#named wol

[limielle]

icarus' evolution through the expacs... i characterise him as a loserboy bocchama spoilt brat but he actually has deep characterisation okay

[ladyramora]

The Consequences Of Catching Villains

Kaoru (Nonbinary Miqo'te WoL) x Villain Haurchefant PWP ❤️

Final Fantasy XIV, Heroes and Villains AU

Nonbinary Character,Trans Character, Kaoru Has Top Surgery Scars (Breast Removal), Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), They/Them pronouns for Kaoru Yasugo!!, Nonbinary Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)

Relationships: Kaoru Yasugo (FFXIV OC)/Haurchefant Greystone, Haurchefant Greystone/Warrior of Light

Characters: Kaoru Yasugo (FFXIV OC), Haurchefant Greystone, Germanotta "Ger" Lionheart (FFXIV OC)

Additional Tags: Villain!Haurchefant, Size Difference. Oral Sex, Overstimulation, Vaginal Fingering, Cunnilingus, Pet Names, For the purposes of this fic - the use of the pet name "kitten" is a bit demeaning for miqo'te, Haurchefant uses the petname "kitten" affectionately, Vaginal Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Cum Eating, safe words, The Safe Word is "Dragonhead", Asphyxiation, Choking. Love Confessions. Obsessive Behavior, Cumming While Soft, What's A Refractory Period?, Unrealistic sex maybe but this is fantasy, Sex While Haurchefant is Flaccid. He just came. It's not a perfomance issue I promise!!, Grinding, Dry Humping, Is it dry humping if they're both naked and messy, This Will Be A Series, Explicit Sexual Content, Body Worship

Kaoru knew they probably should have cut their losses and turned around as soon as they saw Greystone slip into a dark, nondescript alleyway. Certainly so as soon as their quarry disappeared behind a lone door on the side of a shady looking building. It seemed like blind luck that they had caught sight of him at all, walking the streets of Limsa Lominsa. So they had followed him, successfully tailing him throughout the city to where they find themselves now: an exceedingly seedy establishment.

What was more surprising was the lack of security here. No secret password, not a soul guarding the door. Kaoru had slipped right on in, following behind their villain, and spotted him making his way through the crowd deeper and deeper into the first room.

The lighting was dim, the air of the room heavy with smoke and the smell of alcohol. The shadows seemed to swallow up all the light, making it seem all the more eerie and dangerous.

They clutch at the cloak they wore, tugging the cowl down over their head as the eyes of several well known villains look their way.

Kaoru does not allow their sudden nerves to put a stop to their mission, their eyes sweeping the room and catching sight of Greystone as he weaves through the crowd.

They hurry after him, their eyes trained on him, feline ears perked under their hood and their tail hanging low.

A miqo'te stalking prey…

Unfortunately, they do not pay enough attention to their surroundings with their focus narrowed down to Greystone, and find themselves smacking into the person who suddenly appears in front of them.

Kaoru grunts, stumbling back and clutching their hood so it doesn't slide off their head. In doing so, they step on the back of their own cloak, upsetting their balance and nearly falling back when a pair of hands snag their arms and pull them upright.

Their wide eyed stare catches and holds on a pair of piercing grey eyes as they gaze into the face of Greystone's right hand woman, the Lion.

A female midlander of average height with fiery red hair and piercing grey eyes, the Lion had a commanding presence. There seemed to be a sense of carefully restrained power about her that never failed to make Kaoru's fur prickle with awareness.

The Lion's face is blank of emotion as it usually was, her thoughts and feelings at finding Kaoru here a mystery.

At least until she says in her usual calm, low voice, "You should not be here."

Kaoru straightens up, so close that they were nearly in the woman's arms with the Lion standing near enough to speak to them over the din of the room. It was only fortunate that they were of similar height and build, so Kaoru need not strain their neck to look into her eyes.

The woman was only a few ilms taller than them, at least.

"Ger," Kaoru greets, knowing how to call her thanks to Greystone. "I was just—" They start to say, only for Ger to interrupt.

"—Following my lord Haurchefant?" Ger asks with a tilt of her head, the intense red of her wild mane lit like flames under the dim glow of the lighting of this seedy establishment. She reaches out, nonchalantly, to straighten Kaoru's cloak. She tugs sharply at their collar and sweeps the fabric over their shoulders as she warns them, "Do be careful here, hero. You walk straight into a lion's den."

Kaoru flashes a grin. "But are you not the Lion? Is it not you I should be most wary of?"

Ger gives a low hum at their cheek, the backs of her fingers perhaps incidentally brushing Kaoru's face. Near enough stroking along the soft brown of their markings as she smooths out the wrinkles of their cowl. It was too purposeful to Kaoru to be mistaken as mere accidental touch, but to any onlookers it might appear so.

"You are safe from this lion, Kaoru. For now, at least. The fondness my lord has for you grants you a certain measure of protection. From myself or any other who would wish you harm."

Kaoru bites back the impulse to say they do not need protection. "Well, good to know."

They clear their throat then, adding, "I should probably get going…" as they attempt to furtively glance over Ger's shoulder, searching for that familiar flash of silvery-blue hair, but Greystone had disappeared.

"Do not think I doubt your capabilities. I know who you are," Ger says as she steps smoothly around them, her face hovering near their cheek.

Kaoru was distracted for a moment by the comforting warmth she gave off in the uneasy chill of this place; the faint scent of something earthy and sweet wafting from her, like lemongrass, leather, and expensive hard candies that only nobles could possibly afford.

She pointed her finger in the direction of a darkened corner that looked to house a hallway, her breath a soft puff of air on their skin that made them shiver, "Go that way to find what you seek."

Kaoru looks in the direction she points, and when they look back to offer their thanks, Ger is gone.

Hah. How mysterious.

Kaoru never could understand Greystone's right hand. Ger claimed unshakeable loyalty to Haurchefant, but always seemed willing to help Kaoru, the would-be enemy of the both of them.

Kaoru shakes their head and presses forward. They had a villain to track down.

….

The hallway leads deeper into the so-called lion's den, and Kaoru does their best not to draw more attention. They knew they surely looked suspicious, wearing a cloak in this establishment, but perhaps any curious onlookers thought them to be a client seeking the employment of a certain villain.

There seem to be no doors in this hallway, but rooms sectioned off by curtains. The hum in the air tells of sound dampening magicks, to keep conversations private. Kaoru gives a guess and picks a curtain to peek behind. Their ears perked under their hood with the sound of voices.

Kaoru's heart thunders and they hold their breath, not wishing to be found eavesdropping. To start a fight here would be to take on every villain within the area once they knew a hero was in their midst.

As they try to hold still and quiet their breathing, a shadow sneaks up on them from behind. A hand creeping forward from the darkness, reaching out over their shoulder to slide firm over their mouth, silencing their sound of alarm before they can make it. An arm like an iron band winds itself around their waist as they tense up and prepare to struggle, to fight if need be.

In one smooth motion they find themselves pulled up against the body behind them, then pushed forward and pinned against the wall. Aught to stop them from squirming, they surmise, as a familiar voice purrs in their feline ear through the fabric of their cloak, "Well, what have we here? A cute little kitten that has come to play with me?"

Kaoru should be concerned about how their tense muscles instantly loosen with the sound of his voice. Practically falling limp in the cage of Greystone's arms as the relief of his presence has them immediately much more at ease.

Kaoru tries to speak, squirming and mumbling into the firm press of his palm over their mouth, only to fall still and quiet as Greystone dips his head near their cheek and shushes them.

"Hush now, my dear," Greystone's voice is a smooth, velvety whisper. His fingers press into their jaw as he tips their head back and buries his face in the fall of fabric covering their shoulder and neck. "Hahh, how I've missed you, my cute little hero. My adorable kitten."

Kaoru feels suddenly too warm in their layers. Their cheeks flush hot, hearing the affection and blatant yearning in Greystone's voice.

He had been a flirt from the very start, admiring and intense even though Kaoru had come to apprehend him. It had thrown Kaoru off balance, flustered them. To be called "kitten" as a miqo'te was usually something considered demeaning—they were a proud feline race, after all; he might as well be calling them baby—but hearing it so obviously sweetly meant from Greystone's lips made Kaoru feel strange in a way that was not unpleasant. It always left them feeling hot, and tingly.

All his affection and flirtation ever made Kaoru's heart pound, their skin flushed warm. Oft times accompanied by something of a throb in their lower belly, aught that made them press their thighs together just to ease the ache.

"How long has it been? A fortnight? A moon?" Greystone muses still in that low, soft whisper, and Kaoru's feline ears twitch under their cowl with the phantom feeling of his breath. Aught that they do end up truly feeling as Haurchefant tugs their hood back, catching the fabric with his teeth and sending it falling free to bunch at Kaoru's shoulders.

His lips brush the fine, velvety fur of Kaoru's ear as he hummed in thought.

Kaoru shudders with the feeling, making a small sound into the palm of his hand.

"Far too long since I have been graced with the loveliness of your visage. I should like nothing more than to gaze upon that face of yours. May I, sweetheart?" His voice made them shiver, his body so warm where it was pressed up against them. Kaoru can only nod their head, their mouth still covered by his hand.

Greystone gives a soft, content sound at their acquiescence. Pulling away from them for a moment as he set them down. Kaoru feels a little bit wobbly kneed as their feet once again meet the floor, so they rest their forehead against the wall to try to find their bearings.

All for naught as Greystone grasps their shoulder and spins them around to face him. One of his hands resting just above their shoulder as he presses the pointer finger of his other hand to his darkly glossed lips in signal to remain quiet. His eyes are a deep, compelling blue that glitter like glimmering gems. Kaoru could not croak out a word if they wanted to, so caught do they find themselves in the intensity of his gaze.

His darkly painted lips curve into a grin, his eyes flickering away from them for a few moments as his elezen ears twitch and listen for sounds that even a miqo'te might not hear.

Kaoru could not help but notice that alongside his usual clasps, he wore a pair of eye-catching, dangling earrings that gleamed in the light.

They suited him very well.

With his silvery-blue hair slicked back as he seemed to favor wearing it, his ears were more prominent. Large, pointed, and elegant. Kaoru wondered if they were as sensitive as their own ears were.

Kaoru's cheeks burn. What were they thinking? Certainly not about touching Greystone's ears, or, or… k—kissing them…

Kaoru's eyes squeeze closed with bashful feelings at the thought, let alone picturing it. Their fingers caressing his ears, followed by the press of their lips. Their head shakes, their cheeks burning hot.

"As I thought," Greystone says in a low, quiet voice.

Kaoru cracks one eye open. "What?" They say, forgetting to measure their voice.

Greystone presses his finger to their lips, shushing them. His pretty eyes intent on their face as he leans close. His arm lifts to rest over their head as he trails his fingertip over their lips and chin to tilt their head up with his finger under their jaw. "You are a sight for sore eyes, my dear."

Kaoru forgets entirely what their purpose had been in following him here as Greystone's thumb sweeps over their bottom lip and presses inward to expose a peek of their bottom teeth. Their throat visibly bobs as they swallow hard, any plans they might have had to confront him or whatever they planned to do lifting straight out of their head as the elezen gazes at them with naked want.

"I should very much like to kiss you," Greystone tells them, his face hovering so close to their own that they can feel the warm puff of his breath. Kaoru feels their stomach swoop, filled up with jittery, fluttering nerves like a kaleidoscope of flapping butterfly wings.

His lips were so near that Kaoru only needed to close the distance between them by leaning slightly forward.

Kaoru makes up their mind to do just that, shifting towards him a moment too late as Greystone suddenly draws away. They stumble a step forward, their wrist engulfed by Greystone's much larger hand as the villain grabs hold of them and pulls the miqo'te along with him as he turns to stride down the hall.

"Not here, kitten. I'll not chance being seen nor heard. Mine own loyal knight aside, there is not a soul here worthy of licking the dirt from your boots, let alone bearing witness to such a splendid moment between us two."

Kaoru flusters. Did Greystone truly consider a kiss between them something so grand? And what was that about Ger? The miqo'te stumbles behind him in their distraction, their legs much shorter than his. Only for a moment, however, as the elezen took note of their struggle and shorted his stride to better accommodate them.

"Come quickly now, my dear," Greystone urges them as he keeps hold of their hand, hurrying through the corridor. Only to come to another abrupt stop as they were about to turn a corner, Greystone's elezen ears twitching a moment before he turns to them.

"Forgive me my impertinence, sweetheart," Greystone says, and in one smooth motion kneels down and picks Kaoru up at their knees with one arm, bracing them at the backs of their thighs with his forearm and carrying them like that as if they weighed nothing at all to him.

They give a soft yelp of surprise, clapping a hand over their mouth as they clutch at the gathered fabric at his shoulder where his cape was pinned in place. With a great deal of embarrassment they cling onto him for dear life as the elezen had already begun to move.

Greystone shoots them a devastating smile, his face so close that they could see the different specks of blue in his eyes and count all of his long, pretty eyelashes if they wanted. This close, they could see the scar that marred his handsome face was clearly made by something—or someone—with claws.

The villain moves quickly with them in his arms, his long legs carrying them farther now that he does not need to wait for Kaoru to keep up. Even so, being carried in his arms was a smooth ride for the miqo'te, the elezen holding them steady as he crept through the shadowed halls to his apparent destination. An unmarked door that he opens up and then swiftly closes behind him as they slip inside.

The click of the lock sounds loud to Kaoru's twitching ears as they realize they are alone, locked in a room with a devilishly handsome villain.

Kaoru's heart quickens its beat as Greystone lowers them from their perch on his arm. Their palms slide over the elezen's shoulders and pectorals to his abdomen on the way down to solid ground. Kaoru does not realize they are holding their breath until the elezen moves, inspiring a gasp of breath from them as Greystone looks them over with glittering blue eyes as he prowls towards them. Every step that the villain took in their direction was two that Kaoru took backwards.

The smirk that curls at that darkly glossed mouth sends shivers up and down their spine. Their fur prickles and near stood on end, though they did not know if they felt nervous or excited.

Perhaps both.

Greystone was dangerous, but to Kaoru he posed a different kind of danger.

The man was fixated on them, clearly interested in the hero in ways that only lovers should be.

"Why so skittish, kitten?" The villain coos to them in a voice like rich molasses, dark and sweet. The sound of his boots clicking over the wood floor echoing ominously as he backed the hero into a corner. "I will not harm you."

Kaoru startles, glancing back as their back hits the wall. Having cornered themselves without realizing it, they jump a bit as Greystone closes the distance between them, his arms slapping the wall on either side of them, caging them in.

"Were you not about to kiss me back in the hall where anyone could have stumbled upon us?" The villain murmurs intensely, pressing close.

He is half bent to whisper into their feline ears, his nose brushing the tip of one.

"Or was that simply to distract me? You are well aware of my attraction to you. My interest in you. I have been more than plain. What of you, my sweet? Do you intend to play with my feelings? To hold my heart in your small, delicate hand whilst you slowly squeeze?"

Kaoru sucks in a breath as Haurchefant grabs their wrist and yanks their hand forward to touch his chest. Their fingers and palm meeting bare, warm skin where the elezen's shirt was unlaced, the beat of his heart thumping under their hand.

"It is yours if you want it," the villain offers, pressing their hand firm to his chest. His grasp on their wrist was almost bruising as he pinned them to the spot with the intensity of his gaze alone. "If you do not, I will bother you no longer. Tell me, which is it?"

Kaoru stares at him, wide eyed and flustered. They feel short of breath, dizzy. Their mouth was dry, and their voice croaked as they struggled to speak. Put entirely on the spot, how could they possibly answer? "I…"

Kaoru's eyes squeeze closed, a whimper rising in their throat as they turn their face away. This was too much! They could not think, they wanted nothing more than to flee this moment.

"I don't—" They start to say, to confess their uncertainty, but Greystone reaches out and covers their mouth.

His blue eyes are wide, a little manic.

It hurts a little where he grips their face, but Kaoru cannot feel fear in the face of the expression that he wore.

He looked more afraid than they themselves felt.

"Forget I asked," he tells them, a desperate edge to his voice. "Please, Kaoru," he whispers fervently, shocking them with the use of their name—spoken so sweetly, as if he were savoring the sound of it even as he said it, "Do not deny me just yet."

Kaoru stares at him, stunned into silence. And then they can only give another choked little gasp as Greystone drags his hand down over their mouth to instead fist it in the collar of their cloak, dragging them forward as he dipped downwards.

They meet in the middle with a crush of lips, Kaoru's clothes pulling on their body uncomfortably and their feet dangling above the floor as they were kissed senseless.

The gloss coating Greystone's lips feels slick as their mouths slide over one another, and Kaoru groans in their throat at the addicting sweetness of it. The taste was something fruity that they could not quite place as their tongue accidentally slid over Greystone's lower lip.

Greystone gasps with the feeling of their tongue, groaning into their mouth.

"Kaoru," he murmurs, his voice desperate, pleading as he draws them nearer, lifting them up and into him as he presses their back into the wall and licks into their mouth, "Kaoru..!"

Kaoru reaches back for him, dark lipgloss smearing sticky and sweet between their mouths as they kiss, passionate and messy. They wrap their legs around his waist, squeezing at his hips. Their hands cup his jaw firmly as they melt into this embrace, pulling back from the greedy slide of his tongue to suck at the sweet, fruity taste of the gloss lingering on his lower lip. Savoring that sweetness on their tongue.

There would be no forgetting the taste of it now.

"Kaoru," Greystone groaned, pushing them into the wall as he rocks forward into them.

A bolt of pleasure zings through the miqo'te with the grind of their hips and they tip their head back to cry out with it. Gasping with dark gloss staining their mouth as they became aware of that familiar throb that this dangerous villain inspired in them.

With Kaoru's head tilted back, Greystone takes the advantage to kiss over their jaw and throat, leaving sticky imprints of his lips on their skin.

He set them down on their feet, then he slipped slowly downward. Their difference in height made a non-issue by the villain in his willingness to bend for them. First at the waist to kiss their lips, their jaw, their neck, and now on bended knee as he moves lower.

If he wanted to kiss over every ilm he'd have to sit on the floor, or perhaps even lay on it. Kaoru feels flustered with the ridiculous imagining. Yet here was a villain kissing his way down their body. For some reason Kaoru could not doubt that Greystone would even kiss their boots if they wanted him to.

Proverbial boots, that is. Kaoru was wearing sandals.

His hands stroke over their back, his fingers spanning wide as he braces them. He buries his face against them, breathing them in as he kisses his way even lower. Only pausing as Kaoru grabs at his face, their fingers framing around his ears as he trailed kisses down towards their chest.

"Wait," they say, and Greystone instantly stills, looking up into their hesitant face.

