[Day 16, Evening] Dinner for Three

[the_great_sage]

Murata hums absently as he lays out plates and cutlery for himself and Alarik at the small table in their room. He's hardly spoken to the blond in the past day or two; unusual considering they've been under the same roof and sharing the same bed. Either it is strange coincidence or his lover is avoiding him...and Murata stopped believing in

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[shinou_heika]

He has chosen not to give answer to the impudent suggestion that he has forgotten to eat, and his expression flickers to one of deeper annoyance when his stomach makes noise in response to the suggestion of food. There are, he must admit, several advantages to being clothed in flesh once more, but the irritations sometimes seem to eclipse them.

The short time he has been back in the castle has been enough to mostly refresh his faded memories, and he pays little attention to the corridors, and the flustered servants and guards he passes, as he walks. With narrowed eyes and stiff, heavy strides, he continues to puzzle over the problem of past Mazoku once again regaining their living state. A problem he must put aside at once upon reaching the room he shares with Edwyn, lest the canny sage discover his concerns.

It is easier than he expected to switch the topic of his thoughts once he has opened their door. His mouth, parted to greet his beloved, closes on the words and his lips thin. His fingers tighten on the doorknob, and rather than speaking he raises one eyebrow, letting the expression of expectation ask the question he wishes to have answer to.

[the_great_sage]

He is about to reply to Alford when he hears the door to the room click open. He turns, though he does not need to, in order to identify the form paused in silence at the threshold.

"Ah, what good timing!" He announces, merrily. Alarik looks unhappy, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to try this friendship thing again today. Well, it couldn't be helped now, and he was hardly going to loose his own good mood because the blond got up on the wrong side of bed this morning.

"Alarik, Alford stopped by, so I asked him to join us for dinner. I hope you don't mind, but I thought since you two didn't get off to the best start, that we could try again." He smiles charmingly at his lover. "Try to be nice, beloved, Alford is a friend and I'd like it to stay that way. I would have warned you, but you didn't respond to my invite..." The Sage's mental tone is slightly more terse; he's still not happy about the way Alarik treated the human last time, and wants this to be a pleasant evening.

"The maids should arrive with the food any minute now, so please, both of you take a seat." Gesturing at the table, he flops into a seat himself and waits for the other two to join him.

[shinou_heika]

The terse thought results in him fixing narrowed eyes on Edwyn's face. He is tired, the little sleep he has managed of late lending a more sour cast to an already dour mood. It has been difficult enough to hide his suspicions from Edwyn, and to maintain a pretense...

Or perhaps not. He flicks a shrewd glance toward the young man and gives the barest of nods. This human should serve quite well to keep Edwyn from raising any questions.

The smile that takes his lips is not particularly wide, but still enough an expression of pleasure to come as a surprise. His tone is light as he steps the rest of the way into the room, "Of course. The maids always serve far too much food for only the two of us."

Careful to keep up the polite fiction, he greets Alford with the same easy inflection, "I do hope the meal pleases you."

[_dsl]

She's shaking in her little boots.

Doria has all but forgotten the tray and cart nearby as her hand hovers over the doorknob. She wants to go in, serve lunch, and be on her way, but that's the SHINOU!! in there, and the thought of being in the Original King's presences, underneath those piercing blue eyes, just stops her cold.

She touches her fingertips to the knob and immediately yanks them back as if burned. No, no, she can't do it. She'll...she'll just go get one of the other maids. Someone a little braver, who's seen the Shinou before. She...

...had better stop stalling and get in there already, because the food is getting cold and His Majesty won't like cold food and oh dear, why has she been stalling so long?! How stupid!

The maid turns the knob and pushes the door open, dragging the cart behind her as she enters the room. She turns in around and finally gets a good look at all the diners present: His Majesty the Original King, of course; the Great Sage reincarnate, a cheerful fellow whom she's happy to serve; and that good-natured human that Lazania speaks of so often, Alford.

Doria turns the cart around and pushes it towards the table, setting the covered platters on the table before the dinner guests.

"Dinner is served," she says, bowing low so that she doesn't have to see any potentially angry faces, " and I'm so terribly, terribly sorry about the delay, masters." ^_^;;;;

[shinou_heika]

He is careful to keep any expression other than a hint of a smile off his face, and to avoid the piercing gaze of his beloved. It is easier while the maid is there. He can practically feel her nerves, and when he speaks to her he is sure to maintain an even, diplomatic calm.

