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Percy stops outside Vex’s door. No one else is about, of that he’s sure - it’s late, late enough everyone has gone to bed and he really should too, but he has a guess that Vex will still be awake, given how daunting tomorrow is, and well. He’d promised. If they wait until after tomorrow they might not be there for him to keep it.
He knocks.
There’s a pause and for a moment he thinks perhaps she has gone to bed, perhaps she is asleep-
“Hello? Who is it?”
Well. Showtime it is. He tugs his cuffs to neatness, straightens his shoulders. At his side, his bag clinks.
“It’s me,” he calls. “I have something to show you.”
“Percy?”
His eyes narrow. He knows Vex well enough, he thinks, that he can detect faux-surprise. She’s toying with him.
(There is, perhaps, a part of him that is not opposed to this. But right now he has a plan to fulfil.)
“No,” he says, and he can’t help his smile even as he chooses to be a bit sarcastic. “I’m an evil green dragon, let me in.”
“Oh-” Vex says, “Are you here for our ‘later talk’?”
Well yes, and also no at the same time, because he doubts they could have the whole of what he wants their later talk to be over just tonight - he’d like to see her, though, and to talk to her, and to at least establish something before they all go off to probably die tomorrow.
“No this is a very-” This would be so much easier if she just- “Open the door, I have something to show you.”
He can hear her tut and sigh, hear her “Fine,” before the door creaks and.
Oh. Oh. That’s. Oh.
Vex’s voice is sugary sweet. “What was it, dear?”
Percy’s head has emptied completely.
“I don’t remember,” he admits. “But it was mostly to head in this direction - can I come in?”
“Sure, of course!” Vex says, stepping back and holding the door wide, and her hips sway as she goes, her loose hair a deep, dark shadow behind her, made stark by the light from her fire and oh god. This has derailed entirely. “Would you like to talk before-” she gestures with one finger, then again, “Or after?”
Oh god, all his thoughts have fled. Every inch of his plan: vanished into the aether at the sight of Vex’s bare skin and broad smile, at the implied promise of after-
He was not expecting things to go this quickly. He frantically scrabbles for whatever remains of his plan, hands already fishing in his bag as he’d waited at the door and he pulls out the first bottle. From the weight alone he knows:
“This is called Direheart,” he says before plunging it back into the bag and reaching for the next. He doesn’t dare take his eyes from Vex’s face and it is so hard not to let them wander. He feels the seal on the second bottle, ah yes, the old favourite: “This, we simply call Courage.” Tucks that back away, finds the third. The colour alone lets him know: “And this is a snow mead!” Quickly, quickly, because his resolve is waning, the last remnants of his plan fading. “And this is Green Tear Whiskey!”
Vex’s smile has only grown. It is, he knows, entirely deserved.
“We’re going to start with the Courage,” he manages and there’s a glint in Vex’s eye. “And not talk about dragons!” he hastily adds - and then gives up on all plans entirely, running through Vex’s open door and pausing only long enough to slam it shut behind him.
Vex’s hands are on him in moments.
It’s- oh it’s lovely, her lips on his, her hands on his hips. She’s a much better kisser than he is, and with her taking the lead she finds the right angle immediately, her tongue licking into his mouth and oh-
Their lips break apart and he drags in a gasping breath, tries desperately to steady himself because- because he’d hoped, perhaps, yes, in the vague way of one day, maybe, perhaps, but he hadn’t actually thought- not now, not so soon, he’d only kissed her a handful of days ago, they’ve barely had a chance to talk about it-
“Vex,” he says and tilts his head forward and she’s there to meet him, her forehead steady against his as he drags another breath in.
“All right, darling?”
“All ri- yes. Yes.” He huffs a laugh, is so full of joy he can’t help but tilt his face to brush their noses together. His smile is so wide as he says the next: “You stomped all over my plan.”
