Rush
It's the last room the inn still has, at least that's what the innkeep says. The man's a liar, Gaetan is sure of it - the house is much too quiet to be all full. But no matter. Even though the ceiling is slanted and low, the room is clean and the bed big enough for him and Eskel.
They even get to use the bathtub out back at no extra coin, provided they haul the water themselves. So now they, too, are reasonably clean. Eskel's hair is still mussed and a little damp, and Gaetan smiles to himself at the sight. He can imagine Eskel as a boy like this, having shirked his training in favour of a swim in the river.
"See something funny?" Eskel's growl shakes Gaetan out of his thoughts, and he frowns. It's hard to tell with Eskel whether he is really annoyed or just messing around. And he's been in a shit mood all day.
"Nah. Only you, and we both know you can't make a joke to save your life." Gaetan deadpans right back at Eskel, not in the mood for guessing. And not in the mood to explain why he had smiled. Eskel is good to be around, and Gaetan enjoys every time they meet and travel together for a while. But he isn't looking to get attached. Neither is Eskel, from all he can tell.
Better not to mess it up just because he got sentimental there for a second.
"Hm." Turning back to his mortar and pestle, Eskel rolls his eyes, ignoring the bait.
Gaetan throws his hands up and sits on the bed, pulling off his boots. Neither of them had armoured up again after the bath, and he has been looking forward to getting rid of the few clothes that are left. And getting Eskel out of them. It's not looking exactly likely to happen now.
He watches Eskel fiddle with the herbs to get the mixture exactly right, and every calm and deliberate movement annoys him more. They'll split up soon enough, the herbs could wait until then. What, does Eskel expect him to beg?
Fine.
"Will you stop it with the alchemy and come fuck me already?" Gaetan doesn't do begging. Well. Not right away. If Eskel wants that, he'll have to work for it. But all it earns him is a raised eyebrow.
"We have all night." Pushing away from the table, Eskel goes to dig in his saddlebacks for who knows what.
His breath is knocked out of his body when Gaetan slams him against the wall. Crowds into him. Pushes a knee between Eskel's thighs. Grabs Eskel's hair and pulls, forcing him to show his throat. He bites him, sharp and quick. Two tiny drops of blood well up, and Gaetan licks them away.
He expects Eskel to shove him away, or grab him and slam him into the wall. They've fucked like that often enough, Eskel picking Gaetan up and sitting him on his cock, back against the wall. And Eskel's hands are gripping him hard enough to bruise. But he makes no move to free himself.
For a moment, Gaetan is lost. It's impossible to miss Eskel's cock grinding hard against his thigh, and the way his pupils have devoured the golden iris. He wants this. Gaetan just isn't sure what this is.
One hand still fisted in Eskel's hair and the other on his shoulder, Gaetan makes it clear what he wants. "Get on your knees."
Eskel drops as if his legs have suddenly given out, hands on his spread thighs and his head tipped back to look up at Gaetan. Without turning his gaze away, Gaetan unlaces his pants with one hand, never letting go of Eskel's hair. The moment he takes himself in hand, Eskel licks his lips and the sight goes straight to Gaetan's cock.
"You want it? Open your mouth." Gaetan's never been one to talk like this while fucking. To talk, period. But seeing Eskel immediately obey sends a shiver of arousal through him that sets his skin alight. Stepping even closer, he swipes the head of his cock across Eskel's tongue.
Eskel licks at it and sucks greedily when Gaetan lets him have more. He keeps his hands on his thighs and his head back, not even gagging when Gaetan rolls his hips and nudges the back of Eskel's throat. When he does it again, Eskel leans in and swallows, a silent invitation.
"Fuck." Gaetan has to brace himself on the wall, his knees suddenly weak. He doesn't know what put Eskel in this mood but he's not complaining. Thrusting deeper, he fucks Eskel's throat at a slow pace, staying buried deep for long moments but also giving Eskel plenty of time to catch his breath. Not that he needs it. Every time Gaetan draws back, Eskel makes a soft needy noise, licking spit and precum from Gaetan's shaft until he gets it back.
