#Xenk/Edgin

[oakenshieldbaggins]

+ Bonus

[imfuckceok]

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

for anyone who needs it or might enjoy it, here are the pearls i gathered after spending a couple days going through all the fics in the edgin darvis/xenk yendar ao3 tag. you’re welcome. <3

Sunlight is a Kind of Burning by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels E 23k Ed's excited to get his life back on track in the wake of saving Neverwinter. He's less excited at how a certain paladin keeps popping up everywhere he goes.

Except for how he's starting to miss the guy when he's not around.

Yeah, let's not think about that too hard.

Braided Threads by stele3 M 13k “Xenk?”

Turning, Xenk watched Edgin enter the stables at a jog, then stumble to a halt. He looked at Xenk’s face and visibly blanched. It had been some time since he had done thus; Xenk could hardly blame him. The mark on his forehead had caused so many to recoil from him over the years.

“Nice, uh, nice horse,” Edgin said after a moment.

“Greetings, Edgin Darvis,” Tyr said aloud.

“Nice talking horse.”

Xenk wiped tears from his face. “Edgin, I present to you my god: Tyr, the Sword Above the Clouds, Keeper of the Door.”

“Your god is a horse?”

Curse of the Green Hag by Moorishflower E 16k “For the crime of attempting to parlay, the hag has cursed me to fall prey to my most bestial urges. Either to secret myself to the woods and there lose my mind, or else to succumb to overwhelming desire for the first creature to touch me. It is why…” Here, a spark of Xenk’s old self-righteousness flares in his eyes. “...I begged you not to touch me. And now here we are.”  

“In my defense, you weren’t really coherent,” Ed says weakly.

Three months after the defeat of Sofina, Xenk shows up on Ed's new doorstep needing help with a very specific curse.

tys hard to be a seinte in the cytie by indigostohelit E 4k “The Material Planes are not realms of punishment,” said Xenk. “The gods no more deny us the warmth of physical pleasure than they would the warmth of the sun. They only warn us, through each, of the dangers that lie in excess.”

“…Huh,” said Ed again, and, lacking further retort, grabbed up the new tankard and swigged deeply. Then he spat it across the bar.

“This is water, though,” said Xenk peacefully. “You are going to have a hangover in the morning.”

Hero of Another Story by Banhus M 11k The largely accidental courtship of Edgin Darvis, or: Edgin and Xenk negotiate over a question of genre.

To the Ends of the Earth by Moorishflower M 20k "It is done," Xenk says. He holds up his own right hand to demonstrate, displaying the golden light that is already sinking into his gauntlet and disappearing beneath. "We are bound, you and I, until the magic is dispelled."  

"What the fuck," Edgin whispers. He scrabbles at his sleeve, yanking it up to examine the faintly-glowing runes that have encircled his wrist. "What the fuck? What do you mean, bound?"

Sent by the High Harpers to retrieve a criminal to aid in a desperate mission, and authorized to use binding magic to ensure his cooperation, Xenk comes to understand and long for the former Harper agent Edgin Darvis during the tenday they spend in Icewind Dale, surrounded on all sides by ice, and cold, and endless lonely nothingness.

Mark of the Thay by BlankPersonality E 93k WIP Edgin didn't escape the Beckoning Death untouched. He survived, yes, but it left him with a familiar mark. The visions of Zia that had haunted him since that day complicated things too. And now Xenk is at his door...?

[sparrowsarus]

In which we work on character voices, there is a makeout session, and Xenk finds out he and Ed have been dating the entire damn time.

"I wish to kiss you, if I may."

Ed's smile shifts into something soft, and a little wry. "Well I'm not going to say no, obviously, but I was under the impression you weren't-"

The rest of the sentence is cut off by Xenk wrapping a hand around the back of Ed's neck and slotting their mouths together.

Permission to touch, permission to have--everything Xenk had been waiting for, given to him.

Ed's arms around his neck, his slightly chapped lips brushing Xenk's own-- maddening in all the best ways. He can't help it; he wants deeper, closer, more.

Ed makes a low, almost hitching noise, and Xenk has little time for metaphor or colloquialisms, but he knows music when he hears it—and this is a song he wants to listen to over and over again.

