Just Go With It

[Laszlo]

The roses? Forget the roses.

Laszlo shivered, releasing a soft sigh as Ambrose spoke into his ear. The words given to him were not nearly as obscene as he might have expected, but lying under the offer was the true, unspoken proposition. He caught Ambrose' eyes again as he leaned away, his ashen lips hanging in speechless indecision over his answer. Without saying anything, the Ethaefal rose to his feet, standing just a few inches taller than the Zeltivan human. Sliding a slender, dexterous hand into his coin pouch, Laszlo answered Ambrose' offer by laying his coin on the table to pay for their bill.

As Laszlo waved his hand toward the doors, inviting Ambrose to lead him outside, the corner table of the Withering Rose was left abandoned. A small, sloppy stack of silver-rimmed mizas stood shining next to two full mugs of ale.

Having to make his way around the other tables in the restaurant, Laszlo realized standing up that he was more inebriated than he realized, the entire room slanted in a gentle tilt that urged him onward next to Ambrose. All the worries that had dwelled in his heavy mind before now swam in a sea of alcohol, dimmed and forgettable, easily abandoned in favor of this human and his candied tongue. The only concern that remained was how to deal with the potential awkwardness of a prolonged walk and the bite of an autumn chill as they spent the hours needed on the streets of Alvadas to find the Cubacious Inn again.

The doors of the Withering Rose opened to reveal the Inn just across the street. Laszlo actually stumbled in surprise. The city had never been so kind to him. Especially since the Withering Rose had taken about half an hour to find.

Even Alvadas wanted Laszlo to loosen up.

"My room's upstairs," he instructed with a bit of a slur, remaining locked as he struggled to get over the shock of this city's rare generosity. Laszlo aimed a warm look down at Ambrose. "After you."

[Ambrose Kain]

Ambrose was only dimly surprised to find the inn so nearby to their location--but the city had not been too awful to him yet, and he'd always made certain to thank it and its chosen guardian profusely. Or maybe it was Laszlo they now favored--who knew the workings of animate streets? Either way, Ambrose wasn't about to complain. "Mmhmm," he hummed, his arm already around Laszlo's shoulders. He offered his own body for support, and though he was a few inches shorter than the ethaefal, Ambrose was more solidly built, and used to being the strong one when situations called for it. He put that strength to work now, steering the inebriated creature across the handful of steps between the two buildings, then in through the Cubacious Inn's threshold. His relationship with the inn was less certain and friendly than with the streets, but he was grateful to it now for not giving him too much trouble. His thoughts about cheese already abandoned, instead he followed the ethaefal's slurred instructions until they reached Laszlo's room, and somehow ended up inside. The room's decor was quite different from that in Ambrose's room, but honestly he barely paid attention. As long as there was a bed--or even a floor, really--and some blankets, the rest was superfluous. "Sit," he commanded, leading Laszlo towards the room's bed, then pushing him into it with a light shove. He quickly sat afterward, and grinned sideways at Laszlo, sparing a private moment for astonishment how quickly this was happening. Again, he considered if the rumor of the roses could be true, and decided he'd be very happy even if it was. "At last," he said afterward, an air of finality to his words, and with no further preamble, he turned to the ethaefal and kissed him. A relatively chaste kiss--just lip to lip, with no interaction of teeth or venom to worry about. But a kiss all the same. Afterwards, he gave himself permission to brush his fingers gently through the man's hair, such as he'd been wanting to since the first moment he'd laid eyes on it. "Laszlo, darling. You're beautiful. But pardon me for saying it, you seem a little...afraid. Have you never been with a man?" If he was only two years old, that could certainly be true. But if those two years had been spent in the same form as he wore now, with the same emotions and desires--gods, how could he have stood it?*

[Laszlo]

Helplessly obeying Ambrose' gentle shove, Laszlo fell against his bed, propping himself up with both lissome arms anchored behind him. Turning to regard his unexpected guest of the evening, he was more than surprised by the sudden kiss, his eyebrows pulling upward as he belatedly returned the gesture. Though they were safely out of the way, he remained mindful of the fangs pressing against his lowerlip, temporarily elongated in response to his excitement.

Ambrose complimented him again, and this time he appreciated the sweet words with flush of noticeable color to each pale cheek. "I've never been with a woman," he pointed out, feeling more sheepish once the words were out in the open. He frowned immediately afterward, growing instinctively defensive. "I have the memories and experience of past lives," he amended, slightly exaggerating what was little more than a mild familiarity with closeness.

The true reason Laszlo hadn't been with a woman, other than the apprehension rewarded to him by his initial experiences, was that it was far too risky. He had no idea whether he, as an Ethaefal, could even procreate, or if he did, what the child would be. Symenestra pregnancies were deadly, and not worth chancing it.

But with a man… the danger was nil. Except, of course, envenoming the poor fellow. That was much more easily avoided.

Growing impatient, and still left dissatisfied by the relative innocence of their first kiss, Laszlo leaned in and kissed him again, this time testing the resolve of the Zeltivan's cautiousness and swiping the end of his tongue against his bottom lip.

This felt better than Laszlo expected it could have. Ambrose was unquestionably a full adult; he had no father who would call the guard if they were caught together. This time, he knew the risk of Laszlo's venom. If he was hurt, the Ethaefal suspected that Ambrose would not hold a grudge for long, if at all.

Laszlo pulled gently away from Ambrose to whisper headily into his neck, a thin, gray hand already groping shyly at his side. "Ambrose… Goddess you have no idea how badly I need this…"

[Ambrose Kain]

Again, Ambrose chuckled, a more full-throated sound than he'd allowed himself inside the restaurant. The thrill of dangerous excitement that ran through him at the grazing of those teeth only made him that more amorous, fool that he was. Well, Laszlo knew his limits now, right? He wouldn't let the same thing happen with Ambrose as he had with that girl. Surely. Pleased with the ethaefal's burst of enthusiasm but not about to let him take over, Ambrose turned closer to him in the bed. "Lay back," he whispered, already putting his arms around Laszlo and easing him back. He'd missed the feeling of holding someone in his arms more than he realized, and for a moment tried to recall the last time he'd been in such a situation. No later than Syliras, for certain. There just hadn't been opportunity. With a soft sigh, he leaned over the ethaefal once Laszlo was on his back, and began pressing small kisses to the nape of his neck as his fingers quickly worked on getting the ethaefal's clothing off. Laszlo didn't seem to be trembling, and that was good--Ambrose was worried enough about breaking in a fallen god, he didn't want to think that Laszlo was afraid of this, afraid of him. Afraid of Ambrose. Who could fathom that? "I'll make you feel wonderful," he went on, still whispering sweet assurances as he went. He managed to get Laszlo's cloak off at least, leaving it peeled beside him like the shed skin of a reptile, and went to work on his chest. He was a man himself, after all, and knew what places were most sensitive. His fingers brushed over those areas now, and he lifted his face to smile at Laszlo and see how he reacted to having his nipples tweaked. "I promise you. I'm good at this, no hubris intended. Now, do you trust me? Come on, darling. Put your arms around me. I'll take care of the rest."*

[Bedlam]

Thread Completed!

Ambrose

Experience:
2 Seduction

Lores:
Ethaefal, The Fallen Ones
The Truth of the Wilting Roses

Laszlo

Lores:
Relearning Intimacy
Taking Initiative

Notes:

Ethaefal DO need to eat—just not while they are in their divine form. At least, they do unless I am terribly wrong about this, but I don’t think I am. Same with sleeping and all other mortal necessities. Age is just about the only thing that does not touch them.