"If someone's going to get me up before noon, I suppose I'd rather it be you," Bastiaan said, stretching.

Lennart approached the bed while Bastiaan stretched, then sat down on the edge of the mattress facing him. He barely even looked at Bastiaan's naked body peeking out from beneath the sheets, which Bastiaan supposed was another piece of evidence in favor of this being urgent. Without any more preamble, Lennart said, "I've been offered a job."

Bastiaan blinked. Lennart didn't usually tell him much about his work. Bastiaan didn't tell him that much about his, either, except when he thought it might be something Lennart would enjoy hearing. He was too groggy to have a conversation, even with Lennart. "And?"

"It's not a mercenary contract," Lennart said. "It's a...long-term, stationary job. As a combat instructor at the academy out past Halkilde."

"Oh," Bastiaan said. That was far away. Halkilde was nearly the other side of the country. "I take it you'd be travelling less," he said.

"Yes," Lennart said. "I don't know how often I would be able to come through Polnas."

"Oh," Bastiaan said again. He sat up. He felt as if he was weighted down, his body slow to respond to his commands. He recognized the feeling, as it was similar to how he felt after his family was killed. "So we'll be seeing less of each other."

"Yes," Lennart said, and Bastiaan doubted anyone in the world apart from him knew Lennart well enough to tell how sad he sounded. "Unless you come with me."

"What?" Bastiaan asked.

"I asked the Headmistress if I could bring a romantic partner," Lennart said. "She said yes."

"You--Lennart," Bastiaan said. He was painfully aware he was blushing. He'd been a whore his entire adult life and he was blushing because his favorite customer called him a romantic partner. Not even that, really; suggested he might be. But Bastiaan liked Lennart enough that the suggestion of a possibility flustered him more than any sexual advance had in years.

"I understand we have not spoken about anything like this before," Lennart said. No, Lennart had been much more considerate of the reality of their relationship than most customers who were so obviously smitten. He went on, "And it is a significant change. But I...would be foolish to turn down this position, which is well-suited to my skills, as well as considerably safer and more steady than mercenary work." He reached for one of Bastiaan's hands, and wrapped his own around it. Quietly, he said, "But I don't want to not see you."

"Lennart," Bastiaan said. He took Lennart's other hand in his free one. "I don't want to see you less, either," he admitted. They already saw less of each other than Bastiaan would have liked. He wasn't entirely sure how Lennart afforded so much time with him anyway, on a traveling mercenary's pay. Bastiaan hadn't quite dared to suggest to Madam Louisa that they offer Lennart a discount, even though that wasn't so unusual for regular customers. Lennart traveled so much that his high-priced visits were less frequent than any other customer to whom they extended a discount.

And, quite honestly, Bastiaan had been worried she would tease him. He'd spent his entire career voicing his confusion that some of his colleagues found it difficult to keep from getting attached to customers, and now Lennart was the highlight of his days.

Bastiaan glanced again at the clock. "How much time do you have?" he asked.

"The carriage east leaves at two," Lennart said. That was well before the brothel opened. Bastiaan wouldn't even always be awake by then, depending on how late he'd stayed up the night before. He supposed Lennart had little choice but to wake him, if they were to have a chance to talk at all.

"Then why don't you buy me a meal at Ada's and tell me the details?" Bastiaan suggested. Ada's wasn't far from where the carriage-house was, and her cooking was excellent.

"Yes," Lennart said.

Bastiaan got dressed, and managed to restrain himself from pulling Lennart into bed or pushing him against a wall. It was an effort, since it had been so long since Lennart's last visit, and since he had just suggested Bastiaan move across the country to be his kept man.

Until he met Lennart, Bastiaan hadn't really understood the people who left the brothel to be someone's mistress. Yes, you got more free time in exchange for less work, and often perks like clothing and lodging, but it left you so vulnerable to the whims of a single person. At least the people who married their patrons got some legal protection out of it. Yet Bastiaan found the idea less puzzling these days. In fact, Bastiaan had considered several times how pleasant being Lennart's kept man might be.

Probably because Bastiaan was in love with him.

Bastiaan wouldn't even mind not fucking anyone else, which was usually one of the stipulations of these arrangements, if he got to see Lennart every day. Not that Lennart had ever seemed to care at all that Bastiaan had sex with other people. For all that they had spent a fair bit of time together over the last not-quite-two years, what little Lennart said about himself was not especially illuminating. Even when it was informative, it tended to be confusing, simply because Lennart was so unconcerned with what society expected of people. He worked alone, which Bastiaan was pretty sure the mercenaries he knew would have considered somewhere between foolhardy and suicidal; Bastiaan didn't know why he worked alone, apart from the obvious. From what Lennart knew of noble politics and manners, he had to have spent time in a noble house. Both of his parents were dead, like Bastiaan's, but if Bastiaan had read between the lines correctly, Lennart had killed his own father after his mother died. Usually when they had enough time to talk, Lennart asked Bastiaan about himself.

Lennart was strange. Other people tended to find him off-putting. Bastiaan, on the other hand, felt like he'd before never gotten along so well so quickly with anyone. When Lennart didn't understand Bastiaan, he said so, then listened to the explanation, instead of coming up with some kind of reasoning on his own and acting as if that was the truth without bothering to check with Bastiaan.

Ada already had stew and fresh bread ready to serve, so Lennart and Bastiaan took their food to a corner table immediately. As Bastiaan ate, Lennart told him about the school. It had enclosed grounds, indoor plumbing, and meals served three times a day. He was unsure if there were any unfilled positions in the school itself, but there was a village not far outside the grounds. There was even a brothel in the village, though Lennart hadn't asked if they needed any additional help.

"However, you needn't work if you do not wish to," Lennart said. "With room and board for two included in my position, I can support us both. But I will be busy much of the time. I wouldn't want you to get bored."

Plenty of people weren't so considerate of their mistresses' desires when setting up these arrangements, Bastiaan knew. The fact that Lennart thought ahead to not only whether or not Bastiaan might be bored, but what potential occupations he could find at or around the school, was quite endearing. "Are you sure it would be all right?" Bastiaan asked. "I doubt the headmistress thought your proposed romantic partner was a whore."

"I don't see why it would matter," Lennart said. When they first met, Bastiaan would have taken such a statement for naivety, but now he understood it was best to take Lennart at face value whenever possible. Lennart didn't understand why Bastiaan's profession would affect anyone's feelings for him, or opinion of their relationship, because it was not something Lennart found at all relevant. Bastiaan loved that. He loved that Lennart was such a straight-forward man, and he loved that Lennart treated whores like he treated anyone else. "If it does," Lennart went on, "I believe I would still be able to afford to rent you a room in the village. It would be less convenient, but certainly better than having you be a two week journey away."

"You've put a lot of thought into this," Bastiaan said.

For some reason, that made Lennart blush. "Yes," he said, and busied himself with his stew.

"It'll probably take me a few weeks to get everything settled here," Bastiaan said. Lennart's head jerked back up to look at him fast enough to make him splash stew on the table. Lennart hunched into himself, embarrassed, and mopped up the spill with his napkin. Bastiaan said, "But I think I can trust you're not going to get tired of me and strand me on the other side of the country."

"Never," Lennart said, frowning up at Bastiaan. "I could never get tired of you."