I cannot actually recall what prompted this idea. Probably the scene after the picnic.
Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from Tales of Vesperia and do not belong to me.
Sodia saw him first, and the look on her face caused Flynn to break off mid-sentence and turn to the window. Yuri waved, grinning at him, at the brilliant smile that lit up Flynn's face as he hurried to open the window. Their greeting was brief, but the way Flynn stood just a little too close, the way his fingers lingered after they'd clasped hands spoke volumes. While Flynn returned to his discussion, Yuri went to make himself comfortable on the loveseat. He lay himself out on it, propping his legs up on the arm and smirking at Flynn who kept glancing at him over Sodia's head. Ever the dedicated soldier, Sodia stood perfectly still. She was stiffer than ever, and Yuri knew it must have been taking all she had not to round on him and order him out. The last time all three of them had been in a room together had been...awkward.
The business of running the Imperial Knights was swiftly concluded. Nothing in Sodia's manner indicated that she held Flynn in any less regard despite what she knew, but the glance she tossed Yuri as she left was as sharp as her dagger and very nearly left him clutching his side as a phantom pain twinged below his ribs. He was on his feet as soon as she reached the door and had it locked behind her in the next second. Before he could turn around, Flynn was right there behind him, brushing his hair aside to kiss the back of his neck. Yuri turned in his arms and caught his lips in a proper kiss. Tensions he'd forgotten he was carrying drained away. He felt at home, not there in the palace, or even in Zaphias, but with Flynn. They might argue and fight, but, for the moment at least, it was safe to let down his guard.
Things were just getting heated when Flynn pulled away. He leaned his forehead against Yuri's. One of his hands was on his hip, holding him close, the other stroked his hair reflexively. He stood still for a moment, eyes closed, letting their breath mingle.
"Come with me."
A tiny bit of Yuri's tension returned.
"We talked about this."
"It's all right." Flynn's fingers threaded through his hair to cup his face as he met Yuri's eyes. "I've found a place that will be empty. It's just a matter of getting there."
"I don't see what's wrong with your bed," Yuri grumbled. He didn't argue, though. Flynn was kissing him again, persistent, pleading little touches of his lips across his brow, down cheek and chin. When their lips met once more, Yuri knew that he'd already given in and was ready to follow Flynn wherever he would lead them.
It was because Yuri hadn't expected such a thing from Flynn of all people that it had been able to sneak up on him the way it had. Sure, looking back he could see the signs, but they hadn't been at all obvious at the time, and, anyway, he'd been enjoying himself. The first hint must have been the time they...no. The first time they'd had sex in Flynn's great, grand stateroom had been later. The very first hint—that had gone completely over Yuri's head—had been how quickly Flynn had stopped complaining about his preference for scaling the wall of the palace to climb in through the window for a visit.
Now, Yuri knew that he hadn't been sneaking in. He didn't need to sneak. However, it wasn't until much, much later that it occurred to him that Flynn might have thought of it as sneaking in. So, really, it was possible that the whole thing had gotten started because Flynn had thought Yuri was sneaking around, and it had given him ideas. At the time, though, there was no way Yuri could have known that. He'd been focused on much more interesting things during his visits than Flynn's lack of griping, and he hadn't paid it any mind.
So then, a couple visits after the complaints stopped, Yuri didn't make any connection when Flynn had him bent over his big, imposing desk. That had been the first time they'd done anything more than kiss outside of a bedroom, and he hadn't been about to complain. Flynn had been...well, 'eager' didn't quite do him justice. They'd made a mess of his desk and ruined the upholstery on the little loveseat he had for entertaining guests at tea. Yuri knew it had been ruined because Flynn had made a point of telling him the next time he was in town, loudly and with a great deal of agitation. In fact, Flynn had gotten himself so worked up of the ruin of his loveseat, that he hadn't calmed down until after they'd ruined the decorative rug in front of his desk in a similar fashion. He had then proven that his frustration hadn't actually been a result of the loveseat as they proceeded, very passionately, to make a mess of the new one.
Whatever had been eating Flynn, he had worked through it with Yuri in the hours leading up to dawn. Exhausted, they had only just dragged themselves out of the state room and into Flynn's bed when they heard the door open and the sound of Sodia calling for him.
Yuri shot Flynn a look that very clearly said: I thought the door was locked.
