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marlettwrites · 5 years

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Day 22: Falling Asleep Together

Tomorrow’s prompt response will unfortunately be the last one. It’s been a pleasure writing these, and I hope to do something similar for next year’s Pride Month!

Kul lay awake in his hammock, a nervous energy keeping him awake. Nothing he did seemed to get rid of it. Finally, he rolled onto his side.

“Hey Jude?” he called quietly across the room, “Are you awake?”

“Mm? Nooo,” a sleepy voice answered.

Kul caught the sound of his boyfriend’s hammock creaking as he shifted.

“Wha’s goin’ on?”

“Nothing, I just,” Kul sighed, “I can’t sleep.”

“Oh.”

Jude’s hammock creaked again, and then came the sound of his feet landing on the floor. He padded quietly across their room until the soft sound of his breathing hung over Kul.

“Would a hug help?” Jude asked uncertainly.

Kul considered this. He imagined them curled up together in his little hammock. Imagined what it would be like to wake up with Jude in his arms, still sleeping soundly. Kul imagined he would gently brush the hair out of his lover’s face and deliver a soft kiss to his forehead.

The thought filled him with a warmth that began in his stomach and rose to his cheeks.

“Yes,” he said finally, “I think a hug would help very much.”

“Okay.”

Jude leaned in and wrapped Kul into his embrace. The blissful feeling lasted only a moment, then Jude pulled away from him and started back to his own hammock.

“Goodnight, Kul.”

“Wait,” Kul blurted. He paused, wringing his fingers together, “Um, I was wondering, could we maybe sleep together? Uh, in um, in the same hammock?”

“Oh. S-sure! If you want. It’s just-” Jude cut himself off. Kul heard the telltale sound of cloth shifting followed by a soft scratchy noise that meant Jude was reaching for his rock, “-It’s just that I get nightmares sometimes, so I talk in my sleep, and I might kick, too.”

“I think I’ll live.”

The cloth of Jude’s robe shifted again as Kul heard him drop his rock back into his pocket. His feet pitter-pattered over the hard packed dirt again, and then Kul felt his hammock dip to the left. Jude rolled in, right into his waiting arms.

With the warmth of another body beside him, Kul finally felt himself relax.

Thank you for reading!

Taglist:

@kai-writesstuff @runningonrain @imaghostwriter @writingnosefreak @planets-and-prose @marvel-and-writing

If you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist, please let me know in a comment below. :)

#gay #gay writing #gay fluff #ACOH #A Curse of Healing #ACOH Jude #ACOH Kul #Jude #Kul #ACOH short #drabble #prompt response #writing #my writing #actual writing #marlettwrites #fluff #tooth rotting fluff

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marlettwrites · 5 years

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Day 20: One (or both) is Injured

Alternately, Jude makes friends with the local cryptid.

Jude clambered up the increasingly steep hill, using his hands as well as his legs to propel him now. Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered with such a difficult climb, but Seben and Tabu had both insisted the top of Serpent’s Ridge offered the best view on the island. Once the thought had wormed its way into his head, Jude found he couldn’t let it go.

His curiosity demanded he know what lie at the top of that mound.

“How much further?” Kul called from behind him.

Jude looked up, squinting in the midday sun.

“Just a few more feet, I think. It looks pretty flat up ahead,” he said.

“Great. This bag is getting heavy.”

Jude turned to look at the heavy sack hanging off his boyfriend’s shoulders. He frowned.

“I told you I wouldn’t mind carrying it for a bit.”

“No,” Kul dismissed with a wave of his hand, “It’s fine. I’ve got it.”

“Okay,” he muttered.

“O-kaaaaayyyy,” Kul mocked him playfully.

“Oh my gods,” Jude said, “You’re such a child.”

In response, Kul stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at him.

“How childish was that?”

“Hmm. Only a lot.”

Kul let out a short cackle.

Jude pulled himself up and onto the top of the hill and held out a hand for Kul. He took it and pressed a soft kiss to Jude’s knuckles. The pink tinge in his cheeks and the way his hair moved in the breeze were almost enough to make Jude’s heart stop. He watched as Kul’s eyelashes fluttered gently against his skin.

Kul then dropped his hand and stubbornly scrambled the rest of the way up the hill unaided. He seated himself beside Jude, allowing his legs to dangle over the edge.

“You were supposed to let me pull you up,” Jude mumbled.

“You know I never do what I’m supposed to,” Kul offered a cheeky smile.

Jude only rolled his eyes in response. Instead of Kul, he chose to focus on the view of the island from his new vantage point. Date palms and fig trees dotted the land, broad leaves hiding the straw tops of the huts that lay below. Beyond that, he saw the edge where the trees met sand and where sand tapered off into the red sea. From behind, he heard the roar of that same sea crashing into the cliffside.

