I get a little bit Genghis Khan

[vacabdication]

[ There have been continents and decades passed between when Ajay and Pagan knew each other. Happily, Ajay’s time in Kyrat to date has made Pagan very aware of at least one thing they still share; a flair for the dramatic. Such a flair is probably at least partly to blame for why it’s been night on impossible for Pagan to get a message to Ajay about meeting without Ajay dramatically disposing of the messenger. There’s the radio, of course, but Pagan doesn’t quite trust that nobody is listening in, and it wouldn’t do to have any of those delightful little monkeys decide to try and off Ajay for fraternizing with the enemy. So he lays the groundwork, plants the idea – ends one of his rambling calls with I’ll have to have you to dinner, sometime, and leaves it at that.

Then it’s terribly easy to have Ajay scooped up after those awful little tourists send him out on a jaunt on one of their experimental substances – god, a look at the two of them and it’s easy to remember why, accent aside, he is far more likely to present himself as of Hong Kong than of England – and brought back to the palace. Of course, he’s high as a bloody kite, and Pagan is rather proud of the delicacies he’s acquired for their little soiree a deux, so he has Ajay sequestered in a private room to recover. There is a fully stocked ensuite attached, which Pagan prays Ajay will use, and his clothes are filthy so Pagan has them ferreted away to be washed (and in some cases, mended) and a selection more suited to dinner with a King left for Ajay to choose from – a classic black tuxedo, a rather dashing and elaborately embroidered kurta set, several beautiful suits in an array of colours, even a selection of wonderful blazers and (please no) designer jeans, should that prove more within Ajay’s comfort zone. And, most importantly, a gilt invitation to dinner on thick, creamy-coloured card waiting for him on the bedside table when he wakes.

It might be sensible to have Ajay’s weapons removed, too. For maintenance, he could say. It would be a terrible, tragic loss if Ajay Ghale, son of Mohan and great hope of the Golden Path, were to suffer a sticky trigger while facing down a tiger, after all. But Pagan Min is not a sensible man, and so he chooses to give preference to the semi he gets thinking about an immaculately dressed Ajay vaulting the table to hold a pistol to Pagan’s temple rather than common sense.

After all, for Pagan Min to host a dull dinner would be unthinkable. ]

Comments

[vacabdication]

[ Pagan is confused whan Ajay grabs his wrist, confused enough to open his eyes and catch that feral little grin. And that alone would be dangerous in how it makes Ajay look - like he is a god, one whose domain is pleasure and knows just how well he rules it - except that it's only a few more moments and wild, helpless thrusts of his hips to meet Ajay's body over him, and Ajay's coming. And Pagan feels it before he sees the obvious evidence, in the way Ajay's body clenches and pulses around him, dragging him helplessly under that wave of pleasure right along with him. He makes a sound that starts out as Ajay's name but gets lost in a helpless garble of need as the feeling rolls through him, over and over, wringing him out until he barely has the energy to reach shaky hands upward and pull Ajay down to him. Because he needs that - needs the closeness, needs the feeling of Ajay against him, warm and real and perfect. ]

Ajay. My god.

[ Is he exclaiming, or vowing dedication? Both. Even he knows it's both. ]

[vaaris]

[ he's already sinking down onto pagan when the older man reaches up to pull him close, and he hums out a warm, drowsy little laugh in response to the sound of his name wrapped up in so much reverence. for a moment, he thinks that he should roll off, but... fuck it. he drapes himself over pagan like a human blanket instead, tucks his forehead up against pagan's temple, and lets every cord of muscle in his body go loose and lazy. let pagan shove him off if he's too heavy. ]

Try building me a temple, and I'll blow it up. [ but the smile is evident in his voice, warm and easy. ]

[vacabdication]

A temple. Now there's an idea.

[ Oh, he loves that. That it's done and there's still warmth in Ajay's voice, still room for laughter. And yes, he's heavy, but in a good way. It's comforting and warm. He can feel Ajay's heart thudding in his chest, and he's grateful that Ajay hasn't rolled off him because the feeling of still being tucked inside him is a comfort, too. ]

Would you still blow it up if I never tell anyone what inspired it? Religion can be such a comfort to the masses. They don't need to know they're worshiping your ability to fuck a man's brains out.

