Work Text:
It was only two nights ago when Erik first met the Lightkeeper, Illuga. By chance, a couple Lightkeepers and Knights of Favonius ended up battling against the same massive horde of Wild Hunt. After their victory, the Knights invited the Lightkeepers back to Favonius Keep for an impromptu celebration.
From their short interaction during that night, Erik could tell Illuga was a pretty good guy. He was nice, cared a lot about his squad, and was great around people. That was the exact opposite of the authority he was used to as a member of the 5th company of the Knights of Favonius.
No, he had to deal with Vice Captain Lohen.
And, for some reason, after that night, it seemed like Illuga had to deal with him too.
It was a rarity for Lohen to fight alongside others, but he had been with the squad when they encountered the Wild Hunt, so for the rare occasion, he had to work in tandem with others. During that battle, Erik couldn’t help but notice Lohen staying surprisingly close to the Lightkeeper captain.
And that oddity became even more odd during their small celebration. Lohen barely joined the group for these kinds of things, preferring to head back out on his own to find more enemies to slaughter, or resting so that he could regain enough energy to go out and find more enemies to slaughter.
Lohen wasn’t a people person. He was charismatic in a strange way, able to inspire others to try to reach his level of skill and ambition. He could speak to a crowd or the company with ease, not that his words were kind or comforting, but he did so in a way that would entertain himself. He didn’t actively avoid people for the sole purpose of not wanting to be around people, but when he did find himself in the company of others, he didn’t touch.
The only person who’d ever gotten close enough to hug, or even high five the vice captain was Varka, and well, that was Varka. If you were making physical contact with Lohen, it was because he had you pinned to the ground with his hands around your throat. Erik shivered at that thought alone. That happened to Erik once, right before he was called “another useless punching bag.”
So why was Lohen sitting by the campfire, zero visible space between his body and Illuga’s, boasting a smile just as intense as those he wears into battle, but lacking any of the insanity it normally held?
---
The first time Illuga met Lohen was on the battlefield. That had been a…strange experience. The vice captain was incredibly skilled with a polearm, a cross bow, and his cryo aligned abilities. But he was also a little…what’s the best way to put it…insane.
He slashed and shot and stabbed through the Wild Hunt like it was all a game. Laughing as he taunted the monsters that couldn’t even hear him. It was incredible to watch how he fought, but it was also unnerving in ways he couldn’t explain.
That’s why it surprised him so much when Illuga found out just how soft and touchy he was when he stepped off the battlefield. He didn’t quite understand why he’d taken up so much of Lohen’s attention that night, but he wouldn’t say he was complaining about it. He actually rather enjoyed it.
Sitting next to him by the campfire was strangely comforting. He was surprised by how easily their conversations flowed. Lohen’s battle crazed eccentricities followed him into those conversations. Less caught off guard by his manner of speech, and how he talked about stabbing monsters like it was his favorite passtime, he ended up finding it somewhat endearing.
Illuga didn’t think he’d ever see combat as something fun in the way Lohen did, but he could also respect it in its own oddity. There was a freedom in the way he approached battle and enemies that Illuga was rather jealous of.
“Have you ever fought a slime bare handed? You have to try it sometime!”
“Back in Mondstadt, there was this one hillichurl camp I decimated in 3 minutes! I timed it.”
“We need to spar. Please say you’ll spar with me?”
Illuga couldn’t find it in himself to refuse.
Throughout the night, Lohen’s touches became a little more…intimate. At first he thought it was due to the alcohol, before he realized, despite being a Mondstadter, he hadn’t touched a drop of the stuff. The relatively close proximity turned into zero distance between them. Lohen's fingers dragged themselves up and down Illuga's leg. At one point, Illuga felt Lohen's head fall onto his shoulder.
Illuga found he didn't mind. The fluttering in his stomach told him it was more than indifference.
.
The next time they met was, surprisingly, only two days later. Due to particularly intense Wild Hunt outbreaks occurring more and more frequently, the Grand Master and the Starshyna decided to call a meeting to discuss the matter with both factions.
