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Chapter 2

Raz began trekking off, Lex sticking close behind. Glancing up at the sun, he figured they were going north. 'Good,' he thought. 'I hope we're going far away from Leyawiin.'

They walked in silence, Raz frequently pausing to pick different plants and flowers and Lex gladly taking advantage of the pause to lean against a tree and rest. They had been walking for a while, half an hour maybe, and Lex's limbs were really starting to protest.

"We're almost to Bravil," Raz said, finally breaking the silence.

"Is... is that where you live?" Lex asked, hoping that they would be going further away.

"It is. Bravil is right on the river, with a section even running through the town. It is perfect for a water-loving Argonian."

Lex sighed. It wasn't as far as he'd hoped, but at least it wasn't Leyawiin.



As they neared Bravil, Raz paused to remove and stow his Dark Brotherhood gear. He approached the gates and waved cheerily at the guards, and they happily greeted him back. They also nodded and smiled at Lex, who smiled weakly and gave a small wave.

Lex looked all around him as they entered the city. He had never been too far from Leyawiin before, and certainly not to another city. The people were all friendly enough, smiling and waving as Raz and Lex passed by. He seemed to be fairly popular.

As they got a little further in, they reached a tall statue in the middle of a small courtyard. Raz stopped to reverently kneel and bow his head in front of it. Lex drank in the details of the beautiful woman statue as Raz prayed. A plump Breton came to stand beside Lex.

"You look new to town. Have you heard of our Lucky Old Lady?"

"N-no," Lex replied, not taking his eyes off the statue. "She's really pretty, though."

"It's said she was a daughter of a prostitute, and was teased for not knowing her father until a priest told her that she must be a daughter of Stendarr, God of many things, including luck. She later gave shelter to an unruly man who turned out to be a prince cursed by witches, of all things! He gave her a lot of money, and she shared it with Bravil. So someone made a statute and put it up."

"Wow, what an amazing story." Lex stared wide-eyed at the statue.

"It is, isn't it? Now it's tradition to pray to her whenever you enter the city. Raz here prays to her every day!" Raz chuckled as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his knees.

"Indeed I do. Now off you go, Bre, don't you have something important to do?"

"Yeah, always run errands for my wife 'bout this time. But you know that already, don't you Raz?" The plump Breton winked and headed off from Raz and Lex. Raz tugged on Lex's sleeve to get him to quit staring at the statue and continue off on their way.



They headed further into the town, and over a high bridge hanging above the piece of river running through the town. Lex paused to lean over the railing and stare into the water before rushing to catch up with Raz. Even though the town looked run down, it still had many amazing things.

Raz led him to a two level house, and unlocked and entered the bottom level.

"It's small, but it's suited my needs. Stay here as long as you like, make yourself at home." Lex wondered around the small house, pausing to look at Raz's bookshelf. Raz never took his eyes of the young Dunmer.

"You like books?" Raz asked. "If you want to learn more about the Lucky Old Lady, I have that book. 'Bravil: Daughter of the Niben.'" Lex found the book and pulled it off the shelf.

"Thank you, Raz. I...." Lex bowed suddenly. "You're doing so much for me, a complete stranger. I have never been shown such kindness before, I... I don't know what to do...." Lex fell to his knees, cradling the book in his lap as tears trickle down his cheeks. Everything suddenly caught up to him, a stranger's kindness, and the reason he went to that damned fort in the first place....

Raz quickly kneeled in front of him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling the young man into his chest. "Lex, do not cry. Everything will be alright now. I won't let anyone hurt you, ever again. Look at me." He placed a scaly finger under Lex's chin and gently lifted his head up. Lex was surprised how soft his scales felt. "Lex, I know you must've been hurt very badly, but you will never feel that way with me. Stay with me. It will do both of us good. My job is a lonely one, and it will do me good to have company. So I can help you, and you can help an old lonely Argonian." Lex giggled.

"You're not old." Raz scoffed jokingly.

"I'm 38, I'm so old." Lex giggled again, and Raz gently wiped the remaining tears from his face. "Listen, I've been away for a while, so I'm sure a lot of work has piled up. While I'm away, I want you to rest some more. You aren't fully healed yet. I'm going to give you another healing potion and a sleeping potion. I might not be back by the time you're up, so I'm going to leave you my house key so you can explore the town."

