Have you ever done the chapstick challenge (or Xadian equivalent) with Runaan?
Runaan slipped through the workshop door with his ready excuse of the week–a loose handle wrapping on his favorite dagger, conveniently snagged and torn free of its metal binding. His heart thrummed at the sight of Ethari pottering over his worktable, humming lightly to himself as he worked quietly on something small.
The assassin paused in soft admiration. Ethari was sweetly handsome, but he was also tall and strong, with long, lithe limbs and a sturdy back. His sparkly horn tips winked in the light as he leaned forward, and his shaggy hair fell lightly around his ears. Runaan smiled to himself, very much enjoying the view from where he stood.
Runaan had forgotten about Ethari’s little mirror. He straightened smartly and hid his soft smile, stepping forward to ask for Ethari’s expertise with his dagger.
But the craftsman wasn’t done talking. “I’m glad you’re here. I need your help.” He held out a couple of small stoneware jars, smaller than his palms.
“Y-You do? With what?” Runaan approached curiously, feeling invited to examine Ethari’s little jars.
“I’m trying my hand at making my own balms. My hands get pretty abused some days, depending on my tasks, and I need to take better care of them. It’s also good for any skin in need of softness.” With no further ado, Ethari switched one little jar to his other hand and plopped the empty one right into Runaan’s for examination.
Runaan’s eyes widened as he found himself suddenly holding Ethari’s hand. He dutifully cast his eyes over Ethari’s palm, appreciating the calluses of hard labor, the strength in its lines, those long dexterous fingers. Ethari’s hand was very warm against his, and Runaan felt his ears heat up. He opened his mouth, but then he wasn’t sure what to say. Agreeing with Ethari on a need for balm might sound like Runaan found his hands rough and unpleasant, when that wasn’t true at all.
But one did not simply toss out hand compliments this early in a courtship.
Ethari lifted his hand away as if unaware of Runaan’s internal panic and chose one jar, setting the other back on his table. He removed the lid and showed Runaan the light creamy contents. “The problem I’m having,” he began lightly, “is that I’ve added a scent to it, but I’m not sure if it’s really strong enough. I know it’s there, so perhaps I’m just imagining that I’m smelling it. Would you test it for me?”
Runaan’s eyes fixed on the jar. “I… Very well.” He reached for the jar, but Ethari smoothly pulled it away and swiped his finger across it. Then he spread it across his lips, working them softly to get an even coat.
Runaan was physically incapable of looking away as Ethari slid his lips together. His cheeks heated, but Ethari didn’t seem to notice.
“Mmm. That’s better. Come on, then. What do you think?” Ethari invited. His lips curled at the edges. “Don’t worry. I won’t bite. Come closer and use that sensitive assassin nose of yours to tell me what scent the balm has. If you can. I might need to start all over with a new batch–”
Ethari broke off as Runaan stepped very close indeed. His breath puffed hot on Ethari’s cheek, shaking a little. Ethari’s smile widened, and he turned his face toward Runaan. Though his eyes lingered on Runaan’s, the assassin’s gaze was locked on Ethari’s lips.
Only a couple of inches separated them, yet Runaan seemed frozen, trembling. Ethari ran a knuckle along Runaan’s arm. “You okay?”
The light touch seemed to snap Runaan from his daze. He leaned closer, closed his eyes, and let the tip of his nose brush against Ethari’s cheek, inhaling softly.
Ethari’s heart flipped at the gentle touch. I’m playing games, but somehow I’m the one who’s losing! This elf really is too hot to be allowed. His own voice shook a bit as he prompted, “So, w-what’s the verdict?”
“Cinnamon. You should add more if you…” Runaan bit his lip and took a step back, adopting a more formal pose. “If you want the scent to be noticeable from a more casual distance.”
If. Ethari felt tingles shoot up his spine. “I’ll take that under advisement. Any other pointers?”
“Body heat.” Runaan’s eyes were on his lips again.
The craftsman’s eyes widened sharply. “What?”
Runaan lifted his chin. “Perhaps I was too hasty. Now that your body heat has warmed the balm, I can smell it even from here.”
“You were just eager to help a friend,” Ethari said, offering him an out despite the cute flush in Runaan’s cheeks.
But Ethari was inspired. “Here, wait a moment. Let me try it with the other balm. Will you indulge me one more time?” He picked up the other jar and began to reach a finger inside.
