Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sitting alone at one of the longhouse tables, Basim and Hytham could be found sharing a small bowl of figs in honey and talking idly. They were discussing nothing in particular, the conversation flowing easily between one topic and the next. Basim picked up one of the figs, watching as the excess honey dripped down her fingers for a moment before popping the fruit into her mouth. ‘What are your thoughts on this clan?’ She’d said, covering her mouth with her honeyed hand as to not be rude.

Hytham tilted her head, thinking for a moment. She took a quick glance out of the longhouse door and spotted two of the members in a… flyt, she remembers they were called. Turning back to her mentor, she shrugged. ‘They are an odd bunch. Eivor seems nice, though.’

Basim smiled, ‘How so?’ She’d asked innocently, and then licked up the extra honey still dripping from her fingers, looking at Hytham from the corner of her eye as she did so. Hytham’s breath hitched a little, and she turned her head away, a light blush spreading across her cheeks.

Clearing her throat, Hytham stuttered out a response. ‘They.. They care about their clan,’ She’d paused for a second, taking a quick sip of water before continuing, ‘Not just the clan itself, but every person who belongs to it and those who don’t; they took in both Yan Li and Rowan when they didn’t need to, and.. have been helping us with getting rid of the Order in England. They didn’t have to do that, either.’ She’d finished, daring to look back at Basim, who was still smiling.

‘So you like Eivor, then?’ Basim asked, pushing the bowl of fruit and honey towards her acolyte in an offering. Hytham blushed a little more at the question, and ate a fig to avoid answering for a moment longer.

As she raised her hand to her mouth to lick the excess honey from her fingertips in a move that would have mirrored Basim’s, she was instead interrupted by Basim herself, who had gently taken hold of Hytham’s wrist. Shooting her mentor a confused look, Basim simply smiled in response and pulled Hytham’s hand up to her own mouth instead, and, while making eye contact, pressed the honey-covered tips of Hytham’s fingers into her mouth, her tongue gently lapping at the calloused pads of her fingertips.

Hytham’s jaw fell open, her entire face alight with a bright blush. She let out a strangled whine at the entire thing.

Basim simply smiled softly around her fingers, a huff of laughter escaping her nose as her tongue gently traced the grooves of Hytham’s fingerprints and chased the last taste of honey on her skin. Once Basim had sufficiently cleaned the honey from the digits, she let Hytham pull her hand back; a small string of saliva trailing between her fingers and Basim’s lips being the only evidence of what happened.

Hytham felt like she couldn’t breathe; like she was dreaming. All previous conversation was lost to her. She simply stared at her fingers, slick with Basim’s cooling spit. Looking back up at her mentor, Hytham made a quiet whimpering noise.

Basim huffed a quiet laugh—her sharp teeth catching Hytham’s eye—the noise of her laugh was smooth and, as it was now the only thing on Hytham’s mind, like honey. Acting as if nothing happened, Basim trailed a nail around the edge of the bowl holding the figs, and changed the topic once more, this time about the Order.

Hytham let out a strangled sigh, her mind still reeling from having her fingers inside her mentor’s mouth. She attempted to keep up, though, giving adequate responses to whatever Basim had asked of her.

Eventually, the figs ran out and all that was left in the bowl was a pool of honey. The longhouse was still empty in the afternoon sun—Randvi and Eivor had left together for Grantebridgescire yesterday and had yet to return. Basim picked up the bowl and stood up, Hytham looking over at her due to the sudden movement. 

Turning away again, she expected Basim to leave to clean the bowl. 

What Hytham didn’t expect was for Basim to come around and stand next to her, holding the bowl in one hand and taking Hytham’s face into the other, running a calloused finger down her jaw as she tilted Hytham’s head back around to look up at her.

Hytham’s breath hitched as she locked eyes with her mentor, kept looking at her even as Basim removed her hand to shift the bowl into it instead. Then, Basim dipped her thumb into the honey, and brought her hand down to Hytham’s jaw once again, her thumb softly swiping against her lips and leaving a trail of honey in its wake.

Hytham’s mouth opened a little, her breath ghosting over Basim’s thumb. Once her lips were thoroughly coated in honey, Basim pulled her hand away again and placed the bowl onto the table once more. She licked the honey from her thumb and then leaned down towards Hytham.

The two women’s faces were inches apart.

Hytham felt Basim’s breath ghosting her honey-covered lips for a moment before, suddenly, they were kissing. Basim’s hand had returned to Hytham’s jaw, and Hytham felt her soft tongue ghost over her lips to taste at the honey. She opened her mouth a little, allowing Basim entrance and could taste the aforementioned honey on her mentor’s tongue.

They only kissed for a moment, though it felt like it lasted for a lifetime. When Basim pulled away, she was smirking, but otherwise was unbothered. Hytham, on the other hand, was blushing furiously, and was panting a little heavily, too.

Letting out a quiet whine, Hytham tangled her hand in Basim’s long hair, pulling her back down for another kiss. Huffing a soft laugh into her mouth, Basim went willingly.

(In the back of her mind, Basim makes a note to find more honey for her and Hytham to enjoy again on another date. Wonders how Hytham will react to honey being drizzled and licked off of other parts of her body…)