Characters in this prompt: Dragon Slayer Ornstein/Executioner Smough

Summary: After Ornstein and Smough started dating, the executioner starts to feel uncomfortable because of Ornstein's clingyness.

(Author's note: We are back to some good, old Smoughstein. This got a bit longer than I first thought and I am also changing POV halfway in, I just wanted to have the POV of them both in this story... Anyway, enjoy!)

It had started harmless enough with Ornstein crawling in his bed.

Smough didn't really mind that. They kind of had become a couple without even saying a word about it and the first thing that happened that day was, that the dragon slayer had crawled into the executioner's bed to sleep cuddled up against him. This went on for a few days until Smough questioned Ornstein about it, but ultimately allowed him to sleep in his bed. He found it kinda cute, Ornstein reminded him of a kitten when he acted like this. The dragon slayer didn't like that nickname at all and so Smough had lots of fun to pull it out at every occasion to tease him.

But it didn't stay the bed only. As the days went by, Ornstein was searching more and more physical contact. At first he came slowly closer and closer to Smough when the both of them guarded the cathedral until he was close enough to lean against him. Now it had become normal for them to just sit there, Ornstein leaned against Smough's big frame, waiting for whatever could enter the cathedral and threaten the princess.

That wasn't so bad too, it was nice to have some company and it wasn't like Ornstein was really bothering him. For Smough, the dragon slayer wasn't heavy at all, he easily was able to pick him up and carry him around. What started to annoy Smough was, that Ornstein didn't really leave him alone anymore. Ornstein wanted to stay with Smough the whole time, practically following him and cuddling up against him whenever he got the chance. He also liked to follow him to the kitchen and watch him cook, which was pretty cute. But once Ornstein had eaten his food, and he normally was the first one to finish eating, he got closer to Smough, one time almost sitting on his lap while the executioner was still eating.

Granted, they were boyfriends now and things like this should be normal for a couple, but it hadn't been that long and Smough felt a bit uncomfortable with the amounts of physical affection Ornstein already demanded. They just had started to get to know the other better. While Smough would like to tell Ornstein that he started to feel uncomfortable, he had trouble finding the right words how to tell him.

What didn't help was, that Ornstein reminded him too much of a particular kitten he once had met. Back in the days, when he still had his job as the executioner and actually could perform it out, Smough had rented a place in Anor Londo to get his herbal garden growing. Sadly, in the dungeon where he had his private rooms, there wasn't enough sunlight for it. So he often went out of the cathedral, not in his armour of course to take care of his plants. And the herbs he planted started to attract some stray cats. Eventually Smough started to bring some of his leftover food with him and fed them. Of course every time he came to tend for the plants, the cats were already waiting for him.

Smough always had liked cats more than people. They didn't care what he ate. They gladly shared his food. And one time he had becoming witness how some cats had hissed at Ornstein who had happen to walk along during his patrol and felt like he could relate very much to them. The relationship of the two hadn't been great at first.

One of the cats he remembered very fondly. It was a tiny red kitten and it took a liking to him almost immediately. It alos showed its affection very aggressively. It often would bump its head against Smough, purr loudly while sitting on his lap or climb on his shoulders to lay there and watch what he did when he tended to the plants. Of course the kitten had already died, they tended to not live very long. Smough remembered the day he found the dead body in front of his herbs. It had been a sad day, he really had liked this one. He decided to bury its body and plant a catnip plant on it in its honour. This way it death wouldn't be in vain.

Smough was wondering if Ornstein would react to catnip and made a mental note to test it out in the future. The two of them were sitting in the main hall of the cathedral in their usual position, waiting... for whatever would come through this fog gate one day.

"Have you ever tried catnip...?", Smough asked, not even sure why he did that.

"Huh...?", Ornstein turned his head and looked up to Smough. "What do you mean?"

"Oh nothing, just forget it.", Smough said. "It is getting late, I think we can call it quit for now and get something to eat."

Ornstein stood up: "And once again nobody entered this place. Sometimes I wonder what we are supposed to fight... We will meet in the kitchen as always?"

"Yes.", Smough said. "See you there." He watched as the dragon slayer slowly strolled to his room and then went to his own to change out of his armour.

When Smough entered the kitchen, Ornstein already sat on the corner bench waiting. Smough started to collect the ingredients for cooking under the watchful eyes of the dragon slayer. Part of him wondered if Ornstein only wanted to make sure that he didn't put any "special ingredients" in their food. Or maybe he was just hungry and impatient. Smough was thinking about starting to give Ornstein cooking lesson, his boyfriend was an absolute mess in the kitchen.

