#theesteppenwolf

Lorant lay across Jasper’s narrow bed, half dressed, his long red hair strewn across the thin blanket. He was still choosing between the two shirts on either side of him, but he decided to take a break from his internal debate to watch Jasper carefully apply shimmery eyeshadow around his eyes, the other Warden’s face mere inches away from the tiny mirror he and Emmy kept in their room.

Jasper looked over to see Lorant staring at him. “What?”

“Nothing. You’re just cute when you’re focused.” Lorant smirked coyly.

Jasper rolled his eyes in response, but a blush was spreading across his cheeks. “Oh, shut up.”

“No, I’m serious!” He tossed his head back as he laughed, his hair glowing like fire in the warm candlelight.

Jasper gave him a fond smile. Lorant was an incurable and endearing flirt—and Jasper loved to tease him back. “I’m sure you saw cuter when you were a fancy noble in Orlais,” he shot back.

Lorant shook his head morosely. “Never. They all hide their faces behind masks, in Orlais. Such a shame.” He sighed. “Although, I do regret that I may never show you the unique beauty of those masquerade balls.”

“I always dreamed of attending a ball when I was a kid.” Jasper returned to the tiny mirror, now lining his eyes. “There was a book salesman who passed through my hometown once—my ma got me a novel about an Orlesian knight, and he attended a ball at one point in the story. It was so romantic.” Quick flicks of his wrist made fast work of the eyeliner. He looked back to Lorant, who was still watching him with…interest? Amusement? “What, do you want me to do your makeup too?” Jasper teased.

Lorant cocked an eyebrow and looked up, thinking it over. “You know what? Sure. You look so hot with that eyeliner, it’s only fair of you to level the playing field, give me some, too.”

The blush on Jasper’s cheeks spread even further. Without a word, he pulled his long, blondish-brown hair into a bun and stuck an eyeshadow brush through it to keep it in place. “Just eyeliner?”

Lorant nodded. “I don’t want to get too carried away…” He gave Jasper a crafty little grin and pushed himself upright, the muscles in his freckled arms and shoulders highlighted by the flickering shadows.

Oh, Jasper could fight back. He grabbed the tiny pot of eyeliner, wiped his brush clean, and walked over to Lorant—and before the redheaded Warden could do anything about it, Jasper placed a hand on his bare chest and pushed him back down onto the bed, then straddled his hips. “I’ll get a better angle with my wrist this way,” he said innocently. Lorant’s eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing; Jasper felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him. He dipped the brush into the eyeliner, wiped the excess off on the edge of the pot, then adjusted it in his right hand like a pencil.

He held Lorant’s face still with his left hand and gently rested the side of his right hand on the redhead’s lightly scruffy, freckled cheek. Those eyes…sometimes Jasper forgot how beautiful they were. One a soft, cornflower blue, the other hazel. They both looked up at him with a mix of wonder and desire. “Close your eyes,” he whispered, and Lorant obliged. He gently swiped the brush along the line of his eyelashes, using short strokes. Lorant was making a clear, conscious effort to stay still, and Jasper rewarded him with a stroke of his thumb across Lorant’s cheek. The Warden hummed in appreciation.

With the first eye finished, Jasper lifted his hand, dipped the brush in the eyeliner once more, then rested his hand on Lorant’s brow. Again, he flicked the brush against Lorant’s lash line, applying just enough eyeliner to make his eyes really pop. When he finished with the second eye, Jasper set down the brush and gently used the pad of his pinky finger to smudge out the line a little. “Okay. You can open them.”

Lorant’s eyes blinked open and locked with Jasper’s. The breath caught in Jasper’s throat. Maker above, he was beautiful. The jet-black of the eyeliner was stark against the blue and hazel of his eyes, glowing in the soft candlelight; Jasper glanced down at his fellow Warden’s lips, imagined what they might taste like, how they might feel against his own. He and Lorant had been flirting for months, and he’d always thought it was a game they were playing, but…what if it wasn’t? What if it could be real, right now?

“Hey,” murmured Lorant, a dazed expression on his face. He smiled softly at Jasper and reached up, placed a warm hand where his jaw met his throat, deft fingers stroking the edges of Jasper’s short beard. Jasper melted into his touch.

“Hey,” Jasper replied, his voice barely audible over the pounding of his heart in his chest. Planting his right hand on the bed to brace himself, Jasper dipped to rest his forehead against Lorant’s, their noses bumping, their breath intermingling. He could close the gap between their lips right now.

He didn’t get the chance. Lorant pulled him down the rest of the way and their lips pressed together, sweet and warm. A giddy smile tugged at the corners of Jasper’s lips. “Ah, your mustache tickles,” whispered Lorant into Jasper’s mouth.

“Sorry—“ Jasper was cut off with another kiss, more fervent than the last. Lorant’s teeth grazed across his lower lip, and Jasper shuddered. He shifted his hips against Lorant’s and the redhead let out a low groan—

—When suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Emmy, Jasper’s twin sister, barged in. Lorant and Jasper sprung apart.

“Hey, Jasper, can you—ANDRASTE’S FLAMING KNICKERS.” She immediately covered her eyes with one hand and backed out of the room. “Maker’s breath, the least you can do is put a sock on the doorknob or something next time. Fuck.” She left and slammed the door behind her.

When Jasper and Lorant finally looked at each other again, Jasper’s face was beet red. Lorant giggled. “I love how easy it is to make you blush, you know.”