He finds himself pressing Ed against the wall, wood rough against his knuckles. Ed's mouth has left his and has now found itself against Xenk's neck--a slight hint of teeth has his knees nearly buckling, a broken noise coming from his throat that would be embarrassing, perhaps, if it did not come with the consequence of Ed's hips hitching against Xenk's own, the heat of him pressed against Xenk's thigh, callused hands slipping under his shirt and grasping his hips.

Distantly, he realizes that he could probably have all of Ed, right here, right now--and the thought is so dizzying he moans with it, burying his face into Ed’s shoulder.

"Oh gods sweetheart you can't--you can't make noises like that, you don't know what you do to me--" and Ed is moving from Xenk’s neck to his jaw, coaxing him to turn his head so Ed can kiss him again, this time with a slow, gentle slide of tongue that has Xenk trembling and unsteady. He wants, he wants so badly. Ed’s tongue is driving him mad: not too much, not too hard, just a slow, steady glide and Xenk is consumed with the thought that that’s what Ed is like in bed—

He breaks the kiss, thrilling at Ed’s noise of protest. He had spent so long thinking Ed wasn’t interested, would never want him back, and yet.

Ed’s eyes are nearly black, the sliver of blue barely detectable. His lips are kiss-swollen, and his chest is heaving. Xenk feels breathless and intoxicated, like he’s both drowning and flying, and it’s all because of the man in front of him. It’s too much. It’s not enough.

His expression must say something of his feelings, because Ed’s lips curve into a smile, and his arms wrap around Xenk’s shoulders, one hand against his neck, pressing their foreheads together.

“We can stop, if you want. I know you’ve got”—he flaps his hand—“paladiny stuff. Rules. Celibacy. That.”

Xenk is suddenly confused. “My oath does not require celibacy.”

Ed blinks. “er, since when? Cause I was pretty sure that was something you mentioned when we first started all this.”

Xenk thinks back to what they were discussing prior to the kiss, and cannot think of what Ed might be talking about. Ed tries to avoid figures of speech when he talks to Xenk, and Xenk tries to understand the more common ones, for his sake; but perhaps—?

Ed’s eyes are searching Xenk’s face, looking for an answer to a question Xenk doesn’t know. “You have…no idea what I’m talking about. Okay. Okay, clearly, somewhere, we had a communication failure. That’s probably on me. You mentioned it something like a year ago, when we first started dating, so maybe I misunderstood? Which is annoying, frankly, because we apparently could have been doing this the entire time.”

Xenk is now utterly, completely lost. “When we started…dating?”

But it is clear that they are still not communicating correctly, because Ed shrugs and says “Yeah, I mean approximately? I don’t have the exact date memorized, or anything, but about then.” He grins, and Xenk’s heart flip flops. “You know, babe, I love you and all, but you are utterly ridiculous sometimes.”

 I love you.

Said so casually, so openly. Like Ed assumed Xenk knew. Like the world hadn't tilted on it's axis.

Ed's face turns serious, and his hand cups Xenk’s jaw. “Hey, are you okay? I didn’t mean you were annoying, just. You know. The situation.”

Xenk had spent the last two years longing for Ed; aching for his touch, his smile, his laughter. Every time Ed had casually knocked his shoulder, wrapped his arm around his shoulders, kissed his cheek for luck when Xenk had to leave him behind—it had burned.

It had taken two years for him to build up his courage enough to offer his heart, terrified of rejection. All to find out that Ed had assumed he already had it, and had tucked his own behind Xenk’s own ribcage.

It would be easy to just pretend that he had known this--to push back the discussion to a different time--but Xenk has never been good at pretense. But he also knows that, if he does not say what he needs to say correctly, Ed will get the wrong idea and bolt, and that cannot be allowed.

He wraps his arms around Ed’s body, holding him close. “Do not take this wrongly. But I must confess,” he says quietly, “that I did not know we were in a relationship till just now.”

Once again, Ed doesn’t do what Xenk expects. Instead, he looks utterly baffled.

“You—you’re joking. You have an armour stand in the corner! You have a favourite teacup! You live here! You sleep in my bed! Holga boils extra linseed oil for you! I have to move your seashell collection every time I dust! You really didn’t know?”