When he squinted, Jude found he could even make out the long oily line that made up Apep’s constantly moving body. The great snake could rarely afford to rest. The beaches that lined the island were many miles in length, and though Apep was large enough to encircle it all, they only had one head.

“Finally,” Kul said, dropping the rucksack between them, “Lunch.”

They spent the next few minutes eating honeyed bread and fruit. Between bites, Jude did his best to describe the view to Kul. Even while echolocating, his boyfriend couldn’t make out much more than vague shapes past ten feet.

After awhile, Kul stood and stretched, electing to explore the little outcropping a bit more. Jude’s gaze lingered on his face a little longer than necessary. Once he realized he was staring, Jude turned his attention back to the tiny huts far below. Squinting a little, Jude thought he could almost see Egypt’s shore.

Not for the last time, he wondered how Braheem was doing.

A sickening crack followed by the word “Shit!” promptly drew Jude from his thoughts.

Jude spun around. Kul sat hunched over his leg, and since his back was to Jude, he couldn’t quite see what happened. He hoped Kul had just tripped and startled himself. As he drew closer though, it became increasingly obvious that Kul’s leg was both wedged between two large rocks, and very much broken.

Rushing to his side, questions poured out of his mouth before Jude even realized he was speaking.

“What happened? Where does it hurt most, and how bad is it? Are you stuck? On a scale of one to ten-”

Kul threw up a hand to silence him.

“That’s a lot of questions, Jude. One at a time, please,” Kul’s voice sounded strained.

Forcing himself to calm down, Jude switched his focus to the injured leg. It was bent oddly in two places, and he internally groaned. One break was bad enough, but two? Shaking the thought from his head, Jude reached forward. Best to get it over with and hope that the magic imbedded in Punt’s core helped him heal faster than he would in Egypt.

Just before he touched his boyfriend’s knee, Kul caught his wrist.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Jude blinked at him, confused.

“I’m going to heal it. What else would I be doing?”

“I don’t know. Making a splint? Going to get help? Doing anything that doesn’t end up with you in excruciating pain?”

Kul’s teeth were clenched tight, something made obvious by his taught jaw. Whether because of pain or anger, Jude didn’t know.

“If I make a splint and set your leg, you’ll be in pain for at least a month. If I heal you, I’ll only feel it for a few days. It’s better that way,” Jude explained.

Kul scowled.

“Jude, no. We talked about this. You can’t give up anymore time because of other people’s stupidity. That includes mine.”

“But-”

“You think I had trouble getting the rucksack up here, imagine the issues I’ll have trying to carry you down that hill.”

Jude considered this. After wrenching his wrist from Kul’s grasp (Jude suspected he was only holding on that tight because of the pain), he stood.

“Okay, fine. I’ll go find some sticks and make a splint, but I’m not leaving you up here alone.”

He didn’t give Kul the chance to respond to that, as he knew the other boy would insist Jude leave him in the name of finding help.

A five minute long search yielded two perfectly straight sticks. After easing Kul’s injured leg from between the two rocks, Jude quickly got to work, setting the bones back in place to the best of his ability. He built a quick splint using the two sticks and one of the rolls of gauze he always kept on his person. As he worked, he mulled over what to do.

They couldn’t both stay on the cliff- they only packed enough food for the day, and had devoured most of it. He couldn’t carry Kul down the hill, that presented too much of a risk of one or both of them falling and splitting a more vital bone than a fibula. A cracked skull, for instance, would be very bad. Jude tied off the gauze and stared blankly out into the distance. Beyond the trees, that thick black line still sat. Watching.

Jude almost smacked himself.

Apep could get them down and to the mouth of Tabu’s cave in minutes.

The only problem was getting their attention. Normally, this was a non-issue. The great serpent loved foods of all sorts, and tried to keep their head around the South beach, as Jude often visited with samples of snacks. Now, however, Jude had no idea what part of the island the head was currently patrolling.

“You should go get help. I’ll be fine here for a few hours-” Kul tried again, but Jude cut him off.

“I’m not leaving you. When I get Apep’s attention, I’ll ask them to carry us down, and everything will be okay.”

Kul groaned.

“Apep? Really? The same snake that almost let you bleed out on the beach because of a technicality in a stupid rule?”

“They’re a nice snake,” Jude defended, “Just a little lonely, I think.”

“Oh my gods,” Kul moaned. “Fine, but if I have to sit here listening to them hem and haw over whether they can really spare the time for more than five minutes, I’m going to climb down this hill myself, consequences be damned.”

“It won’t come to that,” Jude said. Hopefully.

He dug around in the rucksack, searching for any leftovers. Apep would come quicker if they smelled food. Triumphantly, he pulled an untouched apricot and a half-eaten slice of olive bread that he’d planned on saving for later from the bag.

