Just My Type

Something Artemis Entreri hated more than the cold in Heliogabalus, more even than the name Heliogabalus, was the people of Heliogabalus. Or rather, the people he seemed to attract by some miracle of bad luck. The instant Jarlaxle got up to go relieve himself, a man who could've been an oversized, obese dwarf increased his bedroom eyes at Artemis by tenfold and rose from his chair across the tavern.

Artemis hoped with every fiber of his being that the man was simply getting up to return circulation to his fat, stubby legs.

Instead, the man sidled across the tavern with a smug waddle and sat down in the chair Jarlaxle had vacated.

"You're a stranger," the man said with an obvious leer. "Need a place to stay for the night?"

Oh, gods. Why? Artemis knocked back the rest of his drink. "Step away from me and do not talk to me again, or your family won't recognize your corpse."

The man turned two shades of pale and lumbered to his feet. He silently walked away.

Jarlaxle returned in time to see this exchange play out. The drow mercenary walked up to their table, chortling. "Not your type, I take it?"

Artemis glared at him.

"I was joking, of course," Jarlaxle explained. "I know you are not attracted to men."

The assassin stared at him flatly. "I never said that."

Jarlaxle rocked back on his heels, the sly smile instantly stolen.

Artemis took some satisfaction in that. "The only men who seem to ever be attracted to me are fat, slobbering fools." He flicked his hunting knife into the table. It buried itself in the oak with a thunk. He jerked it back out. "I prefer women because they're safer."

"Safer?" Jarlaxle echoed.

Artemis looked up at him with a shadow of a smile. "Cultural differences."

"Ah." Jarlaxle sat down and steepled his hands. "What kind of males do you wish you attracted?"

Artemis looked away. "Slim, trim warrior types. Someone who cares about the way they look. Someone with some self-respect. Someone preferably not too much taller than myself. Clean-shaven rather than bearded. Someone who has an actual personality going for them."

Jarlaxle's uncovered eye twinkled. "You mean like Drizzt Do'Urden."

Artemis instantly glared at him. "I am not attracted to Do'Urden."

Jarlaxle held up his hands. "I didn't mean Drizzt Do'Urden himself, but someone like Drizzt Do'Urden."

"You're still saying 'Drizzt Do'Urden' far too frequently for my taste."

Jarlaxle dropped his hands and dropped the objectionable name. "Perhaps I should be clearer: you seek an elf."

Artemis nodded slowly, choosing to ignore his partner's brief faux pas. He couldn't imagine any elf being interested in him, but in theory, he would definitely be interested in that elf. "Yes. As pathetically hopeless as that makes me, an elf would be ideal."

"I don't think you are pathetic at all," Jarlaxle protested.

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Many elves find humans attractive," Jarlaxle said. He gestured to his own chest with both hands. "I am one such elf."

"But you are only interested in women," Artemis said.

Jarlaxle smiled. "I never said that."

Artemis' chest abruptly burned. He pushed away from the table, stood up, and walked out. He knew that was the wrong response if he ever wanted to have a chance, but things had suddenly gone too far for him.

Hours later, Jarlaxle found him at their flat.

"Are you feeling calmer?" Jarlaxle asked. He tossed his hat, hooking it on a wall peg from across the room.

Artemis didn't comment on the show of skill, having seen it many times before. Instead, he resumed sharpening his spare daggers. He sat on his bed. The sound of whetstone was comforting. Familiar.

"I'll take that as a, 'No, not very,'" Jarlaxle said. He crossed the room and sat down on the side of his own bed, facing Artemis. Their beds were perhaps six feet apart.

Artemis didn't look up. "Why are you attracted to me?"

"Because you're beautiful, as well as being the most fascinatingly complicated person I've ever met," Jarlaxle said.

Artemis glanced up at him.

Jarlaxle wagged an index finger. "Note I said 'person'." He spread his hands. "Most people are simple. They are one way, and that is what they are, and they form fairly predictable patterns that one can then manipulate." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "Even if I wished to manipulate you, I do not think the results would be to anyone's liking, least of all my own. If you wish you may take that as a pragmatic reason why I do not try. Of course, that isn't the reason. The true reason why I do not manipulate you is because I respect you."

