Room 322, Tuesday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

Anders had hoped for a clear day so he and Nathan could have one last picnic before the end of the year, but it was too cold and wet to be outside. (For him, anyhow. Probably not for Nathan.) He tried to make up for it by opening the windows as far as he could without letting rain in and unplugging everything electric on his side of the room.

The nice thing was the blasted carols had stopped, so his room was quiet.

He laid out an array of Mexican food -- probably more than they could eat, but he'd gotten overwhelmed by the menu and decided one of everything was the wisest course. And then he waited and tried to keep Lachlan out of the guacamole.

[OOC: For the boy, please.]

Comments

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Really?" More surprise but pleasant this time. Not shocked. "I make you feel like that?"

[not_every_mage]

"Maker, yes," Anders swore. "Like -- you think I'm better than I am and I want to live up to it. Does that make any sense?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan nodded.

"You are better," he reiterated firmly. "And everyone should be able to see that. To know that."

[not_every_mage]

Anders smiled even more bashfully. "We're getting sentimental," he said. "But thank you."

He twisted to sit next to Nathan,maneuvering around the food just to be closer.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Do you want to go back to talking about cheese?" Nathan joked, leaning his shoulders against Anders.

[not_every_mage]

"We could go back a little further and talk about your neck," Anders teased, walking his fingers up Nathan's nearer arm. "Or cheese. I like cheese."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"My neck?" It took Nathan a moment to realize what Anders was talking about and the warmth in his cheeks returned. "We...we can talk about that."

[not_every_mage]

Anders' grin got wider. Really, there was probably some sin in how much he enjoyed getting Nathan to blush. He'd have to ask the next chantry sister he saw about that. (Or not.)

"Is this good or bad?" he asked, walking the fingers up higher,over Nathan's shoulder and toward the nape of his neck. "Purely for science, of course."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"No, it's good," Nathan said hurriedly, nodding. "It's good. We should talk about my neck and -- and what your hands might feel like when they touch it."

[not_every_mage]

"What do they feel like?" Anders prompted, running them lightly over the shorter hairs on the back of Nathan's neck. "From this end they feel exactly like fingers. Your skin feels good, though."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Soft," he said, shivering a bit since that was a sensitive area. "A little ticklish."

[not_every_mage]

"I'll try not to make you laugh," Anders said, voice going lower and slower. "They say mage electricity can be the right kind of ticklish, too. Never tried it on anybody else."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Mage electricity?" Nathan asked, tilting his head forward and sighing.

[not_every_mage]

"Mmm, like --" He sent the faintest shock to his fingertips,energy pulsing through to Nathan's skin. "That. Did it hurt?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan jumped a little, feeling some goosebumps break out over his arms.

"No, it didn't hurt," he said quickly. "That felt...it made me want to shiver."

[not_every_mage]

"I always think it tickles a little," Anders said, through a little giggle of relief. "Shivering's close, yes."

He kept stroking at Nathan's neck, fingertips venturing north to the tips of his ears and south toward his shoulder blades. Every so often he sent along another little frisson of sparks.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I've got goosebumps," Nathan mumbled, head still tilted forward and eyes closed. "A lot of them. All up and down my arms."

[not_every_mage]

Anders eased up on the shocks -- goosebumps were good, but he didn't want to hurt Nathan and he wasn't sure how much more electricity that would take -- but leaned over to plant the softest kiss he could manage on Nathan's jaw below his ear. "I'm just happy."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Are you?" Nathan didn't really know what he felt but he knew pleasure was in there. That kiss made him shiver and he had to lean forward and put his food down or he'd drop it. "That's..."

Well, dissolving into a sigh was good, right?

[not_every_mage]

"Yes." Anders wasn't sure if he was answering the question or the sigh, probably both. He wrapped his arms around Nathan's waist and leaned in close.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Good," he murmured, letting himself lean against Anders when he got closer. "I'm glad you're happy. That you're feeling happy."

[not_every_mage]

"And knowing you're glad makes me happier," Anders murmured, closing his eyes and nuzzling a bit to inhale the salt of Nathan's skin and the sharper note of his soap. "It's like a circle."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"That feels good." Not exactly a great segue but Nathan couldn't really be asked to provide good segues when that was happening. He sighed again. "You're good at this."

[not_every_mage]

"It's fun," Anders said, letting his teeth just graze Nathan's neck as he spoke. It might not have been the most romantic answer, but he wasn't focusing particularly well at the moment either. "And I really like you."

He dimly wondered whether they should tidy up the food, but he wasn't too enthused about anything that involved moving away from Nathan. The dishes could wait.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I know you do," Nathan mumbled, shivering and not bothering to hide it. "I really like you too. I do. I promise."