Caleb has been self-serving, not kind. But he is certainly in no position to turn down generosity, whether from Ro or from the innkeep. Having something freely given rather than stolen is...nice, honestly. And he certainly understands Ro's desire to repay a debt.
"Ja, she'll be very comfortable," he says, looking over the little goblin nest Ro's put together approvingly. "And probably very drunk. But she will appreciate it in the morning."
He does feel a little more comfortable (and a little warmer) settling on the bed now that he's wearing more than a towel. He pulls his legs up to sit with them folded and reaches for his spellbook on the table nearby, pulling it into his lap. As he flips through, his other hand idly finger-combs through his drying hair, loosening any snarls he finds. His hair feels soft and silky, like something he wants to touch, for the first time in...a while.
"It is a good return," he says, circling back to Ro's comment a few minutes earlier and glancing up with a crooked little smile. "A bed is a rare luxury. And these were sorely needed." He lifts his hand from the book to pluck at the fabric covering his leg. "With the bath and dinner, I may owe you after tonight."
Ro smiles and heads behind the screen to finish cleaning his own clothes. He wrings them out and sets them somewhere to dry, and when he comes back out, he's taken off the pants he'd worn downstairs - he wanted to wash those, too.
He climbs up onto the bed now that he's done with Nott's nest and the washing. He feels a little flutter of warmth just seeing the smile on Caleb's face. He likes the sort of mischievous look it gives the other man, even if he's not meaning to.
"We'll call it even," he says warmly. "If we travel on together, I'll try to get us beds as often as I can with playing like that."
He doesn't think it'll always be this easy, even with a good crowd, but it's always worth a try. And when he can't, depending on what's happened, sparing the coin might be necessary. But they can cross those bridges if and when they get there. As they talk, Ro starts braiding his hair so that it's not loose whenever he finally goes to bed.
"It's how I've gotten around before when I'm not going ship to ship."
Caleb is happy to call it even. It's always an uncomfortable thing, owing someone. Worthwhile at times, but never a position he wants to find himself in. Ro doesn't seem like the sort of person who would hold it over him, but still.
"That is much better than what Nott and I do. And less risky. Though I suppose that depends on the song." His smile widens a fraction--definitely intentionally mischievous. "We run cons." He's already admitted to being a thief. Their cons really aren't much more than an elaborate pickpocketing scheme. "Nothing elaborate. Just tricks to get a little coin, or a meal, or a roof over our heads."
If Ro is deterred by that, so be it, but that isn't the sense Caleb has gotten from him. But it certainly isn't risk-free to travel with them, if that is what he's looking for. Even if they weren't petty thieves, Nott's mere presence is enough to get them all into trouble if she's noticed. And of course, he has his own complications, but he's gotten by for the last five years without drawing attention to himself.
"But I have no complaints about listening to more of your playing."
He looks back down to his book to keep himself from watching Ro braid his hair, or glancing at his legs, now bare again. Now that they've decided on sleeping arrangements, he really needs to get a handle on himself. Stay on task.
Ro's smile brightens when he sees the real mischief in Caleb's eyes. "Well, thanks to you, I won't make the mistake of singing something rather uncomplimentary to the Empire."
Rather than losing his smile or looking particularly judgmental, Ro just tips his head as he finishes his braid. He retrieves a strip of leather from his shirt pocket to tie it. Caleb said he and Nott just do little tricks to get what they need, and honestly, Ro can't really fault that. Not when it's clear they live hand-to-mouth as it is.
Really, Ro thinks he's as much a risk to Caleb and Nott as their presence is to him: he's a cleric to at least one god that isn't approved in the Empire. Thankfully he can try to keep that particular holy symbol hidden. He thinks Avandra would understand.
"Thank the gods for that, I'd feel terrible if you hated it. I've had a tankard thrown at me on more than one occasion. Once an entire bowl of soup."
Caleb grimaces sympathetically. "Well, I suppose there really is no accounting for taste." Maybe he is a little biased because he thinks he's cute (and because Ro is one of the only people to show him real kindness in years, and because he just misses music), but he's genuinely enjoyed Ro's playing. "If things should go that badly here, at least you can be sure that Nott will pick their pockets in retaliation." She is a good friend, and also a spiteful little creature with sticky fingers.
The entire time they've been talking, his spellbook has been open in his lap to the pages detailing Alarm. There is another spell he's been toying with for some time with similar abjurative properties, but he's still far from nailing it down, and he suspects it will also need more power to cast than he currently has at his disposal. Still, the more he noodles, the closer he gets. A protective spell like that would be invaluable to him and Nott--and Ro, though it seems unlikely he'll stick around for long enough to see him advance so far. But he isn't getting much studying done now; mostly he's just using the book as an excuse to avoid looking at his companion.
"I used to go out dancing a lot when I was younger," he says more softly, staring at his own calculations and notes scrawled across the open page without really focusing. Not what he was planning to say at all, and he has a brief moment of panic, but but there is nothing damning in this little piece of his past. It just comes with a bittersweet pain, both familiar and foreign. Though he thinks about it constantly, he never talks about his past. Especially not that time in his life. "So I have enjoyed hearing your songs."
"I'm glad you've liked them," Ro says as he moves to put his back against the wall. It's comfortable, and it allows him to look at Caleb without running the risk of seeming like he's peering at the other man's spell book. He doubts it's a secret - he's seen arcane equations before, though he has no idea what Caleb's working on.
His expression grows more wistful at the mention of dancing.
"I always wanted to join in dancing," he admits. It's hard not to think of home when he's in a place like this, singing songs he's known for a long time among the new ones he's learned in his time away.
"But after a while I was too small to really manage with most of the partners I might have. They all outgrew me. I've run into more halflings and dwarves in a month in the Marrow Valley than in the first twenty years of my life, I'm not sure I'd know what to do with an adult partner my size."
Is Ro too small to manage with most of the partners he might have? It's terrible, but Caleb's mind often races ahead without his leave, and before he can stop himself he wonders if Ro would know what to do with partners his own size in other contexts. Extrapolating, it seems he hasn't had much of a chance to find out, which means--
No. He can't afford to go down that path when they're going to be in very close quarters sharing a bed tonight. Feeling his face heat, he ducks his head down further toward his book.
