That evening, Soren once again found himself following Tanden through the streets. He was about to find out what mysterious thing Tanden had been up to, but Tanden was still being cryptic about it. Soren had tried to ask for more details a couple of times, only to be met with a grin or Tanden shaking his head. Soren didn't even know enough to try to figure it out.

Until he saw the building covered in purple banners. He didn't need to be able to read the sign to know where Tanden was taking him. "A brothel?"

"The Violet House," Tanden replied without missing a beat. "And I believe technically they're courtesans, not prostitutes."

The only difference Soren could think of was price, but he didn't say that. "So what exactly—"

"Patience, mate," Tanden said, which essentially meant 'be quiet and follow me'. So Soren did exactly that, and followed Tanden through the front doors. He glanced around the room while Tanden spoke in Morcean to the young man behind the desk. It was early in the evening, but already the main room was crowded.

He looked from person to person, still trying to figure out what Tanden had done the night before. He had said it wouldn't be something Soren wouldn't like, but what did that mean? He was tempted to ask again, when Tanden grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingers.

"I know," Tanden said, giving his hand a tug. "I know you're thinking about last night, but don't worry. I love you. I didn't do anything wrong. Come on."

Soren sighed but let Tanden lead him upstairs. "That girl in Morcea wasn't an open invitation."

"I didn't take it as one," Tanden said. He led Soren into a large room, with a very comfortable bed and set of furniture. But it was empty. Tanden walked Soren over to the bed, then gestured for him to sit down. "Sit. Wait here."

"What—"

"Just wait." Tanden was grinning. "I'll be back. Relax."

"Aye. Fine." He settled back as Tanden left the room, getting himself comfortable against the headboard. It was a really nice room for a brothel, and Soren wondered if it belonged to a specific courtesan, or if it just went to the guest who paid the most money. Tanden would have thrown money at something like that. He wasn't really used to not having easy access to his money in West Draulin. It was still there, of course. He just couldn't get to it. And as someone who was used to having endless amounts of money, he was really bad at actually thinking before using it.

Tanden returned suddenly, without knocking or announcing himself. A young man tentatively followed him. Soren sat up and moved to swing his legs over the side of the bed, but Tanden waved at him.

"Stay there." He closed the door and leaned against it, crossing his arms. "Soren, mate. Allow me to introduce Arastarow." He paused, and addressed the young man in Morcean.

He replied, but he was looking at Soren.

"He says you can call him whatever you'd like," Tanden said. "But I called him Ara. So, Soren, allow me to introduce Ara. A year ago today, I named you first mate. So tonight, I'm giving you a gift. Now before you argue, we're going to leave him a very sizable tip."

Soren turned his attention to Ara. He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. He was tall and thin, with the kind of body that came with a leisurely life. He was a very expensive courtesan, Soren could tell that much from looking at him. He was dressed in a fluttery tunic and pants, his hair was longer and braided in places, he had dark makeup lining his eyes, and he had a tattoo on his hand—of course he did. If there was one part about this whole thing that didn't surprise Soren, it was that Ara had a tattoo.

Soren met Tanden's gaze. "Captain."

"I said don't argue."

"You actually didn't, but—"

"I'm saying it now," Tanden interrupted. "Now. He can't speak Teltish, but I think you'll get past that. He knows a few words. The important ones."

Something clicked into place. "Ones you taught him last night?" Soren asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. A few of them."

"He's Morcean?"

Tanden nodded. "He is."

"The name's not Morcean, though."

Tanden spoke in Morcean. Ara replied. Soren watched the exchange, and after a moment Tanden switched back to Teltish.

"He's Morcean, but he was sold when he was young and renamed. Hence the name. And he's concerned that you don't like Morceans."

Soren was taken aback. "Why would he think that?"

"Because you're making a fuss about where he's from."

