Disclaimer: The Study Trilogy belongs to Maria V. Snyder
-Fair Play-
Janco imagined twirling his fingers through all that thick hair. Ari's curls were just too tempting.
He smiled as he bent his elbow and moved his arm while dancing back so that his bow was almost horizontal and provided a temporary shield between his body and Ari's.
"That man is bright. That man is slight. But can he finish up this fight?" Janco taunted from across the field. He was using his quick footwork to gain himself some ground. Ari was fast but not as fast as he was. And sometimes, the view was better admired from afar. Janco bit down a smile as he watched with hooded eyes as Ari made his way over cautiously.
His movements were sinuous even though they had been sparring for hours. His muscles moved fluidly with each step and swing of his arms. His broad sword was held in front of him stiffly and sweat shimmered at his neck and shone at his collarbone. His steps made muffled sounds as his boots touched the ground. A few locks of his hair fell onto his forehead and into his eyes. He blew at them distractedly. Janco couldn't help but smirk and his hand twitched on his bow.
He really wanted to brush those strands of hair away from Ari's forehead. He was just too cute.
Ari was like a teddy bear. He was supposedly fierce and silent and though he was deadly he was (sometimes) just too innocent.
"Quick, quick! Take a hit. See what happens with a flick of a wrist."
Janco made his move. He darted forward with his bow and dodged a few blows from Ari's sword. Janco feinted a blow toward Ari's ribs and when Ari's didn't take the bait Janco aimed for his head and then made a move for his stomach. Ari fell for it. Janco then promptly slipped to the right in a quick few steps and hit Ari lightly in the side of the head while he was still unbalanced from dodging Janco's strike to his stomach.
Ari frowned but he broke out into a wry grin after a few moments.
"Didn't see that one coming." He said and he was almost sheepish.
"No?" Janco said cheekily as he moved closer. Their noses were almost touching.
"If I did then you wouldn't be preening." Ari said with a smirk.
He has nice dimples. Janco thought as he felt Ari's breath brush over his cheek.
"Preening? Me? How dare you." Janco said as he moved even closer. Their clothes brushed and Janco was close enough to see Aria blink and the shadows his eyelashes cast against his cheeks.
"I was distracted." Ari added. His smile dimmed and his eyes darkened as he eyed Janco.
"Excuses, excuses." Trilled Janco as he dropped his bow to wrap his arms around Ari's neck. He leaned forward so he was pressed against Ari's front and his lips were pressed against Ari's pulse. "What exactly were you distracted by?"
"You." Ari muttered as Janco slid his tongue along the side of his neck.
"Really? Was it my charming smirk? Or was it my lovely long legs? Or was it my fantastic rhyming skills?" Janco asked as he ran a hand down Ari's shirt and began to undo buttons. His hands slipped lower for just a moment before sliding up again over smooth muscle and scars.
Ari slid his knee between Janco's legs and murmured into Janco's ear, "You have a bit of an exhibitionist kink, don't you? The barracks are a couple of yards away and someone could walk in any time."
"Don't be logical right now." Janco breathed and he shimmied his hips and nipped at Ari's jaw line. His hands were tracing scars idly and his lips were murmuring against skin, "If you can still manage full sentences it seems like I'm not doing a good enough job of seducing you." His voice sounded like he was pouting.
Ari gave a short chuckled and the sound reverberated in his chest. Janco wanted to get closer.
"Our rooms are down the hall." Ari said as he teased a hand through Janco's hair and slid a finger under the leather of Janco's belt. He was talking about the rooms that had been assigned to them after they had defeated Valek and become his second in commands.
"Mine." Janco said automatically before backing away quickly and grabbing his bow from the ground. He practically dashed to the cupboard containing all the practice weapons and threw his bow in. He raised his hand for the broad sword but Ari made his way over and placed his broad sword in himself. He felt Janco's eyes on him as he moved. Janco then made to rush out the door before stopping and waiting for Ari to catch up. He was almost glaring at him as Ari walked over slowly. Ari felt a smirk tugging at his lips.
Once Ari did make his way over, Janco wrapped his hands around Ari's wrist and practically dragged him out the door of the practice room.
There were a lot of questionable noises coming from down the hall after the practice room was vacated.