✔️ 14/3/22 (wow, it's been a WHILE)

hehee i come bearing OC content >:3 my two very good bois (from an og fic i've been developing) and a possible interaction i've been thinking about. for context, the fic is generally abt vampires and hunters; Inona and Eltheria are place/location names. hopefully the setting isn't confusing lmao 👌 tho it also doesn't rly matter so much.

a bit sloppily edited maybe? don't come for me bruh i just went w the flow ywy

enjoy :)

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A mildly startled shuffling can be heard from within the room, seconds after Hugo knocked on the door. The young male stands back, wringing his hands together almost nervously as he waits for an answer.

"Yeah?" Its bluntness takes him aback, as well as the hoarseness usually not present in Caelan's voice. Glancing out the window to catch the dim scenery, only then does Hugo realize his partner was most likely asleep. His guess is further confirmed when Caelan pokes his head out from behind the door, eyes narrowed and normally silky hair disheveled.

Hugo quickly relays what his brother has asked of them both. Turns out, his keeping an eye on the suspicious activity around the outskirts of Inona has proven fruitful; some kind of deal is happening there tonight, with human civilians as the goods. Usually, Hugo alone can take care of a few others of his own kind, but just in case this encounter takes a turn for the worse, it's always good to have a Hunter backing you up.

Or at least, that's what his brother said.

"Sorry for waking you up, by the way," he adds sheepishly at the end of the run-through. "It's urgent."

"I understand," Caelan says, but the exhaustion with which he pinches his nose bridge only makes Hugo feel guiltier. "I'll be ready in just a minute."

The door shuts, leaving Hugo to stand and shuffle awkwardly outside while trying his best to tune out whatever noises he can hear coming from the room. A fair bit of shuffling... some jangles like belt buckles colliding with one another... some audible pacing, and then more shuffling. Is Caelan putting his clothes on? How many layers is he wearing? What did he wear to bed? Just now, did he—

Hugo mentally slaps himself. This is really not the time for such... degenerate thoughts. Fantasies? No, he can't start calling them that. Better to leave those things unnamed — better yet, to not think about them at all. Agh, pull it together, damnit! They're going on a business trip. There's nothing more to it. His brother has asked them both to go, because Hugo knows how to navigate these diplomatic matters, and Caelan can step in as a backup plan, not to mention he knows his way around the town up there. Simple as that. Unless....

Hugo jumps when the door opens. "Let's go," Caelan says, thankfully not noticing how flustered he seems. Nodding and muttering some nonsense in reply, Hugo leads them outside to the courtyard, where a carriage is already waiting. After instructing the horses and making sure they are properly harnessed and ready for the trip, he climbs into the back and settles down beside Caelan.

The ride is fairly quiet, the only sounds Hugo can detect the clip-clopping of the horses, and the carriage wheels grinding into the soil. There is no moon or sun down here in Eltheria, but the unique glow of what terrestrial lifeforms they have does provide a novel way to navigate the dark. That bluish-silver light filters in through the windows, faintly illuminating the inside of the carriage; it reflects off of Caelan's signature halberd propped up against the wall, and even the tips of his boots when Hugo glances a bit further over. Suddenly acutely aware of their proximity, the younger male snaps his head away again, trying his best to silence the butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

That is, until, he feels a soft weight leaning onto his side.

Hugo doesn't dare turn around quickly — or rather, he doesn't need to to know what it is. The warmth of a living human is quite discernible, not to mention Caelan is the only thing that's breathing for miles around — the calm rhythm of his inhales and exhales signaling to Hugo he's already fallen back asleep. His arms, before crossed, are now slowly loosening and slipping down into his lap. Now that Caelan's torso has fallen to one side, his legs have too, ever so slightly bumping against Hugo's with each jostle of the carriage. An expression of peaceful tiredness has overtaken his face, smoothing out his brows and subtly parting his lips for breath. A stray lock of hair suddenly falls across his features, causing Hugo to blink surprisedly; has he really been staring that hard?

He watches on, amused as the lock of hair flutters up whenever Caelan exhales, then gets pulled down again when he draws his next breath. It is a funny sight, being so rare as well. The older male always has such a dignified and graceful air about him, that Hugo never imagined he would one day witness him accidentally doze off on someone's else shoulder, with a hair flying up and down on his face. Stifling a chuckle, he reaches out to sweep that stray hair behind Caelan's ear... when immediately, his hand is seized with an audible thud.

Caelan's gaze is dulled and groggy still, but his grip around Hugo's wrist is alarmingly tight. The butterfly storm in Hugo's stomach flares up violently, but the rest of him is frozen as he stares back at Caelan, not daring to blink so long as those gray hues are still fixed on him. Then Caelan raises his free hand to tuck away the naughty lock of hair himself, before sighing and shutting his eyes again. "Be still."

What? Is he not mad? What does that mean? Before Hugo can react, though, he feels Caelan's grip loosen and then five gloved fingers interlacing with his own, soft leather against cool bare skin. The figure next to him shifts and makes himself more comfortable against Hugo's side, head leaning so heavily onto his shoulder it almost aches. There's not a single thing Hugo would complain about, though; as he sits there in the silent blue-dark, his partner's hand so firmly in his own, he suddenly feels a lot better about interrupting Caelan's good night sleep. And if the mission goes well, then on the way back, well....

Hugo looks out the window with a smile. Really, now, he should stop before these thoughts become so degenerate.