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Propriety..?

“I promise I’ll stay on my side of the bed.”

Taken from this list of bed sharing prompts. Zvonimir x Caligarus.

"Well, this is rather indecent, isn't it?"

"Hm?"

Caligarus paused and turned back to look at Zvonimir, who was still standing in the doorway. Zvonimir had a scowl on his face as he surveyed their room. When his answer wasn't forthcoming, Caligarus decided to take a look around for themself.

The room was beautifully decorated with all the pomp and lavishness that high society demanded. There was a small corner dedicated to a modest alchemy table and a wall high bookcase filled with text. At the very center of the room was a large fur rug and a smattering of golden petals. That was curious, but Caligarus stowed away their curiosity for now. Continuing, they set their eyes on a tall bed thick with covers and pillows. A glass door led out to the balcony, and on the adjacent wall were pictures and small dressers, upon which were set a variety of flowers in vases. Caligarus' right brow cocked up sharply, and they looked back to Zvonimir again. He was already staring at them, and upon seeing their silent bemusement, he clicked his tongue and stepped into the room.

"There's only one bed. Surely, they think better of us."

Caligarus turned their head, watching their companion step further into the room and drop his bag onto the bed. Zvonimir placed his hands on his hips, looking around more critically before shaking his head sharply.

"Shame on them, shame on this."

"What's wrong with the setup?" Caligarus stepped backwards to close the door. Afterward, they closed the distance between them and the other witcher. "It's just a bed."

"Just a—" Zvonimir turned his head and stared at Caligarus incredulously. "Just a bed. That's the problem, you see! Do they think we Witchers lack modesty or a need for privacy? It's rather forward of them to assume I would want to share a room with you." He paused and turned his head away; he fanned away any questions with two sharp flicks of his hand. "Not that there's anything wrong with you. You're fine enough."

"Then why the fuss? I'm not sure how you Griffins play, but at my keep, there was no shame in sharing a bed or space with our fellows. After all we've endured to get to this point, it's a trifle thing, isn't it?"

Zvonimir was silent for a long while. Caligarus set their bag down onto the floor and turned lazily to sit down on the bed. They looked up at Zvonimir as he sighed slowly.

They added, "I promise I'll stay on my side of the bed."

"....Fine, I guess," he conceded finally. "We just shouldn't do anything untoward while together lest they find evidence."

Caligarus smiled lazily, the tips of their teeth peeking through a part between their lips. "Bashful, are you? Or are you already thinking lewd things?" When Zvonimir snapped towards them suddenly, they raised their hands in surrender, but they laughed jovially all the same. "I jest; I jest, of course." They lowered their hands to the bed and leaned their weight back. "I've no other plans than to use this bed to rest. So long as you don't mind me returning at a late hour, that is. You'll hardly know I'm even here."

Zvonimir frowned for a different reason entirely this time. "And why would you be out late?"

"Please." Caligarus tipped their head and huffed a brief laugh. "As if you're the only one who has plans here." They drew in a small breath and let it out in a carefree sigh. "But don't worry. I won't interfere with your machinations. I've my own business to attend to."

Zvonimir stared at Caligarus for a long while before stepping closer to the witcher. He reached out and idly fiddled with their medallion. His gloved thumb traced the geometric snout of the ox before sliding up to the shapely horns. He hummed before tapping against the ox's forehead. He flicked his gaze up to Caligarus'. He tucked the witcher's medallion under their tunic.

"Don't get in trouble," was all he said finally as he pulled away. He began removing his gloves. "And don't make a mess."

"Aye, aye." Caligarus looked down to the ground, their head tipping the other direction.

"And keep an eye on the time. Dinner starts at sundown."

Caligarus raised a hand lazily. "Will do." They pulled up to their feet with a soft huff of effort. They nudged their bag underneath the bed with a foot before heading towards the bedroom door once again. "I'm off then."

"See you in a bit."

Caligarus hummed in acknowledgement as they exited. The door clicked behind them, and Zvonimir glanced the way they left. He waited in the silence before looking over his shoulder towards the bed. He warmed at the thought of them sharing an intimate space. He loosely covered his mouth with one hand and looked away, feeling as bashful as Caligarus had teased.

"Fool," he muttered under his breath before continuing to undress down to his second layer. He couldn't think on this any further. He had things he needed to do and prepare for.

In spite of all that, he wasn't ready for that night.

The hours passed in a haze of conversation for Zvonimir and combat for Caligarus. When it was time for dinner, Caligarus arrived ten minutes late, having needed to clean up well enough and change clothes to appear in polite company. The guests at the dinner table eyed them curiously as they strode through the door. Zvonimir kept a stern expression, but his shoulders relaxed slowly, belying his relief in seeing his companion. Caligarus looked around at everyone as they walked to their seat. They bowed shallowly.

"Apologies for my lateness. Business dragged on longer than I would have liked."

"You're still on time for the first course," a nobleman said, though his tone was... needling and accusatory when he stated it.

Caligarus withdrew their chair and took a seat next to Zvonimir. Under the table, they reached out to squeeze his thigh. To the nobleman, Caligarus gave a slow smile. It would have been handsome were it not for the edge of viciousness.

"Thank you for your care. I'll start eating now."

And it was good, the food. The company was middling as always. Zvonimir spoke confidently and often in broad strokes when people asked about their witcherly natures. It wasn't pertinent to the conversation at hand, but the nobles seemed so curious about the fact that they had two witchers from two different parts of the continent here together. There was scandal in the air, or so they assumed. Caligarus wiped their mouth and politely spoke up,

"Having two Witchers is a rarity indeed, and thus it should state the severity of your problem."