Kaoru takes a breath to steel their nerves, and says, "I am not a woman."

Greystone furrows his brow. "I know that, dear, you have said such before. You have informed me how to call you. Have I erred in any way? If so, I would apologize."

Kaoru shook their head, and their hands trembled on his jaw with nerves. Their bright, mismatched eyes of red and yellow-gold bore him, silently imploring him to understand. "It is only that… If you have certain expectations—"

Greystone shook his head. "I have none, kitten," he says gently. "I only want to touch you, to taste you. To show you what pleasure I can bring you, if you let me."

Kaoru grows red in the face, near as vibrant as the color of their hair. Their eyes squeeze shut, their hands loosening their grip on his face. "If you change your mind…"

Greystone cups his hand over the back of theirs before they can pull away, nuzzling into their palm and kissing over their lifeline. "Rest assured, my sweet, I will not."

He pauses then, and the look on his face is gentler than they had ever seen it. He seemed an entirely different man.

Or perhaps this was closer to the man he had been, before he had become the villain Greystone?

"If you are uncomfortable, or wish to stop, pray tell me. I want you, Kaoru, without a doubt. I am a greedy man. But… I will not continue if you do not want it. If you do not want me. You can walk out that door, and I would have Ger assist you in leaving here without trouble."

Any feelings of trepidation that Kaoru might have been feeling all but evaporated as the elezen did his best to reassure them, to bring them ease.

They could not help but feel that the villain holding them was naught but an elaborate mask, that the man underneath was more than worth knowing. If they were brave enough to stay and get to know the man he truly was.

The question was, were they willing to take that leap of faith?

Trailing him here had been beyond reckless, following him blindly even more so. Yet even within a den full of villains, Haurchefant had made them feel at ease.

Kaoru takes a breath, a gulp, and says, "Haurchefant. I want to keep going."

If the man was not attractive enough, he was transformed into someone beyond dazzling with the genuine smile that comes over his face when hearing his name from Kaoru's lips.

Kaoru's cheeks burn red at how handsome this man was. They feel flustered and… touched by his consideration and the obvious respect he held for them; and so very hot and bothered by how desperately he seemed to desire them that he would beg them not to deny him.

"Show me," Kaoru says to him, mustering up their own confidence and courage. To blurt it all out before they could become too shy and embarrassed, or chicken out entirely. "Show me how you will touch me, how you might please me, and… and then I will make my decision. Show me your all," They say, so very bold and mayhap more than a little reckless in their word choice. "Convince me."

What was said, was said. And with that, all traces of sweetness and gentleness on that handsome face were wiped clean.

Haurchefant's eyes are a piercing, heated blue as a wicked smirk tugged at the villain's glossy mouth. "As you wish, kitten."

Kaoru finds themselves staring down at the top of Greystone's head as he promptly slid down their body, their skin flushed hot as he knelt at their feet.

Gods, he was so tall that he was practically the same height as them kneeling down!

They felt strangely bashful as the elezen took off their shoes first, his blue eyes gazing up at them under his eyelashes. The curve of his smile makes them all tingly.

They feel positively dainty as he holds their bare foot in his large palm, the miqo'te making a small sound of embarrassment in their throat as he kisses the top of their foot like he would the back of their hand.

"So tiny, my cute hero," Haurchefant coos, taking off their other sandal and setting it aside.

"Maybe you're just big," Kaoru replies, to which Haurchefant flashes them a grin that was downright lascivious.

"Compared to you, my sweet, I am quite large."

Kaoru flushes hot with the implications of that. The direction of their thoughts must read on their face—or Haurchefant simply catches the way their gaze drifts towards his lap—because the villain laughs and lifts his hands to their hips to squeeze, his fingers sliding under their waistband to touch their warm, smooth skin.

"You will see all of me soon enough, my curious little kitten. First I would do my very best to please you. Pay close attention, dearest Kaoru, for I will convince you of the sincerity of my feelings."

Kaoru gasps as Haurchefant yanks down their trousers, having already deftly dealt with the ties holding them closed when they were not paying attention.

"Such a pretty portrait you make, my Kaoru," the villain compliments them, his hand sliding up from their knee to the inside of their thigh.

"Well, what have we here?" Haurchefant murmurs in a velvety voice as the smooth glide of his hand catches on their skin where the slick trail of their arousal had coated the insides of their thighs.

Kaoru squirms with embarrassment, their pulse throbbing as Haurchefant pulls back for just a moment to rub his fingers together, smiling wickedly.

"So excited for me already?" The villain purrs, continuing on by stroking over the fabric of their smalls—a boy-short cut that suited them well—and admiring the shade of red they were. He particularly liked the darker spot he could see as he cradled the softness of their plump inner thighs in his hands and spread their legs open to look.

The adorable squeak they let out in response inspires something of a maniacal giggle from him.

Ohh, yesss… Kaoru was wet!

He kneads at their inner thighs, chuckling in his throat as he feels Kaoru squirm.

Looking up at them gifted him with the utterly adorable sight of them hiding behind their hands, their multicolored eyes peeking out at him all wide behind their fingers.

"Hahh, you are so cute, my kitten, it makes me want to do wicked things to you," is all the warning Haurchefant gives to them before he lifted one of their knees over his shoulder and buried his face in the crotch of their small clothes.

Kaoru gives a choked little gasp, stunned speechless.

The hot, moist puff of his breath washes over them as he breathes them in with perverse delight; before he licks them through the red fabric separating his mouth from their wet, heated flesh.

Kaoru's soft cry is nearly drowned out by Haurchefant's lustful groan. Kaoru whines in their throat, one hand pressing to the wall, and the other fisting in Haurchefant's hair as the elezen's tongue licks over the patch of wetness that was plain evidence of their arousal.

"Kaoru," Haurchefant moans, lapping at them like a slavering beast, further wetting the red fabric of their smalls with the way he drooled for them, quite obviously enjoying himself for how he panted and made such seductive sounds.

"Kaoru..! Ohh, kitten, I could live between your thighs," Haurchefant tells them without an onze of shame between his cute endearments for them and moaning their name. His hands pawing at the plump flesh of their thighs as he licks and licks and licks at them.

"Mmph, sweetheart," he continues on, in lustful ecstasy, sucking their juices from the fabric as if to savor every last drop, "Just a taste of you and I am already addicted. Fury, I could eat you morning, noon, and night!"

Kaoru has no words for that, still stunned speechless and trembling, their hips jolting as the damp fabric creates friction against their sensitive flesh. The red-haired miqo'te mewling out as Haurchefant's nose grinds against their clit, their head thumping back against the wall as he pressed his mouth there and sucked, hard.

They cry out with pleasure, their fingers scrabbling against the wall as their hips grind against his face for more, more.

"More," Haurchefant says what they were thinking aloud, and Kaoru has only a moment to catch their breath as he pulls back to say, "Forgive me, sweetness, I'll replace them," as the villain gripped the fabric of their smalls in his hands and ripped it in twain to expose them to his hungry gaze.

"Haurchefant!" Kaoru exclaims, but forgets entirely what they mean to say at the worshipful expression on the villain's face, and the feeling of his touch gliding over their slippery folds.

They watch, wide eyed and chest heaving as Haurchefant coats his long, elegant fingers in the slick of their arousal. His fingers slippery with it as he rubs at their clit with just the right amount of pressure that had Kaoru bucking into his hand as he lowers his head to taste them without fabric barring the way.

He acted like he was tasting ambrosia for the ridiculous, lewd moan he lets out as he licks over them. Sucking at them ardently and savoring their flavor on his tongue like a sweet, melty treat.

"Haurchefant," Kaoru whimpers breathily, then gasps out as the man lifts their other leg over his shoulder, grasping at their bottom with both palms as he pressed his face against them. Holding them upright with such ease, as if they weighed nothing at all to him.

"You say my name so prettily," Haurchefant slurs against them where they were so warm, wet, and aching for him. "I wonder how many ways I can hear it from your lips before the night is through. Shall I start? Kaoru."

Kaoru whimpers in their throat as he looks them in the eye and opens his mouth, his tongue spread wide and flat as he laps at them. Quite obviously savoring their taste on his tongue for the languid way he licks over them, his deep moan thrumming through them.

Kaoru's hips twitch into every slow, firm swipe of that wicked tongue. Their mouth hangs open as Haurchefant licks and licks and licks over every ilm of their soft, slick flesh.

By the blissful expression on his face and the twitch of his ears that caught their every gasp and slightest sound, Kaoru could tell he was enjoying himself immensely. Perhaps even more so than they themselves were.

Kaoru clutches at his head between their thighs, their heart pounding in their throat even with their back to the wall as Haurchefant holds them up off the ground with their legs over his shoulders and treats them to pleasure they had never felt before.

He treated them like a decadent feast; and ate them up.

Kaoru's legs squeeze around his head, their hips gyrating against Haurchefant's face as he thrust his tongue out and licked inside of them. His tongue sinking into them again and again with wet, lustful stabs. A mimicry of what he would soon do with the hard, throbbing length sitting heavy between his thighs.

Kaoru had yet to get a good hard look, but it seemed to be a sizable bulge. True to what Haurchefant had said, it looked large compared to how small Kaoru was.

Would it even fit inside of them??

No doubt Haurchefant would make certain it fit, if they went so far.

Kaoru feels hotter for thinking such things. Their multicolored eyes squeeze shut as they blush and whine out loud with embarrassment and lust.

Haurchefant chuckles with his tongue still buried inside of them. The sound vibrates through their body and makes them tingle and throb all the more.

Their mouth drops open, their voice crying out as Haurchefant closes his mouth around their clit as sucks fervently.

"Hhh—Haurchefant!" They call his name, gasping and heaving for breath as they thump their head against the wall. Their waist jerks as Haurchefant cradles their back, their shoulders pushing hard to the wall as they ride his face and his tongue through their first orgasm of the night.

Some incomprehensible stretch of time later, Kaoru falls limp. Their body shaking and trembling all over with pleasurable aftershocks as Haurchefant caught and held them.

Their limbs sway in the open air as the elezen carries them, holding them aloft as he walks to the bed in the corner of the room.

They drift back into awareness as Haurchefant lays them down gently, their eyes still hazy as they blink them open. Their face blushes hot, a wave of bashful feelings washing over them as they watch Haurchefant strip himself down.

He was already bare from the waist up. His long, elegant fingers loosening the ties of his sinfully skin tight trousers as he gazes at them with lust darkened blue eyes.

"No need to be shy," the elezen says in a deep, velvety voice as he prowls close to them, settling between Kaoru's spread thighs and slipping his fingers under the cloth still covering their upper body from his view. Their shirt slips up over their hips and belly as he kisses his way over their skin, higher and higher.

Only pausing to press a worshipful kiss to every freckle, dimple or scar.

He lingers a little longer over the one that curves from hip to hip across their lower belly. It was long faded, barely different from their surrounding skin, but still smoother to the touch as some scars tended to be. Still visible even though it had healed some time ago.

There was an obvious story for this one, but such tales could wait for later.

He continues on in his path, kissing their abdomen and chest through the fabric of their shirt, and then looking into their face as he tugs the bunched up material. “May I?”

Kaoru pauses in consideration, then nods their head. Why should he not see them as they are? They had already done so much together.

Haurchefant wanted to learn more of them, did he? Well, Kaoru would not hide who they were.

Given permission, Haurchefant wastes no time in ridding them of their last layers, finally stripping them entirely bare.

Kaoru finds themselves holding their breath, gazing into his face to catch every micro expression.

Haurchefant gazes his fill of their bare form with that same look of admiration and naked want. Unchanging. Accepting them for who they were.

“You are a vision, my Kaoru,” he murmurs, trailing his fingertips over their flat chest. Tracing the scars from their top surgery, and then dipping his head down to kiss over them as he had done every other scar.

These ones were more special. These scars were neat, clean lines. Done with clear precision and care, and obviously more recent by the difference in color to their other scars.

They were a reflection of Kaoru's own happiness. A decision they had made of their own volation, for their own body.

How could Haurchefant be anything but glad that Kaoru would share this with him?

It was a show of trust, and perhaps a gauging of his own character.

Haurchefant could only show them again and again that he would accept them for who they were. That he would love them as they are. He could only hope that they would do the same in return.

“I told you, my Kaoru,” Haurchefant murmurs, kissing their chest right over their heart. “I open my heart to you. I will love you for all that you are, if you will only let me. I await your answer with great anticipation.”

Kaoru swallows the lump that had risen in their throat, blinking their misty eyes. Relief draining the sudden tension that had come over them. Why had they expected his reaction would be any different?

Haurchefant smiles, dragging his lips up from their chest to their collar bone, over their neck to their jaw. His lips pressing kiss after kiss there as he worked his way back to their lips.

Kaoru can feel the curve of his smile as he kisses them—full force in ecstatic joy—before it melds into the intensity of his kiss.

Their mouth fell open in a gasp as his hand slid down over their body to settle between their thighs again. His fingers gliding through their wetness and petting over their folds as he kisses them hungrily, his tongue slipping into their mouth to tangle lazily with theirs. He teases them slowly just like that, one finger slipping into them to the first knuckle.

Kaoru clutches at his arms, mewling in their throat as Haurchefant works them open slowly with one finger sinking in and out of them. His finger gently curled to press and rub against their soft, slippery insides. Seeking out the spots they were most sensitive as he slips a second finger in alongside the first.

"So tight," the elezen hisses as the miqo'te claws their fingernails over his shoulders and squirms into the motions of his fingers. They whimper in complaint as he pauses in his kisses to them, his lips pulling down at the corners and eyebrows furrowing.

"...Kaoru," he murmurs with a dawning realization, "Have you…never—?"

Kaoru's cheeks flush a ruddy red, their mismatched eyes hidden behind their lashes as they shook their head. "No."

Haurchefant makes an inarticulate sound in his throat, the sudden crush of his lips over theirs making the miqo'te let out a squeaked sound of surprise.

They feel hot as he kisses them with deep, dizzying passion, stealing the breath from their lungs with his fervent affection.

"I'll make it so good for you, Kaoru," Haurchefant promises against their trembling lips. He sucks at the soft flesh of their bottom lip, cradling the back of their neck in the crook of his arm as he kisses their lips again and again, his fingers moving inside of them with more care.

Kaoru whines in their throat, burning up with embarrassment and arousal as Haurchefant looks at them like they were the most precious to him. As if they had given him a priceless gift.

Kaoru did not think it was that special—that they were that special—but apparently Haurchefant did.

"I'll make you feel so good," Haurchefant repeats, obviously now a man on a mission to make this an unforgettable moment for his miqo'te lover.

It was already so good, but Kaoru had no real basis for comparison. Haurchefant was their one and only at this point. There was no way that they could deny him or reject him after this, he was simply too sweet and considerate. His feelings for them were plain in every touch, in every kiss, every lingering look that was shared between them.

"I already feel good," Kaoru tells him with a flustered whimper.

Haurchefant presses his lips to theirs again, lingering with such blatant affection that it flusters Kaoru even more effectively than the feeling of his fingers sinking inside of them. At least, until Haurchefant lifted his head and gazed at them adoringly. Holding their gaze as he pleasured them slowly and carefully.

Kaoru squirms, struggling to maintain eye contact as their skin reddened as deep a shade as their hair. What was with this sweetness, this sudden gentleness? Not that they weren't enjoying it, but his early rough passion had made them hot like nothing else.

"You said you would show me your all," the miqo'te says, reaching out to grasp his face and tug him close as they looked him in the eye and demanded more with all the assertiveness they could muster. "Do not treat me differently now over something so inconsequential when moments before you were ready to ravish me. I would experience all that you are, Haurchefant Greystone. Not just gentleness and sweetness, but the depth of your desire. The passion you showed me before. Is it not your intention to convince me? I did not stay here—in a den of villains, locked in a room with a man with a reputation such as yours—with the expectation I would be treated to a gentle night of passion."

Haurchefant gazes at them in surprise for a moment, but then that wicked smile tugs at his lips as his eyes light up with manic glee.

Kaoru shivers as Haurchefant slips his hand up to stroke their cheek, his voice like velvet as he purrs, "Your wish is my command, kitten."

Kaoru's lips part in surprise as Haurchefant wraps his hand around their throat, his fingers positioned to press at the sides of their neck, his palm curled snugly to their neck but not uncomfortably so.

"How's this then, Kaoru?" He asks, his breath fanning over their lips. Hot and heavy, just like the breadth of his palm and fingers as he slowly starts to squeeze.

"Yes," Kaoru chokes out, squirming with a flood of arousal. Feeling the bob of their throat as they swallow, the warm weight of his hand as he cradles their throat in his palm. Of his fingers as he positions them just so on the sides of their neck, cutting off their air with a careful, practiced pressure that has Kaoru very much aware of the excited, lustful throb of their pulse. "I… like it."

They imagine they could taste his desire on their tongue with his every heated exhale. That he could taste their own in their answering gasps.

"Good," Haurchefant smiles roguishly, exuding wicked delight. Then he slips his hand upwards to cradle their jaw, holding their gaze with serious blue eyes. "Before we continue any further, give me a word, Kaoru. Any word of your choosing. If you become too overwhelmed or wish to slow down, or stop entirely, you need only speak this word and I will abide by your wishes."

Kaoru can barely think with the feeling of his fingers still inside of them. Though his movement had come to a stop, they still throbbed around his fingers, squeezing tight around them with the lust he had so far stirred in them.

"A word? Haurchefant, I don't… I can't… Can we not continue without it?" The miqo'te asks, squirming. Feeling far too hot and bothered. Was it really necessary?

Haurchefant shushes them, leaning forward to kiss their lips, soft and sweet. "It is a safe word, my dear. I do not wish to push you too far or to frighten you with the depths of my desire for you. I must insist you pick a word, or allow me to choose one for you. It must be one that we do not commonly use in casual conversation."

Kaoru blushes up to their finely furred feline ears, unsure if they wanted to hide their face from him or pull him closer for more kisses.

His words and his fingers have their attention divided. It was honey sweet, hot seduction. So heady that Kaoru felt dizzy with it. So much that they squirmed, and then moaned as his fingers ever so slightly curved inside of them in response.

"Will you… pick one for me?" They ask, already feeling somewhat overwhelmed by all that has happened so far. By Haurchefant declaring his feelings and desire for them again and again.

There would be no denying his sincerity.

Kaoru had never been pursued quite like this. Had never felt half as good, and nowhere near as lustful and wanting.

Haurchefant graces them with another one of his soft smiles, plainly adoring as he dips his head to kiss them again.

Kaoru sighs as his lips move over theirs, whimpering softly in their throat as he curls his fingers inside of them and teases at their clit with swipes of his thumb. If this was their reward for doing what he wanted, Kaoru was most certainly in danger.