Vex’s arms move, lifting, draping over his shoulders and it lets her lean back from her close press against him. When he glances down he can just see-
Oh yes. She’s still very naked. A flush crawls up his neck, over his cheeks. Vex’s laugh is lovely.
“Did I now?” she asks, gleeful delight in every word. “What was your plan, by-the-by?”
Oh she’s teasing, curiosity and judgement in equal parts, challenging him to respond and he’s never been able to back down from a challenge.
“Well!” he says. “It was lovely!” Such a lovely plan, simple and understandable, a drink or two to take the edge off, a chance to talk, for him to clarify what he’d meant by that kiss, to give her a chance to turn him down, and, just maybe, if she was still amenable to all this, if she had meant every word he’d heard when drifting in death - then perhaps another kiss. Or two.
Honestly, the exact number of kisses was up to Vex - Percy would be happy with whatever she deigned to give him, only now he’s realising she might decide to give him far more than he’d ever expected and he has to adjust his plans accordingly.
“Darling?”
It is proving very difficult to stay on track with Vex this close. With Vex’s arms around him. With Vex-
There’s a reason he’s usually looked away when the others have unexpectedly gotten naked! He’s not used to it and certainly not in this proximity outside of a bathhouse. Vex’s gaze is expectant.
Well. It wouldn’t do to let her down.
“I’d thought,” he says and nods down to the bag he’s still clutching close, “That we could have a drink.” He swallows. “Or two. And our later talk-”
“Of course,” Vex says, mock seriously, a smile tugging up the corners of her mouth.
“And,” he ploughs on, determined not to be distracted further, even though there isn’t much left of the plan because it was rather vague and inflexible wasn’t it? Never going to survive contact with the enemy - especially not one as devious as Vex. “I thought we could pass a pleasant evening in each other’s company. As much as we each were comfortable with.”
Vex’s teasing glint doesn’t vanish but it does soften, her head tilting as she looks at him, her arms a heavier weight against his neck as she leans back just… watching.
“Oh darling,” she says, and there’s such fondness in her voice, such warmth and-
She’s sounded like this when talking to him before, he knows, and many times, and he’s always passed it off as being due to friendship or Vox Machina or just the emotions of the moment, but now, at this proximity, her smiling at him, her arms around him, her-
A polite little part of his mind coughs at him. Ahem. Yes. It’s much harder to deny the truth now. Much harder to deny with Vex’s words ringing in his head, the words that swam through darkness to find what little Orthax had left of him. It’s yours.
“May I-” he pauses, stuttering, unsure if he should dare, but-
But they’re here, now. Vex is naked, now, had opened her door to him naked, and yes he has apparently managed to be oblivious to his and Vex’s shared emotions for some time now, but this is a hint that might as well be a poleaxe: it cannot be missed.
“May I kiss you?” he asks, and somehow Vex’s expression softens further and she nods.
It’s a briefer, lighter kiss than the one she’d greeted him with - he’s not as confident in this as she is, evidently, but that’s all right, because all he wants is the reassurance of this, both to remind himself that this is real and to let Vex know-
Well. She has to know by now.
“Shall we sit?” he says when he pulls back to breathe. He knows the layout of these rooms: there’s a cushion-covered chest by the hearth, perfect for sitting at and while Vex seems perfectly comfortable, he knows at least that he’d rather like a stiff drink. (It’s all rather more than he’d expected.) Vex’s smile is indulgent.
“Let’s,” she says.
She does not don a robe. That would- but no, because she’s chosen to do this, and that means something. Besides, it’s unexpected, not unwanted.
Still. He takes a moment as she takes a seat: the mantelpiece is a perfect place to empty the contents of his bag - four bottles and two sturdy glasses - and he uncorks the Courage with a pop. Two generous measures are poured and he turns, braced for the sight of Vex bared to the air and passes her a glass.
It’s easier to take her in, knowing that she’s there. Easier still as she catches his gaze and smiles, preening, turning her head and crossing her legs to show her to her best effect. The firelight gleams over her skin: she’s all gold and brown and shadows, a deep dark forest just barely gilded by sunlight.