Flynn just shrugged, got up and pulled on a dressing gown, and told Sodia that he would be out momentarily. When he came back by the bed, he leaned in to kiss Yuri's hair and tell him to get some rest—as if he could do much else with his only way out being to go through Flynn's state room and his second-in-command. Not feeling much up to crossing paths with Sodia, he did as Flynn had suggested and dozed off.
He should have paid better attention. Flynn was usually more careful.
"This way, Yuri."
They'd left his state room behind and Flynn's palm was hot as he tugged Yuri after him though the lofty palace halls. Knights and maids stepped aside for them, saluting or bowing according to their station, and were barely acknowledged in his haste. Flynn returned greetings from nobles and councilmen who either didn't recognize Yuri or didn't care who he was and outright ignored those who snubbed him. His obvious rush was attracting a few odd stares, but no one was inclined to question or delay him. Yuri wondered if there would be gossip over this. He didn't really think Flynn cared.
They were heading into a wing Yuri wasn't familiar with. He'd been through a time or two before, but that had been long before Flynn had ordered he be made welcome in the palace, and he hadn't been much interested in sightseeing back then. Although Yuri didn't know where they were going, he knew what arriving at their destination would lead to.
Smiling crookedly, he hoped that Flynn had taken their talk about discretion to heart.
For one of his trips to Zaphias, Yuri had arranged to stay in the city for a few days and had made plans to have lunch together with Flynn. He spent the morning preparing a picnic lunch, then let himself into the garden below Flynn's window, a basket over one arm and a handful of pebbles in his pocket. One by one, he tossed the pebbles at the panes of glass until Flynn came to see what was going on. After a quick motion to wait, he disappeared back inside for a minute. Having expected him to come down through the palace, Yuri was startled to see him climb carefully out the window.
Watching with a mix of surprise and amusement as Flynn made his way down, Yuri resisted the urge to bounce a pebble off his ass. Instead, he asked jokingly: "Having to sneak away from that lieutenant of yours?"
Flynn smiled his brightest as he stepped onto solid ground and straightened his clothes. "Something like that," he admitted as he took Yuri's hand. "Come on. I know the perfect spot."
Yuri had expected them to leave the confines of Zaphias, but Flynn led them through the gardens to a secluded corner bounded by towering rose bushes. They picnicked there on the soft grass, beneath a sky filled in with rain-heavy clouds. A game of feeding each other grapes by tossing them into open mouths turned into a small food fight before Flynn took it one step further and launched himself at Yuri. They wrestled playfully at first, but then, just as Yuri started getting serious, Flynn pinned him down and kissed him.
It startled Yuri into stillness, and he had a flash of insight that maybe that had been Flynn's plan—to surprise him and steal a victory—but it became clear pretty quick that Flynn wasn't the least bit interested in fighting. As his bewilderment over the abrupt change of mood had faded, Yuri got swept up. Flynn had him halfway out of his shirt when the clouds suddenly burst and loosed a cold rain down upon them. Scrambling to fix his clothes, Yuri made a mad dash for shelter alongside Flynn who threw an arm around his shoulders to hurry him along.
Hunched over and soaked, they entered the palace by way of an open atrium, a sort of glass-roofed garden complete with small patches of grass, stone troughs for flower bushes, and a central fountain. Had he not been already starting to shiver, it would have been a decent place to finish their interrupted lunch. Flynn's room would do just as well, though—better even, since he had his own little fireplace. Thinking only of getting warm and dry, Yuri hadn't expected to be pulled up short as he started for the halls of the palace proper.
Flynn preempted any questions or protests with a kiss, hands sliding warmly against Yuri's cheeks and into his hair. He pulled Yuri close, hushed him with heated kisses and the promise that no one ever came to that little atrium. Thoughts of dry clothes and finishing their interrupted lunch were pushed aside as they hid themselves between a row of flowering bushes and the wall. There, Yuri let Flynn peel away his sodden clothes and warm him with touches that burned against his skin. They made love in that hidden corner with the sound of the rain masking their quiet gasps, and the risk of exposure sent guilty little thrills shooting down Yuri's spine.
After a while, Yuri found that they weren't running into so many people anymore. He could guess by the way ornamentation and decoration took up increasing amounts of space between doors that they were moving deeper into the wing of the palace where the truly high and mighty slept and went about their business. He had an urge born from childish spite to make a racket and wake them all up, but that would have spoiled whatever Flynn had in mind and, by then, Yuri's curiosity had gotten the better of him.
