nonverbal starters || accepting
➷ ——— All Kaey knows is that it’s so late that it’s become early; the sky is blushing a bright pink, chasing away from the chill of night with the kiss of a warming sun. He’s tired, & thinks only of sleep as he slips back into the flat, careful not to make a noise as he enters, shutting the door with slow fingers to keep it from rattling the shelves on the walls. If he’s quick, the ex-assassin can crawl into bed & get a few hours beside his partner before he rises for the day, get a little time together, quiet & untouched by anything else. A few moments alone & at peace, & maybe, just maybe, enough time to dose off in the comfortable company of his lover; Kaey had a hard time getting to sleep otherwise.
So, despite how his muscles ache after days on the road, yearning for the release of a hot shower, he forgoes all else, even food, & strips down, changing quickly & quietly, before treading lightly into their shared room. The elf only stops a moment in the doorway, long enough to glimpse what awaits him: Quynn, sprawled out amidst the sheets, washed in the glow of morning, thick eyelashes closed against the world, hair arrayed about on the pillows like twisted vines. In his chest his heart hiccups, distracting him from the scene, & urging him to move, wanting for nothing more than the heat of that skin on him.
Now in the comfort of his own home, in the presence of the only person he cared about, Kaey is not the assassin he is elsewhere. So he is not an assassin walking across the floor, but a man who is tired, who is ready to rest, weaving his hair into a loose braid in preparation for sleep. When his head hits the pillow he is at rest, but he is not at ease; that doesn’t come until he shifts beneath the blankets &, stretching his arm out across the other elf’s shoulders, draws him close against his chest. Closing his eyes, he takes in a deep breath. In his arms, the younger elf shifts sleepily, murmuring something inaudible before settling against him.
This is how it is supposed to be, the two of them, together, at rest. It is only here that Kaey can finally relax, eyelids fluttering closed as he sighs. In a few hours Quynn will wake, but for now he is still asleep, & for Kaey alone, & that is good enough. As he drifts, arms still wrapped protectively around him, he knows these are the moments he lives for, the peace he seeks. Of all the chaos in the world, being able to loop his arms around his lover’s neck–
It was what made it all worthwhile.