Moral Support

[Pearce Lockheed]

While it had been a little awkward at first, Pearce had gotten very used to sleeping with Zander. It was strange initially, having company most nights. But he quickly got used to it to the point where it was more comforting than not to have Zander with him.

He had been snuggled in bed with the young man, reading him some sort of foreign poetry. Study of Falling Water, read the cover on the night stand. Pearce had fallen asleep part way through the last poem and was quite content to snore stretched out on his back and dreaming about autumn. He was following a fox through grass and between rocks. The glow of fireflies against the purple and pink morning sky tempting him further.

Pearce had promised to accompany Zander to the castle in the morning, to watch him train. He very much wanted and intended to be there. But he was also a heavy sleeper.

Zander Brogthamon

[Zander Brogthamon]

While the boy still had nightmares he'd found that sleeping next to Pearce made things easier. Even if he jolted up in a cold sweat most mornings there hadn't been much sign of night terrors. Still, he wasn't one that could just fall back asleep. Unlike a certain noble. Instead he climbed out of bed, glad Pearce was a much heavier sleeper than he was, and went for a jog before the sun was up.

As the first sign of light started breaking over the horizon and the sky turned from black to light purple Zander ran back to check on his sister. Seeing her sleeping so soundly always put his mind at ease. He kissed her on the forehead before going back to the manor and making his way back to Pearces room. "Pearce..." He called as he quietly shut the door behind him.

Zander sat on the edge of the bed with a grin and placed his hand on Pearces chest. "Come on, handsome. It's time to wake up." Normally the redhead would just let the man sleep in and make his way to the training yard but Pearce had talked about coming to watch him train. When he didn't move the boy chuckled before climbing on top of the noble and peppering his face in kisses. "Wake up, sleepyhead or we're going to be late." No they wouldn't. Zander was normally the first person at the yard every morning but he also wanted to keep it that way.

[Pearce Lockheed]

After their first night together, the noble also intended to be there if Zander had night terrors. But unless there was screaming or he was elbowed really hard, he didn't usually wake up. Hopefully that meant Zander was sleeping better.

He didn't respond to his name and the only impact Zander's hand on his bare chest had was to easd the man's breathing from heavy snoring to just heavy breathing.

The boy's weight around his waist got a sleepy moan. The sky in his dream wasn't so soft anymore but a glaring pink, clouds silhouetted against the brightness. The kisses made him twitch and smile. Pearce blinked slowly, trying to wake himself up. He lifted a hand to the offending lips and tried to shield his face. "Zander..." he mumbled. Finally he got his eyes open and his hands settled on Zander's chest. "Morning," he yawned before closing his eyes again.

[Zander Brogthamon]

As Pearce lifted his hand to block the kisses Zander smiled and instead peppered his kisses along his palm and down to his wrist. With a chuckle he leaned back and dragged his hand through his hair. Hearing the nobles tired voice say his name was still enough to make butterflies flutter wildly in his stomach.

"Good morning." For a moment Zander couldn't help but just stare at Pearce with a smile. "Do you have any idea how good you look right now?" A rhetorical question more or less but it still he was finding it hard to want to leave the bed himself. Not impossible though, for the moment.

"Come on, we need to get moving." Reluctantly Zander moved from his spot on top of Pearce and went to place his bracelet on the night stand next to the choker Pearce had bought him at the market. After pulling on a loose white tunic that would just be taken off again once at the yard he turned back to Pearce.

[Pearce Lockheed]

The kisses on his hand earned a quiet laugh. He liked hearing Zander say his own name just as much. He was barely awake enough to understand the words at first but as he finally got them to make sense, he blushed.

He squirmed slightly. He liked being told he was handsome but it was still a little awkward. Thankfully Zander didn't seem to expect an answer. "...from your staring, very good looking," he mumbled anyway. He did remember he was supposed to be getting up for some reason and talking helped.

Zander encouraged him but didn't give him any clues. Pearce pulled himself up against the pillows, yawning again. He followed Zander's movements, the jewelry, the shirt. Right. He should get clothes for himself. There should be some set out in the front sitting room of the master suite. Pearce dressed himself, certainly, but he had help with setup.

When Zander looked at him, he smiled. "You look handsome." He pushed himself to the edge of the bed and stretched as he stood up. He glanced at the window at the barely purple sky. "Is it dawn yet?" He teased.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Watching Pearces mind try to work around why exactly he needed to be up so early was endearing. Almost endearing enough to make him laugh but he settled for a snicker. There was still some anxiety around leaving Briella home alone, even with the servants around but he knew she'd be alright for the time being. Heather had reassured Zander she'd keep an eye on the girl and made sure she was taken care of until one of the men got home.

At the question Zander grinned and rolled his eyes half heartedly. "Not at all, love. You're still dreaming." He teased before stepping out to grab the folded clothes that had been set out for Pearce before they'd gone to bed. Once they were both dressed and downstairs again he grabbed an apple to quickly munch on before they started making their way to the training yard.

