It wasn't that Essek had never seen a sunrise or a sunset before, of course. The ones he had witnessed, however, had been fleeting, glimpsed through squinted eyes or between the spaces of fingers as his hand acted as a shield. It made it difficult to appreciate. The sensitivity to sunlight that came with being a drow had never been something he had worried about in great frequency. With the exceptions of finding himself in Nicodranas for reasons and teleporting the Mighty Nein around, he rarely left Rosohna and their sunless sanctuary. He had never mourned the loss of the sun in the sky, but why would he?
And yet, there was something about Vallo that had softened Essek to the concept. Whether it was Vallo itself or just coincidental timing, he now wanted to see the sun. Granted, much of that desire was functional; it could be cumbersome to wear a hooded cloak in the summer heat and the sunglasses could only go so far. He was able to run his errands and go about his day outside of the darkened area of the forest that they called home, but he still had to take precautions and watch his timing. More than that, though, he wanted to appreciate sunsets and sunrises. Perhaps he would have thought that doing so would have been a waste of valuable time only months ago, but now Essek saw the beauty in slowing down and enjoying the little things.
And so, after much experimenting with enchantments, plenty of money spent on various material components, and help from two other highly skilled mages, they had found a way for Essek to do exactly that. It had been particularly exhilarating to step out of the darkness that surrounded the Xhorhaus and his towers and into the sunlight only to feel nothing but the gentle warmth of the sun on his skin.
Now the gold ring, embedded with topaz, sat snuggly on the middle finger of his left hand, the same hand that Essek now used to open the pocket dimension that his spellbook was stowed away in so he remove the bottle of wine and two glasses that he had put in there for safe teleportation travel. If he was going to appreciate his first true sunset, there was only one person he could think of that he would want to do that with -- Caleb. He had brought him to the same cliffside that Caleb himself had brought Essek to on Moon Day. Though Caleb might have had him beat in preparation for that particular date as Essek had simply just grabbed a blanket for them to sit upon and one of his better bottles of wine, the view felt just as romantic now, with the sun making its gradual way toward the horizon, as it had with the moon in the sky.
"I have heard," Essek started, carefully pouring wine into one of the glasses, "that sunsets and wine are near the top when it comes to romance." He held the glass out toward Caleb, the corner of his mouth turned up in a wry smile. "Forgive me if I heard wrong."
Caleb was not sure which view was better, the one before him, as the sky was hitting it’s mark to turn gentle hues of yellow and orange and purple as the sun made it’s way south, or the view of the enamored drow next to him.
One option was far more sappy than the other, but then Caleb had been able to see his fair amount of sunsets, so it was difficult to put that one ahead. And a stupid argument in his brain, to overthink such things. They had come a long way over the last several months, no more waiting for the other shoe to drop, or tip-toeing around things. There was still a great deal left unsaid, but in a way, that worked for them.
Caleb had always been better at the quiet gestures. Like the moon day camping. He was relaxed now, and took the wine glass with a wry little smile on his face as he teased. “Oh, you should stop listening to Jester. I much prefer scorching sun and cold tea for my brand of romance.”
Essek let out a soft laugh at that, glancing up at Caleb as he poured his own glass of wine. Once complete, he stoppered the bottle and set it aside to be forgotten until one or both of them needed a refill. "Hmm, noted," he replied, swirling his glass and its contents carefully. "Next time I will take us to a beach at noon with nothing but the night prior's tea for refreshments."
Though, that did give Essek something else to add to his list of things to do now that he didn't have to worry so much about the sun giving his eyes or skin issues. Perhaps not the cold tea, but being able to appreciate a beach during the day sounded rather nice in theory.
It was almost embarrassingly difficult to look away from Caleb, but Essek managed to turn his gaze back toward the horizon. His teasing smile softened and he took a sip of wine; it wasn't the diamond plum wine from Solvia Groves, but it was still rather good. "There is much to be said for the dark blues and purples and black of a starry night sky, but this -- " He took his free hand and swiped it in front of him, indicating the watercolor of a sky in front of them. Words seemed to fail as he let his hand drop. "It is quite something."
Caleb laughed, a quiet but full one, usually reserved for his closest family. The Mighty Nein had heard it a few times, and Essek now himself a few more, but it was still a rare enough occurrence that he stopped himself and self-deprecated on the wonder of is this allowed? Am I allowed to have this?
His friends would have told him yes, there was no doubt of that. Even Veth, with her issues to Essek, wanted him to be happy, just as he wanted for all of them. But that guilt would likely always be there, swimming in the back of his mind.