Runaan’s hand swiftly grasped his wrist, and Ethari gasped at the intensity of his grip. “It won’t do any good to apply the new scent over the cinnamon balm you’re already wearing, Ethari.”
A slow grin spread across Ethari’s lips. “You know what, you’re right. You should wear it.”
Ethari swiftly swiped his finger across the top of the balm and stepped forward, humming his request for permission.
Runaan was too flustered to say no. Mostly because he didn’t want to say no.
So Ethari pressed a soft fingertip to Runaan’s bottom lip and spread the balm across its delicate softness. Runaan held breathlessly still, trembling at his touch, cheeks as bright as moonberries.
“Hold still, not finished yet,” Ethari murmured lightly. But he was trying to keep his own hand from trembling, too. “There we go. Alright, now we wait.”
Ethari tsked teasingly. “For your body heat to warm it up, silly. This was your idea, not mine!”
“Oop. I got careless and made a mess, just hold still, I’ll get it…” Ethari brushed the edge of his last finger just beneath the curve of Runaan’s bottom lip, smoothing away an escaped smudge of balm.
Runaan sucked in a quiet breath at the sudden touch.
Ethari gritted his teeth, desperate not to smile at Runaan’s flustered state. It was truly adorable and he didn’t want to ruin it. “How about now?” he breathed.
Runaan’s eyes fluttered from Ethari’s to his lips and back up. “Hmwhat?”
Ethari blinked slowly and grinned. “Can you smell it yet? Or should I try?”
Runaan gasped quietly again. Ethari waited for him to pronounce judgment on the balm’s scent. Surely he could smell it by now. But he didn’t say a word.
Oh, he can play, once he knows the game.
Ethari wordlessly stepped close, dipped his head, and let the tip of his nose brush Runaan’s cheek, just next to his lips. But he didn’t inhale. He didn’t need to–he’d made the balm. He could say the name of its scent at any moment.
He just didn’t want to. Not yet. He was having far too much fun.
And Runaan was letting him.
“I nearly forgot,” Ethari murmured, almost right against Runaan’s skin.
“What’s that?” Runaan murmured back. He didn’t dare to turn his head any further toward Ethari or their lips would meet simply by speaking.
“These balms are edible.”
A sharp exhalation burst from Runaan’s lips, and that soft mouth stayed open. Ethari grinned, holding himself to the game, and leaned in just a bit more. “You taste it first.”
Runaan made a soft noise deep in his throat, and then his tongue slipped out and traced the silken arch of his upper lip. Ethari brushed his nose against Runaan’s cheek again, encouragingly. “Hmm? And?”
“S-Second opinion…” Runaan whispered.
Ethari’s chest fluttered. “Happy to.” One hand cupped Runaan’s shoulder to hold him still, and ever so slowly, to savor this precious moment, Ethari turned his face toward Runaan’s. His own lips parted, and his tongue flicked out, dancing softly along one side of Runaan’s bottom lip, up to the corner of his mouth.
Runaan’s eyes slid closed as Ethari tasted him, and another soft sound resonated from deep in his chest. Under Ethari’s stabilizing hand, the assassin was trembling hard.
Ethari dared not push his suitor too much further or Runaan might bolt. But he couldn’t resist one last tease. “Hmmmm,” he murmured, pressing his lips together thoughtfully–right against the corner of Runaan’s mouth. “Final opinion?”
“Delicious.” Runaan’s voice took on a low rumble, and now it was Ethari’s turn to gasp as his tummy fluttered high into his chest. He pulled back and sought Runaan’s eyes and found them cool and balanced once more. “I enjoy mint very much,” Runaan added.
Ethari chuckled and stepped back, letting Runaan have his small victory. He might not know many courtship games, but the assassin was nothing if not a swift learner. “Of course you do,” Ethari said. “Cool and sharp is exactly your style, isn’t it?”
Runaan tucked his hands behind his back. “It is indeed.”
“Thanks for your help. Maybe I’ll keep the mint one as it is, then. And here, you keep the jar.” Ethari pulled one of Runaan’s hands back into view and pressed it into Runaan’s palm. “Just in case you need it later.”
Runaan looked from the jar to Ethari’s face, and that cute moonberry flush rose in his cheeks again.