Oddly, he began feeling more exposed without the presence of quite so many people in the hallway. It seemed to make it more obvious that, if no one else had any business there, they certainly didn't, either. Flynn must have felt it, too. As the halls became increasingly more deserted, he grew more and more careful, peeking around corners to be sure the next corridor was empty before hurrying on.
Yuri's stomach clenched as he got caught up in the game. He knew he probably should have put a stop to it rather than trusting Flynn to rein it in, but his steps were quickening to keep pace, and his footfalls grew lighter in response to Flynn's caution. A sense of excitement was building between them, and he had never been able to say no to that.
When it had first started, Flynn had taken a particular interest in using his state room for activities that the Empire certainly would not have condoned. As often as not, he would lock the doors as soon as Yuri appeared in his window, a signal that, soon enough, they would be tangled together on or against a piece of finely-crafted furniture that was probably not intended for such hard use.
One of those occasions in particular stood out in Yuri's mind.
He'd been gone for months and, when he'd appeared in the window, Flynn had been very excited to see him. In fact, he'd practically dragged Yuri into the room and had him pinned up against the wall with little more than a pleased cry of his name in-between. Words of greeting were given up in exchange for soft kisses that grew swiftly heated.
It had been snowing for the last leg of his journey, and Yuri was dusted with it, left icy cold and damp from walking through the steady fall of flakes. He thawed in Flynn's arms, melted into him and felt shivers set in at the change in temperature. It hadn't been the welcome he'd expected, but he certainly wasn't about to complain. The day was tailor-made to bask in the warmth of a lover's body, to curl up beneath sheets and trade tales of what they'd been up to in each others' absence. He tried to move them in that direction without breaking the kiss. Flynn went along with it for a few steps, but then he stumbled backwards into the desk. Their abrupt halt left him laughing into the kiss. He stroked Yuri's jaw and cheeks with ticklish delicacy before moving on. His fingers were hot against the chilled skin of Yuri's neck, burning on his shoulders where they slipped beneath his damp clothes.
"Your shirt's wet," Flynn murmured against his lips. He claimed a string of brief kisses that punctuated the quiet of his state room with soft smacks.
Yuri squirmed beneath his touch, working to free his arms from his sleeves. He was naked to the waist in moments, his shirt left dangling from where his belt still cinched it tightly around his waist. Melted snow had left his hair icy cold, and the feel of it against his bare back sent shivers running through the whole of him and leaving gooseflesh in their wake. Greedy for warmth, he pressed even closer to Flynn. He wanted to rip away that stupid uniform that barred from him the fullness of the warmth they could share.
Instead of holding him close so that they could stumble awkwardly toward the bed together, Flynn pushed Yuri gently back, guiding him to a seat in the carved chair behind his desk. There was a cloak thrown over the back of it which Flynn pulled down over Yuri's shoulders. His hands stroked over the cloth, smoothing it down, teasing as his thumbs just barely brushed over the skin of chest and stomach. Impatiently, Yuri yanked him into another kiss, raking his fingers through warm, dry, flyaway hair. The kiss stole the teasing lightness from Flynn's touches. With fingers and palms pressed firmly over Yuri's skin, he rubbed warmth into him and sped the beat of his heart. As Yuri's pulse forced the bone-deep chill to the surface, Flynn's touch brushed it away as if it were a coating of frost. Slowly, the shivers eased as the cold was banished from the tower room.
Flynn's lips followed the trails of warmth left by his hands. By the time his kisses had migrated down to Yuri's stomach on the way further south, a single, coherent thought rose through the fog of arousal that had clouded Yuri's mind.
"The door." He moved to stand, but hands on his hips put rest to any such impulse.
"Don't worry."
The words did less to keep him in place than did the tickle of hot breath below his navel and the tug of his belt being loosened. He squirmed beneath Flynn's attentions, his hips jerked reflexively upward against stroking, teasing touches. When at last he felt the tender touch of Flynn's lips against heated, sensitive skin, he couldn't quite hold back a soft cry.
It wasn't very long after that when Sodia walked in.
She froze when she saw Yuri sitting in Flynn's chair. Yuri stared dumbly back at her. Safely hidden beneath his desk, Flynn paused for a heartbeat—A very fast heartbeat. Yuri's pulse was racing.—before continuing right on with what he'd been doing.