Of course, being a squad leader and vice captain, both Illuga and Lohen were present. They found themselves around the large map in the main tent of Favonius Keep. If Illuga chose to stand next to Lohen instead of any of the Lightkeepers, like he would have mere days ago, no one needed to know that.
And thankfully, Lohen didn’t seem to mind, giving Illuga a wide smile when he noticed his presence. He hoped he didn’t take up too much of the knight’s attention this time, however. It didn’t feel right to monopolize the man’s time. But, when he felt the distance between them shrink, their gloved fingers brushing against each other under the table, he decided it was ok to be selfish once in a while.
At some point during the meeting, Lohen grabbed Illuga’s hand, locking their fingers tightly together. When his thumb started to rub tiny circles into Illuga’s wrist, he could feel heat rising to his face. Illuga hoped he wasn’t visibly red.
“You still owe me that spar, you know?” Lohen’s hot breath wafted over Illuga’s ear as he breathed the words out in a low hiss.
Now his face was definitely red.
Illuga kicked Lohen’s foot lightly under the table. “We’re supposed to be paying attention.”
He could feel the other man’s light chuckle against his neck. He was suddenly feeling hot in more places than just his face.
The meeting finished quickly after that, though Illuga’s heart never stopped pounding. Just before they dispersed, Lohen whispered one more thing. “Meet me at the ruins behind the camp. I’m getting that spar from you today.”
For a moment, Illuga was frozen still in his spot, only able to watch as Lohen left the tent. He couldn’t help but notice him quickly sidestep the Grand Master’s attempt to pat him on the back.
That was odd. For someone so inherently touchy-feely, something like that seemed like the kind of thing he would appreciate.
He brushed it off, turning to speak to his father before leaving the tent. Before he could, however, another knight stopped to talk to him. He recognized him from two nights ago. One of Lohen’s men.
“Illuga, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Is there something you need…”
“Erik. Of the 5th Company.”
“Nice to meet you Erik. Anything I can help you with?”
“Um, actually, I wanted to, uh, warn you about something.”
“Oh?” That made Illuga curious. He had no idea what to expect. “About what?”
“Vice-Captain Lohen,” he said, a worried expression on his face. He looked back and forth as if to make sure no one was listening.
Illuga furrowed his eyebrows. “What about him?”
“You just seem to be getting awfully close to him, and I’m not so sure that’s going to turn out very well for you.”
Close? Well, yeah, he was getting pretty close, but it was Lohen who was pushing himself so far into Illuga’s space. That’s not something Illuga would’ve ever done after just meeting someone. “Oh, well, I don’t really mind, actually. But, I’ve got to go. He’s waiting for me so we can spar, and he seems a little impatient about it.”
As Illuga started to walk off, he heard Erik mumble under his breath. “That’s not going to end well.” Illuga decided to just ignore it, moving quickly to talk to his father, then to the place Lohen told him to go.
He smiled when he saw Lohen waiting, weapon already in his hand. Walking closer, Illuga opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Lohen pounced. Illuga was just barely fast enough to summon his spear to block the attack. Locking eyes with his opponent, Illuga noticed that the wide eyed grin he was sporting was the same as the one he saw when they first met. Pure, manic, bliss.
He wasn’t sure how long their clash lasted. It seemed to surprise both of them just how perfectly their abilities rivaled each other, matching each other blow for blow. His thought from the first time they met, that he’d never enjoy battle in the same way Lohen did, came to his mind as they fought. While that fact would never change, his spar with the knight was the most fun he’d ever had in combat. He didn’t want it to end. And if Lohen’s constant laughter and unsettlingly wide smiles were anything to go by, he didn’t want it to end either.
But their stamina couldn’t last forever, and after a seemingly endless bout, they both found themselves on the ground, splayed flat on their backs, their breaths loud and ragged.
“That was amazing.” Despite the fatigue and labored breathing, Lohen’s voice sounded no less thrilled than it did while they fought.
