Work Text:
‘This is absolutely not how I envisioned this Starlight unfolding…’
Briardien gazed morosely upwards at the hole he and Inspector Hildibrand had crashed through not even a quarter bell ago. A hole which had been caused by Hildibrand’s overly eager assistant Nashu and one of her infamous bombs... After the shock of falling and after the dust had settled, he said a silent prayer of gratitude to Halone that they had at least crashed down into soft piles of snow. Even if Hildibrand was still twitching in the snow some fulms away… But that had left them with an entirely different predicament. The cavern appeared to have no visible exits.
Briardien’s shoulders sagged as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Nashu’s prior shouts from above about seeking out help did little to assuage his growing worry. They were both trapped with no foreseeable way out and at the whims of the harsh Coerthan elements. ‘There is no way out of this cavern and no way to make a fire. Think. There must be something that can be done.’ He let out a long sigh. If he wanted to get out of this, he would have no choice but to work with Hildibrand. A task he did not relish giving the man’s penchant for causing more problems than solving them.
“I recognize our situation is dire but I believe that if you and I work together we may overco-” Briardien turned to face his fellow Inspector and his jaw dropped, words failing him as he froze in shock.
There stood Hildibrand, broad grin on his face, arms wide, and completely and utterly naked…
Briardien stared at him, wide eyed and completely frozen still. His eyes slowly racking over Hildibrand’s completely bare form and eventually coming to settle on the man’s surprisingly impressive… ‘NO! Of all the times you, that is what you think?! You will not even go there…’ He shouted within his mind, a furious blush overtaking his cheeks and snapping out of his stupor.
“Why in the Fury's name are you as NAKED as the day you were born?!” he shouted at the fool of an inspector before him. “Have you no sense of self preservation? You will freeze to death in that state!”
Hildibrand’s grin grew wider. “Come now, my dear fellow Inspector! I shall not freeze if we share our warmth together. For there is nothing more elegant and gentlemanly than two fellows pressed together for warmth and survival! Beating the odds and showing nature that man can triumph over her cruel hands.”
Briardien blinked wordlessly at him and slowly let out a sigh as he scrubbed his face with his hands. “Where are your clothes?”
“Ah you see, they are mostly in tatters,” Hildibrand stated matter of factly with a hint of bashfulness. “My dear Nashu’s overzealousness was no match for my garments it seems.”
Briardien felt his eye twitch and he sighed once more. ‘He is not wrong. Body heat is the best method for staying warm in such situations, especially since we have no means to make a fire.’
Letting out a sound between a groan and a sigh, Briardien slowly trekked over to the discarded tatters of clothing, doing his best to avoid staring at Hildibrand’s still naked form as he passed by. Assessing the ragged clothing, he decisively knelt down and arranged what he could to cover the ground as best as he could with what little he had to work with. It wouldn’t benefit either of them to freeze half their bodies and some coverage from the cold earth was better than no coverage. He reached a hand for the button on his long coat and hesitated, suddenly nervous. ‘Get on with it, you fool. The longer you hesitate the more precarious your situation becomes. He is just a man, like any other man. Who happens to be very naked and appealing looking…’
He glanced over his shoulder and made a small gesture to the scrap blanket. An odd tremble to his voice that had nothing to do with the cold “If… if you would be so kind as to lay down, I s-shall use my coat to cover us both.”
Hildibrand nodded, grin still plastered on his face despite his teeth chattering, and trotted over to the tattered makeshift blanket on the ground. Briardien turned his back towards the man and removed his outer coat, tossing it unceremoniously behind him, assuming Hildibrand would catch it. He heard a squawk and glanced over his shoulder once more, his heavy coat having smacked the other inspector in the face and Briardien could only roll his eyes in annoyance. “Cover yourself with that or you truly will freeze to death. I will join you momentarily.”
He quickly untied and loosened the remainder of his clothes, shedding them rapidly, all the while keeping his back to Hildibrand, embarrassment coloring his cheeks. When he was fully divested of all his clothing, the cold already causing a violent shiver to course through him, he quickly laid down on to the blanket and slid under the coat that Hildibrand held out for him. He grabbed his shirt and tossed it towards their heads, a makeshift pillow for them both and fully settled on the ground. Briardien curled in on himself in an attempt to keep himself warm.