"But how will you get back in?" Lex asked, a little concerned.

"I will find you if you're out, and if I come back while you're asleep, well, I'm good at picking locks. So you don't have to worry about me. We'll have to get you a spare key made when I come back. It won't take long, I know someone who can do it."

"But.... Can't it wait?" Raz smiled gently.

"Nope. I don't know if you noticed, but there was a Bosmer hanging around this building. She's waiting for me, so I really need to go." Lex sighed.

"Alright."

"Don't worry, you have lots of books to read, and the townspeople here are very friendly. You'll have plenty to do while I'm gone."

"I know, but still." Raz smiled, he understood what Lex was thinking. Lex would miss him all the same. He dug out two potions and held them out.

"Take these and lie down. I'll be back as soon as I can." With one last smile, he turned and left. Lex stared at the potions, and then flopped down on the bed.

"Y'know," he said out loud, "I really like this." He downed the potions, and fell asleep reading, unaware that Raz was fondly watching from the window.

Chapter 3

Raz reentered Bravil about midday a few days later. He had hoped to get back a lot sooner, but he had been called to several of the Dark Brotherhood sanctuaries across Cyrodiil.

Everyone greeted him with praises of Lex, saying what a polite young man he was, how pleasant and nice he was, how they were glad Raz had found such a nice person to add to Bravil's community. One member of the Fighter's Guild remarked that it was nice to have a young, energetic addition to Bravil's Guild. Raz had guessed that Lex was a fighter when he had watched the Dunmer confront the bandits at Fort Redman; he knew what he was doing with a blade. Raz headed off toward the guild, hoping to catch Lex there.

As soon as he entered the Guild, he saw Lex holding a shield while an older man was battering away at it, shouting out tips and encouragement every few swings. The man gave a particularly powerful lunge and knocked Lex off balance. Raz dashed forward and caught him before he could fall to the ground. Lex looked up in bewilderment to see who had caught him, and Raz smiled down and winked.

"Raz!" Lex flipped around and flung his arms around Raz's neck in a tight hug, before quickly pulling away and blushing. Raz chuckled softly.

"If you're busy, I can come back later."

"No! I mean, Vincent, can we continue this later?" Vincent laughed and nodded. "Thanks! And thanks for all your help, too!" Raz nodded to Vincent as well, before turning to Lex.

"Shall we head back to the house?" Lex nodded excitedly and they turned and headed out of the guild.

They walked in happy silence back to their home, where Raz pulled a new book out of his bag and handed it to Lex. Lex took it excitedly, reading the title out loud.

"'Last Scabbard of Akrash'... 'Story of a slaver's daughter and her Khajiit lover.' Oh wow, it sounds really interesting! Thank you so much, Raz!" Raz smiled, his face lighting up with pleasure.

"I saw it when I was out, and I thought you might like it." Lex set it aside on the table and sat down, posing his question in a nonchalant manner.

"Did you kill anyone?" Raz sighed heavily and sat down next to him.

"I haven't carried out an assassination in years." Lex pressed further, his curiosity rising.

"Then what do you do?"

"I'm... the organizer, I suppose you could call it. I pass orders to the different sanctuaries. I'm also the one they come to if any problems pop up in the individual sanctuaries. Ah, and so many problems pop up. You would think they were babies, and not assassins." Lex grinned.

"Tell me more."

"Well, I really can't. I've probably told you too much already. But what about you? What did you do while I was away?" Lex's cheeks flushed a deep blue with the memories of the other day, and he turned to look away from Raz. "Lex?" Lex scrambled for something to say, to avoid the topic.

"Uhm, well, but how did you get mixed up with the Dark Brotherhood?" Raz paused, debating on whether to press Lex for details or let it go. He decided that Lex would speak when he was ready.

"In the Black Marsh, home of Argonians, those Argonians born under the sign of the Shadow are given directly to the Dark Brotherhood to be raised. As I was born under the Shadow, I've spent my whole life in the Brotherhood."