Yuri tried to break the stalemate, but what should have been a very calm, composed, I-have-every-right-to-be-here-sounding 'Hey' came out as a strangled groan. The hand he'd raised in greeting seized as little shocks of pleasure ran through him. He lowered his arm and dug his fingernails into the armrest. There was a terrible struggle within him to focus on the armed knight in the room rather than what Flynn was doing with his tongue.
"Lowell." She took a hesitant step forward, scanning the room quickly before her eyes came back to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for...ah!...Flynn." He'd have kicked him if he dared. "Seen him?"
No way she'd believe that. He was breathing too hard and his skin felt hot enough to ignite the cloak that was draped over his shoulders in place of his shirt. Oh, he was definitely going to have to teach Flynn a lesson about leaving doors unlocked. Just as soon as he could think straight again. At the moment, it was all he could do to keep his composure while Flynn did his damnedest to strip it away.
She had to have known, but, thank the stars, she didn't want proof. Still, there was fresh disgust in her eyes as she glared at him. When she spoke, she forced her words out through clenched teeth.
"It is urgent that I speak to Flynn as soon as possible. Tell him that when you see him."
"Sure." He nearly choked trying to hold back a gasp. Good thing they all knew Flynn could hear the message, because Yuri wasn't going to be able to string two coherent syllables together soon. He bit back a swear at the rough scrape of teeth.
Having said her piece and unwilling to stick around, Sodia retreated. No worries that she'd be spreading any rumors. She'd gone along with the story and would probably want to obliterate the truth from her mind.
The heavy door had barely closed behind her when Yuri gave in and let a groan tear free. Flynn chuckled around him and he shivered. Slumping in the seat, he canted his hips to give him better access and reached out to grip handfulls of thick hair.
"Ass," he hissed.
Flynn didn't respond with words. He made Yuri beg, and only after he'd finished did he go and lock the door to prevent any further interruptions. They were at his desk for quite some time without getting any work done.
Yuri heard the Tweedles before he saw them. They had a particular way of tromping that made the clashing of their armor easy to identify, and the noise was coming from right around the next corner. About to warn Flynn, he was caught off guard and yanked through a door into an empty, unlit conference room. Not sure if they'd seen Flynn, Yuri caught a glimpse of them as the door shut and knew that they certainly hadn't missed him. Boccos stopped dead in his tracks, causing Adecor to bump into him from behind.
"I say!"
"Hold, Yuri Lowell!"
They started to charge right as the door clicked shut.
With a sigh, Yuri leaned against the door. "We've been spotted. Game's over for today."
"They only saw you." Flynn grinned at him, eyes sparking in the dim moonlight that filtered in around the curtains. "Quickly! This way."
He hadn't let go of Yuri's hand, and now he dragged him across the room to a larger-than-life painting of some long-dead nobleman. Feeling alongside the edge of the frame with his free hand, Flynn found a catch. He was able to slide the painting aside and he ushered Yuri into the spyhole, climbing in behind him and closing them in just before the Tweedles burst through the door.
The hidden room had been built for one person. Both of them together barely fit and were left pressed close together. The barest hint of gray light spilled in from the holes in the painting's eyes, and Yuri caught glimpses of Adecor and Boccos searching the room as they called for him to reveal himself. His focus was immediately redirected as Flynn began nibbling on his ear. Yuri's gasp was audible, but thankfully went unnoticed by the shouting pair of knights. Flynn shushed him with the barest breath of sound, teasing at the same time as he blew into Yuri's ear.
"How quiet can you be?" Flynn barely gave voice to the words and didn't wait for a response.
The warm, wet feel of Flynn's tongue had Yuri struggling to stay still and silent and not give them away. He crushed himself against the wall as teeth closed on his earlobe. Even as Adecor passed directly in front of their hiding place, Flynn's hands were sliding inwards over his hips, creeping down below his belt. Yuri was mirroring his movements before he'd even consciously accepted the challenge. Though he'd been the one to insist on being more careful, Yuri was willing to bet that the Tweedles weren't bright enough to find the secret door. As long as they were quiet, they'd be fine, and they'd had plenty of practice being quiet.
It was a wonder that Sodia was the only person to have ever caught them. Before she had walked right in on them, Yuri hadn't bothered to put up more than a token protest against Flynn's unexpected adventurous streak if he even objected at all. They'd been much less discreet before and hadn't ever been interrupted. One of the angel statues had guarded a tryst. He'd seen Zaphias stretched out below him from atop the sword stair and felt the wind on his bare, sweat-streaked skin. He knew the ghostly way quiet gasps echoed back from the corners of the empty throne room at midnight. He and Flynn had explored the palace together with a closeness they hadn't known since they were children exploring the Lower Quarter, and, barely hidden, they'd shared a passion far removed from their boyhood. It was a mischievous, reckless desire that drove them, and it often seemed that luck kept them from discovery more than their cursory nods to caution.
