Characters: Rook [Saar] Laidir, Lucanis Dellamorte
Pairing: Rook/Lucanis (Rookanis)
Word count: 266 words
Early on in their relationship, Lucanis asks the Qunari how he likes his coffee. He already knew Saar's favorite dessert and what brew paired well with it. But he wanted to know about the type he had in the early mornings or in the late, sleepless nights.
It... it was different! There was a, for lack of a better word, flavor of domesticity to it, to greet someone every day with a cup made just to their liking. And coffee had always been important to Lucanis: the fresh smell of his shared childhood with Illario, the rich aroma emanating from the villa's kitchen.
Lucanis wasn't particularly a fan of loud, personal demonstrations of love, more flair than feeling. His cousin would put on a whole show for his fling of the week, rose petals and live musicians and restaurant reservations to sweep anyone off their feet.
And clearly it does work, if Illario's track record is anything to go by. But it's not for him.
Lucanis feels just as strongly - he's Antivan, after all! (Viago seems to be an outlier when it comes to matters of the heart, although just barely). It's just that his passion comes in form of little acts of service.
Most people would, and do, find this side of him boring. For an assassin, he didn't seem very exciting. And sure, maybe how much sugar someone takes in their dirty bean water is something deeply personal to him, but not everyone can relate.
As it turns out, Saar isn't "everybody". And he likes his coffee with a little caramel mixed in.
Characters: Rook [Saar] Laidir, Lucanis Dellamorte, Spite Dellamorte, Isabela (mentioned)
Pairing: Spite/Rook/Lucanis (Spiterookanis)
Word count: 1135 words
Content warnings: suggestive imagery, brief mention of sex toys
This is a companion piece to @dandyboyandy's "That which can't be trained for" (check it out here), but can be read as a standalone fic!
For a Lord of Fortune, Saar lacked the experience most would expect from members of his faction.
It wasn't due to innocence or disinterest. He wasn't sheltered - Isabela had practically raised him, and while she wasn't about to expose a teenager to her dalliances, she was the last person to forbid Saar from going out and experimenting on his own.
The other Lords were happy to provide him with answers too. Luckily, there was always a Qunari on board, and Saar learned many biological facts about himself he wouldn't have learned otherwise. He was thankful to have grown in such a welcoming (and at times shameless) environment.
Saar wanted to put his knowledge to the test eventually, but... he didn't care for one-night stands. And an actual relationship was out of the question. There was so much emotional baggage to work through before he was in a good place for that.
Instead, he started his treasure hoard. It was, perhaps with good reason, unconventional to keep a collection of sex toys. It raised some eyebrows when matters of hygiene came up. Saar's contacts would always include instructions of use and cleaning methods, though, and they hadn't failed him yet.
To summarize: he wasn't an experienced lover, but he wasn't oblivious either. Saar knew exactly what he liked, he just never had a partner to try them with. Until now. Now, he had two partners, and a lot of pent-up energy buzzing just under the surface.
Saar was afraid this overeagerness could scare Lucanis off. The Qunari really didn't want to ruin whatever was blossoming between them. He still couldn't believe someone like Lucanis would want to kiss him, or that spirits were even able to develop romantic interest.
Spite had been more adventurous from the jump. He got handsy when they made out and enjoyed leaving behind marks. When Saar noticed Spite's interest in his chest, he gently guided a hand to cup one of his breasts. The spirit's wicked grin stretched Lucanis’s features in an uncanny way as he gave it a test squeeze, marveling at how different their bodies were.
But in matters of biting, human teeth weren't efficient enough for Spite, so he'd convinced Lucanis to let him try growing fangs. A temporary change to the body that would be gone by the time they switched back. That's how he sold Lucanis on trying out claws, too.
Sadly, these enhancements would leave the body sore for days, which meant Spite made up for the inefficiency with enthusiasm. He was a stranger to feeling shame: Spite didn't hold back any noises and Saar could often feel saliva dripping down his collarbone to the valley of his breasts.
