bathed in starlight

“I’m sure you knew I was there,” you say softly, earning a displeased grunt that has you cracking a small smile at his expense. “I was on time, not my fault you were running late.”

A shaky breath leaves him, you feel his shoulders stutter in their breath against your body. You have to admit that in your years watching this man you currently were holding in your arms, not once had you considered that Kelsier was capable of crying. He had emotions like everyone else, you’d seen him angry and elated and what you thought was every emotion in between, but not once had you ever seen him cry. If asked you would maintain that you’d never seen him cry, if only to protect the image of the man you’d grown up so close to yet so far away from. The Kelsier you grew up knowing was the image of what you’re sure every skaa in Luthdael wished they could be, jovial with great care for the world around him but little care for the consequences of his actions so long as some noble’s pockets were feeling lighter. The Kelsier you were getting acquainted with wore the mask of the old Kelsier, but the man who lost almost everything to the Lord Ruler was slipping through the mask with every day that went by.

And somehow you were the only one who seemed to notice when the smirk faltered, fading into something sadder and less inviting. The only one to notice that his default had gradually shifted into something that you were quickly growing more familiar with — someone who was trying to reclaim themselves in a world where he had already lost everything.

“How can I help, Kelsier?”

“You never call me Kelsier anymore, so start there.”

You sigh, a smile tugging at your lips as his fingers tug at your blouse to pull it from your trousers. His fingers graze against your skin made available, blunt fingernails gently scratching at your back as he tries to pull you closer. “Aren’t I your Kell? Your silly man? Your mentor in life, allomancy, and romance?”

“The last one is a stretch,” you counter, kissing the top of his head as he huffs. “Maybe mentor in allomancy, the rest remains to be seen.”

“Speaking of allomancy, your steel pushing has gotten sloppy.”

That was quite the statement to make as he’s kissing your neck, and your fingers that were in his hair take hold to pull him off your skin so you could look him in the eye. You choose to ignore the way he moans and the lust filled gaze that felt like it was too familiar to you; the full lips that formed a perfect pout at being pulled from his distraction of the evening inviting you in, but you had to hold firm. You couldn’t let him win, even if you wanted him to smile.

“Hard to practice when you’re carrying me around everywhere, almost like you’re sabotaging me.”

“I would never. I just see a pretty girl in need and have to have her in my arms to get her to her destination. Can you blame me?”

“When you call me sloppy? Yeah I can blame you easily.”

“That’s not quite what I meant.”

“But it’s what you said, Kelsier.”

Any warm feelings of fondness you might’ve been feeling have been replaced with annoyance, your fingers withdrawing from his hair and your arms crossing over your chest when his fingers grip your hips to keep you from moving. You both know that if you had your way, you’d be on the other side of the room by now if not gone completely and on your way to do anything that wasn’t related to the man beneath you — and he clearly did not want that.

“I don’t have it in me to argue with you today.”

“So apologize for being rude and we can move on.”

“I’m speaking out of concern, which I would argue isn’t rude at all.”

“For someone who doesn’t want an argument you are choosing a horrible hill to die on.”

“You’re very cute when you’re upset with me, it’s difficult to resist. But I will apologize, only because I’ve upset you with my concerns and that was never my intention.”

It’s disgustingly backhanded, but you can accept that he’s acknowledging your upset this time. Better than the last that ended up with you avoiding him for multiple days until he hunted you down in the city to force you to talk to him. And you feel yourself starting to calm down, his cheek coming to rest against your chest once more as his fingers massage into your skin. You know exactly what he’s doing, because if he wasn’t using his allomancy he wouldn’t be so comfortable reinitiating the moment that he’d ruined.

“Stop soothing me.”

“Caught again.” He kisses your collarbone, those lips trailing up the column of your neck until they’re hovering just over yours with his breaths tangling with yours in the miniscule space left between you. “I just like to help you calm down after riling you up. It’s a service to my dear lady.”

You’d scoff if he wasn’t kissing you already, but your further arguments are muted by his hungry kiss and what comes out instead are soft gasps as his hands travel your skin beneath your shirt. Your hands cradle his face, softer palms scratched by the stubble growing along his jawline serving as a reminder that he was here, just as alive as you were.

“This wasn’t why I wanted to see you,” he murmurs as you part, a dazed grin on his face as you stare at him. “But I’m not complaining about how this turned out.”

“What did you want?”

“Wanted you to come out with me tonight. I need to do some scouting and want your eyes as well.”

“You just want to get me alone.”

“I don’t need to make up a job for that.” He gestures to your current position, smiling as you shake your head at him. “But think about it. We have a nice meal, go out into the mists and see what there is to see, then come back and make beautiful love until dawn.”

“Let’s see if you can make it to dinner without doing something to make me mad.”

“Quite the challenge, but I’m up for it.”

Of course he was, you knew Kelsier would never shy away from anything that so much as resembled a challenge. But you still can’t help yourself, his shaky breaths into your chest haunting you, and your thumbs stroke his cheeks as you ask: “You’re okay, Kell?”

The smile falters, and you know that he knows he’s been caught when he lets his shoulders slump ever so slightly. But he recovers, turning his head into one of your palms and letting his lips linger against your skin as his eyes close.