Julian x Apprentice

Chapter 3

After he pulled away, you let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding. The kiss left you reeling. You weren't sure where to go from here, there's no way anything could happen. There was just too much going on in Vesuvia for either of you to be distracted. Hell, the Count had the plague! With his life on the line, there was no way any of this could happen.

"Julian-" You stammered out, but he cut you off with a finger to your lips.

"Now now, lyubimaya, you started this." He knew you were flustered, and he loved every second of it. It wasn't often his "always-has-their-shit-together" apprentice reduced to a blushy mess.

"Lieu-- what?" You knew he spoke a lot of languages, but he'd never spoken any of them to you. Admittedly, you really liked his new pet name for you.

"'Dear' in my mother tongue. You don't mind, now, do you, lyubimaya?" He drew out the last word, teasing you with it. His voice dropped a few octaves, suddenly remarkably sultry. He cocked his eyebrow at you, waiting for a response.

"N-no, I suppose not. But- Julian, we can't-- there's nothing we can- " Starting and restarting sentences, trying to find the words to tell him this can't happen. The stakes were too high for failure. He had to understand that, right? Surely he agreed. Wading through foggy thoughts trying to find the words you wanted, to no avail. Defeated, you sank your head against his shoulder. He let out a sigh, forgetting his not-so-subtle plays at you. He leaned against you too, both sitting in silence for a beat.

"You have thought about it, though, haven't you? How great we could've been together. In another life, maybe" he mumbled. You nodded and picked up his hand, playing with his gloved fingers. You always loved his hands, so steady and sure. He turned and kissed your hair, whispering into it "After we cure this damned plague, I'll have to take you out on another date."

You just smiled and shook your head, there was no getting out of this now. He would always poke fun at you for whatever he could; and now since everything was out in the open, you'd never hear the end of it.

You looked around the room and noticed you two were nearly the only ones left in the place. Glancing at the clock on the wall, you noticed the tavern was about to close in the next half hour or so.

You lightly shook him, "Jules, we should get going. They're about to close up shop here." He knew how you hated to stay past closing time. He moved to get up, having trouble keeping his balance.

"Lyubimaya, I don't think we're going far tonight. I'll get a room upstairs, my treat." You nearly heard satisfaction in his voice. He unsteadily made his way over to the bar, leaning heavily on different chairs and tables along the way.

"Good sir, my friend over there is entirely too drunk to make it all way home. I think we'll be needing a room tonight," he lightly slurred his words. Clearly the barkeep agreed, and gave him the key to one of the two-bedrooms upstairs.

It took him a good minute to come back, but you didn't mind watching him stumble towards you. Somehow, he still looked good doing it. His gloved hand took yours, leading you upstairs. Both leaning on one another for support, you took the stairs one at a time.