“Yeah, it really was.” Illuga smiled gently as he looked up, burning his eyes from the sunlight.
The lightkeeper yelped as a weight fell on top of him. Lohen rolled over, landing right on Illuga’s chest. He pushed up to his knees so they could look at each other, eyes meeting the others’, unwavering. “It was perfect.” Lohen brushed some of the hair out of Illuga’s face. “You are perfect.”
---
Lohen wanted to do anything but break the eye contact he held with the handsome man below him, but the movement in his peripheral vision reluctantly drew his gaze. Met with the sight of a small group of his incompetent subordinates bounding their way up the hill with determined expressions, he scowled.
Lohen hoped the angle of their faces meant that Illuga couldn’t see it. What were those good for nothing knights doing here anyways, especially looking like they were on some kind of mission.
“Lohen?” Illuga asked, sounding a little concerned.
Lohen plastered a smile back on his face, which wasn’t hard with the sound of Illuga’s voice and his presence so close, and looked back towards the object of his affections.
“It’s nothing, Birdie.”
“B-birdie?” Illuga blushed a red so dark it reminded him of blood. Beautiful.
Lohen brushed his thumb across Illuga’s jaw, bringing it down to his neck, and tracing the long scar down to his shoulder. He wondered how he got that. He wondered how many more were hiding beneath his many layers.
The sound of boots and clanking armor drew close. Lohen bit back a growl, instead, silently lifting his head. He met the gaze of the knight leading the group, Erik, if he remembered correctly. Not that it mattered. The only name that mattered at that moment was Illuga.
The look on Lohen’s face was downright murderous. ‘Scram,’ he mouthed slowly, the word unmistakable. The look alone would usually be more than enough to send an entire company of knights scrambling, but now, the group only shuttered and pressed forwards.
Lohen’s gaze darkened with every step they took. It was only the feeling of Illuga’s fingers brushing against his skin that stopped him from doing something he’d probably regret. It would feel good though. Especially with the way he noticed some of their eyes shifting to Illuga, looking at him like they had some reason to pity him.
“Vice-Captain Lohen!” Erik shouted. At the sound, Illuga’s hand retracted from his face, and he started to twist, trying to get out from under Lohen. Lohen wouldn’t let him.
He pressed his leg tighter together around Illuga’s knees and tightly grabbed his hands, trapping him in place. Illuga let out a confused squawk, but didn’t fight back. Then, two things happened at once.
“Please, don’t hurt him!”
Lohen kissed Illuga.
Lohen moved his hands off the lightkeeper’s, moving them to instead tangle into soft, silvery-blonde locks. Using his leverage, Lohen guided them both gently to a sitting position, Illuga in his lap. The other man kissed with as much passion as he fought. That is to say, too much for Lohen to handle.
His grip on the other man's hair tightened. Illuga pulled himself back for only a moment to gasp for air, before pressing their lips back together with just as much intensity, the short interruption by the knights completely forgotten. Good.
When Lohen needed to breathe, he separated them for slightly longer, taking a moment to look at Illuga. His eyes were glassy and hungry, taking in Lohen in the same way he was doing to Illuga. Lohen almost pressed back into the kiss when he noticed Illuga tongue swipe slowly over his bottom lip, but seeing the stares burning into them from behind Illuga, he instead pressed them into each other's shoulders.
He looked at the knights, completely unmoving from where they were watching the scene unfold. This time, when his expression darkened, looking at his own subordinates as if they were his prey, they did what they should've the first time. Ran.
Lohen smiled into Illuga's neck as he watched them leave. He'd need to give them all a stern talking to later, but he didn't want to think about them now.
Not when Illuga started peppering tiny kisses up the exposed sections of his neck. Lohen let out a long, contented sigh. "Oh, Birdie. You don't know the things you do to me."
Lohen's whole body shook when he felt Illuga's tongue press against his neck, dragging it up to his jaw, and across to his ear. "You're not very nice to them," Illuga whispered, Lohen’s body going rigid as he took in the words. "You're lucky that scowl of yours is hot."