"Ja, there are quite a lot of folk closer to your size in the Empire. Felderwin is nearby, and primarily halfling, and there are fairly large dwarven and gnomish cities further north." Though his blush must be obvious, he at least sounds normal, thank the gods. "You should have no trouble finding a dance partner, if that is what you want."
"I grew up with a human family," he says, supposing the prior comment could do with a little more context. "There weren't any halflings in our little fishing village, I didn't really see another person my size that wasn't under the age of six until I was in my later teens."
Ro can't help but notice the blush, though, and even if he can't know for sure what Caleb was thinking--well. He did sort of do that to himself, didn't he? With his choice of words. Ro hadn't even thought about it, but now it's really all he can think of and that really isn't something he should be thinking about a traveling companion. Not without a reason to think it'd be welcome, anyway.
"We'll see," he says with a little smile. "Like I said, I might not know what to do." He really shouldn't push that, should he? He can feel heat creep into his own face. "But I'll make sure you have music you can tap your toes to, at least. I promise."
Caleb remembers Ro's mention of being adopted into a human family (after his mother found him washed ashore, apparently), of being the smallest in his village--but now that is put into an entirely different context. Context he should not be considering any further. But when has he ever stopped thinking about something just because he shouldn't?
Against his better judgement, he chances a glance up at Ro. That he too is flushed means that he's probably made a fairly accurate guess at what Caleb has been thinking, which is mortifying. That he is smiling anyway means that thankfully, he has somehow again avoided offending him with his fumbling attraction. He should be able to better conceal it, but he's spent so long alone--he is out of practice with people in general, let alone being close to someone he feels a growing interest in. He is so out of practice he nearly misses that Ro might even be implying...well, something more.
Face burning, Caleb looks away again. He holds his spellbook with both hands to keep his nerves from becoming even more obvious, but his stomach is turning somersaults.
"I have not danced in a long time. With anyone. So I am not any more informed than you are." For better or for worse, he is continuing this unintentional metaphor. Ro can take it at face value or read further into it as he chooses. "But in my experience, the right partner will not mind taking the lead, or teaching you the steps if you do not know them. It is about fun and connection, not perfection."
What he misses most about dancing and what he misses most about sex are the same. The connection, the rush, the trust, the sense of belonging. The simple pleasure to be found in how his body moves with another. The way the combination of those things quiets his mind like nothing else.
"I am good, though, just tapping my toes. Whether I can dance to it or not, I like your music very much."
Having Caleb actually look at him doesn't really do any favors for keeping the warmth in his face from spreading, but Ro hopes the look he gives the wizard is something between charmed and interested. But not too interested? The metaphor, he realizes, is too good and it's entirely possible that Caleb is really just talking about dancing, but--
Ro doesn't think he is. Not entirely. But that's the nature of the metaphor, isn't it? Easy for one or both of them to deny they were implying anything else. He hadn't meant to give them that cover, but maybe it's for the best that he did. Because by the time Caleb is finished with his sentiment, Ro isn't sure where anything stands at all.
And maybe that's for the best, too. Perhaps there's nothing to navigate. Ro makes sure he doesn't exhale too heavily when Caleb looks away again. Well, whatever is happening, he has to say something.
"There's no harm in starting there," he says. "E-ease back into it, if it's something you want." Ro is trying to be more careful now, more deliberate in a way that maybe ruins it. But he hopes not. "And if it's something I play that makes you feel like you want to take the floor again, well... I'd like that. I know the steps. But if it isn't, I'm happy to think I made you think you might want to. Someday."
Gods, he's botched that. But Caleb is very clever, Ro's learned that much. Maybe he'll catch what Ro feels like he's throwing, very badly. And if he doesn't, that's fine. Ro would rather have traveling companions he likes and feels he can trust than... a dance partner.
Perhaps he'll smother himself in his pillow tonight if he's read this all wrong.
The metaphor doesn't quite stretch far enough to encompass what Ro is trying to convey with it, but that is actually a good thing. It makes very plain that Ro is definitely not talking about dancing.
Ro hasn't been offended by his stolen glances or obvious interest. Could it be because he is interested in return? All this time, Caleb has assumed his flirting was merely friendly, just a facet of his personality. Has it actually been genuine? That certainly seems to be the precipice they are standing on now, with what they've mutually implied. Ro doesn't seem like the sort of person who would make advances, however subtle, without meaning it.
"You would like that?" Caleb repeats Ro's words softly, cautiously. When he looks up again, there is something close to fear in his eyes, as though it takes all the courage he has to continue this conversation. To maybe consider that someone might want him. To face that it might actually be possible to connect with someone this way, vulnerable as it might be.
Caleb licks his chapped lips, then gives a soft, humorless laugh under his breath. "I think the metaphor has gotten away from us a bit, so I will risk being a little more plain with you. I have not been intimate with anyone in a very long time. But you make me want to be. Which is--that does not have to mean anything, of course, and I will happily forget about this conversation entirely if you would prefer that." He is quick to reassure, heart pounding hard enough that he can hear it in his own ears. His fingers curl into the bedsheets, nervously bunching them in his palms. "It is just that I have felt...drawn to you in a way that I thought I might never experience again."
Thank all the gods and half of the Betrayers, they're dropping the metaphor. Ro actually blushes a bit, heat prickling in his cheeks as Caleb makes himself more plain.
"It feels too important for a metaphor," he says with a light laugh that's almost just a huff of breath. Half of the embarrassment is that he stumbled through it so badly that they need to leave it behind entirely. Ro's expression softens more as he listens, his eyes dark and intent as Caleb explains where he is in all of this. At least his flirting hasn't been completely misread. He's more in his element here: he doesn't press, doesn't rush Caleb through saying what he needs to say.
And when he pauses, Ro shifts closely, telegraphing his movements in the hopes he won't startle Caleb when his hand lightly rests over one of Caleb's where he's gripping the sheets.