[vaaris]

[ he huffs a little laugh at that, because it's impossible not to imagine sabal and his ilk in a place like that. the looks on their faces when they found out what the temple was actually supposed to represent -- maybe it makes him a dick, given that sabal's never been anything but nice to him, but it is funny. ]

You'd sneak something dirty in there. [ he only really knows pagan via the occasional rambling radio call and this one whirlwind of an evening, but somehow he still feels absolutely confident in the assertion. ] A mural or something. Hieroglyphics porn.

[ and, huh. look at that, they're still holding hands. if it was toeing the line of too much before, it's probably several yards over it by now -- but ajay just sweeps his thumb absently over pagan's skin instead of moving to tug away. ]

[vacabdication]

You underestimate me. A scale replica of your dick, surely. Cast in gold. If only the masses deserved to see it! Unfortunately for my burgeoning career in religious iconography design, they do not.

[ It's definitely too soon to announce that he'd quite like to be the one seeing Ajay's dick for the rest of his life, so he keeps that little nugget to himself, just smiling at the thought of it and the slow brush of Ajay's thumb over his hand. It's lovely to be like this, still entwined, and he turns his face until he can brush a little kiss over Ajay's skin. ]

I don't want to rush you into any decisions, but the kitchens really do turn out excellent breakfasts. Even if I usually take mine at noon.

[vaaris]

Historians would find it a thousand years from now and figure it was the world's most expensive dildo. [ another snort, which is rude as hell when someone is turning their face to kiss you, but he can't help it. ] My dick would be stuck in a museum forever.

[ but.

oh.

the invitation makes him freeze in surprise, but only for a minute. and then, softly: ] ... it's okay if I stay?

[vacabdication]

[ That's a little heartbreaking, really. Terrifying, at first, given the way Ajay briefly freezes up, but then that question, so quiet and vulnerable. It's no secret that the bloody Golden Path have been hammering home that Ajay is welcome so long as he's serving a purpose, but Pagan hates that apparently he'd assumed this was no different. He strokes fingers through Ajay's hair, gentle, and his voice is quiet when he answers. ]

I'm very much hoping you will.

[vaaris]

[ stupid, how the invitation wedges a lump in his throat. but it's been so long since he's been welcome without any reservations, since someone threw open the doors for him and wanted to welcome him home. and maybe pagan isn't saying all of that, but there's a warmth in his voice -- ]

... Yeah. I'd like that.

[ bundling a little closer into their shared bubble of body heat, reaching out to trace the sweep of one of pagan's collarbones with his fingers. ] And it's okay if I'm... here?

[ in pagan's bed, he means. not bundled off to some guest room, like a regret, a mistake. ]

[vacabdication]

[ The meaning in that is clear enough, and Pagan can't help himself. He presses a kiss against Ajay's temple, something soft lingering, meant to reassure. ]

Right here. Well, perhaps slightly to the left. Lovely as this feels right now I'm not sure I'd wake up with feeling in my limbs if you spent the night literally on top of me.

[ To make it clear that Ajay is welcome on top of him just a little longer, Pagan sweeps fingertips up the length of his spine. ]

You can stay here as long as you like, Ajay. In the palace, generally, and if you'd like... [ it's too much, he knows it's took much, but he can't help himself. ] specifically here. With me.

[vaaris]

[ well, that's the last lingering thread of doubt addressed. (for tonight, at least.) and the relief is obvious in the way he unspools, any trace of tension melting back out of him. ]

Okay. S'good. [ it's not that simple, and they both know it. kyrat and her people have gotten their hooks in ajay's heart, and he can't just hole himself up here and pretend the world outside isn't happening forever. but for now? it's enough. it's more than enough. to be safe and warm and wanted. ] I like it here.

[ nuzzling up against pagan's temple, the drowsy burr coming back into his voice. ] I think I might like you, too.

[vacabdication]

[ Oh, that's lovely. That's more like it; the tension leaving Ajay's body until he's draped over Pagan again, the warm and sleepy tone of his voice. And despite what Paagn just said about Ajay not sleeping on top of him, he hasn't the heart to try and move him. Just a little longer can't hurt. If nothing else, Pagan's dick will finally soften enough to work its way out, which is seems like it'll be disgusting enough to break the spell without any help. ]

I like you too, my boy. Very much. Very much indeed.

