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“Hynce !” Hans’s voice reverberated in the corridor. “Goddamnit, I don’t have time for this.” he said, trying to contain irritation from seeping through his voice, and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed, exhaling. A comforting, large hand landed firmly on his shoulder.
“Go, I’ll find him.” When Hans opened his eyes, they went straight up into Henry’s kind gaze.
“And make sure he wears his fin-”
“Finest clothes, yes. Don’t worry, Sir Hans. Now go, the guests are waiting.” he squeezed his shoulder before letting go.
“Thank you, Henry. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” he said softly, before straightening up his back and walking down the corridor towards the hall where the banquet was taking place. Even after all those years, Henry was still fascinated, and impressed, by Hans’s ability to switch from, well, Hans, to Lord of Pirkstein in a swift shift of posture and facial expression.
As he neared the hall, Hans’s irritation became harder to contain. Not at his son, his darling little beast of a son, but at the situation. They should be visiting Jitka’s family with her now, enjoying a bit of respite from lordly duties, spending time together as a family. They didn’t love each other, not the way Hans loved Henry and Henry loved Hans, but they cared about one another. He was pretty certain Jitka knew about them by now, but she never asked and he never said. A smart woman, she is. They both loved Hynce with all their hearts though, and so somehow, against all odds, Hans had carved for himself a quite lovely family life that allowed him to keep his beloved Henry close. On the hardest of days, it would send Hans’s anxiety spiraling. This was all working out too well, nothing was ever that good, and when it was it never lasted. But Henry, always Henry, managed to quiet his worries.
And so, he was annoyed that he had to stay behind in Rattay with his son to deal business with a couple of lords he didn’t like nor care about in the slightest while Jitka, free of lordly burdens, escaped the dull few days he found himself in right now and went ahead to her family’s estate. She had left with a sly smile on her face, knowing full well how detestable the whole ordeal was about to be. The lords had arrived earlier this afternoon, he had spend the whole afternoon showing them around the city and discussing said business, one that ended with Hans having the upper hand. He just had to make sure the banquet and tomorrow’s hunt would go well and he’d come out of it for the better. Overmorrow they’d all be gone, and he could breath again.
The banquet had started an hour ago now and Hans couldn’t focus entirely on his conversation as he kept glancing hopefully at the door. He was starting to be jealous of Hynce now, blissfully unaware of the current awfully boring talks Hans found himself roped in. Just as he thought maybe something worse than Hynce simply escaping his tutors to go and play around, he was relieved to see Henry cross the door holding little Hynce’s hand, wearing his nicest clothes but hair all disheveled.
“Ah Henry, God bless you !” he said loud and bright, before turning his gaze down to Hynce. He was purposefully avoiding Hans’s eyes. But he could never truly be angry at his son, and so he bent a knee to be eye-level with him and fix his hair.
“We’ll have a talk later, young man.” he tried to hide a smile, but it reached his eyes, and Hynce smiled in turn and giggled. Hans felt his heart double in size and sighed to himself. Just five years old and already utterly in control of his father’s mood. He got up again, nodding at Henry with a large smile, and led his son towards the lords with a gentle hand against his upper back. Henry followed in tow.
“Gentlemen, this is Rattay’s future lord: my son Hynce. And this is Sir Henry of Skalitz, captain of my personal guard, my right-hand man.”
Hans’s voice overflowed with pride. The way he always introduced Henry, as if he were the second most important man in Rattay after Hynce, made his heart swell. The way he treated his son was leagues away from how Henry ever saw Hanush treat him. He hoped Hanush knew, wherever he was now, how wrong he had been about Hans. How wonderful of a lord, of a father and of a husband he had grown to become. How wonderful of a lover he was, and had been for the past ten years now, was only for Henry to know and hold close to his heart. But the rest, everything Hans excelled at now, he hoped all of Bohemia knew.
As soon as Hans had been, reluctantly, given his birthright, he had done right by his words. He had built a forge in the castle’s yard for him, had given Henry an estate he had refused, had knighted him, which he accepted, and made him captain of his personal guard, which comprised Henry and two other trusted men. As Lord Capon’s “right-hand man” and personal bodyguard, they had all of the excuses in the world to carry on with their love affair, and Henry couldn’t be happier with his life.