Xenk did not collect seashells. He had shown one to Ed, to gauge its appropriateness as a potential courtship gift, and Ed had put it on the windowsill; and when they took Kira to the seashore because she missed the ocean, Ed had pointed out interesting ones. Xenk had taken it as encouragement; apparently Ed had taken it as supporting Xenk’s hobby.

It is clear that, if this relationship is going to survive, they must learn to talk to each other.

“I did not know you saw us as such, that my behaviour lead you to assume I did. I am…not as experienced in these matters as one would expect, considering my age. I had thought myself blessed that you thought of me as a friend, and only recently became brave enough to ask for something else.

To share your bed, and think I did not have the right to take you in my arms—it was an agony. ”

Ed is silent, considering. Xenk leans in to kiss him—soft, this time. Gentle. All-too-brief, but this is a conversation they must have, if this is to survive.

Ed seems to agree. He unloops his arms from around Xenk, and tugs him to his—no, their, apparently—bed. They sit, and Ed takes Xenk’s hand, running a thumb along his knuckles.

“I’m sorry,” he starts. “I should have checked to make sure—but that doesn’t matter. It’s just— you kept inviting us on your adventures, and sometimes just me, and I started to think—I figured we were on the same page when I asked you if you wanted to come to bed with me. And you said something about only being able to sleep, and honestly I was so nuts about you by then I didn’t really care about not having sex or kissing you. It was enough just to know you wanted me back. Having you there, as much as you could be. It was enough. You were enough.” Ed huffs a laugh. “I was actually planning a way to ask you if you were allowed to get married, actually. And if you’d, y’know. Want to.”

You were enough.

I love you.

I love you.

I wanted to ask you to marry me.

I didn’t need the rest of it; I had you.

It’s too much.

It’s not enough.

It’s perfect.

[moorishflower]

To the Ends of the Earth (Xenk/Edgin magical binding, Mature)

To the Ends of the Earth || Xenk Yendar/Edgin Darvis || Mature || Complete

Magical Bond, Pining, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Sharing a Bed, Gift Giving, Medium Burn, As in not quite slow burn, Imprisonment, Caretaking, Healing, Sharing Trauma, Hand Jobs, Geographical Isolation, Cold Weather, This was compared to Left Hand of Darkness and honestly I can't ask for more

Sent by the High Harpers to retrieve a criminal to aid in a desperate mission, and authorized to use binding magic to ensure his cooperation, Xenk comes to understand and long for the former Harper agent Edgin Darvis during the tenday they spend in Icewind Dale, surrounded on all sides by ice, and cold, and endless lonely nothingness.

[Read it on AO3!]

[treesspeaklatin]

got a xedgin prompt? I'll write you a drabble!

rating: G

warning: none apply

tags: denial of feelings, idiots in love

prompt: true love's kiss 

thanks to @wren-of-the-woods for the prompt!

also on ao3

"Really? Half of Faerun's already done that."

They look at him.

Okay. If they expect that his stupid kiss will awaken stupid Xenk, Edgin will show them how stupid this is.

Xenk is sleeping like a prince. If Edgin's heart breaks, it's only because it's strange to see him motionless. 

Edgin bends down. "Come back," he whispers, because he's also stupid.

He kisses Xenk.

Nothing happens.

"What did I tell you?" Edgin wipes his eyes. Must be dust.

His fingers are brushed gently, his face dragged back down. 

Edgin sighs. "I hate you so much." 

Xenk, awakened, kisses him again.

[swingsetindecember]

xenk/edgin fics i need

modern au where xenk and edgin play at a dnd table

where xenk heals everyone for 1 hp and edgin for like 60

edgin the bard goes a courtin'

edgin somehow writes the best xenk yendar ballad that tops neverwinter top 40

xenk's paladin pals coming to vet out xenk's new beau

xenk wooing edgin with acts of service

[artemisiatodd]

I'm so weak for them 🥹

[halestrom]

a love song

yeah ive stalled on this, so. im just gonna throw this here and maybe it'll inspire me again. its 1k of xenk and edgin bs, with the end game being xenk/edgin, eventually. if i ever write it.

“I am in need of a song.”

