[ wherever it may be that dorian has holed himself up in — and aemond had searched for him in the library, swept through the mezzanine and the more hidden aisles to be sure — aemond comes to him with a heavy blanket wrapped around his shoulders, cheeks and ears pinked by the cold, and with little warning drags him to a low daybed nearby and shoving him onto it. ]
You're warm, [ is all the explanation aemond gives, as he crawls next to him and throws the blanket over themselves. ] I'm so fucking tired of freezing.
[ There are many problems with their current predicament, but one that Dorian hasn't quite solved is how much he needs shared, human warmth, and how much he also needs several hours of peace and quiet in a day if he wants to retain his sanity. The library isn't much like a library these days, as far as the peace and quiet portion goes: it's a hub of activity, so Dorian has taken to sneaking naps in a much smaller and emptier room nearby.
He's dozing off while trying to read, when Aemond finds him. Dorian doesn't protest in the slightest, tugging his own blanket over them and pulling Aemond close, arm around his waist. ]
Come here. Pretend I have my fire back. [ Face tucked against Aemond's throat, his nose cold as he nuzzles in. ]
I wish you had your fire back, even a little of it. This is outrageous, this weather.
[ he isn't chattering his teeth. he isn't hissing at how cold dorian's nose is against the back of his neck. he is absolutely not pulling dorian's arm closer, so that it's wound around him tighter, his own back flush against dorian's front. he's forgetting how it feels to sweat. he despises the cold intensely for it.
a dragon is not meant for the cold. ]
There are too many people in the library. It's suffocating now.
I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'll have had enough of libraries for a while once normalcy is restored.
[ As much as normalcy exists here, anyway. Dorian feels Aemond tremble, suppresses his body's urge to shiver with him and just holds him tight, instead: nudges his knee between Aemond's legs, rubs his hand up and down Aemond's sternum to generate heat.
Still cold, but better already. Dorian closes his eyes, murmuring, ]
Shall I tell you more about Tevinter? Its seaside warmth and the utter lack of snow?
[ plaintive is the tone of his voice now; aemond all but clings to dorian's offered warmth, running lean fingers over the faint hairs on dorian's arm. dorian is firm against aemond too, a living heat under their shared covers. his thigh between aemond's own is a welcome gesture, and while absent of their mutual fluid desire, the promise of it lingers between them unsaid.
aemond places his hand over dorian's, suddenly seized by the throat by a need that chokes the air in his lungs. ]
Tell me about the sun on your skin, how it touches you. Tell me about the sweltering afternoons facing the sea, and about clear, cloudless skies.
I grew up in the coastal city of Qarinus. [ Dorian likes the way Aemond says please, presses a kiss to his nape. He drags a socked foot up Aemond's calf, another source of warmth. ]
Sun-drenched and hot in the summers, the water warm and clear. [ There's a soft thread of longing in his voice; he's been away from home for so long, even before he arrived here.
Dorian's hand slips beneath the hem of Aemond's shirt, presses warm to his stomach. ]
We could lie in the sand together, and I'd make you a delightful little drink.
[ aemond reaches for the hand darting under his layers and presses it flat against his skin, drags it up and along the flexing muscles underneath. the touch warms, though not as quickly as aemond would've liked; still, it is a good touch, and he finds that he likes it. ]
Sand would get in my hair, and my colours would not agree to so much sun, but on a long shaded bench I might be persuaded.
[ he lets himself imagine it: a sunny afternoon with the summer breeze kissing their skin, the sunset painting everything an orange glow. they have proper glasses, clear and hand-blown with arbor gold poured into the crystal. and perhaps — shared kisses under the shade, stolen touches under watchful gazes, or an empty stretch of beach with vhagar watching the distance as aemond takes dorian against the waning afternoon sun.
[ It's been hard to feel much in the way of desire, these past weeks, between the bitter cold and the roaming dead. Aemond has a way of coaxing it out of him, nonetheless; with eyes closed, Dorian can focus on the scent of his hair, the natural way their bodies slot together even with layers between them. ]
Mm. Sand is better imagined than actually experienced, it's true.
[ He lets Aemond guide his hand, the heel of his palm sliding firm below his navel, down his pelvis. Dorian lazily undoes the fastenings of Aemond's pants one-handed, with an equally lazy roll of his hips. ]
Someone might walk in.
[ Funnily enough, he doesn't sound bothered by that. ]
[ there is no shame in him regarding this. here is a room, private by virtue of a door closed; if anyone should enter and make themselves known then aemond will remind them that the room is already taken up and made use of. their enemies have yet to learn how doors work, too - if that changes, then it will be a challenge to meet.
until then, until something happens worth worrying over, he will take this warmth and drink from it. he is a prince, son of a king, regent; doubting one's wants is a skill reserved for the smallfolk. ]
Here, [ he remarks, guiding dorian's hand to shape him in rough strokes. their hands are dry and cool, slow to warm, but it's coming along the more they touch. aemond rocks his hips back against dorian's own as he lets the heat of dorian's hand travel through him in waves. ] This is good.