[vaaris]

[ he'll move in just a minute. shift off of pagan and find a position that'll make sleeping more comfortable for both of them. in just a minute, yeah. it won't hurt to stay like this for just a little longer, with pagan's fingertips sweeping slowly up and down his spine and the lull of the other man's body heat against his skin.

and he's still telling himself that when he falls off that cliff's edge into sleep. ]

[vaaris]

[ how long has it been since ajay's slept soundly through the night? before his mom got sick, he's sure -- after, the nights were spent worrying or curled up in hospital chairs made with everything but comfort in mind. and then once she'd died, the apartment had become loud in its quiet, screaming her absence at him from every corner, until maybe he'd fled halfway around the world with her urn in his arms just to get away from it.

and then? kyrat, who wore him down to the bone and then made him afraid to sleep for the nightmares that would all-but-inevitably come. kyrat, who jerks him awake with squawks on the radio, someone else needing help, sabal's voice sounding just as tired as his when he says please brother, the sounds of gunfire beating a staccato against the echoes of the mountains.

pretty fucking weird, then, that the place he ends up being able to sleep is in the bed of the man he was doing the world a favor by trying to kill.

he's not even sure what actually wakes him up. the first thing he thinks is too early, but no, when he forces his eyes halfway open and blinks against the grit in them, the sunlight spilling through the big windows has the warmth of mid-morning. strange that there isn't the disorienting whirl of where am i that he might have been expecting; he just feels warm and sleepy and safe, more than willing to duck his head back down into the pillows and --

but there it is again. a soft clatter and a bustle of motion that had stirred him, and he reaches up an arm to scrub at his eyes as he turns to see what's -- ]

Jesus Christ.

[ instantly, painfully awake, as if someone had doused him in freezing water.

because there, by the bed, is a kyrati woman attending to a tray of what must be breakfast, tucking away cloches and pouring juice and fussing over her presentation. at ajay's outburst, she turns and beams at him, saying something that he thinks might be good morning, absolutely nonplussed by the sight of an unmistakably naked terrorist in her boss's bed. then she turns and goes right back to finishing up, as if this is the most normal morning in the world.

ajay, for his part, is doing his absolute damndest to shrink slowly beneath the sheets like a turtle huddling back into its shell. when he'd considered the awkwardness of a morning after, this hadn't even been a factor. ]

[vacabdication]

Don't worry, she doesn't mind. Do you, dear? Thank you, that's very nice. You may go.

{ honestly Pagan had thought Ajay mitth sleep through it. God knows he'd slept like a log through the night; Pagan had woken several times, but unlike normal when he'd then write the evening off as a lost cause he'd decided to just enjoy Ajay's presence and unfailingly, every time, the other man's warmth and steady breathing had lulled him back to sleep. It's a gift. He can only hope he'll be allowed to treasure it just a little longer.

He smiles, presses a kiss to Ajay's temple. ]

Good morning.

[vaaris]

[ clearly, he's fallen through some crack in the universe in the middle of the night and woken up in an alternate universe. one where it's business as usual for the king of kyrat and the guy who's been trying his damndest to blow him up to be tangled up naked in bed together, and one where pagan speaks warmly to his staff instead of shrieking at them the way he's always doing to that poor gary guy over the radio.

it's all a bit too much to process.

but pagan smiling at him, pressing a kiss to his temple, it soothes the finer points of his mortification. especially once the woman has gone and it's just the two of them again, morning sunlight and the smell of breakfast warming up the room. he could get used to this, he thinks -- and more than that, maybe he wants to. ]

Mm. [ he throws an arm back over pagan's middle, presses a drowsy, open-mouthed kiss to the older man's shoulder. ] Yeah, it is.

[vacabdication]

[ Well, it's lovely to see the clinginess that presented itself overnight hasn't evaporated with morning's light, and Pagan doesn't even bother to hide his happy little hum when Ajay slings an arm over him. He'd almost forgotten what this was like - waking up in the morning in bed with someone you're very attracted to, whom all evidence suggests is also attracted to you. It had been a long time since anyone touched him in lust - even longer since someone touched him with affection. It's a wonderful feeling. ]

And how are you feeling this morning, my boy?