His arms hugging himself barely offered him any comfort and he felt Hildibrand shift behind him. He felt a burly arm reach around his middle and tug him backwards. His bare back suddenly flush with a very warm, very muscled and very bare chest and he yelped at the surprise contact. The blush on his face deepened at their rather intimate proximity. “Just what are you-”
Hildibrand cut him off. “One’s body heat only works when pressed against another! And you dear inspector would get no benefit from being so far from me. So I am taking you into my arms so that you may bathe in the warmth of my body!”
Briardien knew he sported a furious blush on his cheeks but he could not argue with the other man’s logic. He already felt a warmth slowly spreading through his body as his internal temperature slowly adjusted. And he had to admit, being pressed against the man did feel good. The burly arm around his waist felt pleasing and the broad chest pressed against his back had his imagination running wild. Not that Briardien would ever admit it out loud.
They laid there with Hildibrand humming some sort of tune. The longer it went on, the more he felt his eye twitch. Briardien tried to tune him out but failed miserably. If they had to pass the time waiting to be rescued he would rather do so in silence.
“Would you please cease with your humming?” Briardien bit out. The humming stopped as he felt Hildibrand shift and move his arm. “A man cannot think with such-AH!”
He should have paid more attention to Hildibrand’s hand as it moved. The man’s large hand had settled low on his stomach and had managed to graze his shaft. The bolt of pleasure rocked through Briardien and caused him to let out a gasp. Briardien froze and gulped harshly. The small bit of pleasure had felt decadent and he felt himself hardening a touch. ‘Of all the times…’
He heard Hildibrand speak “My apologies, dear inspector. I merely meant to pass the time and wished to provide my dulcet tones so that they would help ease your worries.”
“That’s…” Briardien stuttered, unable to complete his sentence. He could not focus with Hildibrand’s hand so close to his slowly hardening cock and he found himself wishing the hand would move to touch him once more.
“If you would prefer we can pass the time in other ways,” Hildibrand spoke cheerily behind him. His hand unconsciously sliding along the man's stomach in his exuberance and once more grazing the other man's shaft briefly, Briardien letting out a gasp of pleasure.
“That!” Briardien shouted in embarrassment. “J-just… your hand… again… if y-you would be s-so inclined…”
He felt Hildibrand’s fingers flex on his stomach. He heard Hildibrand make a noise of confusion behind him. “My… hand?”
Briardien groaned and wanted nothing more than to bash his head against the ground. Surely the man behind him was truly not so clueless. The gods could not be that cruel to put him in this situation and leave him to suffer.
“Ah hah!” Hildibrand crowed, as if levin had just struck him. “Indeed my hand shall be most effective at providing warmth. We can not have a single part of you frozen and it would be most ungentlemanly on my part.”
Before Briardien could utter a snarky retort, he felt a thick hand wrap around his semi-hard cock and give it a firm squeeze. He tossed his head back and let out a long moan, his body pressing into Hildibrand’s. The pleasurable feeling surged through him, causing his cheeks to flush further and to spread to his neck. Hildibrand’s hand roughly slid up his shaft, palming the tip and spreading the small bit of precum that had leaked forth. Briardien off-handedly noted that Hildibrand had surprisingly soft hands. A hand that was making him squirm and pant with each slow pump.
Cock now fully erect, the hand around him continued to pump and squeeze, eliciting gasps and moans from Briardien. His eyes pinched shut as he panted. The feeling was quickly becoming too much, with little lubrication between his cock and Hildibrand’s hand, the pleasure was beginning to edge towards discomfort. ‘Maybe saliva? Or perhaps…?’ Briariden forced himself to think through the pleasurable fog. It was not ideal but neither was their situation. “The s-snow… take some, have it m-melt in your hands and use it to glide along my… my s-shaft.”
“But will that not make you cold?” Hildibrand asked with confusion evident in his voice. He paused the motions of his hand to take in Briardien’s blushing form.
He still refused to look at Hildibrand, embarrassment taking root but pleasure still driving him and he shook his head furiously. He’d rather be cold than have his manhood rubbed raw. Assuming their rescue was on the way, he would rather not have an awkward limp in his gait when it came time to leave this place.
“I shall do as you request, my fine fellow inspector!” Hildibrand exclaimed. “Never let it be said that a Manderville man refused such an earnest request for comfort and aid!”
Briardien felt Hildibrand shift behind him and felt the man briefly shiver as he moved to dip his hands into a pile of snow next to them. Returning his hand under the coat, it didn’t take long for the meager amount to melt in his hands. Hildibrand quickly returned his hand to Briardien’s cock. The shock of cold on his shaft followed by the firm hand grip caused Briardien to cry out. “Gods have mercy!”
