Crickets chirped in the grass, and if he hadn't had Darkvision, he would have gotten lost mere feet from his quiet home. There was no moon tonight, and the stars provided little light to navigate by. How he had been able to travel so far like this, he would never know.
Redcloak opened the front door quietly, letting in a cool summer breeze, and crept inside, his armor making little clicking sounds as he moved. He hated wearing his armor. It felt like it crushed his chest, and it always brought him back to memories he didn't want to recall. Sadly, the political situation between the Azurites and Gobbotopians was volatile enough so that it was only common sense for him to wear it when he traveled.
The house was silent. That was only to be expected. It was late, and it was way past Tiasal's bedtime. It didn't assuage the slight sting he felt when he thought of the fact that he would have to wait another day until he could see his little girl—he had missed her and his wife desperately.
But the thought of seeing Vaarsuvius was a little more unnerving. They had fought viciously over his extensive involvement with Gobbotopia just before he left three weeks ago, nearly coming to blows, and they hadn't spoken since.
"Redcloak, by the elven gods, I should have never married you!"
"If you're just going to shout at me every time I try to help my people, maybe you shouldn't have!"
"Help your people? You are simply trying to ease your conscience at the cost of your family! Again!"
He hated it when they fought.
Redcloak sighed, taking off his shoes and padding up the stairs, slipping past Tiasal's room and silently going into his own. Maybe Vaarsuvius would be in a good mood in the morning. He didn't want to spend another night arguing.
A mage light was already on when he walked in.
His eye widened.
Vaarsuvius was casually reading one of the magical volumes she had borrowed from Aarindarius, her legs tucked under her on the bed and her loose hair spilling to her chest, obviously having stayed up to greet him, but that wasn't what caught her husband's eye. She was wearing a black bra held up only by two small straps and attached to a transparent dress-like slip that only just passed her hips, revealing her slim waist and a matching black thong.
Redcloak opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, a dark flush coming to his cheeks and something deeply primal shifting in his gut.
"When did you get lingerie?"
His voice was tight and high, but he barely noticed.
Vaarsuvius didn't look up from her book, turning the page as her husband's eye traced her silhouette. "It was a gift from Haley. She decided that it would help the situation, and after considerable convincing, I agreed to wear it."
He swallowed, continuing to stare.
"Remind me to thank her."
He sat behind the elf, almost afraid to touch her. His mind was having difficulty reconciling the image before him with his knowledge of his wife. Vaarsuvius never struck him as the type to wear something like that… not that he was complaining. "Why the… I thought you were mad."
"Oh, quite."
Vaarsuvius glanced up briefly from the book. "Did you know it has been five weeks since you last touched me?"
The flush darkened and he put his hands on her bare shoulders, stroking them gently and savoring the softness of her skin. "V, if you want more sex, you just need to ask."
"Red, it is not the lack of relations that I find troublesome. I can live for the rest of my life without such things and I would not be unduly upset." She turned the page again, but Redcloak got the sense that his wife hadn't been reading for a while. "It is the fact that you do not seem interested in spending time together. Every day, we go to our separate studies and work, occasionally coming out to pay attention to family or friends, and I am lucky to hear three words from you. Every night, we are both so exhausted that we do not exchange so much as a kiss before we are asleep. And then you leave for three weeks without scarce a concern for how long you are going to be away. It makes me wonder about things."
Redcloak winced, suddenly understanding that the least of his wife's anger was because of his active participation in goblin rights. "V, I haven't touched anyone but you. I haven't even looked twice at another woman. You're the only one for me. That's why I wanted to be married."
"I am told that young men do not tend to stay so chaste unless they have another to satisfy them."
"I'm not like that and you know it." He slipped his arms around his wife's waist, marveling at the silkiness of the lingerie, and kissed her neck, sending shivers through her body, but he didn't want to start something yet. Vaarsuvius was unhappy. He wanted to fix that before taking off any clothes.
"I do not want to be distant from you, Red, and if I bore you, I would like it if you would tell me so I can attempt to remedy the situation. I lost one marriage to distance—I do not wish to lose ours."
For a moment, Redcloak was so surprised that he completely forgot the fact that his wife was half naked.
"Is that what all this is about?"
His grip around her waist tightened a little. "You've never bored me. I don't think that's possible. I love you more every day."
Some of the tension left her shoulders.
"I'm sorry that I've been so far away from you. I didn't realize how upset you were and why. I promise to never go to Gobbotopia for such a long time again, and I'll start paying more attention. Why don't we join our studies? There's no reason we need to work separately." He nipped her neck softly. "But I'll probably get distracted a lot more if you're there. How can I concentrate if the woman I love is right next to me?"
She started to smile.
"I missed you, V. You make me happy, no matter how little I say it sometimes." He slowly started to kiss her ear, sending jolts rocketing through her spine. "You look ravishing, by the way. I'll show you."
He slipped his hands underneath the transparent slip. "I promise."
The next day, when Redcloak clapped his hands on Haley's shoulders with an emphatic "Thank you," then walked away whistling, she was the only one who knew why. She refused to tell any of the confused bystanders about it, no matter how many times they asked.
She was grinning like the Cheshire Cat for the rest of the day
A/N: I haven't been able to produce anything good recently, but my friend's birthday was today (or two days ago...) and I wanted to do something nice. So here's an excuse to imagine V in lingerie, Zanaril. You're welcome. ;) Happy belated birthday. And for everyone else, if you're confused about the continuity of my stories, here: ht tp:/ /www. gliffy. com /pub doc /2131952 /L. png without the spaces.