"Well, I was flirting on purpose. With you." Because he'd done a bit of it with the barmaid downstairs mostly to put her in a good mood. Ro makes himself avoid too much of a digression and his thumb brushes lightly along Caleb's.
"It was your eyes," he says, because--well, it's true. He peers up at the other man. "And your hair, when I saw it in proper light. And... the way you'd hide a laugh sometimes when Nott was threatening me one minute and asking for something the next. We don't have to do... anything, if you don't want to. If you just want to feel it and know it's not being misread."
Ro isn't offering to forget the conversation entirely. But if anything more than a conversation, than these confessions, is a step too far, that's okay too. There are other ways to have physical intimacy that don't move as fast.
"But if you did want to, however much or however fast or slow, I'm... here."
Ro's hand touches his, too small to cover it, and Caleb's breath catches in his throat. But he doesn't pull away. He's not quite mesmerized, but very enthralled as Ro explains that his flirtation was intentional, and why. What his halfling companion has managed to see in him over the last few days almost sounds to Caleb like he is describing another man. An attractive man, a charming man, a worthy man. Surely it can't be him.
What Ro expresses, wanting him to know that this draw to each other is real and reciprocated, but they don't have to act on it--that means much more to him than even he could have expected. But if he does want to--
"Oh," Caleb says softly, breathy with surprise. His mouth tightens and his brow knits, his expression open but conflicted. There are a few long seconds of heavy silence as he weighs Ro's sincerity in the face of his own fear. But then he breaks into a smile, small and bashful. His face is warm, and getting warmer still.
Ro has made a sincere offer. If he wanted to, he could accept it. At whatever pace he wanted, in whatever way he would be comfortable. He hadn't imagined making this choice tonight--or at all. It is daunting. It is exciting. He wants...he wants. He doesn't know if he should, but he does.
"Thank you," he says first, and turns his hand over beneath Ro's. His fingers enfold it completely. "I--I had not expected..." He shakes his head, and glances up to meet Ro's gaze. He said he liked his eyes. "But I do want to. Very much. I am just not sure where to begin. It has been a long time."
A warm flutter rises in his stomach and Ro is sure he's getting pink in the cheeks, too, when Caleb turns his hand to hold his. Ro's fingers brush against the callouses on the other man's palm and his smile grows a little brighter.
Caleb's eyes seem darker in the warm lamp light and Ro feels just as charmed as he does when Caleb looks at him in broad daylight. Caleb has already made it known that he hasn't had this kind of intimacy in a long time; Ro really doesn't want him to feel like he has to dive back in. But he's encouraged even by the quiet assertion that Caleb doesn't know where to start. He can help with that.
Ro scoots closer, until their legs touch.
"Can I kiss you?"
Maybe that's too much, but the question is out before Ro can second guess it too much. That isn't a bad place to start, is it? A kiss can be lot of things and it needn't go any farther than that if it feels like enough. Ro has committed himself to learning Caleb's lines. The last thing he wants is to be the reason Caleb keeps himself closed off even longer.
Ah, yes. That would be the place to start, wouldn't it? Still, Caleb all but knocked flat by that gentle question--the smile on Ro's lips, the soft warmth of hope in his pretty brown eyes. He squeezes the smaller hand in his, bolstering his own courage.
"Ja, please."
The low rasp of his voice is barely louder than the crackle of the fire. Talk and laughter from the floor below filters up faintly through the floor, even at this hour, and Caleb feels...not quite safe, he never feels safe, but protected. Hidden. Swaddled, even, in the background lull of anonymous voices and the sound of flame splitting dry logs.
Without thinking, his tongue flickers out briefly to moisten his lips, dry and cracked in places, as his eyes remain pinned on Ro, anticipation churning his stomach. He is nervous, obviously so, but not in a way that is entirely unpleasant. He waits for his companion to make the first move; it's been so long that he fears he would be clumsy. Both of his past lovers were also human, like him. Allowing Ro to take the lead is good in that regard, as well. He can learn how best to go about this when his partner is barely more than half his size.
Ro laughs a bit, blushing because he knows what comes next: he has to get closer. And, given his size... there's only a few ways to do that.
He squeezes Caleb's hand before he lets go, because he needs to balance as he gets up. On his knees, Ro walks himself closer and both hands reach to cradle Caleb's face. He luxuriates in that for a moment, thumbs sweeping across the other man's bearded jaw. As much as he'd to be in Caleb's lap - as easy as he knows it would be - that feels a little too presumptuous without being invited. So he looks up into brilliant blue eyes and coaxes Caleb to lean toward him a bit so their mouths can meet.
It's a gentle kiss, lips pressed together with enough pressure to feel pleasant but not so much that it feels desperate or urgent. It invites lingering and Ro can feel his heart beat faster with the way it feels. It's been a while since he kissed anyone quite like this, with intent. He missed it. They are both fresh and clean and in a comfortable place. Caleb smells like soap and his lips are a little chapped, but that's hardly a turnoff. It's rather familiar, actually.
Ro breaks the kiss the same as he started it, slow and gentle and he doesn't go far. His thumb rubs against the grain of Caleb's beard, then follows it.
"Okay?" he asks softly, not tentative but... wanting to check in.
Caleb's heart is beating very fast. Ro's small hands are warm against his face, his touch gentle in a way that makes Caleb's chest ache. It's been so long since he's been touched with such tender intent. Apart from Nott, no one touches him at all. His breath grows short. When Ro's lips meet his, he is barely breathing at all.
The kiss breaks his heart, then mends it again. Only now does Caleb let himself feel how badly he wants intimacy like this; how much he's missed it. He returns it perhaps too eagerly, and finds himself reaching for Ro without being fully aware until his hands splay over his back and his hip, spanning much of his smaller form. Gods, Caleb doesn't want this to end. His head tilts forward when Ro leans back at last, and Caleb takes a shuddering breath as his eyes blink slowly open.
"Ja. Very okay," he responds hoarsely. The way Ro strokes his beard feels nice; every point of contact between them feels almost too good to be true. He wants to continue doing this. His throat feels thick with emotion, far more than the situation should warrant, but Caleb has never pretended to be a well-adjusted man.