Knowing that Eskel must be painfully hard in his pants, yet is doing nothing to find his own pleasure pushes Gaetan towards his peak as fast and hard as what Eskel is doing. He traps Eskel against the wall, thrusting into his throat with no regard left for Eskel's ability to breathe. Eskel simply lets him, swallowing around him, tears leaving silvery trails on his face as he blinks them away.
Gaetan's orgasm barrels into him like an enraged fiend. It knocks the breath out of him, his knees buckling. He manages to stay on his feet, bracing himself with both hands against the wall and giving Eskel space. Leaning in, Eskel licks him clean and every touch of his tongue sends shudders through Gaetan's body.
"Good boy." He doesn't know what possessed him to say it, and for a moment Gaetan fully expects to get punched in the balls for it. Instead, Eskel just makes a pleased noise, resting his head against Gaetan's thigh while he tries to catch his breath. He still has made no move to touch himself, and it drives Gaetan mad.
"Get up. You were good for me, gonna give you your reward." Fuck, the oil is back in his saddle bags and where did he put those? Gaetan looks around while Eskel finds his feet, and spots the bag next to the table. Alright.
Giving Eskel no time to get his bearings, Gaetan grabs him and manhandles him over to the table, making him bend over. Eskel is pliant in his grip, unlacing his pants the moment Gaetan tells him to and gripping the edge of the table once he's done. It leaves Gaetan with the opportunity to pull them down, revealing Eskel's ass and thighs to his gaze. He savours the sight, doing it slowly even though he wants to pounce. But even a witcher needs some time to get it up again. He leaves Eskel shackled by his own pants around his thighs, grabbing his ass and spreading the cheeks.
"Look at you, such a tight hole just for me." A quick grab had netted Gaetan the oil while Eskel was unlacing himself, and he spills some between Eskel's cheeks, rubbing it over his hole. The moan that shakes from Eskel is lewd and loud, his hands clutching at the table so hard his knuckles go white.
Pushing in with one finger, Gaetan reaches around to grope Eskel's cock. It's hot in his hand, the tip wet with precum. The table creaks when Eskel rocks himself between Gaetan's finger in his ass and the hand on his cock, eyes half lidded and panting for breath. His hair is a mess, and a deep flush colours his face, creeping up from his neck.
Gaetan lets him chase his pleasure for a bit, entranced by the way his finger spreads open Eskel's rim. Adding a second finger does nothing to slow Eskel down, quite the opposite. Hearing him moan and seeing him so needy gets Gaetan hard in no time, lust racing up his spine in shivery shocks.
"Please!" Eskel's voice cracks into pieces, shaking itself apart with the shudders that ran through him.
Gaetan isn't about to make him beg more than this. He slicks up his cock with a palmful of oil and sets himself against Eskel's hole. It barely needs any pressure to open Eskel up, and with the next roll of Eskel's hips, Gaetan almost shouts at the tight heat around him.
He presses one hand to the small of Eskel's back and is rewarded by Eskel going up on his toes, obediently presenting his ass.
"Touch yourself." Gaetan has barely gotten the words out in a breathless hiss before Eskel obeys them, too. One hand still gripping the table, he takes himself in hand. His ass clamps down on Gaetan's cock, squeezing it hard, and Gaetan fucks right through it.
The sounds of his hips slapping Eskel's ass and the squelch of Eskel frantically stripping his cock is loud in their small room. The beat of his pulse in Gaetan's ears drowns it out anyway, leaving only a drum that marches him right over the edge.
Grabbing Eskel's hips, Gaetan pulls him back onto his cock and buries himself as deep as he can. His thrusts stutter in a broke rhythm, his cock pulsing with the shocks of pleasure running up his spine.
The scent of Eskel's orgasm washes over him in waves of musky salt, and Gaetan breathes it in in huge gasps. He can taste it, mouthfuls of briney water. Swallowing it down, Gaetan braces himself on the table, still pressing himself against Eskel's ass. In front of him, Eskel lies sprawled out, legs shaking and eyes closed.
He looks soft and vulnerable to Gaetan. It's uncomfortable, seeing him like this with the haze of lust and want fading away. Gaetan moves back. His cock slips out of Eskel's ass and cum leaks out, running down Eskel's thigh in a pearly white trail.
