Torshael and Tayne's Story, Part Two: A New God for a New Mission

The first thing Tayne thought upon waking was that the combination of comfort and discomfort he was feeling was most definitely an odd one. His head ached and his mouth felt decidedly dry and disgusting, his stomach didn't seem very happy with him, and he most certainly wasn't lying on a bed. He thought he probably had a crick in his back, and the scar across his middle itched. But there was also a quite content lassitude he couldn't quite place, and while he wasn't on a bed, the surface was at least moderately comfortable. And despite his lack of blankets, he wasn't cold.

And at least partial lack of clothes, he noted as he shifted in the start of a stretch. Where in the world were his pants?

That was when he realized he had someone's head pillowed on his chest, an arm flung around his middle, and his own arm around that someone's shoulders.

Wait.

What?

It took a minute of complete shock, but then he remembered. Well, remembered vaguely. Bits and pieces. Last night had been a long succession of taverns and drinks, which explained the head and mouth. That's right, he'd been out with Tekasynos, making good on that promise he'd made. He vaguely remembered a lot of kissing. Mm, yes, lots of kissing.... Tekas wasn't a bad kisser, really, especially for someone without a lot of experience-- not that he had that much more, himself-- and he learned quickly....

Focus, Tayne. Where the hell are you?

Oh, right. The succession had given way to weaving their way to Tekas's house, hadn't it? And they had somehow wound up on the floor of Tekas's living room. And then....

Oh, High One. That explained who was sleeping on his chest, and why that someone was, er, minus all of his clothes. His memory of exactly what happened was fuzzy, but from the way he felt like he'd fallen asleep-- or more likely passed out-- quite sweaty, from what he could smell even with an overly dry nose, and from what snatches he was remembering, he could guess. And from what snatches he was remembering, it was... actually rather nice. Though he thought he could do without the hangover.

And Tekas hadn't left. Or kicked him out. Or anything. He'd just cuddled up against him and fallen asleep, too. Or maybe he'd fallen asleep first... yeah. Yeah, he thought Tekas had passed out first. Well, he could hope that he wouldn't be kicked out when he woke, at least....

... which, given the little shifts and half-awake sounds he was making, was going to be any minute.

Tekas's head came up an inch or two, eyes squinted even in the dim light from the lowest setting of the lamps and what managed to filter in through heavy curtains. " ... is it morning already...?"

He sounded even worse than Tayne felt, his voice rough with sleep and quite possibly over-use. Trying not to laugh-- even a chuckle would probably set his head spinning-- Tayne said, "Unfortunately, yes."

" ... bah...."

And then, to his mild surprise, he found the infernal burying his head into his shoulder and snuggling up closer, legs quite firmly wrapping around one of his.

Well. Who was he to protest? He sighed and shut his eyes again, getting his other arm up and over Tekas's, and snugged them both around him. He considered trying to go back to sleep-- it seemed like Tekas was likely to do just that-- but a distant knowledge that he would be needing to use the privy soon and a more immediate knowledge that he had someone wrapped quite securely around him made the attempt laughable at best. He settled for trying to be as comfortable as he could for as long as he could.

It surprised him a little, then, when Tekas spoke up again. He'd assumed the infernal had gone back to sleep, and he'd been about halfway there, himself, despite his assumption that he wouldn't.

"Tayne?"

"Mmm?" he asked muzzily.

" ... are you going to get in trouble for this?"

High One, was he going to ask him to think? "I don't know," he muttered. "Depends on who finds out...."

" ... sorry...."

Eh? "For what?"

" ... I don't want to cause you any trouble, Tayne."

"Well, that's good, as I don't particularly like trouble," Tayne commented lazily. He threaded a few fingers through Tekas's hair. "I'll be all right, Tekas. Don't worry about it."

Tekas nodded a bit, either accepting that or just too sleepy to argue it, then dropped his head back down onto his chest. Tayne had a feeling he'd actually be sleeping again, soon, which was a bad thing as, now that he had been woken again with all that talking, that distant knowledge from earlier was rapidly becoming a pressing need. "Tekas, I've gotta get up...."

He heard a half-mumbled "okay" and Tekas's grip released enough for him to wriggle free. Tekas curled himself up in the warm space he'd left behind, apparently not too keen on moving, much less getting up himself. Tayne paused to look down at him, and couldn't help a little smile at his tousled hair and bare body.

High One, he must be going crazy....

After hunting down a privy, Tayne stopped by the kitchen for a large glass of water-- that he downed in a few gulps and promptly refilled again-- then drifted back in to where Tekas, he assumed, was still asleep. Or was asleep again, rather. Maybe he should wake him up and make him have some of that water.... But it seemed such a shame to disturb him, sleeping there, looking quite content and at peace. Shaking his head a bit at himself, he set down the water and at least set about finding his pants and getting them back on. He couldn't do much about Tekas, who he'd apparently managed to denude entirely last night. He didn't remember any protests to that state, though, at the time, and he certainly didn't seem to mind now.

So for a moment he just crouched beside Tekas, watching him sleep and wondering what to do. The thought of just leaving crossed his mind, but was quickly discarded. But he didn't really want to just sit around and wait for Tekas to wake up, either. He supposed he could try to get back down there and get under Tekas's arm again, but he knew he wouldn't sleep again, and just lying there with nothing to do but think too much didn't seem like a good idea.