"Good, good," Haurchefant murmurs in a heated breath against their lips, keeping them on the torturous, delicious edge of ecstasy even as they speak.

Kaoru did not know whether to curse him or beg him to keep going.

"You… keep doing that… you're making it so…! Hah… hard to think," Kaoru gasps, their hips jerking with the movement of his fingers.

Haurchefant laughs in his throat, favoring them with his evil, sexy smile.

How was it that his smile could be so wicked but his gaze so soft that Kaoru felt their breath caught in their throat? They swallow with effort, their heart thundering in their ears, their pulse throbbing all throughout their feverish, overheated body.

"Do you… desire me so much?" Kaoru asks breathlessly.

Haurchefant gives a low hum in his throat, grasping their small wrist in his much larger hand and lifting it towards his face to kiss at their palm. His lips feathering so very gently over their lifeline, his breath a hot puff of air over their skin.

"So much that it scares even me, my Kaoru," he tells them in a deep, throaty voice.

Kaoru shivers all over, staring at his face. At the elegant fan of his eyelashes as he kisses their hand with his eyes closed in a fleeting moment of reprieve from the intensity of his gaze.

"You don't even know me. Not really," Kaoru replies weakly, their stomach swooping as Haurchefant drags his lips over their fingers, his lips parting to nip at their fingertips.

"Call it what you like, kitten," Haurchefant says simply, staring back at them under the fan of his eyelashes as he holds their hand and nuzzles his cheek over their knuckles. "Infatuation. Fixation. Obsession," he kisses their hand with every word, "I merely know that I cannot stop thinking of you. That I desire you, that I must come to know you more completely. Your likes, your dislikes, what makes you smile or laugh or cry. What brings you pleasure. I want to know everything. I want to taste every ilm of your skin. I want to bring you so much pleasure that you think you cannot handle any more. I want to convince you that you can. I want—"

Kaoru covers his mouth, wide eyed and heart pounding so very loud in their own ears that they are certain Haurchefant could feel it. Hear it.

"Too much," they gasp.

Haurchefant licks their palm, teeth scraping their skin. "Yes," he agrees, his voice muffled by their hand before he tugs it away. "I want too much. Forgive me if it frightens you, Kaoru. Such is why I must insist upon a safe word."

He pauses then, taking a deep breath and sighing it out. He presses their hand to his chest, allowing them to feel the rabbit-quick thump of his heart. "I get ahead of myself," he says, head ducking and looking downright sheepish with the upturned arch of his eyebrows. "I can be over-excitable, and reckless. You need only ask Ger, she would confirm my words with emphatic agreement. I can become much too intense with the things that interest me. With the people that interest me. You, Kaoru. You have become someone I cannot ignore. I am out of my head with thoughts of you. My heart quickens with the very mention of your name. With every moment in your company, the depths of my desire only continue to grow. I want more of you. All of you. Far from denying this desire, I gladly surrender myself to it."

Kaoru stares at him, speechless.

Haurchefant clears his throat, allowing their hand to slip away from him. "You needn't feel pressured to respond. My thoughts, my feelings and wants are all my own responsibility. I do not speak them aloud to burden you, Kaoru." He takes another breath, the dangling jewel of his earrings swaying with the shake of his head. "Given this opportunity, I simply cannot help myself."

Kaoru bites their lip and reaches out to cup his face in their hands. "I… don't really know my own feelings yet with all of this," they tell him with all honesty, feeling flustered and abuzz with nerves staring into the blue of his eyes, "but you are often in my thoughts, too. Foolish as it is to trust a villain at his word, I feel now… that I can believe you have been honest with me from the very beginning."

Their heartbeat quickens watching his eyes widen, and then become soft with his feelings for them. They feel overly warm, cheeks burning and pulse throbbing. "My chest swells and I feel dizzy with your openness about your desires. How readily you speak your mind and share your feelings. It was hard for me to trust your sincerity at first, but if you have been playing me for a fool then you are the most talented actor I've ever witnessed."

Haurchefant frowns. "I am many things, my dear Kaoru, but I am no liar."

Kaoru lets out a shaky breath, smiling a little. "I believe you."

Haurchefant gazes back at them, then sighs. Smiling back at them. "Then I must needs continue to prove to you that my intentions are true."

Kaoru swallows, wiggling a little. "I would like you to continue, yes."

That brings back the spark of heat to their lover's eyes. "As you wish, kitten," he says with a dip of his head, his smile curving wickedly.

Then he sweeps his gaze over them and says, "Dragonhead."

Kaoru blinks. "... Dragonhead?" It was an encampment in the central highlands of coerthas, they knew. They had been there.

Haurchefant nods, "You know of it, yes? Dragonhead will be our safe word. Repeat it back to me."

Kaoru swallows. "Dragonhead."

Haurchefant grins, all teeth. "Good."

Kaoru clears their throat, asking curiously, "What made you decide on that?"

Haurchefant hums, leaning forward to press his lips to theirs as he resumes where he had left off in teasing them, his fingers moving at a lazy pace that had Kaoru twitching and stifling a whine.

"It is a piece of my past. A place that might have been our first meeting, had things been different."

Kaoru squirms, gasping as Haurchefant puts more intent behind the movement of his fingers. Stirring them up again so quickly as if to make up for the time they had spent coversating.

"Nnnghh! D…—different?" Kaoru mewls out, only to whine as Haurchefant covers their mouth and smirks at them.

"Let us leave such conversation for the afterglow, my sweet, I would much rather use my tongue for more stimulating things."

What, again? Kaoru's feline ears perk, their tail shivering. How many times did he intend to do so? Was he aiming to thoroughly exhaust them? Kaoru doubted they'd be able to talk at all after Haurchefant was through with them.

"You are so expressive, kitten." Haurchefant laughs softly, trailing his hand away from their mouth in a downward stroke to pet over their neck. "Your thoughts are nearly written across your face. Yes, sweet Kaoru, I intend to savor this moment. To savor you. In every manner, so long as you allow me."

Kaoru swallows as he settles his hand on their throat again.

"You remember our safe word?" He asks.

Kaoru nods.

"Let me hear it," Haurchefant murmurs, lightly running his fingers over their neck while his palm stays in place where he had laid it.

"Dragonhead," Kaoru breathes out.

"Good," Haurchefant praises them, "Remember it. Use it. Rest assured I will allow no harm to come to you, not from my hand or another. Know that I am yours to command, Kaoru."

Kaoru does not know how to respond to that, so they say nothing.

"Now, take a deep breath," the villain softly instructs them, "and hold it."

Kaoru does as he bids, taking a breath and holding it. Their heart pounds in their head, in their ears, in their throat as he positions his fingers just right and applies pressure.

"Speak the word if you need to," Haurchefant murmurs to them even as his fingers twist and curl and press inside of them. His thumb slides slippery around their clit, swirling in a tease that had them twitching.

Kaoru could sob with how quickly he puts them on the edge again. He could easily bring them relief here and now, but instead he was teasing.

Taking his time.

Bringing them to the edge and slowing down to torture them with pleasure, with such wicked delight in those blue eyes of his. It was clear he was not going to allow them to reach another peak until he was good and ready.

His blue eyes bore into them with laser intensity as his fingers curl inside them, at the same time rubbing roughly at their clit with his thumb. Allowing them to catch their breath in short bursts as he does so, but the more their pleasure builds, the longer he waits between breaths.

"I admit to some surprise at your preferences, but all the better for me that you enjoy this. Shall I treat you roughly? Manhandle you? Satisfy you so thoroughly and completely that you cannot leave this room on your own two feet? Hmm, is that what you desire, my cute little Kaoru?"

Kaoru gives a strangled groan in their throat with embarrassment and desire as their body flushes hot with his wicked, teasing laugh. Their hips buck into his hand and their eyelashes flutter as Haurchefant licks at their mouth and proceeds to suck on their tongue. They could still taste themselves on his mouth even now. The heady flavor of their own arousal lingering even after so many kisses shared between them.

With Kaoru's preference in mind, Haurchefant puts forth more effort to prove himself a worthy lover. He plies them with deep, lustful kisses that have them gasping into his mouth as his fingers twist and thrust into them more quickly and forcefully than before. His thumb sweeps over their clit, rubbing roughly, and Kaoru is once again worked up into a frenzy of lust.

"That's it, kitten," the villain breaks their kiss to trail his lips upward in a hot, sultry path over their skin. Pausing only to feather velvety kisses across the soft brown markings that curved over Kaoru's cheek.

"Give yourself over to me, sink into pleasure until all else drifts away but blissful ecstasy," Haurchefant breathes into Kaoru's feline ear, tracing along the finely furred shape of it with his far too talented tongue.

Kaoru shudders, biting at their lips to muffle their cries. Their ears catching every wet, lewd sound that they made together as Haurchefant stirred their pleasure up to new highs.

"You're close," Haurchefant purrs. The puff of his warm, moist breath ghosting over their ear making them shudder as their skin prickles with shivery bumps, their fur standing on end with anticipation of the pleasure that was to come. "I can feel you squeezing around my fingers. So wanting, so greedy. Worry not, my dear Kaoru. I'll give you all that you desire and more."

Kaoru sobs out as Haurchefant finds that pleasure spot inside them with two fingers, their muscles contracting with intense pleasure as he finally allows them release.

They tremble and shake, their eyes squeezing closed as they ride out the rush of sensation.

Their ears lay flat, their hips jerking and thighs shivering as their every nerve lit up with ecstasy.

Ah, hah, ahh!!

…!

Kaoru does not know how much time passes by in that blissful haze, but when they come back to themselves, Haurchefant is gazing at them expectantly, hungrily.

"Have you any words for me, my Kaoru?" The villain asks them in a low, rumbling voice. "Or shall I continue?"

Kaoru's voice comes out in a squeak of sound as they watch Haurchefant stick his fingers into his mouth—the ones that had just been inside of them!—and slowly suck them clean. Savoring their flavor with a moan in his throat.

Why was it still so shocking? Haurchefant had stuck his tongue inside of them!

That far too talented tongue in question drags over Haurchefant's lips, the color of his sticky lip paint long faded, the evidence of his ardent affection a map over their skin. His blue gaze sears into them, his greed palpable. Greed for more.

For more of Kaoru.

Kaoru gives a startled whimper in their throat as their body throbs with renewed desire under the heat of his stare, an ache inside of them that had yet to be satisfied. What had he done to them? Kaoru had never felt like this before!

They reach for him and Haurchefant comes into their arms eagerly, pressing his lips to theirs to steal their breath with his impassioned kiss.

They gasp and groan, shivering pleasantly as their elezen lover trails heavy kisses from their lips over their chin and down their throat. Leaving no ilm of their neck unkissed, as if to make up for wrapping his hand around their throat.

It made Kaoru feel warm and tingly, soft sighs leaving their lips as they were once again kissed and caressed.

"You are so cute, Kaoru," Haurchefant groans, burying his face in their chest and breathing them in with deep, heady breaths. "I want to touch you more and more. I cannot get enough of you."

Kaoru squirms, burning with bashful feelings as well as their own desire. "I… want to touch you, too."

Haurchefant lifts his head, his blue eyes blinking in surprise as Kaoru reaches out to sweep his bangs back from where they had fallen over his face. The neatness of his slicked back hair had become messy and loose, falling over his forehead and into his pretty eyes.

"Is this ok?" Kaoru asks, so adorably shy as they bring their other hand forward to touch his face with gentle, hesitant fingertips.

Haurchefant leans into their hand, a pleased grin stretching across his face. His hand cradled the back of theirs as he sighed in bliss and nuzzled into their palm.

A shiver traveled through them as Haurchefant kisses and licks at their palm, his teeth grazing their skin.

"You can touch me however you like, kitten," Haurchefant positively purrs, "Whatever you want, whatever you need, it is yours. I am yours."

Kaoru flusters at that. This man truly was too much. "You can't mean that," Kaoru says reasonably, their voice weak.

"Oh, but I do," Haurchefant says, an intensity coming over him. Manic glee in his face as he grasps their wrists and tugs their hands to his face, kissing over their fingers and palms between words as he declares,"For you, I would do anything. If you desire it, I will make it happen. If you want to touch me, you have my permission from now on. If you feel too nervous, I will lie entirely still and let you have your way with me. I'll be your plaything, your toy, whatever you want. Use me, Kaoru. You can have whatever you want."

Kaoru's heart thunders in their chest, their skin buzzing with the heat of their blush. Taken aback and entirely bewildered, their mismatched eyes opened wide in shock and their feline ears laid flat.

"So there is some truth to the rumors about you," Kaoru mutters, "you are mad."

This man utterly was bonkers.

Haurchefant giggles at that. Giggles.

"Mad for you? Most definitely, my sweet Kaoru," Haurchefant agrees.

He smiles at them, entirely besotted. "Here," he coos, "shall I help?"

Kaoru is utterly helpless as he tugs their hands towards the sides of his head, guiding their fingers to his bejeweled pointed ears. "You like my ears, don't you? I saw you looking at them. Did you want to touch them?"

Kaoru did want to touch them. Haurchefant really noticed everything, didn't he? He may act foolish, but the man was smart as a whip. He was sharp. He…

"You knew I was following you all along, didn't you?" Kaoru realizes.

Haurchefant blinks, then grins at them toothily. "Do not doubt your capabilities, kitten. It was simply luck that I spotted your reflection in a passing window."

Luck? Ha! Kaoru was certain that Haurchefant was playing to their ego, but instead of calling him on it they sigh and indulge themselves in touching his ears.

They cup them in their hands, following the outer shape of his ear with their fingertips. A curving line to a pointed eartip, then following the rounded line to his earlobes where his glittering earrings dangled, swinging to and fro with the slightest twitch of his ears.

Haurchefant had fallen quiet at Kaoru's touch, and the miqo'te is much too flustered to meet his gaze as they fiddle with the shiny, dangling jewels that dripped from his earlobes like drops of clear, blue water. They tap them gently with their fingertips and sway the jewel around their fingers like the rotation of an aetheryte.

"These suit you really well," Kaoru says shyly, glancing at him under the fan of their eyelashes. Startled, then, to see his heavy frown.

"You are too much," Haurchefant huffs, and Kaoru gives a squeak as he pounces on them, kissing them intensely.

"You said you'd hold still!" Kaoru yelps in surprise and not a little delight as their overzealous villain pins their wrists over their head and kisses them through their words.

"It was true in the moment," Haurchefant tells them through panting breaths, before catching their tongue between his lips to suck on, hungry and wet. The loud, messy sounds of their smacking lips ring through the air as the villain makes up for the time they had spent just talking by making quite certain their lips would be bruised from his attention by the time they left here.

"Scold me if you wish," Haurchefant groans, squeezing at their wrists. Rolling his hips against them. "Use your words if you want me to stop. I am yours to command."

Kaoru mewls, saying no such things to make him stop or slow down. They strain their wrists in his iron grasp to enjoy how strongly he holds them, wrapping their legs around his hips to squeeze and encourage him to grind more against them.

"Dear heart, you look a little overwhelmed," Haurchefant chuckles between panting breaths. The movement of his hips not faltering even as he speaks. "Are you certain you have no words for me?"

Kaoru's head jerked from side to side, not even considering using that word. Rather, the helplessness of it all made it all the hotter, amping up the intensity of their desire. Something had awakened in them, and Haurchefant was partially to blame.

"Don't stop," Kaoru moans.

Let him take the lead, Kaoru preferred it.

This was much better for their nerves.

Not having to think, only feel.

Haurchefant gives a lustful growl in his throat at their moaned encouragement, rutting against them. He rolls his lower body into theirs, giving them such delicious friction that had Kaoru making helpless little noises that they could no longer stifle.

With their wrists shackled in his iron grip and their body pinned by his full weight, Kaoru could only write under him in pleasure.

"Consider it incentive," Haurchefant groans, a beautiful blush painting his fair skin in rosy hues that only deepen the more he exerts himself.

"What?" Kaoru gasps, lust addled.

Haurchefant laughs. "Next time, I shall allow you to have your way with me however you like."

"Oh—ohhh!" Kaoru moans out in understanding and bliss as Haurchefant rubs them just right. Right there, there, there!

Their mouth hung open as their eyes rolled back, their limbs haphazardly jerking with pleasure.

"Ah, ah. Not yet, my pet," Haurchefant croons to them, laughing in his throat at the whine they let out as he rises up on one arm to lift off of them.

"Look here, Kaoru," he directs them, releasing their wrists to drag his hand down his chest, over his abdomen, to dip into his unlaced trousers.

Kaoru stares, wide eyed and flustered as his hand plays under the material. Curling around the bulge that stretches the crotch of his leather pants taut. Stroking along the length of it as he moaned softly in his throat.

"You are welcome to touch me here, my kitten," Haurchefant purrs, hooking his thumb into the material at his hip and pulling down as he draws his hand out.

How did those leather pants contain that thing?!

For elezen, perhaps it was a little above average, but to Kaoru… Well, it seemed massive!

Haurchefant laughs at their expression—eyes wide and feline ears perked at attention—and almost seems embarrassed at their reaction. Color rushing to his cheeks and ears, peculiar smile tugging at his lips.

He clears his throat, then, and says, "Does it make you feel nervous? Shy, perhaps?"

Kaoru gulps.

Haurchefant bites his lip, starts to say, "If you wish to stop here—"

Kaoru interrupts him, blurting out, "Will it even fit?"

Haurchefant barks a surprised laugh. Then he is all smoldering heat as he purrs, "Oh, kitten, I have made certain you are ready for me."

Kaoru's mouth drops open, plainly gawking as Haurchefant takes their hand and leads it forward to touch him.

Oh. The feel of him. His skin was softer than they had imagined, he felt…

"So warm," the miqo'te mumbles.

More than merely warm, he felt hot to the touch.

Their fingers circled around him, fingertips not touching with the girth of him. He was not too thick, however, but longer than Kaoru had ever seen.

Not that they'd seen much but short glimpses here and there! They weren't some pervert peeping on others!

They marvel at the smooth quality of his skin here, the weight of him in their hand. Their heart drums in their ears as he twitches with their touch, his pulse throbbing where their fingers pressed to him.

Their own heart jumps at hitch in his breath as they ever so slightly squeeze…

"That's it, kitten," He breathes, his pretty eyelashes fluttering with his pleasure. Pleasure that Kaoru had given him with the touch of their hand.

Hahh…

Kaoru swallows hard, breathing shallowly as Haurchefant coaxes their hand into stroking over him, guiding them with a hand laid over theirs.

Kaoru was quickly drawn into touching him. Captivated by his reactions, every peek they took of his expression was exhilarating. His obvious enjoyment by their hands made their belly clench and throb with a rush of heat that made their thighs slick.

