Arquis shrugged out of his coat and tossed it to the side. It was beginning to feel rather hot in the room, perhaps because of the heating. He was sure his entire face was red. Without breaking away, he folded up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing his forearms. He only actually pulled away when he needed to catch his breath, and he smoothed his thumb across their cheek affectionately.
“How was- how was that? Was it alright?” he asked, panting a bit.
Rin leaned into Arquis's touch again, letting out a quite breath as their eyes flickered open. "It was great, Arquis." he said softly, kissing his cheek. His own breathing was slightly uneven too, and he held onto Arquis. "Wonderful, actually." a soft smile flickered across their face.
“It did feel quite good,” he agreed, leaning back on his palms. With his coat off, the entirety of his slender torso was visible, hidden only by a thinner layer of clothing. The silver of the chain around his neck glinted as it swayed against his shirt. Patches of the white fabric below it had gone slightly see through from sweat. The hollows beneath his collarbones were also on display.
Rin's gaze flickered over Arquis, and they took in a breath, doing their best to keep their eyes on Arquis's face. "Yes." they agreed, leaning their arm on the seat and then their head on their arm. "It was very good." he took a deep breath, wanting to kiss him again but also not wanting to overstep any boundaries.
Arquis caught their quick glance and gave himself a self-conscious once over. When he saw the way his shirt clung to him, revealing flashes of the skin beneath, he couldn’t help but flush. He wondered what they were thinking. Perhaps they found it unappealing. He wasn’t sure he was exactly the pinnacle of attractiveness, not after having a breakdown just beforehand.
The way they were looking at him, though, told him something different. Did he like him like that? Disheveled and lost for words? He leant just a little further back on his forearms as he thought and bit his lip.
Just-had-a-breakdown was not a look Rin was, precisely, into, but the disheveled, messy look? That certainly was, especially after a kiss like they had just had. They gave him another little smile, reaching out to run their hand through Arquis's hair, feeling the soft strands sliding through their fingers.
Arquis groaned and pressed his cheek into their forearm. He kissed them there, then took their hand from his hair, brought it to his mouth, and kissed across his knuckles. A wicked flash of a smirk crossed his face as he dragged his lips down one of their fingers. As light as possible, his eyes trained on his face, he bit down.
“Just returning the favor,” he mumbled after pulling it out.
Rin's gaze flickered as Arquis scattered kisses along his skin, inhaling softly as his mouth dragged along their finger. When Arquis bit down, his pupils flared very slightly, though his expression didn't quite change; they had a good handle on their facial expressions. "You, ah, did not have to." they said softly, swallowing faintly and looking over at Arquis.
“I know. I wanted to,” he replied. His brow furrowed at their lack of an obvious reaction. Had he made an error? Perhaps he’d misread the atmosphere in the room. He’d been trying to lighten things up, though it was possible he’d made everything worse. Should he have asked first? Probably. He’d gotten too carried away.
“Was that a bad idea? Should I not have done it?”
(was not intending Rin to have a bit of a biting kink but uh–)
Rin blinked at him. "I…it is only that you, ah, surprised me a bit." they replied, clearing his throat slightly and looking at Arquis with a faint smile. "That is all." he leaned in to press a soft kiss to Arquis's cheek, lingering close before he pulled back again.
(lol it doesn’t have to be a Real Thing if you don’t want it to be, could just be a running joke)
Arquis beamed, his smile betraying his relief. “As long as it was a good surprise, then I suppose there was no harm done. Well. Maybe a little harm. I did bite you, after all.” He tilted his head out of curiosity. “Are you alright? You look a tad flushed.”
If it was necessary, he was sure he could find some way to open the windows to the carriage. The last thing he wanted was for Rin to overheat.
“If you are warm, then you could remove a layer,” he said, gesturing to his coat, which was spread across the floor.
(lmao i mean idc, it might be a real thing)
He cleared his throat faintly, shedding his own jacket. His shirt was not sticking to his skin like Arquis's, but due to the nature of the collar, it fell open a bit, showing their collarbones and a touch of their upper chest. "There we are. Now we are in…similar states of undress."
(fair, fair)
“Oh.” That was all he could think to say. His mouth opened and closed several times more, but nothing came out. How could he focus on forming coherent sentences when presented with such a visual? He had to tear his gaze away and direct it downwards to avoid tracing their figure. Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Those collarbones. Those damned collarbones.