“How’s your pain?” Jude called over his shoulder.

Kul looked thoughtful for a moment. He reached out to poke at his leg.

“Don’t,” Jude snapped.

Kul shrugged at him, but dropped his hand back onto the ground.

“It hurts, but it also feels weirdly numb, so not too bad I guess.”

Jude nodded.

“Good. That’s how it should feel.”

He gathered the leftovers in his arms and headed to the cliffside. Looking down at the crashing waves below, Jude found himself struggling to breathe.

Don’t look at it, Jude instructed himself firmly, Don’t think about it, it’s not there.

He chose instead to focus on the over-ten-tree-trunk-thick mass of brown and golden scales arcing over the water.

“APEP!” he yelled, shouting as loudly as possible. “I NEED HELP! KUL’S HURT!”

The mass kept moving, scales shifting constantly. Jude sighed to himself.

“I have food,” he called, not quite as frantic this time.

The scales stopped shifting. Slowly, they began moving in the opposite direction. Ten seconds later, Jude was staring into a giant golden eye that opened larger than he stood. Apep rose to stare at Jude curiously. Their gaze darted between him and the leftover pieces of food he held. Apep seemed to smile.

“Jude! What a pleasant surprise to see you on this side of the island!” Their voice boomed in his head, neither masculine nor feminine. He heard it plain as day, but not in the way one ‘hears’ a noise. “I see you brought me some snacks. That was very kind of you. I do need to keep my energy up.”

Something large and pink darted out from their mouth, reaching for the olive bread. Jude leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the giant forked tongue.

“No,” he said sternly, “I need you to take me and Kul somewhere first.”

The giant cobra settled the tip of their chin (did snakes have chins? He needed to research that when they got home) on the cliffside and stared at him forlornly.

“And here I thought we were friends.” they whined. “But you only want me around when you need something from me,” they followed this dramatic statement up by throwing their head back and wailing.

“Kul is hurt and we need to get him down to Tabu’s cave as fast as possible. His leg is broken in two different places,” Jude stated, decidedly unamused by Apep’s antics.

The wailing cut off abruptly.

“I don’t see why you need me for that,” they sniffed, “You’re the healer. I’m just the healer’s ride, apparently.”

Apep pretended to sob now. Loud, hacking, obviously fake sounds rang out loudly in his head. Jude grit his teeth.

“Fine. I guess I’ll just have to eat this delicious olive bread all by myself then.”

Apep turned another emotional one-eighty. They gave a little fake sniffle.

Jude wasn’t so naive as he used to be. He knew snakes didn’t have tear ducts, and so weren’t able to cry. Apep enjoyed being the center of attention a little too much.

“Olive bread? You brought me olive bread?”

“Not if you don’t help me get Kul to Tabu’s cave.”

Apep considered this. They hovered over the edge of the cliff for a moment. Finally, they nodded. Apep pressed their snout to the side of the cliff, creating a very sturdy and flat platform for them to stand on. Jude breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Peps,” Jude said.

Apep grunted in response.

Jude helped Kul to his feet. With Kul’s arm and most of his weight slung over his shoulder, they hobbled onto Apep’s nose. Jude sat in his usual place between the serpent’s eyes and slowly lowered Kul onto his lap. Kul hissed and gripped Jude’s hand in his own, nearly crushing it with how hard he was squeezing.

“Maybe it hurts a little more than I said,” Kul muttered.

Jude wrapped his free arm around Kul’s middle. Burying his face in Kul’s neck, he said, “It’s okay. Tabu’s gonna fix you up. You’re safe now.”

Kul hissed again. In Jude’s arms, his entire body tensed up.

“I know, I know,” he said. “And thank you. I didn’t say it before, but I was really scared of being left alone up there. I’m glad you didn’t listen to me.”

Jude rubbed comforting circles into the back of his hand. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Kul’s cheek. Apep lowered their head to the ground with a dull thump!

“We’re here,” Apep called. “Now get off and hand over the bread before I puke.”

Thank you for reading!

Taglist:

@kai-writesstuff @runningonrain @imaghostwriter @writingnosefreak @planets-and-prose @marvel-and-writing

If you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist, please let me know in a comment below. :)

#gay #gay writing #gay fluff #ACOH #ACOH Jude #ACOH Kul #Jude #Kul #fluff #tooth rotting fluff #prompt response #A Curse of Healing #ACOH short #drabble #marlettwrites #writing #my writing #original content

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marlettwrites · 5 years

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Jude, enjoying his life: 🙂

Jude:

Jude: .....

Jude: This feels... wrong.