Kaoru wanted to feel more of him. To know what it felt like to meet him skin to skin, down there….

Kaoru shifts restlessly, their thighs rubbing together as they squirm with unspoken desire. Too shy now to speak their mind, when before they had been so recklessly bold.

It was different when they were holding a… a…! Well, you know! In their hand! All the while looking into their enemy-turned-lover's face as they touched him so intimately.

Kaoru gives a squeak of surprise as Haurchefant dives in without warning to kiss them, pinning them underneath him. Their hand reflexively squeezes around him, and the elezen moans into their mouth.

"It's alright to be shy, sweetheart," Haurchefant murmurs against their lips, coaxing their tongue out to play with his between loud, wet smooches. "I look forward to showing you all the pleasures you have not known."

He takes over in their distraction, squeezing firm over the back of their hand and using their palm and fingers to stroke himself.

Kaoru mewls against his lips as he directs their hands lower, gasping out as he rubs the tip of his erection against their hip, leaving a trail of moisture on their skin from the pearl of wetness that beads at the slit of his mushroom head.

"You can let go, kitten," Haurchefant laughs softly. A gleam in his blue eyes as he spoke with satisfaction coloring his words, "I have you now. I'll take care of you."

Kaoru only flusters at that. Did he think it was decided already? That they would become his—no, that they were already his?

"You still have to convince me," Kaoru mumbles, feline ears pressed flat as they avoided his confident stare. He was sure of himself.

Their embarrassment only deepens as Haurchefant takes the hand they had just been touching him with and kisses it. The back of their hand, their knuckles, their palm to their wrist. The man did not possess an onze of shame, it seemed.

"I will, I will," Haurchefant's grin is bright, pressing his face into their palm as if he were seeking their praise.

Kaoru pinches his cheek instead, feline ears twitching. "Cocky," they huff.

"Indeed so, but I think you just might like it," Haurchefant laughs, and purposely nudges his cock between their thighs.

Kaoru jolts, gasping. Their hips twitch upwards as the villain does not stop with just one motion, but continues it by rubbing the tip of his prick over their mons and against the slick softness of their folds.

"Close your thighs, sweetheart. Mmm. Hold them like that, nice and tight for me," Haurchefant purrs.

Kaoru obeys, flushed to their ears and pulse throbbing as Haurchefant reaches out to squish the soft flesh of their outer folds that were made plump by the squeeze of their thighs.

"So cute," Haurchefant coos even as he paws at them possessively. Squeezing their outer folds between his fingers and dipping inward in seek of their wetness, to rub at their clit in slippery swipes of his pointer finger and thumb.

"This position makes you look even more inviting, Kaoru. Mmm, I want to eat you. Devour you again and again until you're shaking and begging. Until all else fails away and you only know my touch and the ecstasy it brings you."

A whimper builds in Kaoru's throat, their hands grasping at the sheets below them as they try to hold still. Why did something so simple feel so good? He wasn't even inside of them yet, but he was already making them lose their mind. He really knew what he was doing, didn't he?

"Gods," Kaoru gasps out, staring helplessly as Haurchefant straddles them, pinning them to the bed as he presses his cock against them—braced with only his thumb under the mushroom head of it—and rocking forward slowly to tease against their folds. The tip of his prick kissing their clit with every forward roll of his hips. The length of him gliding over them in delicious friction that was driving them to the brink.

Haurchefant laughs. "The gods care not for mortal pleasures, kitten. I am the one dedicated to bringing you such endless bliss. Again and again, you need only ask. I am your willing slave."

Gods, this was crazy. He was crazy. It only made Kaoru want more. Need more. Knowing what they did now of the pleasure Haurchefant had given them, this teasing touch was not enough.

"More. Harder," Kaoru mewls, squirming under him. Seeking friction seemed impossible with his weight pinning them down, but the struggle somehow made it all the more tantalizing.

Haurchefant laughs, tutting at them. "Not yet, my pet. I want to play with you a little while more."

Kaoru whines for a moment, but Haurchefant is not without pity.

He parts their folds with the tip of his cock, rubbing up and down, stroking himself with their wetness as he does so. Giving them a little more friction, but this time skin to skin without his leather trousers barring the way.

It felt amazing.

Kaoru gives a soft yelp in surprise as he suddenly takes his prick in hand and uses it to slap against their clit, giving them a burst of sensation that had them clenching their thighs together and moaning in need.

"Please, please!" Kaoru pleads.

Haurchefant gives a put-upon sigh, and lifts off of them. "How can I possibly deny you when you beg so prettily, dearest? Hah, it seems you already have me wrapped around your cute little fingers."

Kaoru squeaks out in embarrassment as the elezen grabs them under their knees and pushes their legs up, their calves resting easily over one of his broad shoulders and putting them very much on display for the man.

Kaoru covers their face, too stunned to make noise except small sounds of fluster.

"So lovely," Haurchefant sighs, running his fingers over their soft folds, squished together so plump and cute for him.

He wraps a hand around his cock, guiding it forward to rub against them, once twice, but then he slips between their arousal slickened thighs instead of sinking inside of them.

"Look, Kaoru," he purrs with plain glee. "This is how deep I'll reach inside of you!"

Kaoru peeks between their fingers, flushed as red as their hair as they take in the sight of Haurchefant's cock sliding in and out from between their closed thighs, rubbing up against them with every leisurely thrust of his hips.

It was long, for certain. It reached upwards towards their navel with a slight curve to the right. Kaoru thought it was surprisingly pretty. Large and elegant like the man himself.

Yet there was no time to admire it for long before Haurchefant was pulling back, rubbing up against them with intent, his fist wrapped just under the tip of his prick.

"Forgive me my impatience, dearest Kaoru. Much as I would prefer to please you for several bells longer, I fear I may burst if I cannot have you now!"

Kaoru offers no such complaints, aching as they were for more of what Haurchefant offered them. They had asked for more and Haurchefant was finally ready to give it to them.

"So wet, Kaoru," he purrs approvingly. "Worry not, I have more than prepared you to take all of me."

Kaoru gulps, their mouth falling open as Haurchefant presses slowly forward, the bulbous head of his cock spreading them open as he slips forward ilm by ilm.

Kaoru thought it would hurt, that there would be pain, but there is nothing like that after the lengths that Haurchefant had gone to in preparing them. It felt like stretching a muscle they had not used very much at all until this night, a mild ache that soon gave way to a feeling of fullness as Haurchefant sank into them ilm by ilm.

"Tell me… if you feel… any discomfort," Haurchefant grits out, hissing through his teeth in quick, heated breaths.

It felt like it took an age for him to fit inside, when in reality it must happen quickly.

"Are you… feeling alright?"

Kaoru's mouth hung open, no thoughts springing readily to mind to answer him. They nod blankly, fur prickling with feelings as their whole body trembles with this new sensation.

"I think…" Kaoru mumbles, because it was mostly strange. It was different from his mouth, his tongue, his fingers. He felt bigger than he had looked, bigger than he had seemed in their hand. It felt like he was opening them up impossibly wide. Did it feel good? Kaoru wasn't quite sure yet.

Haurchefant's hips pressed flush against the backs of their thighs. He rested there for a prolonged moment with their legs over his shoulder, gripping their ankle in his hand as he turned his cheek to press his lips to their leg.

"Kaoru, the way you feel," he groans, his face twisted up, in agonizing ecstasy. "I fear I will not last…"

Kaoru could feel his restraint, his struggle to be considerate for them. His breath was shaky, his grip firm where he held them. Every slightest shift they made had him groaning like he was in exquisite pain. They could feel him throb inside of them, his whole body trembling with strain.

"You don't have to," Kaoru reasons, slowly adjusting to the feel of him inside, and trying very hard to hold still so as not to torture him. Admittedly, it was a little thrilling to have this sort of power over him after how easily he had manipulated their body, but Kaoru was a hero, not a villain. They did not relish his struggle.

…Well, at least, not too much.

"Can't we just feel good together?" Kaoru offers, taking slow breaths as they slowly shift their hips. It wasn't bad at all. They could withstand this. "You still have time to convince me."

Haurchefant looks surprised.

Kaoru can't help smiling and laughing a little. Surely, he hadn't thought…? "Did you think that tonight would be it, that's all? I am not so unreasonable… Oh!"

Kaoru lets out a squeak, anything more they might have said cut off as Haurchefant pulls back and thrusts into them. The sound of skin meeting skin piercing the air, sharp and wet, as Haurchefant responds with passionate vigor.

Kaoru clutches at the bedding beneath them, writhing with pleasure as Haurchefant does not stop even as he changes up their position. He pulls them in closer, one of their legs falling from his shoulder as he turns them on their side and grips their hip. His fingers shift lower to dig into the meat of their thigh, their skin dimpling with the strength of his hand.

Kaoru's ears twitch with every lewd smack of his skin against theirs, their own voice leaking out in impassioned cries they cannot begin to stifle as they tossed their head to and fro with overwhelming feeling.

"Ahh, haha, hnng… ahh!"

The bed had seemed so sturdy, but Kaoru could hear it creaking with their combined weight and movement.

They can barely catch their breath as every snap of Haurchefant's hips has their whole body rocking, ilming up the bed until their head pressed firmly into the pile of plump pillows. The only thing saving them from knocking their head against the headboard.

They wanted to be closer. To feel his weight bearing down upon them, to share his breath and drown in his kisses.

"Closer, closer," Kaoru gasps out, curving their legs around his. "You're too far away like this. I want to feel more of you…!"

Haurchefant laughs, breathless and giddy. Spreading their thighs open and pressing them onto their back as he crowds close, pinning them beneath him.

Kaoru whines as he slips out of them, but cannot give voice to their complaint before they find their mouth too busy to do so. Haurchefant's lips seeking theirs, insistent and hungry.

They gasp into one another's mouths as their lips slide over each other in a string of lip smacking kisses.

He nibbles and nips at their already kiss bruised lips, soothing the sting of his bite with fleeting swipes of his tongue.

Just enough to slick the way for the glide of every intense smooch he plants on their lips.

Kaoru mewls with the intensity of his dizzying kisses, heat building up inside of them again. How did something so simple feel so good?

They moan out in delight as he pins them down with his full weight. Rutting against them, his cock teasing over their dripping folds.

At the same time, his kisses find their cheek, their jaw, his tongue trailing over their neck.

"Kaoru, Kaoru," he moans and sighs their name. As if they were the answer to all his prayers. A deity on bended knee that he wholeheartedly worshiped, that he would gladly pay tribute to over and over.

"You feel heavenly," Haurchefant groans as he slipped inside of them again.

Kaoru whimpers, flinging their arm over their burning face, but crossing their ankles behind his back to keep him inside of them.

Haurchefant laughs, rolling his hips against them strongly even as their legs restrain the distance of his movement.

"You're so cute, Kaoru," he murmurs in a voice dripping with adoration.

Kaoru flushes hot, their whole body jerking.

Haurchefant let out a strangled moan, hissing through his teeth. "Ahh, kitten, you were squeezing me so tightly already… but you get even tighter when I compliment you. You like being praised, don't you?"

Kaoru hid their face and shook their head, but their body was entirely truthful as Haurchefant heaped on the praise with the wicked relish of a villain all too tickled to gain the upper hand over his hero.

Kaoru did not know what was worse, to be tortured so affectionately, or that Haurchefant was so plainly truthful in the words he spoke to them.

"It was only inevitable that you would steal my heart away, my Kaoru. Your strength, your conviction, your kind heart…" Haurchefant tells them through panting breaths. "I was fascinated with you since the very moment we met. A wondrous hero one had only heard of in the fairytales, yet beyond that a person who was so lovely, so kind and thoughtful. So utterly dazzling."

Kaoru hid behind their arm, head shaking. Embarrassed and terribly stubborn in their refusal to accept his favor, "I'm not. I'm not what you say I am."

Haurchefant an irritated grunt in his throat, tugging their arm away from their face and pinning it to the bed, his fingers slotted through theirs in a passionate grip. "You are! You can deny such things all you like, but I am no fool. I know my own mind, my own heart. I love you for the person you have shown yourself to be. You say I do not truly know you? Then let me get to know you! And watch, then, as I fall deeper and more completely for all that you are."

When Kaoru has nothing to say in response to his vehemence, Haurchefant's hand squeezes at theirs. Still they refuse to look into his eyes, so stubborn. Haurchefant gives his second best villainous chuckle, thoroughly charmed even now by their heroic levels of obstinance, "Have you no words for me, kitten? Well, it matters not. If I cannot convince you with my words, I will do so with my body…"

Kaoru yelps as Haurchefant spreads their thighs wide and folds them in half, bearing down upon them with his full weight as he pins them to the bed and grips their ankles firmly.

"Haahh… Feel it, Kaoru," He groans fervently, far more vigorous in his movements now as he sinks into them again and again. Stirring them up inside until all Kaoru could focus on was this, was him, inside of them.

"Nng… Feel me, my desire for you! Is this not true, not real? Can you… hah!... deny this? Mm… Speak your words, if you would reject me now. Ah! I would… respect your wishes… no matter the circumstances."

Kaoru was undoubtedly feeling it. They could not think of the word Haurchefant had given them, let alone speak it. Words were far from their grasp as they bucked and whimpered and whined.

They could feel that telltale sensation building up inside of them again. The way their whole body trembled and tightened, begging for release. So close, so close. Almost there…!

Haurchefant chuckles wickedly, guiding their hand down between their thighs. "Touch yourself for me, kitten."

Kaoru mewls, rubbing at their slippery, throbbing clit with shaky fingers.

"That's it," Haurchefant croons, "that's my good little hero. So obedient for me. Don't you want to cum now, hmm?" Haurchefant moans for them. "I can feel you squeezing around me. Do you want me to fill you up so badly?"

Kaoru nods senselessly. Yes, they wanted that.

Haurchefant hums in approval. "You first, sweetheart. I'll follow."

Kaoru nods, rubbing at themselves more quickly. Yes, yes… They could feel it! There, there, there…!

Their whole body tenses up as they reach yet another peak, squeezing Haurchefant mercilessly in the process.

The villain let out a long, guttural moan. Pinning them helplessly to the bed as he drops down on top of them, his hips jerking into them as they wring pulse after pulse of his spend from him.

It pours into them, thick and hot. More than they had expected. Was this not excessive??? Kaoru thinks as he fills them full, too full, overfull…! It was so much that it spilled out of them, pouring down their thighs.

But then Kaoru realizes that their villainous lover had not brought himself pleasure even once up till now, his focus had entirely been on theirs alone.

Their arms felt like overcooked noodles, but Kaoru lifted them up to wrap around the elezen's back, embracing as tightly as they could manage.

"Kaoru, Kaoru," his whole body was heaving with the breaths he was struggling to catch, but he gave more only to speak their name. Or slur it, rather. He sounded drunk, his voice shaky.

"Just a little more, Kaoru," he murmurs, shifting on top of them. The bed creaked as he started to move again in earnest.

Kaoru clutches at him tight, ears perked and eyes wide. Again, so soon?

It was different from before, he did not feel so hard inside of them. His movements were shorter, more constrained. He seemed almost as if he were in pain with the way he groaned.

"Are you ok?" Kaoru asks, enough wits about them to understand he was pushing himself.

Haurchefant trembles, his head shaking.

"Sensitive," he grits out, clutching them to him and burying his face in their neck.

Yes, it was the same for them, Kaoru realizes. "Me too," they squeak out, their fingernails digging crescent shaped indents into the skin.

"Sorry, sorry," Haurchefant moans. "I just, need…"

"I didn't… say stop," Kaoru whimpers, just as overwhelmed, but willing to ride this out wherever it went.

This time around was more a grinding of their hips, the slippery mess of their combined essence slicking the way. The friction was almost too much for Kaoru to bear after rubbing themselves so furiously, but they could feel the pleasure building behind the discomfort.

A slow burn that intensified with the insistent bump and grind of Haurchefant's pelvis against theirs.

They jerked under him, twitchy with sensation. Squeezing him inside involuntarily.

Haurchefant moaned deep in his chest, his pace increasing ever so slightly.

Kaoru whimpers in response, clawing down his back to grip at his backside, bucking their hips up to meet him in this lustful haze.

Every breath, every rustle of the bedclothes, every creak of the bed, it all sounded so muted. Far away compared to the pounding rush of blood in Kaoru's ears.

Even with how much slower this was, it felt even more intense…

Overstimulating, but oh so good…

Still so sensitive as they were, it was not long before another orgasm was rolling over them in a frisson of tingly, overwhelming heat.

"Ah..!" Haurchefant jolted against them, his muscles rippling under their hands as he spilled into them again.

They both took a moment or several just basking in the afterglow and catching their breath before Haurchefant lifted carefully off of them.

Kaoru hisses ever so slightly as he slips out of them. Aching from between their thighs, that place had seen more activity this night than all their life.

"Are you hurting, kitten?" Haurchefant asks, his face creasing with worry.

Kaoru bites their lip. "A little."

"Allow me," Haurchefant murmurs, his hand outstretched and hovering over the place where they most assuredly ached.

The cool trickle of healing magic that washes over them is met with some surprise from the miqo'te, but it is not unwelcome. It was refreshing, gentle, like the smallest pop of bubbles over their skin.

"Ger is far more skilled in the art of conjury than I am," Haurchefant says as his hand falls away, "but I can manage this much. How do you feel?"

Kaoru focused on flexing their muscles, ahem, down there. In doing so, they push a good bit of Haurchefant's cum out of them.

Haurchefant stares. "My, look at the mess I've made of you, kitten. Shall I take care of that, too?"

Kaoru blinks, confused. "Huh, yes??"

Was he going to get them a towel to wash off with? There was definitely no way they could walk after all that…

Haurchefant grins. "I am no brute, my dear. It is only natural that I should show you care after engaging in such activities as these. Of course, you know your word if you wish me to stop.”

“...Oh!” Kaoru squirms, covering their burning face with their hands as Haurchefant crawls to settle again between their thighs.

"You're so cute, Kaoru," Haurchefant chuckles, his warm breath fanning over the sticky wetness that coated their inner thighs.

Kaoru cannot help the small sound they let out as his tongue presses to their skin and glides over them in long, gentle swipes of his tongue. Clearing away the sticky, rapidly tacky feeling of their combined juices and the salty, musty tang of sex and sweat.

He takes his time with it. His tongue swirling over their inner thighs in a warm, wet, ticklish feeling that had Kaoru shivering again and holding their breath in anticipation. They shift and squirm all the more as he draws nearer to the apex of their thighs. Lapping at the surrounding skin, his tongue so soft and his breath so heated.

Kaoru covers their mouth, staring down at him wide eyed as he takes a pause to look into their face and licks slowly over his lips, any traces of the dark gloss that had once painted his mouth long gone with all their sexual activities.