"I'm curious, is all," Soren said. "Tell him that. I'm just curious. He's—"

Tanden smiled. "I knew you'd like him. Now here's my idea for the evening. He's my gift to you, sort of like that woman in Morcea. I've been thinking about this for a while, and I thought it would be fun to finally, properly, involve someone. I know you like men more than women, so I picked out Ara. He—"

"Does he want to do this?" Soren interrupted. He knew that most people wouldn't care, after paying for a service. But he cared. And he knew Tanden was the type to care, as well.

Tanden nodded. "We talked about it at length. He's looking forward to it. I don't think he's treated very kindly, usually, but I told him we're not like that."

"Well... all right. Carry on."

"Carry on?" Tanden laughed to himself, but did carry on. "I would like to leave you two alone for awhile, I have a few more things to take care of for our trip, but then I'll come back. If you'd like me to. Whatever you'd prefer. This night's for you." He shrugged like it didn't matter, but his smile meant that he already knew the answer.

Soren sighed but couldn't help smile as well. "Come back."

"I thought you'd say that." Tanden pushed himself off of the door and grabbed the handle. He said something to Ara, smiled at Soren again, and left.

Soren stared at the door for a moment, part of him wondering what Tanden had to do in the city, if anything at all. He pushed the thought from his mind and looked at Ara, meeting his gaze for the first time. Tanden had chosen well. Of course Tanden had chosen well. He would have gone to the brothel, asking questions about the men and looking them over. He had probably paid for Ara the night before, simply to sit and talk and teach him some Teltish words. Probably also to teach him what Soren liked. Soren wished he had asked Tanden what he had said. Now he stared at Ara, unsure of what the young man knew about him and unable to properly communicate.

"All right," Soren finally said. "Come here."

Ara approached the bed tentatively. He said something softy in Morcean, then his gaze flickered towards the door. Soren knew why, but Tanden was gone. So they would have to figure out how to communicate. He reached out to take Ara's hand, and gently tugged him closer to the bed. "What words did he teach you?" he asked, not because he expected Ara to understand, but because he wanted to talk. Tanden always talked. If only Tanden had thought to teach him a few Morcean words.

Ara raised an eyebrow, but seemed to decide Soren's words weren't important enough to puzzle out. Instead he moved closer, to stand between Soren's legs, and began to undo the lacing of Soren's tunic. He didn't speak, and worked quickly. Soren recognized that Ara was getting into his familiar role, and that talking wasn't necessary. But for some reason he didn't want it to be that simple. Again he found himself wondering what Tanden had told Ara. He enjoyed different things, depending on who he was with. He let Tanden be in control but he wasn't about to let Ara do the same.

Ara finished with the lacing and Soren helped shrug off the tunic. Ara's eyes widened, and Soren knew he was looking at the tattoos. His reaction further reassured Soren that Tanden hadn't been undressed the night before. Ara said something and held up his tattooed hand, placing it gently on Soren's forearm.

The tattoos weren't the same, of course. Soren's was black and blue, sharply defined on his tanned skin. Ara's was a reddish brown, the edges a little blurry from fading. Ara spent a little longer looking at the tattoos, then seemed to snap out of his fascination. Soren watched, curiously, as Ara knelt in front of him and started to unbuckle his boots. Soren let himself relax. It was nice to be on the other side of the arrangement for once. Maybe Tanden had told Ara what he liked, after all.

Ara gently tugged off one boot, then the other, and then paused. He looked like he wanted to speak, but didn't bother. Soren realized suddenly what was wrong. Ara wasn't sure what he wanted next. The tunic and boots were an obvious place to start, but now the young man wasn't sure whether he should continue removing Soren's clothing, or pause to remove his own.

Soren's mind raced. He tried to think of everything he had done with Tanden, and everything he'd done with other people. Comparing this situation to anything with Tanden was useless, Tanden was a unique experience. Tanden lead everything they did together, and even when he let Soren take charge for an evening, it was still part of the game, and Tanden was still in control.

Soren backed up to lean against the headboard again, and pulled Ara along with him until the younger man was straddling his lap. Tanden had sat with him like this before, but with Tanden it was a playful power move, him leaning over Soren like this. With Ara it was more because of the young man's size. He was probably stronger than he looked, but he looked delicate, and Soren didn't want to hurt him.

