The baffled human looked between the two of them for a long moment, then burst into a loud, nearly hysterical laugh before covering his mouth with both of his hands and sitting back down.
“I have a son,” he whispered, seemingly more to himself than to either of them. “I have a half-orc son. And he’s a prince, and he’s married to the prince of the fucking entire elf kingdom. Gods help me.”
“I understand it’s a lot to take in,” Zorvut offered cautiously, still sitting with his back stiff and straight in the too-small chair. He had hardly moved during the entire exchange; Taegan could feel trepidation coming from him more than anything else, though he was certainly feeling a wide range of emotions all at once. “Like Taegan said, we’ll stay at the inn for tonight, and you can think everything over. Then we can come back tomorrow and decide what you’d like to do?”
“Of course, of course,” Tomlin answered, nodding without meeting his gaze. “I mean, you can certainly stay here, and I’ll do whatever I can to help, but you’re right, this is a lot for one day.” He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head rapidly, as if trying to clear his thoughts before looking at Zorvut again with a weak smile. Despite the tension that had just been on his face, his smile was instantly charismatic—the stereotypes about bards must have had some kernel of truth to them, Taegan thought. “Zorvut. Thank you for coming to find me. It couldn’t have been easy.”
Zorvut managed a slight smile, clearly disarmed by his words. “O-of course,” he stammered. “Truth be told, I was very nervous going into all this. We didn’t know if you would be... open to this, or if you would want to help me at all, or if you wouldn’t want to get involved with, well... all this. I should be thanking you.”
“Right, of course,” Tomlin said, suddenly frowning again. “Is it—it’s safe for you to be here, right? You’re not being chased down or anything? I don’t know much more except the orcs and elves are at war again. Are you in trouble?”
“No, I don’t believe we’ve been followed,” Taegan said, interjecting as Zorvut seemed hesitant. “It is an unfortunate possibility, but one we have taken many steps to avoid. If we believed we were bringing anything dangerous to town, Mr. Whitmore, we would not have led it to your doorstep.”
“Please, you can both call me Tom,” he said with a wave of his hand. “And that’s good to hear. I mean, I would still want to help, certainly, but... Well, I wouldn’t want to endanger anyone, either, of course.”
“Of course,” Zorvut echoed. “I agree. There were no signs we were being followed.”
“In that case, please, I’d love to host you here for a little while,” he said, then started laughing again, shaking his head in disbelief. “What a day! By the gods, I have a son. A son!”
The discussion began to fizzle out from there, both of them unsure of what exactly to say to the other. That was understandable; how often would anyone have a conversation with a father they’ve met for the first time? And learning he had an adult son must have been a shock for Tom as well, and his wide eyes seemed to continually dart back and forth between the two of them. Taegan watched their uncertain interactions as they tested the waters with each other with a faint smile on his face. Despite their awkwardness, there was a clear magnetism between them. Now that they were facing each other and speaking, the resemblance between them was only more apparent, which still amazed Taegan.
Eventually they sat in awkward silence for a long moment, at which point Taegan decided he needed to guide the conversation.
“I must thank you again for your hospitality toward us, Tom,” he said, standing up. “You certainly did not owe us anything, but you’ve been exceedingly generous. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we truly appreciate it.”
“Of course, of course,” the human said, standing as well, his back stiffening. He was clearly even more unsure how to act around Taegan, despite his reassurances. “It’s been a shock, certainly, but I’m glad to have you here. I’m glad to have met you, both of you.”
“I think now is a good time to take our leave,” Taegan continued, glancing back at Zorvut as he spoke. “To give you some time to process, and we can reconvene tomorrow. Does that sound agreeable to you?”
“Oh, yes. That’ll give me time to tidy up my guest room,” Tom continued, glancing up toward the ceiling—as tall and narrow as the house was, Taegan imagined most of the living quarters were probably on the higher level. “Please, come back tomorrow. I’ll be here.”
