Page 28 of Suffer No Fools
Stan usually kept his hair shorter than it was now. It was just getting long enough to flop into his eyes when he glanced down, which he did when Hugo smiled at him and handed hima towel. Tovey didn't look away from the emperor and returned his smile before he could catch himself.
He knew better. Their relationship experiment would end badly. Tovey had already been burned by Stan. He didn't want to hurt Hugo's feelings, too. He would never forgive himself if that happened.
Once they were dry, they wrapped their towels around their waists and headed for the true hold. Tovey and Stan would need to dress for their shift eventually, but they still had at least two hours of guard duty. As they headed to the hold, Tovey considered Hugo's offer again. He'd asked them to be his guards on Aquarion, and possibly longer. Tovey loved sailing. He couldn't imagine being trapped as a royal palace guard.
That wasn't what Hugo had asked, either. There was no guarantee his request would be long term. Perhaps Hugo would create his first fire weave and decide he didn't need guards, after all. Past emperors had declared themselves their own best defense. Hesse had been the first in a long line of emperors to retain a full guard retinue after the war and look what it had cost him.
Hesse had a giant bleeding heart for the commoners who had fought under him. Tovey and the rest of his naval crew had reaped the benefits of his generosity. When the navy ejected all weavers from their ranks after Hesse's death, Tovey had saved enough to buy a small fishing vessel in Glamiere. He'd lost that ship in a horrible squall whileStarlight Specterhad been docked on Aquarion for the winter. Then, he'd hooked up with Stan, and Efren had asked him to sail with them before spring.
Tovey didn't regret it, even on the worst days when he wanted to murder Stan for looking at him wrong. As much as he wished Stan had loved him back with the same ferocity he'd loved Stan, he wouldn't have done it any differently. Besides, ifhe hadn't hooked up with Stan, he wouldn't be in the emperor's room in the hold, running a comb through his shiny hair.
"This is going to be awkward," Stan said.
"Not at all, unless you don't want to do his front first?"
Stan blinked at him. "Front? I thought I was massaging his shoulders."
"Full body, sweetheart." Tovey hated when Stan used endearments for him, but he'd been throwing "sweetheart" back in his face for so long it was second nature. This time, it made Tovey's face burn hot. He had to focus on what he was doing with the comb before he poked Hugo in the ear.
"Can you flatten the divan's arms and maybe detach it from the wall?" Tovey asked. Stan had built the thing from nothing but a thought and some spare wood and cushions, and he would probably repurpose it once they landed on Aquarion.
As he'd hoped, the furniture easily unfolded with Stan's weave. When he was finished with the redesign, he picked it up and moved it to the center of the room.
"I've never seen anyone use their earth powers quite like that," Hugo said.
"Any earth weaver worth their weight in gold has fled to Glamiere," Stan muttered. He blanched and glanced at Hugo. "I'm sorry, Your Maj--"
"No titles."
"Hugo."
"No apologies when none are necessary, either," Hugo said. "You've spoken the truth. Coryn demanded her weavers retain their power for her use only." He glanced at Tovey. "I still don't understand why Vadim killed her earth weaver, but not her."
"Will her army of undead die with her?"
"Doubtful," Hugo said. "They're not connected to her."
"That's why." Tovey nodded. "He wants to charge Coryn with treason. Killing her is too easy for him and could leave the empire unstable after she's gone."
"Well, it's not too easy for me," Hugo said. "If given the chance, I'd burn the palace to the ground with her in it, if it would end her madness."
"That's what Vadim is hoping for," Stan said. "He tired of being Hesse's weapon. He refused a position as his guard for that reason. Coryn took his spot instead and look what she's done with it. It's your place to set everything back to rights, not his."
Tovey had never heard Stan say so many words at once, and about Vadim. They'd grown up together, sure, but Stan had distanced himself from the death weaver. Now, Tovey wondered if he'd misread the situation. Maybe Stan and Vadim were still friends, the kind of friends who didn't need to share their every waking moment or thought to understand each other. If Stan had avoided Vadim for Tovey's benefit because he'd been jealous, that only made it worse.
Tovey had never had that kind of friendship with anyone but Stan. It saddened him that he couldn't even count on Stan to come to his defense the way he'd just jumped to Vadim's.
He looked down at the curtain of Hugo's glossy hair as it slipped through the comb, long ago untangled. "Lie on the divan facing up," he directed.
The emperor never questioned his orders. He simply acted, flipping his hair so it cascaded over the side of the divan, almost to the floor. Tovey directed Stan to start at Hugo's neck, and he sat on the floor, trying to ignore the glorious sounds Hugo made as Stan worked out the kinks in his neck and shoulders.
Tovey crafted the fishbone braid along Hugo's usual center part, pulling the hair tight to his scalp but not so tight that it would hurt later. When he reached the curve of his head, hehelped Hugo sit up so he could keep the braid tight to the back of his head.
Stan had already moved to Hugo's thighs, and Tovey had a splendid view of Hugo's cock as it stood at attention. He pressed a soft kiss to Hugo's shoulder and resumed his work.
Stan progressed down first one leg and then the other, paying special attention to Hugo's feet. Tovey doubted they needed that much attention for knots and such, but the noises Hugo made were unbidden with desire.
Tovey tied off the end of the braid and sat at the edge of the divan with his legs spread, his feet braced on the floor. He nodded to Stan, and they half-lifted, half scooted Hugo along on his ass until he sat flush against Tovey's chest, his legs spread the same way. Hugo leaned his head back on Tovey's shoulder, his lips puckered for a kiss. Tovey couldn't resist his silent plea, cradling his chin and delving into his mouth with a gentle sweep of his tongue.