He wants more, and that would be much easier if Ro weren't kneeling beside him.
"You can, ah...come closer, if you like." Caleb smiles, soft and charmingly crooked. "You did sit in my lap the first night we met."
Caleb's hands cover a great deal more than they might on a person more his size, but for Ro it's wonderfully familiar. He can feel the warmth of Caleb's palms through the fabric of his shirt and his stomach flutters with excitement. Easy there, he tries to tell himself.
Ro's smile grows yet remains soft - just for Caleb - when he gets that reassurance. Unbidden, he feels warmth rising in his face when Caleb invites him closer, and reminds him that they've been much closer before.
"To be fair, we both had more clothes on." But gods, that smile is all the invitation he needs. It's exciting to see Caleb so... relaxed. At least relaxed enough that he can tease more effortlessly. "Hold still," he adds, eyes bright.
His hands move to brace on Caleb's shoulders and Ro does exactly that: he sits in Caleb's lap, not quite like he did on that first night in the cell. He makes sure he can still face the other man, and he's terribly aware of how little is between them. But he tells himself not to think too hard about that - this won't go any farther than Caleb wants, Ro is determined to that end. He won't let himself get carried away. Even if it's very tempting.
He reaches up to touch Caleb's cheek again, mostly just enjoying that he's allowed to touch this man. "I like this better than that first night," he admits softly. "Kiss me again?"
Ro'll let Caleb start it this time, but... he can get the wheel in motion, right?
Caleb is thinking very hard about how many layers are between them compared to the last time Ro was in his lap. Fewer. By a lot. He is wearing only the pants Ro found for him, without even smalls beneath. While Ro...Caleb becomes aware as the halfling takes his place that he is wearing smalls under that shirt, but as his legs spread around Caleb's, the shirt rides up his thighs. Gods, Caleb wants to touch.
With his face growing increasingly flushed, Caleb hums in agreement; he likes his much better, too, for many reasons. There is a flutter of nervous excitement in his stomach when Ro asks to be kissed. Eagerly, he does so.
Even if he is out of practice, Ro's lips feel good against his. Caleb's hand slides up his back to cradle the back of his neck, fingers combing through dark hair that he now knows feels as smooth as it looks. The kiss is too slow and decadently lingering to be considered chaste, but Caleb doesn't yet press for more than closed lips sliding against closed lips.
Ro is warm and soft, and Caleb squeezes gently at his hip as they kiss, wanting to touch him more but hesitant to venture over pare skin. The weight of him in his lap is perfect. Inevitably, his cock begins to stir as arousal burns brighter in his belly. Perhaps he would--or should--be embarrassed, when he knows Ro will certainly feel him stiffening against the round curve of his ass, but surely the other man must have expected as much when he climbed into his lap.
Ro closes his eyes as their mouths meet and his hand stays against Caleb's face as the other man brushes fingers through his hair. Caleb's hand is enough to entirely cradle the back of his head, and even if the kiss isn't deep, it's far from chaste. It's more than enough to get heat stirring low in Ro's belly, and that only spikes when he realizes he can feel Caleb's cock getting hard against his rear. He's done his fair share of flirting since wandering into the Empire, but it's been a couple of months since he was really with anyone.
Well, maybe it won't be quite as distressing then when Caleb feels an answering stiffness against his stomach. Ro knew what he was getting into, but it's still another thing to feel it as a reality. He tries to get a little closer, pushing up against Caleb's torso as the other man's hand slides over his hip.
"You can uhm--you can move your hands more. If you want to." He should say that, shouldn't he? Caleb seems both skittish and eager and Ro just doesn't want him to feel like he's crossing any lines when there really aren't many at this point. Ro wants to be touched.
Ro leans up for another kiss, and this time he parts his lips a little in invitation; his tongue flicks out to tease over Caleb's.
Tonight, reality feels like an especially good dream. When Caleb recognizes the hard shape of Ro's cock against his stomach, his breath hitches. Real desire courses through him, pervasive and demanding--thrilling, when Ro invites him to move his hands. Permission is all he needed.
"I want to," he murmurs, and slides his hand down from Ro's hip to his bare thigh as the other man leans up to kiss him again. Caleb moans at the brush of his tongue, and recognizing that for an invitation as well, he meets it with his own, pressing past Ro's parted lips to lick into his mouth.
Caleb is unexpectedly thrilled by how much of Ro's thigh his hand can encompass. He squeezes, pulling his smaller form close against his bare chest. The halfling is small, but delightfully sturdy. The hint of softness to his legs, his ass, is inviting and arousing. His cock fills out steady with Ro sitting on it, growing hotter and harder beneath the thin pants he wears.
Ro's thrilled, too. He makes a noise against Caleb's mouth as the other man's tongue sweeps past his and as a calloused hand slides down over his thigh, and another whimper escapes as he's pulled closer still. He can feel the warmth of Caleb's skin through the thin shirt. Given that it's too big to begin with, and not fully buttoned, it doesn't take much to have it sliding off his shoulders, baring more skin.
He rocks against Caleb, letting his covered cock drag against the other man's stomach. Ro knows he's built a bit thick, helped along by years of climbing up and down rigging, of learning to ride sailboards and swimming. But despite all of that, Caleb's hand covers a good part of his thigh and Ro feels a dizzy rush of excitement.
His hands slide down Caleb's chest, feeling the shape of him after looking far more than he should've been since they met. He's lean, he could stand to have a month's worth of good meals, but gods, he's handsome. Ro meant that when he said it and it certainly hasn't changed seeing him down to a towel. And he really can't help but notice the feel of the other man's cock pressing up against the curve of his ass.
He lifts his hands enough to undo the rest of the buttons on his shirt and, after a moment of considering, he lets it slide off entirely. Caleb's seen the tattoo that climbs his left arm from wrist to shoulder, but there's another hidden on the inside of his right bicep, what looks like the silhouette of a seal and a smaller one inside it.
