A Nice Bath after a Hard Workout Is always Relaxing
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“Ugh,” Edwin groaned as he all but fell into the bathwater, his aching everything thanking him for the heat. “Why.”
“You complain too much,” Erik said, slipping into the water beside him.
“I regret everything,” Edwin said to the empty room, ignoring his brother. “Why does everyone hate me so much?”
“They don’t,” Erik told him, tugging on Edwin’s arm, getting him to turn sideways. He started rubbing Edwin’s back, which was nice. “You’re overreacting.”
“I don’t think I am. Owen was being more of an asshole than usual to me today.” He’d beaten Edwin up no less than four times in the time he’d been here today, giving cheeky pointers the whole time.
“I’m starting to think that means he likes you.”
Erik’s hands found a particularly painful knot in Edwin’s back and Edwin gave a little moan as he worked at it. “I don’t think so. I think he wants to kill me.”
“I think he knows you can improve and is trying to help,” Erik told him.
“I know I can improve, I don’t need him to tell me that,” Edwin grumbled. He didn’t need to be so violently reminded that he sucked on such a regular basis. He was trying.
“He wasn’t being any rougher on you than he was on anyone else.”
Edwin didn’t think that was true, but he let it go since Erik was being disagreeable. “Gabrielle was. She singled me out.”
Erik chuckled behind him, moving out to Edwin’s shoulders. “I’ll give you that one. There’s an inherent peril in getting the attention of your superiors.”
“I regret finding those centipedes. And finding that body. And falling through that window,” Edwin complained. “And they weren’t even trying to kill her in the end, so really she should just leave me alone.” The thugs Edwin had fought with Owen and Ty had turned out to be targeting one of Isaac’s friends after. There had been people after Gabrielle, but they’d been in the other room and Leo and Isaac had fought them off.
Not that Edwin thought taking out the assassins targeting the chosen one—who had apparently been there at the banquet—was a bad thing. But he did feel like he could have saved himself falling from that height or at least gone into the right room to help Leo.
“It’s the thought that counts,” Erik said, still massaging. “Lean against the edge here.”
Edwin did and Erik got behind him, the massage getting firmer. Edwin groaned a little as so much of the tension left his muscles all at once. “I think the thought should count towards her not wanting to beat me up.”
“She’s recognizing your ability and helping you hone it,” Erik said, hands moving lower now. “You should be proud. I’m proud of you, Edwin.”
Edwin’s face went warm in a way that had nothing to do with the water or Erik’s hands. “You’re the worst one,” he accused in a grumble. “You almost broke my wrist after the two of them were done with me.”
“Builds character,” Erik said, though he took one hand off Edwin’s lower back to reach around, grab his hand and bring it back to him, kiss the wrist before letting it go. “I don’t think you realize how much you’ve improved in the last little while, you know.”
“Not much,” Edwin muttered.
“I wish you could go back in time and fight yourself a year ago. Or three months ago. Or hell, that you could fight me when I was your age. You’d clean the floor with my face.”
“Yeah, sure.” Edwin smiled a little now, thoughts wandering as the worst of his aches were rubbed away. “Imagine if we’d been the same age.”
A chuckle from Erik at that. “We’d have been fucking like rabbits the minute we could get it up.”
“Probably,” Edwin laughed, nodding. “God, we never would have been able to hide it from mom and dad.”
“Well, at least once they booted our asses out the door at what, twelve? Ten? We could have gone and lived somewhere, never worn clothes and only taken our cocks away from each other to eat once in a while.”
“We could do that anyway,” Edwin reminded him. It sounded like the perfect life as far as he was concerned.
“Yeah, we could…” Erik’s hands moved a little lower, slowing. “You know, the order’s really fucked up, letting knights just fuck their squires without ever stopping it. But one of my favourite things about it is that it lets us be together without having to hide from anyone. I could…” Erik’s hand slid down, between Edwin’s legs, and without ceremony he penetrated Edwin with a finger. “I could fuck you right now if I wanted and if anyone came in, they probably wouldn’t care and definitely wouldn’t stop us.”
“Then do it…” Edwin said, panting. “What’s stopping you?”
“Hm.” Edwin could hear Erik’s smirk as he pulled his finger out. “You are, Ed. I heard you complaining about how sore you were. Wouldn’t want to make it worse.”
Edwin sighed, rolled his eyes. “I’m fine now, thanks to you.”
“Not going to risk it.”
“Aw, come on, Erik!”
