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Paultin woke up warm.
His eyes still closed, he stretched, feeling the sheets against his bare skin, which was not altogether normal, but given the circumstances, felt great. He was a little sore, too, but in a good way. In a very good way.
He cracked his eyes open against the light streaming in from Evelyn’s windows, folding one arm across his belly and reaching the other out against the empty span of bed next to him, looking for her. She was still close, sitting on the edge of the bed, limned in light and giving him a perfect view of the curve of her spine, facing towards the sunrise. He just watched her, his heart so swollen he couldn’t speak.
“Morning,” he rasped after a long while. Evelyn shifted, then turned, the sunlight turning her wild mess of curly hair into a golden halo as she gave him a smile that was still somehow a little shy. He didn’t bother stopping the smile he felt growing in response. Evelyn slid back under the blankets, tucking herself against Paultin’s chest and throwing her leg over his thigh, curling as much around him as she could get. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead, his other hand following the curve of her waist and trailing down her hip.
“Morning,” she replied, and with one hand on his heart and one hand tangled in his hair, she kissed him, soft and sweet and without heat or urgency. Sliding from one kiss to the next was a great way to kill time, Paultin thought hazily, spreading his hand across her back and pressing her even closer. It was still plenty early. He had quite enjoyed mapping her scars with his fingertips and tongue the night before; it would be interesting to see what difference sunlight gleaming off her skin would make for the experience.
Evelyn’s soft little noises as Paultin moved from kissing her mouth to her neck and rolled her beneath him were a fiery wake up call, her fingertips skimming down his skin more energizing than anything he’d ever felt, and his hands were already starting to move to more interesting places when there was a knock at her door.
Paultin froze. So did Evelyn. They looked at each other, mixed confusion and panic, when there was a knock again. “Evelyn,” Diath said through the door, “can I get your help with something?”
Paultin frantically shook his head. Evelyn bit her lip, clearly conflicted, and shrugged, and Paultin sighed as quietly as he could and dove under the blankets, just in case. Evelyn cleared her throat a couple of times. “What—what with?”
“Can I come in?”
Paultin swore into the pillow he shoved over his face, though Evelyn reaching for his hand under the covers wasn’t bad. “I’m a little indecent, can it wait?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you weren’t all the way ready yet,” Diath said, and Paultin held his breath. “It’s fine, I’ll go get Paultin, he should get up anyway.”
“No, it’s fine, don’t go bothering him,” Evelyn said, her voice high and panicked, and Paultin could feel the suspicion radiating from Diath through the door. “I’ll—I’ll be there in a minute, just let me get dressed.”
“If you’re sure,” Diath said, “I’d really appreciate it. I’ll be in the taproom.” The sounds of Diath’s boots striding away faded, and Paultin threw off the blanket and pillow, breathing a heavy sigh.
“That was a little too close,” he said, and Evelyn nodded, flopping back down next to him. Paultin rolled onto his side, the mood now mostly ruined, but still taking a moment to enjoy the view he was lucky enough to have as she rolled her head to look at him apologetically. “I mean. Assuming we weren’t gonna tell anyone about this yet, I guess.”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Evelyn admitted, her voice soft. “I don’t like lying, even by omission, but I wouldn’t mind this just being for us for a little while.” Evelyn bit her lip again, her lashes shading down as she looked away from him. “Unless...I mean. I don’t want to assume...I don’t want to assume this...um...” she fidgeted with her fingers. Paultin waited. She finally looked him back in the face, her eyes big and hopeful, and his emotions completely melted into a pile of goo despite himself. “I don’t want to assume about any future times, or if...this was more than a one-time thing.”
Her voice was sad and her mouth was sad and Paultin had to process what she’d said for a moment before it clicked what she meant. He leaned over, cupping her cheek and bringing her face to his so he could kiss her again, his fingers tangling up in her hair, putting every ounce of the positive feelings he’d been basking in since last night into it and hoping she’d feel it.
“I don’t know about you,” he murmured when he pulled back, just enough to get the words out, “but I’m not really a one-night stand kind of guy, not with someone I love.” He kissed her, just because he could. “We’ll figure it out. But if you’re down to...if you’re down to try this thing out and see where it goes, I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Evelyn smiled against his lips and pushed him back into the pillows, kissing his mouth and then his cheeks. “I love you, too,” she said, and sat up, reaching for her boots. He watched her then flit around and pull on some clothes, not disappointed, exactly, but also not thinking very charitably about Diath and his supposed emergency. Before Evelyn went to the door, she floated back to the bed and kissed Paultin one last time, her hands gentle on the sides of his face.
“I’ll leave it up to you if we start telling people or not,” she whispered. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“I’ll get back to you,” he whispered back, and stole one more quick kiss. “Later.”
She smiled, and then was gone, closing her door behind her and calling for Diath. Paultin scrubbed his hands over his face. Getting out of bed felt like such a hassle. His stuff was strewn everywhere around the room right now. He sighed. He was so out of practice with sneaking out of other people’s rooms. Maybe he didn’t even want to try.
Welp. Problem for future Paultin. He rolled over and closed his eyes, fully intending on going back to sleep. Right now there was no other place on Toril he wanted to be more than here, with Evelyn’s scent all around him and sunlight making everything warm. His last image before drifting off was of the necklace he’d tossed onto one of the bedside tables, with one of Simon’s gears and Evelyn’s ring strung on it. He smiled. Everything felt like it was right where it was supposed to be, for once.
Finally.