Chapter Text
Julia draws the final marks to near completion of a seal on the floor, chewing the end of the pen as she studies it. She looks at the paper next to it with Sahed’s drawing in comparison and back again, looking for anything she might’ve missed.
I think I did it, she thinks with a huge swell of pride and excitement, I think I just got my second seal!
“Sahed,” she calls for his attention, reaching over without even looking, hand patting excitedly up the side of his leg until she finds his arm and pulls him over, “come here, look. I think I did it!”
He readily complies, quitting whatever he was working on and leaning closer to look. She watches him nervously, biting her lip as he glances critically over her work; she knows he’s not inspecting for perfection in skill, but rather accuracy in design. He’d made that clear earlier that morning, after she’d told him she couldn’t possibly replicate the strength seal due to a complete lack of artistic ability.
Still, the doubt starts setting in. I’m pretty sure I did it right, but what if my drawing is so terrible, he can’t tell? He won’t let me try it out if it’s not accurate, and I don’t really want to start over, it’s been a long day, but neither do I want to quit before getting it right—
“Mmm-hm,” he cuts through her thoughts with a pleased hum, the corner of his mouth curving up in satisfaction. “Yup, looks like you got it alright. It looks good, too, and I like how you’re leaving the last mark being a simple line. Real easy and quick to add. Great job, Julia,” he adds with a warm smile and bright eyes in a sideways look, not bothering in the slightest with moving away.
He’s so close, I could easily lean over and kiss him, the errant thought flits through her mind, just a fast one. Right in the corner of his mouth. In that little crease…
She flushes and mentally shakes the thought away. Not now! You just learned a new seal! “Soooooo..does that mean I get to try it out then?”
His grin widens and his eyes snap with genuine enthusiasm. “Absolutely, it does! You ready to play with fire, pretty girl?”
“Yes!” She grins right back at him, eagerness matching his.
“Alright, let’s do it, then,” he nods, and he scoots in closer. “Draw in the final bit, and let's see what happens, yeah? Grab that paper first. Always check to make sure ain’t anything anywhere near it, else you can wind up burning shit down you didn't want to.”
She does as he instructed, snatching his drawing out of the way and glancing around to ensure that nothing is close by, then leans over and carefully draws in the last tiny line. The glyph immediately bursts into flame, and she instinctively skitters back from it with a startled yell, colliding into him with another yelp and an elbow flung back into his thigh. He jerks upright reflexively with a hiss, scooping her up off his leg and steadying her back against his side.
“Oh, I-I’m—I’m sorry,” she stammers out, completely mortified by her reaction, and absolutely not hating the feel of being snatched in snug to his ribs. “I, um, I’m not scared of it, I just didn’t expect the fire to blow up out of the seal like that.”
“Nah, you’re fine,” he grunts, his hand slipping from her waist to the floor just behind her as he shifts himself in a more comfortable position. “Should’ve warned you about that.” He pauses, then swings her a wide, easy grin, and between that and the fact that he’s so close, she feels like her heart is about to explode. “But hey, it worked, yeah? Look,” he encourages, nodding back out to where she’d made the seal.
She follows his gaze and her eyes widen at the miniature bonfire blazing up from the floor in front of them. Then she flings him a bright smile of her own. “Yeah, it did,” she declares proudly, then points at the fire, extremely pleased with herself, “I did that! I learned another seal, Sahed, I’m learning magic!”
“It’s fun, ain’t it?” He laughs, everything about him as warm and wide open as the grin slapped all over his handsome face, and she decides in that moment he’s never been more beautiful to her since the day they’d met months ago.
She can’t tear her eyes off of him. Not right now, not in however many decades she might be stuck with him, and she damn well doesn’t want to. Not when he’s like this, the mask finally dropped, and the man he so ferociously guards behind it freely given over.
His eyes snag on hers and he stills, quietens, their shared excitement in the moment rapidly shifting another direction and sizzling up between them. She watches his eyes dip to her mouth, and her breath catches softly, snapping his gaze right back up to hers.
And then he leans in and kisses her.
He’s soft at first, all warm, chapped lips and light pressure. When she turns into him for more, his mouth hardens, opening over hers, and he licks over her lower lip before sliding a hand up over the back of her neck and into her hair, pulling her in and deepening the kiss.
She closes her eyes and lets herself fall into it. He tastes like tea and sweet spices, and smells even better, all warmth scented on smooth skin, and the light scratch of his chin on hers sends shivers clear down to her toes.
He’s her first kiss, and it’s absolutely stunning.
He gently breaks away, pulling back slowly, striking silver-shot eyes wide and a faint flush on his cheeks. He looks as gobsmacked as she feels.
She stares back at him, goosebumps rippling along her spine at the warmth of his hand at her nape and the light rub of his thumb behind her ear, already missing the feel of his mouth and wanting more of him so badly, she can’t hardly even stand herself.
She licks her lips and haltingly moves in toward him, eyes dipping to his lips, then flicking back up to to meet his stare, thinking he might want another kiss, yet unsure. After all, he’d initiated the first one, if he wanted another, he’d probably—
“Goddamn, I want you,” he huffs out, and then moves in fast, pulling her in closer for the next kiss.
This time, he isn’t soft, he isn’t slow, and it’s a mash of lips and an awkward clack of teeth as he drags her into his lap and her fingers curl into his hair. She doesn’t close her eyes, instead looks over his face, memorizing the thick lashes, the faint smattering of freckles over his nose (she hadn’t noticed those before), the sharp line of his cheekbones. Neither does she sink into his kiss, instead she matches him, just as unable to stop touching, hands grabbing over his shoulders, his back, and up his neck as he runs his along her spine, her hips, and over her backside. And this time, she gets his teeth in her lip, a lick under her jaw, and the warm rasp of his stubble along the line of her throat as he drags open kisses clear down to her shoulder.
For a second kiss, he’s absolutely mind-blowing.
He slows down, hungry kisses softening as he draws her in closer, rubbing his lips into the corner of her jaw. She shifts down more comfortably on him, resting her head on his shoulder with her nose in the side of his neck, closing her eyes at the warm kisses pressed to her forehead.
She can’t believe that just happened.
She hopes it happens again.
“Sahed?” She murmurs, moving in to kiss over his racing pulse.
“Hmm?”
Oh, I love the way his voice sounds and feels in his throat! She squeezes her eyes shut and tightens her hold around his neck, kissing that spot again.
“I…I want you, too,” she breathes against his skin, absolutely loving the way he shivers up under her lips, loving how he pulls her in tighter, wishing she could stay right where she is, and not have to leave him.