Lalli's hands wandered along Emil's sides and pulled on his tucked-in shirt. Even with the leather gloves discarded, his fingers were cold when they finally got under the fabric. Emil's little gasp was quickly muted with another kiss and for a moment, he thought about their first kiss. That time, that first time, after many breaks on the road that they had spent together, sitting in the cold on a fallen tree just a bit too close to call it only friendship. Their heads leaned close, the tension sizzling within Emil as he dared to look at Lalli's face and saw no rejection, just the same confusion over how to go on and Lalli's eyes darting a bit lower to his lips, again and again. His gaze in turn fell on Lalli's lips and something within took over, made him lean in and close his eyes until their lips met for the first time. He didn't quite reach his mark, placing his lips more on the corner of Lalli's lips than in the middle but it was a first kiss. Clumsy, shy und unsure what to expect of the other and what to do, it only lasted for a moment but neither of them could resist doing it again, just a moment later. Their bodies turned to make the angle less awkward and Emil wasn't sure how his hand found Lalli's but it did. He held on to it as they slowly kissed each other, this time just peeking through half-lidded eyes as he leaned in to make sure they did this right, and his nervousness calmed down a little as Lalli squeezed back. It felt like a little eternity but at the same time awfully short and like it could never be enough when they stopped and just leaned their foreheads together, breathing carefully as if to not break the moment.
It had taken them a while to get this close. At first, Lalli had ignored Emil when he'd come after him during their road breaks but slowly, Lalli started to wait for Emil to get his food as well before going off to a quiet corner. Emil always felt safe with Lalli picking their eating spots and there always seemed to be dry spots to sit down for at least two people. Lalli stopped turning his back at Emil and started facing him while eating. It seemed to Emil that something was eating at Lalli when he felt Lalli's gaze following him, always looking out for his reactions until he'd look away as soon as Emil would notice him. Whenever it took Emil a bit longer to follow him, Lalli had a worried expression on his face and wandering hands betrayed unusual fretting. Emil, on the other hand, was distantly reminded of a passage in a book his mother had read to him during his childhood, about a prince and a flower and drawn sheep and most importantly, a passage about said prince taming a fox. He didn't consider Lalli a wild animal but with the lack of communication between them and only gestures, a few more or less memorized words and tone of voice to rely on, he could only communicate a version of himself to Lalli that couldn't rely on boasting or lies to look better and it seemed like every day, Lalli sat a bit closer to him, like the fox in the story. Lalli didn't seem to care about those things that Emil may or may not have accomplished, known, or had, but only who Emil was, behind all those layers that didn't matter in their silence and Emil came to enjoy being just his bare self in front of Lalli.
One day, Lalli was waiting for him, his bowl of soup left aside on a tree trunk, kicking at little pebbles at his feet when Emil arrived, his bowl of soup at hand. Confused, he looked at Lalli, who was keeping his shoulders tense and his eyes darting nervously between the ground and him, and he was about to try to ask what was going on when, to Emil's surprise, Lalli blurted out an apology in his strongly accented Swedish. He just apologized, and then stood there, his face somewhat crunched up and his eyes fixated somewhere to the side on the ground. Confused, Emil set his soup down and approached Lalli, asking him what he meant (in the hopes that his confused tone would be enough to carry the meaning of his words over). Lalli still refused to turn his face, his eyes only momentarily straying over any part of Emil but his face when Emil stood in front of him. Emil reached up to comb a strand of hair that had gotten out of place when Lalli had moved his head – a gesture that had gotten almost instinctive for him and Lalli didn't seem to mind it usually – and from beneath Emil's hand, Lalli apologized again, very quietly. He pointed at the nearby bowl of soup and then at Emil's face and finally, Emil got it. His face lit up and he began to tell him in a chipper voice that it didn't matter to him anymore as he ran his fingers through Lalli's hair and Lalli was finally looking at him, eyes wide. Then, in an impulsive moment, Emil opened his arms as an inviting gesture for a hug to show Lalli that all was good between them. The moment he had done that, he remembered Lalli's aversion to being touched and he was about to falter when he saw that little spark of hesitation in Lalli's face, Lalli's body leaning just a little in instead of away and his mouth slightly open, as if surprised by hope. He kept his arms open, tried to sound as inviting and conciliatory as possible when he called out his name, and to his surprise, Lalli took the step forward and Emil wrapped his arms around him as he felt Lalli's arms touch his back. He tried to find the right amount of strength, not too tight, not too light while his brain was still trying to process that Lalli had just agreed to a hug.