In the early fall, Yuri arrived along with a cooling wind that swept summer's heat out of the capital. He rescued Flynn from the drudgery of working inside on a perfect day. Flynn hadn't needed much convincing. He'd been cooped up all week and the change in the air had made him restless. They raided the kitchen for a simple picnic lunch—some cuts of smoked meat, rolls stuffed with herbs, fruit, and a bottle of cider—and then Flynn led them to the stables where they saddled a pair of horses and rode out of the city.
Repede joined them just outside the wall, pleased to be back with both his favorite humans. He loped along beside them as they raced past the farms surrounding Zaphias. They leapt small streams and skirted copses of trees with yellowing leaves. The beaming sun eased the bite of the wind that flung Yuri's hair into disorder, and he laughed as he raced Flynn from goal to goal, always just a little behind his friend who sat a horse with practiced ease. Flynn hadn't put on his cape or armor, but he still looked like a storybook knight, like the type of knight that ought to be protecting Zaphias, the type that put people before profit and believed in justice for all. Flynn shone like the sun, and Yuri felt the warm glow of pride for his friend.
Eventually, they reined in and dismounted in an open, level field. It was a place chosen by unspoken agreement, and Yuri tossed aside his sheath and stretched. Leaving Repede to stand watch, they moved a little ways off from the horses and saluted each other with a touch of blades.
The duel started playfully, a bout between old friends in high spirits. Even so, Flynn seemed a bit slower than Yuri remembered. A few pointed comments about spending too much time behind a desk sharpened his focus. The intensity of the encounter grew as they were reminded of each others' strength. Before the fight ended, Yuri gave Flynn his very best and was satisfied to know that his friend hadn't held back from him, either.
Afterward, they dropped to the ground within arm's reach of each other. Clouds drifted by overhead as they caught their breath. They lay like that for a while and let quiet talk fill the space between as they traded news. After a time, Yuri felt the gentle tug of Flynn's fingers toying with a lock of his hair. Pulling his gaze down from the endless blue sky, he met Flynn's eyes and was drawn in by the gravity of feeling he saw there. He rolled, putting himself halfway atop Flynn who welcomed him, pulled him closer and guided him toward a kiss...then turned away laughing as Yuri's stomach growled loud and long, spoiling the moment.
Abandoning one appetite to sate another, they returned to the horses and pulled lunch from the saddlebags. Most of the meat went to Repede, but they shared the cider and rolls between themselves and took turns feeding each other sections of orange or slices of apple. Flynn used the excuse to let his mouth close softly over the tips of Yuri's fingers. He teased, drawing wedges of apple over the curve of Yuri's lips. The leaned closer and closer as the air between them built up that familiar charge once more and drew them together like magnets.
The first kiss was soft as a sigh and the expression on Flynn's face as they parted welcomed Yuri home. Fingers slipped through his hair as Flynn fell back onto the grass and pulled Yuri to him. There was none of the haste that usually overtook them outside the bedroom. Flynn's touch was gentle and unhurried. The warmth of his hands lingered.
Again, they were interrupted.
This time, it was Repede. He barreled into them, having mistaken—deliberately, Yuri suspected—the exchange of kisses for a wrestling match. There were a few, confused moments while Yuri tried to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs. Freed, he sat back to watch with a mixture of amusement and annoyance as his lover and his partner wrestled on the grass. Helping himself to another roll, he contented himself with the thought that he'd be sure to find some time alone with Flynn later on.
They stayed out until the warm hues of sunset began leeching the blue from the sky. The ride back was far more sedate with the horses setting the pace. As they rode, Yuri listened to Flynn's talk about the changes he'd made in Zaphias and his plans for the Knights and the Empire. For himself, he spoke of Brave Vesperia's successes, though he shied away from describing exactly how influential the little guild he'd started with Karol and Judy had become. It was still hard to believe sometimes, particularly after all he'd done, that they were actually keeping that promise they'd made as children. It meant more to him than he could ever say, but he was certain that Flynn knew, all the same.
