They let out a faint laugh when Arquis awoke, and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "You're alright, my lovely." he replied. "Get some sleep if you need it. I understand." they released him as soon as he pulled away, watching him quietly. "We can go back to the bedroom and get some sleep."
“No. No!” Arquis’s eyes lit up with urgency. He hurried closer again and cupped their hands in his, as if skin-to-glove contact would make everything better. “I am fine. Really, my dear, it was just a bit of a slip-up. It will not happen again.”
He dropped his hands and spread his arms as wide as they would go. It looked almost as if he was a stage performer, though performers typically weren’t so messy-haired and sleepy-eyed.
“See? Perfectly alright. No need to cut the day short. No need to rest.”
Rin watched him uncertainly, not quite knowing what their best choice was in this situation. "Arquis, darling, can you sit down for me?" he asked softly. "And take a few deep breaths." he wanted to talk this through with him logically, but knew that in Arquis's state that would be hard, if not impossible, to accomplish. "Breathe, darling."
Arquis flushed unevenly and rapidly shook his head. His arms fell to his sides, then wrapped about himself, as if he was literally holding himself together.
“I am not hyperventilating. I do not need to breathe deeply. I will not sit. I am alright, and everything is fine, and we are supposed to be having a nice day. Can we not just have a nice day? Please?”
He wasn’t thinking before speaking. Words were zipping out of his mouth so quickly that most of them were blurring together. He wasn’t looking at Rin anymore. His gaze was at some point in the distance, lost in the churning water of the hot tub. He shivered and squeezed himself tighter. It wasn’t cold in the room, but he always shook when he was overwhelmed.
If he had looked in the mirror at that moment, he would have been shocked to see how he looked. His pupils were dilated, and he was paler than the snow outside. The only color in his face were those aggressive splotches of red in his cheeks. He looked off. Sickly, almost, though he wasn’t ill.
Rin stood up, carefully approaching Arquis. "Darling, please sit down." he said very softly, reaching out to place their hands on Arquis's shoulders. "You look…you look ill." they didn't know what else to do; they just wanted to soothe Arquis, to help calm him, and maybe get him to take a nap.
The touch changed something in him. Arquis let out a shallow exhale. He swayed slightly as he stepped forward and, after a moment of silence, curled an arm around their back. His fingers loosely clenched the fabric of his robe. He pulled them flush against himself.
“My apologies, love. I was not thinking straight.” The panicked fit seemed to have come to a close. His voice was no longer as fast nor as frantic, and though he was still trembling, his body had lost most of that nervous tension. He very lightly kissed their cheek, as if he was kissing something fragile. As if he himself hadn’t been the fragile one just seconds before.
“I did not mean to frighten you. Are you alright?” This time, he kissed their mouth, though it was just as gentle as the first.
Rin wrapped their arms around Arquis's shoulders, holding him close. "I am alright." he breathed. "You frightened me, darling, I was not sure if you were ill, or sick, or…" they closed their eyes for a moment, returning Arquis's kisses with his own soft ones. "Should we head back to the bedroom, and you can take a nap?"
“Sleepless nights and nerves are a nasty combination. They do not make for a good time,” Arquis admitted quietly, “but I am feeling better now. I would prefer it if we did not retire quite yet.”
He ghosted his lips over theirs once again, then went in for something deeper. Some part of him knew doing so was illogical. How were they supposed to respond? But he didn’t want to stop. Rin tasted of chocolate, and he was pleased to find that the flavor didn’t upset him any longer. It wasn’t nougat, at least.
Rin nodded a little bit, letting out a quiet sound at the deeper kiss. His grip tightened on Arquis's shoulders, their eyes flickering shut as they leaned closer, holding onto the nobleman.
Arquis realized partway into their kissing that he was hunching slightly to reach them. That was a bit of an issue, as he still wasn’t the steadiest on his feet. A solution to that problem popped into his head, and he took it without second thought, nudging Rin until the both of them were up against a wall. He put his palms flat against the wall just above their shoulders and leaned back just a little to observe him. If they thought the position was too much—if they felt pinned or trapped or threatened—then he would give them room.
“How is this?” he asked. His stomach had that strange, fluttery feeling again, and he smiled at them. Compared to the anxious kisses they’d had earlier, this felt better. More stable. Less like he was desperately striving to earn Rin’s favor and more like they were a legitimate couple.
Rin's eyes flickered open, and they looked up at Arquis, taking a deep breath. "This is fine." they said, arms resting across Arquis's shoulders and a faint smile tugging at their mouth. "Now come here, I want to kiss you again." they gently pulled Arquis back in for another kiss, eyes sliding shut again.
Arquis let them draw him in again, though he stopped just at his mouth. He grinned against their lips and replied, voice low and teasing, “And if I do not let you? What then?”
He embarked on a very slow quest to kiss everywhere else on their face but his mouth. He started with his forehead and made his way down, dropping feather light kisses on their closed eyelids and cheekbones. He made his way over to their right ear and, experimentally, grazed the rim of it with his teeth.
He actually whined faintly at the denial, though he didn't fight Arquis when the nobleman began to kiss them everywhere but where Rin wanted. "Arquis." he complained, breath hitching at the touch of Arquis's teeth to their skin. "You're awful."
Arquis laughed against their neck, his breath brushing that sensitive spot below their ear. Gradually, he began to make his way across their throat, alternating between nipping and kissing. When he reached the middle of his jaw, he stopped, lifted his head, and brought their lips together. Rather than actually kiss them, however, he gently bit at their lower lip.