[Pearce Lockheed]

Once he was standing and talking and pulling clothes on, be felt more like himself. Enough that his memory of the other day caught up with him. Watching Zander at the training yard. The noble hadn't realized how early the boy got up. Sure, they had been awake earlier the night Zander had that nightmare but...he had expected something else out of the normal time.

He decided it was a good thing he was a deep sleeper. He couldn't imagine if Zander woke him up early time he got up. And from the look of it, the boy had gone on a run already too. Madness. He blushed at the term of endearment Zander threw at him casually. He felt butterflies in his stomach.

"You know, sleep is good for you," he pointed out as they headed downstairs. "So is breakfast..." But he smiled and took an apple too. He was also handed a mug of tea by Heather. The woman raised a suggestive eyebrow at him.

"Good morning, Heather," he said pleasantly, taking a drink. It was the head servants idea (in league with the doctor) that he drink special tea in the morning and with his meals. It was some concoction of herbs he didn't entirely understand but was supposed to help him stay more relaxed and help his heart. "I promise I'll drink it," he said. And he meant it, even though it didn't taste all that great.

"Now, please."

He blushed and nodded and took another sip. He made a face and then finished it and handed the mug back with a small disgusted shudder. "Maybe we can add lemon tomorrow?" Or something to cover the taste.

Pearce smiled at Zander and then gave him a 'let's get going then' sort of gesture and a winning smile, more than prefering not to talk about it.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander hadn't forgotten about the scare from the last morning they'd woken up so early but he wasn't sure how to bring it up. He'd never had to as before if any of the men in his village had previous heart problems or if they needed to be on medication. The nurses usually took care of that. He was only there for emergency assistance. As Heather handed him the tea though the boy slowed and watched him carefully. He was aware of what the doctor had said, more or less.

"The quicker you drink it the quicker you get it over with." Now he just sounded like his mother. That thought was almost enough to make him laugh if it hadn't caused a pang of sadness in his heart. As they walked out he exchanged a look with Heather and sighed softly.

"Have you been feeling alright? Any chest pains?" Zander figured there was no use in beating around the bush. They had long enough time to at least have a small talk about it before arriving at the yard. "Can't have you falling over at the yard." He teased, trying to keep the conversation at least some what light so not to stress out Pearce so early in the morning.

[Pearce Lockheed]

Zander had asked him a little about the doctor. Pearce had answered him a little when pressed. Talking about it made him uncomfortable because he didn't really understand. But Zander seemed to so tried to share. He understood if he didn't take better care of himself, that might happen again. Or worse. Thinking about it wasn't pleasant.

Pearce shot Zander a look of betrayal at the comment on the taste. And then immediately blushed and looked away. He wasn't wrong but having Heather and the doctor and Zander pushing him was...a lot. "It could stil t-taste better," he noted softly.

Heather offered a pleased smile when Pearce handed her the empty mug and gave both men a polite nod. "Have a lovely morning."

Walk underway, he tossed the apple absently from hand to hand. "Oh, fine. No chest p-pain." Not since that morning at least. He had felt a little tired the rest of that day and then the tea was never enjoyable but it seemed to be working. Or at least, he hadn't noticed anything since then. And he was trying to pay attention. Pearce offered Zander a smile. "I'll be quite alright," he assured the young man. Talking about it with Zander didn't quite stress him out. That hadn't been what caused the problem, after all.

[Zander Brogthamon]

It did put his mind a bit at ease to know that Pearce hadn't had any issues since the initial scare. "Well, an apple a day keeps the doctor away." He teased as he bit into his own. While he was willing to tease the noble a lot the redhead was thinking of ways to at least make his tea more bearable. If only to give him more incentive to drink it.

Though they arrived at the training yard a little later than he usually did Zander noticed they were still the first two to arrive. Good. "I'm going for a quick jog, you can look around a bit if you want." Had he just gone on a jog that morning? Yes. Had they just walked all the way to the training yard? Also yes. Was he still itching to run? Absolutely. It was more of a habit now than anything. Taking a run first thing when he hit the yard always made the boy more enthusiastic to train. Put him in the right mind set for it.

Off went the shirt before he leaned over to press a quick kiss on Pearces lips. As he started running he noticed three familiar faces making their way towards him. As soon as the men saw him the three started barreling towards him full speed making Zander quickly cut and run back the way he'd came. "Get over here Red!" The boy just barely moved out of the way as one tried to tackle him to the ground.

"Too slow, Harver!"

[Pearce Lockheed]

Pearce smiled and hefted his own apple. He was mostly certain that was just a saying mothers told their children so they ate fruit. Doctors were scary, after all. Grown man or not, Pearce agreed. Of course, he had avoided them whenever possible. Not because he was ignoring his health, but when his father had been around he had tried to avoid drawing any attention. Now it was just ingrained.

The morning walk was nice. He supposed he should take more of those. He raised an eyebrow at the boy who lo ed running but he didn't say anything. He was here to watch and enjoy, not to admonish. It was interesting to know what Zander did most mornings. As for looking around...Pearce was vaguely familiar with the place. His family mines and stone masons had helped supply stone for the castle and he had visited a few times. Just...not the training yard.