Lohen thought he might be in love.
The sound that left Lohen's mouth was not meant for a public space. He found he didn't care. Instead, he let Illuga’s body guide his own as he was pushed backwards, their previous positions reversed. Then, their mouths crashed together again. But that time, they met with open mouths, and privacy.
Illuga was clearly inexperienced, but Lohen couldn’t care less, because this was Illuga and Illuga was kissing him. Kissing him with the intensity of a battle. And he had the intention of winning.
For once in his life, Lohen didn’t want to fight. He wanted to let Illuga destroy him. Devour him. But Lohen was never one to make things easy for other people, and that wasn’t about to change just because there was a pretty boy on top of him, trying to eat him alive. So, when Illuga started to pull back, his lungs in dire need of respite, Lohen didn’t let him.
Digging his fingers into the other man’s scalp, he pulled, keeping their lips locked in an unrelenting battle. Lohen needed to breathe too—at some point he would have to let go, but for the moment, Lohen reveled in the way Illuga squirmed. He reveled in the burn of his chest as the sound of muffled pleas of mercy died between their lips.
Then, pain. Whatever battle they’d been locked in…he’d just lost. And it was the best thing he ever could’ve asked for.
Lohen separated with a hiss. His own intake of breath louder than the other’s, transforming itself into a pleasured moan as the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.
Illuga bit him. Hard.
The space between them disappeared almost as quickly as it came. Illuga was back on him in a second, reinvigorated from the much needed air. They kissed and kissed, saliva mixing with blood, the taste both disgusting and enchanting.
Oh, Lohen was definitely in love.
Lohen couldn’t even guess how much time had passed until Illuga pulled back fully, putting his kiss swollen, blood stained lips in full view. The sight was ethereal in a way Lohen would’ve never been able to imagine. Illuga smiled with a cute, sheepish chuckle, as if he hadn’t just completely ruined Lohen while they were both fully clothed. Illuga slowly lowered himself down, resting his full weight onto Lohen’s chest, and burying his face into the knight’s neck.
For a moment, Illuga said nothing, only humming contentedly into the skin of Lohen’s neck. Drinking in the soft buzz, he matched the noise with his own.
“We should probably get up. Keeping your head pressed against the hard ground for so long has got to be painful.”
Lohen almost protested when the weight on his chest began to lessen, but Illuga was right, his head was hurting, and it wasn’t the good kind of pain. Not like the deep puncture in his lip that continued to sting even after all of the blood that flowed from it had been licked and swallowed. So, he only whined when Illuga stood, but moved to follow.
As soon as Lohen made it to his feet, he hooked his chin over Illuga's shoulder, wrapping his arms around his middle. "So cute how my little birdie cares so much about me," he mumbled, quiet and nearly incoherent.
"Ugh," Illuga sighed, though his petulance was clearly just for show. Lohen chuckled at how adorable that was. They stood in silence for a moment, basking in the closeness, the contact, the touch. Something that Lohen thought he hated.
It wasn't until he saw Illuga in battle, life on the line against the Wilde Hunt, passion in every strike一a strength and a need so similar to his own, but fueled by polar opposite motivations一that he realized he didn’t hate contact. He didn’t hate the proximity that everyone seemed to find such comfort in. What he despised wasn’t touch, it was touch from anyone who wasn’t Illuga.
“Cliffwatch Camp isn’t a far walk from here. I have private quarters there if you’d like to continue…this.” Illuga was clearly hesitant to ask. Not because he wasn’t sure if Lohen was going to accept. He’d be stupid to think Lohen wouldn’t accept, and his Illuga was not stupid. No, the wavering in his voice came from a place of self preservation, because Illuga knew that as soon as he posed the question, his fate was sealed.
"We should take the long way around, though. I'd rather not have all of the knights at Favonius Keep see us like this," Illuga added.
"Hmmmm, no. I think we should walk straight through.” Lohen’s voice dropped lower, his words whispered directly into Illuga’s ear. “What better way to show them all that you're mine.”