Once they were comfortable, Soren slid his hands under Ara's tunic, encouraging him to tug it over his head. He really was beautiful. Soren let his hands rest on Ara's hips, which Ara seemed to take as an invitation. He leaned down to give Soren a kiss, and with that, their inability to talk seemed less important.

Tanden didn't have anything to do in the city, so he wandered around aimlessly, taking in the sights and thinking about the trip inland. He had wanted to give Soren a chance alone with Ara, to do whatever he wanted, and put himself first for once. When they were together, Soren always deferred to him—which Tanden liked. But even when Soren twisted the game and played with their power dynamic, he still did it for Tanden, consciously or not. With Ara, Tanden hoped Soren would put his own needs first.

He gave them an hour or so before heading back to the Violet House. He walked right in, past everyone downstairs and straight up to Ara's room. He announced himself with a knock, waited a second, then pushed open the door.

Ara and Soren were lying on the bed. Soren had his arms looped comfortably around Ara, who sat up the second the door opened and started talking in a rush.

"You're back. I want to talk to him. Please translate."

Soren also sat up more slowly, and shuffled so he could lean on the headboard. "What's he saying?"

"He wants to talk to you," Tanden said. "But first, I want to talk to you." He stepped closer to the bed and leaned over to give Soren a kiss. "How was he?"

"Great. He was perfect," Soren said.

"I want to talk to him," Ara interrupted. He scrambled off of the bed to stand in front of Tanden, and started to undo the buttons on his jacket. "Please translate."

Tanden smiled at him. "Soren says you were perfect."

"I know. Tell him..."

Tanden struggled to translate and listen at the same time, which was hard given how fast Ara was speaking. "All right, mate, he's saying that you're the nicest person he's ever worked for, and he—don't interrupt," he said, as Soren tried to do just that. "He's never had someone take care of him like you did. And you're the most handsome man he's ever seen. Oh, and I'm handsome too, he didn't want to insult me. And he wishes everyone was like you."

By the time Ara was finished talking, or at least paused to take a breath, he had finished with Tanden's jacket. He carried it over to one of the armchairs and carefully draped it across the back. Then he returned to Tanden's side, slipped his hand into Tanden's, and gave him a gentle tug towards the bed.

"He actually said all that?" Soren asked skeptically. He shifted aside to make room for Tanden on the bed. "I didn't do anything special."

Tanden sat down. "He's smitten," he said, and who could blame him? Soren was amazing. "So," he continued, pulling Ara onto his lap. "Are you going to tell me what you did?"

"I dunno. I think not knowing would frustrate you, which could be fun," Soren replied with a shrug.

"Are you still trying to get me back for Deor-Morcea?"

Soren scoffed. "No. But you said this night's for me," he pointed out. "So I don't want to tell you. I'd rather show you."

"Ah..." Tanden nodded slowly. He liked the edge in Soren's voice, the firmness that meant he was ready to take charge. "It's going to be that kind of night, is it? What if I'm not in the mood for that?"

"You are," Soren said.

Tanden switched to Morcean. "What did you two do together?"

"No, don't cheat," Soren said. "Ara, no."

Unfortunately, 'no' was one of the words Tanden had taught Ara, and like Tanden had said, Ara was smitten with Soren. So he smiled at Tanden and shrugged.

Tanden sighed dramatically. "You don't know what I was saying."

"Aye, I do," Soren said.

"He's pretty, isn't he?" Tanden abruptly changed tactics. "I know what you did. I assume you had him do all the things you usually do for me. So he sucked on you for a bit, and then you had him, right? But evidentially you're the best person he's ever worked for. So maybe you returned the favour."

"Maybe," Soren shrugged.

"You're infuriating, mate."

"I'm probably doing that on purpose."

Tanden laughed, recognizing the words as something he had said to Soren multiple times. "Fair enough. So, here's what I'd like to—"

"No. This night's for me. So I'm going to take him." Soren took Ara's arm, and guided him over so Ara climbed off of Tanden's lap and nestled onto Soren's. "And you're going to watch us. And then later you can join us."