“My apologies,” he murmured once he pulled away, resting his forehead against theirs. “Your voice is just so lovely. You make such wonderful sounds.”
He shivered, their head tipping back a little bit at all the nips and kisses that Arquis was scattering across his neck and cheeks. "Darling." he breathed, swallowing faintly. "Darling, Arquis…" they wanted a kiss so very badly now, after all this teasing.
Arquis shifted, pressing them further up against the wall. His hands moved down. He placed one above each hip, then rubbed agonizingly slow circles into the fabric of their robe. The pet name had seemingly had no effect; he’d acquired immunity to it due to repetition. It appeared that he had the upper hand this time, and he was prepared to tease him to his heart’s content. If Rin wanted to return the favor, they’d have to try something new.
“I am confused,” he whispered, smiling coyly. His tongue swiped out over his lower lip as he maintained eye contact. “Is this not enough? Is there something else that you desire, my dear?”
He whined breathily, but didn't resist Arquis. "Arquis, please, you know what I want." he breathed, opening their eyes to look up at their lover. "I want you to kiss me, please." they pressed closer to Arquis, though there wasn't much movement they could accomplish, caught as they were between the wall and Arquis's hands.
“So impatient,” Arquis replied. There was an infuriatingly casual quality to his tone, as if he wasn’t currently pinning his partner to a wall. He dragged his bare foot up their calf—the nail polish had certainly dried by this point—and innocently cocked his head to the side.
“I have been kissing you, have I not?” He nuzzled against their neck again and gave it a peck. Some part of his mind wondered if he should do more. Bite down, leave a real mark. But wouldn’t that hurt? He definitely didn’t want to hurt him.
He certainly did not mind this reversal of how they had been earlier; they enjoyed being pinned and teased, even if they would never have admitted it outloud. "I want you to kiss me on the mouth, Arquis, not this teasing everywhere else." he replied, head angling back a little to give Arquis as much room as he wanted.
“On the mouth?” Arquis feigned shock. It didn’t last long. A second later, he was smirking again. “I am not sure about that, my dear. That sounds rather scandalous.”
Immediately after saying that, he brought his mouth back to their throat. He kissed their pulse point, swallowing hard, and then kissed it again. That messy part of his mind pushed him to drag his lips up to their other ear. He wanted more than anything to follow through and give them a love bite, but he refrained.
He whined again, trembling just a little at the press of Arquis's mouth to his pulse point, his eyes still shut. "Please, love." he whispered. "I just want a kiss, love." he clung to Arquis, breath trembling for just a moment. "Please." he wasn't quite begging, but they almost were.
“Alright, love. Alright.”
The kiss he gave him was barely a kiss at all. It was light, just a brief, soft touch of his lips to theirs. Part of him felt cruel for teasing them so much, but there was something glorious about seeing him come undone. Still, he didn’t want to leave them completely unsatisfied, which was why he’d given in just a little. He resisted the urge to smile and leaned away, even going as far to remove his hands from their waist.
“Was that what you wanted?” He already knew the answer. Of course it wasn’t.
He pouted even more, opening his eyes again to look up at him. "I want a real kiss, love, not something so tiny." he protested, pouting a little bit and reaching to pull him close again. "Come back, please."
Arquis laughed softly as he let them pull him in again. He pretended to contemplate his suggestion, even rubbing his chin in mock confusion. “A real kiss, hm? I am not sure exactly what you mean by that. Have all of the others been fake? False? Pretend?”
His hands, which he’d taken from their hips, were now traveling up his sides. He stopped at their shoulders and brushed his thumbs against the hollows of his collarbones.
He whined again, trembling very faintly. "No, those were real too, I just…please, Arquis, I want it. Very badly." he whispered, pressing closer to Arquis. "Please give me one." they looked up at Arquis with longing and love and a little bit of pleading in his eyes.
Arquis dropped the act. He cupped their chin and tilted his head a touch more so that they could see the affection in his gaze. Then, he swept forward and gave him the real kiss that they’d been craving. It was deep and intimate and messy. When he stopped at one point to catch his breath, he realized his heart was racing. A needy groan left him, and he closed the gap between the two of them again. They still tasted like chocolate. It was the best thing he’d ever tasted.
“Rin,” he panted after a moment. His voice cracked. “Rin, dear, you are killing me.”
Rin's eyes closed again as soon as Arquis's mouth came to theirs, and they tugged him closer. When Arquis pulled back again, they opened their eyes again. "You're the one killing me, darling, with all your teasing."
(going to bed, good night!)
(goodnight!!)
Arquis kissed the tip of their nose and shook his head. He was blushing like he hadn’t just made Rin beg. If someone walked in, they would almost think that he was the innocent one in the whole scenario; he looked downright shy.
“I do not think,” he paused to clear his throat, which made his voice a low rasp, “you understand what you do to me, love. Even when I am the one leading.”
He shivered very faintly, shaking his head again. "Mm. Well. You were teasing me, you awful man." They laughed a little bit, kissing Arquis's cheek softly. "You're absolutely awful, and now you're trying to blame it on me? Absolutely not." He laughed again, holding onto Arquis.
Arquis stole another deep kiss, and when he broke it off, he groaned. “It is absolutely your fault. You walk around looking divine…” His lips parted slightly before he kissed them again. He sighed as he pulled away, looking them over. “So tempting, love…” He moved his hands down until they were at that spot they’d been before. They fit so well in those curves before Rin’s hips. His breath hitched as he kissed his forehead. “Gorgeous. Just gorgeous.”
He remembered what he’d said the other day in the carriage. They were corrupting him in the best possible way. He never wanted to stop.