Operation: Trash the Drakonborg

Anton still couldn't shake the restlessness. It seemed to be attached to him like a leech. There were many, many things to do on the Drakonrhedi (and many of them had to be done), but for Anton, he was in a strange state of not having to do anything. The corridors of the ship taunted Anton which only fueled the remnants of his anger. He was somewhere between a bad mood and indifferent.

This awkward state between moods meant that when a hand touched his shoulder, he had a wave of dread go through him. Would it be an officer asking him to do work? Perhaps a younger Tiro asking for help? Maybe even an Iduneus wanting someone to do their busywork? A voice came from behind him, speaking and almost asking for directions. But the voice stopped. The dread from before came back with renewed vigor; it was creeping this time, not like a wave crashing into the shore, but rather like rain, gently starting to fall as it soaked the few who were unfortunate enough to be out. Anton found himself stuck in the rain for a bit longer than he would have liked.

The Tiro turned his head to look at the man. At first, he didn't really recognize Athie. It was, after all, almost impossible for Athie to actually be on the Drakonborg. But as the short man made a jumbled, distressed sound that ended with a short "Sir!", the realization set in: this stammering, silly person that was standing in front of him was most definitely Athie. The only question that remained for Anton was how the hell did he manage to get on the ship?

However, that wasn't the first thing that Anton found himself responding to. Instead, it was the awkward "Sir!" that came out of Athie's mouth. "So, perhaaaps this is just because you have a knack for finding me, but why're you so flustered? And what was the sir for? Have a thing for a guy in uniform?" Anton's voice took on a very slightly taunting (if only in jest) tone, playing with the awkward situation to the fullest. To be honest, this situation was perfect for Anton. It gave him something to do where he could relieve his restlessness and anger in ways that he wasn't usually able to: by actually enjoying himself and relaxing.

A few very subtle memories slipped into Anton's head, reminding him that Athie wasn't just someone that Anton enjoyed being around, but rather someone that knew the more fragile side to Anton as well as the very strong side. But Anton managed to dismiss these thoughts for now, and grabbed Athie by the sides, lifted him up, and spun him around so he was now against the wall. "It seems you have no escape, Athie~. What will you do when a Drakonrhedi officer is cornering you and asking you questions?"

Anton placed his hands a bit below Athie's arms, close to his sides. This was to make it hard for Athie to run off while still allowing Anton a bit of freedom. He also moved his face closer to Athie's; the playful smile he had began to spread to his eyes, and they were soon alight with the fire of an imp. "What're you going to do, Athie?" Anton whispered, repeating his earlier question.

Somewhere in Anton's mind, a sickening realization slipped into place. He had, whether he meant to or not, found himself falling for Athie. While he wasn't exactly against falling for Athie (he was a wonderful man to fall for, after all), he was concerned about all of the things that came along with that realization. Would he have to act on it? How would Athie feel, after having been denied just a few days earlier? Is Athie actually mad at Anton?

But none of these questions came to the front of Anton's mind. For now, all he was focused on was his plaything in front of him.

Athie seemed quite fragile in this position. He was a lithe man compared to Anton, but he wasn't exactly graceful from what Anton had seem. In fact, Athie seemed more clumsy than anything else. But in this position, he looked more like a "damsel in distress" than anything else. Anton seemed to be enjoying himself, but that slight, subtle concern stirred once more.

"You're a real sadist..." Athie breathed, before going silent once more. The Viking's voice was quiet, small, and tripped over itself. But were the words he spoke true? Oh, most definitely.

"I could scream?" he said, though with uncertainty practically dominating his voice. "You know I can't fight you." Anton expected Athie to feel ashamed or embarrassed at this, but there was almost a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. Out of curiosity, Anton stayed silent, letting the Viking say whatever was on his mind instead of rushing the words out. "What are you going to do... Sir?"

The sir made Anton smile, but it was not the playful smile he had before. Instead, it was like he had been told a wonderful joke. In truth, he had been told a wonderful joke -- being called "sir" like Athie had to fear him was more than enough to make Anton laugh. He let his arms fall out and he took a step back, giving some of Athie's personal space back. "I think it's my duty as a Drakonrhedi to apologize for my actions, but I just wanted to see how you reacted. You're rather adorable when you're afraid, I must say. Though, I think I enjoy you more when you get the rare mischievous spurt." A sheepish smile accompanied his words, but he wasn't exactly sorry. That was an important distinction to make.