#I am not kind to the boy #I am so sorry #shitpost #ACOH #meme #ACOH meme #A Curse of Healing #ACOH Jude #Jude #oc #my oc #marlettwrites #marlett

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marlettwrites · 5 years

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Day 23: Protecting the/Each Other

TW: Racism, bullying, PTSD flashbacks, implied past abuse

Vague Spoilers ahead!

The rolling pin creaked as Jude carefully rolled out the pastry dough. Eyeing the tart crust Pausiris had laid out as an example, he ran the rolling pin over his own batch one more time. Jude let out a sigh and stepped back.

“How’s this one?”

After nothing more than a quick glance at his work, his mentor said, “It’s the perfect thickness, Jude. Just like the ones you did fifteen minutes ago, and the ones from yesterday, and the ones from last week. You don’t need my approval every time you roll out dough.”

“Okay,” he said, “But what if they look wrong?”

“You always think they look wrong, otherwise you wouldn’t be constantly asking for my opinion,” Pausiris sighed, “Look, anything I’ve taught you over the past two weeks, you can do on your own, with no input from me. Now, if you can manage to roll out another perfect sheet of pastry dough, we might be able to fill this order in time.”

“Right! Sorry!”

Pausiris left for the oven, a tray of raw fruit tarts in hand.

As Jude returned to his station, the sound of an extra pair of footsteps reached his ears. Looking up, he locked eyes with a boy around his age. Hard brown eyes stared him down over a petite nose. Ammon glared at him. Jude froze.

Heart pounding in his chest, Jude reminded himself that as rude as he was, Ammon was a customer. He plastered on a smile and walked over to greet the other boy.

“Hello!” he said brightly, “What can I do for you?”

“I need a lamb dumpling platter.”

Jude nodded and turned to begin preparing the dough. Ammon leaned on the counter, watching him. Making a grab for his mixing bowl, Jude tried his best to ignore Ammon’s gaze.

“You don’t belong here,” Ammon continued casually, “You know that, right?”

Jude stiffened, but continued measuring out flour.

“I know things may have gotten a little heated, but I earned this apprenticeship,” Jude said quietly.

“That’s not what I meant. You don’t belong here. On Punt.”

Jude mixed the wet ingredients into the dry with a little more force than he usually used. Choosing to say nothing, Jude focused instead on ensuring the dough was the right consistency.

“Honestly, we’d all be better off if you left in the boat you rode in on. Don’t take that the wrong way. It’s just best if Mortals stay away from here, you know? Your kind tend to ruin everything you touch. Just look at Egypt! Heard people are stealing over there. Can you imagine?” he scoffed, “Taking something you haven’t earned? It’s barbaric!”

Gritting his teeth, Jude tried to ignore him, but the words slipped past his lips before he could stop them.

“I’m Arcane, just like you. And not all Mortals are bad.”

“Half Arcane,” Ammon corrected, “And that part doesn’t matter. You’re nothing like me. I’d never abuse my magic the way you have,” he sneered, “It’s easy to see what having blood like that has done to you. Just like a Mortal to take advantage of a Gift so graciously given by the Island. Do you even realize how selfish you are?”

Do you even realize how selfish you are? How selfish you are? How selfish selfish selfish-

The word echoed in his head, and the more it bounced around, the more it sounded like Kasaika's voice.

Jude all but punched the dough. Images of his room in the Kingdom flashed through his mind. Cries of pain reached his ears, and though he knew they weren’t real, they still sounded loud and clear in his head. Dropping to his knees, Jude clamped his hands over his ears. Shut up, go away, he pleaded silently.

“Ooh, I think I hit a nerve. Did I upset you, you pathetic magic abu-”

Ammon’s words were cut off by a loud ‘Thwack!’ followed by a guttural scream.

“You broke my fuckin’ nose, you psycho!”

“You’re lucky that’s all you got! If you ever speak to him like that again, I’ll cut out your tongue and shove it down your throat! Now get out, or I’ll break the rest of your face!”

Jude buried his head between his knees. Rocking back and forth on the floor, he waited for the images and the sounds and the panic to stop. His heart hammered in his chest and Jude felt like he was moving at the speed of light, but impossibly slow at the same time.

“Jude?”

That voice sounded so gentle. So warm, and welcoming. He wanted desperately to come up to greet it, but the screaming voices pulled him back under. Heal us! Fix us! Save us! they cried, all vying for his attention.

He heard the gentle voice again, speaking to him softly, though he couldn’t quite make out the words. Slowly enough, the screams faded away along with the rock walls of his old room.

Kul’s face greeted him, uncharacteristically soft and sincere.

“It’s okay, you’re safe. I’ve got you. Can I touch you?”

Jude shook his head.

“N-not yet.”

Kul settled in beside him, a comfortable distance away.

“Okay. I’ll just sit here with you then.”