For now, it could stay there, and he pushed it back in favor of taking a larger sip of the wine. “We will have to try a sunrise next. Perhaps we could do that instead at the beach, less people. More--” He gestured to all of Essek and his grin grew a little. “Skin.”
This time it was Essek's turn to laugh -- an even truer laugh than the soft chuckle from a moment before. It was a laugh that he hadn't indulged in for a very long time prior to the Mighty Nein having come barreling their way into his life. It was almost amusing to think back on just how much he had wanted to hate the group of them, but how despite that it was so incredibly easy to come to like and care about them instead. It was absurd, yet now he couldn't imagine his life having gone in any other direction. He remembered his years of solitude in Rosohna, of course; it felt impossible to want to go back to them, especially now.
Essek may still have been a work in progress when it came to having friends and true connections, but he was willing to put in that work. Being able to do things like this, spending time with the wizard that held his affections and somehow returned them without having to come up with an excuse and just because they liked spending time together, certainly made it feel worth it.
"I mean, if skin is what you want," Essek teased, raising his free hand to deftly unfasten the top few buttons of the shirt he was wearing, "I can certainly oblige." And though he stopped there, at a far more modest state than Caleb had seen him before, the open collar and extra inches of deep purple skin left him looking more disheveled than Essek would normally allow himself to be. His arm moving to prop himself up from behind as he lounged next to Caleb only aided in that comfortable look.
Caleb wasn’t used to such a full-bodied laugh sneaking up on him, as it did now. But the image of Essek, looking so sunswept and disheveled, so far removed from his daily look… that was worthy of it, and he let his head fall back onto the soft ground before embarrassment over his flushed cheeks could be seen so openly.
He eventually peeked an eye open to look at Essek, framed in the setting sun, a glow about him. “If this is what the sun does to you, I am in trouble.” His free hand reached out, to touch Essek’s shirt lightly, calloused and scarred fingers brushing so lightly against the soft fabric. "Aber ich würde es nicht für die Welt ändern."
Closing his eyes as he simply basked in the warmth of the sun, pale eyelashes just grazing the top of his cheeks, Essek listened with a small smile as Caleb's words turned to the now familiar lilt and cadence of Zemnian. He didn't know the language, having only picked up a handful of words or phrases from Caleb as they came to spend more and more time together, but Essek very much liked hearing him speak in his native tongue.
Turning with every intention to say something teasing and sassy in return, Essek's eyes opened and his words froze on his tongue as he looked down at Caleb. A warmth emanated from within his chest, right where his heart that he'd tried so hard to deny having for so many years sat. He had always found Caleb attractive, both intellectually and physically, and there was no use pretending otherwise now. But looking at him now, with the golden hue of the setting sun lighting up his skin and shock of red hair -- it was a sight to behold. A sight, Essek knew, he wasn't meant to see. He was a drow, meant for centuries of darkness under a fabricated night sky. Caleb was a human, meant for a short life under the sun. And yet, here they were.
Essek shifted, careful not to spill his glass as he stretched out on his side alongside Caleb, leaning on one elbow to prop himself up. With his free arm, he reached over to brush his fingers ever so gently over Caleb's jaw and his hair that was lit up in the sun like fire itself. "Dos phuul ssin'urn," he murmured in Undercommon. "And I am a very lucky man if you are going to let me be such trouble."
Caleb was blushing and almost stammering, his heart thudding even more dangerously fast in his chest as Essek touched him. He hadn’t realized until the last few months at just how touch starved he was as a person. Hugs were not difficult to come by in the Mighty Nein, at least as far as Jester was concerned, but Essek’s touch set him alight.
“Oh.” He was still in the process of learning Undercommon, and had no desire to pop out his spell to translate Essek’s words, since the Undercommon was enough to send a shiver up his spine. Caleb let his head drop back after a huffed out laugh, as if this whole thing was feeling a bit overwhelming, in a good way. “Am I going to have to bring out the dome? Do not test me, I will. But first--” He looked up again, taking in Essek’s skin and the sun shining around them. “You are feeling good? No side effects?”
The part of Essek that was built largely on a century of ego couldn't help but preen at Caleb's reaction to his touch, but the larger part of him that was built on a thirst for knowledge and magic took over at the question. Though he didn't straighten up from where he was lounged, he did lift his free hand up to peer at it quizzically, the ring that was making it possible for him to be outside at all glinting as it caught the sun. His dark skin was set aglow by the sunlight in a way he was unused to; magical light and candles never seemed to replicate sunrays like the real thing. It was difficult not to admire as Essek turned his hand, back to palm.
