Lai gave him a soft smile. “Don’t be. If I hadn’t started sailing the world, I wouldn’t have met your brother, or you.”
“I suppose that is a positive way to look at it,” A’bbni said. “I have never known anyone from Yuntillo, or even someone who has visited there. What is it like?”
“Kind of similar to Csereth,” Lai said. “Weather-wise, at least. Hot in summer, cold and snowy in winter. Definitely not as built-up as Kendarin and Hanenea’a. More mountains, too.”
A’bbni loved the way Lai pronounced the names with his slight accent. “You’ve been to Kendarin?”
Lai nodded. “Many times.”
“Where is your home?”
Lai blinked. “What?”
“Where do you live? When you are not on a ship?”
Lai shrugged. “Wherever I am.”
“You… you don’t have a… a house or a family?” A’bbni asked, not sure why he felt the need to ask such a personal question.
Lai shook his head. “Nope. Just me, wherever I am.”
A’bbni felt the blush creep back up his neck. “Is it hard to not have a place to call home?”
“Your brother asked me the same thing,” Lai said with a laugh, which made A’bbni laugh, too. “No, I’ve been traveling for so long, I’ve never felt the urge to settle in one place. And I make my living mostly by sailing anyway.”
“What do you do on the ships?” A’bbni asked, forcing himself to a new topic, afraid what else he might ask if he inquired too much more about Lai and homes and families.
“Whatever I need to, but usually rigging,” Lai said, tossing his hair back a little. “Climbing the masts, adjusting the sails, that sort of thing. I am pretty good with a rope.”
A’bbni felt his ears go scarlet, and he cleared his throat, staring down at the pattern on the comforter below him. Was Lai flirting with him? Or was he just reading way too much into a purely innocent comment? He tucked his ears back, hoping Lai would not see the redness that was creeping over his cheeks. He glanced up at Lai through his lashes, and Lai gave him a friendly smile. “Did I say something wrong, Your Highness?”
“N… No…” A’bbni said, ducking his head again. What was wrong with him? He was never this shy around someone he found attractive. And he did. Lai was gorgeous. Everything about him, from his strange ears to his fine elven features to the beautiful cadence of his accent, sent a thrill through A’bbni that he had never felt before.
He lifted his eyes again, only to find himself staring at the curves of Lai’s legs in his skin-tight breeches as the half-elf shifted a bit, crossing his ankles in front of him, which stretched those long legs into a line up his slim frame. He felt the blush spread further over his skin, sure he was not hiding it anymore. He had met this man not even an hour ago, at the same time he was reunited with his brother, and yet all he wanted to know right now was how the handsome sailor’s arms would feel around him. Which he knew was presumptuous of him. While most goblins did not care about gender, he couldn’t just assume that Lai liked him, or even liked men. He realized that he had been quiet for much too long and that Lai was staring at him like he was waiting for an answer. “I… I’m sorry, did you ask something?”
Lai cocked his head to the side, which made his high ponytail swish, catching A’bbni’s eye like a feather catching the attention of a cat. “I asked if you had ever been on a ship before?”
“Ah… Once, when I was younger,” A’bbni replied, forcing his eyes away from the golden hair. “I didn’t realize at the time that Shi’chen was afraid of water. But my parents must have, because we never went on a boat again.”
Lai nodded. “He still is, but he worked through it pretty well. And I had the ship physician make up a remedy for dizziness that helped him a lot.”
A’bbni could not stop his ears from perking up. “I will have to get that information,” he said, probably with a little too much excitement in his voice.
“I know what it is, I’ll give it to you,” Lai replied, giving him a bright smile.
“That… would be wonderful,” A’bbni said, his voice catching in his throat. What in the name of the gods was going on with him? “I’ll have you write it down for me later.”
Lai suddenly was the one to flush, and A’bbni frowned. “What is it?”
Lai uncrossed his ankles and sat up, suddenly looking a lot less sunny than he had been moments ago. “I, uh…”
“I… I’m sorry. I’ve offended you in some way,” A’bbni ventured softly.
“No!” Lai said quickly, then ducked his head as his own face went red. “No, you didn’t. I just… my writing is not very good.”
A’bbni let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Ah, I see. That’s all right,” he said quickly, giving Lai what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “You can just tell me then, and I will write it down.”
Lai still looked flustered. “I’m sorry.”