"I have only just returned but a short time ago myself, so if you have been delayed, it seems perfectly on time to me." He nods, though doubts she looks up enough to see the gesture. There's no hint of the loathing he feels for the nervous fluttering as he turns his attention back to the table.

There. Now it seems more a play, and he is at ease with the role he has chosen for himself in this act. "It is a lovely feast, is it not, Edwyn?"

[the_great_sage]

Something is definitely very...off with Alarik. Murata nods and smiles pleasantly at the maid as she lays out the food, making comments about how wonderful it looks and smells. But his eyes are trained upon the Shinou. The man, obviosly sensing such scrutiny, avoids his gaze carefully. If Alarik was trying not to raise the Sage's suspicions he really was doing an awful job of it. The dramatic shift in mood, while welcome, sets off all sorts of alarm bells in his head.

"Yes, it appears to be very lovely." Murata replies absently to his lover's question.

He brushes against the man's mind in enquiry, running up against sheilds he is certain were not there two days ago. His cheer falters for a moment, a frown ghosting over his features before he remembers the presence of their guest, and restores the smile. Later...he'll ask Alarik about it later, when they are alone. Pulling back from the shields and clearing his thoughts, he smiles widely at the other two, then at the blonde maid.

"Sankyuu Doria-san!" He says warmly as the woman finishes serving the food and makes a speedy retreat. Inspecting the trays laid out in front of them, he begins filling his plate eagerly. "I'm starved! Itadakimasu!" He announces out of habit, shoving a generous helping of food into his mouth and ignoring the fact that neither of his companions have any idea what that means.

[shinou_heika]

For a minute, rather than eating himself, he just watches the other two. His focus, though, is less on them than on the consideration that Edwyn has certainly already caught on to his game. No matter how easily the Sage had once melted into the background of affairs, he had never missed a trick then and was unlikely to now.

As he thinks, he places food on his plate absently. At his first bite, he is surprised at the sudden strength of his appetite. He focuses only on eating, at first, until he realizes that the silence in the room seems to be growing strangely heavy. Recalling himself, he sets down his utensil and reaches to fill his cup.

"I trust you have both had a pleasant day?" He sips, expression blandly expectant.

[the_great_sage]

He is pleased to see the blond eating with some enthusiasm and content that he won't have to cajole the man into eating again for a little while after a feast like this. "Mmm, it wasn't bad." He mumbles out between mouthfuls. The food really was very delicious, he'll have to compliment the cooks later, or in the morning. They must be trying out some new spices, and he should let them know that whatever it was they were doing to the food, it was working.

Swallowing, he continues more audibly, "I had another lesson with Shibuya this morning...I mean, Yuuri-heika." He amended with an apologetic smile at the human, unsure if Alford would know what he meant by 'Shibuya'. "He's making good progress, despite not practicing much since our last class." He pauses, wriggling a little to resettle his uniform. Was it getting warmer in here, or was it just from eating the hot dinner?

"I also spoke to my Double and hoka von Walde-kyo about their trip to Dai Shimeron, it was quite...interesting." Another thing he'll have to talk to the evasive blond about later. Murata shelves such thoughts away with the man's suspicious behaviour, and returns to eating. As he does, he shifts in his chair again, feeling a faint itchiness creep under his skin. It is not very strong, but, as he rubs his free hand over a prickling spot on his abdomen, he realises it's that annoying, frustrating itchiness that never seems to be exactly where you scratch.

The heat is still there too, and he wonders for a moment if he's allergic to something in the food. If it doesn't go away in a few minutes, he'll worry about it...it's probably nothing. He stops eating for a moment to get a drink for himself and steers clear of the wine. Food allergy or not, wine isn't going to make the heat or itchyness any better. A jug of something that looks cool and fruity seems the safer option and he pours a glass.

"What about you, Alford?"

[shinou_heika]

He listens with half his attention, frowning at the glass held between his palms. He feels somehow flushed, though he's only had a few sips. He shakes his head, and makes a short, disdainful sound.

"Shibuya Yuuri would be better served to spend less time chasing his blond distraction and focusing on what is important."

His slight irritation is cut short at the mention of Dai Shimeron, and he looks up from his glass to level an intent stare at Edwyn. Though now is not the appropriate time to discuss it, he wishes to hear more of what occurred on this trip. "If the humans are..."

He does not realize he has muttered this last aloud until he hears Edwyn's voice over the words. "What about you, Alford?"

Recalling himself to the reasons discussion of Dai Shimeron is presently out of the question, he looks at their dinner guest. Strangely, he finds himself taking the greatest notice of the way the human's tongue flickers over his lips before he answers.

