" A quick shove lands Gortash on his back on the soft surface with a hand on his throat. Tav's knee pressed into the bed near his hip, and they bare their teeth at him. Their free hand pulls out a dagger, threatening to plunge it into his chest. This feels familiar. "You're not getting out of this, Enver. I cannot ignore the fact that you did not come looking for me! You could have dropped Orin at a moment's notice like you are doing now. Don't act like her being Bhaal's chosen actually had a hand in what you did with how quickly you pushed for an alliance. It's almost as if you would have settled for anyone who showed up at that very moment!"
Gortash stares up at the Dark Urge in shock, which slowly melts into the soft, confident smile he was known for. His hand finds its way up Tav's leg to their hip. Tav bites back a shiver and continues to glare. If Gortash was good at anything, it was calming a raging storm.
"Tav, you know Orin would have skinned me alive if I had gone looking for you," he purrs but then gags when Tav's grip tightens.
"And you know Orin would have said anything to test your loyalty to me! How many times has she fed you lies to try to pit us against each other since she joined the temple?!"
"Exactly, my dearest. I was damned no matter what I did," his hand moves to caress their side. His free hand follows suit opposite of it. Tav's eyes dart toward his palms, then back to his face, and Goratash notices a tinge of red across their cheeks despite their glare. "Come now, my hands were tied, metaphorically. I wanted nothing more than to have you back at my side, but what good would it have done if I, too, were killed? You would have returned to Orin parading my corpse in the streets in the middle of a massacre. I wouldn't have given her that satisfaction, neither would you."
Gortash's hand manages its' way to Tav's cheek, his palm gently caressing it. He watches them bite their lip, trying their damnedest not to give into nuzzling it, and their dagger hand shakes.
Tav finally lets out a snarl and brings the dagger down. Gortash, unamused, tilts his head out of the way slightly as the blade enters the soft surface of the bed over and over, punctuated with enraged screams. With a deep sigh, Gortash stares deadpan at the ceiling, both hands now resting on Tav's hips as they annihilate the spot on the mattress next to him.
The sound of the doors of his office bursting open and the heavy footsteps of one of his Steel Watchers coupled with several of his Faithful rushing in causes him to lift his head in alert. Gortash grabs Tav's wrist and swiftly rolls to where they are pinned between him and an unmarked part of the bed. Holding Tav to the bed causes them to scream in frustration, which is quickly stifled by his free hand.
Gortash clears his throat and smiles before calling back.
"Fine! Fine! I am not in any need of assistance! Thank you! You may leave!"
Tav glares up at him with a growl.
"Yes, I'm sure! I'm-" he tries to reassure his guards before feeling Tav's teeth clamp down on his hand. "GAH-!"
Exchanging glares with Tav, Gortash clears his throat again.
"Nothing to worry about! Now, please, leave me to my thoughts!"
"... Y-Yes, Sire! As you wish!"
Gortash does not move until the door shuts, and he sighs before lifting his body just enough for Tav to move.
"Feeling better?" he grumbles as Tav claws out from under him, pressing their side against the wall, glaring off at the end of the bed with their arms wrapped around their knees, their dagger still firmly in hand. "I guess I should be grateful that it was your teeth and not the dagger. I needed stitches the last time you came after me with one."
He shakes the bitten hand and turns to sit on the bed next to Tav before running a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh.
"She ruined everything," Tav growls, their grip tightening on the dagger.
"I know, Tav. I know, which is why I need you to uphold our alliance. We can fix this..." Gortash purrs, taking their hand in an attempt to pry the dagger from their fingers. "We can continue where we left off. Ketheric may be gone, but you and I can do this together. We can rule this world and the next without anyone getting in our way."
He earns a grunt from Tav when he's successful and places the dagger on the bedside table, only to bring that hand to his lips. Their attention snaps to him, eyes wide and face steadily turning a beet red. Gortash chuckles in amusement.
"Never got that reaction before," he cocks a brow. "Normally, you would glare me down and threaten to castrate me for even touching you, despite both of us knowing you wouldn't do it. This whole endeavor hasn't softened you, has it? What's changed?"
Tav scrambles across his lap to get off the bed, causing the man to laugh.
"I need to go-" they growl, straightening themselves as Gortash laid back on the bed with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed at the ankles.
"I think the time for that has passed, my dear. My guards are on high alert after that violent display," he tilts his head with an easy smile.
"I suggest settling in for the night until I can walk you to the exit myself in the morning," he flashed his brows. "At least then you won't be swarmed by my security."
Tav snaps their head in his direction with a glare, and he shrugs.
This causes Tav to start pacing, weighing their options. Could they return to camp without having a load of Steel Watch automatons on their tail and without getting their companions on their case for seeing Gortash alone, or would it really be safer to spend the night and deal with whatever happens in the morning? They'd never hear the end of it from Karlach alone.
"Fine. Where's the couch?" they scoff, cross their arms, and turn on their heel.
"Oh, there is no couch here. It's much more... minimal than my last office. I'm afraid it's either the floor or my bed," he sighs, earning him a groan. "Now, now, you brought this upon yourself for this little confrontation of yours. And don't act like you and I never spent a night together. Of all of the memories you've obtained, surely you remember laying against me after a long day of planning?"
"Pretend all you want. I know better. You always got jealous when I had to play nice with others and shied away when I offered you the same," Gortash chuckles, then beckons them to him. "Come settle in. I can't be up much longer, so I'm afraid we can't spend any more time together until certain events come to fruition. At least, we can have this for now."
Tav narrows their eyes, glancing from his hand to his face.
"Come now. You know I won't bite. That's your job."
With a hard sigh and a roll of their eyes, Tav steps closer and takes his hand.
"Try anything, and I'll skip rope with your innards."
This causes Gortash to smile brightly with a laugh as he helps them onto the bed.
"That's the assassin I remember..."