Artemis listened to that speech in silence. Then he returned to his dagger and the whetstone. "Get to the point."

Jarlaxle blinked, then chuckled. "If I have a point, I think it is that I would like to bring you pleasure if you would let me, but it wouldn't be pleasure if you didn't want it."

Artemis looked up again. This time, he examined Jarlaxle's face steadily. "You would...do something for me, because you find me worthy of pleasuring?"

Jarlaxle nodded. "That is the heart of it, yes."

Artemis considered that. "If I did...allow you this, would I be allowed to touch you in return?"

"If you wanted to," Jarlaxle said. "Yes."

At that, Artemis didn't think he could say no. That was both of his fantasies at once: being pleasured by a beautiful male and being allowed to touch a beautiful male. "Now?"

Jarlaxle smiled, looking pleased and hopeful. "If you like."

Artemis set aside his equipment. "I do."

Jarlaxle sat up, walked to Artemis' bed, and sat down. "Then relax, khal abbil." He reached out and stroked Artemis' arm. "Lean back against the headboard, lie down, whatever is most comfortable for you."

Artemis considered that instruction uncertainly. Finally, he opted to untie the leather strip holding his hair back and lie down on his back.

"Settled?" Jarlaxle asked.

Artemis nodded.

"Good." Jarlaxle took off his boots and lay down on his side facing Artemis, their bodies barely touching.

This close, Artemis could smell Jarlaxle's scent. It was clean and masculine, mixed in with the spicy smell of Jarlaxle's perfume. It was the current style for both men and women to wear personal scents, and Jarlaxle loved trends. He tentatively lifted his arm.

Jarlaxle shifted closer, snuggling right up to him, and splayed dark, slender fingers across his chest, resting his hand there. "You are very handsome, khal abbil. One would be justified in also saying beautiful. I have long noticed your physical attractiveness."

Artemis nodded and grudgingly admitted, "And I yours. But I never thought..."

Jarlaxle leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to Artemis' lips.

Pure fire burned in Artemis' veins. He wrapped his arms around Jarlaxle securely and pulled the drow on top of him. This was what he had been denied so long.

Jarlaxle took the hint. He kissed Artemis again, a long, slow, exploring kiss, stroking Artemis' cheeks with both hands.

Artemis gasped around the kiss and upturned his face to the touches, pressing into them. His hands came to rest on Jarlaxle's bottom of their own accord. He squeezed gently.

Jarlaxle moaned. Then he slipped his tongue into Artemis' mouth, which made Artemis moan.

Artemis arched, exposing his throat as Jarlaxle's kisses traveled down the soft, sensitive skin of his neck. It felt wonderful. His body certainly had no reservations about Jarlaxle. Over the course of the many months they'd done their business as partners, Jarlaxle had been fair, dividing pay based on who had done more work, honest about his motives, and a clean and courteous flatmate. Without intending to, Jarlaxle had won him over. He felt safe. And so he allowed Jarlaxle's lips and tongue to draw moans from him, allowed hot tingles to rush down his body and make him hard. He closed his eyes and relaxed, because he knew letting his guard down in this case was not letting go of control. A mere few words could control Jarlaxle. "Lower," he whispered.

Jarlaxle obligingly kissed lower, following the deep 'V' of Artemis' tunic.

"Use your hands," Artemis whispered. He guided Jarlaxle's hands under his tunic, to his chest.

Jarlaxle squirmed and grew harder against him. "Mmmn." Of their own accord, the drow's slender fingers found Artemis' nipples and caressed them into hardness.

Artemis moaned and shifted. "Yes."

Jarlaxle obligingly ran his thumbs over them, slowly at first and then faster, flicking. Artemis raised his hips, rubbing his trapped erection against Jarlaxle's. Then, hot and impatient, he yanked off his tunic, baring his upper body.

Jarlaxle smiled appreciatively. "May I...suck them?"

Artemis nodded.

Jarlaxle lowered his head and nuzzled Artemis' nipples, getting the assassin used to the feeling of his lips. Artemis moaned achingly. Jarlaxle slowly licked, kissed, and sucked, savoring him. Artemis squirmed, tightened his hands on Jarlaxle's waist, and let his hips rock, sucking in his breaths and exhaling them as low moans. Jarlaxle hummed in his throat while he tended to Artemis' nipples, clearly enjoying himself. That helped light Artemis' fire as well.