Anton took a breath and let his eyes fall to the floor. "I think I have something to confess... Though I know it is in bad taste, and I know that I probably shouldn't do this, perhaps there is something about me that I can't exactly contain. I am, after all, simply a teenager that's only just now realizing his adult responsibilities." He let the words settle in the air before he continued, wanting to make sure Athie knew that he was being entirely serious. "A few days ago, you said confirmed my suspicions: you're interested in me. I denied you for knowing that it would be dangerous to like me... But I think now, I don't really care. If you're still interested... I suppose what I'm trying to say is, do you still like me enough? Or if I've lost my chance, then just tell me, so we can still be friends."

The words came out in a flowing manner, never stopping for too long. Even when there was a pause, he let his voice continue on, to make the words seem as smooth as possible. It was a stark contrast to how Athie spoke when afraid. Where Anton let his voice become graceful, letting himself be distracted by them, Athie stumbled and stuttered.

There was a lot to be seen in Anton's mind at the moment. Most of it was fear; even if he put on a brave face, it was all simply a face, a facade. He was afraid of being rejected, just like everyone else. Perhaps he was afraid of losing his chance at this opportunity. There was a lot of fear. But even within the fear, there was hope, excitement, and perhaps even a bit of bitterness.

He didn't want to lose this opportunity. So, despite all of his fear, he decided to take the plunge.

In hindsight, there were many better ways that Anton could have confessed his attraction to Athie. That doesn't mean that they were all reasonable or efficient, of course. To Anton's mind (which was a conglomeration of immaturity, wisdom, thoughtfulness, and rash arrogance), the method he used was as effective as any: he was able to confess his love in a way that was both clear and heartfelt. It doesn't mean that it was entirely private, of course. A certain someone (or someones) could have seen the entire conversation.

But those thoughts had not occurred to Anton! Instead he was caught in the moment. Athie made it quite clear that Anton hasn't lost his chance, which let quite a few of his emotions simmer down -- notably the fear and anticipation. These emotions were replaced by a gush of joy and ecstasy that splashed against the crevices of his mind, as if washing away all the fear he had. But in the end, there was too much fear and not enough joy. Athie was staying silent -- which only gave precious food to the fear. It devoured the smallest hint of rejection and began to spread itself, letting new thoughts be corrupted by its inexorable cruelty. The silence played tortures on the Tiro's mind, letting the fear grow to almost impossible size.

Until the ray of light shined through and scared the fear off. If Anton had his mental faculties unoccupied by emotions, he might even laugh at the oxymoron. But as it was, the small gem of Athie's laugh brought back the gushing of joy and ecstasy with renewed vigour -- which only grew even more lively when the viking's head fell onto the Tiro's chest in a rather delicate embrace. Anton found his arms were somehow already around Athie's back, in between his shoulder blades, holding him close but without any force. "I'm really bad at this, you know," Athie said, his voice sounding a thousand times clearer than when Anton was afraid.

Bad at what? was all Anton could think. To him, Athie was probably better at everything (except things involving magic or combat [or shoe laces, as Anton would soon learn]).

"I'm clumsy, silly and unfocused, at the best of times," Athie began, his voice softer than it was. "And sometimes I don't get you. Lots of things confuse me; magic, fighting, the correct way to tie up shoe laces, but you -- you confuse me the most. Even more than laces."

The slightest pause left Anton somewhere between ecstatic and confused. It wasn't always just Athie that was confused. Anton just preferred to keep his confusion to himself. No need to get needlessly embarrassed.

"That being said, I figured out laces. I can figure you out too." Then, perhaps the most chaotic and powerful thing that had happened thus far unfolded: like the wind just after a storm, Athie's lips found their way onto the bottom of Anton's jaw, and they pleasantly left a small peck, parting the clouds to let the moon shine in the evening. "It's a good thing I have a lot of free time on my hands."

Perhaps it was the imagery that Anton used to describe the world, or perhaps it was simply the beautiful man in front of him, but Anton found himself in a rather Athie-like situation: he felt dizzy, confused, and like the world was too much for him. There were many emotions Anton knew. Love was most definitely in there. But almost always was it a love of a more platonic nature -- between family, friends, or comrades. This romantic feeling left an impossible euphoria dancing in every corner of Anton's thought, with a beautiful orchestra of love and attachment playing its show in the main hall of thought.