They agreed to return before noon the next day, and with one last uncertain but earnest embrace, Taegan and Zorvut took their leave, stepping back out onto the street. Taegan could feel the human’s gaze lingering on them for a long moment before he heard the wooden door close as they headed back the way they came.
“That went well,” Taegan said as they walked, and Zorvut nodded quickly. Taegan felt bond quivering with contained energy, buzzing with excitement, but Zorvut was the perfect picture of restraint. From his outward appearance, he seemed no more energized and excited than usual, yet just under the surface, he was roiling with clamped-down emotions. The half-orc briefly met his gaze, now barely stifling a grin. They would talk more in the privacy of their room at the inn.
“So how’d it go?” Miss Jade asked with a smirk as they returned to the tavern. Taegan returned her grin with a self-satisfied smile of his own.
“Very well, thank you,” he replied, bowing his head graciously. She hummed in acknowledgment, but her gaze became decidedly suspicious, and she watched them with curious eyes as they headed up the stairs to the room they had rented. It was nicer than the roadside inns and village taverns they had stayed at on their journey, a little bit bigger, but still a far cry from their own quarters in the castle at home. The white and blue motif seemed to permeate the entire town, as the room had plain stone flooring and white-painted walls, but the wooden furniture was also painted white, and deep cerulean curtains hung on the window, the same oceanic blue as the sheets and pillows on the two beds. Taegan had not quite had the courage yet to ask for just one bed, but Zorvut did not seem to mind much either. Hopefully, it would be the last night they would sleep on two beds pushed together.
“I can’t believe how well everything went,” Zorvut said breathlessly the moment the door closed behind them, hardly able to contain the words any longer. “That was really... The best-case scenario in every way. Gods, Taegan, I was so worried he’d kick us out of his house or—or chase us out of town, or worse.”
“Yes, that went about as well as anyone could have hoped for,” he agreed, a slow smile spreading across his face. Though Zorvut was clearly feeling a mix of emotions, the overwhelming relief and joy flooding through him was infectious.
“I almost can’t believe it. I’m almost afraid to be too happy about it yet,” Zorvut sighed, running a hand through his short-cropped hair. Taegan nodded slowly.
“That’s understandable,” he said, but Zorvut continued as if hardly hearing him.
“It doesn’t feel real,” he said, pacing around the room—it was small enough he could only get three, maybe four steps before needing to turn back around. “Like... I could wake up tomorrow and it could all have been a dream. That was real, right?”
“Yes, it was real,” Taegan laughed, nodding. He sat down on the bed, watching Zorvut in fascination. He could not think of a time he’d seen the half-orc so moved—at least, not since their emotional reunion and re-bonding. “But I understand. I’m still a little hesitant as well, to be honest. There’s no guarantee he might not change his mind come tomorrow morning. He did seem a bit nervous about us bringing danger into town, after all.”
“No, no, I don’t think he will,” Zorvut answered quickly, waving his hand. Taegan stifled the tiny spike of irritation he felt at the gesture. It felt too much like being waved away, but he told himself Zorvut was just excited, eager—could he blame him for that at a time like this? “He seems like a man of his word. And if he can teach me more magic, I’m sure he can hold his own.”
“Well, I hope you can learn much from him,” Taegan replied, and when Zorvut met his gaze, his eyes softened into a more tender smile. Everything else seemed to melt into the background when Zorvut looked at him with the eager, hesitant smile that curled around his tusks, brightening up his golden-yellow eyes like a beam of sunlight. “This entire trip will have been worth it if you can learn something worthwhile.”
“Thank you for coming with me,” Zorvut said breathlessly. He stepped toward Taegan and fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around the smaller elf and pressing his face into Taegan’s lap. “Thank you, thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me, my love,” Taegan chuckled, gently stroking Zorvut’s hair and trailing his fingers along his cheek when he glanced back up at him. “But, I did want to ask you... Are you really only nineteen?”