"Wow, it must suck to have your whole life decided for you like that."

"It's not so bad. The Dark Brotherhood is called a brotherhood for a reason. We are all family, and it's one of the most loving families I've ever encountered. There is an Orc in the Cheydinhal sanctuary that makes a habit out of hugging new brothers and sisters." Raz paused to chuckle fondly at the memories of dear Gogron gro-Bolmog. "What about your family, Lex?" Lex's eyes grew cold and hard as he turned to stare out the window.

"I hate my family."

"Lex, then I will be your family." Lex leaned into Raz's chest, hugging him tightly. Raz gently stroked Lex's long, silky blue hair, noting how it fell softly against the rough sackcloth vest he was wearing. "Lex... will you tell me about them?" When Lex finally spoke, his voice came muffled through Raz's chest.

"They... they only ever called me 'f**.' I never had a name to them. Every waking moment was spent telling me how gay they thought I was. I... I couldn't take it, Raz!" Lex dug his fingers into Raz's shirt, willing himself not to cry.

"Lex... you know... it would be alright if you were gay." Lex violently pushed away from Raz, pain and anger flashing in his eyes.

"You wanna call me a f** too, huh?!" Raz stared straight into Lex's eyes, completely different emotions showing through his eyes. He slowly moved his hand and placed it on Lex's beautiful light blue cheek.

"Never." Lex was taken aback by the emotions he saw flowing through Raz's eyes, and was dumfounded for several moments. Then he smiled and leaned against Raz's soft scaly hand. Raz leaned his snout against Lex's forehead, his tongue softly licking the sweet blue skin and his nostrils taking in the intoxicating scent of his hair.

"Raz, I...." Raz pulled away from Lex, wondering if the young Dunmer wasn't ready for such intimate contact. Lex looked away, cheeks flushing. "While you were gone, I..."




Had a sexy party! And then they have another one!




Lex snuggled into Raz's chest, content with everything his life had become. Raz gently tugged Lex's hair tie free, causing his hair to fall down around his muscular blue shoulders.

"Lex, you're so beautiful." He toyed with Lex's silky blue hair and nuzzled his soft blue cheek. "I love you." Lex gently kissed the side of Raz's snout.

"I love you too, Raz."

Can't post the interlude again.

Chapter 6

By the time Bravil was back in sight, Lex was leaning almost all his weight into Raz. If Raz had his way, he would have carried Lex the entire way. Lex let go and stumbled on his own as soon as he saw a hint of the guards at the gateway; he didn't want to look pathetic. Raz chuckled.

When they got close enough, Raz greeted the guards as usual, but he leaned in toward the closest one and whispered something. Lex gave him a questioning look, but Raz smiled like nothing was out of the ordinary. Raz also greeted the townspeople they crossed, including Bre, the Breton that they had run into the first time Lex came into Bravil. Once again, Raz leaned in to whisper to Bre. Lex grabbed onto Raz's arm once Bre was out of sight.

"Raz, what was that about?" Raz smiled again and nuzzled Lex's cheek.

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing." Lex opened his mouth to say something, but Raz gently ran a finger along his lips. "Hush, I said it's nothing." Lex reluctantly closed his mouth, realizing that he wasn't going to get anything out of Raz. He sighed, leaning back into Raz to support himself.

They walked the rest of the way to the house in silence. Lex collapsed on the bed as soon as they got inside. Raz stroked his hair, nuzzling and licking his forehead.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. Lex smiled and kissed his hand.

"Don't be, it was totally worth it." Raz smiled in return.

"I've got some cream that will help with the soreness."

"That would be really nice." Lex buried his head into the pillow as Raz started digging around, looking for the bottle of cream. Lex felt himself nodding off until Raz sat down on the bed. Raz was gentle and finished quickly. He pulled the sheets up over Lex and gave him a gentle kiss. "Lex, I need to go talk to the lady that lives upstairs. Get some sleep while I'm gone." Lex smiled and gave Raz's hand a small squeeze, already slipping into sleep.



Lex was startled out of sleep when he heard the door open and quickly flipped over to see who was entering. He flopped back down with a sigh of relief when he saw it was only Raz. The sigh was soon followed by a wince as the movement caused a jolt of pain to shoot through his lower back.