“Goodness. I, um, well. Goodness.” He glanced back up and regretted it. Their hair had been tousled from his fingers. He let out a flustered breath and looked away again, suddenly feeling shy.
Rin let out a quiet laugh, leaning his head against Arquis's shoulder and closing his eyes for just a moment. "Mmhm." they let out a faint hum. "You don't need to be so flustered about it, I'm still dressed, darling." a smirk played around their mouth, and they opened their eyes, looking up at him.
Arquis’s eyes darted from their smirk to his exposed sliver of chest. His breath hitched as he imagined more. He pictured them fully shirtless, skin damp from rain or sweat or the sea, and had to hide his face in his palms. The rough fabric of his gloves scraped the bridge of his nose, but they provided a shield. Or so he thought. The second his vision was obscured, images of them flashed through the darkness.
“It is incredibly unfair. You look-” He flailed a hand helplessly. “You look enticing, even when dressed.”
And the pet name: darling. Oh, he could get used to that. They had a lovely way of saying it that sent shivers running through him.
He snickered very faintly, reaching up to run his fingers through Arquis's hair again. "Ah, I see, I see. The wicked Kevran bard seducing the nobleman, is that how this is going?" they asked, laughing again. That smirk was still playing over their face, and they were still leaning against Arquis.
Arquis shivered again at the sight of that smirk. He lifted his arm, entwined his fingers with theirs, and brought them down to his lips. With all of the poise of a true gentleman, he kissed his hand, letting one of his canines scrape lightly against their skin.
”I am not sure,” he breathed, letting his forehead drop against their arm, “that you are the wicked one, love.” He truly hadn’t meant to add that last part. It had slipped out in the moment.
A faint breath left Rin at the scrape of Arquis's tooth against his skin. "Ah…well. Perhaps not." They conceded, leaning down to pres a kiss to the top of Arquis's head. "Does that mean you are the wicked Anvillean nobleman, seducing the poor innocent bard?" He asked, laughing quietly.
Arquis smiled and continued to nuzzle against their arm. When he looked up at him, his eyes were half-lidded, and his lips were slightly swollen.
“Well, that depends—is it working?” he teased back, pressing a series of small, quick kisses up his wrist. He lingered over their pulse point.
Rin's eyes flickered shut. "Mm…yes." they said softly. "Working quite well, I would say." He swallowed faintly at the way Arquis lingered over his pulse point, tongue flicking out to lick his lips. "I am quite worried that my presence has managed to corrupt you, Arquis." Their voice was soft and teasing.
“Worried?” Arquis laughed, and then, eyebrows raised, playfully nipped at that spot on their wrist. He watched their reaction as he kissed over it afterwards. When he finally lifted his head again, he was breathing a bit heavily. “Is excited not a more suitable word?”
The problem from the morning arose again. He wanted to go further, but he was honestly too exhausted from the panicked fit. He nuzzled into his arm again, hoping that that would be enough.
He let out a faint hum at the nip, leaning down to press a kiss to Arquis's cheek. "Mm, about corrupting you? I am not sure." they replied, laughing softly and pulling Arquis closer. They would go as far as Arquis wanted to go, and no furhter; they had no wish to take advantage of him in any way.
It was as if a switch had been flipped. Suddenly, he was the nervous, stammering young man from earlier, enchanted by their good looks and proximity. He cuddled up against him with a content sigh and planted a kiss on their neck. For a second he considered going lower; picturing the noises they’d make almost made him do it. But he ultimately decided to stay where he was, happy to be in their embrace.
“Rin? I do not want to be a bother, but do you think you could sing something?” He kissed them again, this time just below one of their ears. “I would love to hear your voice again. It is beautiful.”
They loved all the soft kisses that Arquis was giving him. They really did. They loved the soft, casual affection. "Of course I can. Right now?" They asked, still holding onto Arquis and keeping the nobleman close. "Or later?" He closed his eyes, happy and content.
“Whenever you so desire,” he responded. The peaceful look on their face made his heart soar. He let out a low rumble of a laugh and continued the kissing, this time delivering a super gentle one on each of his eyelids. They deserved to be spoiled with sweetness and caresses. Someday, if or when they did go all the way, he would absolutely dote on him.
That gave him an idea. He tugged them closer and leant against one of the seats. Then, he took his coat and spread it out over the two of them like a blanket. It was wonderfully cozy.