Finally, Artemis couldn't stand it any longer. "Stop."

Jarlaxle raised his head questioningly.

Artemis licked his lips, suddenly nervous. His trapped erection throbbed. "Would you be willing to...do you like to...?" He gestured down at himself.

Jarlaxle arched a brow. "Shall I guess?"

Artemis nodded, relieved.

Jarlaxle tapped his lower lip. "Do you want me to...pleasure you with my mouth, there?"

Artemis' nodded again. "But only if you would like to."

Jarlaxle gave him a sly grin that was all the answer he needed.

Feeling still hotter, and self-conscious, Artemis unlaced his breeches. Jarlaxle pulled them off. The drow unhesitatingly peeled his underwear off of him and revealed his glistening erection. A bead of wetness welled up just at the way Jarlaxle looked at him.

Jarlaxle stroked the tip of Artemis' erection with a fingertip, openly marveling. "So beautiful. How exposed you are."

Artemis flushed. "Exposed?"

Jarlaxle scooted down and licked it slowly, causing it to twitch. "Here. There is nothing...that is to say, no skin..."

Artemis understood, and that made him vastly curious. "It's called a circumcision. It's..." He moaned. Jarlaxle was now gently kissing his tip. "Tradition. Even godless families have this done for their children."

Jarlaxle popped it in his mouth and looked up at Artemis with such an unexpectedly sweet-natured expression that Artemis' chest tightened. He suckled it delicately before taking it back out of his mouth to speak. "Circumcision? Something is done to make this? It is a form of beauty enhancement?"

Artemis chuckled, flustered and amused. "Some would say so, yes. Mostly it is simply the way one expects a Calishite's body to look."

"Mmm." Jarlaxle stuck it back in his mouth. A blissful look came over the drow's features.

Artemis found himself watching, compelled, even while his body melted and his eyes tried to flutter closed. He moaned and sighed deeply.

Jarlaxle slowly worked more of Artemis into his mouth, moaning and sucking and licking. He squirmed, clearly aroused by what he was doing. His hands strayed to Artemis' balls and cradled them, stroking gently.

Artemis' legs quivered and fell open wider. "Oh, gods. Jarlaxle..."

Jarlaxle slowed down and looked up at him, making sure that wasn't a rebuke.

Artemis smirked. "Keep going. It feels great."

Jarlaxle brightened and redoubled his efforts to slowly devour Artemis' length.

Artemis bit his lip and used all his self-control to keep his hips from moving. "Mmph. Gods." He started to sweat. It had been a long time, so very long, that Artemis knew he couldn't handle much more of this. "I'm close."

Jarlaxle let Artemis free with a lick. "Close to what?"

"Orgasm."

"Oh!" Jarlaxle quickly resumed. His body felt hotter than before, and his uncovered eye shone.

The long, deep strokes paired with shorter, quicker ones undid Artemis completely. He came hard, hips jerking uncontrollably. He gasped, quivered, and sighed with every spasm. By the time he finished his body had gone limp. He couldn't have moved if he tried.

Jarlaxle straightened and licked his lips. Artemis saw with shock that Jarlaxle had swallowed. More than that, Jarlaxle looked pleased enough to purr. The drow mercenary slid up his body and collapsed at his side, snuggling. "Artemis...you are so delicious."

That sent a jolt of arousal through him, even though there was no way he could get up the energy to climax all over again.

Jarlaxle chuckled at his expression and nuzzled his neck. "Delicious."

Artemis somehow managed to move his hand. He gently stroked over Jarlaxle's hip, questing. Jarlaxle shifted and let him find it. The front of the drow's breeches was warm and wet, and his partner's erection was softening. Artemis pulled his hand back with a rare blush, confused and flattered.

Jarlaxle grinned. "I enjoyed you very much."

"Very well...but next time I will do something for you," Artemis said.

Jarlaxle grinned wider and hugged him. "Deal."

Artemis relaxed at the affection, silently acknowledged that it was sorely needed, and embraced Jarlaxle in return, settling down to ride out his afterglow in the arms of his new lover. Finally, someone who is just my type.