"You alright?" Raz called over to him, locking the door and pulling the curtains over the small window.

"...Yeah, what the hell is going on? And I'm not taking 'nothing' for an answer." Raz sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"It's just something that happens from time to time, because of my profession. I spot someone sneaking around, I alert the guards and townspeople, and we prepare in case it is someone who's after my life." Seeing the worried expression on Lex's face, Raz smiled gently and stroked his cheek. "These people are strong, they can take care of themselves, and there's a reason I've reached one of the highest positions in the Dark Brotherhood. No one can get past us." Lex relaxed and smiled back, kissing Raz's hand. Raz twinged inwardly, feeling horrible for leaving out the most important detail; the woman he had noticed watching them as they reached the river had the same rare light blue skin as Lex.



Lynasia grinned at Salimatus.

"Yeah, he's alive alright, and I caught him. He was at the river with some Argonian, and they were naked."

"Oh man! What a f**!" Michaneus laughed loudly, then cursed as Salimatus smacked him on the back of the head.

"Shut up, Mich. Well, it's our duty to bring our dearest brother home. It's also our duty to teach him that as the eldest, he has a responsibility to carry on the family lineage."

"More like a responsibility to not be a f**!" Tseluta called out, brushing the hair out of his eyes. They all laughed at his crude joke, even the infant Tanata giggling and calling out 'f**, f**' in her innocent baby voice.



Lex yawned, a little bored. Raz was giving him the drill of what usually happened when the city was on the lookout for an assassin.

"There's a small stairway hidden in the wall leading to the room upstairs. The lady there, Luciana Galena, is part of the Thieves Guild. She can get you out of the town quickly. Lex, are you listening?" Lex sighed and rolled his eyes. "Lex, this is important. You'll be the first one they go after, I can promise you." Lex's face grew sad. He sat up with a small wince and placed a slow kiss on the tip of Raz's snout.

"Raz, I love you. I'm listening, I promise. I'll do everything I can to keep myself out of trouble, so you don't have to worry about me." Lex smiled softly and pressed his lips once more to Raz's snout.




Not a sexy party, more like a sexy small get together.




Suddenly, there was a knock. Both of them stopped and looked up, but only Raz realized that it came from the ceiling, and not the door.

"Lex," he whispered, "Be still, don't move." Raz pulled his pants up and silently moved to the hidden door in the wall and rushed upstairs. Luciana was waiting for him. She greeted him with a glance to his crotch and a small smirk before speaking.

"Look, the walls." She pointed to the boarded-up window facing south, and Raz rushed to peek out through the cracks. A short Dunmer was standing brazenly on the wall surrounding Bravil, strangely dyed and spiked hair, and worst of all, light blue skin. As Raz watched, another pair of blue arms reached out to pull the boy back into the shadows. "Don't you think it's strange?"

"I know they're here for Lex. They have to be related."

"Shouldn't you tell him?"

"I.... He tried to kill himself because of them, how could I tell him?"

"They've seen at least three of them." Raz growled and shot back downstairs, Luciana staring after him in what seemed like pity.

"Lex, you can't leave this house." Lex stared back at Raz with an extremely worried look on his face.

"Raz, what...?"

"Lex, please, Nine, trust me. I love you." Raz quickly took Lex in his arms for a quick hug before rushing towards the door.

"Raz!" Something in Lex's voice made him stop. "Raz, what's going on? Why are you so worried, I thought you were the best? I thought we had nothing to worry about?" Raz rubbed a hand across his face, before sitting wearily on the edge of the bed. Luciana's words echoed through his head. Shouldn't you tell him?

"Lex.... There are Dunmer surrounding Bravil. Only a few of them, we've seen three so far." He paused, Lex only looking more confused. "Lex, they have light blue skin like yours." Lex's face hardened and his eyes filled with hatred.

"So they've come for me. My siblings have come to take me home."

"Lex, please, let me take care of it, don't worry." Lex took Raz's snout in his hands and pressed a gentle kiss on his nose.

