#renstuck

A lot of things happen on the road. That had been the first rule Dirk Strider had learned when he'd first set out to seek his fortune. He'd been all over the known world by now, even to the Far East when he'd signed on as a guard for a caravan on the Silk Road. That journey in particular had sent him back with more than he'd left with. Mostly scars, but especially a blade. The curved, single-edged graceful weapon that its makers called a katana. An odd name, but somehow musical and very fitting.

But that is the last thing on his mind now. No, he has something else occupying his brain as he ambles up the road from the village. The festival is still in full swing behind him and will likely be going on far into the night. No one will notice the absence of one man, an outsider from the north who simply happened to be passing through at the right time of year. Hopefully no one would notice the absence of one other, either, for Dirk had a promise to keep, a challenge that had been laid down - though by this point he couldn't recall if it had been him or Jake doing the laying.

Jake English. Now there was a fascination. You might not think a lad raised by the Roma would be so...there was no other word for it...innocent. Certainly most men, once they'd caught on to the blond soldier's playful flirting, would have given him a glare or a wide berth - such things were simply Not Done, save by heathens and heretics - but Jake...it seemed all it took to get even a blush out of the man was just a smile, or a glance at the right time. He hadn't even been laying it on very thick; he hadn't had to. There was a definite part of him, though, that wanted to.

He wanted to push, to see just how far Jake would go before backing down, and quite a large part of Dirk hoped he wouldn't. The Scotsman didn't think that would happen, not with the events and conversations of the festival, but you could never be certain. Not until the door was closed and there was nothing but heat between them could he be sure, and even then nothing was set in stone. But he had to try, if only to keep up appearances. Jake had, in the flustered heat of a moment, agreed to a nighttime tryst in his own room, and Dirk was not a man to turn down a chance at getting even just one more blush out of the Roma-raised Englishman.

Jake must have been extremely preoccupied himself, since Dirk was able to slip inside and shut the door without being noticed. The Scotsman leaned back against the door, one thumb tucked casually into his belt as he waited for Jake to turn round. It didn't take long, and then those evergreen eyes, lit dimly by the moonlight from the window, were looking him over. He flashed Jake a faint smirk, just waiting for the reaction. It wasn't long in coming. "So, Strider. You're here." The words sounded almost challenging, but with a breathless undercurrent. Was he nervous?

"Aye, 'm here," Dirk pushed off the door easily and straightened, starting slowly towards where Jake was now sitting on the bed. "Time tae hold up yer end o' th'bargain." With each step he could almost see Jake's eyes widen, the flush starting on suntanned cheeks. Would Jake back down? Would he press forward? Don't let me down, English, the words flashed through Dirk's mind but went unspoken.

"Yes...I suppose it is." The breathless note was stronger now as Dirk stood barely a foot away from the dark-haired Englishman. Evergreen lifted, met citrine-amber as Dirk leaned forward and down to claim the prize that had been agreed on earlier. A single kiss, the thought of which had sent Jake crimson for a good ten seconds when it had been first brought up. A single breathless moment hung in the air between them as Dirk paused, barely half an inch separating the two.