AU week - telling the tale.

[thewidewideworld]

Sin takes Athelstan's hand and leads him through a door and then another, and up a narrow flight of stairs that seem to be hidden in the walls. To another door that looks like it should be locked but isn't. (Or isn't locked anymore.)

The journey leads them into the roof and a flatish section of tiles where they can sit and look out over the lake, protected from the breeze.

"Come, sit with me." Sin strolls across the tiles, sure as a mountain goat till he finds a good spot to sit with their backs against a chimney.

Comments

[thewidewideworld]

Sin takes a grateful sip to wet his dry throat and then a deeper sip before handing it back. "Thank you, lovely Athelstan."

He turns on Ragnar, pulling him close and kissing him. "No-one's done that for me in close to ten years. Don't you dare apologise again."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar kisses him back, and hums contentedly.

He pulls off the half-forgotten condom, ties off the end and puts it aside, all without taking his mouth away from Sin's.

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan hovers close by with the glass in his hands, back to uncertainty.

[thewidewideworld]

Sin breaks off the kiss then adds one to the tip of Ragnar's nose.

"Come lay down with me, Athelstan. I'm not going to be moving for a while." He holds an arm out to Athelstan, making room for him.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Athelstan," Ragnar says, as if just for the pleasure of saying his name again.

"Sweetie."

[athelstanthescribe]

"...all right."

He sets the glass down on a surface and steps over to curl into Sin's arm.

[thewidewideworld]

Sin gathers Athelstan into his arms and kisses his hair lightly. "I'm sorry I scared you. Once is no small thing for me but twice is-" He shakes his head.

He flashes Ragnar a smile and encourages him to join them.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar joins them, putting his arms around them both and kissing them, first Sin, then Athelstan.

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan returns the kiss softly.

"I didn't know that could happen, an - overload like that."

[thewidewideworld]

Sin steals another sip of water before answering, starting to sound more like himself. "I'm not sure how common it is for other people." He glances to Ragnar for advice there. "At least for people with more normal reactions to sex." He's own abnormality doesn't bother him. "It's only ever happened to me once before."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"I passed out during sex once, when I was a lot younger," Ragnar says, "but I'd taken some pills and a mushroom or two, and just kept on flying after I'd gone off. Not for long, because Lagertha slapped me back to myself."

He sighs.

"Whoah, that was one hell of a party..."

[athelstanthescribe]

Too much of a party for Athelstan just yet, by the look on his face.

"Do you do that often?"

[thewidewideworld]

Sin pets Athelstan's shoulder, listening to them talk. "If you ever want to party like that, beautiful, come see me first. I'll make sure what you're taking is clean."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Go to parties that end up in general sex?" Ragnar says. "Not so much lately, since we had kids and all that."

[athelstanthescribe]

"Sex and drugs." He nods. "Yeah, explaining that to a babysitter would be..."

[thewidewideworld]

Sin chuckles, enjoying the stories of the sort of life he will never live.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Not quite as easy as the rock'n'roll," Ragnar says, grinning.

[athelstanthescribe]

"What about you, Sin?" Athelstan asks lightly. "Never found a lonely kid in some village somewhere you wanted to pick up and take along with you?"

[thewidewideworld]

"Oh sweet Athelstan." Sin smiles, kissing Athelstan's cheek. "I have never been so lucky as to find anyone as wonderful as you."

He leans back, tucking his arm under his head. "I've had plenty of people try to save me from my lonely ways. Some of them more aggressively than others."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Love isn't everybody's way to happiness," Ragnar says. "For some people, it really is freedom, and that deserves as much respect as the right to love whom we want."

Being newly in love, Athelstan might think it's the answer to everything.

[athelstanthescribe]

Newly in love and discovering freedom at the same time.

"Aggressively?" he asks with a frown, not liking the sound of that.

[thewidewideworld]

"Oh, I've had love. And have it still. I love a lot of people, including you two. But love means different things to different people and some mistake it for possession. That's where the aggressive bit came in. I have had more that one lover who tired to keep me after I was ready to go. It hasn't aleays ended well." Sin shrugs, a little sadly.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"No, it really doesn't," Ragnar says, "not when people start obsessing about what they think is their love."

[athelstanthescribe]

"And trying to make you do something you don't want to isn't a sign of love", Athelstan agrees quietly. "Not really."

[thewidewideworld]

"And the fact you both know this are just more reasons why I love you." Sin grins, trying not to dwell on past mistakes and how much they nearly cost him. There are parts of his life to dark to talk about.