[the_great_sage]

He giggles at the comical description that can only be of Ulrike, then blinks as he considers that...giggling? Why is he giggling? He shakes his head and recaptures the thread of Alford's words to hear something about a person talking in beeps (huh?) and a mention of his Double. He nods absently along with the story and is surprised when the heat inside him flares sharply at the charming smile Alford gives him.

Swallowing against a suddenly dry throat, he takes a few more sips of his drink and turns his attention to Alarik, only to see that his lover's eyes are fixed on the human. He follows the gaze back and feels the heat already suffusing his body bloom across his cheeks in what must be a spectacular blush. Alford seems to have popped open his top button while Murata looked away and is now caressing the exposed skin.

"Is...is it getting hot in here?" He manages to get out, not waiting for a response before jumping quickly to his feet. He has to get away from this heat that is starting to feel suspiciously like arousal, before he does something he might regret. "Excuse me one moment, I feel a little unwell." He manages, before making a break for the bathroom. Cold water to splash on his face...that's what he needs.

[shinou_heika]

He is almost surprised to hear Edwyn's voice, and he turns his head quickly to the side to see his beloved rise, face flushed. Concern erases all thought of the human for the moment, and he reaches out to catch Edwyn as the Sage tries to dash past his chair.

Edwyn turns in his grasp, and he finds himself fascinated by how the blush on his lover's cheeks looks much the same as it does in those moments they are so connected as feel as though they share the same skin. The thought causes a sudden vision to flash through him, one he has no chance to even try and capture behind the shields that have closed his mind away.

Edwyn's hair--far longer than he wears it now--is plastered to the sides of his neck, tangled and sweat-damp. His cheeks are flushed below the intensity of his stare. His mouth is open, though his lower lip is bitten a dark, angry red, and the sound that spills over his tongue is a desperate wail.

It is a rare moment that they together in a place where there is no chance of being heard or seen. Reckless even so, and as Alarik curls his hand around the steel-soft length of his beloved's erection, he lets the voice wash over him. When slick thighs tighten over his hips, his own throat unlocks to add a violent, needy growl to the hot, heavy air.

His mouth is open, but the words he had intended to speak are lost. His hand slides down, and he pulls his lover's hips toward him, fingers holding tight. His other arm rises, and the tips of his fingers lightly play across the heated skin of Edwyn's cheek before sliding across the Sage's lower lip in a teasing caress.

[the_great_sage]

The memory slams into his mind almost as soon as he realises his escape has been blocked; and had he not already been halted, he is certain he would have stumbled spectacularly at it. It only takes seconds to play through, but it leaves him breathless, and even hotter than before. It can only be arousal causing such heat, and sure enough, he can distantly feel the tell-tale tightening of his pants as his young body starts to react to the increased stimulus. He's too dazed to even wonder what possessed the blond to share such an erotic memory with him, now, of all times. All he can do is stare dumbly down at the handsome, slightly flushed face of his lover, unchanged in the thousands of years since that memory had been made.

As the memory finally fades from the repeat (and extension) that he's powerless to stop his brain providing, fingertips begin to trail gently across his cheek. Murata wonders that the digits don't catch fire on contact with the skin and he takes a breath to say so, jokingly. Before he is able, the soft pads slip down to taunt at his lower lip, and his mouth falls open; the air he'd been about to use slipping back out again as a warm sigh across Alarik's hand. His tongue flickers out over parted lips, to lap at first hesitantly, then, almost hungrily at the teasing fingers.

The sound of panting floats to his ears, and he realises with some surprise that it's his own erratic breathing causing it; the silence in the room, magnifying the sound beyond its usual volume. The apparent loudness of his breath reminds him suddenly, of the third occupant of the room. He tears his eyes from Alarik, to seek out the human sitting only a few steps away. Alford is observing the two of them avidly, and as Murata watches, Alford raises his own hand to lick away the spilt juices of the meal he is apparently still eating. The hero's slow attentions mirror the frantic molesting the Sage has just been administering on Alarik's fingers and an image of the three of them...moving tovether, tangled and sweaty and crying out their pleasure...flashes across his thoughts.

He can feel his arm stretching out towards Alford before he even knows what he's doing, his fingers twitching slightly as if preparing to grab for the still out-of-reach human. At the same time, he renews his efforts with Alarik's hand; pulling the digits into his mouth now, and sucking roughly and suggestively on them. But, he leaves his gaze focused on Alford, waiting to see how the man will react to his silent beckoning.