Caleb has lost himself in this so quickly, his mind clouded by pleasure and proximity, physical comforts he hasn't indulged in since before...since before. It's the best he's felt in months. No; years. Everything beyond this moment, beyond the man in his lap, is muted for now. He doesn't know when his mind last felt so quiet.
Ro rocks against him as they kiss, and he can feel the halfling's hands exploring his chest before they divert to finish undoing the buttons on his oversized shirt. As he sheds it, Caleb straightens up enough to see him, breath catching. He is lovely to look at, his dark hair contrasting lightly tanned freckled skin, some of it intricately tattooed. And it's no wonder his soft, round ass feels so nice against his cock.
"Gods, you feel good," he rasps, leaning down for another kiss. "This--this is good." It sounds like an affirmation more than a declaration, Caleb deciding for himself that this is something he can handle. Something he wants very badly, in fact.
Both of Caleb's hands now slide up Ro's thighs until he is holding the curve of his ass. His lips press to his cheek, then the pointed tip of one ear, but to trail down his neck would mean having to stoop into an awkward position.
"Perhaps," he murmurs, "perhaps you should, ah...take the lead?" he suggests. "There are many things I would like to do, but...as I said, it has been a while." That, and he has never been with someone Ro's size, and he would much prefer to receive some guidance than to guess and get it wrong.
He can't help the hiccup in his breath as Caleb's hands slide over his ass. The heat in his face deepens and he's sure Caleb can feel it against his lips as they press to Ro's cheek. He bites his lip as the other man kisses the tip of his ear.
Ro manages a nod, understanding the hesitation.
"Tell me what you'd like to do?" As he asks, Ro's hand slips between them, moving fabric so his calloused fingers can brush against Caleb's cock. "And whils you do, I'll touch you here."
The touch is light enough to be a question and Ro watches Caleb's face to be certain he isn't rushing too far ahead. When it seems welcome, Ro offers a slow, deliberate stroke. He's happy to take the lead if Caleb wants, but he wants to know what's running through Caleb's mind, too. Maybe he can move things in some of those directions. Especially when he imagines he'll like a lot of Caleb's suggestions.
Tall people are always going to be big to him, but stroking Caleb serves the helpful purpose of getting an idea of what he's working with.
It is very welcome, but Caleb's thoughts scatter like loose paper in a strong draft at that first touch. The mere brush of calloused fingers against his bare cock, hot and already almost fully hard, has him sucking in a sharp breath. The first real stroke into the next, and the next, feels like being unmade.
A breath leaves him raggedly, and his eyes flutter closed for a moment. Even Ro's smaller hand, rough as Caleb's own, feels incredible, novel, mesmerizing. His cock fills out in his grip with a heavy twitch. Reflexively, he squeezes again at the attractive curve of Ro's ass encompassed in his much larger hands.
Right. He is meant to be talking. Giving Ro some idea of where he would like this to go. It almost feels greedy, when even this feels like so much, but the part of his brain that is always a little horny still readily provides him with ideas. He has no idea what might be too much, so he chooses something he knows he'll like, and that he's pretty certain Ro will too.
"I would enjoy using my mouth on you," he offers breathlessly, eyes sliding open again to gaze down at his handsomely flushed halfling companion. Gods, just the sight of his hand on his cock-- "If you would like to...start with that?"
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"Ja, she'll be very comfortable," he says, looking over the little goblin nest Ro's put together approvingly. "And probably very drunk. But she will appreciate it in the morning."
He does feel a little more comfortable (and a little warmer) settling on the bed now that he's wearing more than a towel. He pulls his legs up to sit with them folded and reaches for his spellbook on the table nearby, pulling it into his lap. As he flips through, his other hand idly finger-combs through his drying hair, loosening any snarls he finds. His hair feels soft and silky, like something he wants to touch, for the first time in...a while.
"It is a good return," he says, circling back to Ro's comment a few minutes earlier and glancing up with a crooked little smile. "A bed is a rare luxury. And these were sorely needed." He lifts his hand from the book to pluck at the fabric covering his leg. "With the bath and dinner, I may owe you after tonight."
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He climbs up onto the bed now that he's done with Nott's nest and the washing. He feels a little flutter of warmth just seeing the smile on Caleb's face. He likes the sort of mischievous look it gives the other man, even if he's not meaning to.
"We'll call it even," he says warmly. "If we travel on together, I'll try to get us beds as often as I can with playing like that."
He doesn't think it'll always be this easy, even with a good crowd, but it's always worth a try. And when he can't, depending on what's happened, sparing the coin might be necessary. But they can cross those bridges if and when they get there. As they talk, Ro starts braiding his hair so that it's not loose whenever he finally goes to bed.
"It's how I've gotten around before when I'm not going ship to ship."
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"That is much better than what Nott and I do. And less risky. Though I suppose that depends on the song." His smile widens a fraction--definitely intentionally mischievous. "We run cons." He's already admitted to being a thief. Their cons really aren't much more than an elaborate pickpocketing scheme. "Nothing elaborate. Just tricks to get a little coin, or a meal, or a roof over our heads."
If Ro is deterred by that, so be it, but that isn't the sense Caleb has gotten from him. But it certainly isn't risk-free to travel with them, if that is what he's looking for. Even if they weren't petty thieves, Nott's mere presence is enough to get them all into trouble if she's noticed. And of course, he has his own complications, but he's gotten by for the last five years without drawing attention to himself.
"But I have no complaints about listening to more of your playing."
He looks back down to his book to keep himself from watching Ro braid his hair, or glancing at his legs, now bare again. Now that they've decided on sleeping arrangements, he really needs to get a handle on himself. Stay on task.
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Rather than losing his smile or looking particularly judgmental, Ro just tips his head as he finishes his braid. He retrieves a strip of leather from his shirt pocket to tie it. Caleb said he and Nott just do little tricks to get what they need, and honestly, Ro can't really fault that. Not when it's clear they live hand-to-mouth as it is.
Really, Ro thinks he's as much a risk to Caleb and Nott as their presence is to him: he's a cleric to at least one god that isn't approved in the Empire. Thankfully he can try to keep that particular holy symbol hidden. He thinks Avandra would understand.
