Note: I consider this story to be something more casual from my usual work. It is significantly less focused on action (for now) and more on the interactions between characters. I hope you enjoy!
Also, the cover art is not mine, albeit I did do a significant amount of editing on it. I could not find the name of the original artist, but whoever they are, all credit goes to them for the original work.
Ja'far rose slowly from the bed, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes as the silken bedspreads slid down his body. With a yawn, he looked over to Sinbad, who was facing away from him, hair unkempt and spread wildly across clean white pillows. It looked almost like a negative image of a bolt of lightning fluttering and meandering through the skies. "Rise and shine, we should have been up an hour ago." He said calmly and slowly, gently rubbing the other man's back with the slightest of touch, "It's a busy day."
"No." Was all he said, pulling the duvet up above his eyes, which was a difficult task to accomplish given that Ja'far's weight was currently holding it down. The movement of the blanket shifted the position of the throw pillows on the foot of the bed, sending some of them sprawling onto the floor. "You can't make me."
"You wouldn't want people to start growing suspicious, would you?" He asked, knowing that the King was very keen on keeping this in the dark. It had been like this for months, it was about to go on a year. Gradually, they were losing their touch, little glances would escape into the cosmos of what was, gentle passing touches that were seemingly imperceptible to anyone but themselves. But secrets could only be held for so long, like a breath held too long, in one sharp burst it would escape across their lips, screaming and gasping. "We're both an hour late, and while that is usual for you, it isn't for me." He got up to start getting about his day, though his day was always supposed to start with raising the king from the land of the dead, so technically, he was exactly where he should be.
The hardest part after those nights was certainly pulling himself together to face another day. Ja'far just made his world fall apart, and sometimes, things were meant to stay broken. But here the man was, trying to build him back up again, when he just wanted to wash away with the ocean's waves like a child's sandcastle. Of course, he meant all of this with the greatest bliss. Nothing made him happier than being greeted by the rough singsong of his lover's voice in the morning, every morning. He wished he could stay here and listen to it berate him forever, which in fact, he could, but eventually the sweet taste of chocolate would be maddening. "It would rouse more suspicion if we left together every morning. Oh wait. We do." There was no way the other generals didn't know about… this… By now. If they didn't they clearly weren't paying enough attention and were slacking at their jobs.
"No excuses. I know as soon as I leave you'll doze right back off." He reached into one of the drawers, sliding on various garments to get ready for the day. He dabbed a little bit of sinbad's perfume onto his wrist, that way when he got bored doing paper work during the day, he could sniff it as he lay his head into his palm, reminding himself of who he was doing it for. "Maybe if you didn't work yourself so hard at night, you could work harder in the day." He stopped at the foot of the bed, leaning over it, "I'm willing to take some damages to our escapades."
"You suck." Sinbad said, throwing the covers off, forcing himself to wake up with the blast of cold air on his bare skin.
"You love when I do, Sin." He smiled, handing the King his clothes. "No baths. Sorry. We're too late for that." If they had gotten up when they were supposed to, he probably would have drawn the bath, putting some coffee oils into the water for fragrance. Oh, he loved coffee.
"And you take away my favourite part of the morning. When will the torture end." He sighed, doing as his advisor instructed, "What's the plan for today?"
"You're going straight into a meeting regarding the recent water damages in the lower level. I will be bringing you breakfast during that, since we don't have the time to stop and get it." He heard Sinbad whine, and rolled his eyes, "You're unusually groan-y today. Are you feeling well?" He stepped over to take his temperature, placing his lips on his forehead, "You feel fine… Did you hurt something last night?"
"No, I just can feel that it is going to be a long day." He smiled up at him, taking his hand into his, running over the callouses that had been caused from years of accidental cuts. Parts of his finger tips and nails were permanently stained with ink from his more recent years of work, but one had to look very closely to see the little splotches. "Try not to get bored today. I know you always do."
"Nonsense, I think of all the fun the people of Sindria are having because of our work, and that makes it fun." Sure, he was lying a tad, but the people did make it all worth it in the end. That they had set out and accomplished the goal that he had once thought his master was insane for setting out to do. It was a beautiful thing. He never would have thought that he would make it his far. What would his parents say if they saw him now? The rest of the Sham Lash? Initially, the other assassins had tried to make their way to punish Ja'far for leaving the force, but in more recent years, they had given up entirely. It was a wonderful thing to finally be free of the evils that plagued him. Sin had allowed that to happen.
Sinbad smiled, getting up and stretching, "That it does." They had their country now. He stepped over to his vanity, seeing that one of his oil perfumes had a slightly askew lid, and smiled. Ja'far always prefered that one, he said it smelt like a summer storm in the middle of the ocean, just like him. Beautiful, awe inspiring, but a merciless force of nature. He pushed the lid back into place with a gentle tap, choosing a different one for the day.