"After all we have done, you're still so shy," he says with a besotted smile, but with a wicked gleam to his blue eyes, "Hahh. It makes me want to ravish you all over again…"

Kaoru blushes to the tips of their finely furred feline ears, their tail floofing with embarrassment and flickering with nerves on the bed as Haurchefant returns his attention to his chosen task.

"Worry you not, my dearest, I intend to let you rest and recover before I do so again," he reassures them, pressing his lips to their mons in a trail of soft, feathery kisses before his tongue slips again from between his lips to resume cleaning them up with his mouth. A warm, wet towel would work just as well, but Haurchefant seemed so invested in licking him clean, and Kaoru—well, Kaoru was just laying back and letting him do as he pleased. With no lack of enjoyment besides.

Their fingers knot in the covers of the bed as his tongue maps out the shape of their outer labia, a small whimper leaving their throat as he ilms closer and closer to the aching softness of their inner folds.

They jerk, a low whine pouring from their lips as he opens his mouth wide to suck at their folds. Kaoru's ears twitch with the lewd, wet sound it makes as he slurps at them, their face burning hot as his tongue dips in between to lap up his own salty spend, so very much that he had poured into them, filling them full to the brim and spilling over. Twice!

His healing magic seemed to have done the trick to take away the sting, but there was still some sensitivity there that had Kaoru gasping and twitching, arching upwards into the soft suction of his mouth.

"Haurchefant," Kaoru whines.

Their elezen lover hums appreciatively, slurring into their folds, "I do so adore the sound of my name from your sweet, delectable lips."

His hands were busy, they realized. Stroking himself slowly as he licked at them, savoring their combined flavors and getting himself off to it. Quite obviously getting off to the sounds Kaoru made for him. Did the man never tire? Was he, perhaps, something of a… what was the word again?

…Masochist?

The oversensitivity had clearly pained him a moment before, but now he was putting himself through it again!

Kaoru squeaks as Haurchefant leans up to kiss them, then, their body flushing hot with his fervent, passionate kiss and the salty taste of his spend as his tongue licks over theirs. They wiggle beneath him, clutching at his sides as he kisses them deep, deeper, deepest. Stealing their breath and their words, their very thoughts fled from their mind as he kissed them dazed and dizzy.

Then he is gone again, slinking down their body as they struggle to catch their breath through buzzing lips, resuming his post betwixt their thighs. Returning to his faithful service as he cleans them up with his tongue. His hand moving over himself oh so torturously slow.

Kaoru whines as his tongue swirls over their clit, the gentle wiggle of his tongue driving them mad. Their hips bucking into his mouth as he closes his lips around the sensitive bud of their clit and sucks at it.

"I… gonna… hahh…!" Kaoru struggles to articulate with their heady so foggy still with lust, throbbing with arousal as they clench down on nothing. He is so gentle, so careful with them in their oversensitivity, but still he is so close to making them peak again.

Haurchefant's moan is all too stimulating to their twitching feline ears as he licks and sucks at them, lapping up the fresh gush of their juices as they edge closer to another orgasm under his gentle, dedicated attention.

Their hands fall to his hair, their voice whimpering his name as he buries his face against them and sucks at their slippery folds. Kaoru was certain he must have cleaned up the mess he had made of them by now for how enthusiastic he was about it. For how strongly they could feel themselves pulsing for him, clenching around the shape of his tongue as he thrust it inside of them.

Kaoru gives in, letting go as they cum on his waiting tongue. Their hands pull at his hair again as he pins their hips with his hands and laps up every drop. His moan is muffled against them as he finds his own release for the third time. A small number compared to the incredible pleasure he had given them this night.

"No more," Kaoru begs, twitching with overstimulation. Tears prick at the corners of their multicolored eyes as Haurchefant pulls back with one last suck of their folds.

Wiping his messy hand on the already soiled bedding, Haurchefant leans up to hover over them.

"Was it too much?" Haurchefant asks, crowding close in instant concern as he spies the glossy shine of tears in their eyes. He cradles their face in his hand, his eyebrows furrowed and lips frowning in contrition. "Did I hurt you, my dear?"

Kaoru shakes their head, their feline ears laid flat as they reach for him, burrowing into his embrace and clinging to his neck as he wraps his arms around them. It had been so good, but they felt overwhelmed by it all.

"You were so good for me, Kaoru," Haurchefant praises them sweetly in a warm voice. His hand stroking over their back as they nuzzle into his chest. His lips pressing kisses to their red hair as he murmurs to them with obvious affection, "You did so well. Thank you for trusting me. For granting me the great honor of showing you the pleasure I can give you, for allowing me to express my feelings."

Kaoru squeezes their arms around him, their ankles locking behind his back to hold him tight.

"I have you, my darling, my Kaoru," Haurchefant continues in that soft, gentle voice. Holding them firm in his arms as he slowly strokes along their back until Kaoru begins to relax.

Kaoru pulls back, red faced and avoiding his eyes.

"If you wish to go, I will call for Ger to escort you out," Haurchefant says, just looking at them with such an open, vulnerable expression that Kaoru could hardly bear it. "Though the selfish, villainous part of me so desperately desires to make you stay… I want your comfort and happiness above all."

Kaoru's eyes close as he cups their cheek in his palm, his thumb rubbing at the salty trail of their tears. They give a shaky sigh and lean forward to kiss him, a mere brush of lips compared to how intense they had done so throughout the night. A sharing of breath as Haurchefant stays close even as they drift back, his blue eyes sweeping over their face in search of their answer.

"Will you stay, Kaoru?"

Kaoru nods their head. Blushing as they admit, "I doubt I could walk right now. Besides that, I… want to stay with you a while longer."

Haurchefant beams, his expression so utterly adoring that it flusters Kaoru all over again. They duck their head, cuddling close to bury their burning face in his chest.

Haurchefant's laugh rumbles through him and into them as he pulls them in to snuggle. "Forgive me for laughing, my dear, I mean no offense. You are simply too endearing. I want to stay by your side for a veritable eternity."

Kaoru huffs. “Forever is a long time. Besides, we can't stay here forever.”

Haurchefant says. “Can we not? No, I suppose this place is a danger to you. It is not as if I can assign Ger as your personal shadow, though perhaps…”

Kaoru balks, slapping at his chest. “Don't you dare! Besides, I can never tell what Ger is thinking. What if she doesn't like me? You'll make it worse.”

Haurchefant laughs. “What? Doesn't like you? My Ger? Kaoru, she is quite fond of you, all things considered. If she didn't like you, you never would have made it far beyond the entrance to this place. She's quite protective, you know. It is a show of her favor that you came into my arms, unscathed by the many knaves frequenting this establishment.”

Kaoru's ears perk. Well, they had thought it was surprising how easily they had snuck in. Ger… likes them? Well, that was… good to know. It certainly relieved them of some anxiety.

Speaking of relief. “Haurchefant, help me up,” Kaoru says, clearing their throat.

Haurchefant grumbles, squeezing them tight. “Don't tell me you intend to leave me so soon? At least stay the night with me!”

The hero shakes their head. “I'm not leaving! I need to use the washroom!”

Haurchefant pauses. “Oh. Of course.”

Kaoru squeaks as they find themselves promptly swept up into Haurchefant's arms, to be carried like they weighed nothing at all, all the way to the washroom and inside of it.

It is with some embarrassment they must ask for his help to move about, but Haurchefant does not seem to mind lifting them up or lowering them down. He even insists on wiping them down with a warm, wet washcloth.

“Do you have something I might borrow to sleep in?” Kaoru asks, feeling rather exposed just standing here in the nude. With the washcloth and hot running water, they might freshen up a bit before sleeping. “I'd like to freshen up a bit.”

Haurchefant beams. “But of course! Whatever your need. All that is mine is yours, my dearest!”

Well, that was a bit much, but Kaoru had come to realize such was on brand for this man. He was, simply put, rather outrageous.

Haurchefant leaves them, returning a moment later with a clean shirt.

“Would you like assistance?” Haurchefant asks, handing them the shirt.

Kaoru pauses, then shakes their head. “I can do this much alone. Maybe you can see about the… mess we made on the bed?” Their cheeks blush just thinking about it, but they could hardly rest comfortably in such a large wet spot.

Haurchefant grins toothily, far too smug. He gaze sweeping over them with satisfaction, a pleased gleam in his eye. “I'll go change the sheets. Call my name if you need me, kitten.”

Kaoru waves him off, still so flustered to hear that endearment from his lips.

Left to their own devices, Kaoru strips out of their remaining clothing and washes up the best they can.

They can barely look at themselves in the mirror without blushing red from head to toe. Gods above and below, Haurchefant had covered them in hickeys! He might as well have spelled out his own name with how excessive it was!

Kaoru stares down at the bundle of the fabric in their hands and lifts it to their nose, smelling clean laundry soap and a hint of Haurchefant's cologne. It was oddly comforting. If Haurchefant was so keen to give them things, perhaps they would hold onto this as a keepsake…

As if on cue, Haurchefant returns to them with a polite knock at the washroom door. “May I come in, kitten?”

Kaoru’s ears perk, tail floofing with fluster.

He had finished quicker than they expected, but Kaoru clears their throat and calls him in.

“How are you still so energetic?” Kaoru sighs as he joins them. They felt so tired, cleaning themselves up had drained what remaining energy they’d had left. They could hardly lift their arms to slip on Haurchefant's shirt.

Haurchefant laughs. “I do not doubt this is a high that will wear off before long. Shall I help you with that, my dear?”

Kaoru nods, taking a moment of reprieve by leaning against the sink.

Haurchefant takes the shirt from them, gathering the fabric up in in his hands to slip it more easily over their head.

Kaoru needn't do any work at all with Haurchefant on the job. He lifts their arms himself to slide them through the sleeves one by one, allowing the bunched up fabric to fall down over their thighs.

Haurchefant's shirt is huge on them, but the collar doesn't hang down too much.

“You are so cute, Kaoru,” the elezen says with feeling. That adoration shining through perhaps even stronger after the intimacy they had shared.

Kaoru ducks their head and fiddles with the sleeves where they hang too long over their hands, embarrassed but rather pleased by his affection. They were still getting used to it, but it was not an unpleasant feeling.

Haurchefant chuckles, brushing the soft brown markings curving their cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “I will take you into my arms now,” he says.

Kaoru gives a squeak as he does just that, sweeping them up into his arms to carry them out to the to the freshly remade bed that was waiting for the both of them.

Kaoru gazes up at him as he lays them down gently, their head coming to rest upon a plump pillow. He makes to pull the sheet over them, too, but Kaoru touches his wrist.

“Are you not staying beside me?”

Haurchefant goes still. “Would it please you, should I stay?”

Kaoru nods, lifting the sheet and patting the bed. “Lay down.”

Haurchefant smiles, kissing their forehead. “Allow me a moment to freshen up, and I shall join you post haste.”

….

Kaoru must have dozed off while Haurchefant was washing up, because they stir awake as he joins them under the covers.

They sigh, curling into the warmth of his body in their half-awake state. He smelled good, the scent of sweat and sex washed away. Had he reapplied his cologne?

How unnecessary, Kaoru thought, even as they breathed in the subtle scent with feline enjoyment. Their cheeks rubbing up against the super soft fabric of his sleep shirt. Mmm.

They were so sleepy, so sleepy.

“Is this alright?” Haurchefant asks, curling his arms around them.

It strikes Kaoru as somewhat funny, considering all the many liberties he had taken with them this night.

They nuzzle into him, curling their leg over him and smiling sleepily. Already drifting back into the realm of slumber.

“Rest well, Kaoru,” Haurchefant whispers softly, kissing their hair and closing his eyes.

Kaoru drifts into wakefulness slowly. A bright beam of sunshine shining on their eyelids. They grumble, turning away from the dazzling brightness and burying their face into their pillow.

…..

….

…

It smelled like Haurchefant.

And laughed like him, too.

Wait, laughed?

Kaoru jerks awake, their hair a wild mess of the well rested.

Huh? Huhh?

“Good morning, kitten,” Haurchefant says, looking far too chipper for so early in the morning.

Kaoru blinks. “...Good morning?”

The miqo'te jolts as they sense movement, their head whipping around.

“I brought breakfast. My lord Haurchefant suggested you might be quite hungry after your evening activities,” Ger says in complete deadpan, holding a tray that was stacked high with delectable goodness that had Kaoru’s stomach instantly rumbling.

Kaoru jerks their head to stare at Haurchefant, stunned silent with embarrassment as Ger places the tray on the bed within in reach for the both of them.

Pop!

Kaoru flinches, blinking as confetti rains down on the both of them.

“This was also requested,” Ger says.

Haurchefant shrugs sheepishly when Kaoru stares at him incredulously.

“I was only joking. I did not expect Ger to take it so literally!” Haurchefant says, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Ger clears her throat pointedly, “Congratulations on the new stepping stone in your relationship. I will be close by if you have need of me. Enjoy your breakfast.”

Haurchefant coughs. “Actually, Ger. If you would not mind checking Kaoru over after we eat? I would be most appreciative. I tended to what I could, but I am by no means a healer.”

Ger glances to Kaoru. “If you are comfortable with it, I will do so.”

Kaoru could only nod, feeling a little overwhelmed. They were still processing yesterday on a groggy brain, let alone the activity of this morning.

Ger nods, giving a far too formal bow, and takes her leave.

Haurchefant sighs. “Well, that's Ger for you. Always so polite, so formal. A habit I cannot seem to break her of even now.”

Kaoru rubs at their face, yawning. This was too much to deal with right now, and they were hungry.

Haurchefant laughs as they drag the tray towards them, blowing bits of confetti off the platters that lined it edge to edge, keeping their breakfast perfectly warm.

“Shall we eat?” Haurchefant suggests with a grin, lifting the lid to a platter and fanning the delicious smell their way

“Feed me,” Kaoru agrees, feeling quite ravenous.

Everything else could wait.

[therisingphoenixden]

Prompt #28: That Surprising Vanity

Prompt: Vainglory

Characters: Berude Eijinn (WoL), Thancred Waters, Urianger Augurelt

Content Warnings: Shadowbringers spoilers.

Author’s Notes: I really won’t lie about this one. I wrote this after my brains had been scrambled by the intricacies of inventory management and AP figures while at work, then while waiting for my sleep meds to kick in. Which they did. Unexpectedly. So I kind of rushed this in an attempt to wake myself up this morning before I head off to my day job.

For as long as Berude had been a member of the Scions, it was rare to ever see Urianger out of his cowled hempen robe and usual goggles. For two years during the worst of the Primal threat, the defense of Eorzea against Garlemald, and the confrontation with Nabriales, not once had she seen him without his signature outfit. Even more recently, after the rescue of Raubahn, restoration of the Sultana, and Y’shtola’s rescue from the Lifestream, he had not deviated.

Yet once she felt the Ruin bolt dispel the Warrior of Darkness’ chains binding her and her friends and heard the Warriors of Darkness’ mysterious ally speak, she knew. He could hide behind new robes that accentuated his figure far too well for her liking and a mask, but she knew that deep, almost musical voice.

Her hands balled into fists that almost immediately relaxed when the mask was torn away. Her jaw dropped as he drew his scholar’s tome while caressing it fondly and convinced herself to chase away the traitorous thoughts brewing in the back of her mind. She wasn’t quite a widow, nor was it a new pain, but thinking such things about Urianger, of all people, suddenly felt traitorous to Haurchefant’s memory.

She was all too grateful when Alisaie spoke up with a plan to deal with the Warriors of Darkness.

–

Several years had passed since that inciting event and Berude found herself walking through the floral fields of the Fae Kingdom of Il Mheg on her way to Urianger’s home among the pixies. The ever-present light and the odd warmth it brought had her shed the heavy cropped vest and multiple belts and wraps that made her monk’s raiment.

“Glad you made it,” Thancred grumbled as he took in her state of undress. “Let’s go. He should be in.”

She frowned at this new taciturn Thancred, although she supposed it was better than drunkard Thancred. “Lead on.”

The interior was cozy enough, with several couches and armchairs scattered about. But they were nothing compared to the books and parchment scattered over every table and flat surface. It appeared her friend had at least been keeping himself busy, she reasoned as she looked at one of the sheets of parchment. The tiny scribbles were nearly enough to make her start to go cross-eyed when she heard it.

“ Unto a world weary of heroes, a hero wends her way…”

She hadn’t realized how much she had missed hearing his voice. It had only been a few weeks, just barely a moon really, since he had collapsed at the Rising Stones. But it was a relief all the same to hear his poetic words in that rich voice once again. He was here, he was alive, he was…

…wearing a black sleeveless robe decorated with chains, gemstones, and star charms with golden bangles and rings adorning his arms and hands. Around his neck was a thick golden gorget inlaid with garnets.

Her jaw dropped and all she could do was stare at him completely dumbfounded.

The conversation was almost a blur to Berude, so focused was she on this new look for Urianger. This was her friend, and he was showing an almost entirely new side of himself to her. One that beckoned trust and welcome.

The fact he now wielded a star globe and a thin holder for his own deck of sixty hadn’t escaped her notice either.

His smiles were much more freely given when she correctly identified the hand-drawn chart on the wall as one of the elemental forces of Eorzea. And once she had been caught up on the vision of her demise and what the true end goal was to save this reflection of their Star, he had pulled her aside as Thancred went to fetch Minfilia from her hastily-assigned chore.

“My friend,” he began, those intense golden eyes boring into her very soul, “ere I speak of the task at hand, there is a question I would pose to thee.” For a moment, she almost thought he was preening a little. “What thinkest thou of mine appearance?”

Berude bit her lip to keep the silly grin from her face, but she knew she was blushing from the way her cheeks burned. Perhaps a little revenge was in order for startling her with such a radical new appearance. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Come now, ‘tis scarce the first time thou hast beheld these fair features.” He returned her jab with one of his own, and they eased back into the familiar.

“I’ve never known you to be quite so…vain? Is that the right word?” Was it just her, or did the tips of his ears start to turn pink? “But, I like this. The new robes and this new openness.” Out of all the Scions she had reencountered on the First, his were the changes she liked the most. Despite his initial preening and her complete lack of comprehension upon first glimpsing this new side to her friend, there was a certain trust in shedding his old clothing for this new garb that left him so exposed. It wasn’t born out of vanity, she realized, but out of the loss of trust he had experienced. “Astrology suits you as well, I think.”

“T’was thine own studies that inspired mine own.”

That surprised her, and she found herself preening a little under his gaze. Curse her traitorous tongue for tying itself in knots at this moment! Luckily, Thancred swooped in at just the right moment to ask about the task of appeasing the pixies.

Back to business as usual.