It wasn't him who used strength. It was Lalli, who after a moment of awkwardly and stiffly standing in Emil's arms, suddenly pulled him close and held tight, as if he'd been waiting for a long time to do this. Or maybe he'd just discovered that he didn't mind hugging Emil. Or whatever reason he had, Emil accepted it very gladly. His heart beating fast, he held on, rubbing Lalli's back and leaning his head against Lalli's face nuzzled in the nook between his neck and his shoulder. He didn't say a word, just quietly and gently rocked both of them as Lalli held on to him. He let Lalli be the one to choose when to let go and when he did, he smiled happily at Lalli who sported an awkward expression but still with relief and a hint of a smile on his face. He was elated to have gotten a hug from Lalli and no matter what happened to him later during the day (a mouldy book shelf crashing on his head, some vermin that jumped at him in that old house by the road…), he walked on clouds, and when they sat down to eat their by then pretty much cold soup, they sat side by side for the first time since the soup throwing incident.
The hug didn't stay a singular incident. Emil found it hard to keep his hands off Lalli, always tempted to touch him somehow to get the feeling of that hug back. He'd grab his hand or pet his hair at times, always a bit worried that Lalli might not want it and always ready to pull away if it wasn't welcome but after a while, Lalli seemed to reply in his own way. He'd lean in when Emil petted him and close his eyes, or just squeeze back when Emil took his hand or sometimes, when they were done eating and just sat in silence, he'd lean against Emil's shoulder. Just a light touch but it was there for sure and it always made Emil's heart jump a little every time. When scouting had been tough or when hours had been spent helping Tuuri to fix the motor and keep it from burning again, they'd hold each other in a quiet hug, eyes closed, just seeking a moment of rest in the other's arms. They never did it in front of the others. Lalli didn't seem to feel comfortable with showing his affection for Emil in public and Emil could do without the comments of the others as well so they just sought those quiet stolen moments together, over road breaks or behind the tank when everybody else was busy.
After their first kiss, things got more intimate. Emil discovered that Lalli wasn't that averse to being touched as long as he could set most of the pace. In fact, he was quite adventurous at times and took the lead, pulling Emil into quiet nooks so they could steal precious minutes to kiss and let the hands wander, experimenting with each other to see what they liked. They never quite forgot to watch their surroundings but Emil was glad that Lalli took care of that most of the time because when things got intense, he could only focus on Lalli and nothing more. So far, they'd never run into real troubles, they'd only been interrupted by some vermin once. And many times by Sigrun calling for them. That one never failed.
Lalli's little grumble in their kiss pulled Emil back from his trip down memory lane and he reached up to knot his hands in Lalli's hair while Lalli pushed up Emil's shirt and ran his hands over the exposed belly with a hint of pudge. Emil felt the cold air on his skin but Lalli's fingers playing with his nipples, exploring him as they liked, felt hot enough to set him on fire. He pulled Lalli closer, rubbing his hips against his as Lalli slid a knee between his legs. He felt the bulge in Lalli's pants pushing against his and he still found himself getting giddy and excited at the idea that Lalli desired him and got aroused over him. He grinded against him, his hands wandering over Lalli's back, and he slipped them into Lalli's pants to grab his butt. After a moment of feeling each other up that way, Lalli pulled away just far enough so his fingers could ghost along the hem of his pants before he slipped his hand in, palming Emil through his underwear. Lalli looked into Emil's eyes as he gripped him firmly and without hesitation about what he wanted to do and Emil could only nod breathlessly and eagerly. Emil's hips bucked into Lalli's touch and Emil was glad that Lalli kissed him like this was their last day because keeping his voice down was hard. His head was spinning a little and he was losing his grip on Lalli's butte and instead held on to his shoulders while Lalli, on the other hand, had decided to get things going for good. With Emil trapped between him and the tree in his back, Lalli's knee keeping his legs spread, Lalli handled Emil's pants and underwear until they slid down just enough to free Emil's dick that had been straining against his pants. Emil shivered from the cold air hitting his private parts and gasped loudly when Lalli's hand wrapped around the hot flesh and began to slowly jerk him off. He dug his fingers into Lalli's shoulders as Lalli's hand moved with a light twist along his shaft, rubbing the softer part of his palm over the head. It took all of Emil's willpower to swallow the moans and the words that wanted to get out of him and just pant quietly between kisses.