"That sounds frustrating."

"That's the point." Soren grinned at him, then put a hand behind Ara's neck and tugged him down for a kiss. Ara responded immediately, kissing back with an eagerness that didn't seem like an act. They kept at it for a moment, until Soren slipped a thumb under Ara's chin and pushed it up, exposing his neck.

Soren had kissed Tanden's neck a lot, and Tanden had kissed his. But Soren was different with Ara, and despite his already mounting frustration, Tanden found it interesting to watch. When Soren kissed his neck it tended to feel more submissive, like it was something Soren was doing to please Tanden. With Ara it was more possessive, more like Soren was marking his territory. The transformation was fascinating.

It wasn't hard to see why Ara already liked Soren so much, the younger man was quite obviously enjoying this act of dominance. That's what it was, but Soren wasn't rough with him. Tanden wasn't always in the mood for Soren's play at dominance, when it meant that he himself had to step down. But he was quickly realizing that watching Soren be that way with someone else was very enjoyable. Tanden didn't think he would enjoy watching Soren submit to someone else, but watching him take charge just made Soren more alluring, if that was at all possible.

Tanden let them carry on for a while, before he got tired of waiting. In Morcean, he said, "All right, get out of the way."

Ara shuffled back a bit so Soren would stop kissing him, but didn't get off of Soren's lap. He couldn't, because Soren was still holding him. "Why? Aren't we both here for him? I'm doing what he wants."

That response caught Tanden off guard, and it took him a moment to come up with an appropriate reply. "That's not how our relationship works."

"No?" Ara put his tattooed hand on Soren's cheek, but kept talking to Tanden. "Because you're the rich one?"

"No. That isn't what I meant," Tanden said, although now he wasn't exactly sure what he had meant. "We're here for each other. There's give and take."

"Captain," Soren interrupted, with enough authority in his voice that Tanden immediately fell silent. "I need you to translate."

"Is that all I'm good for?" Tanden let his head fall back against the headboard, so he was staring at the ceiling. "All right, go ahead."

"Well, start by telling him that he's incredible, and beautiful, and that I've really enjoyed the evening. Then tell him that we're going to show you what we did earlier, but instead of me he's going to do it for you. I'll join in whenever I feel like it."

Tanden translated, and Ara replied. "That's what he wants?"

"That's what he wants," Tanden confirmed, shifting to sit properly again. "So what does that mean?"

Ara gave Soren another quick kiss, then crawled off of Soren's lap to get between Tanden's legs. "It means you have to finish undressing, sir."

Sunlight landed across Soren's eyes, waking him up the next morning. Still half-asleep, he tried to roll over, only to find that he couldn't. Weight was pinning his arm to the bed. He opened his eyes. Ara was fast asleep beside him, nestled up against his side and laying on top of his left arm. Tanden was still asleep on Ara's other side, his arm comfortably draped across Ara's waist.

Soren smiled to himself as he relaxed, and slung his free arm over his eyes to block the light. The evening before had been unexpected, but amazing. Every time they tried something new, Soren was a little nervous, but he really didn't need to be. Every twist and turn in their game had been better than the last. But that said, Soren wasn't sure they would ever be able to top this.

Ara fit between them perfectly. It seemed almost wrong to like having someone between him and Tanden, but Ara just fit. Just as he had fit perfectly with them last night.

Tanden shifted, and Soren opened his eyes. "Are you awake?"

He got a grunt in return.

"Is there anything we have to do today, for the trip?" Soren asked.

It took Tanden a moment to reply, and his voice was muffled against the pillows. "No."

"How long can we stay here, until noon?"

Tanden chuckled, and propped himself up on his elbow so he could look across Ara. "Should I go downstairs and pay for the day?"

"I don't know. Can we stay until noon?"

Tanden sighed, and flopped back down onto the bed before speaking in Morcean. Then he gave Ara a gentle shake and tried again. Ara mumbled in reply.

"We can stay until this evening, apparently."

"Ask him if he'd like us to stay."

"You're going to have to start paying me for this translating service."