Fighting made him uncomfortable. The noble was hardly a pacifist, he'd even been a soldier once. The man took a breath and shifted for a moment until he caight Zander tug his shirt over his head. Did he see the boy naked a lot? Yes. Did he still get a little excited every time Zander stripped? Always. Pearce smiled, ready with a line about Zander picking up lots of cute soldiers here, when the redhead kissed him. On the lips. In public. In thankfully isolated public.
He went immediately deep red and swallowed his tongue. He took another breath and tried to relax. No one saw and even if they had it was fine. Another breath. Pearce nodded after Zander with a hesitant smile.

While Pearce had been a soldier briefly, he had never been military. The rowdy reactions of the others to chase after Zander had him...confused. zander didn't act like it was surprising or a bad thing at least. Watching Zander zip and dodge out of the way, he smiled. He was sort of like a fox. Pearce felt like he was watching young children play chase. It was quite amusing.

[Zander Brogthamon]

As Zander dodged out of the way of Harver he was grabbed around the waist from behind by a much larger man who lifted him in the air as if he weighed nothing. "Cuir síos mé!" Zander called out as he squirmed in the mans arms. This only seemed to cause him to laugh, until he took a swift kick to the stomach.

Zander landed on his feet with a huff and quickly dodged out of the way of another tackle before the men took notice of Pearce. "Oi, who's this?" The boy paused and turned to Pearce with a shy smile. "This is my boyfriend, Pearce. Pearce this is-" He was cut off as the men took in what exactly he'd just said.

"Boyfriend?" Harver called in astonishment. The larger of the men grinned as he wrapped an arm around Zanders shoulders. "Our little boy toy went and got committed on us?" The term was much tamer than he could have used but it still made his cheeks light up a soft pink color.

"I guess we won't be able to play anymore." Zander turned with a half hearted huff and punched the man in the stomach quickly before shoving him back.

[Pearce Lockheed]

But he was three on one in whateve game of chase the quartet was playing. He was a little startled the man picked Zandwr up so entirely (Pearce could pick the boy up sure but not like that). He didnt understand what Zander said or if he was laughing at first or not so the noble stood there a little awkwardly, trting to figure it out. They all seemed...friendly with each other at least, serious kicks or not.

Being called out made him stiffen a little. He had little doubt they would recognize his last name if it were mwntioned and while Pearce prefered to go by his first name, it was strange having someone else introduce him without it. More importantly, however, was the term before his name. Boyfriend. Right. He was...almost used to that.

The man was more than aware Zander had had other partners. Even when they first met. Pearce might not have been with anyone in a long time before Zander but it wasn't a crime for the boy to have past partners. Not that Pearce had ever expected he would meet any of them. Theu way they all acted...had all of them been involved with the young man? Pearce blushed again and troed to offer a wave and a smile but he was too nervous for words.

He looked down, twitching at a couple words. 'Our', 'boy toy', 'committed', ...hesring the terms come up so casually made him feel...awkward. and kind of sick. Like he wanted to melt into the ground and not be here right now. His was Zander's personal life, not his and he definitely felt uncomfortable with these men knowing he had sex with the young man. 'Won't be able to play anymore." Pearce went a little pale.

He needed to sit down before he passed out. He couldn't figure out what to say or do except stare at the group in alarm.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Seeing the way Pearce reacted, or somewhat a lack there of made Zander bite back a whine. While he hadn't been with all three of the men the larger of them had been an on and off partner for some time. Mostly because they had both been from Teronna. They had both grown up as farmers and fled when the Mystic raids happened.

Still, Zander didn't exactly like having his sex life thrown in his face. Especially not around Pearce. It wasn't something he wanted to think about. Bad memories made bile rise up in his throat that he swallowed down before turning to glare at the other three. His features softened as he walked towards Pearce. "Do you...want to sit down?" There would more than likely need to be an explanation. Later. That would involve explaining some things about himself, other soldiers, other men he'd met, that made him feel sick.

"There's uh...there's a spot my wife likes to sit over there." Harver mentioned with an awkward chuckle as he motioned to a tree near the edge of the yard. Zander offered his hand to Pearce but didn't force him to take it. "I'll be with you guys in a moment." He stated as he led Pearce to the tree.

[Pearce Lockheed]

Honestly, Pearce didn't need an explanation. He was happy for Zander to share, but, especially in public, the noble felt any topic around sex or even suggesting it was highly inappropriate. In private was one thing but this...

Pearce straightened and smoothed his tunic out, looking down at his clothes and clearing his throat awkwardly. Soldiers...he didn't understand soldiers. They made him uncomfortable. He shook his head at Zander. "You're...friends are quite...open," he noted. At least he didn't feel so weird about the term 'boyfriend' but still. Pearce could tell Zander wasn't pleased either. "You d-don't need to explain I just...wasn't expecting that." Maybe he should have.

Pearce nodded appreciatively at Harver and took Zander's hand. He didn't let go of him when they reached the tree. "You alright? Aren't you supposed to sp-spar or something?" He gestured to Zander's bare chest and smiled. "D-don't let me keep you." Pearce knew how to use a bench after all.