Delayed Gratification

[madaboutit]

Stable Visit
A Roll in the Hay

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[madaboutit]

The hours tick by. Lunch is brought and taken away again.

Finally, the heavy door of their shared chambers scrapes open and closed. Several seconds pass, and there's a rapping on the door in between the rooms.

"Vex'ahlia?" The volume suggests that his face is likely close to the wood.

"Are ya in?"

Sweeney has no reason to think that she isn't; he hadn't been notified that she was elsewhere; but she wasn't confined, either. And given the shit he'd just sat through, well...he wouldn't be surprised if someone 'forgot to mention it', if she'd gotten tired of waiting and wanted to stretch her legs elsewhere.

He didn't bother to change, given that they're likely to leave again, but his attire has clearly upgraded since last she saw him, and not just because there were missing buttons. The doublet is sleeved and embroidered; gold thread in a field of forest green.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

Vex had retired to her private quarters with Sweeney away. Mostly to keep Trinket from climbing into Sweeney's big bed and making himself a nest there, and because she does want Trinket. In her husband's absence, the bear is Vex's greatest comfort. Aelora stays with her, speaking a little in elvish, though she blushes occasionally, clearly trying to contain questions.

She doesn't know that she'd have any answers.

When Sweeney knocks, Vex climbs to her feet from where she had been sitting on the floor with Trinket, and opens the door for him.

"Is everything all right, darling?"

[madaboutit]

Sweeney isn't sure how to answer that, and even if he did, it would take a moment, given the distraction of the bear in her room. Does he know that Trinket's in there? Yes. Does he expect there to be a bear in a bedchamber? No.

He's working on it. Sweeney remains on his side of the threshold.

"The King shouldn't have need'a me until dinner." Which isn't a yes or no, but is, at least, some small comfort.

"Have ya...been a'right?" He isn't sure what he's trying to say; he just knows he's feeling guilty for things that were outside of his control.

"I didn't mean ta make ya wait so long."

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"The guard didn't let anything ill befall me," Vex assures him, though she is unsure herself. She studies his face, looking for clues about what might have passed while he was away.

"Do you want to sit down? We can go by the fire in your room if you'd like some privacy. You can tell me what business had you called away so urgently."

[madaboutit]

His eyes soften, though it isn't obvious if it's because she was kept safe, or that she doesn't seem cross that it took him so long to return. Sweeney even finds a small smile.

"I'd like that." His gaze flicks to the bear and back.

"If Trinket won't mind too much." There's a light lift of humor in his voice, but it may not entirely be a joke.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"Aelora will keep Trinket company." The answer is light, mostly joking. And teasing her maid, who has been known to sneak Trinket treats from her plate from time to time.

"And I will hear about your day. They tell me that's one of my wifely duties, to listen and to give you council."

[madaboutit]

"Oh, is it?" His dimples peek as he offers her his hand, though clearly, she doesn't need to be guided. Sweeney's just looking for the connection.

"Is it one'a the husbandly duties, as well? Listenin' 'bout yer day?" He's teasing, but he also welcomes the distraction, if she's willing to indulge him, and it leaves a bit of a lift on the back end of the question.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"Of course. I expect nothing less, if I have anything interesting to tell. Unfortunately, you were here for the interesting part of my day. Otherwise, I would just be letting you know we had rabbit pie for lunch." Waiting for him has not been terribly interesting. "I also won at cards. So there is that."

Vex settles her hand on Sweeney's and lets herself be led back into his room, the door closing behind them.

Once they're alone, she lets her voice drop to a whisper, blushing as she informs him: "I didn't take another bath, so you've been dripping down my thigh all day."

[madaboutit]

Part of him is glad that she doesn't find offense in the suggestion that he'd like to hear about the life she lives when they aren't together; it seems like something that could easily be read as teasing or trivializing.

Once the door latches, Sweeney begins to turn, lips parted to make some light-hearted note about cards, but then she makes her confession, and he's stuck dumb as his ears go bright red. It takes him a second more to blink and snap free of his surprise, but that doesn't mean he knows what to say. That's made apparent by his false start.

"I, uh--" His voice falls to match her whisper.

"Is...is it unpleasant?"

Truth be told, he would have assumed she'd bathe, but perhaps there was something that prevented it, like a custom aimed at conception or the like.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"It's not a feeling I'm accustomed to," she admits, though she imagines that much was obvious. Still, it's really the only way she can describe it. New, strange, but. "It's a reminder of having you inside of me."

That is not unpleasant.

"Do you prefer I not mention it?"

She flicks a glance toward the color in his ears.

[madaboutit]

Feeling a bit called out, the blush spreads to his cheeks, and his gazes dips as he shakes his head. Sweeney's hasty to dispel the notion.

"Oh--oh, no. It's not that." Okay, so once he starts, he might tip his hand a little too much about how Not A Problem it is.

"I'm just...it's not somethin' I'm accustomed to, either." His laugh is short, looking to loosen any lingering awkwardness. Sweeney peeks back up to her.

"If havin' that sorta reminder is pleasin', I--I'd like ta hear such on yer tongue, whene'er ya wish me ta know what's on her mind."

