Seated on his husband's desk, Gradeus kept his arms crossed as he stared down at said husband.
The day had been an ordinary one. After checking on his clan members he'd went and seen if his heir was doing fine with the clan duties. Then he'd visited Krasis (the man was annoying, and too eager about everything, and a total stickler for rules, but he loved his brother dearly. again he had gone to hear stories of their dame, Aphrodite, and their brother, Bersa, for the two had both entered eternal sleep soon after his birth. seeing Karias was just a bonus considering how cute his nephew was). Then he'd gone to the Kertia territory. It was sunny so he'd taken Rajak out for a walk and gotten horribly lost amidst all the structures as always.
Why were all the buildings so similar anyway? It's like they wanted people to get lost (not that that would surprise him with how these fuckers acted with their lovers. if they did this out of possessiveness it would only be the best case scenario). At least everything was pretty so it wasn't as much of a pain as it could have been, and Rajak got to spend more time outside instead of being in some boring old room.
Meanwhile Rayga had been in his office all day, working, working, and working.
All he ever seemed to do was work, and that made him want to break something. Everything was getting better except the fact that his husband never seemed to have time for anything. He had to schedule things in. Fucking schedule them. How was it in any way normal to not have enough time to do things aside from your work? So here he was now, obstructing any effort that could be taken to do anything.
It caused Rayga to have that expression on his face. The one where his brows furrowed as confusion filled him. As if he was a child lost and unsure of what to do or who to approach, except it lacked the fear. It was cute.
"Love," Rayga started out, and already he had to keep himself from smiling. Love? It had been a while since he'd last heard that, since he'd last been referred to with that word. "I can't do anything if you sit on my work."
That made Gradeus snort, out of both amusement and derision. "You were staring at the same paper for at least an hour. It was that one when I walked in, and it didn't change the entire time I was here."
The face Rayga made then was even cuter with how he frowned and the fact that his face scrunched up for a moment, so quick that it could be missed. For a while now he hadn't seen all the different expressions his husband could make, and that was an absolute tragedy. He'd need to work on that for now.
"I was thinking the details over."
"For an hour?" His question made Rayga's frown worse, and he sighed, letting his tone soften so he'd know that he meant no insult, "That's a bit much, you know that. Why don't you take a break?"
"If I do that everything will only pile up more."
Gradeus sighed and hopped off of the desk, sitting on Rayga's lap and straddling him. Pulling at Rayga's cheeks, he made sure he was looking at him. Even if it was with a mortified expression and distaste in his eyes (which kinda hurt even though he knew it wasn't really towards him and just because of the action. still, it was a reminder of how he'd been ignored so much in the past and how he feared things would revert back to that sooner or later. would it really be a surprise though? of course not. Rayga had always loved the lord more than he could ever love him, and no matter how he tried, that would never change. his bitterness over it had faded centuries ago, leaving only loneliness and despondence. and the anger that had driven him to agree to betraying Lukedonia? that wasn't borne of this, but rather from the hatred of how Rayga would look at all but him, only fuelling the sporadic attacks on his body. it had faded too recently, yet traces lingered and he knew that if the situation returned to how it had been, they would rear their ugly little heads and drive him truly into insanity. to where there would be no return. perhaps things would have been better if it had been he who died and his dame who remained of the world, for then his brother would be living too and he would have been the clan leader instead of him. he knew well that Bersa was much kinder than he who felt no remorse for causing the deaths of innocents. than he whose guilt was only reserved for those he cared for), at least Rayga wasn't pulling away. That meant he didn't hate this.
"The time you take on a single one of these alone is the problem. A break will help you relax and think things over." Even if he did hate the idea of the man he loved thinking about his work when with him, it would be better than not being with him at all. "And I'll help too."
Rayga stared at him blankly- "You?"
"Are you forgetting that I'm a clan leader too?"
The blush that arose on his cheeks was adorable, and so Gradeus pulled down his mask to see it better. That made the blush brighter but once again, Rayga didn't do anything to resist him.
"So you did forget."
Rayga averted his eyes and that made him laugh. "Yes. You said to take a break?"
The attempt to change the subject just made him laugh more, and he ended up burying his head on his shoulder as his body shook. It did mean he couldn't see those cute expressions, but being close like this made up for it. When he finally calmed he moved off of Rayga (a shame since he had been enjoying how Rayga had been hugging him) and to the door. When his husband didn't follow he paused, looking back at him.
"Well? Are you coming?"
Rayga blushed again at that and got up. He was so stupid, and that was one of the things he adored about him. Though he hated it often too.