Edgin blinked, the last moments of sleep still clouding his mind as he tried to decide if he was awake, or if he was in a very weird dream. “What?”

Xenk stared at him. “I am in need of a song,” he said, the same tone as before, but Edgin could almost make out a sense of frustration, despite Xenk’s face not changing at all. Or maybe that was the sleep.

“What time is it?” Edgin asked, looking out past the door and trying to see if the sun was even close to rising.

Holga had taken Kira off to do something together, he hadn’t really gotten a good answer out of either of them and he had decided that sometimes, not knowing something wasn’t the worst thing. Holga had told him it was a right of passage for a woman of age to choose her first axe, and Kira had talked about first blood and Edgin had been around the world long enough to read into that, but it was his daughter, and his best friend, and sometimes willful stupidity was the better option.

But that meant he was here. The sun barely beginning to rise, with Xenk staring at him, dressed in his armor that somehow seemed to gleam despite the lack of sunshine.

“It is almost dawn, my friend,” Xenk said, stepping forward and clapping Edgin’s shoulder before dropping it to rest on the pommel of his swore that looked twice as large as the previous one. “And I am in need of a song.”

Edgin closed his eyes, listening to the birds, and trying to figure out if he was asleep. He took another few deep breaths and opened one eye slowly, waiting to see the strange dream dissipate, but it didn’t. Xenk was still there, cloat fluttering in a wind Edgin couldn’t feel and a serious, If expectant and amused, look on his face.

“Why do you need a song?” Edgin finally asked, rubbing a hand over his chin and figuring he might as well figure out what was happening before he said no.

“I am cursed.”

“Cursed?”

“Yes, I have been cursed and in order to break this curse, I am in need of a song.”

“A song?” Edgin asked, wondering if he had been the one who was cursed.

“A love song, to be exact.”

Edgin opened his mouth, closed it and held up a finger before he stepped back, closing the door, counting to three and opening it again, wondering if this time the dream would disappear. But Xenk was still there.

“A love song?”

“Yes, I have been cursed with love and in order to break the curse I must have a love song, and I assumed you, as a bard, and perhaps, also a friend, would be able to aide me in my quest,” Xenk said, pressing his fist over his chest. “Am I wrong?”

“Well I am a bard,” Edgin said. “But if you’ve been cursed with love, wouldn’t it make more sense for you to, you know, write your own song?”

Xenk inclined his head. “This is my curse. I am in love, and yet I have no song, and I must have a love song in hopes that my loved one will find it in their hearts to love me back.”

Edgin held up a hand, realization beginning to chase away the last vestiges of sleep, and hope that this was a dream. “Are you cursed cursed, or are you in love?”

“I am cursed with love.”

“Most people wouldn’t consider love a curse,” Edgin said, his voice softer than it had been a second ago as he thought of Zia and the pain his own love had caused, unintentionally or not.

Xenk’s face didn’t change much, but there was an air of sadness around him that hadn’t been there before. “I do not age as you, dear friend, and while love in of itself is not a curse, the loss of love can be heart breaking so perhaps, in some respects it is a curse.”

The silence between them was heavy for a moment before Edgin scrubbed a hand through his hair and wished, briefly, he had gone with Kira and Holga before dismissing that thought. It was their moment, and he wouldn’t intrude on that.

“So, you are cursed with love, and you want a love song? To what? Woo someone?”

“Yes.”

“Even though it would break your heart?”

“Yes. Life is long, should I not find happiness where I can?”

“Does this person like you back?”

“I am hoping a song will tell me if that is true,” Xenk said.

“You could just ask, you know?”

“But then how would they know how I feel for them?”

Edgin opened his mouth, closed it, pinched the bridge of his nose and took a moment to gather his wits about him. “So, you want to woo them, to make them fall in love with you? Even though it could break your heart?”

Xenk beamed at Edgin as if he had done something amazing. “That is correct, dear Harper—”

“—not a Harper—”

“—and while, yes, I do not know if this will be something that will succeed, I feel as if my only recourse is to try, and if they do not return my feelings then at least I can continue on without regrets.”

Edgin knew something about regrets and how it could eat you up inside. He sighed, and nodded. “Sure, fine, why not. Come on in,” he said, stepping back into the house and waving for Xenk to follow him. “Leave the sword outside.”