Back in the city, Repede left them to their own devices. The dog had his own affairs to attend to, and he would find Yuri before it was time for them to leave. Flynn dismounted to say goodbye, and Yuri followed suit. They parted ways and walked the horses back to the stables.
Flynn hadn't forgotten the interruptions from earlier. As the two of them walked between their mounts, his free hand settled on Yuri's shoulder and made its way down, caressing his arm and finally twining their fingers together. When he let go, it was only to settle his touch at the small of Yuri's back and gently hurry him along.
Arriving back at the stables, Yuri let his horse be led away to be groomed and fed. To his surprise, Flynn refused to hand over his reins to a stablehand. He led the animal back to a stall further in and away from the bustle near the front of the building. Yuri stood just outside the stall, impatient with the delay and watching as Flynn removed the tack and put it away, then made sure his mount had fresh water and feed. As he began brushing the horse's coat, he met Yuri's eyes over its back. The last rays of deep golden sunlight that fell through the window made his eyes seem a dark, midnight blue even as they lent them sparkle. There was the tiniest smile on Flynn's face that said he was enjoying the anticipation, and Yuri stuck out his tongue and considered just climbing up to his room to wait for him naked in bed.
Thankfully, Flynn didn't take much longer. Once his horse had been seen to, he gave it an affectionate pat and slipped out of the stall. Yuri was already turning to leave when Flynn grabbed his wrist, tugging him toward the back wall.
"This way."
His grin was eager, his fingers hot where they held Yuri's wrist. He hurried them to a ladder leading up into the loft. Yuri knew trouble when he saw it, but Flynn caught him up against the rungs and stole a kiss in the shadows. His earlier gentleness had faded and he caught Yuri's bottom lip in his teeth, tugging sharply once before letting it slip free. He pressed their bodies close, breath already coming quicker with the excitement of indiscretion. Every fiber of his being pronounced the choice: kiss me or climb. Yuri spun in his arms and scaled the ladder, Flynn so close behind as to be practically on top of him.
They collapsed into a pile on the landing, grasping, kissing, dragging each other up into the darkness of the loft. Hay perfumed the air, masking the smell of the stables below and nearly overpowering the lingering scent of cider on Flynn's breath. They scooted across the floor, soft laughter muffled by fervent kisses and the need to keep quiet. There above the stables, fetched up against bales of hay, they satisfied each other with hands and mouths, drawing out the pleasure of it as long as they dared, freezing at odd sounds and raised voices. The thundering of his own heartbeat was almost enough to cover the sounds of the work being done below and Yuri kept an eye on the ladder as much as he could, knowing that, at any moment, someone might come upon them. The threat of interruption made them greedy for each other.
No one disturbed them. Somehow, they even avoided detection as they made their way back to Flynn's room. A sense of victory filled them that reignited their banked passion. By the time they finally collapsed into Flynn's bed to sleep, dawn was already creeping over the city.
That had been only a few short months before Sodia's unexpected intrusion finally convinced Yuri that things were getting out of hand.
The Tweedles finally left only moments before Yuri spent himself to the coaxing of Flynn's insistent fingers. Flynn had finished shortly before, but he'd always been just a little more excited by these small risks they were taking. They stood still in the dark, letting their breathing adjust and remaining as quiet as possible in case the knights were to return. After a few, long minutes, Yuri put his lips to Flynn's ear.
"Think they're waiting outside?" he whispered.
"Doesn't matter," Flynn whispered back. He pressed himself against Yuri, though it quickly became obvious that he wasn't attempting to start anything. He felt along the wall with one hand until, with a click that Yuri felt more than heard, the panel behind him swung backward into darkness.
"The palace is riddled with passageways," Flynn murmured to him as he slipped by. One of his hands closed around Yuri's and he tugged, ready to act as guide. "I made it my business to learn about them."
There was a smugness to his voice that told Yuri he was extremely pleased to be putting secret passages to such use. He'd left them in that cramped room on purpose and had both of them fumbling together in the dark with the Tweedles only a breath away. Clinging to Flynn's hand, Yuri couldn't help grinning despite himself as he followed blindly behind. Cocky bastard.
"Where are we headed?" He kept his voice low just in case.
"We're taking the short cut." He paused, and Yuri heard his palm sliding across stone. "This is easier with a light, but I still know the way." They went a few steps further before he turned, squeezing Yuri's hand as he did so. "Come on."
