Wingul | Fealty before duty

[longdau]

[Issuing orders is but one responsibility of managing a country. Then there is the written part, where records must be kept in order to ensure that mistakes are prevented, in addition to the petitions in need of royal approval (a task split between himself and his king, for he can hardly sign in Gaius' name without prior discussion). Sometimes all of this involves a great deal of crosschecking, as it so happens to be the case that afternoon, indicated by the papers spread atop the table, before which Wingul sits with his legs tucked under him.

He has been working since the early morning, and the work is nearly finished. More would come piling in afterward, but punctuality is absolutely essential to a working system. So he continues without break, staring down at the slip in front of him and soaking in the words imprinted there.

It's no difficult task. Wingul has always been better with words.]

Comments

cries

[dawnking]

[Gaius isn't particularly concerned with how much longer Wingul plans to work. He hadn't come to find him because he required him for anything. Rather he had chanced upon some free time and realized he hadn't seen this familiar dour face all day.

That said, he is somewhat put out by the fact that he doesn't even turn his head away from the papers. Not that he was going to complain. No, that would be too simple. Instead, after another short gap of silence, Gaius just flops to the side, his head landing squarely in Wingul's lap.

Yeah, try to ignore him now you space alien.]

[longdau]

[A soft thud, accompanied by a sudden weight on his lap.

Wingul pauses mid-word in his reading. He lays the paper down and lowers his head, though he knows what to expect: Gaius. In this position, he can hardly ignore his king. Nor does Wingul want to. But the country calls, and he was so close to putting aside that particular slip.]

My work is still unfinished, you know.

[Said more casually than before. He'll humor Gaius.]

[dawnking]

[Gaius glances upward at Wingul, calm as could be.]
Did I tell you to stop?

[There's a game afoot, now. Or maybe a test. Or maybe Gaius is just trying to get on his nerves. But this was of course to be expected. The king is rarely helpful when it comes to paperwork.]

[longdau]

[A game of testing Wingul's nerves, certainly. He shakes his head.]

Your head is in the way.

[As if to emphasize his point, he reaches for the paper with his other arm, which ends up resting on Gaius' chin. An arm rest. So conducive to his work.]

[dawnking]

[This is what you signed up for when you decided to pledge your loyalty to this idiot, sorry.]

Work around it.
[Because he's not moving. He's the king and he does what he wants, goddamnit.]

[longdau]

[This is not what he signed up for.



This is a bonus to what he signed up for.]

As you can plainly see, I am.

[After all, he has an arm on you, King. But he doesn't appear to mind. If Gaius isn't bothered about it, then he doesn't care.]

[dawnking]

[It is so what you signed up for you just didn't read the fine print.]

Don't complain, then. You're fine.
[Gaius shifts slightly, and then falls silent after a while. Clearly this is the best place to take a nap, why would you think different?]

[longdau]

[The one who didn't read the fine print is you.

But as His Highness commands.

His work continues in silence after that. As if the King hadn't laid his head on Wingul's lap, as if they hadn't just bantered so childishly seconds earlier. The sentiment is almost a routine. Wingul works and Gaius rests.

It's a long due respite, after so many hours of seeing the citizens of Auj Oule and attending to their needs, and one Wingul will not begrudge his king. Gaius has a gift with people. A rare gift.

So his work continues in silence.]

[dawnking]

[It's certainly not the sort of break Gaius would take around anyone else. Not that he particularly distrusted others, more just that he had appearances to keep up, and while the rest of the chimeriad werent exactly not privy to seeing Gaius's more relaxed side, Wingul was the only one who understood him inside and out.

THough that won't really help when a wayward kick shoves the table away as Gaius shifts in his sleep, sending half of the papers on it fluttering to the floor.]

[longdau]

[Fortunately, the table is shoved in a way that Wingul still gets a corner to himself without having to move (and, by extension, Gaius). He ignores the scattered papers for the time being, because the last thing to wrap up is the one already in his hands.

But when that's done and over with, he can't move without taking Gaius off his legs. An absurd conundrum.

Looking down at the head on his lap, he decides to go the rousing path:]

Gaius.

[dawnking]

[Light sleeper that he is, it doesn't take much to wake Gaius. So, he cracks an eye open, glancing up at Wingul. He's uncharacteristically relaxed, clearly unaware of the trouble he's going to be in imminently.]

Finished?
[He can't imagine any other reason Wingul would have for waking him up.]

[longdau]

Not quite.

[One hand gripping the work he's just finished, he uses the other to gesture around.]

These need to be reorganized. You should help.

[Translation: This is your fault.]

[dawnking]

[Gaius can't even come close to measuring up to Wingul's intelligence, but he's by no means stupid. It takes him a moment to get his bearings but he manages to work out what probably happened. He sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His hair is all mussed up, bits sticking up at odd angles not that Wingul would have any right to tease him for that anyway, far from his usual stately manner. Wingul had seen him at far worse, so he didn't pay it any mind.

Anyway, the real problem at hand is the task being asked of him. He never really had been able to work out how Wingul kept things organized, but he can at least try. He picks up a few papers that were sitting at his feet, brow furrowing.]

... These go together, don't they?

[longdau]

[Wingul's gathered a couple on his own side when Gaius calls. He turns, inspecting the papers in Gaius' hands. The majority appear to go together, he can tell that much from where he is, but at least one doesn't belong in that pile. Perhaps two. He should know; he worked on all of it.

So, casually:]

Most of them.

[Figure out what shouldn't be there.]

[dawnking]

[THAT DOESN'T.... HELP... Gaius scrutinizes the papers, trying to figure out which was wrong. Or which ones. He's getting the feeling that he's being punished, also.