“Thank you, dear friend,” Xenk said, the clank of sword being put down loud in the predawn. “I am in your debt.”

Edgin looked over to where they kept the ale, thought about the time and dismissed it for another few hours.   “Yeah, yeah, just sit down and let me figure out how I’m going to write a love song for you.”

[andrea-lyn]

Everyone Edgin goes lately, people are talking about one thing and one thing only - Xenk Yendar has fallen in love. But, so what? Edgin doesn't care. Absolutely not. He's past caring. It doesn't matter if Xenk's in love. It's none of his business if some poor soul is the subject of Xenk's love and attention and doting. He is a man who could not care any less.

(Except, perhaps the bard doth protest too much)

[izzy-hands]

Edgin + being completely normal in his reactions to Xenk

[startreklesbian]

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES 2023, dir. Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley

[imfuckceok]

XENK x EDGIN (xenk/edgin)

[iffeelscouldkill]

IT TOOK ME 9 MONTHS BUT I HAVE FINALLY WRITTEN THIS

Please enjoy the resulting fic: 'Height Advantage', written for the Funuary prompt, "Competing over something silly".

Xenk/Edgin, rated T for mild makeouts/sexiness. Read it on AO3 or just keep scrolling!

---

“So Ed,” Holga says conversationally as she’s knee-deep in muddy bog with Kira riding on her shoulders. “The next time that Xenk shows up to offer us an alternative route that avoids the godforsaken bog-”

“Yeah, all right, lesson learned,” says Ed, weary, also calf-deep in mud and trying to find a way to lift his foot without losing his boot. Again. “In my defence, it would have taken us way out of our way. And just because he’s a paladin and good at fighting doesn’t mean he’s better at navigation. I’m the plan guy! This is my area!”

“Xenk is pretty well-travelled,” Simon points out as Doric, Wildshaped into some kind of wading bird (ornithology was never Edgin’s strong suit) picks her way around him. “Plus, he seems to have a really good memory.”

“And he knows so much history about everywhere he’s been!” Kira adds, in raptures. She’s always starry-eyed over Xenk whenever they cross paths, one big reason why Edgin tries to minimise the time that they spend around him. That, and he’s still annoying. “So many cool stories.”

“Plus, he really is a good fighter,” Holga adds, and Edgin gives her a look of deep betrayal.

“All right, so we’ve established that Xenk Yendar is the greatest at almost everything,” he says testily. “But who was it who got us out of that cave while it was filling with saltwater? Who figured out how to give Forge’s riches to the people? Not Xenk.”

Holga gives him a wry look. “All right, how are you getting us out of this one?”

Edgin nods to Doric. “Doric, can you scout ahead one more time? Try in that direction.” He points off to the north-east. “I’m pretty sure there’s some firmer ground close by.”

Doric takes off and glides overhead to scout a better path. Edgin manages to take a whole, entire step forward, boot and all, and counts that as enough of a victory that he can rest for a minute. Holga and Kira successfully work their way out of the worst of the mud, and Simon is just reaching for a hand up when he slips with a yelp and almost goes down. Edgin dives forward to catch him, and manages to stop him from faceplanting into the bog, but in the resultant flailing they all get showered with globs of mud. And Edgin loses his boot. 

“Sorry, everyone,” Simon says sheepishly, as Kira lowers her hands from her face and Holga shakes mud off her arms, extremely fed up. “Er, I can use Prestidigitation to-”

“There’s no point cleaning off anything if we’re still stuck in this bog,” Holga tells him. “But I’m going to need five baths at the end of this.”

Kira suddenly straightens up, pointing. “Look, there’s Doric!”

Doric circles once, twice, and then lands a way away on what might be a firmer patch of shore (though they’ve been wrong about that twice already). Transforming back into a human, she calls,

“We’re almost at the end of the bog. The ground is more solid after this point.”

Holga, Kira, and Simon all cheer in relief, and Ed beams. 

“See? What did I tell you?”

Doric glances over her shoulder for some reason, and then she calls,

“Also, I’ve found some help.”

“Help?” Simon perks up, but Edgin’s heart sinks. He has a really bad feeling about this.