Anton found his muscles once more and tested out a small smile. After he was sure he could control himself (the smile was a wonderful success), he leaned down and let his head rest on Athie's, giving a type of "subtle kiss" (so to speak) before lifting his head so he could speak. "I've most definitely fallen for you far enough that reason is just a small speck in the distance. You are wonderful, Athie, and I am most grateful to be able to be the one to reason your wonder."

The subtle teasing from Athie was more than enough to bring a smirk on Anton's face; it was, after all, a side that he preferred not to show. There wasn't much point in this unless it brought joy, and until now, it had never brought joy. A retort was thought up in a mere moment, but before he could say it, Athie pushed him into a small little corner where it was much more private. To be honest, it was a probably better for the both of them, though it was most definitely going to be more awkward if someone were to walk by.

Anton was content to simply stay there for a moment, rocking back and forth ever so slightly. It was a very comfortable position. It was happy. "Doesn't everyone have sides they prefer to hide in the company of others?" The words spoken were not the retort he had planned for, but it was just as true nonetheless. "Doesn't everyone have a side they prefer to show to only the few that are special to them?"

The few that are special to Anton... Some of them were dead, others were alive. Some of them loved Anton, some of them hated him. And others were indifferent. Life was strange. For now, life was good; would it always be like this? These thoughts were pushed to the side, however, as Anton tightened his grip ever so slightly. It was nice to be able to hold onto something for comfort. It felt like he could keep himself together a thousand times more easily if he had this here. All of his anger, hatred, and fear simply faded away like it was just an illusion.

Not everything was meant to last forever.

An idle thought crept into Anton's mind (which was so notorious for digressing): was he afraid to share this love with others? Did he want to keep it a secret? Part of Anton's mind most definitely wanted to, for fear of being the recipient of many jokes and teasing. Not that it would be with any malicious intention, but it was that embarrassment that no one desired. But others wanted to be able to love Athie fully, without regards to the world or the people in it. Was it better to love without hate, or to love being blind to hate? Was it better to ask for help and admit your weaknesses or to prove your worth but struggle with it? These were questions that tended to keep Anton up at night, not distract him from these happy moments which he lived for.

Athie's hair was the distraction Anton needed. The ruffling of the small curls, the locks the were just so slightly out of place, all of it was a beautiful distraction. Anton let his head rest on Athie's, pressing his nose into the hair. If it were possible to see, a smile would be quite obvious on Anton's face.

A small breath was drawn and Anton kissed the top of Athie's head, preparing to say something that Athie would most likely not appreciate. "I think we should get going. At least to a room or something. If you'd like, I can show you around the Drakonborg... But I think it'd be best if someone didn't find out that a random stranger was seducing a Tiro," Anton said, his words taking on that playful tone towards the end. In all fairness, it was Athie who seduced Anton. Not the other way around. There was no way you could convince Anton otherwise.

"Just let me know where you'd like to go and we can head off there."

The curious admission from Athie raised a few questions in Anton's mind, though he didn't dare voice them. Why was Athie hanging out with an Iduneus? And how the hell did he manage to convince someone to sneak him on board? In truth, Anton maybe felt a bit jealous, though in all reality he didn't let the jealousy control him. If it were not for Kai, then Anton would have never managed to find Athie again. Was there anything to be jealous of? Or was it simply his irrational mind wanting to have as much as it could?

The jealousy, however, brought up another thought in Anton's mind. Was he already that attached to Athie? He'd thought that these feelings were more platonic and longing than anything else, but if the jealousy was already there, did he already think of Athie as part of Anton? In a fully formed relationship? These thoughts were, fortunately for Anton, unlike most of his errant thoughts: they brought a smile to his face instead of longing.

"We could see your room? N-not for... well, you know, I just thought I'd maybe like to see it." Athie was stammering, obviously thinking about how terribly dirty and disorganized Anton's room would be. It was very thoughtful of him, to want to prevent Anton from being embarrassed like that! To be honest, it would have been even nicer if he helped to clean up the dirty room.

Anton agreed to this suggestion happily, finding nothing to disagree with. The room was, to be honest, much smaller and more cramped compared to Raske's. It was perhaps four feet wide and seven feet long, just wide enough to hold a bed that was suspended above, with a small work area beneath. The cramped quarters were a small concern for Anton, though he didn't know if Athie would mind having to be in such cramped areas. Perhaps it would be more comfortable for him? (This made Anton give a small, quiet laugh.)

"I missed you, by the way," Athie said, quite randomly. His voice was softer than before, almost like he was being more sincere than flirty. This caused a raised eyebrow from Anton, curious as to what caused the random statement.