Saar was happy to match his energy. Spite lit up when he felt sharp teeth hovering over his pulse, overcome with shivers of both anticipation and impatience. He'd growl if the Qunari took too long, furiously bouncing on his heels, and it was the closest to what Lucanis would call a 'tantrum' these days.
It made Saar wonder if this was a shared sentiment between his boyfriends. He once asked Emmrich if everything Spite felt was merely a reflection of how Lucanis felt towards him and, therefore, didn't mean the spirit was actually in love with him. Emmrich reassured him that their union might've been unconventional, but they were still separate beings.
The two shared a mind, but Spite was still himself, and his feelings were very much his own. This sealed Emmrich's fate as a personal relationship coach since, the next time they spoke, Saar asked him if it was okay to kiss a spirit.
But Lucanis's senses did influence Spite. The impulse to eat things he shouldn't or describe things in twos, to smell your surroundings like a bloodhound. There was a nuance to how they shaped each other's worldview that was still beyond even their comprehension.
The only difference came in how they externalized it. Lucanis learned from a young age that drinking vanilla extract wasn't advised, despite how nice it smelled. Spite, on the other hand, was impulsive and acted purely on instinct. He was still learning about what wasn't safe for consumption. The intermingling of their experiences only endeared Saar further to both.
When Lucanis pulled him aside to talk, he was worried about them breaking up. Had he been too pushy, despite his best efforts? Did Lucanis regret consenting to letting Spite roam free? Perhaps it bothered him that the marks on his body were left for someone else.
It turned out the assassin was… jealous. He wasn't being possessive - it wasn't that he had qualms about ‘sharing’ his partners with each other. Rather, this felt remarkably similar to the time he was jealous about Spite getting chin scratches and pats on the head. Lucanis wasn't against Saar doing it, he just wanted in on the fun.
"Lucanis. wANTS pet. LIKE, THE CAT?" had been Spite's response back then. He wondered what would be the reaction this time that he was asking Saar for permission to bite. Not just bite, either. Lucanis wanted to mark him like Spite did, testing the leathery skin with his teeth.
He knew Qunari bodies were more resistant than the average human's. It would be harder to mark Saar than the other way around. But the phantom sensations he got from memories of Spite ravishing Saar's neck had him grinding his molars, searching in vain for a target that wasn't there.
Saar noticed his hesitation in bringing it up and offered to mark him first. He was happy to initiate most of their encounters, including their first kiss. It was clear Lucanis was proficient at giving but had trouble claiming things for himself, partially out of fear of losing them, but also due to shame. The expectation that he must be perfect.
Once Saar deemed the expanse between Lucanis's neck and shoulder had been sufficiently decorated, making sure to stick to the spots that would get covered up by the armor, he sat back to appreciate his work. Even without looking up, he could tell the assassin was visibly less nervous.
He saw the exact moment the fog in Lucanis's gaze parted before springing into action. Saar got light-headed just thinking about it. When he looked himself in the mirror the next day, his first instinct was to press down on the bite marks, almost as if to check if they were real.
They were very real, as a matter of fact, and the dark blemishes adorned his collarbones like tattoos. A shiver ran down Saar's spine when he realized his outfit, be it for the mission or the Lighthouse, would not cover an inch of this. It was… thrilling.
He doesn't think twice about who he's bringing along for the next quest.
Characters: Rook [Saar] Laidir, Spite Dellamorte, Lucanis Dellamorte (mentioned)
Pairing: Rook/Spite
Word count: 610 words
Content warnings: it gets, as you might imagine, suggestive near the end
Spite's like a cat in some ways. Not in a condescending manner, despite what most would think - he's not a pet that needs to be chastised. He's more like a werewolf displaying shared traits with a dog. It's part of who he is, and he's perfectly capable of making his own decisions.
Spite might not be a grown man, but he's a spirit inhabiting one!
