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It was Riol’s room they retired to; in a military encampment, privacy was always a luxury, but it was one afforded to professional rogues in the name of the secrecy of their work. The quarters were small, but they had thicker walls than most here, and more importantly still a door that could be locked. Maxima still felt deeply self-conscious about following him there, despite Riol’s promises that no one would judge them. A lifetime of hiding his preferences told him that there were certainly eyes upon them that would wonder what he was doing in the other man’s quarters, or worse, that would guess it outright. Even if there were no consequences for such things…
“Hey. You all right?” He realized Riol had already locked the door behind them, and was looking up at him with concern. He placed a hand on Maxima’s upper arm and squeezed gently. “If you’re not up for it, we don’t have to do anything tonight.”
“No, I…it’s fine.” Maxima took a deep breath and let it out slowly, shoving back all thoughts of everything outside this room. “It isn’t you that worries me, so taking more time won’t make me less worried.” He laid his hand over Riol’s and guided them over to sit on the bed, Riol settling down beside him. “A lifetime of secrecy is just a difficult habit to break.”
Riol nodded sympathetically. “Aye, I was figurin’ public affection would be off the table for the foreseeable future. And speakin’ of, now that we’re proper alone, we should talk about what is on the table.” He leaned backward on his hands, grinning lazily, the v-shaped gap in the collar of his shirt stretching to show off a little more of the top of his chest. “Now, I’m a veteran of the sordid side of Limsan taverns since I was old enough to hold the right side of a dagger. I’ve tried plenty and seen more, so yer not like to surprise me with anythin’. As fer me own tastes,” his accent always got just a little thicker when talking about his homeland, Maxima had noticed, as if he was a little self-conscious about how far from it he’d come, “I’ve always preferred to keep things playful, and so long as everyone’s havin’ a good time with it, I’ve never much minded whose bits wound up where.”
Maxima blushed but nodded slowly. “Although I’ve had few relationships,” he began delicately, “there are places in Garlemald where one can go for…like-minded companionship. Indeed, many gathering-places which favor a progressive political philosophy have a similarly accepting mindset when it comes to other matters.” His thoughts drifted back to a smoky bar a few blocks from a run-down theater, and he wondered if he would ever get to see those faces again. “So although my prospects were necessarily rather more limited, I haven’t wholly lacked for opportunities.” He could feel his blush deepening as he continued. “And given the lesser scope of available partners, I’ve always been…adaptable. You probably know that there are different lineages of pureblooded Garleans not unlike Highlander and Midlander Hyur; some of the smaller variety find taller companions a daunting prospect, while others are eager to test their limits. Though overall the, ah, enthusiastic sort make more interesting partners in my opinion, I never developed a preference for one act over another.”
“Are there really?” Riol seemed fascinated and delighted by this new thread of information. “Wouldn’t you know it, I always just thought Cid was real short.” He shook his head, “Anyway, it sounds like we’re pretty much aligned. Anything you can think of that I oughta avoid or be warned about?”
Maxima shook his head. “Not particularly. Ah, but…” He reached out and cupped the side of Riol’s face gently, brushing his thumb over the edge of his lover’s eyepatch. “What about this?”
“Yer all right, I ain’t sensitive about it anymore.” Carefully, Riol removed the patch, letting Maxima see the scarred tissue and sewn-shut socket. “Surgeon had to take what was left of it out, and the damage was too much to fit a fake. Healed up as clean as anyone could ask, though, and it doesn’t hurt or anything. The patch is a courtesy to other folks, I got tired of the queasy looks when they noticed the scar.”
“I’ve seen worse.” Before Riol could question the assertion, Maxima leaned down and brushed their lips together, running his other hand through Riol’s hair now that the strap of the eyepatch would no longer impede the movement.
Riol kissed him back willingly, and when Maxima straightened up again he found that the Hyur was following his movement smoothly, until the smaller man was fully settled into his lap, warm and solid and surprisingly comfortable. “I’ve got more than that I can show, and wouldn’t be surprised if you had a few yourself. Let’s take our time getting to know them, yeah?”