For several, long minutes they walked through darkness. The air was still and cobwebs tickled Yuri's face and hands, but the floor was smooth and the way just wide enough not to hinder their passage. Every now and again Flynn would hesitate, but he led them confidently through the corridor. Eventually, they came to a dead end and stopped, listening intently to the silence.
"This is it," Flynn murmured. "There shouldn't be anyone around."
A nearly inaudible click opened the wall before them. This door had been hidden behind a tapestry, and Flynn led Yuri out from behind it into an empty room nearly as dark as the passage they'd left behind. Letting go of Yuri's hand, he moved along the wall to pull the curtains back from the windows and let a bit of moonlight in. Absently brushing dust and cobwebs from his clothes, Yuri stared at what the light revealed.
Wherever Flynn had brought them, it wasn't an ordinary set of chambers. Yuri had only rarely seen so many fine things gathered together all in one place. Shadows hung over the furnishings like a gossamer veil, but Yuri could still see the gleam of polished wood. The room felt empty, as if it rarely saw use, but it had clearly been cleaned recently. Wondering if the occupant was due back sometime soon, Yuri crossed to the towering doors that must have led to the hall and checked to be sure they were locked. He'd learned not to entrust that to Flynn.
Arms wrapped around him from behind and spun him around. He'd lost count of how many times Flynn had caught him up against a door that day. Not that he particularly minded, but he would have liked a chance to turn the tables. The knowledge that they had certainly taken over some pretty high-ranking noble's apartments faded from his mind as Flynn's tongue pressed past his lips to put an end to his immediate interest in the where of their actions. He tugged Flynn's shirttails free, hands seeking the heat of skin. Muscles shifted beneath his palms. His fingertips skidded over scars. Leaning forward, he tried to turn the tables so that Flynn was the one with his back to the wall. It didn't work out the way he'd planned. Laughing, Flynn scooped him up and hoisted him over one shoulder. He passed by the fine furniture and the moonlit windowsills and the bugbear skin rug laid out before the empty fireplace. He carried Yuri into the bedroom and laid him out on the bed. Kneeling, he removed Yuri's boots and kissed the tops of his feet. He was quick to shed his own shoes and draw himself up onto the bed, on top of Yuri. They shared a languid kiss, deep and achingly sweet, and Flynn nuzzled against his neck at the end of it.
"This room is currently unoccupied," he murmured. "We can stay as long as we like without worrying about being interrupted."
They made love with no thought of rushing, explored with devoted touch more carefully than they had their first time, more thoroughly than they'd done in years. The kisses they traded must have outnumbered the stars. Yuri felt that something between them was renewed that night, and he wondered, as he clung to Flynn and moved with him in their nest of silken sheets, if he felt it, too.
Sitting in the tub with Flynn hours after they had worn each other out after Sodia's unexpected arrival and hasty retreat, Yuri leaned against Flynn's chest and craned his neck back to try to catch his eyes. They were going to have to talk about what was going on.
"I thought the point was to not get caught."
"It wouldn't be the first time we had different priorities." His hands slipped over Yuri's thighs and in between his legs.
With a soft laugh, Yuri lifted Flynn's arms free of the water by the wrists. He draped their arms along the sides of the tub, but didn't protest when Flynn embraced him around the shoulders.
"We got caught and you kept going."
"Sodia understands discretion. She won't say anything."
"Not the point." Shaking his head, he rested his hands on Flynn's forearm. "What's going on with you? I thought maybe you were just loosening up, but that was something else."
Flynn sighed and hugged him a little tighter. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
"I'm probably not the one who needs an apology after that." The words came out sounding too much like a joke. He didn't want to make light of this or let it go. What Flynn had done earlier proved that there was more to his sudden interest in sneaking around than Yuri had suspected. It wasn't just about the thrill. He wouldn't have kept going over something that simple.
"I owe her one, too, but..." He nuzzled the crook of Yuri's neck. "Forgive me?"
He rubbed his cheek against Flynn's wet hair. "Yeah. But talk to me, Flynn. What did I miss?"
Again, he sighed. He was quiet for a few moments, long enough that Yuri began to wonder if he was refusing to answer rather than searching for the words. Finally, he broke the silence.
"We've both come so far. Is it strange for you, knowing that you're a leader in one of the most respected guilds in the Union?" He let out a short laugh as Yuri tensed. "Don't be so surprised. You can't have thought you were my only source of news about the guilds." Leaning back, he resettled his arms around Yuri's shoulders. "Sometimes I wonder...if you had accepted the credit back then for all you'd done, would I still be the Commandant? Or would I just be Flynn Scifo?"