"Raz, I haven't spent much time with you, but it's shown me that life doesn't have to be miserable, I can be in love, and I can be in love with a man. Raz, just this little time with you has given me the courage to stand up to those who say I can't." Raz placed a hand on the side of Lex's face.

"Even if they're your family?" Lex gave Raz a gentile smile.

"Those Dunmer out there aren't my family. You're my family." Raz quickly pressed his face to Lex's and pressed his tongue pasts Lex's lips and drew him into a passionate kiss.

"Let's go take care of them together." Raz and Lex smiled at each other, and then began to gather the things they'd need. Raz put on light leather armor and buckled his Dark Brotherhood cloak on over it, and hid his various poisonous potions and poisoned small daggers within its folds. Lex buckled on his platemail that the guards had dropped off when Raz had first raised the alarm and held his sword in hand. This sword had memories attached to it. It had been with him throughout his childhood, in Leyawiin, and through the overwhelming fight from which Raz had saved him. It had been the one thing that he could put positive emotions into. He was proud to take this sword into the oncoming battle. He looked away to find that Raz had been watching him. He sheathed his sword.

"I'm ready."

They walked through the door, and headed toward Bravil's gates. Raz noticed that several shapes also disappeared off the walls after heading in the direction of the gates. He also nodded toward several members of the Mage and Fighters guilds that had peeked out to see what was going on. The guards opened the gate as they reached it. Lex looked towards Raz, but he wasn't there. Lex grinned, Raz had already begun to draw upon his assassin skills. He walked out, apparently alone.

"Brother, we are so glad you decided to come to us. Come, we'll take you home." Salimatus had spoken first. Of course he had, he was their leader, the eldest after Lex. He, Lysania, and of course Michaneus were waiting for him. It looks like Salimatus had roped a few friends into coming as well, but there were only five of them total. They surrounded him in a semi-circle as he walked out. He didn't even need to steel himself, he felt the courage pouring from his heart.

"I am already home, and you are not my brother." Lysania sneered at him.

"Denouncing your family and your home? All for a boyfriend?"

"Yeah f**, where's your boyfriend now?" Salimatus did not try to keep Michaneus from running his mouth, nor did Lex bother to answer him. He knew where Raz was.

"Remember your duty to our family, brother," Salimatus sneered angrily. "You are the eldest, you must find a woman to carry on our line."

"I think you can handle carrying on the hatred in our family line, Salimatus."

"He's just a stupid f**, Sali, why do we even need him?"

"Be QUIET, Michaneus!" Suddenly, a chuckle sounded behind them. Raz had chosen to appear.

"Your name is Mike-a**s and you're calling him the f**?" The two hired goons Salimatus had brought visibly balked at the sight of Raz's garb and looked like they were about to run off. Salimatus growled, and Lysania pulled out her bow and pointed it toward Raz. Michaneus was the only one that didn't appear to be afraid.

"Why you-" Michaneus charged toward Raz, but Raz crouched and disappeared, only to reappear with one of his poisoned daggers at Michaneus' throat. Michaneus paled and stopped in his tracks.

"You know, I'm not the only one you should be afraid of." He looked up toward the gates, and the others followed his gaze. The Fighers Guild was there, as well as the much-larger Mages Guild and quite a few of Bravil's guards. The goons outright bolted, and Lysania lowered her bow and threw a look at Salimatus. "Your brother has inspired the confidence of an entire town in just the few days he has been here. I would suggest that you leave him alone." He removed the dagger from Michaneus' throat and Michaneus fell backwards in fear. Salimatus looked like he was trying to swallow his own fear.

"We retreat, for now." He and Lysania took off at a slow lope that looked like they were trying not to run as fast as they could, and Michaneus scrabbled on all fours for a few feet before he managed to shove himself upright. Before they got too far away, Raz pulled a small glass bottle from his cloak and threw it as hard as he could at Michaneus and grinned as it exploded on his back.

"What did you throw at him?" Lex stepped up to Raz and leaned into him, grabbing his hand.

"One of my favorites, a special mixture of plants that I've found doesn't smell too good, and is incredibly hard wash out." Lex smiled, pushing himself closer to Raz.

"Nine, I love you." Raz laughed loudly.