Jude nodded, and wiped at his eyes which had, at some point, become wet with tears. After a few more minutes of trying to pull himself together, Jude crawled into Kul’s lap and pressed his face into his boyfriend’s neck. Gripping the back of Kul's shirt like a lifeline, he tried to rid himself of the echo of Kasaika's voice. Kul held him loosely, rubbing comforting circles into his back.

“How are those tarts comi- oh dear. What happened?”

“Ammon,” Kul spat in the most venomous tone Jude had ever heard.

“I was in the bad place again,” Jude mumbled.

Kul stiffened.

"I'll kill him."

Jude could only shake his head in protest.

“Dammit,” Pausiris cursed, “Alright, if he ever comes in again, don’t talk to him. Drop whatever you’re doing, come find me, and I’ll kick him out, alright? You should head home. Take tomorrow off, get some rest.”

“Thanks,” Jude managed.

“Don’ mention it. You let me know if he bothers you again, alright? I’ll have a talk with his parents.”

Jude nodded into Kul’s collarbone, too drained to even look up.

Kul scooped Jude up in his arms bridal style. His soft lips landed on Jude’s forehead a number of times during the walk back to their hut.

“When we get home, I’ll make you some tea, okay?”

“I just wanna sleep.”

“Alright. Do you want me to lay down with you?”

Jude nodded into his chest.

The next thing he remembered was waking in their hammock, encircled by Kul’s loving arms.

Thank you for reading!

Taglist:

@kai-writesstuff @runningonrain @imaghostwriter @writingnosefreak @planets-and-prose @marvel-and-writing

If you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist, please let me know in a comment below. :)

#gay #gay writing #gay fluff #ACOH #A Curse of Healing #ACOH short #ACOH Jude #ACOH Kul #drabble #prompt response #marlettwrites #marlett #writing #my writing #original content #fluff #tooth rotting fluff

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marlettwrites · 5 years

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Day 3: Spooning for Warmth

Alternately, Jude is bad at self-care.

Kul nocked a new arrow in his bow and pulled back. He clicked his tongue and cocked his head to the side, waiting patiently for the echoes to make their way back to his ears.

Taka taka taka tak

Kul lowered his bow for a moment, frowning to himself. He trained his ears on the new sound.

Taka taka taka tak

Oh no, he thought. Not again.

Kul sighed and slung his bow back over his shoulder. As he walked, he sent out more clicks.

Click! There was that rock he always tripped over. Click! One of Hathor's larger sculptures- the goddess Bast. Of course. Click! The door to their newly renovated hut.

As he approached their shared home, the strange but sadly familiar noise grew louder.

Taka taka taka tak

Kul deposited his archery gear by the door, and made his way to the ladder that led up into the loft.

“You can't keep doing this,” he called when he'd climbed about halfway up.

“It's f-f-fine.” Jude's voice drifted down. “I'm n-not that c-c-c-cold.”

“You're shivering. Plus I heard your teeth chattering from all the way outside,” Kul responded flatly as he pulled himself up onto the little ledge that held Jude and Hathor's reading nook.

“I-it's f-f-f-fine,” Jude said again. “And that's n-not f-f-fair. You can h-hear rocks.”

“Good thing too, otherwise you might have frozen to death.”

“It's n-not that c-cold,” Jude repeated stubbornly.

“Bull. It rained last night and there's nothing between that water and your pillow pile.”

Jude didn't answer him. Kul sighed.

“Can't you read somewhere else? Like in your hammock? Where it's dry?”

“No,” Jude scoffed. “T-this is the r-reading spot.”

“Maybe put the scrolls down for a day then?”

“It's noon. I have t-to read at n-n-noon.”

“Okay then.”

Kul retreated down the ladder and snagged the blanket that sat crumpled in the center of his hammock. He paused. Kul thought better of it and tossed his own blanket aside before grabbing Jude's much softer one. Slinging the mass of cotton over his shoulder, Kul clambered back up the ladder.

Kul tossed the blanket over Jude's shoulders. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and leaned back until they were propped up by three pillows, all in varying degrees of dampness. Jude let out a quiet yelp and the scroll crinkled a little in his hands. He never tried to pull away though, so Kul left his hands on Jude's stomach.

“How about this?” he asked.

“This is fine.” Jude mumbled back.

Kul smiled to himself and pressed a quick kiss to the base of Jude's ear. He took great satisfaction in the lack of the shiver-induced stutter in Jude’s voice.

“Good.”

Taglist: @aly-writes-stuff @runningonrain @imaghostwriter @writingnosefreak @planets-and-prose @marvel-and-writing

#marlettwrites #ACOH #a curse of healing #Jude #Kul #acoh jude #acoh kul #ocs #my ocs #writing #my writing #prompt response #pride celebration #gay #gay writing #gay characters #actual writing #marlett #acoh short

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marlettwrites · 5 years

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Day 5: Late Night Talks

Alternately, Jude is bad at self-care: Part 2.