Just as his hips began to quiver, always a tell-tale sign that he was close, Lalli changed his tactics, much to Emil's (admittedly enjoyable) frustration. He let go of Emil's dick to reach a bit further down, gently cradling his balls and rolling them between his fingers as his lips wandered over Emil's jaw and on his neck. Kisses turned into nips and bites that would not leave lasting marks on Emil's neck and Emil had to press the back of his hand against his lips to muffle his not so manly squeaks. His hips bucked against Lalli's arm, an attempt to find release, just before Lalli wrapped his hand around Emil's dick again, this time only rubbing the head slowly with his thumb. Emil stopped silencing himself to fist his hands into Lalli's hair, pulling him back in for a desperate, needy kiss. He could feel Lalli's smug smile on his lips but he nevertheless grumbled his name under a kiss to make him hurry up. Lalli's grip got a bit tighter and he started moving his whole hand again, falling into a steady rhythm along Emil bucking and rocking his hips into his hand. His other hand was busy teasing one of Emil's nipple, pinching it lightly and rubbing it as if the cold air hitting Emil's skin wasn't enough to keep him perky. Emil tensed up, his back pressed against the tree but his hips arching at Lalli as Lalli sped up. His fingers were leaving little marks on Lalli's shoulders through the fabric of his shirt as he clenched his teeth to try to suppress any noise, and finally, when Lalli kissed that sensitive spot under his jaw again, his cum dripped over Lalli's fingers as he finished him off, emptying him with a few slow strokes.
Emil slumped, drained and fuzzy inside from the high, and leaned his head on Lalli's shoulder. For a moment, he closed his eyes and thought about nothing but Lalli and certainly didn't take much notice of Lalli cleaning off his fingers with a handkerchief. He opened his eyes again when he felt Lalli's hand on his cheek and so he looked up, smiling with flushed cheeks. They kissed, long and slowly, with Lalli pressed flush against him and arms wrapped around each other. Emil raked his fingers through Lalli's hair and whenever their kisses stopped for moments, they kept close, nuzzled together and smiling. Emil pulled his shirt back down again when it got a bit too chilly for him and packed himself up. Then, he reached down and laid his hand over the bulge in Lalli's pants, waiting for Lalli to give him the okay to go. Sometimes, they had to resist their urges when duty would follow. It'd be foolish to send Lalli off into the night feeling drowsy and sleepy or Emil floating in his bliss to follow Sigrun into a troll-infested house. This time however, Lalli nodded. They had nothing but miles of empty road ahead for the rest of the day and not much scouting left to do. Emil's smile widened and he nudged Lalli around to lean against the tree he had just been leaning on, kissing his neck as he got Lalli where he wanted him.
Now it was his turn to push up Lalli's shirt and he lavished attention on Lalli's nipples, suckling and nipping lightly on them, satisfied to feel Lalli shiver and hiss quietly under his touch. He sunk lower, kissing a line down Lalli's stomach as he got on his knees, his hands trailing along Lalli's sides and gripping his narrow frame to make it very clear to him where he was heading. He felt Lalli's half-lidded but excited gaze on him as he slowly unbuttoned Lalli's pants and as he slid them down to where those long boots stopped any further progress, he looked up to Lalli, not breaking eye contact as he kissed the little wet spot on Lalli's straining underwear. Lalli's eyelids fluttered and closed as Emil pulled down his underwear as much as he could and he couldn't help but sigh contently as he took in the sight of seeing Lalli's body so eager for his touch. He slipped a strand of his hair out of way behind his ear while one of his hands firmly grabbed Lalli's hips, digging his fingers into the muscles he could feel under his skin as he leaned in.
He started off slowly, lapping with just the tip of his tongue at the base of Lalli's dick before he firmly licked a line from the bottom to the top and down after teasing Lalli at the head. He did it again, this time going up on the side, watching Lalli with his mouth and eyebrows scrunched up in concentration. Then, Lalli's hands fisted into his hair, pulling on it but also keeping it out of the way as Lalli let out a little grumble in Finnish that Emil hadn't learned yet but sure understood what it meant. He licked his lips moist and then slowly wrapped them over the head. Sucking gently on the head or alternating with swirling his tongue over it, he steadied his hands on Lalli's hips and slid them to the back to grab Lalli's butt. He could feel Lalli bucking under his grip, trying to get more of his dick inside of Emil's mouth and it made him strangely proud to have gotten Lalli to this point. It also made him a little apprehensive because he had not yet figured out how to make the next step less awkward for himself but after all, practice made perfect, and so he relaxed his jaw to keep his teeth away and slowly took Lalli's dick into his mouth. He closed so his eyes to focus on trying to move his head, keep on sucking, and moving his tongue over Lalli's sensitive skin, but not before he caught that view of Lalli leaning his head back with his mouth wide open, silently gasping for air.