"What are you going on about?"
"I'm only myself with you." There was something in his voice that made Yuri strain to get a look at his face. Flynn stayed hidden behind him, though he tried to explain. "It's tough, sometimes. I grew up in the Lower Quarter, Yuri. I'm not a diplomat, but that's what I'm expected to be to do my job. I'm expected to be a lot of things that I didn't have much time to prepare for, but I do it because it's necessary. Still...sometimes, I just want to be Flynn. You're the only person I can do that with. Even the people in the Lower Quarter have placed their hopes in me. You're the only one who'll argue with me as easily over meaningless nonsense as when I make a mistake." He eased his embrace to catch Yuri's hands in his. Twining their fingers together, he held them against Yuri's chest. "You know you have my heart, but you've got all the rest of me, too. You keep it safe so that I can step out of this role I've taken on as a force for change and just be a man for a short while. I can't tell you how important that is to me."
Flynn had a way of making the simplest actions seem so huge. Yuri had never even intended to do that for him. He'd just treated Flynn the way he always had. Well, not entirely the way he always had. The sex was a relatively recent addition to their relationship, but the rest of it, the arguing and fighting and encouraging him or distracting him...he didn't know how else to be with Flynn aside from all that. It was all the most natural thing in the world. Maybe that was part of what made Flynn such a good leader, though. He could look at a person's strengths and not only acknowledge them, but make them invaluable. Yuri squeezed his hands.
"So all the sneaking around...?"
"I don't know. It was exciting, but... I suppose maybe I was daring someone to see past what everyone needs me to be." He hesitated, then: "I guess we won't be doing that anymore."
A grin tugged at Yuri's lips. He had definitely heard disappointment just then. "Let's just set a couple ground rules and go from there."
"We've gone swimming in ponds smaller than that bed," Yuri commented. "Whose rooms are these?"
They were curled together on the balcony, having dragged out a sheet big enough to sail a ship with and a tiny mountain of pillows in order to bed down beneath the stars. Flynn's head rested on Yuri's chest. He'd taken one of Yuri's hands in his and was playing absently with his fingers, stroking over knuckles, wrist, and palm.
"These quarters are designated for the empress. They won't be used until Master Ioder takes a wife."
He sounded unusually smug over the fact that they'd just made love in a bed meant for a leader of the Empire, and Yuri laughed softly. The night breeze carried away the sound, and stirred Flynn's hair so that it tickled against his skin. He stroked his foot down Flynn's leg.
"Still good even without the threat of getting caught?"
"We almost got caught," he corrected. Yuri wondered how he had forgotten the Tweedles. "But, yes. Still good. Always good."
He rolled onto his side to wrap an arm around Yuri and kiss his chest. When once wasn't enough, he kissed a trail up past Yuri's collarbone, up his neck and beneath his chin. In moments, they were so distracted with each other that they almost missed the quiet knock on the door. Almost.
Yuri sat straight up and gaped at Flynn. "You said no one would come here."
Flynn looked equally bewildered. "There's no reason they should." He stood up and motioned for Yuri to stay. "Wait here."
"Like hell," he muttered, getting up to follow.
They dressed quickly in the dark and picked their way through to the doors. There hadn't been another knock, and neither of them could hear any sound from the corridor outside. Cautiously, Flynn unlocked the door and opened it a crack to take a peek. Yuri shoved him when his patience ran out a moment later.
"Who is it?"
"No one." Opening the door wider, Flynn stood back to reveal an empty hall, save for a tea trolley standing just outside the threshold. There was a jug on it, two empty mugs, and a note. Coming to his senses, Flynn pulled it inside and shut and locked the door before they could be spotted. He picked up the note and carried it to a window to read it by moonlight. After a curious glance at the jug, Yuri moved to join him.
"What's it say?"
Wordlessly, Flynn handed it to him.
Flynn-
I've taken the liberty of sending for some warm milk to be brought to you and Yuri. I find it does wonders for when I am having trouble getting to sleep at night in this drafty palace. Please give him my regards and try to get some rest. We do have a rather important meeting with the council first thing in the morning.
It was signed with a blob of wax imprinted with the imperial seal.
Yuri looked up from the note. "How far did you say these chambers were from Ioder's?"
Flynn was still staring at the seal, aghast. "Not far enough," he said faintly.