He was, however, hungry.

Which gave him an idea. He hoped Tekas didn't mind him making use of his kitchen....

As he'd half-expected, as he was finishing cooking breakfast, Tekasynos came drifting in, now wrapped in a lounging robe of some sort. " ... Tayne?" he began, sounding puzzled.

"Good morning," Tayne answered, giving his skillet full of egg a poke with the fork. "Hope you don't mind I took over your kitchen for a while."

"Oh, no, I don't mind." He still sounded awful, and a glance proved him still bleary-eyed. Tayne left the egg for a minute to pour him a glass of water.

"Here," he offered as Tekas sat down at the table. "Helped me, anyway."

"Thanks." Tekas dropped his voice to a whisper, which didn't really sound much better. Tayne wondered guiltily if that was his fault; he had a vague memory of being quite fascinated-- obsessed, even-- with Tekas's purr the night before. Could that have strained his voice, somehow? He really wouldn't be surprised. If they wound up doing this again, he thought he might have to make an effort to make sure they did it sober so he could be a little more considerate.... If they wound up doing this again.

Well, there were still omelets to finish. He'd made a guess as to what Tekas might like, based on the types of vegetables, meats, and cheeses he had around. He just hoped he was right, since he was almost done. A minute or two more, and he'd folded the egg-and-filling over onto a plate and set it in front of Tekas. "Probably not as good as Thaddius could do," he admitted with a grin, "but I'm not too bad of a cook."

The infernal chuckled softly and dug in. Tayne retrieved his own omelet, reheating it with an absent thought as he took a seat, himself, and grinned a bit more broadly at the expression on Tekas's face. "S'very good," Tekas told him softly. "Thank you, Tayne."

Shrugging it off, but smiling, he started in on his own breakfast. He'd learned so far, with two more experiences of it on top of the exceedingly rare over-indulgences during school, that being hung over also made him incredibly hungry, almost to the point of feeling ill. He hoped that dealing with the hunger would help his head, like it had last time. It didn't take him long to demolish his meal-- he was actually surprised at how quickly he inhaled it-- and settle back with his own water, to watch Tekas finish. It'd been a long time since he'd actually cooked... he was obscurely pleased that Tekas was enjoying it. He must have been hungry, too, as it didn't even take him much longer to swallow his last bite and sit back, himself-- with another murmured "thank you".

"Welcome," Tayne chuckled.

"Plan on doing anything in particular today?" His voice sounded a little better; maybe the warm food had helped. Maybe later he should try to fix him some tea, or something....

"My only real plans had been recovering from the hangover I expected I'd have this morning," Tayne shrugged. "Though I suppose I ought to let Tor' know I'm alive, and not passed out in some alley somewhere." He paused, a thought occurring to him, and he glanced apprehensively at Tekas. "You, uh... you won't mind keeping this quiet from Torshael, will you?"

Tekas smiled reassuringly. "I don't mind, Tayne. I'd imagine that goes along with my earlier statement-- not wanting to cause you any trouble, remember?"

He couldn't help still feeling a little bad about it, though. Making Tekas keep something a secret, regardless of how good or bad he felt about it.... It hardly seemed fair. Tayne shook his head a little. "If you're sure it won't bother you.... I just really don't feel like being lectured in what supernals are and are not supposed to do," he grumbled into his water glass before taking a long gulp.

"It won't bother me, honestly," Tekas assured him with another smile. "As far as anyone is concerned, we had a few drinks, and you crashed on my floor instead of trying to navigate or teleport under the influence."

Since that was exactly the excuse he'd planned to give his brother-- not really a lie, but definitely tamer than the full truth-- Tayne smiled a bit, back. "Well, in a way, that is sort of what happened... just leaving out the interesting parts." He smirked. "Though it makes me wonder if getting drunk will be necessary if we want to do it again."

The humor wasn't lost on the infernal, judging from his amused expression, but apparently neither was his testing the waters. He felt Tekas's foot slip up against his heel and rub up against his calf. "I doubt it."

He couldn't help smiling over at him. "We'll just have to be creative in thinking up excuses, I guess," he said, and for a moment fervently hoped that he'd be allowed to stay for a while longer before the High One called him home-- or, at least, that he wasn't immediately sent on another mission, where he couldn't visit.

"I suppose we will," Tekas agreed quietly, though he really seemed more focused on stroking his leg with that foot. Well... really, Tayne decided he was quite content to be more focused on that, too. Or maybe reaching across the table to get a hand behind Tekas and bring him closer was a better idea.

He swallowed. "You want to move somewhere else?" he suggested.

Tekas withdrew his foot, though he looked vaguely disappointed. "Sure."

Grinning a bit, expecting he'd give him a pleasant surprise, Tayne got up and offered Tekas a hand-up, as well. Dishes could wait. The infernal looked a little surprised, and he chuckled. "What's that look for?" he asked as he pulled him to his feet.

"I wasn't expecting that, that's all."

"Ah." Tayne grinned, and headed back the way they'd came, to the living room, this time the one doing the leading. "Well, see, I figure we've got at least a few hours before Torshael panics and starts searching the city, and I'm planning on making the most of it."

"Aha." Tekas's quiet revelation made Tayne chuckle, but, as he sat himself down on the couch and tugged Tekas down with him, he had more interesting things to think about.