Archive of Our Own

Gore frowned as the pressure against his side began falling away. Literally, as he soon discovered a gap where his drinking buddy should have been. He pawed at his partner's side and managed to gain a hold of the dip in his waist before the mer had to heave himself to a sitting position.

Or, far more likely, before he fell over in a heap and spilled what was left of his drink in the process. He hauled Rowyn to an upright position and threw his other arm out to prevent him from falling too far in the other direction.

"Atta boy, blood." He patted his leg as the other man straightened up in a remarkably wobbly, but stable, manner.

"I am…" Rowyn let out a hum that almost sounded like a laugh. "I'm…"

"Drunk."

"No." Rowyn snorted. "Well, yes. But uh."

He closed his eyes and leaned back onto Gore's shoulder, then turned his head to nestle himself against his partner's neck.

"Tired," he mumbled. "'M tired."

Gore slid his left arm down around his blood's back and pulled him closer. The Dunmer leaned into the embrace with a sleepy smile. Gore turned to kiss his temple, then brought his right arm up around his partner's waist. "Then let's — get to bed."

Rowyn brought his arms up over the one around his torso and shook his head. "Don't wanna move."

"Ah-ha, not fallin' asleep here, blood." He laughed against his hair and patted his side as the other man tightened his grip on his trapped arm. "Come on. You'll… mm… be glad in th'morning."

Rowyn gave a few slow, sleepy shakes of his head before stretching in Gore's arms and turning to melt onto his chest. He let out a far too laborious sigh. "'M comfy 'ere."

Gore hummed thoughtfully as he brought a hand up to ruffle his partner's curls. Of all the drunken nights they'd spent together, this wasn't the worst attempt to prove that falling asleep on the floor was worth the boon of not needing to leave it.

But then again, even the warmth of his drink couldn't quite chase away the lingering aches from their recent battles. A safe night in a nice, soft bed could soothe pains that even the healers couldn't reach, especially when paired with a loved one's embrace.

He made up his mind. He tightened his grip around the man in his arms, bringing one hand down to secure a leg while the other supported his back. Somehow, he managed to stumble to his feet using the wall and several portions of his and his partner's body pressed against it for stability.

He shook his head when he felt a few sleepy rumbles of drunken protest from his blood. "It's not far."

Gore shuffled his arms around while his partner took up a more cooperative position. He smiled upon feeling the gentle scratch of the mer's chin against his neck as Rowyn let his head rest against him.

Fortunately, the bed wasn't far; his momentary burst of strength was waning rapidly. He padded over to their bed and tried to gently lay the man in his arms down.

Whether due to Rowyn's grip or Gore's loss of balance, or perhaps a mix of the two, Gore found himself falling on top of the now laughing mer. Both men were briefly unsuccessful at de-tangling themselves. A few moments later, and it became clear that Rowyn was the problem. Clearly, something he had no plans to change.

Gore's grin widened as their brief struggle continued, the familiar roughhousing apparently easing his blood's exhaustion. The minutes of chaos that followed left both men panting on their backs and drenched in sweat.

Rowyn tilted his head back with a soft laugh. "I wanted to sleep, didn't — hic — didn't I?"

"Mmhm." Gore reached a lazy hand over to pat what ended up being Rowyn's upper arm. "And now, we're gross."

Rowyn snorted. "You say that — hic — like you didn't smell awful before this."

Gore frowned and turned toward his blood with mild offense. "I bathed yesterday!"

Rowyn turned while rolling his eyes, then leaned over to press a quick kiss against his partner's lips. "I know. 'M teasing, blood."

The mer raised his hand, then cast the very much appreciated spell.

hic

Gore let out a small sigh of relief as he felt the sweat leave his skin.

Rowyn flashed him a brief smile, then moved higher up the bed so that he could slide under the covers. He held the blanket up for his partner to do the same.

Gore, on the other hand, continued staring at Rowyn with mounting confusion. Fear began bubbling up in his chest as he watched the color build in his partner's cheeks.

He was about two seconds away from lunging at his blood and prying his mouth open when Rowyn spoke.

"Uh, blood? You alright?"

The tension melted. "Oh gods blood, what was that?? Are you alright?"

A look of pure bewilderment spread across Rowyn's face. A look that was quickly replaced by cackling.

"I had the hiccups! I was holdin' my breath!" He shook with laughter. "Gods, what did you think was happening?"

Gore flopped back against the pillows with a mildly confused frown. "Dunno. Didn't like it."

Rowyn snorted. "Obvious, that." He tried to flip the blanket up near where Gore's weight held it down. "C'minere."

He blinked for a few moments as his sleepy, inebriated brain tried to decipher the rapidly thickening Solstheim accent, then grunted in acknowledgment and managed to shuffle himself under the blankets.

Once Gore was situated, Rowyn circled an arm around his waist and pulled himself closer. A gentle smile spread across Gore's face as he wrapped his arm around the other man. He rubbed his chin against his hair when he felt his blood curl into him.

"G'night, blood." He gave him an affectionate squeeze as he felt his blood lightly tangle their legs together. "I love you."

"Night Gore." A smile against his skin. "Love ya, blood."