The Mending of Time [M] [Goblin]

[Juno]

Just as quickly as the hug had started it seemed to be over just as fast, too fast for his liking. The teasing had him smiling in memory as he rose to his feet but the innkeeper knew he had a slight upper hand at possibly getting his way this time. "That was true, and I'm sure they might still be disappointed, but I run this place now so I have no one to scold me for skipping time at tending bar."

Aren did his best to keep contact with the elf, so fearful that he would run and leave him for good as he tried to hold onto his offered hand. "I promise I can take care of the rest later. It isn't every day I get to see you," he reminded him, the fact tugging painfully at his heart.

[GoblinFae]

"Oh," he replied quietly, not knowing what else to say. It was strange that time had passed without him in a way, that his once carefree friend now ran the family business instead of tried to escape working for it. Ocarern wondered with regret what had led to such a change. He would have liked to have seen it. That thought was quickly squashed though as he did not feel he deserved such things. Arensaenger was once a friend but Ocarern no longer had that right to call him such after everything that had transpired.

"They're well? Your parents?" the elf asked, grasping at things to say even as he opened his hand to let the other man go only to find Arensaenger was not letting go. His hand twitched slightly before closing loosely again. There was no use trying to shake him off. He had already found out the painful way that this particular human was stubborn and would stick to you like tar if he felt like it.

[Juno]

Aren was not willing to give up on the quiet elf. He knew him to be quite expressive when he wanted to be and he was certain that man was still there somewhere. "My parents? Yes, they're quite well. Just a little old and too tired to run this place when I'm right here. They deserved a rest and I needed to stay here so it just...worked out. They would love to see you again, I think, if you're feeling up to a visit," he added.

Feeling he could keep ahold of him well enough Aren stepped away cautiously, taking it slow to try and lead Ocarern back out of the storage room where they would be met with a number of stares from whispering patrons. "Come with me?" he asked gently, signaling to the stairs with a nod of his head.

[GoblinFae]

"I doubt that," the elf muttered as he was dragged back out into the main room. There Ocarern immediately froze under the heat of so many stares. His gaze dropped back down to his toes as his cheeks flamed and his ears drooped. He cursed his foolishness in not replacing his hood. Reflexively his hand clenched tightly down on Arensaenger's. "Everyone's staring," he whispered in a pleading voice to the other man as if to beg to be magicked away from the place of his shame and embarrassment.

[Juno]

Aren looked back at Ocarern with sympathy, the tavern owner's eyes growing stern upon the rude patrons as he glared at them over the elf's shoulder. "Don't worry, just follow me," he whispered to him, leading him away and up the stairs to the quieter rooms above the main hall. "Let's just sit down and talk, alright?" he urged him, leading his friend straight down to his personal quarters.

"And you can stay here until your room gets cleaned up. There's no reason for you to sleep with all the dust bunnies." Aren was purposefully firm about the offer, fully intending on keeping the elf in his sight and getting him to accept the Pexsa home as his own home once again.

[GoblinFae]

Ocarern followed easily, once more feeling like a puppet on a grand master's strong as he was led about by the hand to another man's room. He was lost to his more recent memories making him unable to revel in the happiness of the old days as he normally would have. It was Arensaenger's chatter though that brought him back sharply to the present. The elf shook his head tightly. "It doesn't need cleaning. It shouldn't even still exist. Why didn't you let someone else use it? What good is an empty room with no income or labor?"

[Juno]

"Doesn't need cleaning," Aren scoffed, shaking his head as he opened the door and led him in with a gentle squeeze to his hand. "It's yours. It always has been. I insisted it should be kept for you and... Well, once I assumed responsibility here that was easy enough to enforce," he explained, moving to sit down with his dear friend. "So I will have it cleaned. You have a place to call your own here, I was never going to take that away. It's always been yours, Ocarern. Being yours is reason enough to not repurpose it."

[GoblinFae]

"It's not mine, Aren," he sighed shaking his head again. "It never was. And I can't pay for it even if I wanted to. I don't-," Ocarern fumbled for words as he made indistinct motions with his hands if he could explain physically instead of verbally. "I'm not Ocarern anymore," he tried instead as if that would explain everything for him instead of being as vague and unclear as it was. "I don't have any money, Aren. I can't do that to you...steal. I just can't." He bowed his head in shame.

[Juno]

"Not Ocarern? What could you possibly mean by that?" he scoffed gently, shaking his head as he plopped down to sit. "I'm not asking you to pay for it at all, I want you to take it back. You're not stealing when something is being offered to you for free," he explained gently.

"Why are you so against it? Were you...planning on going somewhere else?" he guessed sadly.

[GoblinFae]

The elf shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Not Ocarern anymore," he repeated softly. "No plans, no plans. Didn't plan on coming here. But I'm here." He sighed and shook his head sadly. "Why are you doing all this, Aren? Why when I was so awful, when I left, when I almost didn't," Ocarern choked on his words before being able to mumble out the rest, "make it back."

[Juno]

"I told you already," he reminded him, his cheeks flushed as he avoided eye contact, embarrassed that he'd gotten so emotional in front of him after not seeing him for so long. He should have stayed composed, he shouldn't have burdened him that way. "I'm glad you're here, but if you'd rather not be here...I don't think I can force you to stay forever. I just ask that you try for a while, see how you like being here again?"

[GoblinFae]

"I said I'd stay," he responded indignantly. "A thief but not a liar. That much hasn't changed. Just don't feel bad elves should have special privileges," he added more quietly with heavily drooping ears. "Don't like taking advantage of you. Never should have before. I understand that now. I am sorry. I was cruel and greedy, Aren. I'm so sorry."