Some of the nobles paled. One or two politely cleared their throats. Zvonimir shot the other witcher a grateful look before continuing his speech. By the end of it all, it was hard to say whether the nobles had some newfound respect for the pair or if they found them more of a novelty. Caligarus hardly cared either way. They just wanted to head to their bedroom. The two witchers walked alone to their room, and once the door opened, Caligarus began to undress. Zvonimir startled and hurried his companion inside. He hurriedly shut the door behind them. Caligarus seemed unbothered.

"Finally. I can take a bath."

"I thought you already took one!"

Caligarus rolled their eyes tiredly. "A better one. A longer one. I still feel blood in every crease and on my thighs. I managed to wash away the worst of it all, but what remains is turning, augh, tacky. Help me with this, will you? Being tired is making me useless."

A sharp sigh. Caligarus stepped closer to help remove the garment that was keeping Caligarus restricted. He eyed the broad plane of his companion's back. He watched as they unbuttoned the tunic that remained, and his eyes widened slightly as the muscles were bared before him. When Caligarus bent down to remove their trousers, though, he snapped to life.

"Really! Here?"

Caligarus made a noise upon feeling a slap against their back. "Has being alone made you virginal? What are you complaining for?"

They quickly and easily stripped naked before gathering up their clothes and armour. Zvonimir all too quickly shoved the piece he held towards them when they turned. He pointedly kept his eyes up towards the ceiling. Caligarus watched him before laughing lowly, warmly. Zvonimir quickly glared at them, cheeks burning.

"Perhaps so..." they mused to themself. "I'll be more mindful then." With that, they turned towards the shared bathroom. "Forgive me if I take a while. I'll clean my armour and then myself. Do what you need before retiring."

"I will!" Zvonimir snapped, a bit too defensively.

He plucked nervously at his clothes before starting to undress as well. He took his time and dressed down until he was just in his small clothes. He cleaned up their shared space, though there was little for him to do. In the end, he kept himself busy by examining the flowers on the dressers. The petals looked thick, waxy almost, but they were real, surprisingly. He stroked one petal and then another. His thoughts ran away with him until he felt compelled to jot them down.

He lost himself in his notes, first about the flowers and then about the space around them. He wrote extensively about the local flora and fauna he had seen and compared them to others he had catalogued in his book. Before long, he was in front of the alchemy set, twiddling a lock of his hair around a finger. He only looked up when he heard footsteps in the room again.

Caligarus appeared now, drying off their hair and walking almost blindly towards the bed. They were in thin pants now — their chosen attire for sleeping, Zvonimir reckoned.

"My armour is drying, but it should be out of your way." They pulled the towel back and looked to Zvonimir, whose eyes suddenly snapped up to meet theirs. They smirked. "When you're ready."

"When I'm... Ah. Yes!" He shut his field book suddenly and stood up with entirely too much urgency.

He and Caligarus held each other's gaze. Caligarus laughed softly. "Careful now. Don't want you to have an accident."

"Hold your tongue for once, would you? I'm going now. Don't get into the bed wet."

Caligarus hummed in a way that was low, almost guttural. It was a noise Zvonimir hadn't heard humans, or whatever their kind constituted as, make before. He paused out of curiosity, but then he continued forward into the bathroom. He relaxed when he finally got into the bath, and Caligarus did do their part to dry as much as they could. Before they entered the bed, though, they grabbed Zvonimir's field book and took it with them. They flicked idly through the pages, marveling at the graphs drawn and the very studious notes scribbled down. Far better than anything they've ever written themself but nothing that escaped their understanding. They sank down against the mound of pillows as they read. When they heard Zvonimir's footsteps approaching, they didn't look away.

"Taking my things now?"

"It was out in the open. I just wanted to read your notes."

"... And?"

"They're fascinating." Caligarus gave an idle shrug of their shoulder. "But what else can I expect from the School of the Griffin?"

Zvonimir sniffed haughtily and asked, "Do they not read and write at your keep?"

Caligarus laughed. "Not often. Not like this. We know enough to be literate, but our methods are more... bestial, I suppose, than this." They closed the notebook and handed it over to Zvonimir, who took it protectively. "We rely on our witcher kin to be more civil."

The two looked at each other. Zvonimir noted how relaxed Caligarus was, how low and slow their voice was, how each word was starting to become more of a purr. He turned away, willing himself to calm, as he set the book down on the bedside table.

"Even the Cat?" Zvonimir asked sharply, diverting his feelings.

Caligarus laughed and placed their hands behind their head. "Even the Cat in a sense." They closed their eyes then and let out a steady sigh through their nose.

Zvonimir watched them before shaking his head. "Won't even help turn out the lights?"

Caligarus' lips quirked up, and they freed their right hand. With a lazy motion of their hand, they used Aard to blow out all the candle lights. Zvonimir clapped daintily with an indifferent expression on their face. Caligarus chuckled softly before placing their hand behind their head once more. Giving into his own tiredness, Zvonimir slid underneath the covers himself. He made himself comfortable and turned his back to his companion. He very nearly fell asleep at that moment, but then he felt a shift behind him. Caligarus rolled towards him and placed a hand on his hip. Zvonimir couldn't stop himself from shuddering in time.

"Do keep your musings to a minimum," Caligarus teased. "I'd like to sleep."

Zvonimir groaned in his embarrassment as Caligarus turned away. "Must you torment me then?" he muttered to himself. He then added louder, "Didn't someone promise to stay on their side?"

Caligarus laughed and rolled away, their back facing Zvonimir's. "It's in my nature and apologies—I’ll do better throughout the night. Good night, Zvoni."

Zvonimir rolled his eyes behind his lids and shook his head. "Good night, Cali."

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