[linelpisffxiv]

Aleph Bet

The City of Ala Mhigo was free, or at least, under Eorzean control, now Asina’s lab was destroyed.

“I could have sworn I was somewhere else,” Rakka says. “This doesn’t feel familiar. The tools, maybe, but not the layout. When the break-in happened, I don’t remember passing through anything like this.”

She picks up her Haurchefant mammet and thinks. “Maybe it was another way, or did you not say Asina couldn’t do so legally under Baelsar’s control? Perhaps it was elsewhere.”

“Perhaps,” he says, but Rakka doesn’t seem happy about it. “At least looking here doesn’t make me feel trapped. Not like I was back then. I’ll go check with the other Marchers about our plan when we break the gates open.”

“See you in a bit, I probably need to talk with the Scions about Krile.” Lin still isn’t quite certain Krile is more than an ally to her, but she’s more than that to the Scions, so their worries about her make her worry as well. Alphie and Ali especially.

Now, where were they going again? She’d already attuned to the Aetheryte, and doubted they were going to be there.

The place was like a maze. The other City States she was in felt newer than this city, planning ahead of time. Ala Mhigo still had that older sense to it of being a sprawling city by a castle, keeping the streets narrow and maze-like to fend off intruders. Even with the twenty years under imperial control, it feels out of place. Perhaps she should ask Arenvald more about the Ala Mhigan side of the Autumn War. She and Sanson and Guydelot had found that book that made at least one out to be overly cruel against opponents, but surely that wasn’t how it felt in general.

She moves her hand to the linkpearl, intending to call the Scions, but then something catches her eye.

Dark hair, the same color as Rakka’s. Cut short. The same ears and tail, and the same height as well, but the clothes --

In an instant, he disappears into the crowd of people.

“Raks?”

“Yes?”

She turns around and he’s there. “Oh, I hadn’t noticed you were here. Do you... have a brother, perhaps?”

He shrugs. “If I do, I don’t remember. I only half-remember my life before the escape. I think the file I read said I’m an only child, though. Why?”

Lin frowns. Did he not see that man? Was she dreaming? Well, she thinks she hears Haurchefant talk to her through the mammet, so perhaps.

“Nothing. I was lost in thought.”

[myco-ffxiv]

[drk-brain]

burn the rope, dull the blade

Teen | 2k words

Named f!wol x G'raha Tia

He’s always done this, been so quick to find the most reassuring words, make her feel their future is infinite. It’s almost frustrating, how he calms her so effortlessly. She thinks back to her time in his arms in the First, how just his touch placated her like nothing else as horror loomed on her horizon, even before she knew she loved him.

She forgives him his uncanny ability to play her emotions as lute strings if it means a lifetime of feeling loved like this.

Making good on promises hasn't gone as planned.

Excerpt:

Anora wakes to find the fire has died down, and though the wind still howls and night has truly fallen, the room is yet warm and her skin is sticky with sweat. The burning soreness from before is instead a pleasant ache, and the hands which are responsible for making it so rest lightly against her bare ribs.

“You’re awake,” he whispers. 

She wriggles out from beneath his arm, pleased to find the searing pain does not rear its head as she twists to pull herself to sitting.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” she mumbles, reaching out to brush scarlet hair away from his eyes. “Restless.” 

“It should be alright to get up,” he says. “My aether should dull the pain for a while yet.” 

“Good,” she says and eases her way off the edge of the bed. 

Posh though their lodgings may be, Anora is still uncomfortably aware of the walls around them, the way the room itself bears down on her. It is a place of love and family, yes, but it is also one of painful memories—memories she is eager to replace with new ones instead. “Let’s go somewhere.”

He follows, stands beside her, places his hands on her hips. “No. You should stay here. Leaving will only make it worse again sooner.” 

She huffs, but he cuts off her protest with a kiss to the curve of her neck. 

The door barred by his insistence, she takes to pacing the length of the thick fur rug, scowling at the floor and savoring only in the warmth cast on her legs by the remnants of the fire. 

She halts when she hears the shuffling of thick papers and turns to see G’raha flipping through a stack of music rolls beside the orchestrion. He settles on one, feeds it into the device, and sets it to play.

The room fills with a lively piano and string melody. She remembers it, from when she’d stayed in the manor years before—how it seemed to be a Fortemps family favorite, playing often at dinner, punctuating animated conversations and playful arguments. But the halls had fallen silent for such a long time, and she was sure she’d never hear it again.

G’raha turns to look at her. There is a softness in his heavy-lidded gaze, a gentle smile at the edge of his lips. “It’s beautiful,” he says as he meets her eyes, and for a moment she isn’t sure he means the music. 

>Link<

[carnivorous-arboretum]

i <3 the omega raids

[lily-ohfally]

WoL QotD: What made you choose your WoL's name? Does it have any important meaning or did it just sound nice?

Follow up: Is it lore accurate? If it isn't, why not?

[eriyu]

ffxiv script update!!!!!

3.0.............. complete

[limielle]

heir, weapon

[ladyramora]

In the shadow of your heart

[Part Two]

Written for @/natus_Vincer

Natus belongs to @natus-vincer

↓↓↓ Spoilers for Stormblood & Shadowbringers under the cut↓↓↓

Rating: Explicit

Category: M/M

Characters: Natus Vincer/Elidibus

Additional tags & NSFW Warnings:

Named Warrior of Light, Angst and Feels, Enemies and Lovers, Established Relationship, Explicit Sex, Blood and Violence, Oral Sex, Blow Jobs, Foot Jobs, Face Fucking, Boot Licking, Humping, Size Difference, Natus is compared to a dog a lot, Au Ra horns used as handlebars, Come Eating, Snark, Did I Mention Angst?

.....

....

...

Natus sat in his room, the hum of primordial light no longer vibrating in his horns now that he had brought back the night to the people of Lakeland. The hour was late, the night sky an endless expanse of black lit up with twinkling stars. The moon shone with a cool, calm glow that spilled in through his open window of his room in The Pendants.

He stares blankly at his own hands, clenching and unclenching his fingers while mulling over the events of Holminster Switch. All the people he could not save compared to the ones who had survived. The road had been littered with bodies.

Natus felt strange, too. His skin felt too tight, his body strangely hot. A restless energy vibrated through him, preventing his tired mind and body from achieving rest no matter how long he had laid on the bed provided for him.

Sleep eluded him.

That was fine. Natus knew well enough what he would dream of, or rather who. Images his brain would conjure up in the yearning to see an enemy most beloved.

One who had not visited him as a lover since last they had met on that starless night in the Ghymlyt Dark.

The wind picks up, a breeze drifting into his room that carries the scent of flowers to his nose, and along with it a familiar presence.

Natus' breath freezes in his lungs as he turns his head, his heart jumping in his throat with painful hope.

The moonlight of the First was no different than that of the Source as it spilled over the silent figure of the white-robed ascian that stood in front of his open window.

Natus was ready to believe he had fallen asleep where he sat, the exhaustion finally catching up with him.

Elidibus standing in his room, here on the First, was obviously a figment of his overtired brain. Conjured up by thoughts of him combined with hopeless yearning.

He was bright in the gloom of darkness that was Natus' inn room. Pale and perfect, he was like the ethereal moon in a dark, starless sky. A beautiful and terrible apparition of his own longing come to haunt him.

His face was cast in the shadow of his cowl, his expression hidden in the gloom, yet Natus could not help but think that the red mask he wore had changed. Less of a faintly amused, mocking expression and more one that spoke of a cold, seething rage.

Natus does not dare to blink, let alone breathe too loudly, lest his doing so break the illusion of Elidibus visiting him again after so long.

The scar that Elidibus had gifted him when last they met faintly ached, as if resonating with his presence.

"I am loath to admit that even I, the Emissary, have been kept in the dark as to what plans Emet Selch has made," Elidibus speaks to the air more to him, low and faintly raspy. A tired quality to the sound of his voice that spoke of millennia stretching out endlessly, a long lived life that Natus could not possibly comprehend.

Had he come to kill him? Natus wondered. Would he still be alive now, if not for Estinien's timely arrival? Would Elidibus have truly struck him down, put an end to it once and for all?

"I did not think you would seek me out again," Natus finds himself saying, his voice croaking with the dryness of his throat. He glances down at his hands for a second, a mere blink, and suddenly Elidibus is by his side.

Before he can move or react, his jaw is caught. The cold bite of claws dig cruelly into his skin, but Natus leans into the familiar warmth of his body.

He does not flinch even as Elidibus wrenches his head up, those eyes glowing a fierce, icy aquamarine behind the unforgiving leer of that blood red mask.

"Say what you mean," Elidibus utters in that frightfully blank voice.

Natus swallows. "...Would you have done it?"

Elidibus squeezes his face hard, his claws pricking into Natus' skin and letting blood. Natus can only smile through the pain because Elidibus was here. Elidibus was touching him of his own volition.

Even after everything that had happened at the Ghymlyt Dark, Natus was glad to see him.

"I had every intention of doing my duty," the Emissary almost hisses out the words on a sigh of breath.

Natus closes his eyes. His throat was bare beneath Elidibus' hand, he was weaponless. Vulnerable.

"You didn't then, you have yet to do so now."

Those claws scratch down his scales and skin as Elidibus wraps his hand around his neck instead. Natus struggles to swallow, to breathe as Elidibus tightens his grip.

A hand so small, with an appearance so delicate, but possessed of such great strength that it stole his breath so easily.

Or perhaps it was his mere presence that did so.

"You are right, I could do so this very moment. Thwart the very plans that Emet Selch has no doubt made without me. I could put an end to you, misbegotten hero. One who has become death to my kin."

Natus makes no move to escape or defend himself. His hands rise from his lap only to grasp at Elidibus' robe, fabric wrinkling and bunching in his fists. Holding fast in the hopes that Elidibus will stay even now. After everything.

"You are a fool," Elidibus tells him in a low murmur as Natus gazes helplessly into his face, his feelings unchanged even as the ascian threatens his life.

Natus lets out a precious breath of his dwindling air as Elidibus lowers his face to his, the sharp points of his mask digging into him painfully as the ascian crushes his mouth against his.

Natus surges into him despite the pain, clutching at him greedily as he wraps his muscular arms around the ascian's small, slim waist.

Elidibus hisses out an irritated breath as he finds himself dragged into Natus' lap, his mask knocked askew, nearly falling from its position on his face as Natus kisses him like he'll never get the chance again.

Elidibus presses his teeth together in refusal to let Natus deepen their kiss, before sinking his teeth into the hero's lip like he meant to make him bleed.

Natus grunts with displeasure as his head is yanked to the side, their kiss broken by Elidibus snatching him by the horn and pulling hard.

"I hate that," Natus huffs, catching his breath with greedy gulps of air.

"Do you really think I aim to please you?" Elidibus grits out, grasping tight at Natus' wrists as those hands wander below the ascian's waist in amorous habit. "I did not come here for this."

Natus grins with red dripping down his chin from his bloody lip and cuts stinging from his cheeks to his collar where Elidibus' claws had sliced at him. He grasps palmfuls of Elidibus' cute little bottom through the layers of his robes and squeezes as he bucks his hips up.

"What did you come for, if not for this? For me?"

The expression on Elidibus' face finally changes, his lips pressing thin. He gives him no answer. But nor does he move to get up or use magic to escape from Natus' clingy embrace.

Emboldened, Natus tugs his hand free to pull back the ascian's hood, his silver hair spilling free from the confines of the white fabric. He reaches next for Elidibus' mask, wanting to see his face.

Elidibus slaps his hand away with a stinging swat of his clawed glove, denying him that.

Yet in the very next moment, he reaches out to rip Natus' shirt open.

Natus sucks in a breath as the swipe of those claws make him bleed, but he is all too gentle as he gathers Elidibus' hair in his hand. Winding his fingers through it as he lifts his head to press his lips to his enemy's unyielding mouth.

He is undeterred by this familiar game of stubborn refusal, only smiling fondly as he kisses the ascian's lips until Elidibus begrudgingly softens towards him. Convinced to part his lips to the hungry, persistent flick of Natus' tongue over his pretty pink lips.

Natus moans his approval, his hands sinking into Elidibus' silky hair to cradle the back of his head as he tilts his head to avoid bumping into that crimson mask.

He savors the taste of Elidibus' kiss, a craving he had not sated in some time.

Talking never got them anywhere, no matter how Natus tried to reach the man or find common ground, Elidibus held his duties as Emissary above all else.

In this way, though, they communicated quite well. Sharing heated breaths as their lips parted for only seconds at a time before they sank into one another again.

Natus pours all his feelings into these kisses, all the questions he did not dare give voice to. Cupping Elidibus' elegant jaw in his large hand, Natus is gentle, reverent as he sweeps his thumb over the ascian's skin. Marveling as he always did at how cool Elidibus' skin felt in comparison to warmth that Natus gave off.

Elidibus gives something like a rumbling growl in his throat. Seeming displeased by this gentle affection as he grabs a rough fistful of Natus' hair and yanks his head back again.

"Nng," Natus groans, desire stirring in his loins as Elidibus bit at his mouth, his jaw, his throat. Rutting against him with jerky motions of his hips as he ravaged him with brutal bites and bruising hickeys.

"Let me—" Natus starts to say, to suggest they undress and perhaps move this to the bed instead of doing so at the table.

"No," Elidibus cuts him off. "I have indulged you far too much, for too long."

Natus gives a guttural, barking laugh at that. Indulged him? Hah! Elidibus eluded him at every turn. Kept him at arm's length no matter the strides the xaela made to close the distance between them. Slapped his hands away whenever Natus reached for him. Perhaps Elidibus enjoyed being chased?

Natus could never hold onto Elidibus for long, he always slipped through his fingers. Cold and distant as the moon.

He half expected he would leave him yet again, unfulfilled and with so many unanswered questions when Elidibus rises from his lap.

Natus is not expecting him to climb from his lap and step up onto the table. He blinks, turning in his stool to face the table, and finding himself promptly bracketed by the Ascian's thighs. That white, immaculate robe spread open and his dark trousers already pushed down his thighs.

Impatient, was he?

He was already hard. His prick bobbing under the weight of Natus' hungry stare, a pretty pink flush coloring his pale skin that only deepened the longer that Natus looked at him without doing anything.

"Do not touch me with those hands stained with the blood of my brothers and sisters," Elidibus warns him in a brittle voice, before Natus can reach out and wrap his hand around him.

Natus pauses, looking into that cold, unfeeling mask.

Elidibus' lips—bitten red and bruised from his kisses—were pursed thin.

Heh, so that was how he wanted it?

Fine.

If Elidibus wanted his mouth, Natus would give him that. He was perfectly fine with being used so long as Elidibus stayed by his side. So, with such thoughts in mind, Natus crosses his hands behind his back with a smile and leans forward into his lap.

Natus moved slowly, taking his time as he made contact with the tip of his nose first, breathing in deep the unique scent that could only belong to Elidibus. A flowery, earthy scent that Natus recognized emanating from his hair and skin, combined with a darker and dusty sort of gunpowder smell that lingered on his robes of which Natus could not quite place at this point in time. A smell the xaela would later recognize as moondust.

He trails his nose over the pretty cock bobbing in front of his face, his neck flexing up and down and head tilting from side to side to side as he nosed along the velvety skin, allowing the weight of it to rest on his cheek as he nuzzles into him and breathes in gulping, heady breaths. The musky, salty scent of him here had Natus swallowing frequently as his mouth watered with the greedy desire to taste him.

His need was obvious to Elidibus, there was no doubt about that. It would be humorous, surely, if not for the twisted history between them.

Here was Natus, the bringer of light, the very savior of Eorzea that had laid low eikons, gods, and ascian alike; and yet he was rendered a panting, drooling mutt so ready to be used by the very Emissary that would be his greatest enemy.

And yet Elidibus was not above taking advantage of it. More than that, he actively participated in it. Elidibus wanted this—wanted Natus—enough to return to him again even as their relationship was further perverted by bloodshed on both sides and the accompanying twisted emotions that came along with it.

It was obvious to both of them that they never should have blurred the line of enemy and lover, that their relationship had been doomed from the very start; but it was far too late now. Destruction surely awaited them, yet even knowing that, neither of them could stop, or stay away from another.

They would walk this path, hand in hand, to their inevitable end.

Even knowing that, Natus wanted to draw it out as long as he could. These moments between them. Who knew how many they had left?

He would savor every one like it was the last, because it could very well be.

Elidibus gave no voice to his demands, as to do so would be to admit his own need. Yet his actions spoke louder than words as he tugged Natus' horns like handles, and pushed his hips up to press the tip of his prick to Natus' lips, smearing a lewd line of precum over the xaela's mouth. Deliciously filthy.

Despite the many millennia he had lived—and all the careful plans he had made in that time—with Natus, Elidibus could be quite impatient.

Natus fights a grin as he drags his tongue over his lips, savoring the salty musk of Elidibus' intimate flavor and just so incidentally grazing the needy cock so near to his mouth with his tongue.

He could feel Elidibus shudder, hear the vibration of the soft breath of pleasure he let out as it thrums seductively through his horns.

Natus lets his tongue hang from his mouth with a hot, moist exhale. Allowing the puff of his own panting breath to drive the ascian all the more wild with desire for a few torturous breaths longer before he leaned in to drag his tongue along the head of Elidibus' cock.

He laps at him with the full length of his tongue, though his technique could hardly be described as such. Rather, he licked at Elidibus in a crude, messy manner. Much like a mutt seeking to show overzealous affection to its master, he was a sloppy, drooling mess. More hungry for the taste of Elidibus than showing any finesse.

Still, it seemed to do it for his masked lover, judging by the way Elidibus gave small, barely restrained jolts of reaction.

Natus could not see his eyes, but he could see the tick of his jaw as the ascian ground his teeth. Recognize the soft hiss of his breath as something felt particularly good.

Natus' tongue was too eager in response, too quick. The taste of Elidibus could not linger in his mouth for long enough. Every beading pearl of precum was soon spread over his drooling tongue, dissipating far too soon to savor it.

Elidibus' scent did not linger long enough in his nose with every gulping, greedy breath that Natus took. He wanted to sear this into his memory, imprint it upon his soul. The scent of him, the taste of him, every sound he made.

Every moment, every intimacy that was so terribly fleeting; Natus did not want to forget a single second of it.

Even the lower half of Elidibus’ face, twisted up and unhappy as it was… Natus knew that he would want to remember it. The line of the emissary’s jaw, the down turned corners of his mouth. The underside of his nose, just a sliver to be seen from where Natus was looking up at him.

This less than tender grip upon his horns, accompanied by the occasional scrape of his claw over the pattern of ridges and dips that made Natus shudder bodily in a way that was less than pleasant. It was like scraping bone, and made Natus experience a sensation of intense discomfort.