Sure enough, a figure in gleaming armour rides up behind her and shouts,

“May I be of any assistance?”

“Xenk!” Kira exclaims happily, and Holga waves. Edgin feels himself sink at least an inch further into the mud in sheer doom.

---

The only saving grace out of the whole situation is that it requires Xenk to get that oh-so-impeccable armour of his dirty.

Obviously rejuvenated by the prospect of dry land, Holga manages to struggle over to Xenk so that he can swing Kira safely up and onto the shore. Doric flies ahead of Simon, guiding him mostly successfully through the bog, and Edgin (boot in hand) tries to follow them. Unfortunately, Doric’s not really able to give instructions in bird form, and he takes a wrong step into something that turns out to be a hip-deep pool of bog. 

“Dad!” shouts Kira, and Holga, who was almost out, turns to jump back into the bog – her annoyance with his decisions doesn’t extend to letting him drown in mud. But Xenk holds up a hand. 

“I will aid him.”

“I’m fine, I think I’ve got it-” Edgin grabs onto some tough grasses and is in the middle of hauling himself out of the pool when Xenk arrives. 

He holds out a hand, and Edgin considers ignoring it for a full two seconds before common sense takes over and he grabs it. Xenk pulls him up, but Edgin’s footing is still unstable.

“Crap!” he wheels his arms around, splashing up muddy bog water. Xenk nearly overbalances before he leans his weight backwards to counter Edgin, and successfully pulls him out – but his feet sink firmly into the mud in the process. 

“Xenk, why are you wearing full armour in a bog?” Ed asks him with exasperation. Xenk looks down at his sunken boots.

“My armour is spelled in such a way as to give me surer footing,” he replies. “However, I do not think the spell is a match for our current terrain.”

“You don’t say,” Edgin replies, flicking mud out of his hair. 

Still, with a bit of extra help from Doric, they make it to the shore, and Edgin spends just a few minutes sprawled on the ground, marvelling the solidness of it. Xenk, leading his horse, shows them down to a small but fast-rushing stream that they can use to clean up.

“Thank fuck,” Holga says, language that she’s usually a stickler about not using in front of Kira, but Edgin can endorse the sentiment.

“You’re the best, Xenk!” Kira chirps, and Doric even bestows him with a small smile. 

“Good timing with the assist,” she says.

“I would not have been able to, if you hadn’t located me as well as the route to shore,” Xenk points out. Edgin begrudgingly trails behind them. He’s a fan of giving credit where credit is due, but if they’d followed Xenk’s original suggestion, they’d still be somewhere off in the middle of the Plains, nowhere near the Festival. Edgin’s idea had worked out, as they always did eventually. 

Holga, Doric and Kira splash into the stream first, Holga helping Kira to sluice off her hair, while Simon and Edgin hang back, peeling off muddy boots and sodden outer garments. Simon gives Edgin’s right boot a good go with Prestidigitation, and at least manages to make it wearable.

“Thanks, Simon, that’s good,” Edgin says, because Simon still needs all the confidence boosting he can get. “It’ll get us down to Mosswick, and we can find cobblers and cleaners there.”

Buoyed up, Simon looks over to where Xenk is dismantling his armour. Shiny pieces lie across the ground, and Xenk is in the middle of taking off his heavily reinforced boots. “Xenk, would you like me to use Prestidigitation on your armour?”

“I thank you, Simon Aumar,” says Xenk as he steps out of the boots. “The spell was never my forté.”

Edgin snorts. “That’s your big weakness? Cleaning spells? Well, other than social skills.” Even though he’s seen Xenk out of his armour – he wasn’t wearing it when they met, after all – there’s something weird about the way he looks without it now. He seems almost diminished, but maybe Edgin just got used to seeing him with armour on.

Xenk frowns quizzically. “There are many areas in which I lack aptitude.” Edgin pads over to him in the soft grass until they’re nose to nose, and Xenk’s frown deepens. “Edgin, are you quite well?”

Edgin puts his hand out level with the top of Xenk’s head, and then brings it slowly over to his own. His fingertips graze a point that’s just above his eyebrows. He moves his hand back, and then does it again to make sure, a grin growing on his face.

“Uh, Ed?” asks Simon.

