Sketches based on @azuretiger 's fic Speak Your Language, where Zoro cooks for Sanji. I loved the characterization and concepts. Featuring Zoro confused about herbs, his intense shopping list, and a menu for his offhand comment restaurant. I'd love to have a meal at the Three Sword...
o0o I wish you would write something medieval. One of them is a knight/Prince, the other works at the castle. Their relationship isn't proper, so it has to be somewhat secret. But the knight always visits his beloved first when he comes home.
I demand* fluff and gay. *And by demand I mean please may I have.
Thanks so much, Tom! It's not much, but I hope you like it <3
Steve’s just about finished brushing down Skeidbrimir when he hears the latch on the stall door lift. Under the steady drum of the rain on the stable roof, the soft clicking could almost be missed. But by now, Steve’s ears are well trained to recognise the telltale signs. He doesn’t even need the confirmation of Skeidbrimir’s pleased nicker of greeting to know who it is.
Skeidbrimir’s a magnificent beast, easily one of the finest horses Steve’s tended to in his years as groom. A proud, jet-black stallion, seventeen hands high with a long, even stride, he makes a fitting steed for Asgard’s crown prince. And such a horse needs the extra time and care put into his grooming. So nobody ever questions Steve when he decides to let his evening grooming duties run a little longer than usual. And only one person would come to find him at this late hour.
So Steve just keeps going about his work. Even as a pair of thickly muscled arms wind their way around his chest, warm despite their sodden state.
“No welcome in from the cold of the storm?” Thor asks teasingly, propping his chin on Steve’s shoulder, and even the rainwater dripping down on his shoulder can’t keep his heart from swelling in sheer joy. “At least the horse seems happy to see me.”
“Some of us have work to do, Your Highness,” Steve responds lightly. But even with the admonishing note in his voice, it’s hard to keep a smile from tugging at his lips. Doubly so when Thor buries his face into the crook of his neck, trailing soft kisses that burn like cool fire up the line of his jaw. All things considered, it’s no hardship to turn his head and let his lips meet Thor’s, sighing as he leans back into the warm embrace and lets the strain of a long day’s work melt away.
Finally, Steve pulls himself back, humming in contentment as he savours the closeness after so many lonely nights. “I missed you.” It feels a little paltry after a month apart, hardly the stuff of grand, sweeping romances. But with the warmth of Thor’s bulk wrapped around him, anything else he could say fades away, irrelevant to the moment.
“And I, you,” Thor whispers in return, beaming as their noses bump together. Away from the throne room and all the courtiers and advisors, his boyish grin shines all the brighter, drawing Steve in for kiss after irresistible kiss. A distant roll of thunder rumbles softly in the night, and in the earthy warmth of the stable, lit by a single lantern, the rest of the world feels a thousand miles away. No kingdoms to run, no stables to muck out. Just Steve and Thor.
“How was your journey?” Steve eventually asks, idly tracing the inside of Thor’s wrist with his thumb as he returns to his brushing with his free hand. Prince’s lover or not, he’s not going to let his work get sloppy.
“Good, good… we had an easy enough ride back.” Thor sighs, fiddling absent-mindedly with a button on Steve’s tunic. “The trade talks went well. Mother was delighted to be back in Vanaheim for a while, it’s lovely in the spring.” A moment’s hesitation before he lets out a ghost of a sigh. “I wish you could have seen it with me.”
The words ache with a soft wistfulness. One they’re both all too familiar with. A hundred answers crowd to the tip of Steve’s tongue - So do I. I’d like that. Maybe we will someday - but nothing comes out as he lets his head hang. What is there to say when they are who they are? When he might as well wish to fly to the moon whenever he hopes for more than the little they can share?
In the end, he settles for pulling Thor’s arms closer around him. “I know,” he says quietly, bringing up one of Thor’s hands to press a soft kiss into his palm. Thor’s fingers caress the shape of his jaw, so strong and so gentle all at once, and the longing dulls a little as they instinctively lean into each other’s warmth.
It’s not much. But it’s theirs.
The peace is broken with another clap of thunder, closer and louder than the last one, and Skeidbrimir whickers anxiously, his ears flicking back and forth as he paws at the ground. “Easy, easy there,” Steve murmurs, smoothing one hand up and down his flank. “Nothing to worry about in here, see?” Skeidbrimir eyes him doubtfully, but seems to take his low, soothing tone to heart, allowing his ears to drop again with a drawn out sigh through his nostrils.
Thor chuckles fondly, disentangling himself at last to approach Skeidbrimir. “Good boy,” he whispers, holding the horse’s dark gaze as he gently pets his nose. Another soft nicker as Skeidbrimir bumps his nose into Thor’s chest, and Steve can’t help smiling at the picture they make. “Such a good boy for Master Steve, eh? You’re in good hands with this one, I’ll tell you that.” He lets his eyes drift back to Steve’s, soft and content. “We both are, aren’t we, my friend?”
“Flatterer,” Steve shoots back fondly, feeling his cheeks flush with pleasure. Shaking his head, he moves to start packing away his brushes. The day’s weariness is quickly weighing down his bones again, and Skerdbrimir’s looking as good as he’s going to for the night; best that they all get some sleep. A loud crunching from behind grabs his attention again, and he turns just in time to see Skeidbrimir wolfing down the last half of Thor’s pro-offered apple. “Hey, you’ll spoil him rotten like that!” he warns, even as he grins at Thor’s sheepish expression.
Thor huffs out through his nose in response. “You’re starting to sound like Father,” he grumbles, and if a slight edge enters his voice, Steve chooses not to pay it notice. The king loves his sons, of that there’s no doubt. But that doesn’t stop him from having rather… exacting standards of Asgard’s princes.
But the moment passes, and the shadow lifts from Thor’s brow as he eyes Steve playfully. “Well, I suppose if I can’t spoil him…” he muses, head cocked to one side, “I’ll just have to spoil you for the night, won’t I?” Despite the question, his voice is easy and self-assured, confident without straying into arrogance. Every inch the prince who knows he’s going to get his way, and a tingle runs down the length of Steve’s spine.
“Is that an invitation or an order, Your Highness?” he asks archly, wiping his hands down on his breeches and padding across the hay-strewn floor to wind his arms around his prince’s neck, heavy hands settling around his waist. The height difference between them is less than a hair’s breadth. But just enough that Steve still has to roll up on the balls of his feet to bring his mouth to Thor’s for another kiss, winding his fingers in golden hair to close the distance.
“Whichever you’d like it to be, beloved,” Thor murmurs softly. His mouth curves into a lazy smile of satisfaction, one that only widens when Steve nips at his lower lip before suckling at it. He’s quick to respond, slipping his tongue between Steve’s parted lips and drawing a soft, eager moan from Steve at the hot, wet taste of him.
“In that case…” Loosening his hold, Steve reaches up with one hand and extinguishes the lantern, plunging the stable into darkness. Leaving only the glitter of those proud, passionate eyes dancing in the dark, but still enough to set his heart singing at their return. “Lead the way, sire. I imagine your bed could do with warming up after your journey.”
My fave fic of yours...? Well I'd have to say the one you wrote for me of course. It's the fluff that I crave and you delivered xx
i'll get by with a little help from my friends
Awwww, thank you, I'm so glad it's everything you wanted! That fic definitely has a special place in my heart, I always love to see Steve being taken care of <3
