After the incident with Eva, Embry tried to be good. He really tried. But then they got stuck in the sewing rooms because Embry had ripped his trousers beyond repair.

Kuo drafted a new pattern on the fabric, moving the chalk in smooth, swift lines along the stick ruler. He talked animatedly about the embroidery and how he changed the knot stitches into flat ones without disturbing the actual spell. Embry made himself say “Ok” and “Uh-huh” here and there to sound interested, although he didn’t really give a flying fuck so long as it made the Page happy.

“You do realise that I can tell when you stop listening, right?” Kuo inquired.

Embry was still busy ogling his Page, who was stretched over the table to get the lines right, when Kuo looked over his shoulder with an arched brow.

“I am sorry, what?”

Kuo sighed and turned around again. “If you have problems concentrating, maybe you should sit in front of me?”

Embry hopped down from the desk and plopped himself on the high chair of another Page’s desk.

“Yeah, well, I don’t see how this improves anything since now I can see down your shirt.”

Kuo stood straight, getting more irritated by the second. “Can you be less inappropriate?”

Embry leaned back, legs dangling. “I don’t get why you want to keep up the facade when you—” The ruler slammed down on the table as sparks began to fly. Kuo was staring angrily at him, but Embry really needed to get it out. “When you’ve already had your hands down my pants during Lenten. Why keep denying the attraction when we’ve already been there a million times?”

Embry waited for a furious lie again, but nothing came.

“I am a bit confused about why you’re not denying it.”

Kuo’s shoulders dropped, he breathed out and looked suspiciously relieved.

“Wait. What did you think I’d say?” Em asked, frowning.

The Page leaned down again, cheeks stained with a delicate blush. He took the scissors and started to cut out the fabric with clipped chops. “Nothing. Hop down, I need to check it quickly. If you need it by tomorrow, I won’t be able to make it super nice, but the motion range shouldn’t be disturbed.”

The Mage slid down the table and took his position between the tables, obediently waiting for his Page.

Kuo picked up the pattern, knelt and held it to Embry’s waist, carefully pinning it in place on his work trousers. “You want to wear wrappings with them or high boots?”

A fragment of a memory flitted through Embry’s mind. Barely an image of the Page on his knees with his lips wrapped around his—

He coughed on spit going down the wrong pipe and bent over, red-faced. Kuo was still on his knees in front of him, his hands on Embry’s hips, looking concerned. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” the Mage wheezed. “Oh, my gods… Just a second.”

The door creaked, and Embry blinked at it through tears, still trying to catch his breath.

He heard a gasp, clanking and swearing and recognised Benji’s voice. “No, keep out. You can’t go in.” More bumping and creaking. “Aik, step back,” the young Page wailed.

Embry listened to Aik’s booming voice call out, “Oh, are they finally fucking?” and had another coughing fit. He realised only Kuo’s hands and the weird hair tufts on his head had to be visible behind the high tables. Sadly, it gave the wrong impression, and Kuo yelled, “No,” before going back to work, accidentally stabbing Embry several times with a needle. 

They could still hear Aik cackling through the door, another needle boring into his upper leg. Embry sighed and wiped away tears. How was this his life now?