And, as the equivalent of a grown man, he has decided "wet" is an awful sensation. It leads us back to the initial assertion that Spite's much like a cat with human (for the lack of a better word) cognition. And this is a new development that Lucanis couldn't have foreseen in the Ossuary.
Spite LOATHES taking baths. It comes up shortly after their alliance is formalized, when Lucanis started becoming comfortable with handing control over to Spite without being asleep. He noticed the spirit would always pass the body back to him before treading a river or entering a bathhouse. Naturally, the first thing that comes to Lucanis's mind is that Spite's afraid of water after being held in an underwater prison.
Turns out it wasn't even remotely the case, and Lucanis had to learn it second-hand. Saar was giggling about his gondola date with Spite when it came up. He went on about how Spite tried gliding his hand over the surface of the water without taking off his gloves, his reaction to how cold it was (Saar leaves out the moment they shared when Spite decided to warm his hand on the Qunari's cheek), and his disdain for being "wet".
Thus, Lucanis decides to take a more direct approach and ask him.
"Wet" is heavy. When he and Lucanis are out on a contract and it starts to rain, the droplets tend to find a way to soak into their underclothes, seeping in from where pieces of armor meet. It creates a thin sheen of moisture over their skin that makes the rooftops feel colder than usual.
It sticks to the cuffs of their pants and weighs them down like blocks of cement, slows their movement to a crawl as they course through water. Spite gets increasingly frustrated when he's restrained against his will. Swamps so far are the worst offender, Hossberg Wetlands in particular landing amongst his least favorite places.
"Wet" dulls your strikes against the enemy. The slippery thud of hitting someone when you're both wet, combined with the awkward slide of a blade that's been exposed to the elements, often get in the way of their syncronized blows. It's a threat to their survival, to his Lucanis.
But the main reason why Spite didn't like taking baths was simple: it messed with his sense of smell. Whenever Saar got clean, Spite had to get his and Lucanis's scent on the Qunari all over again, rubbing his head against the leathery skin like a cat marking his territory. Saar didn't even smell like himself anymore, he reeked of bath soaps.
What's so nice about baths if they undo his diligent work? He hated not being able to smell the unique musk leftover after a difficult battle, and this included Lucanis's own body odors. Why his favorite people in the world preferred smelling like cleaning products was beyond him.
There is a "good" kind of wet, which Saar has taught him about. Well... less taught, more showed him time and time again, sometimes two or three times during the same night. It activates every single one of his senses and makes everything more intense rather than numb it down.
Those are the moments Spite won't ask Lucanis to switch places.
Characters: Rook [Saar] Laidir, Lucanis Dellamorte
Pairing: Rook/Lucanis (Rookanis)
Word count: 242 words
Content warnings: a single NSFW line at the end
Saar really likes Lucanis's voice. It's smooth and warm like a cioccolata calda, tinged with a thick Antivan accent that made his heart skip a beat.
He's pretty sure he could pick it out from a crowd. Once, when they were infiltrating a Venatori settlement, Saar was sure he heard a soldier that sounded just like his Lucanis. The accent was missing, though.
Lucanis isn't as great of an actor as Illario: his voice turned too soft, the lilts were much more noticeable. He might not stumble over his words, but he sounded almost uncertain of what's being said.
Like every sentence ends with a question mark and the assassin needs to convince himself, first.
Saar noticed a pattern to the way he speaks, not just in vocabulary but in cadence. It's a very unique set of quirks that makes Lucanis so… himself. The rhythm of his highs and lows are like a song to the Qunari.
His melodious speech is at its most noticeable when he's being romantic. You don't have to understand what he's saying to know what the words convey. His tone of voice and inflections betray the subtlety.
Lucanis has a poet's soul, and it really shows in the heat of passion - it doesn't matter if he's speaking Common or Antivan. It works out pretty well for Saar, too, since when he's getting his brains fucked out he has no idea what his husband's saying either way.