"Thank the gods for that, I'd feel terrible if you hated it. I've had a tankard thrown at me on more than one occasion. Once an entire bowl of soup."
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The entire time they've been talking, his spellbook has been open in his lap to the pages detailing Alarm. There is another spell he's been toying with for some time with similar abjurative properties, but he's still far from nailing it down, and he suspects it will also need more power to cast than he currently has at his disposal. Still, the more he noodles, the closer he gets. A protective spell like that would be invaluable to him and Nott--and Ro, though it seems unlikely he'll stick around for long enough to see him advance so far. But he isn't getting much studying done now; mostly he's just using the book as an excuse to avoid looking at his companion.
"I used to go out dancing a lot when I was younger," he says more softly, staring at his own calculations and notes scrawled across the open page without really focusing. Not what he was planning to say at all, and he has a brief moment of panic, but but there is nothing damning in this little piece of his past. It just comes with a bittersweet pain, both familiar and foreign. Though he thinks about it constantly, he never talks about his past. Especially not that time in his life. "So I have enjoyed hearing your songs."
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His expression grows more wistful at the mention of dancing.
"I always wanted to join in dancing," he admits. It's hard not to think of home when he's in a place like this, singing songs he's known for a long time among the new ones he's learned in his time away.
"But after a while I was too small to really manage with most of the partners I might have. They all outgrew me. I've run into more halflings and dwarves in a month in the Marrow Valley than in the first twenty years of my life, I'm not sure I'd know what to do with an adult partner my size."
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No. He can't afford to go down that path when they're going to be in very close quarters sharing a bed tonight. Feeling his face heat, he ducks his head down further toward his book.
"Ja, there are quite a lot of folk closer to your size in the Empire. Felderwin is nearby, and primarily halfling, and there are fairly large dwarven and gnomish cities further north." Though his blush must be obvious, he at least sounds normal, thank the gods. "You should have no trouble finding a dance partner, if that is what you want."
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Ro can't help but notice the blush, though, and even if he can't know for sure what Caleb was thinking--well. He did sort of do that to himself, didn't he? With his choice of words. Ro hadn't even thought about it, but now it's really all he can think of and that really isn't something he should be thinking about a traveling companion. Not without a reason to think it'd be welcome, anyway.
"We'll see," he says with a little smile. "Like I said, I might not know what to do." He really shouldn't push that, should he? He can feel heat creep into his own face. "But I'll make sure you have music you can tap your toes to, at least. I promise."
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Against his better judgement, he chances a glance up at Ro. That he too is flushed means that he's probably made a fairly accurate guess at what Caleb has been thinking, which is mortifying. That he is smiling anyway means that thankfully, he has somehow again avoided offending him with his fumbling attraction. He should be able to better conceal it, but he's spent so long alone--he is out of practice with people in general, let alone being close to someone he feels a growing interest in. He is so out of practice he nearly misses that Ro might even be implying...well, something more.
Face burning, Caleb looks away again. He holds his spellbook with both hands to keep his nerves from becoming even more obvious, but his stomach is turning somersaults.
"I have not danced in a long time. With anyone. So I am not any more informed than you are." For better or for worse, he is continuing this unintentional metaphor. Ro can take it at face value or read further into it as he chooses. "But in my experience, the right partner will not mind taking the lead, or teaching you the steps if you do not know them. It is about fun and connection, not perfection."
What he misses most about dancing and what he misses most about sex are the same. The connection, the rush, the trust, the sense of belonging. The simple pleasure to be found in how his body moves with another. The way the combination of those things quiets his mind like nothing else.
"I am good, though, just tapping my toes. Whether I can dance to it or not, I like your music very much."
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Ro doesn't think he is. Not entirely. But that's the nature of the metaphor, isn't it? Easy for one or both of them to deny they were implying anything else. He hadn't meant to give them that cover, but maybe it's for the best that he did. Because by the time Caleb is finished with his sentiment, Ro isn't sure where anything stands at all.
And maybe that's for the best, too. Perhaps there's nothing to navigate. Ro makes sure he doesn't exhale too heavily when Caleb looks away again. Well, whatever is happening, he has to say something.
"There's no harm in starting there," he says. "E-ease back into it, if it's something you want." Ro is trying to be more careful now, more deliberate in a way that maybe ruins it. But he hopes not. "And if it's something I play that makes you feel like you want to take the floor again, well... I'd like that. I know the steps. But if it isn't, I'm happy to think I made you think you might want to. Someday."
Gods, he's botched that. But Caleb is very clever, Ro's learned that much. Maybe he'll catch what Ro feels like he's throwing, very badly. And if he doesn't, that's fine. Ro would rather have traveling companions he likes and feels he can trust than... a dance partner.
Perhaps he'll smother himself in his pillow tonight if he's read this all wrong.
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Ro hasn't been offended by his stolen glances or obvious interest. Could it be because he is interested in return? All this time, Caleb has assumed his flirting was merely friendly, just a facet of his personality. Has it actually been genuine? That certainly seems to be the precipice they are standing on now, with what they've mutually implied. Ro doesn't seem like the sort of person who would make advances, however subtle, without meaning it.
"You would like that?" Caleb repeats Ro's words softly, cautiously. When he looks up again, there is something close to fear in his eyes, as though it takes all the courage he has to continue this conversation. To maybe consider that someone might want him. To face that it might actually be possible to connect with someone this way, vulnerable as it might be.
Caleb licks his chapped lips, then gives a soft, humorless laugh under his breath. "I think the metaphor has gotten away from us a bit, so I will risk being a little more plain with you. I have not been intimate with anyone in a very long time. But you make me want to be. Which is--that does not have to mean anything, of course, and I will happily forget about this conversation entirely if you would prefer that." He is quick to reassure, heart pounding hard enough that he can hear it in his own ears. His fingers curl into the bedsheets, nervously bunching them in his palms. "It is just that I have felt...drawn to you in a way that I thought I might never experience again."
