5. A Good Start #6
Aria's cool, unaffected mask tinted pink by his amorous thoughts—Noble could lift him just as easily as that table—but he pretended otherwise as he busied himself folding some socks and placing them into the chest of drawers near the window. “I suppose Morgan knows about our ruse, then. That I’m not actually your adame.”
“He’s too observant a type to be fooled by us anyway. Worry not. He’ll keep our secret.”
Aria didn’t know him well, but trusted Noble’s judgment on this.
Noble stepped back to look over the items brought into his home.
“See. Moving isn't too bad. You had me worried it would be a nightmare. This was a lovely brisk walk on a sunny autumn day,” he said.
He dropped onto Aria's bed, seated with his big legs spread apart, and he rolled out his bare shoulders, gone stiff from carrying everything.
He and Morgan both shucked their shirts halfway through the walk.
They reasoned they may as well walk around in their white undershirts when Noble's reputation was already at its lowest. None would care, even if he got recognized.
Especially none would care if they gazed upon his beautifully golden brown skin and the enormous thick band of muscles that made up each arm. Black hair accented every pulsing vein, and the sheen of sweat had him glowing exactly like the Sun God that he was.
Aria really couldn't blame himself for what came next. While he opted to wear a proper robe the whole walk over, he'd sweated through it, and desperately needed to cool down. Aria peeled the robe from himself, and said, “Where's the best place for me to do the washing? I'll start a pile.”
Noble looked up from the bedspread he'd been examining, froze, and blinked a few times like he didn't understand the question.
And perhaps he didn't. It was likely a service came in and out of his home to do the washing.
Or perhaps he'd been startled by the reveal of Aria's pale legs, and gauzy, silk-blend under shorts, and the matching cropped sleeveless top.
His damp visage, like that of a drowned colorless rat, could strike fear into many men.
He walked closer to Noble and said, “Noble?”
Noble tore his eyes away from Aria's thighs, blinking like he'd gazed into the sun itself.
Well, that was a little rude, Aria didn't say—he couldn't help that he didn't get out into sunlight often.
He was a bard and he worked nights. Noble, thankfully, opted to remain polite, and said, “Sorry.
I'm more tired than I thought. Did you ask something?”
“Nevermind. I'll ask Morgan later.” Aria placed his sweaty robe over the bedpost. He felt flush from trying—and failing—to not examine the wide berth of Noble's shoulders.
“I can help, though. If you're tired.” Yes, that's it.
That's why he was eyeing Noble like this.
It seemed plausible enough. “Would you like a massage?
I've a little bit of training. And I can sing a song—for Soothe. It'll help us both.”
Noble opened and closed his mouth a few times, fishing for words, before he said, “Really?”
“Of course.” Aria walked over to the other side of the bed and climbed on. He positioned himself on his knees behind Noble and said. “I'd say to relax, but the song'll do that for you.”
Noble shifted until he was seated most comfortably, and gave a nod for Aria to go ahead.
Aria hummed a slow tune—no words. They weren't needed.
His fingers connected with Noble's skin, and the heat of him was dialed up to a level Aria had not experienced before.
It bordered on painful, like the furnace inside Noble had been left on too long.
It wasn't Aria's fault he got confused. Noble was hot. Aria was too. And—
And—
He picked a gentle melody while he cast Soothe.
The feeling of the magic sank into them both.
Aria let himself obey his instincts to move from massaging Noble's shoulders.
He shifted from Noble's deltoids down his arms instead.
He couldn't help it—he wanted to touch the thick, hard shape of his biceps.
Noble was big for a human. Ellor wasn't a small man by any stretch, but Noble rivaled orcs in size, which meant Aria's hand barely closed halfway around his biceps, and that fact alone had his better senses locked behind a wall of unabashed want.
Noble, oblivious to what was happening quite literally behind his back, fell under the effects of Aria's song, head lolling to the side. Aria squeezed one muscle after the next between his hands, and continued to hum, determined to do a good job even if he was consumed by foolish thoughts.
But then, terribly and beautifully, Noble moaned. A soft, deep sound that Aria experienced through his hands and his chest pressed to Noble's back. The sound pulsed deep into his heart, into his soul, and he had to stop the massage before he heard that again.
Fortunately, Soothe left Aria buzzed and light, and thank Elys for small miracles, because—
Well, if Aria had touched Noble like this, and heard him make a sound like that, he would have an erection he could not hide in shorts this thin and white.
Mouth dry, body calm, Aria patted Noble's shoulderblades. “Better?”
“Much. You really ought to let me pay you for magic like that,” Noble said, his voice gravelly and soft.
Aria chuckled and sank down behind Noble.
As relaxed as he was, it felt perfectly natural for him to place his forehead against Noble's spine like this, and breathe in the salty, sweaty scent of him.
And Noble clearly agreed—he didn't move.
After a moment where they both silently caught their breath—
Aria made the mistake.
But it wasn't his fault. How else could he have interpreted all that happened in one day?
“You could take me to dinner,” he said. “I wouldn't say no to your invitation.” How bold, he thought.
The effects of Soothe kept him from shrinking away from it, though.
Because yes—he would be amenable to Noble courting him.
It was a shocking turn, and a stupid one, but Aria hadn't realized that yet.
“That's a good idea,” said Noble. He shifted, and Aria sat straight again while Noble stood up. He faced Aria perched in the middle of his new bed. “Let's go out tonight. To that new place that opened—the Timiere.”
Aria's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help his smile.
It nearly strained his cheeks. “Really?” He thought, even with Soothe, that there might have been some hesitation.
Noble hadn't dated a man before. Had, most likely, never taken one to bed.
But maybe he felt the things Aria did in this moment and—
“I can see if there are any ladies that catch my eye.
You can tell me if there's someone in particular in attendance that might help with your career.” Noble beamed, clearly enthused by something different—nearly opposite—from Aria's many-jumbled thoughts. “There’s no time like the present for us to get started. If I play the season correctly, I may wind up a duke and not just an earl again.”
Aria had trained his masks well enough that he managed to grab one before he fell apart right before Noble's eyes. He swallowed down the humiliation mounting in his chest. “That sounds great. What should I wear?”
“Maybe your bardic robe. People will know exactly what you do. Unless you feel it's inappropriate for a restaurant?”
“No,” Aria said, almost too quickly. He'd never wear a bardic robe on a date, but this wasn't a date. “I'm keen on the plan. Bardic robe—great.”
“Then I'll see you downstairs at six?” Noble checked his watch, and Aria tried not to look at the shape of his muscles as they flexed right before him. How cruel a taunt.
Aria replied, voice airy, “Six is fine.”
Noble walked out of the room and paused in the doorway. “Ah, Aria.” He looked back, over his shoulder.
Aria, face still schooled to a perfectly impassive image, said, “Yes?”
“I suppose this means we're becoming friends, aren't we?”
Aria donned a grin that he didn't really feel. “You still want to be my friend, hm?”
“I suppose I do.” Noble grinned, waved, and walked away.
When Noble's footsteps retreated to silence, and he was sure he was alone, Aria sank into a pillow and muffled a scream of embarrassment.
And then got up to bathe. He had to get ready for dinner with his new dear friend.