He was looking at Hans now, talking about something he didn’t quite understand. He didn’t really care either, focused on his lord. He was wearing a black and yellow gambeson, a bird pattern embroidered with golden threads delicately here and there. Clothing fit for a lord, and when Henry looked up at his face he thought of how well the darker color suited Hans. He had become even more handsome than he already was. His features grew into a stronger jaw, a big scar on its side. This way, he looked like a proper battle-hardened lord. All he remembered about how Hans had gotten the scar was how scared he had been for him, and how Hans had then made him admit how handsome he found him with it. The methods he had used were...un-catholic, and Henry had to flee from the memory, lest his body betrayed him right in the middle of the banquet.
To distract himself, he looked around the room, seeing Hynce run around from one person to the other, and his armor clinked a bit in the movement. When he looked back at the men he had been standing with, he found them all looking back at him expectantly. He felt a bit warm in the face. He turned to Hans, silently asking for help.
“These gentlemen were asking what you thought about all the unrest related to this Jans Hus fellow.” he provided a warm smile.
“Erm…” he scratched the back of his head, trying to make up an opinion, or anything he could say to deflect the question. Seeing his unease, Hans stepped in once again.
“I think what Henry and I experienced the throes of war first hand in our youth and it made us both very much aware of how fragile alliances are and how they depend more on personal interests than those of the people.” Hans spoke eloquently, his poised demeanor lending weight to his words. Henry tried to follow the conversation more closely, but more often then not, he simply was at loss. Wether he didn’t know some of the words the lords were using, or just didn’t understand at all what they were saying about politics and religion, Henry felt entirely out of place. Sometime during the conversation, Hynce had joined his father’s side again, nestled against his side. Hans absent-mindedly ruffled his hair, but whenever the child required attention, Hans would give him all of his.
Henry felt like one of the lords in particular, the younger one, looked at him every so often with a mocking gaze. He excused himself to go fetch wine for Hans, and on his way back he thought he saw the mocking lord laugh as he whispered something to the older one next to him, both looking over at Henry. Hans was focused on Hynce then, and didn’t seem to notice. The evening dragged on a bit longer, until finally the child had to be put to bed. Henry saw the perfect opportunity to run away from the banquet. He took the yawning child in his arms, that promptly hugged Henry’s neck with his little arms, and turned towards Hans and his guests.
“I’ll bring him to the nann-” he was interrupted by Hynce’s little voice.
“And tell me a story!” he said, half excited half already asleep. Hans caressed his hair fondly.
“Henry does have plenty of great stories to tell. Goodnight my little bird.” He nodded and silently mouthed a thank you in Henry’s direction before turning his attention back to the lords.
***
Henry felt like shit. He had been looked down upon, mocked, even, all evening, as if he were an idiot. Truth, he wasn’t the brightest, but he knew how to fight smart and understood military strategies. That meant something, right ? He didn’t know how long he had been back in his room, sitting in a corner, gaze unfocused and mind reeling. Helping the nanny put Hynce to sleep was a sweet respite, as he adored taking care of the child as if he were his own. For that night, he had picked a child-friendly version of Hans saving him at Rocktower Pond. But once the tale was done and Hynce was asleep, once he was back in his own room he found himself alone again and a prey to self-deprecating thoughts.
A knock on the door tore him out of it in a jolt.. He didn’t feel like answering to whoever it was, unless…
“Henry ? I need to discuss some matters with you, if that’s alright.” he heard Hans’s muffled voice through the door. His mind brightened a little. When he opened the door, he was greeted with a joyful Hans, smile slightly lopsided and lips slightly tinted by red wine.
“Henry, I would like to go over the preparations for tomorrow’s hunt once more, to make sure everything’s set.”
“Of course, sir.” he was glad he could focus on something he was good at, and he stepped aside to let Hans in. He closed the door behind him with the bolt, out of habit.