Please. Please tell him. Eager and often.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

It was an experiment, but one which Vex would consider a success. She flushes a little herself. This kind of... words of love... it's all very new territory, but she thinks she's finding her place in it.

"Now, husband. Tell me of your day."

[madaboutit]

It's hard to tell if the matter is well-received, but it certainly seems settled, for the moment, and he's not going to dwell. He continues towards the hearth, and gestures that she might sit while he breathes fresh life into the coals. Sweeney doesn't look back when he starts.

"My brother wished to know about how you were..." What's a good way to put it?

"He wanted ta make sure that ya were bein' properly tended. That ya weren't left wantin'." The King isn't always the most subtle of creatures, when he looks to make a point. Especially in the face of the evidence of the answer piling up in the hall, outside the study's door.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

It's clear from Vex's expression she doesn't entirely understand. If the king were concerned with her, surely he wouldn't summon her new husband away for hours. What's more, she'd never gotten the impression the king cared much for her, beyond as a seal on a rather lucrative treaty and trade agreements besides.

Then the idea begins to dawn on her and her confusion turns into concern.

And embarrassment.

"He heard about the map room?"

[madaboutit]

"We didn't discuss it, in specific."

There's no hesitation in answering, but it leaves things open-ended. Of course, his brother had been told; probably before Sweeney had even gotten his prick inside her; but the topic had not been so brazenly placed on the table, so to speak. He swallows before he peeks back over his shoulder.

"I think, perhaps, he is concerned that the substitution might not be acceptable." Which, to the King's credit, is a valid worry.

"That I will be found lackin', in the eyes'a yer People."

[whatsinfrontofyou]

It seems a bit late to worry about that. Vex isn't especially troubled by Sweeney, or even the substitution, but it was a move that highlighted to degree to which she was a pawn on the board for the king and her father both.

"And did you assure him you were a..." she stumbles as she looks for the right word. "Dutiful husband?"

[madaboutit]

Late, yes. Too late? Well, there's often wiggle room, especially when one side has already altered the agreed-upon terms.

Her question is a natural follow up, but it still makes him feel a little awkward. It leaves his lips parted for half a beat before he answers.

"I did." Not that it was actually in doubt. Sweeney pushes up and dusts his hands off, unnecessarily. Then he crosses to stand before her with one presented, palm up, for the taking.

"An' that we are both committed ta our obligation." No matter how many times it takes to get his seed to take root.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

She takes Sweeney's hand, accepting the offer and holding it in part to soften her confusion and hopefully mitigate any insult when she responds.

"So why would he worry? Surely the marriage has been consummated enough to suit anyone's tastes." It's been less than a day since they were allowed to leave the wedding feast.

[madaboutit]

Sweeney's not insulted. The topic is unnecessary, and there's no obvious cause to be concerned. It was simply something they'd discussed, and she'd inquired about the matters they'd spoken on.

"I..." Hm. How can he say it without saying Too Much?

"I don't think he's worried." His brother hadn't explicitly said that he was. Sweeney tries to nudge the discussion in a different direction.

"He did express his regret at not havin' the opportunity ta speak with you last night." He presses his lips.

"He looks forward ta rectifyin' that matter tonight." Sweeney doesn't want her to be caught off-guard, at the very least.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"That is very polite of him."

Vex isn't sure she wants to talk to him, but she's not hostile to the idea. It's surely also part of her duty here, and she intends to do her duty, and well. Sweeney's brother will be a feature of her life now.

She won't sour it.

But there is the sense she doesn't trust his concern.

"Of course, I'd like to be on good terms with him too."

[madaboutit]

Vex's wariness isn't unfounded. Though he wouldn't admit it, Sweeney shares it, at least, in part. But he doesn't want her to feel she's in danger of being out-maneuvered, at dinner. He drops to one knee, to get them on more equal level, so she can see the tenderness in his expression.

"I got no reason ta think he wants things otherwise," he answers, his voice low as he aims for privacy.

"Good terms benefit all'a us." Sweeney brings her hand up so he can brush his lips over her knuckles.

"I s'spect he just wants ta get a better feel fer you, beyond the opulence of yer gown." The King is well-aware of what her body is worth; he just needs to understand her mind.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"And if he finds me wanting, other than my gown?" Vex asks. She doesn't intend for it to come out insecure. It's not as though she has doubts in her own intelligence or talent. On the other hand, she knows there are men who put very little value on a woman's intelligence.

It's very possible that he'll be disappointed that she doesn't seem to know her place.

[madaboutit]

His lips thin, but only for a moment.

"Then we will work together ta prove him wrong." Sweeney's commitment is a rock on which the words stand. There's no question that he sees her as his partner; they sink or swim together.

"A'right?"

[whatsinfrontofyou]

Vex strokes Sweeney's knuckles with her thumb, her hand small in his, but firm.

She doesn't intend to back down either.

"How could I say no to that?"

[madaboutit]

He's grateful that she doesn't seem to doubt him. Sweeney feels like they've made a hell of a lot of progress since yesterday, in both directions. Her question is met with a playful chuckle and roll of his eyes.

"Well...I've heard a rumor that ya can be quite stubborn, when ya set yer mind to it..."