It was the blushing that really got to him. Aethas' constant backsliding into being unable to look Rommath in the face even when they knew each other so intimately as lovers. Lor'themar advised him to give Aethas time, that rushing would do more damage. Rommath knew himself well enough to admit he didn't have Lor'themar's terrifying patience. He wanted resolution, he wanted them to move forward consistently instead of constantly having to coax Aethas into looking him in the eyes time after time.
Lor'themar's patience was legendary, Lor'themar's patience allowed him to spend hours sitting motionless in a tree stalking hapless trolls, Lor'themar's patience allowed him to turn that same unswerving focus to standing for hours and calmly listening to petitions from people whom Rommath would call idiots when he was feeling charitable. The difference between himself and Lor'themar, Rommath thought, was that Lor'themar handled idiocy with far too gentle a hand.
Even Lor'themar's patience wasn't eternal, though, because after a week of Rommath constantly bringing the subject of Aethas' 'problem' up whenever they spoke Lor'themar exasperatedly conceded that there was nothing wrong with talking to Aethas about it.
Aethas was, as Lor'themar had predicted with damning accuracy, a nervous wreck when the conversation eventually got around to the topic Rommath wanted to discuss. They sat togther in the sitting room of Lor'themar's suite, Aethas trapped between the two of them on a low, comfortable couch.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Aethas nearly squeaked, pressing himself into Lor'themar in an effort to put distance between himself and Rommath as the Grand Magister leaned towards him.
"You've always been a terrible liar, Aethas," Rommath said, ignoring the warning look that Lor'themar gave him over Aethas' head, "Something is obviously bothering you about us and I want to know what it is."
"Nothing is bothering me about us!" Aethas replied vehemently, glaring at Rommath.
"Then what, exactly, is bothering you?" Rommath questioned archly, his own temper flaring.
"Rommath," Lor'themar said quietly, and both Rommath and Aethas were momentarily drawn from their escalating argument, remembering that he was there as well, "If Aethas doesn't want to talk about it I'm sure he has his reasons."
Aethas looked between the two of them and fidgeted nervously, glancing momentarily at the door as though he was considering his chances of escaping before Lor'themar could snare him or Rommath could immobilize him. "It's not a problem with us" he stressed, "It's just a problem with me."
Lor'themar stroked his back comfortingly, as Rommath attempted to copy the perfect stillness he had seen Lor'themar slip into so many times waiting for Aethas to explain.
"I…if I seem to constantly lose confidence around you, Rommath, it's because I'm not confident," Aethas said at last, "I feel like my inexperience frustrates you, and that it's barely tolerated. As though you'd rather be alone with Lor'themar than have me around too…" he trailed off, averting his gaze from Rommath's face to study the floor intently.
Rommath stared at him blankly for a few moments, so completely caught off guard by the root of Aethas' problems he wasn't sure how to respond at first. Lor'themar caught his gaze and gave him a look that shouldn't have been so effective with only one eye. He gathered his thoughts, then reached out and caught Aethas under his chin, turning his head so he had no choice but to meet Rommath's gaze.
"Aethas," he said, glancing momentarily at Lor'themar and getting an encouraging nod, "If I've been somewhat abrasive with my manner towards you…"
He was interrupted by Aethas snorting ungracefully, "Somewhat abrasive?" the younger mage repeated, his eyebrows rising.
Rommath glared at Aethas until he quieted, ignoring the smile that stole across Lor'themar's face, "I'm not frustrated with you," he told Aethas struggling to find a way to express his feelings, "and if I seem that way then it's because I'm trying to understand why you seem to constantly draw away when we've just made progress."
He felt proud of himself for managing to verbalize the tangle of emotions that seemed to well up whenever he was faced with Aethas' renewed reticence.
Aethas opened his mouth to say something but Rommath pressed forward and kissed him, pulling him away from Lor'themar and toward himself. Gently Rommath ran his hand from Aethas' chin and through his hair, brushing it back from his face as their kiss deepened.
When Lor'themar shifted on the couch next to them they broke apart, he smiled at them and said "I have an idea."
The look on Lor'themar's face as he said it was mischievous, and when he glanced at Rommath the Grand Magister knew that he was about to suggest something devious.
"Aethas, you're feeling insecure about Rommath accepting you," he said bluntly, making Aethas cringe slightly, "and Rommath, you want to show Aethas that you do accept him…" the look in his eye and the tone of his voice conveyed the implications of his words just as plainly as if he had taken the time to say them.
Rommath felt himself stiffen was he realized what Lor'themar meant, just as Aethas turned to him with a blush rising on his cheeks not from embarrassment but from arousal. The look Lor'themar gave him over Aethas' shoulder was self-satisfied enough to be downright predatory, and Rommath knew he had been as neatly trapped as any creature Lor'themar had hunted before.
Rommath could respect such a skilled manipulation, as grudgingly as he gave that respect when the manipulation had been enacted on himself. Lor'themar smiled at him again, warmly this time, with none of the toothiness of his last smile and Rommath knew he was lost even before Aethas turned back to Lor'themar to look for some kind of affirmation. Aethas seemed to find it, and he turned back to Rommath with a hopeful look.