"None that I can feel." In his mind, Essek went through the checklist of everything that could have gone wrong. "The sun feels warm, but it isn't irritating or burning like it normally would be by now. My vision doesn't feel obscured, like it normally might. Everything seems in as sharp of focus now as it would if it were dark. I also feel fine beyond that, so no adverse reactions that might have been unexpected, at least so far."
Essek let his arm fall, his hand coming to rest on the blanket in the space between them. "The three of us did good work, I think." His eyes dropped just a bit, an almost sheepish expression crossing his features as he added, "Thank you, again, for helping me."
Caleb let his hand trace across Essek’s, fingers ghosting over the palm presented to him, even if it was for scientific reasons. The one thing that distracted them even more thoroughly than each other was magical theory, and neither got bent out of shape about it. (If anything, it only helped further other things along, but that wasn’t something he’d admit to his friends.)
“Gilmore is a very skilled magic user,” he kept things modest, knowing that he didn’t do the bulk of the legwork here. But his contribution helped, and that made him feel good, similar to when he had helped Veth. An improvement on quality of life for his family brought forth the warm fuzzies for Caleb. “I am happy to have helped in that.” He tilted his head and smiled gently at Essek, “Though I will miss the parasol.”
Essek returned the smile, turning his hand in Caleb's to grasp the other man's gingerly. He was going to miss the parasol as well, more for what it reminded him whenever he took it out than the actual good it did to shield his eyes and skin from the sun. Though he had already come to consider the Mighty Nein his friends by that point, even if he hadn't known how to express that outside of offering to teleport them places instead of being irritated at the expenditure of high level magic or bringing the most expensive bottle of wine he owned when accepting a dinner invitation, Jester's gift of the magically created parasol had made something shift within Essek, waking up his heart and opening a path of true realization of just how his past self's actions had changed the lives of the seven of them.
That was a dangerous line of thinking to go down, filled with self-deprecation and guilt, two things he wasn't prepared to explore in that moment. Instead, Essek took Caleb's hand, lifting it so he could press one soft, chaste kiss to the center of his palm, then turn his head to press his cheek to it. It was tender and perhaps even a bit indulgent, but it was the little moments like that which Essek had come to appreciate most since the shift in their relationship.
"I will miss it, too." Essek smiled down at Caleb. "I suppose I can still bring it out, every so often."
“You should,” Caleb confirmed and nodded, knowing his own thoughts when they drifted to the wonderful things Jester did for everyone. It had been a group effort to win him over to be sure, but Jester was first, and loudest about it. Her kindness, and generosity, and the way she smiled and helped while still being utterly ridiculous had made a friend for life in Caleb.
He knew Essek had to feel the same, in some ways. He only could hope that he attributed to Essek’s better mental health and the subsequent turning of tides.
It was a dark thought, and one he shouldn’t have focused on, so Caleb tried to push it away in favor of leaning up to kiss quick Essek in response. “But you are also missing the sunset, being so focused on me.”
Essek leaned forward, his lips chasing after Caleb's to capture them in another kiss that he let linger on longer than the first, one kiss never quite enough. For someone who had gone quite long indeed without kissing or touching another in the way he was able to kiss or touch this man, he was quite content in how easy both felt. Even in the moments when one or the other or even both were overwhelmed, there was always the knowledge that they would circle back around eventually. It was a unique sort of confidence and understanding that Essek was quite sure he couldn't have had with anyone other than Caleb.
His hand having traveled up to rest gently at Caleb's jaw during the kiss, Essek let his thumb brush his cheek once before releasing him and leaning back. "I may have only been able to truly appreciate part of one sunset so far, but it has been enough that I can say with great confidence they pale in comparison to you." Immediately, a grin bloomed across the drow's face, clearly pleased with himself. Still, he teased, "Was that too much? You know, I don't care. It is true and I stand by it."
Caleb’s face was close to matching his hair with that one, the fire burning up as a deep, intense blush. “Ja, it was.” Even if Essek was unrepentant in his teasing, Caleb was still hopelessly attracted to the drow. And now thoroughly distracted.
To save himself from the distraction, Caleb reached down to a necklace amongst his things, and pulled off a small crystal bead. A few words later and his magical dome was encasing them both, transparent walls still allowing the sunset to shine in through them. “Now, no one will be able to stumble upon my blush.” Or anything else, as Caleb was already letting his hand wander down Essek’s robe, across a few delicate buttons, before tugging on the fabric there.
“I am glad you are already distracted, I feel less terrible for this--” It didn’t take much effort to pull Essek down once again, under the cover of waning light and magical protection.