Hello, @readingbyflashlite ! I am your RF Secret Santa :’) Here are Doug/ Frey and an attempt at a badass Vishnal :’) I apologize for cutting it so close, but I wish you a wonderful holiday and an even better 2018!
Summary: It was a different concept than Kiel was used to, but perhaps he could get used to it over time. Maybe this time together was worthy of being immortalized just as much as any myth. For @crimsondeaki, Happy Holidays!
It was a habit the two of them fall into during the cold days of Winter. Through a combination of the shortening days and Frey’s growing duties as princess, she seemed to stay out longer and longer each evening. It worried Kiel more than he would have liked to admit, but he knew he was no warrior. So he followed the inspiration of the wives of myth and legend, the spouses waiting years for their hero to return, and began to keep a fire going for her until she returned. Once she returned from the ice and the snow, he’d be waiting right by the fireplace to warm her up.
They tried a lot of different things from there on. At first they thought cuddling together with a blanket would be enough, just the simple pleasure of enjoying the other’s presence, but quickly they would both grow restless. Frey then tried recounting her day and the adventures she had experienced, but for as talented as she was, storytelling was not one of her gifts. Often she’d repeat the same events over and over again or trail off on anecdote that turned out to only be charming in the moment. So the responsibility fell on Kiel to weave tales together for the two of them.
He didn’t consider his daily life too exciting, so instead he stole from the storybooks Forte and he grew up on. Kiel whispered them to her, like secrets shared between them only. In the grand scheme of things, they were nothing, just words on a page that had been repeated ad nauseam for centuries. Yet they made Frey’s eyes go wide with such wonder. It was probably the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, green like gentle rolling hills brave knights would traverse or sunlit forests that held ancient magic only few were allowed to posses. She was the true stuff of legends, and Kiel would do anything to keep her by his side just a little longer.
However, the most unexpected thing happened one night. Usually as he told his stories, Frey would look faraway, as if straining to see them, yet this time she studied his face with a fervent intensity. Her stare (plus the sudden awareness of just how tangled their limbs were) was so powerful that he was forced to turn away.
“What’s so strange about me?” Heat rushed to his face.
“Nothing,” Her lips quirked ever so slightly. “I love you.” Frey leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against his cheek.
“What brought that about?”
“Like I said, nothing,” Frey giggled against his skin. “Why does it matter so much to you? It’s not the first time I’ve told you so.”
“But we were just in the middle of Odysseus escaping from Polyphemus. How could you be distracted from that?”
She laughed again at that, giving him an awkward shrug. “I don’t want to disregard what you love, especially since I really do enjoy it, don’t get me wrong. I love our evenings like this, but what I love most of all is just being with you.”
It was so strange to hear his own sentiment mirrored back at himself. It felt like the most logical conclusion when he had applied it to her, but to hear Frey say he was more interesting than the greatest tales of history was a different story. He found himself speechless like never before.
“Ah, I really didn’t mean to offend you, Kiel. I’m sorry.” She waved her hands frantically as if physically trying to take back her words, and this time it was his turn to laugh.
“Don’t worry,” He placed the book aside and pulled her closer. “You didn’t offend me.”
It was a different concept than he was used to, but perhaps he could get used to it over time. Maybe this time together was worthy of being immortalized just as much as any myth.