Remembering the way he talked to Eskel, Gaetan wants to squirm. He slams the door shut on the memory and turns to find a rag to clean up. By the time he has found one, Eskel has pulled himself together enough that he's back to his usual impassive self. Gaetan heats up a bowl of water and doesn't quite dare to do more than push it in Eskel's direction on the table.
They undress in silence. It's not unusual for them. Neither of them is a great talker. They parcel their words out as if they are going to run out if they are not careful.
Tonight, the silence itches under Gaetan's skin, and when Eskel ignis out the candle, the darkness settles heavily on top of him. Lying on his back, with Eskel's broad back turned towards him, Gaetan cannot find sleep. He tries to figure out if Eskel is angry at him for what he did, and why he even did it. One hand raised, he almost touches Eskel's shoulder before turning over and closing his eyes.
Eskel's voice pulls him out of a fitful sleep, barely more than a doze.
"Did I do something wrong?" It's just a murmur, but Gaetan is wide awake immediately.
"What? No!" He rolls over and comes face to face with Eskel. There's that vulnerability again, and Gaetan wants to close his eyes from it. He cannot stand seeing Eskel like this.
"Nah." He tries again, voice as light and unconcerned as he can make it. "Don't worry about it. We're good."
But are they? Gaetan can't shake the gnawing feeling that he has seen too much. Things he wasn't prepared to see, and things Eskel hadn't meant to show.
"Are we?" Eskel echoes his thoughts, the low rumble of his voice that Gaetan normally finds so comforting only unsettling him more.
"Why wouldn't we be."
"Because you haven't said one word to me since we finished. You can't even look at me." There's no heat to Eskel's words, only a tired sadness. "I thought we were both having a good time. Now I'm not so sure, and I can't figure out what put you off."
"I did enjoy it!" It sounds hollow even to Gaetan himself, an empty promise. "It's just—" He stops to gather his words, and his thoughts. Eskel watches him without blinking, silent and still. "We never did anything like this. I never did anything like this, with anybody! The way I talked to you, treated you—it made you so weak."
"That's the point." Eskel finally moves, propping himself up on one elbow. "I like being that weak sometimes. And I trusted you with it. Still do. But we don't have to do it if you don't like it."
"Why would you trust me with that?" Gaetan cannot fathom it. Sure, they hook up now and then, spend a few weeks together before they split up. That doesn't make them—what? Partners? Lovers? It's ridiculous.
"Why not? You understand me. At least until now, you did. But really, it's not important."
Except it is. Gaetan isn't good at feelings, unless it's anger. But he isn't a complete idiot and he can read Eskel better than he can anyone else.
Fuck.
The foundation of their friendship shifting under his feet, Gaetan searches for solid ground. He finds it in how good it has been to say and do these things, and in how proud it makes him feel to hear that Eskel trusts him with it.
"It is important. I can tell, don't lie to me. I'm sorry I got into my head about it." Rubbing his face hard with one hand, Gaetan steps carefully onto the new land he has discovered. "I thought—I don't know, that you would be embarrassed once we were done. I was. But in the moment it felt fucking great."
"Yeah it did." Eskel laughs, sending goosebumps across Gaetan's skin. "And I'm not embarrassed, Shoulda talked to you instead of pushing you maybe, though."
Gaetan hasn't been aware that it had been on purpose. In hindsight, it is obvious. And he has thought he is in control, making Eskel do what he wants. It surprises a loud laugh out of him, right from his belly. He can't stop laughing for some time, and Eskel watches him with a smile before he can't help but join in.
"Oh fuck me, I thought I was pushing you around." Gaetan wipes his eyes, the laughter still wobbling in his voice. He rolls over on his back, blinking up at Eskel who is back to his content smile, all fucked out. It's a good look for him. "If you want me to, I'd do it again."
"I want you to. Not always, but I had a great time. You're good at this. How about I tell you when I'm in that mood instead of behaving like an ass?"
"How about both?"
"Sure. I can do that for you." Eskel lies down, this time facing towards Gaetan. He trails his hand up Gaetan's arm, skimming across muscles and scars down from the shoulder. When he reaches the hand, Gaetan closes it around Eskel's fingers, and he doesn't let go. Eskel makes no move to pull away. He falls asleep not long after.
Gaetan keeps watching him, admiring the soft lines of Eskel's unguarded face.