Imagine that Tae has been gone for a while and he arrives back in Silvermoon late one night; he sneaks into Rommath's office intending to surprise him (for he has a feeling Rom will still be there) and he sees Rommath asleep at his desk, having stayed late to work on his Dead Scar restoration project :>
THE CUTEST. Poor stupid workaholic Rom! Tae kisses him awake, because sleeping at his desk is bad for his posture and Rom’s already reckless enough with his health as it is. He gives him a drink, leads him over to the divan in the back of the room, and covers them both with a blanket, spooning him back to sleep. :’)
So imagine Rommath and Tae working on a project together, and there are a couple of other elves about, and someone tells Rommath "At least you've got a very attractive co-worker." And Rom kind of glares at Tae and says "I SUPPOSE you could say that..." at which point the person replies "I was actually talking about the Magistrix over there..." and Rommath turns bright red.
OH NO poor Rom hahahaha! He’s going to be disgruntled and embarrassed either way, but if no one knows they’re dating he’s going to have to go (even further) out of his way to be tsun-tsun in public, which just isn’t going to work, lol. “Bloodwatcher, your report on X was unforgivably shoddy. See me after hours.”
Meanwhile, for the next week or so Tae finds every opportunity to weave "I SUPPOSE you could say that..." into conversation.
Their dating subterfuge has a very limited window (SMC is gossip central, after all), but that window is hilarious and glorious.
How has this happened? I’m 3800 words into the PWP sequel to my Tae/Rom fic and they haven’t even started the bj that was supposed to start the fic off?? How long is this going to be?! It’s not even build up, it’s all porn so far!
I’m so mad. Like, how dare they have ridiculous chemistry in their ridiculous relationship! How dare. I hate their stupid ridiculous faces. >:|
One of the things I love about Tae’thelan/Rommath is that Tae brings out the playful side of Rommath. He’s normally so serious and intense, but with Tae he banters and bickers and plays, and I wiggle with delight because I just want him to be happy. God knows the poor man needs some humour in his life.
They’ll go on dates to fancy restaurants and Rommath will steal food off Tae’s plate without him noticing, and then not be able to stop himself from laughing once Tae eventually does notice and accuses him. And then Tae gets wise and starts blocking Rommath’s fork and they have a battle, while Silvermoon’s peerage looks on, incredulous. “Is that... the Grand Magister? Fighting over cheesecake?”
What was it about Tae and Rommath that caught your eye, that made you go, "Yeah, those two!"
It started out as a joke ship! I RPed Tae’thelan with Maltrake’s Rommath, and they started out as antagonists, with snark and insults and plotting. We joked about how terrible they’d be in a relationship every time one of those “rate these characters in a ship” ask memes came along. Then we discussed how they might have once slept together long ago out of sadness and desperation and drunkenness (around the time the Sunwell was destroyed) and how Rommath would have been cool with it but Tae was mortified, and it kind of became canon. And then Rommath brought it up in RP and Tae was flustered, and then they started flirting, and then Tae snapped one night (after being on edge after nearly being killed -- unknown to him, by a plot by Rommath that went wrong, lol, one of his men got the wrong idea) and went over to Rommath’s house and they had a transcendent sex odyssey.
So I guess, I enjoy the chemistry? The UST is off the charts. They’re both refined, powerful men who are attracted to power and talent. They both enjoy the art of conversational fencing, and they share a lot of the same interests, which they then debate vigorously. Tae is outwardly passionate, which brings out Rommath’s own inner passion that few people get to see. He encourages Rommath to be his best self, which in turn is very healing for Rommath, whose ego and self-esteem has previously entirely revolved around his work and his talent. I love seeing Rommath happy (I swear I do *cough*), and I love seeing his reactions to cheesy OTT romantic gestures.
It’s a ship that has plenty of room for humour as well as feels, which is my favourite kind. I love banter, I love humour, I love growth, and I love the opportunity for crazy hot monkey sex. Tae/Rom has it all. :>
Would tae and rommath ever have a secret threesome (no this is totally not me imagining jael in the middle)
Oh, totally! They’re both pretty adventurous (though Rommath moreso). There would definitely be Rules, because Rommath is jealous and possessive (he likes to think he’s not, that he’s perfectly cool and rational, but as soon as he sees someone flirting with Tae his hackles raise) and Tae worries (incorrectly) that Rommath might enjoy someone younger and less stuffy.
As far as Rommath’s concerned, Tae is his, and as long as this is acknowledged and respected he’s cool. Kissing’s fine, whatever -- just know that if, say, Tae’s on his hands and knees between them, Rommath’s going to be the one fucking him. Curiously, if it were with a lady, Rommath wouldn’t be nearly as possessive, even though he’s aware that Tae generally favours women. He’s confident in Tae’s desire for him (and honestly, who wouldn’t be?), he’s just territorial.
Tae is super concerned about everyone’s pleasure, while also trying to stamp down any worries that their chosen partner might be more appealing than him. He’s incredibly unlikely to choose someone they already know well. He enjoys serving, so any lady who joins them is going to be well looked after. He loves oral sex, he’ll do it for hours if needs be (though he never needs to). And jfc, any lady who gets double penetrated by Rom and Tae is going to have a good time.
(They would totally take Jael home after running into him at a party, lol. Tae would dither, but Rom would just be like “there’s brandy and sex at my house, coming?”)