Once they were in the bedroom (Rajak was on the middle of the bed, sleeping. he'd gotten all tired out from the walk where he'd chased after butterflies and tried to go in the water to look at the fishes. that had been a mess and in the end he had to dive in because Rajak had gotten stuck in the mud of the lake floor), Gradeus dragged him down onto the bed, being careful not to squish their son. It wouldn't hurt him but it would be uncomfortable and he didn't want to wake him. Children needed their rest.
Like he always seemed to, Rayga stared at him, face blanked by confusion. "This is a break?"
Gradeus rolled his eyes at the question, shifting so that he was hugging him with Rajak nestled between them. "Yeah. It's been a while since we've just been together like this."
That seemed to make him contemplate and he finally smiled, making it so that all three of them were closer together. It was... nice.
They stayed there for what Gradeus thought were hours, the room having darkened as the sun set and night hovered. Even through the curtains the faint light of the moon shone through, or maybe it was of the lanterns and torches the clan members had lit up. It could even be of the Agvains or Tradio or Siriana being lively but he couldn't bring himself to care much. Not unless it was his love or his son who wanted to see the lights mingling with the dark.
He simply laid there, entangled, as he stroked Rayga's hair absentmindedly. The breath on his neck had stopped tickling him long ago, it was only comforting now. The same way that the hand on his waist and the way that Rayga watched him (with a smile. it was the gentlest one that he'd ever seen. not even Rajak's creation compared, not when this was so slight yet it was mirrored everywhere else too. his eyes showed the same emotion, half-lidded with fatigue as they were, and there was something soft about his usual cold exterior. something similar to that day long ago when his face had filled with despair at the news of his mother's passing. the same passing that had caused the lord of then to enter eternal sleep, and for his own sire to sob in silence as she followed her) was comforting. Intimate.
Rajak still slept between them, tiny noises similar to a kitten's mewling escaping him every now and then. This sort of setting... it was what he wanted always. Only, he needed his thirst of battle to be quenched so the disease of his mind and blood wouldn't surface and destroy all he strove for. Sometimes, even now, he considered joining Lagus again for he never knew when it would appear to ruin his life the same way it had often done his sire's (his poor mother, of whom it had forced her to kill when she had never wished to).
But not now.
"Your hair's curling again," he murmured as he started to apply heat to his fingers.
"Mmm-" Rayga's expression didn't change in the slightest, eyes still on him- "Thank you."
That made him smile too, as brief as it was. "I don't see why you need to straighten it, you look better with the curls."
"Curly hair isn't as elegant."
The response caused a sigh. Not as elegant? Wasn't it? Then what about him? He wasn't considered the most elegant even though he tried, yet Rayga had still married him.
"I don't agree." He really didn't. Gradeus had never known about his hair until after they had married and it had been a shock. Not a bad one, simply one that caused him to resent the lord more then he already did. "How curly someone's hair is doesn't affect their elegance in any way."
That didn't elicit an answer, only reluctance hidden in his eyes. Softly, "At least when we're alone?"
"I can do that." Of course he could, but Gradeus smiled anyway, and leaned in to kiss his cheek.
"Any chance you could spar with me then too?"
Rayga blinked "Spar?"
"Everybody refuses to. Bunch of fucking cowards, all of them." And they couldn't even use the excuse of it being loud since some of them would spar with others.
"Fuck!" a high-pitched voice repeated, and Rayga chuckled as Rajak stood, supporting him with a hand. It wasn't necessary considering that he could just hold onto their bodies for support but, what his husband was doing was normal too.
"They feel overwhelmed when fighting you. And, Yali, Urokai, and Azrael just don't like to fight at all."
"Overwhelmed?" He supposed he could give those three a pass but the others? No. As for them not liking to fight... it was a shame. Yali, despite her timid personality, was the strongest among them and he'd prefer sparring with her over anyone else.
"You're too strong for them."
Gradeus snorted. Too strong? "They won't get better with that attitude."
As Rajak slowly walked, steps unsteady, Rayga spoke, "You can always ask Frankenstein to spar with you. He considers those stronger than him to be better practice."
"That asshole?" He had to ask him? Ugh. Like he had nothing better to do? And after he had dared to be so rude to Rayga? Sure, it had led to this but, ah, actually- "I do want to beat him up. Good idea."
"... Of course-" his amusement was obvious- "Do you want to go out and see the lights? The Siriana are letting out the lanterns all throughout the night."
Oh. So, it was the Siriana. He hadn't realised that it was already that time of the year though. "I don't really care-" he poked Rajak gently, making sure that it would be barely felt- "Do you want to see the burning paper boxes?"
Rajak nodded happily, babbling with all the vulgar words Gradeus would use. Though their son didn't talk much otherwise, he was very fond of repeating everything others would find appalling. That was just how children were, he supposed.
And as they went out, he couldn't keep the smile off of his face.