: STAR-CROSSED SPIES AU :

[zauberdecke]

[ Essek Thelyss had been set up on a double date by his friend Jester.

He was not one who particularly enjoyed social interactions. He had enough of them both in his profession as a model, as well as his moonlight job as a spy for the Dynasty Government. Both sides of him did not have much in the way of time for such frivolities as dates. Certainly he was seen on the arm of quite a few men, but those were for publicity only and otherwise he eschewed any such interactions.

But Jester was Jester, and she was insistent.

Jester had caught him reading some tome on the intricacies of Dunamantic Technology and said that she knew just the man for him. To which case it became a Hurricane; Hurricane Jester coming in to whisk him away. So he decided to go and then at the end of the evening he would tell Jester's mystery man that he was not interested and thank you for his time. But that did not mean that he was going to show up being anything less than the model Essek.

So of course he would dress with care; even though he was sent on crushing this man's hopes he at least wanted it known that he was quite the prize, because he did have a bit of vanity to him.

A small local restaurant was selected on the seaside of Nicodranas, where he was currently on location for a beach shoot. One that specialized in fresh seafood. He wear tight white velvet pants and an off the shoulder slinky tunic, his hair was styled immaculately with little sparkly stars that still managed to hang in those waves.

Jester had told him to carry the book and so he had it tucked underneath his alongside his little beaded clutch. He walked into the cozy little seafood restaurant and glanced around as he surveyed the people to see if he could possibly guess who his date would be. That is, if his date had even arrived yet. ]

Comments

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb would take that smile as the reward that it was, and as a hint that he'd chosen well for their next activity. The greater reward though -- and the more surprising one -- was when Essek's fingers found his.

Oh.

He could see that hesitation. Caleb knew doubt intimately, after all, so he did not hesitate to catch Essek's fingers securely, tangling his with the drow's and offering him a soft, clearly pleased smile.]

Ja. Let's go. This way.

[zauberdecke]

[ It was true that there was nothing more intimate to a wizard than the holding of hands, it was a trust--- considering that a wizard could not perform their spells while holding someone elses hands; back in the old days a wizard would never do such a thing unless they were completely assured that this was a safe space to do so.

But right now, Essek decided to indulge-- and Caleb's hand was delightfully warm, radiating a heat that seemed to counter the chill within his own hands, something more genetic than anything else. ]

My hands.. are not too cold right?

[ He said once they exited out of the bookstore and onto their next location, purchases firmly stored away in bags ]

[ausgebrannt]

[A shake of his head.]

Your hands are perfect.

[Oh wait had he meant to say that? Well, it was true anyway. Essek's hands were soft and elegant, and he'd seen the graceful but infinitely precise way that those fingers had worked the sigils of a spell. He let his thumb graze along the back of Essek's hand.]

The ah... the garden is this way. Not very far. [Don't mind him, Essek, he was flustered because he had clearly developed a crush. On his date. How embarrassing.]

[zauberdecke]

[ How embarrassing indeed however Essek was rather smitten himself by this man who had already blown the entire date out of the water; granted he wasn't consciously aware of it but he'd already been charmed despite himself at the care and attention that Caleb Widogast had put into this date and therefore perhaps that set him right on the path to be romanced.

They walked toward the garden, holding hands and with Essek trying not to feel too self conscious about it-- after all, this was something that he did not let just anyone do. In fact, no one at all.

But here was the wizard professor, holding his hand and drawing his thumb callouses and all right against his own hand, though that brought to mind a question that stemmed from this. ]

Your magic is predominately fire-based? It's the callouses in your hand, I have noticed that is what happens when people choose that.. or earth. [ He was very perceptive, maybe that should've scared Caleb a little bit? ]

[ausgebrannt]

[And he was just getting started, Essek. Caleb Widogast was not a man to do things by halves. He was far too neurotic for that. So he'd given this his full concentration and effort in the one day he'd had to plan it.

The garden was not too far, and before long, he was leading Essek in through the arched gates. They were close enough to the ocean that the breeze carried the soft tang of salt on it, as the afternoon slipped to evening, the fading light of the sun as it prepared to set casting a gentle, glowing light over the flowers and trees that greeted them. The garden itself was one of winding stone paths past well-tended flowers that bloomed in bright pinks and reds, pure whites and vibrant purples.

Caleb however, found his attention continually drawn to Essek, by far the loveliest blossom in sight.]

