Author's Note: This took place after an in-game RP event. It’s set well after Apolloren’s first adventure: they trust each other in a “you’ve saved my life” way, and Valoren is comfortable letting his mask slip around Apollo. But this is before their relationship involves more than heavy flirting. Apollo and Valoren are standing out on one of those big rocks that are just off shore of the Shirogane housing ward beach.

"Tsk."

—

"Tsk? That's all you have to say?" Valoren sneers.

—

"Oh, don't bare your teeth at me, pup. Seems like they didn't work tonight."

—

"Aw, but it's so fun to bark at you!" Valoren cackles. Then he lets out a long-suffering sigh. "Mayhap not. But I'll get him yet. Just you wait."

Valoren Stormcrow smiles, the grin of a predator who knows its prey is all but done for.

—

"I admit, I was surprised to see you still standing out here. I'm disappointed on your behalf," Apollo says. He's really not. He looks smug as hell.

—

"Oh, fuck off," Valoren complains, swatting at Apollo's arm. "He'd only been gone for a moment.

—

"I am curious what disaster befell poor little Valoren. I thought you had him hooked."

—

"Oh, the mewling little thing didn't know he was interested in men. Seems I've awakened something in him," Valoren says flippantly. "Which will require time to properly open its eyes, of course. Then there's the matter of his friend, Tiva. That wretched bitch has her sights on him, and he's unwilling to crush her heart."

—

"Ah. I've dealt with that many a time. Gets the blood pumping, doesn't it?" Absentmindedly, he fiddles with Valoren's clothing. "You just have to take it slow with those types. Once I waited eight long months to snap my jaws around someone."

—

"Huh, I didn't take you for the type," Valoren hums. "Mister hard-to-get, a pursuit predator?" Valoren slides his hand down to meet Apollo's.

—

"That was a long time ago," he says, tracing his fingers lower still. "Although who knows? Old habits do die hard..." He gives Valoren a loaded look. "Sometimes the pursuit is better than the prize."

—

"That, we can agree on," Valoren grins, pushing Apollo backwards.

—

Apollo stumbles backwards exaggeratedly, faking a wounded look. "And after I came so valiantly to your rescue while you were licking your wounds," he says with a grin.

—

"Awww, you're right, such a noble knight thou art! Why, almost makes me wish to lick other things," he says slyly, eyes pointing directly to the subject of that sentence.

—

"With those fangs of yours? I should fear for my wellbeing." He leans in, staring intensely into Valoren's eyes. "And that's not how our little game is played anyway, is it now?"

—

"Maybe it's how I'm playing it," Valoren grins, flashing those sharp teeth. Then his vision suddenly begins swimming, a piercing headache stabbing behind his eyes. "Fuuu..." That's all he manages before he's suddenly elsewhere, looking through Apollo's mismatched eyes. He's sitting in front of a dark-haired auri woman, she's laughing, he's on top of her, and then he's gone. Now he's waltzing with a tall hyur with short, raven locks, their breaths intermingling as he dances just too close for comfort. And then he's elsewhere again, in front of a handsome elezen whose night-dark hair shines in the candlelight. He's laying on top of the Elezen, and the other man has a look of possessive adoration on his face. .....and then Valoren is back in his own body, and he's falling forwards, knees buckling, tumbling into and over Apollo.

—

This time, he's not prepared to stumble backwards, and only barely prevents both of them from toppling backwards to their doom by pushing back against Valoren's weight. "Valoren?" he asks, all playfulness melting away in favor of concern.

—

"I- argh," Valoren groans, clutching his aching head. "Stupid fucking echo," he mutters. Then he looks up at Apollo, an unreadable look in his eyes. "You have a type, don't you, goldilocks?"

—

For once, Apollo looks truly caught off guard. "What brought this on?" he asks, confused. It takes a moment for him to catch up, realization dawning on him. "What did you see?"

—

"You, dumbass. With an endless parade of dark-haired lovers." Valoren snips. "I see you weren't joking about your earlier days of chasing people." So what if Val is a little sore about that. And so what if he felt compelled to take it out on Apollo. "That Elezen seemed to have caught you in return though, eh?"

—

Apollo narrows his eyes in a rare display of bad temper. "That godsdamned Echo," he grits, clearly annoyed. He steps closer to Valoren, perhaps a little too close considering the precariousness of the rock they're both standing on. "You're nosing around a dangerous rabbithole."