"Well, come on in. It's a bit cramped, but you know. It wasn't designed for guests -- just me." Anton opened the door and let Athie go in first, as a "true gentleman" would. "I suppose I don't know how to react to you saying that... It makes me feel.. Warm inside? I don't know how to explain it. Not used to warm feelings." A small, sheepish smile came from Anton as he walked into the room, taking a breath.

Randomly and quite suddenly, Anton wrapped his arms around Athie in a tight embrace. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this... I dunno. It's weird. I can hug you like this, like I am right now, and not feel strange. I feel comfortable. A part of me is embarrassed, sure, but I don't care about that part." Anton rest his head in the small nook of Athie's neck. "Thank you, Athuraadd. Thank you for being here, for being someone I can love."

With that, he lifted his head and gave a full, true kiss to Athie (though it was still rather short) and smiled. "Thank you for loving me back."

The warm feeling of the embrace was quite... unexpected. Of course, Anton knew it was there, but he didn't exactly understand why he was acting like this. But, of course, he ended it all too soon; the subtle but nevertheless fierce embarrassment was what caused his letting go. Athie was practically squeaking after the kiss, but Anton found himself simply smiling at the flustered, embarrassed little man. He was, after all, adorable and very attractive. Perhaps too much so.

Anton could find himself being awfully distracted with Athie around. Perhaps that wasn't so much of a bad thing? Anton certainly wouldn't mind. And on a larger scale, Athie could serve as a coping device for Anton's anger and rage, so he could become a soldier that was truly amazing. Athie would be healthy for many of the soldiers on the Drakonborg because he was understanding and sympathetic, so he offered a way to cope with the horrors of life.

As Anton realized all of this in just the few seconds where Athie was speaking, he found himself being more and more accepting of the affection that was given and received. The affection that would mortify Anton before (not because he didn't want to be seen with the affection, but rather that he would have suffered through quite a bit of teasing). Now, however, with Athie on his side, he was okay with any type of mortification; he could simply have Athie suffer through it with him.

Anton was paying attention less to Athie than he probably should be. He was, after all, allured by the man's personality and dashing good looks, so it was perhaps slightly more understandable. However, he missed the vital information that he was about to kissed once more, so when the kiss came, Anton was just as surprised as Athie was before. It seemed fair, in hindsight, but the fierce kiss was something that Anton hadn't readied himself for.

The hand around Anton's back and on his collar was a beautiful touch to the kiss. It was as if Athie refused to let go which caused such a flutter of happiness in Anton. While the kiss was much longer, he still felt like it would never be enough. Was there any way to truly get enough of the one you love? Or was that a constant in the universe, where love was so beautifully fragile that you tried to cling to it for all eternity?

The gentle thoughts of one who doesn't know love were quite beautiful.

"So, urm, officer? Aren't you going to show me some of your room?" Athie asked, no longer facing Anton, instead looking at the tiny room.

"Well, there's not too much to see. You can see the desk area from here. Just wide enough to hold my things and give me a place to study, with some storage places on either side. On the top, there's my bed. I suppose if you stay overnight on the Drakonborg, you can always come and say hello," Anton said, finishing with him messing up the shorter one's hair. "I think you could sneak through the hallways. Plus it might help you get used to this place."

Anton grinned to himself and slipped himself behind Athie. "Come on, let's get you up there. You wanted to see it, after all. Just don't blame me when there's not enough room for both of us." He knelt down and, in a swift motion, had Athie on his shoulders. He was kneeling down still, so that Athie didn't have his head bumped by the ceiling. "I'm gonna hoist you up and you have to climb on the bed when I do it, all right? Make sure not to hit your head."

The Tiro lifted up Athie slowly, making sure that he could climb onto the bed without hitting anything. There wasn't a ladder for some reason, so Anton typically had to climb up there, but he felt that would be quite impolite. This was much more polite, most definitely. In truth, it was kind of fun for Anton to be able to carry around Athie like this. More than that, he would most definitely have fun being so close on the bed together. Not that anything would happen, of course not.

When Athie was safely on the bed, Anton grabbed the edge and hoisted himself up. It was a very good thing that he was a strong soldier, otherwise this would be significantly harder than it normally was. There was just barely enough room to sit up, but Anton didn't exactly care. He pushed Athie down into a lying position, happily lying down next to him, but staying silent, waiting for Athie to say the first thing.