Arquis showed he accepted their apology with a peck on his temple. When he pulled away, he cocked an eyebrow and grinned. Whenever he’d tried to be flirtatious in the past, it had always felt forced, but this came naturally.
He pretended to scoff. “Teasing you! I was not. I believe I gave you exactly what you asked for, did I not?” His thumbs returned to the spots on Rin’s neck, which were beginning to go a stunning shade of dark red. He stroked the two marks lovingly. “Therefore, I was not teasing. A much more accurate definition of teasing would include, say, this.”
He lowered his mouth to theirs, but rather than kiss him, he gently bit their bottom lip and gave it a slight tug. After a flash of a second, he moved away. His eyes showcased a range of emotions: happiness, affection, and a touch of something new. Almost smugness, though not cocky. It was as if he was challenging them to try and return the favor.
Rin blinked up at him, pouting when Arquis teased him with the hint of a kiss, and leaned upward to chase after Arquis's mouth. They pulled him in for an actual kiss, eyes shutting for just a moment. "No teasing allowed, darling." they murmured against his lips, nipping faintly at Arquis's mouth.
Arquis tried to laugh, but it sounded a lot like a groan. Biting didn’t do much for him, if he was entirely honest; he liked doing it to Rin, as they seemed to enjoy it, but he himself was pretty neutral on the subject. Kissing, however, was wonderful. He let himself be swept away in the feeling of it all until he was almost out of breath. Only then did he move back, panting for air.
“I was not lying earlier,” he said, laughing and fanning his burning face with a hand. “About the combusting. Goodness, I feel as if I might burst into flames.”
(did I go into this expecting Rin to have a bit of a thing for biting? absolutely not. is that what's happened? yes lmao)
He laughed a little bit, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Arquis's mouth. "Good." they replied, satisfied. "I like doing that to you." he liked knowing that he could bring out that kind of feeling in Arquis, liked knowing Arquis enjoyed the things they were doing to him.
(character development I guess lol)
Arquis blushed even harder at that admittance. He’d been deep in the mindset of teasing his partner and catering to their desires. The sudden acknowledgment that they liked doing the same to him wasn’t really that surprising, but he hadn’t been prepared for it. He hadn’t imagined that he’d be at all attractive or fun to mess with in this sort of situation; in his mind, he probably would have ranked utility as his best skill. He would very gladly do whatever he could to satisfy Rin, but he didn’t think the reverse scenario would be enjoyable for them.
“You do?” he asked uncertainly. His confidence was waning, fast. “I am not, ah, too awkward?”
(when the character development is different than you thought it would be lmao)
"I do. I don't think it's too awkward at all, my darling." he smirked just a little bit, pressing another little kiss to Arquis's cheek. "Besides, it's nice knowing I can make you as red as a tomato with just a few kisses and words." he laughed, still smiling as he looked at his partner.
(there’s been a lot of that on my end too tbh)
Arquis rolled off of them with an embarrassed sigh, but, even though he put his forearm over his eyes, he couldn’t hide his smile.
“Your voice is just so lovely, my dear.” He couldn’t believe what he was saying. “And you sound so attractive when you- when talking about this. This sort of thing. Especially when, um, you say nice things about me.”
That last part had been unintentional; it had slipped out. He blamed it on the dizzy, eager effect that they had on him, and yet he knew it was the truth. The burst of warmth inside him when they’d told him he didn’t need guidance—that he was doing rather well—told him he liked it when Rin complimented him. Quite a bit, apparently.
(lol oof)
Rin smiled, keeping their arms wrapped around him. "And I like saying nice things about you, so I feel that it balances out." he replied, laughing a little bit. "So I don't see any problems here." they kissed Arquis's cheek again, still smiling happily.
(it’s not necessarily a bad thing though!! like I think it’s kinda fun to see how plans change with the development of certain parts of the plot, you know?)