Today's meal was simple and Smough could soon fill the plates and took a seat at the bench himself. Before he even could take the first bite, he already noticed that Ornstein got closer to him... Smough ignored it and just concentrated on his food. But then he felt the warm body of Ornstein leaning at him... while he was still busy eating. Smough sighed and used his hand to push Ornstein away, like he would do with an invasive cat. The dragon slayer got knocked over with a yelp.

"What was that for?", he hissed, covering a part of his face with his hand. He sounded angry and hurt. Smough sighed.

"You are being invasive. I am still eating. Could you please cut down the physical contact? You have been awfully clingy."

Ornstein averted his gaze, looked down, then up to Smough and then to the side again. "I am sorry...", he said.

This night, Ornstein didn't crawl into Smough's bed.

The next day, Smough found Ornstein sitting in the kitchen, clearly waiting for breakfast.

"Good morning.", he said once he realized that Smough had entered the room. Smough stared at Ornstein for a good while.

"... You look tired.", he said. He could see obvious dark circles under his boyfriend's eyes and he looked like he could doze off any minute.

"...Haven't slept well...", Ornstein answered.

"I can see this...", Smough said and stared at Ornstein a little longer. He had the feeling he noticed a slight bruise on the dragon slayer's forehead. "Are you hurt?", he asked.

"Happened when you pushed me yesterday... You are awfully strong you know... Don't sweat it, it only hurts a bit.", Ornstein answered, but it made Smough feel awful. He never intended to actually hurt his boyfriend.

"Shit, I am sorry, that was never my intention.", he said. Smough started preparing the breakfast. "I wouldn't have mind sharing the bed with you, you know.", he said.

"Yesterday you said something else.", Ornstein said with a huff.

"That's not...", Smough started. "I am fine sleeping in the same bed as you, but you were a lot more needy than I anticipated. I think we should take this relationship a bit slower.", he explained.

"How should I have known this?", Ornstein asked. "You never told me."

"You also never asked me if you could get as close as you did..."

"It is just...", Ornstein stopped, he seemed at a loss for words. "It has been such a long time since I could cuddle with someone. And even when I could actually do it, we had to hide it for a majority of our time together..." Another pause. "Smough, I think I feel starved. Like... touch starved."

Smough stopped preparing the food and turned around to Ornstein. "Now I feel that I should be sorry... I didn't know that you felt like this..."

"...Maybe I should have asked first...", Ornstein said.

"You said it had been a long time since you had the last physical affection?", Smough asked. "How long has it been?"

Ornstein seemed to think about it a bit. "Let's just say... it had been a loooong time ago." He sighed.

Smough came over to his boyfriend and pulled him in a long, tight hug.

"What..?", Ornstein asked.

"You know, there is still a lot we don't know about each other.", Smough said. "I think we should try to get to know each other a lot more." He released Ornstein from the hug.

"What do you think? Shall we move into a room together?"

"Do you really think we are ready for this...?", Ornstein asked, averting his gaze again.

"We have to start somewhere with this relationship and moving in a room together seems like the right start.", Smough said. "So how about I prepare breakfast and you go and clean out one of the rooms that we could use?"

Ornstein nodded and left the kitchen. A part of him was happy that the executioner was trying to make this relationship work, another part of him was wary because of how annoyed he had been at his clinginess. Ornstein had to admit, that he was worried. He had been so glad to be able to get physical affection again, that he completely had forgotten how Smough would feel about this. The two of them had hated each other for a really long time, only recently they had sorted out their issues with each other. The dragon slayer still wasn't sure how they even had managed to fell in love with other...

He opened a door to one of the guest rooms and scanned the interiors. It should be big enough for them to share. It also already had a double bed, luckily large enough to sustain both of them. Sleeping in the same bed with Smough was something that Ornstein cherished the most. In fact, after Smough had pushed him yesterday, he feared that he already had messed up and this relationship could be over. He actually had cried himself to sleep that night. He had woken up early though and hadn't been able to go back to sleep, partly because he feared that the nightmares would come back and partly because of the slight pain in his forehead, so he had decided to wait in the kitchen for Smough and see his reaction. Needless to say, he had been relieved that it went rather smoothly. He had anticipated a big fight, like they often had had earlier.