Hovering over the little clay oven, Jude rubbed at his eyes and tried not to think about how dark the sky looked. Or how warm the fire felt so close to his skin. Or how nice the bread smelled.

Five more minutes, he told himself sternly. The fire needs to be doused in five more minutes, and then I can sleep.

“Jude? What’re you doing?”

Jude jumped, startled. He cast a glance over his shoulder to find the speaker. Kul stood in the doorway, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. Some of his tight curls flew away from the rest, and his lower lip stuck out in an adorable pout the way it always did when Kul wasn’t fully awake.

Jude turned away guiltily.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m just baking.”

Kul seemed to sober. His pout shrank a little.

“In the middle of the night?”

Not bothering to turn around, Jude simply shrugged. A few moments of silence followed.

“Jude?”

Oh, Jude thought. Right. Blind.

“I guess so, yeah,” he mumbled finally.

Eager to end the conversation, Jude poured the small bowl of water he’d prepared over the fire. He waited a few seconds before using bunched up rolls of his robe to lift the lid. Peering down, Jude thought to himself that he could have taken the bread off the heat a little sooner. The crust looked a little burnt.

Kul knelt beside him.

“We still have two untouched loaves in the house. What’s really going on?”

Jude leaned back into his chest. Silently, he pulled out his smooth rock and worked his fingers around it a few times before answering.

“Had a nightmare. Couldn’t sleep.”

“Mmm,” Kul hummed. He began carding his fingers through Jude’s hair. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jude rubbed at the stone some more. He shook his head.

“I don’t remember it now.”

Kul leaned in, pressing his lips to Jude’s temple.

“Okay.” He scooped Jude into his arms and stood up. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“Wait,” Jude protested, while Kul carried him back inside, “the bread still needs to be taken out of the oven.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“And it has to be put on a cooling rack so it doesn’t mold.”

“I can do that too.”

“And the oven needs to be cleaned, or the bread bits will be really difficult to scrape off tomorrow, and-”

“Jude.”

His mouth snapped shut.

“Yeah?”

“I can handle it.”

Jude looked up at him warily.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to take advantage of you. You have your apprenticeship tomorrow with Isis, and I’d hate to make you stay up any longer.”

“You’re not,” Kul assured him, “I’m offering to do it. Besides, it’ll only take me a few minutes. And you’ve got your own work cut out for you tomorrow with Pausiris,” Kul chided. “It’s better if we both get some sleep rather than one of us getting none.”

Jude pressed his face into the crook of Kul’s neck.

“I guess that makes sense,” he mumbled after a moment. “‘M sorry for waking you up.”

Kul chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it.”

The next thing he knew, Jude was laying in their hammock. Someone pressed a warm kiss to his forehead and disappeared. What seemed like seconds later, the hammock swayed and Jude woke to Kul’s arms wrapped around him.

Taglist: @kai-writesstuff @runningonrain @imaghostwriter @writingnosefreak @planets-and-prose @marvel-and-writing

If you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist, please let me know in a comment below. :)

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marlettwrites · 5 years

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Day 21: Kiss in the Rain

It was a dark day for mankind on that eve when the demon-snake Apep came into being. Cut from the same cloth as the great god Ra, the serpent wasn’t so much as half as loved, and so they vowed to bring about Ra’s destruction. When the earth shakes in the east-

A splotch of water appeared on the papyrus scroll. Jude blinked, shaking himself from the hold of the writing. Another dropped, darkening the paper. Then a third and a fourth.

The soft patter of raindrops echoed around the room, many of them landing on and around him. Hurriedly, Jude marked his place and rolled up the loose section, thanking whatever force responsible that he’d only just begun this particular story.

On the ground floor, he heard the door close.

"Jude? You're not reading up there, are you?" Kul's concerned voice rang throughout the house.

"No," Jude grumbled, "I guess I'm done for the day."

He shuffled along the ledge of the reading nook with his back to the window, effectively shielding the scroll with his body. He carefully placed it on the shelf where it belonged. Pulling his hood up, Jude began moving back to try and close the sliding wood door he and Kul had installed over the window the previous week.

It was a clunky, heavy, hastily-constructed piece of wood on an unreliable slider. Jude hated the thing, but he hated the thought of any of his scrolls getting ruined by the rain even more.

Especially after he had to throw out about three quarters of his pillow pile due to mold.

Tugging at the handle, Jude winced as water battered him from the open window. The wood door creaked and groaned but refused to move.

"Need some help?"

"It won't move!" Jude called back, frustrated.

The ladder creaked and then Kul's head popped up over the ledge. After clambering up, Kul rushed to his side and started tugging at the handle. They kept at it for a good few minutes, but the stubborn door wouldn't budge.

