#raotel

She could have easily healed it herself. The blade had barely nicked her face and it had long since stopped bleeding.

But Aethus had insisted.

And now here she was, kneeling before him with his hands holding her jaw oh so gently as he inspected the cut.

He was frowning at the cut, looking as though it's presence had personally offended him. She winces slightly when he brushes over it with his thumb and he almost flinches at the idea that he could have hurt her. She looked down for a moment, trying not to enjoy the feeling of his hands warming her scales. Peering back up has her eyes widening as he leans in close to her face, bringing himself right to where the cut crosses over her mouth. He’s so close. She can feel the warmth of his breath against her muzzle and it makes her swallow the lump forming in her throat.

His voice is barely a whisper. It’s a healing spell, she faintly realises. An act of healing murmured against her almost as though it were a prayer, like he doesn’t want anyone but her to know. His breath is so soft and she can almost feel the movement of his lips, he’s that close. It’s almost a kiss. Almost. Almost.

He hesitates before he draws away, running his thumb over that same spot. It doesn’t sting this time but she’s almost tempted to hiss to see if he’ll lean in again. Her chest twists with guilt at the idea of tricking him like that.

Aethus just smiles as he takes his hands away. “There. That’s better.”

Rain always left Aethus feeling unsettled. It was nice to listen to while comfortable inside, he supposed, but it left him feeling trapped. The rain would seep into him anytime he tried to walk out in it, leaving a coldness deep in his bones that would cause old aches to flare back up. So he sat, more perched really, in the window frame, watching the raindrops drizzle down the glass pane. It made for a nice distraction. His tail wagged lazily as he followed a raindrop with the tip of his claw, tracing the weaving path it takes as it works its way down the glass. 

He stared a little longer than he meant to once it reached the bottom, eyes focused on the water that lingers there. The cool glass felt nice against his cheek as he leant in, horn tapping softly against the window. He stayed there with his eyes closed for a while, the pitter patter of rain was almost soothing. The sound of a shuffle from elsewhere in the house had him opening his eyes. The sounds of someone else in the house no longer stressed him like it had when they had first moved in together. Now it was a comforting noise, it let him know he wasn’t alone anymore, that he didn’t have to be on guard at any little sound. He looked briefly to the doorway to see if Raotel would appear, but listening closer told him she was making a pot of tea. He could hear her soft grumbles as she attempted to locate the tea. Aethus turned his attention back to the window, eyes focusing on a slow moving droplet. He raised a claw to trace its path again, tutting a little when it stopped. Not enough water to keep moving. A second droplet caught up with it, giving it enough momentum to keep moving. It moved quickly down the glass after that, picking up other droplets that pulled its trajectory a little to the side but helped it continue onward.

Watching it vanish to the bottom of the glass made him catch a glimpse of his own reflection. He was smiling. Of course he was. How could he not think of them? Almost stagnating alone but managing to continue onward together.

He pulled himself from his little perch, heading out towards the kitchen. Raotel was no longer there, she must have found the tea fairly fast.

He followed the path she no doubt took, finding her curled in the large chair that sat in their living room.

She was cradling her cup of tea carefully, staring at it while waiting for it to cool down. She also hadn’t noticed him quite yet.

She perked up when he stood in front of her.

“Hello, how are-” He leant down to kiss her just in front of her horns. He trailed little kisses down the ridge of her snout, following the natural curves of her scales. Almost like the paths the water droplets he was watching would take. He pressed one final kiss to her lips before he pulled away and began to walk back to the doorway. She let out a little surprised laugh, “What was that about?”

Raotel curses under her breath, yanking her hand to her chest, the neatly collected papers falling this way and that.

Papercut. Ow.

She licks the neglible amount of blood from her finger pad, wondering how something so usually harmless could hurt so much. She stands up from the desk she was working at, turning around to find herself face to face with Aethus.

Well, more like face to top-of-his-horns. She looks down to make eye contact, her brow furrowing at the amused look on the tiefling's face.

"Papercut?" he asks.

She nods, holding out her hand to show him. He takes it in both of his.

"Does it hurt?"

She quickly shakes her head. She's a Paladin, vanquisher of Mindflayers and defender of justice. She will not be felled by the slivers of a dead tree.

"Not at all," she lies, even as the small cut still stings.

Aethus gives her a quizical look. "So I don't need to kiss it better?"

Raotel's face grows warm and she glances down, realising the trap she's just been caught in. She sighs out a big breath and looks back to him.

"Actually...it's hurting again now. It's just- so painful, I got confused. Please?"