[vaaris]

[ like this, pressed close together, pagan's voice is a rumble that ajay can feel as much as he can hear. almost like the purr of a great big cat, and ajay likes it. tucks himself up a little closer, even as he hooks a foot around one of the legs of the cart containing their breakfast. ]

Depends. On what they --

[ but he's cut off as he pulls the tray close enough to see what's on it, because. it's? honestly? the most american shit he's ever seen. bacon and eggs and buttered toast on one plate, pancakes stacked high and gleaming with syrup on another, and a bowl of what any self-respecting american kid would recognize as fruit loops (even if ajay's mom never actually let him eat the stuff). and just in case none of the other offerings hit the spot? there's a little square package of cellophane that promises pop tarts. ]

I -- [ there are a profound few moments of silence as he takes all of this in, and processes the fact that there is no fucking way this just happens to be the kind of breakfast pagan eats on the daily. ] ... are you trying to seduce me with breakfast?

[vacabdication]

No! My dear boy, I would never be so crass.

[ Ajay is right on the money, thought. This is not Pagan's usual breakfast. Pagan's usual breakfast is black coffee, some cut fruit, and if it was a particularly rough night (they often are) a few lines of almost offensively pure cocaine. This is entirely a seduction, although not the kind Ajay may be thinking of. ]

I was trying to seduce you with the kiss. This is me trying to convince you to stay. Or at least come around more often. Although if the most I can hope for is another round, I'll gladly take that too.

[vaaris]

[ ah. weird how that does something to him, like someone pressing their fingertips on a bruise. but it's a good sort of tenderness -- the shine of being wanted hasn't worn off, and this confirmation that pagan still wants it even with the light of morning on the idea? it's good. even better than pop tarts, maybe. ]

You don't have to convince me. Just ask me.

[vacabdication]

I don't want to.

[ That sounds churlish. He tries to soothe it with a little kiss, and explains himself. ]

People ask so much of you, Ajay. Always asking you for things. Ajay, will you secure this factory for us? Ajay, will you protect the statues for us? Ajay, will you hunt for this village even though they could feed their fucking selves if they put their minds to it? I hoped to let it be a decision you might make on your own. For you.

[vaaris]

[ ouch.

he gets just enough time to feel the sting of it, and then pagan's leaning down to soothe it with a kiss and the explanation that follows. and that's -- oh. he feels oddly seen, laid bare, and it's... well, it should be terrifying. disorienting, at least. but instead? it feels like being cared about.

and while there's a part of him that almost says it's not like that out of reflex, the words feel like they come with enough weight to warrant a little more consideration. ]

... if I tell you I want to, does that make it different? [ and then his voice drops, almost shyly. ] I just like hearing that you want me here.

[vacabdication]

It certainly does.

[ And it's enough to warrant a shift in position, something that allows him to curl his arms around Ajay in return and look him in the eyes. ]

I have wanted you here in the palace with me since before I knew who you were. Now that I do know, and especially now that we have this between us, I want you here even more. Not as a vague concept of someone I once cared a great deal for, but as a man I feel I have come to know and admire. It would give me great joy if you were to call the palace home.

I want you to stay here. With me. Will you?

[vaaris]

[ ah, shit. it's not as if ajay didn't have a mild suspicion that he's totally fucked, here. but that? it's weapons-grade, and what it does to something in his chest is wonderful and more than a little terrifying all at once. ]

Yeah. Yeah, obviously. [ falling for this guy, he attempts to remind his heart, is probably the worst idea he's ever had. in response, he's pretty sure his heart flips him the bird. ] I mean, I know there's a lot of shit we've got to figure out, but yeah.

I want to stay here. [ leaning up so that he can bump their foreheads together affectionately. ] With you.

[vacabdication]

[ Oh.

Oh, yes, okay. See, the thing is, Pagan had been hoping for at best an "I'll come by sometimes", so he's unprepared for such an enthusiastic acceptance. So there's a stuuned moment of silence before he laughs, bright and loud. ]

Wonderful! Wonderful. Oh, you've made me a very happy man.

[ And it would be too much to add how long it's been since he was happy, so instead he breaks that sweet little forehead bump to kiss Ajay, deeply and enthusiastically. ]

[vaaris]

[ it's a good kiss. the kind of kiss that curls your toes and leaves you melting into the sheets, and by the time they have to break away to breathe? he's grinning up at pagan like an idiot, kiss-drunk and more than a little in love and stupidly happy considering how fucked the past few weeks have been. ]

I can't believe you asked me to move in on the first date. I'm not that great in bed.