I suppose it is. Is that strange? My school is that of Transmutation, but something about fire, evocation or not, has always felt strangely natural.

[It defined him, even as it had left its scars deep inside him. It wasn't well-adjusted men who wound up being secret agent assassins and spies, after all. But this dunamancer was incredibly perceptive, and Caleb probably should have been concerned, but instead he was just full on smitten. Oh well.]

[zauberdecke]

If suits you.

[ This may work against them, the fact that their intelligences seemingly did not combine well enough to gain them any sort of advantage on perception-- it was because the both of them were invariably smitten. Now, he leaned into the other man as the gardens spread out before them all sorts of flowers in such vibrancy and that popped out to him in the midst of his darkvision as it seemed to become far more sharpened as the sun lost it's power.

He did not know why there was such a thrumming in his heart whenever he looked at the Professor, but it was there and he still did not know what to do it. ] Your fire is warm, like a hearth.

[ He moved over to one of the little balconied eaves that seemed to overlook perfectly the sea and the ripple of sun as it started to dip just beneath the horizon, then he leaned against it while the breeze lightly rippled against each curl that was tugged by it. ]

[ausgebrannt]

Do you think so?

[Caleb looked over at Essek with that growing warmth in his expression. No, they were both brilliant men, but they were clearly turning each other the sort of stupid that happened to men who were on the road to falling for one another.

It was such a kind thing, to hear those words. Warm like a hearth? Rather than dangerous and destructive like some ruining blaze.

For a moment he just watched Essek as he settled himself against the balcony, backlit by the soft crimson and gold glow of the setting sun behind him. Caleb forgot how to breathe in that moment, staring at him with a enraptured look in his eyes. He shook himself out of it and moved to join him there.]

If I am like a hearth fire... you will have to forgive my failed attempt at poetry. Words are not my strong suit, but you are very much like starlight, the first star of the evening who rises in the sky even before the sun has set, because they will not be dimmed even by the light of day itself.

[zauberdecke]

[ Essek had no mouth for poetry, his voice was always matter-of-fact and precise; but he could feel the sincerity in the voice of the zemnian man, the way that he spoke those words-- and Essek could not quite believe the lie that Caleb was telling him, that words were not his strong suit, because he felt them course through him.

Curious, since no one had ever attempted to woo him with words. Normally it was with such mundane things as a fast sleek car, or promises of luxury and power. To be compared to the starlight though, he had never been compared to something so otherworldly. Who was this man? How dare he wreck his entire world view with just a careful turn of a phrase. ]

Caleb Widogast, you speak of failed attempts at poetry but I have never once,l I mean.. well-- no one has ever compared me to starlight before.

[ausgebrannt]

[There was more of the hopeless romantic in Caleb Widogast than he would ever really admit to himself. Too much of his childhood was fairytales and folklore, bedtime stories read to him in his mother's sweet, soothing tones, falling asleep dreaming of adventure and magic.

And then he'd grown up into, well, a broken, dangerous thing trying to hold on to some pieces of the boy he'd been at least in the life he lived as Caleb Widogast. His life as the Scourger, well, that was another story, and not one he wanted to page through right now, not when Essek was looking at him with those captivating violet eyes.]

Then no one has been paying near enough attention.

[He reached out to brush one of those errant curls back from Essek's cheek.]

[zauberdecke]

Do not say such things, you are going to turn my head.

[ Came that whisper, closing his eyes to the slight roughness of fingers against his cheek, the way that they slid down his cheekbone and then brushed hair to a more manageable spot. He'd forgotten to touch up with gravity and thus his hair decided to riot a little bit as curls were wont to do.

The sun was halfway behind the horizon and the waters of the sea was painted shades of gold, orange and violet-- and that too was mirrored in the sky. Conversely it brought out the purples of Essek and the orange of Caleb, making the tableaux even more romantic. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb leaned closer, his voice a soft whisper as if he were sharing a secret meant only for Essek's ears.]

That may be my intention, my dear.

[He very much wanted to turn Essek's head. Among other things. He wanted to lose himself in those endless eyes, wanted to know what the drow's lips tasted like when they melted against his own. He wanted to feel their hearts skip in synchronized beats as they tripped over themselves into a new matching rhythm.

Right here in this sunset tableau, cast in violets and oranges, on the border between night and day which might be the only piece of this world that could ever be truly theirs in a way.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Oh no...

Essek's heart gave a very strange and sudden lurch, all thoughts of this being a very bad idea fled his head-- and the only thing that remained was those evocative cerulean eyes that caught the light in such a way.