"Ask him," Soren repeated. Tanden did.

This time, when Ara replied, it was with one Teltish word. "Yes."

They lounged around in bed for a little longer, until deciding they were hungry. Ara got them breakfast, which they ate together in bed. They ended up spending most of their last day in Till with Ara, drifting between cuddling and talking, to kissing, to sex, with the occasionally meal thrown in. Soren found himself settling in the middle of the pecking order, which he didn't mind. And even though Tanden was firmly back in charge, Ara still liked Soren better.

As it got closer to evening, Ara had to get ready for potential new patrons. They joined him downstairs in the Violet House's private bathhouse, before going back to his room. Then Tanden and Soren, fully dressed for the first time all day, sat on the couch and watched him get ready. He pulled out a box and set it on the low table near the couch. From it he removed a small pot of brown paste, and a thin paintbrush. He started to trace over the lines on his left hand, leaving a thin layer of paste sitting on his skin.

Tanden, of course, was fascinated. When Ara was done, he said something. Ara replied with a smile and a nod, and carried the little pot over to the couch.

"Soren, give him your hand."

Soren offered up his hand, but Ara shook his head, and gestured at Soren's chest.

"Oh, he—"

"Aye, I got it," Soren interrupted, already tugging his tunic over his head. Ara sat beside him and started to paint on Soren's chest. The design was made up of swirls and dots, and ended up being about the size of Soren's palm. When he was finished, Ara turned to Tanden and gave him the same design. Then he went back to his box.

He pulled out another pot and brush, and applied the dark makeup around his eyes, then redid the braids in his hair. He put his jewellery back on, except for the wrist with his drying tattoo, and got dressed in pants and a colourful filmy tunic.

They ate dinner, with the tattoo paste still drying on their skin. It wasn't until Ara had cleaned up their dishes, that he got a tool that looked like a dull knife out of his box. He used it to scrape the dried paste off of his skin. The tattoo was the same design as before, but the lines were darker and crisper. He rubbed oil over his hand, talking the whole time he worked.

"He says the oil helps protect it," Tanden translated. "And it will last for a few weeks, as long as he takes care of it properly. Putting oil on it, not scrubbing it too hard in the bath, that sort of thing."

When Ara was done with his own tattoo, he once again joined them on the couch to gently scrape the paste off of their tattoos. He did Tanden's first, removing the paste and then rubbing oil over the tattoo. Then he worked on Soren's, and quite obviously took his time with the oil.

And then it was time to leave. Ara still needed to clean the room before heading downstairs for the next patrons. They put their tunics back on, and Tanden threw on his jacket. He pulled a handful of money out of his pocket and offered it to Ara, while saying something in Morcean.

"Tell him we'll visit him when we're back in Till," Soren spoke up.

Tanden must have translated it, because after Ara accepted the money and put it in his makeup box, he walked back over to the door and wrapped his arms around Soren. After a moment, he said, "Yes," before mumbling something else in Morcean.

"He says he'll learn more Teltish for us," Tanden said. He replied to Ara, and then added to Soren, "And I promised to teach you more Morcean."

Soren was about to reply, when Ara stood on the tips of his toes to give him a kiss. Once they'd broken apart, Ara stepped away to take Soren's hand.

He led them downstairs. They had hardly stepped off of the stairs when the overseer called over to Ara. Ara muttered something under his breath, then with a sigh, he let go of Soren's hand to walk over. Soren's hand didn't even have a chance to feel empty before Tanden grabbed it and laced their fingers together.

"Come on, mate. We'll see him when we come back." He began to lead Soren across the main room. "Want to know what he just said?"

"Aye."

"He said he's going to imagine that every man is you until we get back," Tanden said.

"Really?"

"Yes." They stepped out onto the street, and Tanden dropped his hand. "Let's head home. We need to be up early tomorrow to meet Jale, and—" Tanden cut himself off as Soren reached out to hold his hand again, but his surprise only seemed to last a second. "—and we didn't exactly get a lot of sleep last night."

"Aye," Soren agreed, laughing.

So hand in hand, they walked away from the Violet House.