Edgin beams at Xenk. “You’re shorter than me!” He measures a third time, just to savour it.

“That may be true,” Xenk acknowledges.

“Oh, it’s definitely true. I’d say there’s a good inch, inch and a half, in it?” Edgin looks down at Xenk’s feet; he’s wearing some kind of plain socks, but of course, he just took off his boots. “Those boots add a fair bit to your height – what, have you got stilts built into those things? Or is it another spell?”

Xenk ignores the spell comment. “My height is almost six feet,” he says. “By typical human standards, I am considered tall-”

“Oh, sure, you are tall. Ish,” says Edgin, because he’s absolutely going to rub this in until the end of time. “But I’m taller.”

Just then, Holga, Kira, and Doric reappear through the trees. “God, I feel like a person again instead of a Giant Slime,” Holga says. 

“Kira!” Ed descends on his daughter and swings her up into the air like he did when she was a lot smaller. She screeches, but she’s laughing. “Hey, how’s that for height, eh? I bet Mister Yendar couldn’t swing you that high!” He swoops her back down and gives her a spin around for good measure. Okay, so maybe Edgin’s back isn’t much of a fan of the whole move, but Edgin doesn’t care. Today is a good day. 

“Okay, we need to go clean off! Xenk, I’ll show you where to step so you don’t get out of your depth.” He smirks and leads the way into the trees. Behind him he can hear Doric ask, “What’s put him in such a good mood?”

---

Washing up in a stream is all very well – and a good way to make sure that people don’t run away screaming when they arrive in town – but it’s no substitute for a proper bath. The Festival doesn’t start until the next day, so they have time to find a decent inn and get settled.

Ed was hoping that Xenk would be able to pay his own way with a room, but of course, he’s given all his money away to blind beggars or something. 

“I will be content with finding some shelter-” Xenk began, as Doric takes a key for herself and Simon and Edgin gives the second to Holga and Kira. 

“Don’t be silly, you’ve got to have a bed,” Edgin says. He holds up their room key. “I hope you don’t kick in your sleep.”

“I have no awareness of doing so,” Xenk replies, serious as ever.

They get to the room, which isn’t the smallest Ed has ever slept in (well, that honour would go to a jail cell, he supposes), but it’s pretty cramped. Money’s still a bit tight, but they’re hoping to pick up some odd jobs at the Festival.

There’s a hook next to the door, and Edgin goes to hang his coat on it, and then smirks. “Want me to help you with yours? It’s pretty high up.”

Xenk’s brow crinkles, and then the penny drops. “You are very fond of this joke,” he tells Edgin, though he also shrugs fluidly out of his jacket and lets Edgin hang it up. “What is it about my lack of height relative to yours that amuses you?”

Edgin snorts wryly. There’s no point making fun of someone like Xenk; he’s either oblivious, or he tries to analyse it. “I’m being petty,” he admits, honestly, sitting down on the bed. Xenk takes off his boots, and Edgin watches him lose that small amount of extra height again. “It’s just a novelty, having something over you. Because you’re amazing at everything.”

“You see yourself as being in competition with me?” Xenk asks, and Edgin wants to run a hand over his face. Apparently it’s Uncomfortable Truths Hour. 

“I mean, not really, but also kind of? It’s stupid,” Ed admits. “You’re-” He waves a hand at Xenk. “This ideal guy, with perfect looks, insane fighting strength, and impeccable morals. Everyone trusts you, and thinks highly of you. It’s a lot, to be around that.”

Xenk doesn’t say anything for a few moments, giving Edgin time to really reflect on his words – god, he just said that Xenk had perfect looks. He isn’t even drunk – but then he shakes his head.

“It is strange, because I think of it in the opposite way,” he says, and sits down next to Edgin. “You are a difficult man to live up to, Edgin Darvis.”

Edgin gapes at him for two full seconds, unable to make his throat work. “-me?” he eventually repeats, strangled.

“Is it so hard to believe?” Xenk asks. “You are not possessed of any extraordinarily long life or immortality. Yet you chose to devote your limited time on this earth to doing good. You allied yourself with the Harpers – an organisation known for its great feats, but not for its great rewards. And yes, you may have strayed from a righteous path – and suffered a terrible loss. But you have not allowed this to embitter you. You have strong friends who have become family. People are drawn to you, and to your character. It is enviable.” 