This wasn't directly his fault, damnit. He tentatively pulls one of the papers from the rest, glancing over at Wingul to see if he's chose correctly.]

[longdau]

[In the time it takes Gaius to pull one, Wingul has gathered five and glanced back. Slowly, he nods.]

Correct. You're better at this than than I had thought.

[dawnking]

[Success!!! But wow you didn't have to rub it in that this isn't his strong point, jerk. Gaius puts the spare paper down on the table until he figures out where it goes

and smashes the rest in Wingul's face. EAT PAPER, YOU STUPID NERD!]

[longdau]

[Seven years ago, Wingul would have toppled backward from the impact. But no more. He withstands the initial force with muffled noise (what – - ), though perhaps that was for the worse; the papers must be wrinkled terribly against his face now. Some may need to be reworked.

This is all that races through his mind as Wingul raises a hand and slowly curls his fingers around Gaius' wrist, the one holding the papers, and clutches at it. Tugs it his way.

Because Wingul has papers, too, in that other hand.]

[dawnking]

[Oh it's on now, dont start a fight you can't finish, Wingul. Gaius doesn't really care that much at the moment how many paper he messes up. In the back of his head he knows they are probably important but right now not nearly as important as winning this dumb one-upsmanship.

So he just shoves the papers further into his face, forcefully, with the intention of pushing him over. And if he goes down, Gaius is going down with him, right on top of him. When Gaius removes his hand from Wingul's face, he'll see a somewhat triumphant look on Gaius's face.]

[longdau]

[Wingul was only about to shove his own stack of papers into Gaius' face (calculated aim, even if he couldn't see) when Gaius' shove became more forceful, sending him flat onto his back as he abandoned the papers to pull his free arm back and soften the fall. There's no way he would let such a measly fall knock the air out of him, though he shouldn't be surprised that Gaius has gone down with him.

When the hand finally leaves his face, Wingul scowls. Not really in his own face, but his eyes.]

All you've managed to achieve in this room is create more work.

[They are not going to talk about how he almost became a hypocrite.

However, it's anger demanded of his position. He can't say he's actually that upset. And so follows:]

What now?

[dawnking]

[Gaius shifts a bit to get a better position on top of Wingul, seeming completely unconcerned by the trouble he's caused his second-in-command.]

Is that so?
[He leans forward, bringing his face closer to Wingul's.]

Maybe I should inconvenience you a little more.
[In the loosest sense of the word of course. Gaius doesn't move any closer, but one hand reaches up to brush away the hair normally obscuring part of Wingul's face.]

[longdau]

[That is so.

But when Gaius makes the first definitive move, Wingul is no longer at a point where he can refuse. Or deny what is to come. It has been so long, with his duties as king having stayed Gaius' hands.

Though hands aside, what Wingul looks at is Gaius' eyes.]

And you decide to do this now, of all times.

[He isn't complaining.]

[dawnking]

We've both earned a break, haven't we?

[There's a bit of a shine in Gaius's eyes, more telling than the faint hint of a smile on his lips. It was not exactly as rare an expression as most people would have you believe, but certainly less fleeting in this instance than it so often was. His hand lingered on the other man's face for a moment before moving to grasp his chin, tilting his head up to meet his own. The kiss is brief, but firm. Gaius releases his grasp only to lean forward to whisper in his ear.]

U tuususundu yaio, Lin.

oh this got long

[longdau]

[Wingul does not protest against what Gaius instigates. They have earned a break, indeed, and this is perhaps the most heated type of respite he indulges in more than rarely. As ever, Gaius is in control, but he is all the more tender when it is just between themselves. There is none of that overly hardy attitude when they are away from prying eyes.

He inhales deeply upon hearing the foreign words slip past Gaius' lips. Gaius is far from mastering the language, but he is gifted regardless in that he has learned more than anyone else within miles of the citadel. Perhaps the entirety of Auj Oule, Rieze Maxia.

In his childhood, it had been a stifling language. He had used the coveted tongue of the elite, only to be ignored by those that shared in the privilege, because he had been too young. The experience is no longer as bitter to think upon now; now, now that everything to do with it is gone and a relic of the past.

Gaius, though, speaks Long Dau with respect and attentiveness that Wingul cannot disregard, even if he himself does not make an effort to use it in his regular state.

Wingul shifts underneath Gaius, attempting to slide his body a little ways up so that he can have a better look at Gaius' face. So that he is not swallowed by Gaius' larger form, because even in this position, Wingul cares to have a presence of his own. And to dispense a dry quip after a long pause.]

Is that all you had to say?

Re: oh this got long

[dawnking]

WOW BITCH WAY TO RUIN THE MOMENT CAN U STOP BEING SASSY FOR LIKE FIVE SECONDS?

[longdau]

shut up and kiss me again if you're not going to bake me a cake

[dawnking]

FDJSAKDHJFD I FORGOT ABOUT THIS THREAD IM SO SORRY also oh my god Jae

[longdau]

HAHA i realized the odd number and thought i'd lost an email but i saw your gem of a reply and decided that i would follow through with the stupid crack

[dawnking]

I was going to edit that comment when i went to go do a real reply but I think I will leave it now and just make a new reply separately

AND FINALLY

[dawnking]

[Gaius doesn't respond right away. Not because he's surprised at Wingul's response, he knows that even at times like this his default response is still usually snippy. But he pauses instead to shoot him a look, more out of habit than actual annoyance. Why do you have to make this so difficult every time?]

I'd think you'd know me well enough by now that I wouldn't have to say anything else. You're supposed to be the smart one here, you know.
[Gaius traced a line on Wingul's exposed skin as he spoke, down the side of his neck and along his collar bone, gently nudging the fabric of his shirt to the side, just enough to seem indecent.]