Chapter 296 - 294: Skin Like Milk.

Chapter 296: Chapter 294: Skin Like Milk.

​It takes minutes for Binny to calm down. Khobi glares at him the whole time; arms folded across his chest and jaw set in a pout as he impatiently waits for him to finish.

​"...Feel better now?" He grinds out, when Binny finally stops shaking and is busy wiping the tears from his eyes.

​"I do actually, thanks for asking," he replies cheerfully, shaking his head helplessly, "Oh boy, I needed that. You really know how to make a guy’s day, you know that?"

​"Always happy to be of service," Khobi replies sarcastically. Binny winks at him, like he gets it.

​"But..." he suddenly lowers his voice and leans in conspiratorially, "...You guys didn’t... y’know ?" The eyebrow waggle is a little much. As is the hand gesture.

​"...No, we didn’t," Khobi states gruffly, and gets thrown for a loop when Binny bobs his head along like it’s all starting to make sense.

Obviously it’s the truth , and Khobi’s not sure what it says that so few people seem to believe it.

​"Ah, I figured as much," he remarks, heading back towards the bathroom to refill the bath, and when Khobi frowns and asks him what the fuck that’s supposed to mean, he just levels him with a dry, impassive look.

​"...Call it a hunch."

...

Being in bed has never felt so good.

Especially when Binny’s added a thick extra blanket and he’s got the whole thing all to himself.

For the moment at least. It feels like it’s been a while since Loac last spent the whole night away, and Khobi takes full advantage of the rare opportunity to freely spread out in all directions; arms and legs splayed out to their fullest but not even coming close to falling off.

It feels amazing.

Blissfully swallowed up by the blankets, he lets out a long, contented groan.

"...Enjoying yourself?" Loac’s voice inquires from somewhere in the world beyond his little world of pillows, and when Khobi cracks an eye, irritated at having been disturbed, he finds him hovering at the edge of the bed, arms folded across his chest and his hair still damp.

"I was ," he tells him reproachfully, and Loac flashes him a dry look, nodding towards the space Khobi’s so greedily occupied.

"You’re on my side."

Khoni sits up just enough to survey his surroundings.

Ah. So he is.

With a huff and a grunt he obligingly shuffles back across to his designated half of the bed and as he puts some space between them he catches the soft scent of soap as Loac peels back the blankets and clambers in.

He must have been feeling just about as dreadful as Khobi has been all day because the moment he flops down he lets out a thick groan of relief, like he’s spent his whole life dreaming of this and it’s everything he ever hoped it would be.

Khobi gets it.

He really does.

Binny had snuffed out the candles on his way out, but the shutters never really fully block out the moon, and in the feeble light that breaks through the cracks, Khobi catches a glimpse of his expression as he melts into his pillow; relaxed and oddly soft.

And when he sends Khobi a furtive sidelong look, the fog of his hangover has all but disappeared from his eyes and their stark blue has been left clear and oddly tranquil, like a cloudless night sky.

His hair looks really soft.

So does his skin.

Under the blankets, Khobi’s fingers twitch.

And then, before his eyes, the clouds start to roll in; thick and dark and brimming with thunder.

But where there’s thunder there’s sparks , and in the space between them Khobi feels the air start to fill with static.

It starts low; a barely-there hum dusting across his skin, but the longer their gazes stay locked the more it builds, until it has its own, pulsating heartbeat that doesn’t feel so much like a current as it does a tide .

Across the bed; eyes suddenly dark and turbulent, Loac shifts. Not exactly closer, but not any further away. It’s barely an inch, but it’s an inch too much and enough to offer Khobi a single moment of clarity.

And one that he takes with both hands and uses to tear his gaze away before that tide lifts him and carries him away. (Again.)

Circuit broken, the swelling static abruptly dissipates away into nothingness; falling from the air and leaving it limp, and almost eerily still.

".. .G’night, Khobi ," he hears Loac murmur into the silence that follows; the blankets rustling as he rolls away, and while the words aren’t anything Khobi hasn’t heard before, the low, husky timbre that carries them through the darkness is the same one that had whispered deep into his skin and made him melt .

Breath inexplicably shaking, Khobi does the same; skin tingling all over.

"...Night, Loac."

...

It hadn’t been an easy road by any means, but when Khobi thinks about it, he has a lot of reasons to be grateful to the soldiers he spends the majority of his time with.

They’ve paid for his drinks and his food; clothed him and armed him, vouched for him, and treated him like he’s always been one of them.

Khobi’s not sure if all the gold in the world could repay them for those sorts of kindnesses, and even if it was he doesn’t have nearly that much.

Because when it comes down to it, he considers these guys his friends.

And not one of them has ever gotten the chance to eat anything he’s made. To be honest, that’s hardly good enough, s o today, he’s decided to rectify that.

Well, that’s what he’s trying to do.

There’s a sudden and suspicious crash from somewhere behind him, and Khobi sighs as he lowers his ladle and closes the pot he’s been slaving over; dreading what he’s going to find when he turns around.

And from the way Binny’s cackling in the background, he’s right to be concerned.

There’s flour everywhere .

Loac has the gall to pretend it wasn’t him. As if it could’ve possibly been anyone else.

" How are you such a klutz?" Khobi states stonily. It’s not even a complaint anymore; it’s just a mystery .

Put a sword in his hand and Loac Trent makes even the simplest movements look like art, but put him in a kitchen and suddenly he’s a walking disaster with no spatial awareness and feet for hands.

Khobi knew that, yet he’s gone and entrusted him with making the dough.

It had seemed so low risk. It’s not hard , it just takes forever, and the last Khobi checked it had seemed like Loac was actually getting the hang of it.

Apparently not.