They headed out together, being sure to stand several inches apart. There were no wanton glances or sly winks today, no delicate graces of their pinkies. Today was a business day.
A few hours after they awoke, Sinbad released himself from another meeting about bees. Apparently, the farmers needed more bees to be shipped in from beyond the island in order to pollinate their crops. It would be no problem, but to him it was a strange request, given that he had never worked in agriculture.
He was starving, he hadn't had time to eat while they were discussing water damage this morning. Ja'far had brought him food as he said he would, but it had gotten gross. But at least now there was lunch.
Ah! Butternut squash soup! He smiled when a bowl was placed in front of him. He nodded in thanks to the servant, who smiled in return, before he started to eat. It was so warm and nice, and sent him into a daydream. But his reverie was shattered by the wailing of a newborn infant. Ja'far came in, holding the baby, "Sin." Sinbad had a sour expression on, wondering why the baby was here, "I…"
Sinbad saw the expression on Ja'far's face. No. This was not happening. "Where did… it come from?" He got up to look at the baby. It was swaddled in a coarse green blanket, it's face bright red with tears. Aw… Cute. He thought, and Ja'far put the child in his arms.
Sin rocked the child back and forth as Ja'far started to speak, "He was on the doorstep… No one saw him get there…" His eyes were pleading, running his fingers through his hair, looking him fervently in the eyes. "I sent out a search for his mother and a milkmaid an hour ago, but no one seems to be missing a child. I… called him Mystras." He rocked back and forth on his heels, holding his arms behind him. They were the only ones in the room, "There are people who offered to take care of him… But I want to, Sin."
"Ja'far... " The King sighed, looking at the child dubbed Mystras. "I don't know. We are both so busy." Ja'far's eyes brightened at the 'We' worded, shining like the dapples of sunlight through a dense forest, "You said there are others who are willing to watch over him?..." He asked tentatively, voice falling the longer the sentence went on, following his lover's gaze to the floor, "Ja'far…"
"I know we're busy all the time, but we have an opportunity here." He never would have thought that he would have a family, but here his chance was. It was meant to be. They had Sindria now, they could make time for a family. "I… I am going to, Sin." He smiled as the king passed him the infant, looking into his sleepy eyes, he seemed to have given up on crying. "Unless you ordered me not to, these are my intentions." Sin would never be so cruel as to issue such an order.
"Well you can't do it on your own." He smiled, pulling him into a side hug, hand wrapped around his waist, meeting his eyes for a moment before looking down at the child in his arms. Ja'far was determined. This had come out of nowhere. It was just supposed to be a normal, busy day. "Hello Mystras." He said in a high pitched voice, unbefitting to him, but it felt only natural to speak to a baby in such a manner.
Ja'far stood on his toes for a moment to place a kiss on his lips, "I love you." He said in a hushed tone. He wanted to hold his face, but his hands were with the child, nestling him close, so Sinbad did it for a moment, holding his cheeks delicately between his hands for another quick kiss.
Yamuraiha stopped in the doorway, wanting to back out, but Sinbad noticed her presence as soon as she had made the decision to leave. She knew it! She knew they were together! Ever since Sinbad had slowed his advances of women at parties! Sure, he still did it, and every time he did Ja'far walked tenser and seemed snappy. "Yes, Yamuraiha?" Sinbad asked, stepping away from Ja'far, and Ja'far hid the blush on his face by heading to the other side of the room to sit down, watching as Mystras tries to suck on his finger, growing frustrated.
"We found a milk maid for the baby." She shifted on her feet nervously, even Sinbad was tense now. They were obviously intent on keeping whatever they had a secret. "Her name is Raleigh, a young mother who recently stopped feeding her child, but is still producing milk. We've already begun to set her up in the castle."
"Great, set her up near my bedroom, as well as a room for Mystras." He forced a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Though do keep what you saw a secret, okay? It's important." The smile became real when she nodded, and he visibly relaxed, slowly pulling his hand away, watching as she scurried out to do as she was told, and his gaze fell to Ja'far, his face pensive and concerned, "You should head upstairs." He still had meetings to return to, "Take the rest of the week off and get acclimated, I'll pick up the extra work."
Ja'far nodded, his eyes seemed softer now. He was glad that he had gotten his way, and that he would be able to take care of Mystras, but now he had new worries. He would have to learn to balance way more than before. "I'll see you later?" He asked, standing up. They didn't get to be together every night, but tonight certainly called for it.
"Of course." He smiled, nodding and heading off. They couldn't get away with any more displays of affection, the fact that Yamuraiha had seen them sent him on edge. He trusted his generals to keep a secret, but would a normal servant do the same? They had been fortunate that it was her that had walked in and not anyone else. But… If they were going to raise Mystras together, would it be time to stop hiding their relationship?
He paused to look out the window, gazing over the country that he and his allies worked to hard to build. He had built friendships. He had built strong alliances between isolated nations. Maybe it was time to start building his family.