The Land of the Lithe (boyxboy and girlxboy)

Chapter 5 - Soft Hands

Zesius’s POV

I led Robbie down the stone staircase to the second floor of the keep where my bedroom was. I knew there was a spare room across from mine that he could have, but I wasn’t letting him sleep yet. He needed food, and he definitely required medical attention.

I brought him to my room, and told him to wait there while I retrieved water, salve for his cuts, and some clothes. I also sent for some food to be brought up for us. When I returned to my room Robbie was splayed out on my bed with his eyes closed. He moved to get off the bed when I shut the door.

            “I’m sorry, your highness. Your bed looked so soft,” Robbie stuttered, nervously.

            “It’s all right, Robbie. You’re welcome to share my bed.” Upon my words Robbie turned a violent red. Did I say something wrong?

            I sat the basin of warm water and on a small table and dipped a cloth in it. “You can call me Zee if you want. Enough of this your highness business,” I told him. “Now sit down and let me see your wounds.”

            Robbie sat down on the bed cross-legged, and I sat across from him inspecting the small gashes mottling his torso. I brought the cloth up to a particularly angry looking laceration, and Robbie flinched away from my touch.

            “I will never hurt you, trust me,” I said to him, gazing into his eyes. I saw him shiver as I touched his mind with mine, but then he visibly relaxed. He trusted me.

            I lifted my hand to clean his wounds, and let my other one rest on his small shoulder to hold him in place. I rinsed the cloth out, and brought it up to his face to wash off a smudge of dirt. He winced as the cloth grazed his bruised cheek.

            “Does it hurt a lot?” I asked him, gently caressing the red mark with the back of my index finger.

            “Not too bad, my ribs are hurting more.” My hand left his face, and trailed down his body to his bruised ribs. I felt him shiver under my touch. I didn’t know if he was still scared of me, or repulsed by my advances. Humans are so limited in their mate selection if you ask me.

            “You’re cold. I brought you some night clothes. They will be too big I’m afraid. Proper ones will be fitted for you soon enough.” I told him, handing him the clothes. He took them, and stood up, looking at me at cautiously.

            “Ah, yes, excuse me, I forgot how modest humans are.” I stood up and walked to the window looking up at the sky. It was purple tonight. Our moon, a tiny sliver of silver, casted a metallic light on the pond in the distance. I heard Robbie come up behind me.

            “The sky is beautiful here. Look at all those stars.”

            “Yes it is breathtaking,” I said, looking at Robbie, not really talking about the sky.

            “I’ve always loved astronomy, but I’ve never been able to star gaze where I’m from,” Robbie said, still staring out the window.

            “There are a lot of things you can do here that you cannot do on Earth,” I said with a smile, making his cheeks redden, yet again. When his cheeks go red it must be a display of human emotion. I wonder what it is.

I looked down at him, and was unable to supress the laugh that escaped my lips. The night clothes he wore were so big on him that he had to roll the sleeves up at least five times.

            “You have a beautiful laugh,” Robbie said quietly, and then blinked, as if he didn’t mean to say it aloud.

            “I’m sorry but those clothes are just so ridiculous,” I blurted out, laughing again. Robbie’s laugh echoed mine. I could listen to him laugh all night.

            There was a slight knock on the door, and Flavian came in with a tray of food and tea. Robbie probably wouldn’t like our food. We don’t eat animals like humans do.

            “Thank-you, Flavian,” I said to the elf, taking the tray of steaming noodles, and tea and setting it on the table. Flavian smiled at me and Robbie warmly before leaving.

            I went to sit on my bed pulling the food laden table towards me. Robbie hesitated before sitting across from me. I handed him a bowl of noodles and took one for myself. He stared at the bowl without taking a bite.

            “Eat. You must be famished.”

            “I am. There’s not meat in this, right?”

            “No, we would never eat an animal. Here it is considered worse than murder, because the animals would not understand why you are killing them.”

            “That’s great! I never eat meat either,” he said happily tucking into his bowl.

            “Why?” I asked.

            “I love and respect animals, so I don’t feel inclined to subsidize their slaughter when there are other options available.”

            I wanted to hear all about Robbie, I could stay and talk with him forever.

            “Here’s your tea,” I said handing him the mug. “It has sleeping tonic in it, to help you fall asleep since you’re probably a little upset from today.”

            He took a little sip, and then his eyes widened at the taste and he almost drained the mug. “That’s delicious,” he said smacking his lips together.

            “Don’t drink it too fast or you’ll fall asleep on me.”

            “Hmm, a little late to tell me that,” he said with a yawn. He leaned over attempting to put the mug back on the table, but he missed, so I took it from him and put it down. The sleep tonic made him a little weaker.

When I took the cup he giggled. “Your hands are so soft!” he exclaimed, and then proceeded to rub my hands. I didn’t really know what to say, so I just kept silent.

            “You must use moisturizer or something. Your face looks really soft too,” he said happily. I didn’t have time to wonder what moisturizer, was because Robbie leaned towards me and started caressing my face.

            “I was right,” he breathed. “Soffffffftttt.”

            They must have put too much sleep tonic in his tea. He was acting odd, even for a human. He leaned towards me, and I didn’t know what to do.

            “I wonder what else is soft.” He purred, leaning in closer, he was practically sitting in my lap now.

            And then he stopped and looked at me with a weird expression.

            “I’m so sorry,” he said and rolled off my lap and fell onto my pillow.

            “It’s quite alright, Robbie,” I said, a little breathless from the close proximity of him. He didn’t hear me though since he was already fast asleep on my bed.

            I probably should have carried him to his room, but I couldn’t bring myself to disturb him. So I turned the lamp off and lay beside him, attempting to fall sleep.

            It wasn’t working. I grabbed Robbie’s half drank tea, finished it, and waited for the sleep tonic to take effect. I fell back onto the pillows, and when I did, Robbie lifted his head and laid it on my shoulder. He snuggling up closer to me, and really, I had no choice but to wrap my arms around him, and fall asleep too.

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