The distraction is a mistake, though, because his foot slips on the slippery rock, causing him to lose his balance. "Shit," is all he manages to snap out before he falls backwards and tumbles into the water, taking Valoren with him. The ice-cold water snaps him back to his senses, tugging Valoren along with him as he hauls himself onto shore.

—

Valoren now wishes he had learned to swim as he is dragged onto the sand like a half-drowned kitten. He splutters up seawater and Ishgardian profanities. Then he rolls onto his back and fixes Apollo with a glower.

“Youuuuuu bastard!” he declares. “Look what you’ve done now! Do you have any idea what salt water will do to hair this fine? I don’t keep it this soft and silky without effort!” He coughs again. “You owe me for that.”

—

Apollo watches him flounder around with amusement, more than relieved that the subject has changed. “You deserved that, I’m afraid,” he preens. He tugs off his shirt in an attempt to wring out some of the water. “That being said, however can I make it up to you, your highness?”

—

Valoren takes a moment to ponder his reparations. And maybe admire the view. What, a guy can look. He folds his arms, still lying on his back.

“I need dry clothes and a place to stay for the night. Take me back to your place,” demands the princess. “I am NOT bunking with Datha again tonight. He’ll undoubtedly pry out the details of my incident with his partner, and I’d rather my ass not be handed to me on a silver platter, thank you very much. So your place it is.”

—

“My, you’ve been busy getting yourself into trouble today,” Apollo muses. “As you wish, majesty.” He offers Valoren a hand to get up.

When the two arrive at the house, Apollo beelines for the linen closet. We’ve got the whole place to ourselves,” he calls, tossing Valoren a towel. “So you can be as much of a brat as you want.”

—

“And glory be to the Twelve for that!” Valoren praises, immediately stripping off his soaked costume. He wraps himself in the towel to retain some semblance of modesty - and body heat - and trails after Apollo.

“I will, of course, require clothes,” Valoren says imperiously. “Lest I catch my death of cold.” And maybe he wants to wear something of Apollo’s. That possibly smells like him. Perhaps.

—

“We can’t have that. Then I’d have an ill little brat to take care of on my hands.” Apollo disappears briefly before reappearing with new clothes on and something cozy for Valoren. “They’ll be too big on you, but I’m afraid beggars can’t be choosy.”

He meanders into the kitchen. “That being said, something to drink? Something hot. And non-caffeinated for you.”

—

Valoren wriggles into the too-large sweater like a cat into a laundry basket. It does, in fact, smell like Apollo, all citrusy and fresh and spring-like. He smirks.

As the sweater is long enough to cover his ass, Valoren loses the towel. He leaves it unceremoniously on the floor and scampers after Apollo again. Coming up behind the Viera, Valoren wraps his arms around him and rests his chin on Apollo’s shoulder, smug as anything.

“Pleeeease tell me you mean something alcoholic,” he purrs. “If it’s not caffeinated or alcoholic, then what precisely is the point?”

—

“The point is to put an end to the series of shenanigans you’ve gotten up to today,” Apollo says dryly. “I don’t think alcohol is going to help with that.” In spite of himself, he can’t help but feel a shiver roll up his spine at Valoren’s closeness. “Or are you intending to end up passed out in someone else’s bed?”

—

"Well, duuuuh!" Valoren hums. "What, did you think I was going to sleep on the couch? Please, darling." Valoren kisses Apollo's neck with surprising tenderness, pressing up against his back. "But fine. I don't need to be inebriated to sleep with you." He pauses. "Literally, I mean. In the same bed. Again." Liar.

—

"You don't need to have another nightmare to have an excuse to cuddle, you know," Apollo says, putting some water on to boil. It's nice to have someone pressed up against him like this, he thinks absentmindedly. He missed this. "Tea or hot chocolate?"

—

Valoren sighs. "Tea, I suppose, if you're hellbent on depriving me of my functional beverages." He sways back and forth, still holding Apollo, and presses another kiss onto his shoulder. "And I do know. I plan to regardless. But those nightmares are frequent enough that I wouldn't be surprised should another one find me tonight." Valoren is quiet for a rare moment, his face resting against Apollo. "Though, I think you don't need to worry about me transforming," he murmurs.

—

Apollo leans his head back a little to gently rest on top of Valoren's. "You can wake me up for whatever you need," he says softly. His mind wanders back to Valoren's Echo vision, half the reason they ended up here in the first place. He shouldn't be reminiscing about the past so much, and yet here he is with another dark-haired elezen he's in an odd sort of relationship limbo in...old habits really do die hard.