A voice pitched only for his hearing, making his slender elven ears twitch; the sign that those words and this moment affected him was the softest catch of his breath. ]

You did it...

[ a soft laugh as he attempted to get his breath back ] you have proven the whole romance thing, I think you convinced me and I do not know how you did it?

[ He swallowed and it came out most audibly between the two of them.

It was the sunset and the proximity, even more important the intimacy that did not rely on sex appeal though there was a tendril of that too, but not overt. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Oh it was an awful idea. His life was not one that should have room in it for love, but here he was fully aware he was falling for this dazzlingly brilliant man. So he would give all of himself to this that he was able to, if Essek would have it. Caleb would love the drow like the day loved the night, in beautifully stolen moments of dusks and dawns, painted in splashes of colors that set the sky alight in pastel blazes, again and again.

He smiled at the sound of that laughter.]

I am not sure myself, but it is the most incredible spell I will ever craft, I think.

[If it had Essek laughing in that soft breathless tone, had the other wizard looking at him in such a way. No magic more powerful could possibly exist.]

I would like to kiss you. May I kiss you?

[zauberdecke]

[ Essek Thelyss felt the pull of gravity as well, the way that the other man exuded a magnetism that pulled him ever closer; Essek considered himself a powerful man however nothing had ever prepared him for the pull of something like this, he had no recourse or defense and he was pondering asking him to bed; that was how far gone he was.

He never invited anyone to his bed, ever. That was weakness and more often than not, in his line of work he could not afford even the smallest of encounters, such was his focus.

The ask for a kiss; he could not help but compare Caleb Widogast to all others, and all others were lacking. He'd never been asked for a kiss, most who were foolhardly enough just went for it and usually recieved a cheek or a chin for their troubles. But this man was asking for authentic consent in this which engendered a feeling of.. amazement?

Surely he was out of some sort of Empire Fairy Tale. ]

I.. yes... you may. [ he said even as he felt himself grow a little bit closer, head tilted upward while he leaned against the balcony, their profiles basked in the light of the waning sunset. His eyes were starting to flutter closed in the penultimate sign of trust ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb managed to not hold his breath while he waited for Essek's answer to that request. But only barely. Instead blue eyes roamed over those features, fine and sharp and beautiful. It was the brilliant mind he'd been given a glimpse of behind that pretty face that had captured his attention though, the complexities that he had only begun to see the edges of.

So when Essek gave him permission, well, there was no holding back the smile from his face. Calloused fingers brushed along one cheek, down to cup along a graceful jawline. A little step closer and he leaned in to seek out Essek's lips with his own, soft and gentle, though there were the threads of desire woven through it like little sparks that would catch fire if they were given the chance.]

[zauberdecke]

[ This was something out of a dream, the press of mouth that held more warmth then it had any right to. His palm pressed against the chest though not to push away but rather to fist his fingers into fabric, and then a twist, as if he was affected irrefutably by the kiss that was so soft and painfully gentle.

But the desire was apparent, like threads of possibility.

He could nearly taste it, the richness of it.

A pull back as he decided how he felt about it, his tongue running against his lower lip to taste it. Something to be assessed and then savored, then he leaned forward again and pressed their mouths together again; Caleb may have initiated the first kiss but Essek was more than happy to go back in for seconds. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Oh well, so Caleb rather liked that, the way those fingers gripped at his shirt and held him close. Essek was welcome to do that as much as he wished, whenever he wished. Especially if there was kissing involved.

Those lips were softer and sweeter than he'd imagined, and he had imagined.

As Essek drew back, Caleb took the moment to take a breath -- shakier than he'd have hoped to manage -- and started to speak, but words fell to nothing when those lips were on his again, far happier to kiss Essek back than try to speak. This was communication enough. His free hand slipped around a slender waist, a gentle urging of closer.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Even then Essek could taste the breath, and effortlessly slipped closer into that embrace-- guided there by Caleb's hand that pulled him ever closer, lips parting as if wanting to inhale the scent while he tucked himself into the safety of the arms that enfolded him. The sun had finally disappeared, the last of it slivered just underneath the ocean and now Twilight was here, the oranges effortlessly fading into night, giving the purple it's due. Just as one day the purples would hand the reigns over to the oranges.

A give and equal take.