Elidibus would know this by now, such an action from him was surely intentional.

Yet Natus grins and bears it all, swallowing down that sensation of revulsion and hyper focusing on his desire for Elidibus. Licking, licking, licking at him with unbearable patience. Teasing the both of them by taking his time to simply savor the moment.

Aught that plainly irks his enemy and lover. Elidibus tightens his grip and yanks at the hero's horns, pulling him in roughly. Forcing the xaela forward into his lap, his cockhead pushing insistently at his lips and cheek. The pointed tip of Natus' horns drag across the bare, vulnerable expansion of Elidibus' thighs, surely raising lines in his flesh, if not drawing blood.

Those clawed fingers pull at the corner of his mouth, slipping inward to poke uncomfortably at the soft, spongy curve of the inside of his cheek. The panting puff of his breath becomes distorted with the stretch of his mouth, and drool drips from the tip of his tongue and over his lips where Elidibus’ clawed fingers stretch his mouth open, trickling down his chin.

The tip of Elidibus' cock bumps against his top lip, pressing his lip to his teeth. His greedy tongue laps at the sensitive underside of it, making the ascian hiss and thrust his hips forward.

Natus groans helplessly and obliges his lover's wordless command by opening his mouth wide, sucking the pretty pink tip of Elidibus' prick into his mouth. Welcoming him in with a hospitality that was altogether lewd.

Yes, this was more like it. He could savor him better like this. Take in more of him as the salt and clean musk of his flavor lingered in his mouth. Flavor that only grew stronger, headier as Natus bobs his head and sucks at him with such lustful greed that it hollows his cheeks.

Saliva pools in his mouth with the taste of him, easing the glide of his lips and the slippery path of his tongue as he takes him in deeper with every bob of his head. He gulps to keep the drool from dribbling down his lips, swallowing around the girth of Elidibus' cock.

Elidibus gives something like a curse in an ancient tongue that even Natus' echo cannot quite properly translate, but the feeling of it is very familiar.

Natus has no time to decipher its true meaning, as he chokes a bit in surprise as Elidibus pulls him in, smothering the xaela’s face in his lap as the ascian uses him as he pleases.

He can hardly breathe as Elidibus pulls and pushes him to and fro by the grip he has on his horns, using him like a toy whose only purpose was to give pleasure.

Natus moans, accepting all that was given to him, even if it was much too fast for his liking.

He relaxes his throat the best he can, gulping and gasping as his eyes water from being deprived of oxygen. His throat tightens out of reflex as he struggles to take in air, aught that stimulates his selfish lover all the more for the way more moans leak out from those tightly pursed lips.

A hot rush of lust pulses through his veins, pooling in Natus' lower belly and throbbing unbearably between his thighs. He felt deliriously giddy to pull such sounds from his enemy’s lips.

Elidibus may resent it, but he desired Natus the very same as the hero did him.

Natus groans, shifting restlessly on the stool he was precariously perched upon. Gods, he was hard. The leather of his trousers felt far too tight. He felt stifled, hot and uncomfortable. He needed to release some of this pressure, or at least pop a button open.

He peeks at his lover through blurry eyelashes weighed down with the weight of tears, his shoulders rolling as he slid the back of his hands forward to cup his palm over his hips towards his groin, ilming towards the fastenings of his trousers. He pops the button successfully, and had only just loosened the tightly fitted leather at his crotch enough to feel a cool breeze when Elidibus lifts his booted foot and steps on his hand.

Natus chokes as the ascian grinds the heel of his boot on the back of his hand, pinning it forcefully as his ankle twisted to and fro. A wicked bit of stimulation that was as pleasurable as it was painful, the force of the ascian’s leg pressing hard and forcing the xaela's own hand against the bulge in his trousers. His lover's other leg lifts to shove at the hero's shoulder, forcing him upright.

Natus lurches backwards as he coughs, a string of thick saliva clinging to his lip, keeping them connected even as Elidibus sneers at him. His hand throbs with pain, yanked free from under Elidibus' heel.

“I should not be surprised how content you are to be used,” the Emissary's voice drips with disdain, his boot now unobstructed from rubbing roughly over the prominent bulge in Natus' trousers.

Fuck, it hurt.

But at the same time it felt so good, too…!

Natus gives a strangled groan, his head tipping backwards as his eyes rolled in their sockets with pained pleasure, his hips bucking underneath the crushing weight of the ascian's boot.

Elidibus scoffs. “Look at you. A so-called hero, made so desperate by your own desire. How readily you accept the weight of your enemy's boot.”

Natus tossed his head side to side in denial, groaning out as Elidibus applied cruel pressure. “...Because it's you,” he retorts. Lacking his usual bite, perhaps, but Natus was so damned tired even before Elidibus had deigned to grace him with his presence.

Elidibus purses his lips, seeming ill at ease with such a response.

Natus did not know what else he could possibly say. It was the truth, even if it were one fraught with countless complications.

Of course Elidibus was different.

Even after what had happened in the Ghymlyt Dark, Natus still found himself willingly walking into the clutches of his enemy's claws, whether those hands meant to caress him or crush him.

“Is that not what you wanted to hear?” Natus asks. Struggling as always to understand what Elidibus was thinking, what he wanted.

The lack of Elidibus' answer was as withering as the weight of his stare behind his mask.

Natus swallows the aching lump in his throat, licking at his stinging lip. He could tell by the way the ascian's posture had shifted, the frigid silence between them, that the man was already reconsidering this visit.

No, no. If he left, there was no telling if he'd ever come again!

No, it couldn't end like this.

He wouldn't let it end like this.

Natus lurches forward, a sick desperation twisting in his gut. He dives back into pleasing his lover, his hands crumpling the crisp lines of his white ascian robe as he grabs hold of it in reckless abandon.

Elidibus jolts under him, grunting in surprise that was half pleasure and half pain as Natus swallows him down to the base, resulting in the sharp jut of his horns digging into the milky skin of the Emissary's thighs.

Natus moans as Elidibus yanks at his hair in reprimand, but does not let up the intensity of his focus. He was a man with a mission. He knew all the places Elidibus was sensitive, and now put the knowledge to good use.

No, he would not be deterred.

He sucks him just how he liked it, hungry and wet. All lips and tongue as he bobs his head forward and back, stimulating his glans until he could feel his lover's legs shake. Only then does he hollow his cheeks and take him deeper, opening his throat up to swallow around him in lustful gulps as he inhales strained breaths in through his nose.

“You…!” Elidibus chokes on the strangled hiss of his own voice, and grips the hero by the hair with both hands. He spreads his legs wide, hips bucking upward in abandon of all composure as he fucks into the wet heat of Natus' throat.

“Mmn..!” Natus moans his encouragement, his eyes rolling back as Elidibus uses him to chase the feeling of pleasure that he had so skillfully fanned from a mere spark to a roaring flame.

He’d like nothing more than to kick the stool beneath him away and kneel lower—to feel the full brunt of Elidibus' desire, cock thrusting down his throat and balls slapping against his face—but Natus knew beggars could not be choosers.

The fact that Elidibus was still here, let alone indulging in physical gratification, was a miracle in itself. That he hadn't used his ascian abilities to slip from Natus' grasp and disappeared the very moment his resolve to pay him a visit had faltered.

Had it been the reluctance to scrutinize his own feelings, or a reminder of his duty in the face of his conflicting actions? Natus wished he could use his echo to look into Elidibus' mind, to read his thoughts and know his feelings. It would be so much simpler if that were possible, so Natus could act accordingly in whatever manner it took to make Elidibus stay.

It is with the worry weighing on him that Elidibus would soon leave once the passion had worn off that Natus tries to slow the frenzy he had stirred up, wanting it to last. His hands pushing against the ascian's hips as he tries to draw back.

“Why now do you falter?” Elidibus murmurs as he releases his hair to catch him by the horns before he can go too far.

“Nng..?!” Natus huffs a noise through his nose, taken a bit by surprise as he was used as a counterweight, his neck pulled taut with the weight of Elidibus' body as the smaller man used his horns to pull himself forward.

Natus plants his feet, centering his gravity on the stool so as not to be pulled out of it. For his slight build, the white robed ascian was incredibly strong.

“Finish what you start,” Elidibus insists, keeping the pace that Natus had set. Every thrust of his hips is an exercise of precision, aiming for the back of Natus' throat as if making the hero choke on his cock was his cruel intention. “Or do you lack conviction even in this?”

Natus was never so thankful of his plentiful experience and skill as he kept his gagging to the minimum.

It was clear that Elidibus would not be allowing him to slow things down, so with his head held immobilized by the grip on his horns and his throat stuffed full of his enemy's cock, Natus simply went with it instead of trying to wrest control back. For however long it lasted, he would simply enjoy the moment.

He blindly reaches down to take himself in hand, pumping his dry fist up and down his cock for a few fleeting moments in less than satisfactory pleasure before another idea strikes him like a bolt of levin.

He grabs hold of the closest bit of Elidibus near him by feeling around for it—cupping his knee first, trailing down over his ankle, to then grasp at that merciless, pristine boot—and drags the smaller man's foot into his lap.

Elidibus peers down at him, his pale skin flushed behind his glowering red mask, that pretty pink blush that Natus so favored.

“Are you truly so desperate?” Elidibus remarks in a voice short of breath, watching Natus rub up against his boot to get himself off. “I admit, it suits you. Rutting at my boot like a mindless mongrel. Go on, I'll allow you this much magnanimity.”

Natus had to hand it to him, Elidibus certainly was good at putting on airs, acting haughty and mocking when he was clearly having trouble remaining composed. The very words he spoke were trembling in tandem with the pleasured shivers of his body.

Natus could hardly mouth off or reply with a smart quip with his mouth soundly occupied, so he does that trick with his tongue that he knew Elidibus was weak for.

He is rewarded with the ascian's foot jerking against his crotch, inspiring a burst of pained pleasure that had Natus whimpering and drooling around Elidibus' cock.

It is well worth the pain when he hears that strange ancient language again, another curse pulled from Elidibus' lips. It was so odd a feeling to have his echo flare but ultimately be unable to translate it, like struggling to remember a word he thought he knew.

Could his echo be malfunctioning? Was a fleeting thought, but one that Natus puts to the back of his mind as he grips Elidibus’ foot with both hands and rolls his hips forward to hump at the textured tread of his boot.

Ahh, it hurt, but it hurt so good. Natus only wished he had something to slick the path of his cock as it rubbed roughly over the ridges and dips along the sole of the ascian's boot. The little pearly droplets that dribbled from his cock could only lube the way so much.

His jaw was beginning to ache, along with his head where his horns pulled at the skin and scale of his face. Yet he knew he'd need to shoulder on, Elidibus had never been quick on the trigger. It took more than a bit of sloppy head to make the man give in and empty his balls.

Ever the stalwart hero, Natus preservers.

Divide and conquer!

That is, dividing his focus.

Natus doesn't allow himself to slack off even though Elidibus was doing the heavy lifting by using his horns as handlebars. He hones his focus on making his lover feel good by using his tongue, his lips, his throat.

He tongues every vein, seeking out spots he knows are sensitive. He alternates sensation just with his lips, softening his pout for a while and then tightening back up to suck hard at the tip of Elidibus' prick. He opens up his throat, swallowing rapidly around the length of him as he thrusts forward and back.

His own pleasure is not forgotten. He clutches at the sturdy material of the ascian's boot, fingers dimpling the brown leather as he humps him very much like the horny mutt that Elidibus claimed him to be. The head of his cock smearing messily over the underside of his boot. A stain that Elidibus would remember every time he wore these boots, if he didn't discard them altogether after this.

Natus prefers to think positively. That Elidibus will remember this moment, remember him, every time he pulls these boots on. Or magicked them on? Were ascians above dressing the same as mere mortals did?

Such simple trivialities were beyond Natus' knowledge. Elidibus never stayed long enough for him to know, and he certainly never allowed Natus to watch him dress once they were through. He was always dressed again after every lewd act, every dirty little tryst. Perfect and pristine once again, as if he had not been befouled by the hands of his greatest enemy.

Natus could not help but wonder how this one would end. Would he see Elidibus again after this? Would Elidibus finish what he had started in the Ghymlyt Dark? Or, worse, would this be their last night together like this?

The answer would soon become clear.

Natus knew it wouldn't be long now. Though his pleasure had been entangled with pain from the start, the intensity of it was enough to push him steadily towards the edge.

He could feel the telltale sensations in his body—the heat, the slow tickle of pleasure that became a whole body shiver, the unbearable need that was slowly consuming his thoughts, making it harder to think.

He tries to stay the movement of his hips, to slow it down to a grind. It was incredibly difficult. Agonizing, in fact. The impulse to rut against Elidibus like a mindless beast was hard to ignore.

Thankfully, it was one that Natus was already more than familiar with. The Emissary always held fast to his composure, even in moments of intimacy between them. Natus could not help but want to see that composure shaken, to inspire a reaction in his lover and enemy. Passion, even.

As such, he would quite happily stay right here, holding out as long as he possibly could in hopes that Elidibus would catch up to him. Drawing out the moment so the end would come that much later.

Elidibus knew his tells, too, however.

“You're… close,” Elidibus remarks. His voice was almost as poised as it usually was, if not for the deep breaths he took and the way he had to pause between words. “I can… feel you trembling. Why… hold yourself back? Was this… not what you wanted?”

Natus whines, his eyes rolling back in his head as Elidibus pins his cock against his belly by applying slight pressure with his boot. Aught that he slowly increases, grinding just under the head of Natus’ abused cock. Stimulating his glans with the toe of his boot with cruel twists and taps of his forefoot.

Natus chokes a bit on his own spit, spasming with pained pleasure. He coughs and gags around Elidibus' cock, eyes tearing up and nose stinging.

Oh, gods, this one was going to be intense. His whole body seizes up, taut with the agony that was the precipice of bliss.

The upside was that Elidibus was not unaffected, either. Natus could feel him throb on his tongue, as clear a reaction as any.

A shame he couldn't do much to push Elidibus further as the ascian tips him over the edge first with an upstroke of his boot, sending Natus spiraling into such an overwhelming orgasm that all he can do is hold on, his hands squeezing so hard at the man's boot as he writhed with pleasure that it was shocking he didn't pull it straight off his foot.

Pleasure pulses through him, his heart beating like a drum. Pulse, pulse, pulse! Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump…!

It was the burst of fireworks, all his nerves firing at once, like the burning pain of overexertion all over his body.

Gods, it feels like he's dying. It feels like the best relief of his life, yet so agonizing that he wants to tear himself away and curl up into a ball so he doesn't have to bear the brunt of it all anymore.

Noise rings through his horns, vibrating through his very bones. He does not remember squeezing his eyes closed, but the room feels far too bright when he opens them again.

He is unsteady, exhausted. Barely remaining seated in the stool. Utterly spent. His heart thunders in his chest as he tries to catch his breath, but his mouth is still occupied.

Elidibus is not finished yet.

Natus is boneless as he is moved. Used.

His brain is so addled by the lingering aftershocks that he can barely do anything at all to please the man except be a wet, willing hole for him to stick his prick into.

Natus whimpers weakly around the shape of him in his mouth, knowing he was a mess. He felt oversensitive, sticky with spend. Every brush of Elidibus' boot against his flagging cock made him want to sob and shy away.

It is through sheer will that he doesn't. He breaths in slowly, shallowly, his hands shaky where he still stubbornly holes onto Elidibus’ boot.

He closes his eyes against the glare of the room, moving his lips and tongue. Swallowing, using his voice, bobbing his head forward as much as he could. Anything to help stimulate his lover and push him to peak, too.

Finally, Elidibus trembles. His grip tightens on his horns. He feels him in his throat, on his tongue; throbbing.

Natus moans, pressing forward as far as he could go and closing his mouth around him. It feels wasteful to just drink him down, to not savor him on his tongue. But if he doesn't swallow, he'll choke on it. For a man his size, Elidibus came copious amounts.

Natus is three gulps in of hot, salty spend when Elidibus loosens his hold on his horns.

Natus pulls back, catching the next pulse on his tongue, his lips, his face. He opens his mouth wide, eyes squeezing closed to prevent from getting it in his eyes. It stripes over his eyebrow, catching in his eyelashes, dripping over the scales that curve along his nose and cheeks.

Natus swipes his tongue over her lips, stretching it as far as he can to lick what he could from his cheek. It stung at the cuts on his lip and face, but he voices no complaints about that.

Elidibus is staring at him when he opens his eyes again.

Natus smiles for him, blissed out and cum drunk. Not one to leave things half finished, he leans forward and laps at the messy leftovers still dripping down his lover's cute prick as it softened. Sucking at the pearly droplets still beading from his pretty pink tip until nothing more was forthcoming to wet his tongue.

“Enough,” Elidibus presses his unsullied boot to his shoulder and pushes him off. Pointing to the boot that Natus had thoroughly molested, he mutters with what seems to be annoyance. “You have more mess yet to clean.

Natus snorts, finding it somewhat ridiculous that he wanted him to clean off his boot when they were both still sitting here, cocks out and covered in cum. Especially Natus, who had stained his own pants just as much as he had Elidibus' boot. “What, you want me to lick that clean, too?”

Elidibus stares at him. Expectant.

Really?

Right, then.

Natus leans forward and licks his own cum from the top of Elidibus' boot. It tastes like salt and leather, and somewhat like licking the barrel of a gun. It tasted just like that dusty gunpowder smell he had detected on Elidibus’ robe.

“Satisfied?” Natus asks, arching his eyebrows.

“You missed a spot,” Elidibus says, lifting his leg to show him the smeared, tacky mess on the bottom of his boot.

Natus had a sneaking suspicion that Elidibus simply had something of a thing for seeing him degraded.

As if this was the worst thing Natus had ever had to do. Licking his own cum from his lover's boot hardly ranked anywhere near the top of the list of terrible things that Natus had been made to do in his line of work.

Natus gets one, two pointed licks in before Elidibus plants his boot in his face and shoves him off the stool.

Natus goes down like a sack of popotoes, smacking hard against the floor. Certainly bruising something.

His face throbs something fierce. A fitting end to a shite day. He bites his tongue, wanting to call his lover a few choice names, but holding back. He supposed this was Elidibus being nice, all things considered.

Natus groans, checking to make certain his sunglasses were still on his head. Phew, alright. Not cracked, but they were covered in cum. Wow, he must have shot high.

Elidibus looms over him, once again immaculate like he didn't just have his prick shoved down Natus' throat and been covered in the hero's cum.

Natus groans and lifts himself up to his knees. Stopped by his enemy crouching in front of him before he can find his feet.