“Well, problem might not be the right word,” Arquis concede, lifting his arm. He looked at them with an extremely shy, nervous smile, as if they’d caught him red handed. “It just, um, feels good. Really good. Not all the time! Just sometimes.”
He was definitely butchering the explanation. The arm flopped back over his face, and he sighed pitifully. With his luck, they’d think him either very strange or at the least very inarticulate. Which he was, of course, because he often had such a hard time speaking around them.
“What I mean to say is that it always feels nice when you compliment me. But sometimes it is… it is a different sort of nice? If that makes any sense?”
(yeah exactly!)
Rin listened through Arquis's fumbling explanations, a faint smirk pulling at their mouth. "It turns you on, a little bit?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at Arquis and laughing a little bit. "Is that what you're trying to tell me?" It was interesting, that a turn on for Arquis might be compliments of some kind.
Arquis wheezed out a laugh and pulled the blankets up over his head. He hadn’t even been looking at them, but just the thought of his expression was embarrassing.
“Perhaps?” He closed his eyes. Brilliantly colored patterns burst into the darkness behind his eyelids. They morphed into swirls of green and pinpricks of yellow. “Is that odd?”
He didn’t exactly know what was normal and what was not. When his father had discussed the subject of intimacy, he had always talked about pain and pleasure in tandem. In order to enjoy himself, he’d said, a man had to have full control of the situation. He should take what he wanted. Arquis certainly hadn’t believed him, for his words were a clear example of something not only abnormal but harmful. But that meant that Arquis didn’t really have an idea of what was natural.
"No. It's not odd for loving, kind words from a partner to be something that can turn you on a bit and act as some form of, ah, foreplay." he replied. They didn't mind reassuring Arquis that this was normal, didn't mean helping to teach him what a normal, healthy relationship could and should look like.
Arquis pushed out of the blankets so that he could see them when he spoke. As humiliating as it was to have to have someone explain his to him at his age, he was incredibly grateful for it. He was very glad that Rin did not mock him for it, either. It would’ve stung quite a bit if he had.
“Thank you,” he mumbled softly, sliding an arm around their stomach. His hand accidentally slid under his shirt first, and he immediately apologized before fixing it, letting it come to a rest on the fabric instead.
A beat passed. Arquis cleared his throat.
“You mentioned a word that is not in my vocabulary. Four play?” He cocked his head to the side inquisitively. “Four what? People? What are they playing?”
"You're welcome." he replied, turning his head and smiling at Arquis again. They didn't say anything about the hand beneath their shirt; they didn't mind, and it had been an accident either way. "Ah. Right. Foreplay is…is activity that precedes the actual act of sex itself." they replied slowly, trying to think of the best ways to phrase this. "Sort of like flirting? But basically…the hickeys you gave me earlier can count as a form of foreplay, as can anything meant to, ah, sexually excite your partner or yourself."
“Oh.” Arquis swallowed and glanced aside, suddenly rather nervous. “I had not meant to, um, do that. Or, well, I did, but not- I did not-”
He was very aware that the side of his face was against their bare chest. Should he stay there? Should he move? All he knew was that he could hear Rin’s heartbeat, and he wasn’t quite ready to stop hearing it.
“Was that unfair of me?” he finally asked. “To do all of that and not go through with anything?”
Rin shook his head. "No, it's not…it is not always meant as foreplay. That was just…we'll call it a nice and rather intense makeout session, darling. Not foreplay." they held Arquis gently, pressing a kiss to his temple. "You did not mean it as foreplay, and you were not trying to turn me on."
Arquis nodded and brushed a kiss to their jaw. His lips hovered for a second before he retreated to the position he’d been in before. Their heartbeat was a source of fascination for him, apparently. He lifted his head and placed the hand that wasn’t around his waist over it, fingers spread.
“I enjoyed it very much,” he admitted softly.
His eyes wandered to the marks he’d left, which were still a darkening reddish pink. He wondered if they’d be purple by the next day. A small part of him felt bad that he’d technically hurt him, but then he remembered the sounds they’d made and that feeling disappeared.