Oh yes, he liked this quite a bit and wanted more kisses. Oh indeed, he found it so very pleasant and agreeable, but maybe it was just that he had not yet found the one person who's kiss could melt his rigid icyness. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb had never had a kiss steal every last shred of breath from his lungs or curl his toes inside his shoes. But here he was, breathless and swept up int he taste of Essek's lips, like snow giving way to spring in icy sweet blooms of jasmine and candied violets.

Parted lips were irresistible, and his tongue brushed along that lower lip, dipping past to sip at that mouth like taking a holy sacrament. Fingers pressed more firmly to the small of Essek's back, but eventually he broke from those lips and gentle leaned his forehead against Essek's.]

I could get lost in kissing you, I fear. [For hours or days or the rest of his life.]

[zauberdecke]

How dare you, Caleb Widogast.

[ Essek's eyes opened as if he was awakened from the deepest of sleep, his breath caught in his breath and with the taste of ginger fire and cinnamon on his tongue. He looked down at those lips, framed by scruff and then back upward to Caleb's crystal clear blue eyes, the way that the edges crinkled as if he was happy about something.

This was the first time that perhaps Essek had noticed the worry lines that etched the forehead, like brows that had furrowed one too many times. He wondered what had caused that, but he did not ask. This was the first date and he would not give his life story so he did not expect it from his date. But kissing? Yes, that was very agreeable indeed. ]

I have been brought many places with the intention that a kiss would attempt to be stolen-- but never was I asked to be kissed.

[ That would likely give Caleb an idea of the life that the drow led, one where his own personal wishes were not regarded, and all of the power plays that he initiated.. he'd had to initiate for himself. That probably explained his hesitance to succumb to something like romance. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb looked down at him, eyes taking in those features, lingering longer than they needed to on those lips, as if he could not shake the memory of how they felt on his own, the taste of them.

But he listened to what the drow was saying, heard those words and understood the implications of it, that line between taking and being given, of presumption and permission. A light brush of the back of his knuckles along the sharp angle of a cheekbone.]

You deserve better. [From those who were thought they were entitled to steal what was not theirs to have. From those who did not recognize the force of nature that was Essek Thelyss.] I will never try to take anything from you that you are not willing and eager to give.

[zauberdecke]

[ That was such an impossibly tender promise; it was Essek's inherent nature not to believe that because to be honest? Trust did not come easily to him, but for some reason something compelled him to believe this man who ran his knuckles against his cheekbone so tenderly. He did not know who Caleb was, perhaps if he had he would not have been so inclined to trust.

But then he was not someone who could be trusted either, now was he?

There was nothing in the world though that could compel Essek to hurt this civilian, though the Dynasty tended to think all people of the Empire as enemies. Though not Essek, not really-- he did not have meat with anyone who he thought was innocent, the fact that his actions had led to a few war crimes? Well, he did not think much of the consequences because he had not been caught yet. ]

You are a wonder, but I think that I may in fact be compelled to give willing and eager consent to future kisses.

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb Widogast meant those words. He tried to be a good man, in his day to day life, better than he could ever hope to be in his other identity. Maybe he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't only a weapon, wasn't only a tool that was made for (and was exceptionally talented at) lethality and infiltration.

He had so much blood on his hands, and he told himself it was better he bear that burden than anyone else. He was already a sinner. But here he was, taking this charade of Caleb Widogast and involving someone else. He ought to be ashamed. But no, here he was so smitten, forgetting that Caleb wasn't who he actually was, deep at heart. Maybe it was less a mask than he told himself, at the end of the day. Maybe this was as much him as anything else.

So the smile on his face was earnest and genuine, soft and tinged with affection.]

Is that so? This is excellent news, Schatz. I've tasted your lips now, and I'm afraid I may have developed a bit of an addiction.

[zauberdecke]

[ In a way, with the truths they were keeping from each other, were they not perfect for each other?

But ah, they could not know that at this point in time-- and neither of them choose to look deeper into the brilliance of the other, so caught up and smitten with their narrative foils.

Essek Thelyss reached into his pocket then and pulled out a little pocket dictionary with zemnian phrases, flipping through it while he was in the other man's arms, the bit of scholarly bent more than apparent. Finally he located the word and then let out a huff. ]

Treasure?

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb watched Essek pull out a Zemnian dictionary and look up the endearment. He stared for a moment, shoulders shaking with a silent laughter. Well, he had been bested clearly.

The faintest start of a flush at having it called out as well.]

Ja, that's right... it seemed right for someone rare and precious.

[Essek was, most assuredly, both.]

You came prepared.