The hand squeezed once more and resumed a rhythmic pumping, the melted snow providing the necessary glide and sending Briaridien closer and closer to the edge with each stroke. He pressed against Hildibrand and felt something firm poking his backside. It seemed Hildibrand was clearly enjoying the sights and sounds spilling forth from Briardien. His breath became more broken and ragged as Hildibrand drove him closer to the edge. “M-more… Fury take me, please,” he whined.
The hand encircling his cock squeezed harder and with a few harsh strokes Briardien came, spilling over Hildibrand’s hand with a shout and on to the ground, tremors wracking his body as Hildibrand continued to stroke him through his release. His breaths coming out in harsh gasps before resting bonelessly against the broad chest behind him. Briardien took in slow breaths to calm his breathing as he came down from his high. The cool air felt refreshing on his flushed face and he let out a small whine as Hildibrand released his softening cock. Who knew the man could draw an orgasm out of someone like that?
He still felt evidence of Hildibrand’s desire poking at his back and Briardien quickly came to a decision. ‘Fair is fair after all… And I certainly would not mind feeling him in my own hands...’ He shifted awkwardly so he could more easily look at Hildibrand and he took in the man’s large grin on his face. With a small nod at him, Briardien spoke.
“Ah, given that you… Since you helped me…” Briardien awkwardly gestured his hands towards Hildibrand’s pelvis under the coat. The grin slowly broadening on the other man's face at his suggestion was almost comical. Briardien gulped harshly, blush still staining his cheeks as he glanced away. ‘It would only be fair that I offer-” Briardien was cut off by a sudden shout from above.
“INSPECTOR! ARE YOU DEAD DOWN THERE?! I BROUGHT HELP AND BROUGHT YOU SOME CLOTHES SINCE I PROBABLY BLEW YOURS APART!”
Briardien’s eyes widened in shock while the smile on Hildibrand’s face slowly melted off into a look of utter disappointment. Briardien was honestly surprised that Nashu had managed to even come back. The girl didn’t seem all that capable to him but today was a day for surprises it seemed. With an awkward and apologetic glance at Hildibrand, he called out “My lady Mhakaracca, if you would be so kind as to toss down the Inspectors clothing, it would be most appreciated.”
“YAY!” He heard Nashu shout from above. “YOU BOTH AREN’T DEAD!”
Briardien and Hildibrand watched as a large package was lowered in via a rope from the opening they had fallen through. Letting out a small sigh, Briardien reached for his discarded pants at his feet and awkwardly shimmied back into his breeches and boots, ignoring the sticky feeling on his legs. His shirt had been shoved aside during his and Hildibrand’s activities and he reached for it as he quickly dressed himself. He crawled out from under his coat, leaving it with Hildibrand so the man didn’t freeze and went to retrieve the package that had been lowered into the cave.
He glanced up to see the beaming face of Nashu waving excitedly down at him along with a few of the Ishgardian Temple Knights giving nods of acknowledgement. Giving them a quick nod in return, he examined the package and sure enough, it contained the aforementioned clothing. He walked them back to Hildibrand who still sat frozen, disappointment oozing from his very being.
Briardien tossed the package at his feet and turned away. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ah… well… it is both unfortunate and fortunate we were rescued… and so soon.” He inhaled and exhaled harshly, not allowing his nerves to cause him to stray. “After we quit this place, might I suggest returning to Ishgard? My home is there and the Starlight celebrations are quite lovely. I shall also return the favor of providing… warmth to you… after this plight…”
Hildibrand was surprisingly quiet and after some time of not hearing a single sound from the man, Briardien turned to face him with growing concern only to stumble back in bewilderment. Before him, Hildibrand was fully dressed in his customary suit, this one with no tatters or burns, muscles flexing and grin as bright as the sun on his face. He shifted and… was that light glinting off his teeth?!
“My dear Inspector!” Hildibrand cried out jovially. “I should be most honored to have you receive me and to be graced by the fires of your hearth!”
Hildibrand marched past him and shouted up towards Nashu. “My faithful assistant! We are ready to leave this place! For dear Inspector Briardien has offered us warmth in his abode and I for one am most eager to leave all this snow behind!”
“Wait…” Briardien uttered out weakly. Did he just…
Briardien’s shoulders sagged and he let out an exasperated sigh as he slowly moved towards the rope. ‘Fury grant me strength with this handsome fool, I am going to come to regret this…’