[Juno]

"Oh hush, you're not taking advantage of me," Aren grumbled. "Give me more credit than that, please. Do you think I'm incapable of...offering you any kindness anymore? Is that it? Do you think it's fake? No... I want to repair the damage I did," he explained, unable to hide the hurt from his face. "And whatever you say you will not convince me you're a 'bad elf' either."

[GoblinFae]

Ocarern looked at the other man with a completely pained and haunted expression. "I worry about the damage I have done. It was I who committed the wrongs here by being so terrible." He sniffled softly, surprised at how quick to tears he was again. "I-," he hung his head in shame. "I have been bad in the past both before I left and after. I don't know how to fix it...I didn't even think you'd care if I did..."

[Juno]

"You did nothing worse than what I did in casting you out," Aren pointed out, not seeing the elf's wrongs as all that bad anyway. "Of course I forgive you for all of that, it was so long ago." The human smiled sadly, praying his friend would stop blaming himself for all that happened between them. "None of it is worth hanging onto. I didn't ever want to lose you, I'm sorry things got so heated. That's entirely my fault and I wish I could take it back."

Aren reached cautiously towards the elf's face, pausing with his thumb hovering at his cheek as he stared at him, silently asking for permission to touch an area as sensitive as his face.

[GoblinFae]

The elf tilted his head away from the man's touch but only so that he could propel himself back into the human's arms. His own latched onto Arensaenger's shoulders, clinging to him fiercely as Ocarern buried his face into his friend's neck, breathing in his scent and finding some comfort in his warmth. The elf soaked in the warmth, having forgotten what it was like after being surrounded by such cold, hatred and cruelty while serving as a slave. "Miss my Aren," he declared firmly if a bit weakly. "Don't wanna give him back up."

[Juno]

Aren was shocked at the voluntary affection, as he saw it. He froze, allowing Ocarern a moment to realize what he'd done and correct it if he was uncomfortable, but he was happy when he did not and hugged him warmly in return with a hand rubbing at his shoulders. "Give me up? Well you certainly don't have to," he chuckled, bringing his hand up to cautiously touch the back of his friend's head to cradle him against himself. "I missed you, too, Oca," he reminded him, uncertain how receptive he might be even if he was being so openly affectionate. "But you're here now, don't you think that's a good thing?" he wondered.

[GoblinFae]

Ocarern clung so tightly to Arensaenger's tunic that his knuckles were white and his hands were numb with the tension. "I don't know," he bemoaned. "I just don't know anything anymore. Want it to be. But wants and wishies aren't good."

The elf pulled back, looking as pained as he felt. The man in front of him would have only a moment of peace though before the smaller male was suddenly throwing himself once more against him. Ocarern's lips crashed against the other's as he took what he so desperately craved. He needed this, needed care and comfort and above all else, love. Arensaenger had always been in his thoughts during all his suffering at the monster's hands and to now have the human so close it burned worse than any fire and cut more deeply than any of the blood mage's knives. Once a thief, always a thief and Ocarern was going to steal what he wanted even if it killed him. He just could not resist now after having believed he would never return or see his heart's desire ever again.

[Juno]

Aren had let his hand fall away easily enough as the elf had pulled away, not wishing to make him feel trapped or uncomfortable if it had been the cause of it. His words saddened the man, though. It was clear enough to him that there was something on his mind but he had no idea what with the way he'd been denying all attempts at drawing it out and hinting at how badly he felt about what had happened between them in the past.

That was all he had time to reflect upon, though, before he found himself wide-eyed with shock as the elf's lips met his own. Perhaps his confession had not been so poorly received after all, or at least he could hope so.

Aren grew flustered quite quickly once he realized it had not been a mistake, that Ocarern was not tearing away from him after a mere moment. He grew a bit panicked, never having thought such a moment would come to pass between them after all their time apart. He knew, too, though, that it was exactly what his heart was yearning for.

The man relaxed after a moment more, allowing himself to indulge in the sweetness of the lips that touched his own as a happy and quite relieved sigh escaped him. Never in all his life had he felt such jolting flips in his belly nor such a sudden weight and excitement in his pounding heart. It was a feeling he was certain he would always keep close in memory, but he mourned the thought of its end.

Aren did all he could to prolong their kiss, but he had a hunch the elf would be pulling away to hide and pretend it never happened at any moment. Even so, he pleaded with him silently, his lips hungry against him as he fought the urge of the tears of haunted happiness that threatened to spill.

[GoblinFae]

When at last Ocarern broke the kiss for air, he remained very still. His arms remained wrapped around the other man and he stood with his forehead resting against him. Without looking at the man he had just been kissing he shivered at the thought of what he had just done. "Still a bad elf," he muttered before coming to a decision as his eyes lifted to meet rust-colored orbs.

"Don't care anymore," he declared against those lips moments before he was once more kissing them. The kiss was still hungry and demanding but the elf allowed himself to slow it enough to enjoy it now that it seemed he would not be rejected and sent off. Ocarern could not dare to allow himself to dwell on what he was doing for fear that it would send him scampering back off in the darkness far away from the warmth and light that was the man in his arms. For now though he could enjoy his dark pleasure that had his heart crashing into his ribs and his hands scrambling to to hold, to grasp, to cling, to touch, to feel everything all at once. He had missed this man and he was not about to give him up so easily now that he had this chance of a lifetime.