“So,” she says, lifting the glass to him to clink to his. “What is this?”
He almost says Courage, but that’s not what she means. “A berry liqueur,” he says. “It’s made from some of the local fruits, it’s-” It’s hard to explain, not as sickly-sweet as some liqueurs, a hint of a herbal edge, something more like whiskey to it that rounds it out well. “Try it,” he says. “You’ll see.”
It’s lovely to watch her, the elegant tilt of her neck as she drinks, the stretching almost-shiver as she takes in the flavour, the soft, throaty, “oh,” she gives as she swallows. “Oh darling, that’s gorgeous.”
He’s always loved Courage, even as a young man - partly for the name of it alone, partly for it’s local heritage, but also for the taste, for the balance of it, and to see Vex appreciate it too-
It’s easy to take a seat next to her, to sip his own drink. For a stretch it’s a comfortable quiet, just the crackle of the fire and the sound of the wind outside as they sit and drink and.
Well. There’s a reason he’s always enjoyed Vex’s company. Even if she stomps all over his plans.
“I really did have a plan,” he says, swirling the Courage in his glass. In the firelight it glints: russet, amber, gold.
“Oh?”
“It was vague, I’ll admit,” he says. “I didn’t want to presume and, ah- Well. I’d kissed you. And-” I heard what you said. Should he admit that? But no, because knowing why he’s done something doesn’t change the fact that he did it. “I thought- I supposed if you hadn’t wanted me to you’d have sicced Trinket on me-”
Vex’s laugh is lovely. “True.”
“But I thought it might… help? To clear things up.” Which, he supposes, falls to him, given Vex seems perfectly eager to leap ahead. If he didn’t have the surety of her words he might think- but he does. He knows. It’s yours. Just as much as his is hers. Courage now - and he takes a sip and swallows.
“I love you,” he says and makes sure to look at her, to look her in the eye. As she tilts to face him more that becomes more of a challenge, the expanse of bare skin- but he has a purpose here. “I have for some time,” he adds. “You’re a wonderful, kind, brilliant woman, and we’d all be dead a thousand times over without you.”
“And I’m your favourite.”
It shocks a laugh out of him, the recollection of his desperate apology after getting her killed. But- “Yes,” he says, and then, less surprised, more to clarify. “Yes you are.”
“You know,” she says, and he hears the self-consciousness in her voice even before he lifts his gaze to look at her. She gestures. “We don’t have to- if you don’t want-”
“I was surprised,” he says, cutting her off as he’d rarely dare, but-
Vex should never feel so self-conscious. All those people who’ve made her doubt her worth - he’ll spend the rest of his life, if needs be, proving them all wrong.
“I was surprised,” he says. “I’m ah- I’m not opposed. I just. I didn’t think we’d get so far so quickly, that’s all.” There’s such a startled look on Vex’s face and- how many people have just assumed? How many people have held up standards for Vex and left her feeling like she’s forever on a stage, playing to an audience and their expectations? “I know better than to presume,” he says softly. “And, ah- for a long time, I hardly thought myself worthy- I’ve never- never expected affection from you. It’s lovely and I appreciate it every time - I’d never refuse it - but I’m happy with whatever you choose to give me. You don’t-”
Vex’s lips are on his. It’s warm and sudden and when her tongue licks against his he can taste the Courage. Desperately he scrabbles for a flat surface to set his glass down.
“And if I choose to give you this?” she asks and as they are now, him pushed back so the fire seems behind her, turning her hair into a halo all he can think is no wonder she pulled me back from death. “What then?”
What to say? There are no pithy answers here, and sincerity would be too raw-
But they’ve come this far. Percy’s eager to see how much further they could go.
“Anything,” he says and cranes his neck to brush his lips against hers. Everything else can wait for later - he can already feel Vex wrestling with his buttons. “I’m all yours.”