"Okay, so maybe we should have measured before we cut," Kul said.

"Yeah. I r-really sh-should have thought a-a-b-bout that," Jude agreed.

Kul turned to him, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'll keep working on this, you get downstairs where it's dry."

Jude thought for a second about arguing, but knew Kul would refuse to let him help, even if he stayed. Part of him felt annoyed that Kul didn't want or need his help. A bigger part of him felt grateful to have a partner who cared so much about his health.

Though he was shivering at this point, Jude braved the cascade once more to give Kul a quick peck on the cheek before descending to the ground floor.

"I-I'll m-m-make us s-some tea!" he called from the ladder.

Once he reached the ground floor, Jude shucked off his sopping wet robe. He pulled his rock from the left pocket before carefully draping it over their table. After wrapping himself in his blanket, Jude filled a clay pot with water and sat by the little fire, waiting for it to boil.

Jude shivered, and the sound of his chattering teeth was so loud that he almost didn't notice when Kul descended the ladder.

"I got it to close. Finally," Kul said.

Jude looked up. His poor boyfriend was practically dripping with water, and even shivering a little. Wordlessly, he offered up half his blanket.

“No thanks, I’d rather not ruin your blanket.”

“You’re just as c-c-cold as I a-am, get-t in here,” Jude said.

Kul hesitated for a second, but ducked under Jude’s outstretched arm anyway.

“Eww,” Jude said, “You’re all wet.”

Wordlessly, Kul pulled Jude into a big hug. He pressed sloppy wet kissed to the top of Jude’s head. Jude squirmed in his boyfriend’s arms.

“Noooo,” he whined playfully. “You can’t do this to me! I’m gonna get sick, remember?”

“Nope. I have body heat, which destroys nasty colds,” Kul said. “You have to let me hug you, for medical reasons.”

Immediately, Jude stopped trying to free himself.

“I guess I can’t argue, if it’s for medical reasons.”

“Absolutely,” Kul agreed. “For your danger of potential colds, I prescribe you cuddles and kisses. And tea.”

Kul pulled Jude into his lap and tangled his fingers in the shorter boy’s hair. Jude nuzzled into his neck, and Kul took this opportunity to dot his forehead with a mass of kisses. Kul trailed down his jaw and to the corner of Jude’s mouth.

With their lips almost touching, Kul asked. “Do you think that did it?”

Jude’s heart pounded in his chest. He stared down at Kul’s lips, yearning to remove what little space stood between them.

“Absolutely not,” he whispered, “I need at least ten more kisses and two hours of cuddles. Just to be sure.”

“As you wish, my love.”

Kul closed the gap between them, cupping Jude’s cheek in his hand as they kissed. His other hand rested against Jude’s hip. Jude grasped at the back of Kul’s shirt, and when they finally separated, he found himself gasping for air.

Kul leaned his forehead against Jude’s, panting slightly himself.

“Now…” Kul huffed, “How about the other nine?”

Thank you for reading!

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@kai-writesstuff @runningonrain @imaghostwriter @writingnosefreak @planets-and-prose @marvel-and-writing

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marlettwrites · 5 years

Text

Day 6: Getting Caught while Making Out

Jude lay against Kul’s chest with his head tucked under the other boy’s chin. His mind couldn’t seem to decide whether to focus on the scroll he was reading or the feeling of Kul’s hand on his hip. The loft smelled of fresh air and paper. Every so often, Jude felt a chill in the air leftover from the previous night’s rain.

More often, it was the feeling of Kul’s breath on the back of his neck causing him to shiver.

The other boy still stubbornly insisted that he needed to ensure Jude wasn’t going to read himself into a cold every time it rained. As a result, he’d wormed his way into Jude’s daily schedule.

Kul’s fingers drummed idly against his hip. Jude re-read the same sentence for a third time.

“Are you almost done?”

Kul’s hot breath landed at the base of his ear. Jude fought the blush he felt rising in his cheeks.

“Nope,” he answered, feeling his face grow even hotter at his unintentional high pitch.

“Can I get a timeline at least?” Kul asked, his voice bordering on a whine now. “I’m getting bored.”

“I’ll finish reading this section sooner if you stop distracting me,” Jude muttered.

Kul chuckled, his laugh rumbling through his chest and seemingly straight through to Jude’s own. Kul leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the base of Jude’s ear. His hand migrated up and under Jude’s shirt to land on his bare stomach. Barely managing to suppress a squeak, Jude gripped the scroll tighter in his hands.

“Sorry,” Kul said, not sounding sorry at all. “I didn’t realize I was being such a nuisance.” Kul continued between the series of kisses he’d suddenly become dedicated to lining Jude’s neck with. His finger trailed up and down Jude’s stomach. “I never meant to distract you.”