Xenk caps off this whole speech – which has left Edgin totally at a loss for words, and also, he’s pretty sure, blushing heavily – with a little smile at him. “Also, you are taller than I am.”

Edgin swallows. “You…” He still has no idea what to say. “You want to take the first bath?”

If Xenk is surprised, or disappointed, he doesn’t show it. “I thank you. I will not need long.” Xenk spent the least amount of time in the mud compared to the rest of them, but he’s been riding around all day – probably putting out fires and saving orphans before he came to join up with their little group.

The door shuts behind Xenk with a click, and Edgin breathes out. What the hell was that? Xenk is a weird guy, and Edgin’s given up on predicting what he’ll do at any given moment, but he wasn’t expecting that… poetic litany of Edgin’s good qualities. Also, what the hell?? Xenk thinks that Edgin is admirable? He even implied he envies him? The whole idea threatens to break Edgin’s worldview.

Edgin thinks a lot about the look on Xenk’s face when he said that Edgin was taller than him – and by the time Xenk gets back, he’s committed to a course of action. 

(He has no idea what he’s doing, but he’s committed. That’s one of Edgin’s more frequent modes).

Xenk’s hair is damp around his face when he re-enters the room, wearing only his deep-necked white shirt and a simple pair of trousers. He’s completely unfazed as Edgin crowds him up against the door, looking at him with that small smile again. “You have me at a disadvantage,” he says, voice low.

“Did you really mean all those things you said just now?” Edgin asks him. “About me being…” He almost feels stupid saying it aloud. “…admirable?”

“I am truthful in everything I say,” Xenk replies. Right, of course. Paladin.

“And do you like the fact that I’m taller than you?”

Xenk’s eyes darken. “Yes,” he says immediately, his voice almost gravelly. “I find it unexpectedly enjoyable.”

Edgin’s heart is hammering, but he’s still very committed. “Do you enjoy it if I do this?” he asks and uses two fingers to tilt Xenk’s chin up. Unnecessarily, but that’s not the point. 

“I will enjoy it more if you follow the action through,” Xenk tells him. Edgin can feel the words vibrating against his fingertips. 

Edgin considers playing dumb for a second but he’s not that cruel, and his restraint also isn’t that good. “Gladly,” he says, and kisses Xenk’s waiting mouth. The difference between them might only be an inch and a half, but it makes for a very pleasurable angle. Edgin leans in to kiss him again, and again. And again.

Eventually, he breaks away. “I should really take that bath.” He fleetingly considers asking Xenk to join him, but he’s not sure he’s ready to go there quite yet, and that’s if Xenk hasn’t taken a vow of chastity or something like that. 

Though the way that he kissed back just now sure as hell wasn’t chaste.

Xenk nods. “Do so,” he says. “I will await your return. Although, a word of caution-” Ed pauses with his hand on the door, wondering what kind of problem there could possibly be. “The bathing tub is quite shallow. It may pose some challenges with your stature.”

Edgin blinks once, twice, and then a grin spreads across his face. “Are you making a height joke?”

Xenk looks innocent. “I am simply making an observation.”

“You are.” Ed has to kiss him once more, just for that. “I’m so proud of you.”

I need everyone to be aware of the fact that Chris Pine is taller than Regé-Jean Page, because this means that Edgin is taller than Xenk and that is extremely important to me because you know Edgin would make a huge deal out of it.

[alivedean]

dungeons & dragons: honor among thieves + text posts bonus:

[moorishflower]

Curse of the Green Hag (D&D: Honor Among Thieves Edgin/Xenk fuck or die curse!)

Curse of the Green Hag || Edgin Darvis/Xenk Yendar || Explicit || 16k

Fuck Or Die, Curses, Fluff and Humor, Barebacking, Overstimulation, Oral Sex, Light Bondage, Mildly Dubious Consent, Because of the fuck or die curse, Pining, No Dungeons & Dragons Knowledge Required, But references for those who know where to look, Loss of Virginity

Three months after the defeat of Sofina, Xenk shows up on Ed's new doorstep needing help with a very specific curse.

Read it here on AO3!