Because it was a guest room, they weren't much there yet besides the bed, some night stands and a cupboard. It was a bit dusty though and that was what Ornstein should start with. He got himself some cleaning supplies to clean the room. Granted, he didn't enjoy cleaning very much. He always had procrastinated cleaning his room until the last moment. But he had seen how tidy Smough's room was and was sure that his boyfriend would appreciate the work he put into it. After the room was cleaned, he decided to put some new sheets on the bed and went back to the kitchen after the work was done to meet up with the executioner and see if breakfast was ready.

Smough was facing the stove and turned around when he heard Ornstein enter. "Have you picked a room?", he asked.

Ornstein nodded. "One of the guest rooms for two people, I cleaned it and it is ready for us to move in.", he answered.

"Good, then let us eat and this evening we are finishing it together." The executioner set two bowls on the table and sat down. Ornstein waited a bit before sitting down next to him and picking up his spoon, then he remembered what happened yesterday and put down his spoon again.

"Do you mind if I sit here?", he asked.

Smough looked at him, eyes widened in slight surprise. "Of course not.", he said.

The two of them ate in silence for a while. As usual, Ornstein was the first to finish. He really wanted to just cuddle with his boyfriend now, embrace his warmth and this softness... but he knew that he had crossed boundaries with him. He put down his spoon and sighed slightly. After a few minutes, Smough put his spoon in the bowl despite not having finished eating.

"Do you want to come closer?", he asked.

Ornstein's head shot up. "I am allowed too?", he asked and already shuffled closer.

"As long as you aren't in my way.", Smough said. "I can certainly tell how touch starved you are. I just was mad cause you were invasive without even checking if I was comfortable with it."

"I am sorry, I am really bad at this..", Ornstein said and cuddled himself in Smough's left side. A few moments later he had already managed to drift to sleep, the toll of his short night's rest.

A few moments later he was shaken awake by the executioner: "Wake up, kitten, we have to start our guard duty now.

"Don't call me that..", Ornstein growled but got up. "We see each other in the great hall.", he said. The knight then left to change into his armour and assumed that Smough would do the same.

After their shift was over and they did had their dinner, the two of them decided to set their room up. Ornstein once again was amazed how easily the executioner was able to carry the heaviest things with ease. He himself wasn't weak either and so they had set up their furniture there in no time. Ornstein had decided to go through the stuff in his room and decide what to take with him and what he could leave there.

In the end, the dragon slayer decided that next to his clothes, books and painting utensils he should take some personal stuff with him. He collected all the things and went to their new room, where Smough was busy putting some clothes in the wardrobe. Ornstein himself preferred to just stuff his clothes in a chest and it already had been brought there.

"Do you have everything you wanted to move now?", Smough asked upon noticing Ornstein.

"Yes.", the dragon slayer said and put his dragon shaped tea service into the cupboard, placed a wooden dragon figurine which had a dragon hairpin on it on top of it and laid a scarf, once again with a dragon motive, around it. Satisfied with his work, he took a step back to regard it.

"Ornstein, are these...?", Smough started to speak but stopped midsentence.

"Yes. Gifts from the other knights. Their mementos." He had needed a long time to accept that his dear companions would never come back. The thought of their deaths still overwhelmed him. He quickly turned to Smough to let himself embrace by the large man.

"It's still hard for you, what?", he said and gently stroked Ornstein's hair. "It isn't a surprise for me at all that you acted like a starved kitten... And still do." Ornstein got tense instantly and let go.

"I am sorry...", the dragon slayer said once again.

"It's fine.", Smough said. "As long as you respect my boundaries, I don't mind giving out physical affection. And receiving it too of course." He grinned at Ornstein.

"One more thing to place, then we should think about taking a bath and going to bed." Smough went out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a potted plant which he placed on the window board.

"I can't share a room with a kitten without some catnip in it.", he said, broadly grinning.

Ornstein huffed. "I am not a cat.", he said.

"You certainly act like one. Especially the way you demand constant affection.", Smough said. Ornstein suddenly got doubts.

"Are we sure this will work out?", he asked, looking at the floor.

"No.", Smough said. "We can't be sure of this, but that doesn't mean that we can't try."

Ornstein got a few steps closer. "I am like.. really bad with wording things like this out, but I promise that I will respect your boundaries for now."

"And I promise that I won't push you away when you need my support."

(Author's note: I feel like that story turned into domestic fluff halfway through. I hope I still used the prompt right.

Requested by trifoyle on tumblr)