“You’re an ass,” Jude breathed.

“But you love me,” Kul sang, before pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

Jude melted beneath his touch. Being sure to mark his place first, Jude tossed the scroll aside. He rolled over so he was straddling Kul’s hips. His boyfriend looked delightfully flustered at this sudden change in plans. Kul’s mouth hung open in a tiny ‘o’ of surprise, which slowly widened out into an adorably nervous grin.

“You’re an ass,” Jude repeated. He leaned in and kissed the corner of Kul’s mouth, “And I hate you.”

This time, Jude kissed him in full, tangling his fingers into Kul’s curly hair. Kul kissed him back, one hand in Jude’s hair, the other on his hip. Jude was just about to get his revenge for the neck kisses when he heard the ladder creak. He tried to sit up to check, but Kul pulled him back down and into another kiss. Figuring it was just the building settling, Jude allowed himself to melt once again.

“Oh! Um, I’ll just…”

Kul gently pushed Jude off him and sat bolt upright. Turning, Jude caught a very startled looking Hathor standing at the top of the ladder.

“Hathor! I- we were just-” Kul stammered out.

Hathor’s grin suddenly turned smug.

“Oh, I know what you were doing,” she said. “Don’t let me put a damper on the mood.”

Hathor pulled herself up into the loft and waltzed over to their collection of scrolls. She selected one and started back down the ladder.

“Don’t forget to use protection!” she called over her shoulder.

Across from him, Kul let out an indignant squawk. Jude tried and failed to hold in his fit of giggles.

Taglist:

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marlettwrites · 5 years

Text

Day 4: Walking Hand-in-Hand

Or Kul is a disaster gay.

Jude hovered around the fruit stalls. The market bustled around him, much quieter than the markets of Egypt that he’d grown accustomed to. Kul stood several feet away, looking surly as ever with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

Jude caught himself looking over at Kul more than once. At his boyfriend.

The thought still felt strange in his head. Even though it had been over two weeks since they’d gotten together, Jude felt as though nothing had changed. Kul still avoided physical contact. He still never wanted to talk about anything. In fact, Jude wondered if, in some strange way, by entering into a more intimate relationship with Kul, they’d grown further apart.

Jude shrugged it off. Maybe they just needed time to establish a new normal. He stepped forward and picked up an apricot. It looked about right. Jude fished around in the huge pockets of his robe. After about a solid ten seconds, he found the coin he’d been looking for.

“Not that one. It isn’t ripe.”

Jude jumped. Looking up, he found Kul hovering beside him. The taller boy stood much closer than he had a few moments before. Jude watched silently as Kul plucked a new apricot off the stand and examined it. Nodding to himself, Kul passed the fruit off to Jude.

“Oh. Thanks.”

Kul grunted in response.

Jude payed the vendor and gently replaced the sour fruit in the bin. He stepped away to ogle at other displays, with Kul still inexplicably, infuriatingly, at least five feet behind him at all times. Jude paused to look back at him once or twice. Sighing to himself, Jude thought that perhaps he wasn’t the best at planning dates. He resigned to reminding Kul that he would understand if the other boy wanted to break it off again that night.

Something brushed against his hand. Jude looked down to see a foreign pinky finger wrapping tentatively around his own. Looking up in surprise, he was greeted by a red-faced Kul.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

They walked with their pinkies intertwined for awhile. It felt a little awkward, but Jude was hardly one to complain. After about ten minutes, Kul slid his hand into Jude’s own. As if on reflex, Jude intertwined his fingers with Kul’s.

“Sorry,” Kul said after another ten minutes of silence. “I don’t really know how to do this. I think I’ve messed up a lot over the past couple of weeks.”

“It’s okay.” Jude said automatically.

“No, it’s not,” Kul sighed. “I asked you to be in this relationship with me, and I’ve been ignoring you ever since. It’s not right, and I’m just- I’m not sure how to-” Kul gestured vaguely. “You know?”

Jude nodded, then remembered that Kul couldn’t see him do that. He gave the other boy’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Yeah. I’m new to this too. We’ll figure it out.”

Kul squeezed his hand back and nodded. He cracked a small smile.

“This isn’t exactly how I imagined dating,” Kul said.

Jude peered up at him curiously.

“What do you mean?”

“When my dad talked about my mom, he made it sound like once you fall in love, everything just goes right and the world becomes a magical fluffy cloud or something stupid like that.”

Blinking in surprise, Jude began to wonder if he’d gotten this boyfriend thing wrong after all. Then Kul said,

“Thank the gods he was wrong about that too.”

Jude cracked up laughing and ended up leaning on Kul for support. To his great surprise, instead of pulling away, Kul threw an arm around Jude.

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