“So I was with the stable-hand earlier and he readied our horses, brand new horseshoes as well.” he said, stepping towards the little desk near the window to fetch some papers. “I’ve selected a couple of dif-”
Hans’s lips were on his in a tender kiss, hands cradling his face and body crowding his. One of his hands came up behind him to hold the edge of the desk he was pushed against, the other landed softly at the back of Hans’s neck. When they broke the kiss, Hans was looking at him all giddy. Maybe he had one too many glass of wine. Henry smiled back fondly.
“As I was saying, different hunting spots that-”
“Henry, it’s just us now, no need to pretend.” the blond said in a charged whisper as he dove in for another equally tender kiss on Henry’s neck this time.
“Pretend ? I thought you wanted to talk about the hunt ?” he asked, at loss once more this evening. Hans laughed softly.
“Oh my sweet Henry.” he looked at him, caressing his cheeks with his thumbs. “It was just an excuse in case anyone passed by and saw me here. I don’t want to think one more minute about our guests.”
“Oh.” was all Henry could say before he was pulled back into an open kiss, tongues exploring each other’s mouths and they stumbled to Henry’s bed. He could feel his cheeks being all warm and he was annoyed he couldn’t tell wether it was from arousal or the renewed feeling of stupidity he felt at having taken Hans’s pretext to the letter. Maybe he was the numbskull the lords seemed to think he was. Hans had never given him the impression that he thought he was dumb, but maybe that was because Hans was too polite and kind to let it show. In any case, if he did, it didn’t seem to matter to him. He was reeling again now, and lost focus on the most important thing. The most important thing noticed.
Hans had stopped kissing him but kept his face inches only from Henry’s. He was lying right next to him, almost on top, and seemed concerned.
“Something the matter ?” Henry could hear the worry in Hans’s voice.
“Not at all. Why ?” he tried to play it off.
“I don’t know, you just seem...distracted. If you are not in the mood for it, we don’t have to do anything.” he looked away for a second, as if bracing himself for what he was about to say. “I can leave if you-”
“No! No, don’t leave. I don’t want you to leave. And I don’t want us to stop, either.” he said, resolute to stop his mind from wandering to darker places, resolute to enjoy a night with the lover that still could make his blood flow to all the right places as if they were twenty again with just one lustful wink. “I was just...thinking. About stuff. Nevermind.”
And so, Henry took the lead. He kissed Hans again, putting all of his passion for him into the kiss.
***
When Hans’s cock entered him, they both bit back a moan. Henry’s legs squeezed around his waist, and he dragged him down to kiss him. It muffled their sounds of pleasure when Hans started to move, slow and deep, inside Henry. They were curious men, both of them, and had never shied away from trying anything out in bed when they had the chance. These last few years they were used to more vigorous and fast love-making because most of the time, it was all they could afford. But when they could take their time, forgoing the chase of orgasm to focus on the process, then Henry felt a little closer to Heaven. They could spend hours like this, holding each other and thrusting or rubbing cocks just to enjoy the feeling of the other against them. Wether they came at the end of not, he was always left a little lighter at the end.
Hans put his forearm flat against the mattress on each side of Henry’s head and thrusted lazily, kissing him sloppily for a while. Every time he’d break the kiss, Hans would look down at him with such a devastating level of affection and love and tenderness that it brought tears to Henry’s eyes. He felt his lower lip quiver slightly. The sight drew Hans’s brows to a frown, and worried clouded his face as he stopped his hips from moving. He kissed him again chastly, as if trying to mend whatever had broken inside him.
“Hans ?” he whispered, not trusting himself to keep his regular voice leveled. Hans hummed expectantly.
“Do you think I’m…” he hesitated, a bit too long, worried he’d sound stupid...while asking if he was. Hans took the opportunity to peck him on the lips and speak.
“Devilishly handsome ?” a peck on the cheek. “Terribly attractive ?” on the other cheek and a wiggle of his brows that drew a weak chuckle out of Henry. “Kind to the core ?” a kiss on the forehead, eyes closed, that lasted a little longer than the rest. A couple of tears escaped the corner of Henry’s eyes. “Loyal to a fault?” a peck on the tip of his nose. “Resilient ?” on the lips again. “A great warrior, whose deeds inspired songs and tales all across Bohemia ?” Hans had spoken like those minstrels retelling epic stories to eager masses. Henry’s laugh was full bodied now and Hans went all in peppering him with kisses all over the face.