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"It feels too important for a metaphor," he says with a light laugh that's almost just a huff of breath. Half of the embarrassment is that he stumbled through it so badly that they need to leave it behind entirely. Ro's expression softens more as he listens, his eyes dark and intent as Caleb explains where he is in all of this. At least his flirting hasn't been completely misread. He's more in his element here: he doesn't press, doesn't rush Caleb through saying what he needs to say.
And when he pauses, Ro shifts closely, telegraphing his movements in the hopes he won't startle Caleb when his hand lightly rests over one of Caleb's where he's gripping the sheets.
"Well, I was flirting on purpose. With you." Because he'd done a bit of it with the barmaid downstairs mostly to put her in a good mood. Ro makes himself avoid too much of a digression and his thumb brushes lightly along Caleb's.
"It was your eyes," he says, because--well, it's true. He peers up at the other man. "And your hair, when I saw it in proper light. And... the way you'd hide a laugh sometimes when Nott was threatening me one minute and asking for something the next. We don't have to do... anything, if you don't want to. If you just want to feel it and know it's not being misread."
Ro isn't offering to forget the conversation entirely. But if anything more than a conversation, than these confessions, is a step too far, that's okay too. There are other ways to have physical intimacy that don't move as fast.
"But if you did want to, however much or however fast or slow, I'm... here."
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What Ro expresses, wanting him to know that this draw to each other is real and reciprocated, but they don't have to act on it--that means much more to him than even he could have expected. But if he does want to--
"Oh," Caleb says softly, breathy with surprise. His mouth tightens and his brow knits, his expression open but conflicted. There are a few long seconds of heavy silence as he weighs Ro's sincerity in the face of his own fear. But then he breaks into a smile, small and bashful. His face is warm, and getting warmer still.
Ro has made a sincere offer. If he wanted to, he could accept it. At whatever pace he wanted, in whatever way he would be comfortable. He hadn't imagined making this choice tonight--or at all. It is daunting. It is exciting. He wants...he wants. He doesn't know if he should, but he does.
"Thank you," he says first, and turns his hand over beneath Ro's. His fingers enfold it completely. "I--I had not expected..." He shakes his head, and glances up to meet Ro's gaze. He said he liked his eyes. "But I do want to. Very much. I am just not sure where to begin. It has been a long time."
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Caleb's eyes seem darker in the warm lamp light and Ro feels just as charmed as he does when Caleb looks at him in broad daylight. Caleb has already made it known that he hasn't had this kind of intimacy in a long time; Ro really doesn't want him to feel like he has to dive back in. But he's encouraged even by the quiet assertion that Caleb doesn't know where to start. He can help with that.
Ro scoots closer, until their legs touch.
"Can I kiss you?"
Maybe that's too much, but the question is out before Ro can second guess it too much. That isn't a bad place to start, is it? A kiss can be lot of things and it needn't go any farther than that if it feels like enough. Ro has committed himself to learning Caleb's lines. The last thing he wants is to be the reason Caleb keeps himself closed off even longer.
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"Ja, please."
The low rasp of his voice is barely louder than the crackle of the fire. Talk and laughter from the floor below filters up faintly through the floor, even at this hour, and Caleb feels...not quite safe, he never feels safe, but protected. Hidden. Swaddled, even, in the background lull of anonymous voices and the sound of flame splitting dry logs.
Without thinking, his tongue flickers out briefly to moisten his lips, dry and cracked in places, as his eyes remain pinned on Ro, anticipation churning his stomach. He is nervous, obviously so, but not in a way that is entirely unpleasant. He waits for his companion to make the first move; it's been so long that he fears he would be clumsy. Both of his past lovers were also human, like him. Allowing Ro to take the lead is good in that regard, as well. He can learn how best to go about this when his partner is barely more than half his size.
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He squeezes Caleb's hand before he lets go, because he needs to balance as he gets up. On his knees, Ro walks himself closer and both hands reach to cradle Caleb's face. He luxuriates in that for a moment, thumbs sweeping across the other man's bearded jaw. As much as he'd to be in Caleb's lap - as easy as he knows it would be - that feels a little too presumptuous without being invited. So he looks up into brilliant blue eyes and coaxes Caleb to lean toward him a bit so their mouths can meet.
It's a gentle kiss, lips pressed together with enough pressure to feel pleasant but not so much that it feels desperate or urgent. It invites lingering and Ro can feel his heart beat faster with the way it feels. It's been a while since he kissed anyone quite like this, with intent. He missed it. They are both fresh and clean and in a comfortable place. Caleb smells like soap and his lips are a little chapped, but that's hardly a turnoff. It's rather familiar, actually.
Ro breaks the kiss the same as he started it, slow and gentle and he doesn't go far. His thumb rubs against the grain of Caleb's beard, then follows it.
"Okay?" he asks softly, not tentative but... wanting to check in.
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The kiss breaks his heart, then mends it again. Only now does Caleb let himself feel how badly he wants intimacy like this; how much he's missed it. He returns it perhaps too eagerly, and finds himself reaching for Ro without being fully aware until his hands splay over his back and his hip, spanning much of his smaller form. Gods, Caleb doesn't want this to end. His head tilts forward when Ro leans back at last, and Caleb takes a shuddering breath as his eyes blink slowly open.
"Ja. Very okay," he responds hoarsely. The way Ro strokes his beard feels nice; every point of contact between them feels almost too good to be true. He wants to continue doing this. His throat feels thick with emotion, far more than the situation should warrant, but Caleb has never pretended to be a well-adjusted man.
He wants more, and that would be much easier if Ro weren't kneeling beside him.
"You can, ah...come closer, if you like." Caleb smiles, soft and charmingly crooked. "You did sit in my lap the first night we met."
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Ro's smile grows yet remains soft - just for Caleb - when he gets that reassurance. Unbidden, he feels warmth rising in his face when Caleb invites him closer, and reminds him that they've been much closer before.
"To be fair, we both had more clothes on." But gods, that smile is all the invitation he needs. It's exciting to see Caleb so... relaxed. At least relaxed enough that he can tease more effortlessly. "Hold still," he adds, eyes bright.