—

"Something tells me I won't need to. It only claims me when I feel distraught, and with you, I.... don't." Valoren's heart lurches as he realizes this. "...with you, I feel safe." Then he buries his face against Apollo, breathing in deep.

A gentle, genuine smile warms his face, hidden in the folds of Apollo's clothes. He steps to Apollo's side, an arm still lingering around his waist, and he begins humming a particular tune.

"I know I stand in line until you think you have the time To spend an evening with me And if we go some place to dance, I know that there's a chance You won't be leaving with me..."

Valoren moves to the music as he sings, pulling Apollo with him.

—

Before he can overthink that particular idea, Apollo lets himself be pulled into a little dance as Valoren's voice fills his ears. He's heard this one, he thinks. A smile spreads over his face as he joins the song.

"Then afterwards we drop into a quiet little place And have a drink or two And then I go and spoil it all By saying somethin' stupid like..."

He sings the next line with a touch of hesitation, eyes shifting away from Valoren's face ever so briefly.

—

Valoren is joyfully lost in the moment. For once, he's simply doing what his heart wants. For once, he actually knows what his heart wants.

"And then I go and spoil it all By saying somethin' stupid like, "I love you"

His eyes crinkle with genuine affection as he sings the last three words, and he draws Apollo in close. Then he unwinds himself and spins around, beaming like the full moon.

—

Apollo laughs with delight at Valoren’s obvious joy, twirling Valoren around and catching him by the waist. “We make a good duet,” he says, eyes all but sparkling.

—

"We certainly do, love," Valoren agrees. He moves in close to Apollo again, looping his arms casually around the taller man's neck.

With a tilt of his head and an upward quirk of his lips, Valoren leans in. "Forgive my potentially stupid question, but... may I kiss you?"

—

Love? Apollo rests a hand on one of Valoren’s arms. “Stupid? Not at all,” he says, tilting his head a little. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

—

Valoren can't help but continue smiling as he brings his lips to meet Apollo's. He's gentle, almost cautious, the way he kisses, as if Apollo were something delicate and priceless, or a dream that would evaporate at the touch. Valoren weaves his fingers through the Viera's golden locks, pulling him in closer still.

—

His lips feel just the way Apollo thought they would—not that he had spent that much time thinking about it, of course. His hand moves to cup Valoren’s face, gently stroking his cheek with his thumb.

—

Valoren can’t remember the last time he actually enjoyed kissing someone. Yet here he is, melting into Apollo’s touch, heart feeling as though it might burst from the pure joy of it. He wonders if he only could pour enough love into this kiss, whether it might not have to end.

—

Apollo would have kissed him forever, if only he hadn’t run out of breath. He’s reluctant to pull away though, bumping his forehead against Valoren’s and basking in his closeness. “You just keep surprising me,” he murmurs.

—

Valoren returns for one last peck on the lips, his eyes still dreamily half-lidded. "And myself," he smiles shyly. Idly, he runs his fingers through Apollo's hair. "I suppose I have no way of knowing where this path may lead, but... I am glad to be walking it with you."

—

“Who ever knows what the future holds?” Apollo says. He tucks that one bit of hair that’s always bothered him behind Valoren’s ear. “I’ve been messing around and finding out my whole life.”

He shifts his stance, backing Valoren up against the counter a little with a mischievous smile. “You might get your way tonight after all, little brat.”

—

"Is that so?" Valoren hooks his finger under Apollo's turtleneck and tugs him in. He goes in as though for another kiss, but stops short, his breath cool against Apollo's lips. "We shall just have to see then, hmm?"

Then he slides out from between Apollo and the counter, a sly smirk on his face. Trailing his hand down Apollo's arm, he entwines his fingers with Apollo's, leading him gently away. "Ah, but it's getting late. Perhaps we ought to continue this conversation from your bedroom."

—

"You..." Apollo mutters, disgruntled. He finds himself unwilling to be apart from Valoren for even a moment, as silly as it is, and sweeps the smaller man up in his arms to carry him to bed. He plops Valoren down and doesn't hesitate to climb on top of him and pepper his neck with kisses.

—

Valoren giggles like a drunken fool as he’s kissed. Or love-drunk, really. As Apollo’s lips approach his face, Valoren grabs him and draws him into a deep, passionate kiss. He wraps his legs around Apollo’s waist, trapping him in close. Eventually he releases the Viera, grinning like an idiot.

—