“A brave knight.” Hans’s smile could be heard in his voice, relieved Henry seem to feel better.
“Hans!” he laughed.
“My brave knight. Hmm. The bravest.” he punctuated with a thrust.
“Hans come on!” he struggled to say, between chuckles and the kissing assault on his face. He loved every second of it and he didn’t know why he felt the need to pretend protesting.
“Incredibly funny. Admirably...admirable.” he tried to muffle his chuckle against Henry’s neck. He resumed the slow thrusting and Henry moaned softly.
“Now you’re running out of things to say.” he accused fondly. Hans’s eyes snapped back to his.
“How dare you ? I am not. Let’s see… caring, highly dependable, the best of friends, a great master to your animals, a great uncle to Hynce… a Rattay tourney champion, how could I forget !” his hips went faster and harder now, not too much, but betraying the heat both were feeling in their loins again. For a while it was silence again, only interrupted by the noise of their lovemaking. After one more heated kiss, Hans resumed with a smile.
“Open-minded. Keen to learn. Strong. An excellent blacksmith. Smart.”
At that, Henry’s smile faded a little. He was a bit too lost in the haze of pleasure for it to really registered but Hans, observant as always, noticed.
“Ah, so that’s what this is about. Henry, just because those assholes tried to make themselves sound intelligent doesn’t mean you’re an idiot.” Henry felt vindicated that Hans agreed the lords were pompous arseholes. It didn’t change how he felt about himself.
“But-”
“You’re not an idiot. You simply haven’t had the education available to a noble, that’s all.”
“But I still struggle to read, Hans.” he said sheepishly. “I’m a bit of a numbskull, you’ve seen it. It takes me so long to understand things, and even then…”
“You’re a slow learner, so what ? You learn in the end. You taught yourself how to read, that’s not something a simpleton could do. I could…” he paused, looking for ways to help. “I could ask Hynce’s tutor to help you with reading, if you’d like. Or I could help, when and where we find the time. Or both, even.”
“I’d like that. Thank you, Hans.” his voice was still so low and small, his gaze avoindant. Hans took his face in his hands and forced him to look at him. His eyes were only filled with love for Henry.
“Henry, you’re excellent at learning things that require using your hands, like blacksmithing, or alchemy, or fighting. You’re not as comfortable in more abstract matters. So what ? You think those lords are half as smart as they pretend ? Even if they were, they’re not half the man you are and don’t have half the qualities that make you you, Henry.”
Henry buried himself in Hans’s arms, and he held him for as long as Henry needed it. Hans’s hands caressed him gently, and from time to time he gave a kiss to the top of Henry’s head or whisper sweet nothings to sooth him. When Henry emerged, face covered in tear tracks, he kissed Hans slowly but intently. Without a word, holding each other’s gazes with loving intensity, they resumed making love. Their softened cocks grew hard once again, their throats formed delicate moans murmured just for the two of them to hear, their lips passionately kissing. Henry was losing himself to the haze again, to Hans’s hands all over him, on his cock, his nipples, his ass, to Hans’s cock hitting the right place inside him. He was right on the edge as he held Hans closer, fingers digging deliciously in his shoulders.
He noticed a sly grin on Hans’s face, quite disconnected from the lustful look in his eyes. He could tell he was close too, but there was something else. As he thrust harder and faster, he leaned near Henry’s ear and chuckled several times before he managed to whisper “they definitely don’t have an arse half as good as yours.”
That was when they both tipped over the edge, laughing and moaning at once, Hans filling Henry with his seed and Henry covering their stomachs pressed together with his. Their orgasms felt even more exhilarating as it doubled as a fit of laughter. The tears Henry shed now were probably more from the hilarity than the pleasure. When they came down from their hight, Hans kissed along Henry’s tears. Then he spoke, ever so softly.
“I think you’re all that and more. You’re also the love of my life, besides. Not that it’s the most important part of you, but it’s definitely my favorite.”