His hands move to brace on Caleb's shoulders and Ro does exactly that: he sits in Caleb's lap, not quite like he did on that first night in the cell. He makes sure he can still face the other man, and he's terribly aware of how little is between them. But he tells himself not to think too hard about that - this won't go any farther than Caleb wants, Ro is determined to that end. He won't let himself get carried away. Even if it's very tempting.
He reaches up to touch Caleb's cheek again, mostly just enjoying that he's allowed to touch this man. "I like this better than that first night," he admits softly. "Kiss me again?"
Ro'll let Caleb start it this time, but... he can get the wheel in motion, right?
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With his face growing increasingly flushed, Caleb hums in agreement; he likes his much better, too, for many reasons. There is a flutter of nervous excitement in his stomach when Ro asks to be kissed. Eagerly, he does so.
Even if he is out of practice, Ro's lips feel good against his. Caleb's hand slides up his back to cradle the back of his neck, fingers combing through dark hair that he now knows feels as smooth as it looks. The kiss is too slow and decadently lingering to be considered chaste, but Caleb doesn't yet press for more than closed lips sliding against closed lips.
Ro is warm and soft, and Caleb squeezes gently at his hip as they kiss, wanting to touch him more but hesitant to venture over pare skin. The weight of him in his lap is perfect. Inevitably, his cock begins to stir as arousal burns brighter in his belly. Perhaps he would--or should--be embarrassed, when he knows Ro will certainly feel him stiffening against the round curve of his ass, but surely the other man must have expected as much when he climbed into his lap.
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Well, maybe it won't be quite as distressing then when Caleb feels an answering stiffness against his stomach. Ro knew what he was getting into, but it's still another thing to feel it as a reality. He tries to get a little closer, pushing up against Caleb's torso as the other man's hand slides over his hip.
"You can uhm--you can move your hands more. If you want to." He should say that, shouldn't he? Caleb seems both skittish and eager and Ro just doesn't want him to feel like he's crossing any lines when there really aren't many at this point. Ro wants to be touched.
Ro leans up for another kiss, and this time he parts his lips a little in invitation; his tongue flicks out to tease over Caleb's.
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"I want to," he murmurs, and slides his hand down from Ro's hip to his bare thigh as the other man leans up to kiss him again. Caleb moans at the brush of his tongue, and recognizing that for an invitation as well, he meets it with his own, pressing past Ro's parted lips to lick into his mouth.
Caleb is unexpectedly thrilled by how much of Ro's thigh his hand can encompass. He squeezes, pulling his smaller form close against his bare chest. The halfling is small, but delightfully sturdy. The hint of softness to his legs, his ass, is inviting and arousing. His cock fills out steady with Ro sitting on it, growing hotter and harder beneath the thin pants he wears.
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He rocks against Caleb, letting his covered cock drag against the other man's stomach. Ro knows he's built a bit thick, helped along by years of climbing up and down rigging, of learning to ride sailboards and swimming. But despite all of that, Caleb's hand covers a good part of his thigh and Ro feels a dizzy rush of excitement.
His hands slide down Caleb's chest, feeling the shape of him after looking far more than he should've been since they met. He's lean, he could stand to have a month's worth of good meals, but gods, he's handsome. Ro meant that when he said it and it certainly hasn't changed seeing him down to a towel. And he really can't help but notice the feel of the other man's cock pressing up against the curve of his ass.
He lifts his hands enough to undo the rest of the buttons on his shirt and, after a moment of considering, he lets it slide off entirely. Caleb's seen the tattoo that climbs his left arm from wrist to shoulder, but there's another hidden on the inside of his right bicep, what looks like the silhouette of a seal and a smaller one inside it.
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Ro rocks against him as they kiss, and he can feel the halfling's hands exploring his chest before they divert to finish undoing the buttons on his oversized shirt. As he sheds it, Caleb straightens up enough to see him, breath catching. He is lovely to look at, his dark hair contrasting lightly tanned freckled skin, some of it intricately tattooed. And it's no wonder his soft, round ass feels so nice against his cock.
"Gods, you feel good," he rasps, leaning down for another kiss. "This--this is good." It sounds like an affirmation more than a declaration, Caleb deciding for himself that this is something he can handle. Something he wants very badly, in fact.
Both of Caleb's hands now slide up Ro's thighs until he is holding the curve of his ass. His lips press to his cheek, then the pointed tip of one ear, but to trail down his neck would mean having to stoop into an awkward position.
"Perhaps," he murmurs, "perhaps you should, ah...take the lead?" he suggests. "There are many things I would like to do, but...as I said, it has been a while." That, and he has never been with someone Ro's size, and he would much prefer to receive some guidance than to guess and get it wrong.
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Ro manages a nod, understanding the hesitation.
"Tell me what you'd like to do?" As he asks, Ro's hand slips between them, moving fabric so his calloused fingers can brush against Caleb's cock. "And whils you do, I'll touch you here."
The touch is light enough to be a question and Ro watches Caleb's face to be certain he isn't rushing too far ahead. When it seems welcome, Ro offers a slow, deliberate stroke. He's happy to take the lead if Caleb wants, but he wants to know what's running through Caleb's mind, too. Maybe he can move things in some of those directions. Especially when he imagines he'll like a lot of Caleb's suggestions.
Tall people are always going to be big to him, but stroking Caleb serves the helpful purpose of getting an idea of what he's working with.
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A breath leaves him raggedly, and his eyes flutter closed for a moment. Even Ro's smaller hand, rough as Caleb's own, feels incredible, novel, mesmerizing. His cock fills out in his grip with a heavy twitch. Reflexively, he squeezes again at the attractive curve of Ro's ass encompassed in his much larger hands.
Right. He is meant to be talking. Giving Ro some idea of where he would like this to go. It almost feels greedy, when even this feels like so much, but the part of his brain that is always a little horny still readily provides him with ideas. He has no idea what might be too much, so he chooses something he knows he'll like, and that he's pretty certain Ro will too.
"I would enjoy using my mouth on you," he offers breathlessly, eyes sliding open again to gaze down at his handsomely flushed halfling companion. Gods, just the sight of his hand on his cock-- "If you would like to...start with that?"
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