Summer nights, [ he continues with the fantasy, ] on a balcony facing the sea. Low candlelights. The ocean breeze cooling the sweat on your back. The sky wide open above us, the stars watching as I open you up. I want to see you knelt before me as you kiss the wetness off my skin.
[ he misses the sun. he misses fire, how it burns. he misses the heat of the sky embracing him in flight.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
in person.
You're warm, [ is all the explanation aemond gives, as he crawls next to him and throws the blanket over themselves. ] I'm so fucking tired of freezing.
no subject
He's dozing off while trying to read, when Aemond finds him. Dorian doesn't protest in the slightest, tugging his own blanket over them and pulling Aemond close, arm around his waist. ]
Come here. Pretend I have my fire back. [ Face tucked against Aemond's throat, his nose cold as he nuzzles in. ]
no subject
[ he isn't chattering his teeth. he isn't hissing at how cold dorian's nose is against the back of his neck. he is absolutely not pulling dorian's arm closer, so that it's wound around him tighter, his own back flush against dorian's front. he's forgetting how it feels to sweat. he despises the cold intensely for it.
a dragon is not meant for the cold. ]
There are too many people in the library. It's suffocating now.
no subject
[ As much as normalcy exists here, anyway. Dorian feels Aemond tremble, suppresses his body's urge to shiver with him and just holds him tight, instead: nudges his knee between Aemond's legs, rubs his hand up and down Aemond's sternum to generate heat.
Still cold, but better already. Dorian closes his eyes, murmuring, ]
Shall I tell you more about Tevinter? Its seaside warmth and the utter lack of snow?
no subject
[ plaintive is the tone of his voice now; aemond all but clings to dorian's offered warmth, running lean fingers over the faint hairs on dorian's arm. dorian is firm against aemond too, a living heat under their shared covers. his thigh between aemond's own is a welcome gesture, and while absent of their mutual fluid desire, the promise of it lingers between them unsaid.
aemond places his hand over dorian's, suddenly seized by the throat by a need that chokes the air in his lungs. ]
Tell me about the sun on your skin, how it touches you. Tell me about the sweltering afternoons facing the sea, and about clear, cloudless skies.
[ tell me about the fire that has touched you. ]
no subject
Sun-drenched and hot in the summers, the water warm and clear. [ There's a soft thread of longing in his voice; he's been away from home for so long, even before he arrived here.
Dorian's hand slips beneath the hem of Aemond's shirt, presses warm to his stomach. ]
We could lie in the sand together, and I'd make you a delightful little drink.
no subject
Sand would get in my hair, and my colours would not agree to so much sun, but on a long shaded bench I might be persuaded.
[ he lets himself imagine it: a sunny afternoon with the summer breeze kissing their skin, the sunset painting everything an orange glow. they have proper glasses, clear and hand-blown with arbor gold poured into the crystal. and perhaps — shared kisses under the shade, stolen touches under watchful gazes, or an empty stretch of beach with vhagar watching the distance as aemond takes dorian against the waning afternoon sun.
he pushes dorian's hand further, lower down. ]
no subject
Mm. Sand is better imagined than actually experienced, it's true.
[ He lets Aemond guide his hand, the heel of his palm sliding firm below his navel, down his pelvis. Dorian lazily undoes the fastenings of Aemond's pants one-handed, with an equally lazy roll of his hips. ]
Someone might walk in.
[ Funnily enough, he doesn't sound bothered by that. ]
no subject
[ there is no shame in him regarding this. here is a room, private by virtue of a door closed; if anyone should enter and make themselves known then aemond will remind them that the room is already taken up and made use of. their enemies have yet to learn how doors work, too - if that changes, then it will be a challenge to meet.
until then, until something happens worth worrying over, he will take this warmth and drink from it. he is a prince, son of a king, regent; doubting one's wants is a skill reserved for the smallfolk. ]
Here, [ he remarks, guiding dorian's hand to shape him in rough strokes. their hands are dry and cool, slow to warm, but it's coming along the more they touch. aemond rocks his hips back against dorian's own as he lets the heat of dorian's hand travel through him in waves. ] This is good.
Summer nights, [ he continues with the fantasy, ] on a balcony facing the sea. Low candlelights. The ocean breeze cooling the sweat on your back. The sky wide open above us, the stars watching as I open you up. I want to see you knelt before me as you kiss the wetness off my skin.
[ he misses the sun. he misses fire, how it burns. he misses the heat of the sky embracing him in flight.
this is a closest to it that he can get. ]