There wasn't much of a rhythm at first as Emil needed to stop at moments, not yet used to timing his breathing, or having to supress a shudder as Lalli's dick rubbed over the roof of his mouth and almost made him gag. But still, when he glanced up to Lalli or when he felt Lalli rocking his hips along to his movements, he knew it couldn't feel too bad for him. His hands dug into Lalli's butt as Lalli pulled on his hair, a sensation he quite liked, and just as he thought he was starting to find a rhythm that worked, judging from Lalli's breath speeding up –
"EEEEEEMIL!"
Sigrun's voice carried all the way from where the tank was stationed and both Emil and Lalli froze up for a moment. Then, Lalli groaned quietly and Emil sighed. Lalli let go of Emil's hair and tapped him on the shoulder to sign him to let go so they could go back but this time, Emil was having none of it. There'd be time to come up with an excuse but no time to get Lalli off if he didn't get to it right there. He got back to sucking and licking with little grumbled hum, this time with more fervour and less teasing. Lalli shuddered, gripping into Emil's shoulder and with that, tipping Emil off to a new thing he could try. He took Lalli in as far as he could and as he pulled back slowly, sucking hard, he hummed in a low tone. It seemed to work well as he could barely keep Lalli's hips straight and felt Lalli tensing up and heard him breathe hard. Hands fisted back into his hair as he tried it again and when he went back down on Lalli for the third time, there was a sharp snap of Lalli's hips and the tell-tale salty and bitter taste at the back of his mouth. Emil did his best to stay relaxed, his teeth away from Lalli's dick as Lalli came in his mouth with a few quiet gasps. Tension turned into a relaxed slump and Emil slowly sucked Lalli clean, letting go of his dick as it softened up. Lalli let go of Emil as well and for a moment, Emil leaned his forehead against Lalli's hips as he swallowed the cum, having decided to not try to swirl that stuff around in his mouth to spit it out. Besides, in his opinion, it didn't taste that much worse than Mikkel's cooking at times.
Lalli patted Emil on the shoulder again and this time, Emil got up. They exchanged a brief smooch on the lips before Lalli tucked himself back in while Emil turned around and collected their bowls and spoons. Just before they got going, all dressed up again as if nothing had happened, Emil reached up and smoothed down Lalli's hair that had gotten messed up by the tree trunk and quietly apologized. Lalli looked at him, shook his head, then while suppressing a yawn led the way out of the little bit of forest where they'd snuck away. Emil too began to feel the tiredness of their little round but most of all, he regretted not being able to cuddle up right there and then, holding Lalli in his arms and leaning his head against the nook between Lalli's neck and shoulder. He caught up with Lalli and in too little time for his taste, they reached the tank. The others were bustling about, cleaning up and packing up, and Sigrun turned to them as they arrived:
"About time you came."
"Sorry, I had to-", Emil started, trying to come up with an excuse, just to be interrupted:
"Not that it matters though. Fuzzyhead says there's something wrong with the tank again."
"Oh. We're stuck?"
"Nah, she said it should be fixed in an hour."
"Oh good."
Emil looked around and saw Tuuri talking at Lalli, who was blinking sleepily, and assumed he was getting the same information, just straight from the source. He turned to Sigrun:
"If you don't mind, I'll be inside for a nap."
"Sure. Get some rest."
He handed Mikkel their dirty dishes before he climbed into the tank, tossed aside his jacket and other things he had carried and then just sat down on his bed. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, he thought about what they could have done if Sigrun hadn't called them too early but at the same time, he was too tired to be mad. He heard someone come in quietly, clothes rustling and the familiar clinking of a rifle against the wall, before Lalli sat down next to him. A moment later and Lalli had noodled over Emil in his usual fashion, draped over his lap and slightly curled up. Emil's fingers found Lalli's head and he began to absentmindedly pet him, happy to feel Lalli so relaxed under his touch. It didn't take long and Emil's hand stilled, his head dropping as he gave into the sleepiness, just like Lalli in his lap. A little while later, Reynir popped his head into the sleeping quarters and then stepped out of the way as Mikkel entered.
"I'm glad to see they made up! I mean, I'm not exactly sure why they were fighting but it's nice to see them friendly again.", he whispered excitedly.
Mikkel gave a light snort and replied as he picked up dirty laundry and handkerchiefs:
"I'm sure they got friendly 'again' a good while ago."
