Chapter Twenty-Three

It was another month before Orion crossed over the border between Scythe and Faast, giving him his first view of Vincent's hometown. A month of what felt like endless travel. Unfortunately the slow speed was because of Orion, so it wasn't as though he could grumble about it.

Even traveling by carriage required him to have a break between each full day of traveling and that was without the stops they had to make first to Carntan, because Olivia insisted she needed to confirm he was still alive, and then to the Monce royal court to drop off Mortrin. By the time they'd reached there, Mortrin told Orion he could ride for an hour every day, but no more. Apparently the ache in his back and the shaky feeling in his legs after he'd been standing for too long would pass, but he couldn't give Orion a definitive timeline for when that might happen. "It'll just get easier," he said when Orion tried to push him on it.

There were no events planned. Orion knew that Olivia wouldn't host one for him and Vincent after the last episode, but he'd worried about Monce. That was another city he'd never visited, but Crown Prince Serron greeted them warmly, inviting them to dine with him privately the night they stayed at the castle. He was extremely interested in the crystal mine and asked to be updated once Tyrion had crystals ready for export. He and Vincent laughed a lot over the tales Vincent told about his own work experiences, but Orion didn't feel excluded.

At Scythe it was the king and queen who invited them to dine with them, and that was another fun night. Vincent suffered through a lot of teasing about his previous behaviors, but Orion could tell that was all in good fun. The queen, a beautiful woman with bright red hair and a loud laugh, insisted that Orion get checked by their own head healer – a man who apparently knew Mortrin and approved of his methods.

He prescribed a potion for Orion to take on those nights when the shakes in his legs got too bad, but assured him it was simply an elixir of magically enhanced herbs that would help relax him. Orion had no clue what was in it, but that night was the first decent sleep he'd had since they'd been on the road.

"I am so looking forward to being able to sleep in the same bed for more than one night once we're home," Vincent said happily as the castle turrets came into view.

Orion, who'd been thinking along similar lines was surprised. "I thought you liked being out and about on your adventures."

"Don't tell anyone, but I think I'm getting old." Vincent laughed. "I do need to ask, before we get to the castle, will you mind if the assumption is made that you share a bed with me?"

"I thought that's what we had been doing." Orion didn't see the point in the question. "Every night, if we haven't been assigned a room together, you still seem to find your way into mine regardless. Why are you asking?"

"Phew, thank goodness. It's just that I got a message from my mother yesterday. She asked me about our sleeping arrangements a while ago after hearing about your injuries, and I told her we'd be happy to share my suite. But she reminded me in her most recent message that a gentleman should always have a space to call his own, separate from his spouse. I think she was worried I might snore too loudly, and she wants you to be comfortable."

"You do snore." Orion snorted. "I imagine I do as well. Has that bothered you? You've never mentioned it."

"You don't snore, you snuffle." Vincent burst out laughing again, probably because Orion was glaring at him. "You do. It's sweet. It's like you get a hair or a piece of dust on your nose while you're sleeping and you wrinkle it up and rub it on the pillow, or me if I'm closer. I love it."

"I do not snuffle, and I'm sure if I had a hair on my nose or something, it would be because you put it there." Orion shook his head. "Clearly we need to start working on another project, because you seem to spend too much time watching me sleep."

"I like to make sure you're still breathing." Vincent shrugged. "Anyhow, I'll inform my mother that we will need a larger study that we can use for planning and projecting, but I already have a suite of rooms with a reading nook and a sitting room, plus the bedroom, a bathroom, and a dressing room. I'm happy to share if you're comfortable with it."

"Can I ask your mother for my own bathroom?" It was Orion's turn to laugh at Vincent's shocked expression. "What? You asked and besides I like to bathe in private. It's a great time to think."

"My bathtub is big enough for both of us." Vincent still looked miffed, which made Orion laugh all the more. "I know you might not be ready for that side of things yet…"

Considering Vincent hadn't even seen him naked, Orion definitely wasn't ready for that side of things just yet.

"…but you will get more comfortable with me in time, won't you?"

"I'm getting more comfortable with you every day." Orion laid his hand on Vincent's shoulder. "I know what you're indirectly asking about, and I truly appreciate your patience on that side of things. It's not that I'm uncomfortable with you at all. I'd just dearly love to get through a whole day without my back hurting before we add more activities to our evenings. By the time we get to bed at night, I ache everywhere."

"I wouldn't be hurting your back if we were bathing together." Vincent pouted.

"Yes, well, I'll determine that for myself when I see your bathroom. Knowing you, if I was bathing alone in our shared bathroom, there would be a good chance you'd be outside the door, whining like a puppy to come in or panting like one."

"I'm not a dog." But Vincent laughed. It was becoming a running joke between them after Orion mentioned once he had the energy of a hunting hound. "Oh, we should get a dog. If we're not traveling as much anymore, we could get our own dog, and it could come with us when we're in town, or when we go on our travels. The men at the mine would love him. He could have his own bed, and a collar and…"

"Wait, wait, wait." Putting his hand over Vincent's mouth, Orion shook his head. "Can we just get settled into what will be a new home for me first? Please. You've been traveling for months. I've been traveling this past month. Before that we spent more than a month at the inn. I need to feel like I'm home. I want to unpack my trunk, see my books on a bookshelf, hang clothes in a closet instead of pulling them out of a bag. I've not even met your mother or seen the rooms we'll be living in yet, and you're talking about getting a dog." He moved his hand to see Vincent's smile.

"Too soon? You're a bit of a homebody, aren't you."

"It's not just me, it's John, too. He's got to find his place in a new castle. I know Morgan will help him, I'm thrilled they've become such good friends, but I want to see Morgan and John complain because you just drop your clothes all over the floor. I want to know that I'm going to be sitting at the same table having breakfast each morning. Yes, with you, and maybe even sharing a warm bath with you in an evening. Believe it or not, before you burst into my life, I used to love having a quiet but busy routine."

"Is there anything else you'd enjoy doing?"

Orion knew exactly what his husband was talking about. Vincent was not a subtle man. He'd often felt the result of Vincent's ‘interest' against his butt in the morning. It was promising he was slowly starting to feel similar feelings of interest in the necessary physical areas in the mornings as well, and hoped they could explore their relationship further in the future. But for now…

"Yes, I want to spend my evenings making out with you on a couch. I want us to sit together, reading books or arguing over them. I want to kiss you behind closed doors where I don't have to worry about a healer coming in and claiming I'm not ready for that …and he's right. I know I'm not ready for that , yet. Even if the mind is willing, my body needs more time. But yes, I want to spend time in your arms, in private, in peace and quiet, exploring each other and just enjoying being with you." He eyed his husband sideways. "Of course, if that's too boring for you, I can always beat your butt at cards. I could do with the winnings. I'll probably need a new robe for the event your mother is planning."

"One time. One time you won," Vincent protested.

"That one time was the only time we played," Orion teased back. He leaned on his husband's shoulder. "Does that sound so horribly boring to you?"

"It sounds perfect to me. Welcome home."

The carriage clattered across the cobblestones of the Faast castle courtyard and came to a stop in front of the stone stairs leading up to the castle entrance. More stairs. Orion mentally groaned, but fixing a smile on his face, he waited until Vincent helped him out of the carriage. It was time to meet his mother-in-law.