the bells have rung

      It was almost unbelievable how cheesy his lover could get when he was in a good mood. Laurent never really knew how to react to it and the current moment was not any different. He flushed and looked into Damen’s eyes, refusing to look away even despite having nothing as sweet to say. 

      “Sometimes I wonder how such things can slip out of your mouth so easily.”

      Pressing his body against the other’s, he ground against him as he gave him a shameless look, a small smirk showing on his lips.

“You seem to loosen my tongue, Laurent, and I do tend to speak my mind, as you know.”

He sputtered to the surface and laughed, looking over to his fellow king, eyes lit like an excited puppy. “What were you saying?” He teased, moving to wrap his arms around him again. “Something about me making love to you?”

      Laurent silently enjoyed the display of Damen’s affection, even going as far as to kiss his cheek back and hug him. The other’s unexpected motion, however, caught him off guard what just made him press himself even closer to Damen’s body. Seeing what was going to happen, he took a deep breath before he got into the water. 

      Once he was on the surface, he took another deep breath and let go of his lover, shaking his head at his foolish behavior. Yet when Damen’s arms wrapped around him again, he couldn’t help but to reciprocate the gesture.

      “Right… I was talking about you making love to me. How rude of you to not listen to me when I say something and then having to ask about it again.”

      Still, it was rather nice to see Damen being so cheerful; despite, or maybe even thanks to, his childish behavior.

He laughed a bit and kissed his forehead, then his left cheek and his right. "I'm just happy to be utterly in love with you."

He studied Laurent’s face, loving the fact that he was the only one allowed to see him like this, so soft and open (as open as he got, at least). One hand came up to gently cup his cheek, brushing his thumb under the blond’s eye.

“If that snake was you, perhaps,” he mused, a smirk on his lips. “It can’t be too terribly different, don’t you think?”

       “If you plan to provoke me more often, I might reconsider this exception you seem to enjoy so much.”

      It was a threat Damen should know Laurent would be able to put into effect even though it was unlikely for him to do so. But Laurent was, in fact, just currently teasing since he was never going to let himself being teased without any retort.

      After he kissed Damen back, he let a soft, quiet sigh out of his lips before he looked at the other provocatively. 

He sputtered to the surface and laughed, looking over to his fellow king, eyes lit like an excited puppy. "What were you saying?" He teased, moving to wrap his arms around him again. "Something about me making love to you?"

      “Right back at you. It you were anyone else, you would be punished for touching me and talking to me in such way.”

      Laurent’s face was almost expressionless for a few moments but still, he hugged Damen back as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And there it was, the look at his lover’s face he loved so much, mere moments from when they embraced. And Laurent looked back at Damen; a soft, almost imperceptible blush on his cheeks.

      “Were you just trying to say I am a snake? I hope that you are aware that my capabilities highly exceed the animal. Also, you wouldn’t fuck a snake, would you?”

      If Damen was going to tease him, he was going to get the same and with Laurent’s face completely straight, on top of that. 

He studied Laurent’s face, loving the fact that he was the only one allowed to see him like this, so soft and open (as open as he got, at least). One hand came up to gently cup his cheek, brushing his thumb under the blond’s eye.

“If that snake was you, perhaps,” he mused, a smirk on his lips. “It can’t be too terribly different, don’t you think?”

      While Laurent knew pretty well what kind of experience Damen had to remember when he said it was for the best for him not to change anything about the clothes he wore, he didn’t react in any way, just continued looking at his lover with a small smile on his lips. Even if he grinned internally because really, Damen’s reaction that time was priceless and Laurent put on Akielos clothes predicting what was going to happen. You could almost consider it his plan. After all, flustering Damen was always quite amusing.

      “How is it mean to tease a king? I would say it’s quite amusing.”

      The words were said in a calm tone almost devoid of any emotion though the small smile was still present on Laurent’s lips. Just a careful observer would be able to tell that it was completely genuine though. Or someone who knew Laurent well.

“Yes, it is rather sweet coming from a snake- er, I mean, my dear lover,” he continued teasingly, pressing his forehead against Laurent’s. With his free hand, he slowly undid the pin holding his own clothes together.

He smiled softly when Laurent used him for balance, carefully lowering himself to his knees to take care of his boots. “I suppose you have a point there, Laurent,” he mused, big fingers nimbly undoing the laces and buckles that held his boot to his leg. “And I wasn’t waiting for anything, just admiring the view and debating whether or not i should just throw you into the bathes for being so mean to me.” He smiled teasingly and kissed the inside of his knee.

      “Inconvenient when you’re about to bed me but you have to be patient and untie all those laces before? I guess that makes sense.”

      Not that he was ever going to stop wearing Veretian clothing just because of that, of course. More than anything, Laurent actually enjoyed when Damen seemed to struggle with undressing him. He was already quite good in that though. 

      When Damen got to his knees in front of him, he smiled. It was not really a graceful position for a king to get to his knees in front of the other but knowing that Laurent was the only one whom he willingly did it for made him feel quite flattered.

He kissed Laurent's hip as he started on taking off his pants, humming softly. "You always tease me, and it's mean to tease a king, you know." He said, eyes shining mischeviously.

      “Still not used to them?”

      Laurent teased back but he had to admit he was not completely indifferent towards Damen’s little ministrations of his affection, no matter how calm he might seem. He simply let him kiss the places he wanted to kiss, just a faint blush showing on the edges of his cheeks which soon faded away.

      He let his lover put his shirt off, helping him to do so. A small smile soon showed on his face.

      “Wouldn’t it spoil all the fun if you got enough of me? Not that I am the one to talk but I think it’s pretty fair.” And then, his smile grew slightly wider. “What are you waiting for? Take off the boots and pants as well.”

      Putting his arm on Damen’s shoulder for support, he lifted his leg, his smile soon turning into a small smirk.

He smiled softly when Laurent used him for balance, carefully lowering himself to his knees to take care of his boots. “I suppose you have a point there, Laurent,” he mused, big fingers nimbly undoing the laces and buckles that held his boot to his leg. “And I wasn’t waiting for anything, just admiring the view and debating whether or not i should just throw you into the bathes for being so mean to me.” He smiled teasingly and kissed the inside of his knee.

      A smile showed on Laurent’s face as he realized how Damen really thought about and planned everything. He counted with the other possibility as well and details like those were important. Laurent rarely said or showed it but he admired Damen for his honest and yet tactical approach.

      Glancing at the clothes he was shown, he turned around with his back to the other. He didn’t care that much about clothes as long as they weren’t too revealing and it was possible to move in them freely but he had to admit those were done quite nicely. 

      “Is that so? Attend me then.” 

"Stupid Veretian laces," he teased, finishing the back piece and moving to his arm, where he kissed the back of his hand. He admired the soft, pale skin of his lover, smiling softly. He was going to look stunning in costume.

      “Oh, really? You didn’t even count with the possibility I might decline, huh? What was that insecure look then?”

      Laurent didn’t object to the affection he received though it still felt rather strange. He had never allowed anyone to do such things to him where other people could see before and so he wasn’t used to it at all but he wasn’t really against it either.

      “You’ve thought about everything…”

Continuation from here:

      “There’s no way I would be jealous because of something like that. I advise you to try harder.”

      Squeezing Damen’s hand back, Laurent blushed a little. So he didn’t saw the point in it before, huh? He had to admit the other’s sweet words were sometimes quite effective.

@slxvcking

      “Already learnt to say cheesy phrases like that? Or was it something your former lovers liked to hear?”

     Still, Laurent took the other’s hand and intertwined their fingers, not really hating to hear the words, even if they were cheesy.