“Perhaps we should get you a scarf. Or a turtleneck. It is sweater weather, my dear,” he pondered aloud.
Rin hummed in acknowledgement, thinking over Arquis's words. "Why?" they asked, looking at Arquis with his eyebrows raised. "Do you want to cover them up?" he was assuming Arquis was talking about covering the marks on their neck.
“Do- do you not wish to?” Arquis replied, surprised. “I thought- well, I had assumed you- but if you do not, then you do not have to.”
He had to admit that the thought of him showing them off was both attractive and a bit nerve wracking. Would people believe that he had wounded them? Surely not. The folks at the inn knew what those types of marks signified. But would they think that the two of them were active, then? Certainly. He didn’t know why the thought bothered him, and then it hit him: he still associated the inn with his father. And some tiny, terrible corner of his mind screamed that the people there would recognize him, that they’d tell Aurisi.
That was impossible. Aurisi was dead. He knew that his father was dead.
But Muria was not.
Arquis aggressively shoved the thoughts out of his head. There was no room for either of them, not when he was there, safe in Rin’s embrace. He kissed them gently on one of their marks and smiled.
Rin nodded slightly. "I don't see any reason to cover them up, unless you would prefer if I did." he replied softly, letting out another faint humming sound at the kiss to the mark. They gave Arquis a soft smile, gently pulling him even closer,, wanting to cuddle as close as possible with his partner.
“They do look quite pretty,” Arquis confessed, lifting his knuckles and lightly massaging the bruise he’d kissed. His smile blossomed, though it was still shy. “I suppose I am becoming rather fond of them.”
The cuddling was lovely. Rin had moved him so that his chin rested on their shoulder, and though he missed the feel of his pulse, he was pleased by the comfort and ease of the pose. The bigger concern that it brought was that his legs were awkwardly bracketing theirs, which meant Rin’s knees were poking slightly into his thighs. He didn’t have a solution for that, however, besides touching and moving their legs, and he wasn’t sure they’d want him to do that. It was fine; he was still very cozy, and it was warm.
He smiled a little bit, nodding. "Yes, they're quite nice. Little bit possessive, maybe, but I think that's okay." they laughed quietly, holding Arquis close and quite comfortable with this position. They liked being able to just hold and cuddle his partner, liked being snuggled up with him like this.
Arquis frowned. He wondered if they could feel his heart rate spike. Something about what he’d said hadn’t felt right, and it took a long beat for him to figure out what exactly it was.
“Possessive? I am not in possession of you. Does it sound as if I think that?” He pulled away, brow creasing with worry. Even if Rin didn’t think that Arquis thought that way, he just had to make sure. “You are my partner, Rin. I adore you, but you are not mine. I should and do not have power or control over you—you are not a belonging for me to use, love.”
Rin blinked at him. "I meant a good possessive, darling." they replied. "Not– not like that." he thought for a moment. "I didn't mean it in that way. Only in a more…I suppose like a protective sort of thing? Or a mark of…is belonging the right word?" his eyebrows creased for a moment as they tried to figure out how to explain what they meant.
Though Arquis didn’t quite know what they meant, the fact that it was a positive associated calmed him. After pecking him on the chin, he nuzzled into the crook of their neck, nudging their arms around himself once more.
“Ah. I am not entirely sure what you are saying, but I find solace in the knowledge that I am not restrictive. That is the last thing I would want to be.” He closed his eyes and hummed softly. “This is unrelated, but you smell very nice, love.”
He was beginning to get sleepy again, which was demolishing his verbal filter. If his body would cooperate, then he could’ve fallen asleep right then and there. But it still refused. He wondered if it was due to a change in position. Once more, his painfully long legs were around Rin’s, though this time his knees were at a slight angle. He adjusted, then readjusted, determined not to ask his partner to move.
