A DRINK BEFORE BATTLE (MxM)

Sevei plunged his face into the bowl of cold water and held his breath under it for a very long moment. Coming up, he gave his face another splash with his hands before turning to the full length mirror beside the washstand and raking his wet hands through his shoulder-length, dark brown hair.

The glass mirror was backed with silver and very clear. He hadn’t seen himself in such a high quality mirror in a very long time, so he gave his undressed body a look-over, turning this way and that. Military training kept him fit. Military rations kept him thin. But his face was certainly showing signs that he’d be exiting his youth soon.

Sevei wasn’t a vain man, but after these past few hours with a close-up view of the most attractive man he’d ever seen, a little self-conscious indulgence wasn’t out of bounds. As he stared into his own deep-set brown eyes, they seemed overlaid for a moment with a vision of brilliant green.

As long as he lived, he knew he would never forget those eyes.

Shaking off this reverie, he poured a sachet of powdered soap into the bowl and dipped a small towel into it to wash his body. As he did so, he checked himself over for any potentially embarrassing marks. There didn’t seem to be any that would be conspicuous once he was dressed. Satisfied, he dried himself and turned to the door.

Entering the room, he found that Kahan had been replaced by Kyrzhan, who reclined on the bench helping to finish the flagon of wine. Kyrzhan gave a low whistle and a mock-leer to the naked Sevei, who turned about to survey the room.

“He left?” Sevei said quietly.

“Mm-hmm,” Kyrzhan replied. “He told me to tell you ‘Thank you... sincerely.’”

Sevei’s face fell, his broad shoulders visibly sagging.

“Aw,” Kyrzhan said in a sympathetic tone, rising from the bench. “Are you in love already?”

“Pfft. Of course not...”

Kyrzhan handed him a heavy brocade robe he’d taken from the corner of a nearby folding screen.

“It looks like everything went well,” he said suggestively. “How was he? Tell, tell!”

Sevei gave him a shifty glance as he put his arms into the robe.

“It was his first time.”

“Ohhh... so that’s why you’re acting all besotted!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Come on. You do love having someone to take care of.”

“If that were enough, I’d be in love with you.”

“Well,” Kyrzhan smirked, “you are a little bit...”

Sevei laughed and threw his arms around Kyrzhan, squeezing tight and kissing the side of his head.

“Maybe a little bit,” he conceded mirthfully.

“Come sleep in my room,” Kyrzhan said. “You look like you could do with company tonight.”

“You don’t have a patron?”

“I cleared my night for you. Shop is closed, and I’ve already done my rounds to check in on everyone. I’m all yours.”

Sevei gathered up all his belongings and followed Kyrzhan out and up another flight of steps to his private rooms, where he never invited patrons. This space was very tastefully decorated, and everything the eye met was of the finest quality. Kyrzhan made a lot of money at his job and didn’t skimp on making himself comfortable.

“Are you hungry?” Kyrzhan asked, handing him a plate of tiny, flower-shaped cakes. Sevei popped one whole into his mouth.

“Mmm... nice,” Sevei mumbled, savoring the cake’s light sweetness.

He finished off half the plate while Kyrzhan turned down the bed and went rummaging through the drawers of an ornate marble-topped bureau. He handed Sevei a pair of soft trousers and a tunic, both of finely woven silk. As Sevei slipped into them, his eyelids fluttered in pleasure at their soft touch. He followed Kyrzhan into the bed, sinking deeply into the cloud-like feather mattress and pillows, the crisp linen sheets and the warm quilt stuffed with more feathers.

“I could get used to this too easily,” Sevei sighed in contentment.

“Retire from the army and come work with me,” Kyrzhan offered for the thousandth time since leaving Valesk. “You could live like this every day.”

“Work?” Sevei said skeptically. “If I lived in this sort of luxury I’d just want to laze around all day eating delectable little morsels.”

“Well, there are quite a few delectable little morsels here who would love for you to eat them,” Kyrzhan replied before launching into a fit of giggles.

Sevei jabbed an elbow at the man beside him.

“Kyri! You are so bad!” Sevei joined in the laughter until tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes, thinking that this really was what he had needed. His laughter ended on yet another deep sigh. “I’m afraid I may have talked your target out of coming to work for you,” he said.

“Oh, he was never going to take my offer,” Kyrzhan said dismissively. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Wait, was this all just some kind of set-up, then?”

“No, no. Everything happened just the way I told you. I just wanted to see you relax for a change, and I knew you’d enjoy him. Was I wrong?”

“...No,” Sevei said glumly. “He was...”

“You’re getting sad again,” Kyrzhan warned.

“Kyri, I know you enjoy your work,” Sevei said mildly, “but don’t you ever want to find someone you can have something more with? Someone to love you?”

“I have you for love,” Kyrzhan said placatingly.

“But my love is brotherly. Wouldn’t you like someone who’ll make you their whole world?”

“Eh...” Kyrzhan grumbled. “That just seems like a lot of work and bother.”

“And what if something really does happen to me?”

“Exactly. Why do you think I want you to find something else?”

“How are your current guards?” Sevei asked. “Have you found any good ones?”

“I have a few good men,” Kyrzhan assured him. “And I pay the good ones extra to keep the not so good ones in line.”

“I’ll have a chat with them all before I head out in the morning. Give them something to think about.”

“Don’t run them off,” Kyrzhan pleaded, laughing again. “And stop talking like you’re making final arrangements. Just be careful out there and come back in one piece. I do trust that you know what you’re doing.”

The two of them lay side by side and shoulder to shoulder. Sevei looked up at the patterns cast by the bedside candle through the bed’s lace canopy onto the ceiling. It reminded him of when they were kids and would lie out on the ground looking up at the stars, trying to name them all. He wouldn’t say that out loud, though. Kyrzhan didn’t like to reminisce about childhood days. It hadn’t been as easy for him to hide his nature as it had been for Sevei.

Under the sheets, Kyrzhan reached down and took Sevei’s hand, twining their fingers together.

“Well,” he whispered with a tinge of humor in his voice. “At least your hands are a little softer now.”

Sevei thought about that for a moment, then they both broke out laughing again.