Skies of emrub

Scars

A hand drifts down the side of his chest, bare and scarred, a testament to the horrors its been through. Blue scales against white, marred by scars of darker blue. He leans into the touch- ash hands that are rough with use. A leaning head, feathery hair tickling his face as he looks up. The other man's eyes are filled with adoration, a want so desperate that it cannot possibly be a mortal want. His eyes are warm as he leans down to brush the hair caught on his lashes, away from his face. He moves to kiss the scar on his lip, where he had attempted to eat a rock in adolescence, back on the island he knew was destroyed. He closes his eyes as he's kissed, choosing to enjoy the sweet taste of pomegranate on his lips, warm from the touch of another. The hand on his side trails up to rest on his face, thumbing the few scars that litter it, gentle as if touching a flower, careful not to bend and break it. After a moment, pomegranate lips move from his own down his body, placing warm kisses on every scar there is, regardless of size. He can't help but giggle at the soft touch, like the feathers that sometimes fell from the black dragon's hair, making themselves a home in the nest the two shared. He moves his hands to rest in that feathery hair, dark as the dead of night, soft as could be, smelling faintly of cinnamon. He runs his hand through it, braiding feathers into a plait, held by his scarred palms, blue against white, scars against scales. He watches as his lover takes his hand from his hair, moving it to his face, cupping a brown cheek, thumbing lightly over the cream swirl that graced it, along with it's own little scar, one that he had treated in front of him, a mishap in the forge.

"You're beautiful, Adamai." He breathes into his hand, lightly kissing his palm. The touch burns a little, but Adamai has long since grown used to it. He shifts a little, turning onto his side, then sitting up, leaning on the firm brown chest of his lover, rising and falling as gently as the rain pattering outside. An arm wraps around him, soft as a waterfall in a small stream. He purrs lightly, forgetting the marring of his own body for a moment.

"You think so?" A tentative question, answered with those pomegranate tasting lips, brushing the top of his head, like a crown.

"I know so." He traces Adamai's waist, slowly moving to rest on his hips, tracing swirls into the side of them, gentle as sunlight flittering through water. Adamai's breath hitches. Only the sun had come this close. He finds he doesn't mind the replacement, leaning further into the circle of his lover's arms, closing his eyes and forgetting for a moment his duties and all the burdens he has to carry. He will reassume them tomorrow, when the sun licks his heels and he parts from his lover, to return to kingly duties, away from the guard that his lover plays. For now, there is silence. For now there is warmth, a gentle embrace, the love that his partner brings, unsure as a chick's first flight, but stronger than a tidal wave. He looks up, wondering for a moment how someone so beautiful can love someone so marred.

"How could I not?" The familiar tilt of an ebony head. Adamai hadn't realized he was speaking aloud, blood rushing to his cheeks as he realized. An ebony hand reaches up to cup his face, tilting it gently towards him.

"Why do you think I'm here now, if not for you?" He shrugs helplessly, turning his gaze away from those olive eyes.

"I don't know. I don't understand you, Naz. There are so many others." He tilts his head.

"I don't want others." He replies, leaning down to press a kiss to a scar over Adamai's shoulder, warm and gentle. "I want you, even with all your scars and your stubbornness and stupid rigidly structured schedules." He moves lower, lifting Adamai's arm to press another kiss to it. He shudders lightly.

"But-"

"But nothing." Naz looks up, green eyes meeting Adamai's blue ones, holding their gaze. He looks devoted, as if Adamai is a god and not just a king. He feels he might cry, pulling Naz up, wrapping his arms around his back, as tight as he can. He returns the embrace, pulling him into his lap, cradling him in warm arms. Adamai feels it is ironic to be hailed this way, like he means the world. He's aware of the chains that plague his lover even now, a firm reminder that he isn't mortal any longer, but a god, gold blooded and worshiped. He knows how much that aspect of his own identity plagues Naz, as if it is his fault for ascension. Adamai pulls back, cupping his face, studying his eyes; green with flecks of gold, like a forest in the winter, the sun peaking through and reflecting off frozen leaves. He traces his thumb over his lips, quietly thinking of the feel of them against his body, in the crook of his neck, the dip of his hips. He removes his hand, folding into the embrace he's being held in, closing his eyes. He likes the rumble of Naz's breath in his chest, the way he slowly starts to purr as Adamai leans against him, the way he curls in on himself to provide a better support. He is warm and gentle and loving, though he struggles with articulating it, and Adamai finds that endearing. Endlessly berating him when in public, keeping up the image they both fight to maintain, though each word he says is never true. Behind closed doors, he holds the king and murmurs apologies for the verbal daggers he throws. Behind closed doors, he is his, and his alone. Adamai doesn't realize he is crying until Naz leans down to kiss those tears away, gentle as always.

"Why are you crying?" A worried glance. Adamai smiles.

"I love you." He cups the guardian's face, pressing his own lips upon pomegranate ones, relaxing as they both slip into a deeper kiss, mouths interlocked. After a moment of tasting the other, Naz pulls away, straightening up, looking down into Adamai's eyes.

"Me too." He whispers, like he's scared to be caught. Adamai smiles. It is enough.

He closes his eyes as he leans against his lover's chest again, letting the rain and the soft rise and fall of a firm chest as he purrs and the warmth of his arms around him lull him into a gentle slumber.