“Nope. Maybe tonight if you’re feeling better. Which means I don’t hear any complaining about how sore you are.” Erik slid away from Edwin and sank into the water.
“You’re the fucking worst,” Edwin grumbled, turning around and glaring. Erik just shrugged and Edwin sighed again, submersing himself in the water for a minute to get the sweat off his face. He really did feel a lot better. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Edwin still wasn’t totally mollified, but he sat next to Erik, enjoying the heat of the water. “I know that you’re only hard because you want me to improve,” he muttered after a few minutes. “I don’t resent it, no matter how much I complain.”
“I know.” Erik patted Edwin’s head. “And your complaining doesn’t bother me—it’s cute. It’s just not very knightly.”
“The chivalric code is fucked up if fucking a squire is knightly but mentioning being sore isn’t.”
“So change it when you’re the knight commander,” Erik suggested, so casually that Edwin almost didn’t notice.
Almost. “And what, you’re the archmage?”
“I’m serious.”
“Then you’re insane.” Edwin wasn’t destined to be anything other than a low to mid level knight, he knew that. One of them had to be realistic.
“We’ll see. Someday you’ll believe me when I tell you that you’re better than the rest of us,” Erik told him, nudging Edwin’s shoulder.
Edwin nudged back. “And someday you’ll believe me when I tell you I’m not special.”
“You are to me, Edwin,” Erik told him. “You’re the most perfect thing in God’s creation.”
“Then God’s got a fucked sense of humour.” How could Erik even say something so stupid with a straight face?
“You’re so grumpy,” Erik teased.
“One of us has to be an adult.” Edwin rolled his eyes.
They enjoyed the rest of their bath in relative silence, and Edwin’s hard-on had faded by the time they got out. He stretched while they dried off, letting out a little noise of satisfaction. “I feel so much better,” he said.
“That’s why there are baths in the fortress,” Erik said with a nod, leading Edwin out of the bathing room and out to outer area where everyone undressed.
Which wasn’t empty. Standing there naked were Ty and Sir Percival, obviously just about to get in to the bath. And obviously about to enjoy it, if their shared erections were any indication. “Ah, Sir Percival,” Erik said with a wave as he headed over to the basket with his clothes, Edwin following. “Good day.”
“And to you, Sir Erik.” Percival, said, while Ty waved at Edwin. Edwin smiled at him and returned it before retrieving Erik’s clothes for him. Percival gave Edwin a bit of a smile as well. “Did you enjoy your bath?”
“I did. Nice and relaxing.”
“Good,” Percival said with a nod. He was a tall man about ten years older than Erik, very pale. He smiled knowingly at Erik. “I expect we’ll enjoy ours as well.” With that, he patted Ty on the ass. “The water, son.”
“Right.” Ty’s face flooded with colour, and he scurried to one of the rooms to get the tub ready. “Yes, sir.” He threw a smile at Edwin before disappearing into the room.
Edwin blinked. It was a common enough way to refer to a boy that it could be easily misconstrued as not meaning anything. Still, risky to say that in front of Erik.
Unless Percival wanted him to know. He gave Edwin one last grin before nodding at Erik. “Nice to see you.”
“You too, sir.”
When Percival was gone, Erik and Edwin dressed in silence, at least for a minute. “Too bad we weren’t in there at the same time as them,” Erik said as Edwin was pulling a clean shirt on. “Bet it would have been fun.”
“Yeah, I bet it would have been,” Edwin agreed. “If we went in there right now, I guarantee that Percival’s buried in Ty somehow.”
“Think he’d bury himself in you?” Erik asked casually as they left.
“I don’t know,” Edwin said, thinking about it. “From what Ty’s said, probably.”
“Think he’d let me have Ty while he did you?”
Edwin shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” He was already picturing this, and he was very much liking where this image was going.
“Hm.” Erik smirked. “Maybe I’ll see if I can get us in there at the same time as them next time.”
“I’d like that.”
“I thought you might. You like Ty, don’t you?” Erik sounded like he already knew the answer.
Edwin coloured a little, but he nodded. “Not as much as I like you.”
“You’re allowed to like other people.” Erik glanced at him. “Even better than me.”
Edwin frowned. “I’m always going to like you the best. Don’t say stupid shit.”
“Don’t say stupid shit, sir.” Erik reminded him, punching Edwin on the shoulder. “I’m always going to like you the best too. Remember that.”
“I will,” Edwin promised, nodding. Erik smiled at him and Edwin smiled back, and together the two of them went back to duty.
—
How Best to Use a Sword 