Prompt Fill: Nighttime Routine
A fill from my discord writing group :)
This is part of their life after the book.
Riluathonel felt the tension bleed from his shoulders and a smile slip on his face as the sound of soothing pipa music danced it's way down the path to his ears. He had been called away not long after their evening meal, and despite having welcomed him home with music once already, Imwynlaith was playing for him once more, alerted to his approach by any of the little spirits that mingled around the two of them at any one time.
The door to their home slid open just as it came into view, half a dozen little bodies dressed for bed filling the space. He knelt readily as they hurried forward, easily wrapping his arms around them as they fought for the best spot to wrap their arms around him. The pipa music trailed off and flitting laughter replaced it.
"Forsaken by my own children the moment their father returns, where is the parental fealty?"
Thonel hid his smile in the hair of their tallest daughter as the children all began protesting, he refused to let go even as they began to push at his arms as Imwynlaith stepped into view, hands on his hips.
"What's this, now you're holding them captive?"
Riluathonel raised his head, "avenge your honor."
Imwynlaith's face split into a wide grin, "oh I see! Now what shall I do to heal this terrible wound my children have dealt me, hmmm?" He crept forward, "How about...this!"
The wiggling protests changed to shrieks and true thrashing as Imwynlaith descended upon the children's sides with skittering fingers.
The pair shared a kiss over their children's heads, earning protests more earnest than before, as Imwynlaith stopped his vengeful attack. Imwynlaith scooped up two of their eldest into his arms as he pulled back, balancing them on his hips as if neither almost reached the middle of his chest. He waited until Riluathonel straightened, one child clinging to his back, two in his arms and one stubbornly latched onto his shin, and met his eyes.
Riluathonel smiled, and followed Imwynlaith into their home at a hobble to accommodate his sudden leg leach, offering Dewdrop's massive icy shell just inside the door a nod, knowing just because he couldn't see the tortoise's massive head did not mean he wasn't watching.
Turnip manifested himself as the pair began depositing children into beds, the vines and red flowers littering the dog's body rustling as he arranged his cushion bed and settled with a thump.
"No complaining," Imwynlaith said as the children began to grumble, "the sun has gone to bed, so all little kits must go to bed. Your fathers will be here in the morning, like we always are."
When the children turned their pleading eyes to Riluathonel he shook his head, "bed, lullaby."
As the children settled under their blankets with their small, pouting frowns, Imwynlaith and Riluathonel moved to the middle of the children's shared room and took up their instruments, the pipa and xiao left at the ready on the table.
Imwynlaith flicked his hand, and half the candles in the room went out, casting the room into a comfortable darkness. He nodded towards Riluathonel and he placed his xiao to his lips and began to play the first low, resonating tones of the lullaby they'd composed. They would take turns playing the first few lines, the low tones giving way to softer, lighter ones, the innate spiritual energy within the instruments reacting to their use even without their owner's guidance. The energy flowed through the air in smoky tendrils, the pipa's the pearlescent blue of Imwynlaith's spiritual energy and the xiao's the deep ruby red of Riluathonel's, the energies reaching for one another until they wove together in an ever changing tapestry that spread out to blanket the room.
As usual, by the time the pair had finished playing, all the children had relaxed into sleep. The pair left the room on silent feet, Imwynlaith placing the alert talismans on the door after they were closed just in case any of the children needed them for whatever reason. Not that the talismans were needed, any number of the house spirits would rouse them before the talisman did but it never hurt to be careful.
As they started towards their own living space, a short hallway away, Imwynlaith hurried forward and swept Riluathonel up into his arms. He smiled as his larger husband wrapped an arm around his shoulders and looked down at him.
"How do I keep forgetting you can do this."
Imwynlaith chuckled as he used a foot to slide open their door, "because I am a most delicate flower who would wilt at just the thought of exerting myself, you know that."
Riluathonel snorted as he was placed back onto his feet. He lifted his arms out of the way as Imwynlaith went to work on his robes, each layer removed with care. As he pulled away the underrobe, Imwynlaith placed a feather soft kiss on the large blooming scar on Riluathonel's chest and trailed a nail over one of the trailing branches, sending a shiver down Riluathonel's spine. Imwynlaith kneeled then and the same care was shown in guiding Riluathonel's feet into his sleep pants, Riluathonel had to flick a tail at him when Imwynlaith gave into temptation and skittered his nails over the back of one knee.
Job done, Imwynlaith stood then stepped back and allowed Riluathonel to do the same to him, letting out little hums anytime skin brushed against skin. Riluathonel took a moment to trace Imwynlaith's own scar, a jagged thing made of four large gashes that started just under the left side of his chest and wrapped around in a diagonal to his right hip. Riluathonel's hand trailed up as he pulled Imwynlaith's deep red sleeping robe, one he was sure his husband had nicked from him, and removed the two tassel earrings in his right ear before taking a moment to fondle the half gone left. Imwynlaith let him for a moment before catching the hand and placing a kiss to the palm before allowing Riluathonel to reclaim it and set to work on removing the pin laden hairpiece and silver chains Imwynlaith had worn for the day.
Riluathonel had to kneel to allow his husband to return the favor, his amused smirk as his knees hit the floor earned him a huff and a stuck out tongue. It took Imwynlaith little time to remove Riluathonel's hairpiece, much similar than his had been, but when Riluathonel went to stand he found himself stopped. Imwynlaith presented a palm sized horse hair brush to him before pushing and pulling until his husband gave in and laid on his front, allowing Imwynlaith unfettered access to his tails.
One tail at a time, Imwynlaith brushed with firm, languid strokes, the rhythm coaxing Riluathonel into a light doze before he was finished. He blinked heavily when Imwynlaith urged him up, absently reaching for the brush himself only for his husband to shake his head and place it out of reach.Â
"You can do it for me in the morning."
Riluathonel didn't protest, allowing his husband to maneuver him to sit beside the bed, and offered the dark wood comb, inlaid with mother of pearl in the shape of a poppy, from the small table nearby. Imwynlaith took it and gentle hands set about combing Riluathonel's long, red gold hair, the motions causing his lids to grow heavy once more with each pass, lured ever farther by the faint humming Riluathonel knew his husband didn't realize he was doing. When the comb could pass from crown to end without catching, Imwynlaith placed a kiss on Riluathonel's hair, nipping at an ear that flicked at him, before handing Riluathonel the comb. Riluathonel knelt on the bed as Imwynlaith offered him his back, his tails shuffling until they were both out of the way and wrapped around his waist and his own tails as best as Imwynlaith could manage.
As he set to work on his husband's long dark hair he smiled at the memory of a younger Imwynlaith's white ear tips. They had caught his attention every time his husband's ears had so much as twitched, which had been often enough, let alone when they bobbed up and down when he was truly excited.
As he finished, he took the chance to place a kiss on Imwynlaith's nape, earning a pleased hum and a wisp of a giggle. He returned the comb to its place of honor and the pair shared a lingering kiss.
Riluathonel laid back as he pulled away and Imwynlaith followed, draping himself like a living blanket, a warm reminder, over Riluathonel and lodging his head firmly under his husband's chin. One hand was placed over Riluathonel's heart, another carded through Imwynlaith's hair as their tails thoughtlessly tangled together.
"I love you and I am here, my husband."
"I love you, and I am here, my husband."
Want to support this project? Go here: https://ko-fi.com/nlm1026