"Rommath," Aethas stumbled over his words, "if you don't mind, I mean…"
I don't mind," Rommath cut him off. Despite Lor'themar's maneuvering him into this position, Rommath found he really didn't mind. Bolstering Aethas' confidence so he would partake more fully in their relationship was a good thing…and likely what Lor'themar had been aiming for this entire time.
As Aethas drew him up from the couch and towards Lor'themar's bed Rommath turned back to glare, his venomous look met with another self-satisfied smile from Lor'themar. Rising from the couch gracefully to follow Aethas and Rommath to bed, Lor'themar hummed quietly to himself.
Aethas' hands shook slightly as he undressed and watched Rommath do the same, Lor'themar lagging behind them to search through the bedside table for oil and something that Aethas couldn't see held in his hand. He watched the clean lines of Rommath's tattoos as he moved, admiring them as Rommath climbed onto the bed. Aethas followed him, feeling breathless with anticipation. In all their times together Rommath had never allowed Aethas this, and he had thought that perhaps there was something wrong or unsatisfactory about himself that caused him to be denied.
He leaned forward to kiss Rommath, Lor'themar finally joining them on the bed. Aethas could feel himself blush as he watched Rommath turn from him to Lor'themar, meeting him in a kiss that was just as passionate as the one they had shared.
When Lor'themar and Rommath broke their kiss and Lor'themar turned to him and drew him into a kiss as well, Aethas felt lightheaded. Drawing back to breathe he found that Lor'themar had passed Rommath the oil and the Grand Magister had begun to prepare himself, Rommath's deeply golden skin seeming to grow darker as he became more and more aroused. Aethas swallowed against his suddenly dry throat, and when Rommath beckoned to him with an oil-slick hand he went helplessly.
Lor'themar stopped him after he had positioned himself, but before he finally pushed into Rommath, leaning over first to kiss him and then to give him a far more wicked look than Aethas had thought his Lordship capable of. Watching as Lor'themar took hold of Rommath's cock and squeezed it before revealing what he had hidden in his hand. Aethas didn't know what the slim strap of leather was for but Rommath seemed to recognize it, tossing his head back and groaning wordlessly when Lor'themar stroked him before winding the leather strip around the base of Rommath's cock and securing it with a devilish looking knot.
When Lor'themar sat back and nodded to him Aethas finally, finally pushed in. Rommath moaned and moved his legs to best accommodate Aethas, who seemed to have frozen once he had finally breached his body. He could hear Lor'themar cooing encouragement at Aethas, urging him to relax and to just move. In spite of the devious torture that Lor'themar seemed intent on heaping upon him, Rommath was glad Lor'themar was there to encourage Aethas. For the first time in as long as he could remember Rommath felt afraid to try and speak, how rarely he allowed himself to be penetrated taking its toll on his ability to form coherent words.
Aethas finally moved, the heat and tightness of Rommath's body making him shake and curling his toes when they had barely started. He couldn't help moaning loudly as he set an uneven rhythm, having to stop and try to collect himself before continuing. He felt as though every bit of blood in his body that wasn't in his cock had gone straight to the hot blush on his face, his breathing fast and shallow as the sensation of driving into Rommath tore through him.
Rommath can tell Aethas is slowly coming apart: his already broken pace becoming even more erratic, his body shaking, his hitched breaths. He moans as Aethas manages to find sensitive places inside of him, turning his head to the side and seeing Lor'themar still and silent as a stalking lynx watching them with a dark eye. The feeling of Aethas inside of him and the searing focus of Lor'themar's gaze undoes Rommath, he moans again loudly and urges Aethas faster and deeper.
Aethas sobs out a moan as he comes, nearly collapsing on top of Rommath. Lor'themar catches him and helps him to the side, kissing him gently and praising him before he settles Aethas comfortably onto a pillow. Rommath immediately reaches for the leather strap wound around his straining cock but Lor'themar bats his hands aside, leaning over him and kissing him before giving Rommath a predatory smile and nearly purring, "My turn."
Rommath strains up to kiss Lor'themar as he straddles him and drives himself down on Rommath's cock, his hands settling on Lor'themar's hips as they set a brutal pace. Lor'themar growls at him like a wild thing when Rommath thrusts up to meet his rhythm, their kisses going from passionate to breathy and careless as they both near completion. Rommath digs his fingers harshly into Lor'themar's hips and just before he comes Lor'themar reaches beneath himself and snaps the leather strap free of Rommath's cock.
Together they orgasm and slump tiredly onto the bed, before extricating themselves from each other. Aethas can't help but he overwhelmed at the sight of them together as he always is, his blush returning full force as he lies stunned beside them.
Rommath looks at him despairingly, "We need to work on the constant blushing," he grumbled, while Lor'themar just laughed delightedly.
"I think it's cute."
Notes: A.K.A: Lor'themar can be conniving as hell when he wants to. Also, Aethas and Rommath are under the mistaken impression that all of them belong to each other, really they both belong to Lor'themar. I have no idea where I got the extra fancy description from