(no subject)

[thewidewideworld]

{From here}

Their rooms are as neat as ever but there are signs of Ragnar's presence - horn cups on the mantle, a tunic draped over the back of a chair.

Sinric guides Athelstan to sit on the edge of the bed. "Can I get you some mead? Or something to eat?"

Comments

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan appreciates the effort, and puts his arm around Sinric before he pulls away.

"In this place, it does seem easier."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric settles against him, resting his head on Athelstan's shoulder, snuggling close. "It is easier here. The bar, the library, the gardens. There's always something to do."

[athelstanthescribe]

"My hands are somewhat better, I think", he says with determined hope. "I stretch them every day and the stiffness seems less."

[thewidewideworld]

"May I see you hands?" He asks softly, holding his hands out to him.

[athelstanthescribe]

"Of course." He holds them out, the wounds unbandaged now and doing what's left of their healing in the open air.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric holds Athelstan's hands tenderly, stoking his fingers and the edges of his palm. "It's good to see how well you've healed. And you no-longer need a cane to lean on?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"The pain is so much less", he confirms, "I've dispensed with it. Sometimes I do have stabbing pains in my feet if I rest my weight wrongly, or my hands for no clear reason, but I can walk."

Nerves take longer to heal than flesh and bones.

[thewidewideworld]

"Do your muscles still ache? As they once did. Would it help if I was to soothe them?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"Not as badly... but I wouldn't turn down the offer."

He gives Sinric a crooked smile.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric smiles and cups Athelstan's cheek and kisses him. "Gladly. Would you like to lay down?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"It's rather needed."

He stretches and lies down on the bed.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric kneels beside him, helping Athelstan out of his tunic. He fetches the oil from the bathroom and warms it between his hands before starting at Athelstan's lower back.

Not that the wounds across Athelstan's back are starting to heal, he can use more pressure, getting into knots in Athelstan's back he feared to put too much pressure on last time.

[athelstanthescribe]

They're beyond any danger of breaking open now, at least in any significant way. Athelstan groans as Sinric digs into his tense back.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric shows all the care and gentleness he feels for his beloved friend, working the knots out and soothing his aches.

[athelstanthescribe]

"This is the only place I can relax", he says softly into the pillow.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric answer that with a soft kiss on Athelstan's shoulder. "Let it always be your haven."

[athelstanthescribe]

"I pray it always will be. That the door will be there when I need it."

[thewidewideworld]

"And that I will be here if you need me?" He asks, moving to straddle one of Athelstan's thighs to get the leverage he needs to get in under the knots in Athelstan's shoulders.

[athelstanthescribe]

"If the door is there", he says gently, "I wouldn't doubt you. Unless life got in the way."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric shrugs and keeps working, determined to make Athelstan as relaxed as he can. "My life can wait." He's in no hurry to hasten towards Constantine's death.

[athelstanthescribe]

"For as long as you feel it can", he agrees, face half-hidden by the pillow. "Sinric - if the worst came to the worst and the door wasn't there - would you forgive me for not keeping my promise?"

[thewidewideworld]

He moves to kiss Athelstan's cheek. "It's not breaking a promise if you have no choice in the matter. If you can't get back, you can't get back. It would be no fault of your."

[athelstanthescribe]

"That isn't the promise I meant", he says quietly. "And I can't - what King Ecbert will do if I displease him - would be the worst thing."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric's hands freeze on Athelstan's skin, unable to move as his words sink in. "You-"

[athelstanthescribe]

"If it was one death or the other, with no third way open to me", Athelstan says quietly, unable to meet Sinric's eyes, "I know which I would choose."