Elidibus catches Natus' jaw in his hand, thumbing cruelly at his lip where he had drawn the hero's blood with the bite of his teeth. Rubbing under his nose and smearing a trickle of blood across his skin that has begun to drip down from being kicked in the face. “Where is your usual fire? That fervent flame that consumed my brethren?”

Natus leans into his hand, smiling. Intentionally meant to be aggravating. “Maybe I'm tired. You caught me at a bad time if you were wanting a fight. I'm all tuckered out.”

Elidibus' lips tug down. An expression most familiar.

“I should not have come,” he says predictably. Drawing away again, just like he always did.

How humorous the phrase “know thy enemy” when thy enemy is also your lover, your begrudging bedfellow.

“Too late for that, isn't it,” Natus says, putting on a facade of nonchalance. He was watching him very carefully now. “What do you say, this time next windsday?”

Elidibus turns towards him.

Ah, there it was. He'd gone cold again.

“I'll take that as a no,” he tries to keep his voice light, but there was a tightness in his throat. It hurts to swallow. He tells himself it's just because he gave it his all, treating Elidibus to a hell of a blowjob. Not that he was ever grateful.

“No kiss goodnight, then?”

Natus had to remind himself to laugh, rather than allowing himself to feel miserable over how their relationship had shifted. They had not been able to deny their attraction, and now everything had led to this.

Elidibus pauses, raising a hand towards his face. Hovering over his mouth a moment, but then lifting higher to press against his mask. Straightening it, or perhaps reminding himself it was there.

“The next time we meet, it will be as enemies, Warrior of Light.”

He is gone between one blink and the next.

Natus stares at the place he stood for a long, quiet moment.

The room is darker now, the moon hidden behind the clouds. The stars seemed dimmer.

He drags himself to his feet.

His bed was a siren's call beckoning him to wrap himself within his blankets and surrender to sweet oblivion, but Natus headed towards his drawers, gathering his things that he needed to wash up instead.

He could still taste him on his tongue.

[icicleteeth]

Woke up to find out my shelf was picked for FFXIV’s furnishing design contest!! 

(+ two other designs I submitted!)

[teawithaphd]

The Lunch Date and Another Mysterious Customer Appears!

FFXIV

(named) WOL x Crystal Exarch

f/m

A Day in the Life of Eorzea University

Ch.5

Panne agrees to meeting the Exarch for lunch and is surprised by the enthusiasm (and food) he brings. Later that day, she takes what’s expected to be a normal shift at the café—but that goes out the door when a certain someone walks in…

AO3

The Miqo’te glances down at the time on her tomestone as she wanders around the courtyard, searching for a certain Exarch who extended the invitation for lunch with her. 

“Over here!”

She whips her head to witness the way he runs up to her with a beaming smile on his face, sending an odd fluttering in her chest. Her eyes trail down to the woven basket in his hands and the red, checkered fabric peaking out of it. She gives him a puzzled look.

“What’s that?”

His mouth opens slightly as he looks down, a blush creeping on his cheeks.

“W-well, since I was the one who invited you, and to make up for um…your shoulder—I thought I’d bring us lunch.” He pauses before abruptly switching topics, “Ah, and I know the perfect spot to sit! There’s a large oak a little ways from here that provides plenty of shade that’s quite nice to sit under. Allow me to lead you there..”

He gives Panne a grin before turning around to walk in the opposite direction. She trails after, eager to find out what contents lie inside.

The walk is rather silent, but it’s a peaceful and welcome one. After several minutes, the Exarch stops to look up. The Keeper mirrors his motion and cranes her neck up to the brilliant blanket of leaves and down to the sturdy trunk of the oak he described. That does look like a nice place to sit, she thinks as the Exarch begins opening up the basket, laying out the blanket, and setting out various plates and utensils. She doesn’t catch him take a seat and gesture to the space next to him as she blankly stares at the display before her, leading her mind to trail off to one thought alone.

Doesn’t this look like…isn’t this what they do on dates—

“Panne?”

“—hm?”

“Are you feeling unwell? When I asked if you wanted to sit down, you seemed lost in thought and didn’t answer.”

She shakes her head as an attempt to shake off the embarrassment and releases a light exhale.

“Oh, sorry about that. It’s…nothing.”

With perfect timing, her stomach grumbles loudly. The Exarch chuckles before once again patting the space beside him.

“You must be famished! Come, sit here so we can eat.”

She gives him a coy smile before obliging and taking a seat next to him. He twists to open the basket and pulls out a smaller basket. When he uncovers the cloth over them, it reveals a neat row of perfectly hand-crafted sandwiches. He chuckles when he sees her eyes widen to dinner plates, glimmering with excitement and feels a warmth swell in his chest.

“Where did you get those?! Those look amazing!”

“Actually, I made them myself…please, take one.”

She gasps before reaching for one for the roast beef sandwiches. He smiles to himself, feeling a sense of pride at his prediction, proving correct that she would reach for that one. He grabs the same kind for himself and stops to watch as she takes a bite out of hers. A moan of delight slips past her lips as they stretch to a dopey grin.

“This is so good!”

A warm smile makes its way on his lips as he takes in the sight, “I’m glad you like it. And there’s plenty so feel free to eat as much as you like.”

She makes quick work of the sandwich and reaches for another before answering, “oh, I will! These things are so damn delicious, I didn’t know you can cook.”

He abashedly scratches his cheek. “Hardly…I can only make small things like this, and even so, most days I find myself too busy to even go that far.”

She laughs, “that’s still better than me.”

“Do you not cook?”

“The most I can do is grill meat, but I’m always too lazy for that. I just end up picking up whatever from the convenience store down the street…or I just eat instant ramen at home.”

This time, he laughs in return. “Your coffee making skills certainly make up for that, my friend. I would have never guessed.”

She mumbles a ‘sure’ before taking another bite of her sandwich. 

They find enjoyment in the lunch, sitting comfortably with a delicious picnic under the tree, providing shade on a beautiful, sunny day such as this, indulging in idle chatter about varying mundane topics. It’s nice…really nice, the Keeper thinks as she finds who she thought was some creepy stalker to be…a nice guy, actually. She stares at the smile on his face and imagines he must be enjoying himself too, though she can’t tell for sure since half his face is obstructed. A memory of a time like this, deep in her head, makes its way to the surface of her mind as she stares long and hard at the man beside her. Her heart begins to quicken as she suddenly blurts the thought on her mind. “You know…you remind me of someone.”

“Hm?” He places the emptied sandwich basket and places it back in the bigger basket before turning back to her.

“There’s this guy that I knew back in high school…he was a bit odd, but like you, he was nice once you got to know him.” She feels warm as she continues recounting the memory, “we became good friends, and he would tell me all about Allagan this and Crystal Tower that—even though I didn’t know jack shite of what he was talking about. I still lent an ear though, it was nice seeing someone so passionate about something. You two would have really hit it off, if you met him.” She suddenly casts her gaze down, “But then he just…disappeared one day. When I asked where he went, everyone told me he left to some prestigious school that was really far away, so I never saw him again after that.”

She takes a deep breath to collect herself and looks up at the Exarch. “His name was…G’raha Tia…heard of him?”

It takes all of his willpower to not choke at the story and the question soon after. He feels water pool in his eyes and has to do everything to keep his voice from completely breaking. “No…I don’t think I have. He sounds like a remarkable person.”

She gives him a sad smile. “He was. Inspired me to go and find my passion, whatever that is.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“Sort of…in reality, I just came cause they offered me a scholarship with a free ride for playing volleyball. It wasn’t an opportunity I could pass up, so I took it. Though now that I’m here, I’m not sure what to do with it.”

He places a hand on her shoulder and gives her a reassuring smile. “Take your time. Whatever you find your passion to be, I am certain you will excel in whatever it is you choose to do.”

He hears her breath hitch at the contact. A beat of silence follows before she speaks up again, this time in a hushed voice.

“…Thank you.”

She sits up and quietly helps clear what’s on the picnic blanket before folding it and handing it to him.

“You need help with anything else?”

He takes the folded blanket from her hands and places it into his basket before standing up. “No, I’ll be alright from here. I appreciate your help, and I enjoyed sharing this meal with you. I pray you enjoyed yourself as well?”

She quickly stands up and dusts the crumbs off her clothes. “I did.” A small grin makes its way on her lips, sending the Exarch’s heart ablaze when she says, “lets do this again some time.”

Without awaiting a response, she gives him a chaste wave before turning around and walking in the direction of the school. He waits until he can’t make out her silhouette anymore and flops onto the grass, clutching his head and trying not to scream too loudly.

________________

Panne swings open the door to the Scions Café, walking in as the little chime rings. She waves to Alphinaud, taking over for Tataru for the day, at the front before going through her pre-shift routine of going to the back, changing into her uniform, and coming back outside. Y’Shtola sits in her usual spot at the end of the barista counter, as she is ‘wont to do’ with an already prepared drink in hand. Alisaie, already dressed and serving some of the customers sitting at the front, waves to Panne as she serves a pair of young girls two lattes. The girls swoon at the hearts made in coco powder, and the Keeper has to keep her eyes from rolling to the back of her head as their head barista blows the two a kiss with a wink over the counter.

She glares at the Hyur as he waves his eyebrows and says with a teasing tone, “Oh come now, Panne—it’s all in good fun! It’d do you well to loosen up from time to time.”

“And it’d do you well to focus on your job instead of flirting with the customers!” Alisaie adds as she crosses her arms.

The Keeper cackles as Thancred sputters excuses, claiming to do ‘just fine’ and ‘I want to see you try and work the espresso machine once’. The chime at the front catches her attention, leading her to witness the man who came in with striking yellow eyes that frames the pearl placed between his brows, and black hair with a stark white bang. He saunters to one of the booths and casts her a look with an unreadable expression before taking a seat, leaning back in such a way that he somehow takes up the whole space on his side. He raises a hand with a dramatic sigh.

“I require service.”

He stares at her expectantly, and with a sigh she approaches his table.

“Ah, the famed Warrior of Light. After reading all the raving reviews from your friend over there on the Reddits,” he gestures to Alphinaud, who quickly ducks behind a table as if to physically dodge his accusation before continuing, “I just had to come try the Warrior of Light’s world famous coffee~”

The condescending tone he uses makes her ears pin to the back of her head. She groans before taking out her pen and notepad.

“Your order, sir.”

He huffs, “So biting…anyroad, I desire a venti caramel macchiato, sugar-free, since I am trying to watch my figure. I want it extra hot, foam on top, but not too much foam that it takes up half the drink and I can no longer even taste the coffee… crowned with a light caramel drizzle, then sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon to spice things up, and I would also like latte art in the shape of a heart…oh, wouldn’t that just be precious…and I am on a schedule, so I need the drink to come in soon so— chop chop! And I suggest you move swiftly, hero of the volleyball team.”

The Keeper deadpans. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Come now, the reviews say you can make anything you put your mind to and ‘surpass any and all expectations with excellence beyond measure’. You can thank your little elezen friend there for that.” He points to Alphinaud at the front, who shies away from his gaze with a nervous grin.

Panne sends a glare to the salt-and-pepper haired man before walking to the barista counter, not having written a single thing he said down. Thancred shoots her a puzzled look as she beckons him over to her. Once he does, she retells what transpired in a whisper. He looks at the bizarre man at the counter—back to Panne—then back to the man blankly before going to the back of the station. He comes back with a cup of black coffee.

“Tell him it’s courtesy of the barista.” His irritation seeps into his voice, though not pointed towards her. She grabs the cup and brings it to the table. Practically dropping it on the surface, she continues silently walking past it to not have to engage more with the man who has the gall to give her a Sharlayanbucks order... 

“Excuse me, this is not what I ordered.”

Thancred calls from the barista counter, “Indeed it is not, ‘tis black and bitter to match your shining personality.”

Panne stops in her tracks and side eyes him with a mutter, “just drink the damn coffee and leave already…”

Urianger peers his head out of the kitchen window after hearing some of the commotion. His golden eyes widen with recognition when they land on the presumptuous customer. “..Were one to study the annals of the history of the schools within this fair city, one would find yonder visage on many a page. Indeed, one might surmise he to be a member of the dark organization that yet lurks within yonder shadows, pulling the proverbial strings of this city’s storied history from its depths…”

Said customer turns his attention to the elezen and smirks. “Well, well, we have a historian in our midst. That spares me a lengthy explanation.” He clears his throat before raising his voice to an announcing volume, “I am Solus zos Galvus, founding father of Garlemald University. And, under various guises, the architect of myriad other prestigious academies. As for my true identity…” he pulls a business card out of his pocket and slides it towards Panne. As the bizarre red symbol on the front catches her eye, she picks it up and squints at it.

“I am Emet-Selch. Ascian.”

The title brings Thancred’s mouth to a grimace. He moves around from behind the barista counter and leans in front of it with his arms crossed—far enough from the action as to not be intruding, but close enough for him to step in if anything goes awry, which is where things seem to be going…

“Equal in rank to Lahabrea.” The name leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. 

“And you came all this way just to introduce yourself to us?”

Ignoring Thancred’s comment and closer proximity, Emet-Selch pulls out his tomestone and swipes for a few painfully silent moments before twisting it around so all of the staff watching can see. On it is a familiar picture of their school. “Behold Eorzea University, restored to its former glory! Have you seen a more affecting spectacle? Ohhh, it is truly, deeply…”

He dramatically slumps in his seat as irritation slips into his tone. “…Infuriating. Do you have any idea how much you have delayed the Rejoining of all the schools in the city?” The irritation grows more apparent as he puts the device down and continues. “The end was in sight! We were oh so close to taking hold of your wretched high school, Eorzea Academy, yet enter man and his indomitable spirit. He who would haul the volleyball game back from the brink! And adding his lumpen weight to the power of growth, he duly tipped the scale, if only by a fraction. Yet a fraction was enough to spoil the perfect victory needed to bring about the end of your high school.” He takes a deep inhale before pointing a finger at the Keeper in front of him. “You just had to come and ruin it all! Thanks to your meddling, Eorzea Academy remains, and our painstakingly laid plans are in tatters!”

Thancred shifts in his spot and glares daggers at the Ascian. “Well, I should begin by thanking you for the confirming of Urianger’s theories on the inner workings of these ‘rejoinings’. He will be most pleased. As for what happens next, might I suggest you forfeit your upcoming match and admit defeat before walking away?”

He sneers at the Hyur. “Happy to let me go, are you? Because the murderous glint in your eye suggests otherwise. Indeed, it is enough to make me think better of confronting you alone. Look, it did cross my mind to simply expel you all. But that’s no different from what Lahabrea did. And we all know how well that ended for him.” He gives Thancred a knowing smirk.

He turns his attention back to Panne and suddenly stands up. He slowly creeps toward her, causing her to back away in rhythm of his invasion in her space.

“And so, while it is liable to be troublesome, I have settled upon a different approach…”He lowers his head and tilts it to the side with an impish glare. “Cooperation! I will not raise a hand to hinder your victory of the coming volleyball game against Garlemald. If you desire it, I will even lend you my knowledge and strength.”

Alphinaud turns his head away from the front to the exchange with a frown. “Since time immemorial, you and yours have labored to rejoin the thirteen sister schools, at the cost of countless students’ futures. Do you expect us to believe that your objective has suddenly changed?”

The Ascian shakes his head. “Nay, our objective is the same as it ever was—though I dare say you do not know our motive. A war waged without knowledge of the enemy is no war—it is mere bloodletting. Just once…might we not seek to find common ground? For good or ill, I am immortal. Provided I have the inclination, I can always begin anew. Scheme and conspire to my heart’s content. But this time, I thought that I might instead try to see eye to eye. To understand what drives the hero of the volleyball team. To determine if our goals are truly incompatible.” He backs away from the Keeper and widens his arms while looking between all of the staff. “So come. Shed your preconceptions. See beyond the unscrupulous villains you take us for. When all is said and done, we may find ourselves pleasantly surprised. The proud discoverers of a path of cooperation rather than opposition. Think of it.”

Urianger flings a card at him from the kitchen, which is dodged effortlessly with a tilt of the Ascian’s head. The elezen furrows his brows. 

“Thoust hast delivered thy proposal, and we would not dismiss it outright. If I may offer thee council, however: to make thy case via coming to our abode with such a ludicrous beverage order reflecteth poorly upon thy sincerity.”

“My apologies. You will forgive me if I am not entirely convinced of your stellar quality. I felt it only prudent to take precautions. Nonetheless, your council is duly noted. I take my leave friends, and rest assured, we shall meet again soon.”

He stands up and slowly saunters in the direction of the door with a sweeping wave behind him. 

He stops momentarily, and without turning, mutters. “And of course, may the best man win.” He swiftly exits the café.

Turning her attention away from Emet-Selch, Panne sees Alisaie walking towards her, already out of her apron and uniform with a baffled look. “What in the seven hells was that all about?”

“I couldn’t tell you…” 

Thancred keeps glaring eyes on the door. “If I never see another one of those Ascians again it’d be too soon.” Without another word, he storms out into the kitchen, leaving the two girls slightly dumbfounded. Urianger leans slightly forward from the window to explain to the two, “Thancred hast some poor history with Lahabrea and the Ascians. I pray you recall the scandal Lahabrea once caused, leading to Thancred’s nigh expulsion.”

Y’Shtola takes a final sip of her coffee from the end of the counter and stands. “Ah yes, I had almost forgotten about the rumors Lahabrea had spread in his name.”

“He makes a terrible impersonator, by the way. My looks are malms better than that.” His voice echoes from the kitchen over the sizzle of a pan. 

Do I smell something burning…?

Panne releases a long held sigh. “That guy seriously pisses me off.”

“Well I would be angry too if someone dared talk to me like that. I’m surprised you didn’t wipe that high-and-mighty smirk off his face right there.” Alisaie swipes over her bangs before letting out a sigh of her own. “C’mon, our shift’s just about done and Alphinaud promised to help us with our math assignment tonight.”

“Our math assignment...?”

The elezen’s eyes light up, “Yep! And I already told him you’re coming, so you can’t refuse.”

“But I—“ before she can protest, Alisaie cuts her off with a look. “Fiiiiiiiine…”

The elezen gives her a satisfied grin. “Good! You best change out of your uniform soon, Alphinaud’s already waiting for us in the car.” She jogs out the door with a skip in her step, leading Panne to smile at her antics. She quickly goes to the back and changes before coming out to join the twins.

________________

“—And so you see, when you add this variable to the equation, then the sum should equal something like this—“

Alphinaud writes down another array of numbers on the dry erase board as Panne slumps in her chair, near nodding off to the elezen’s mini lecture. Alisaie, meanwhile, looks as if it’s taking every fiber of her being not to snap. 

She eventually does.

“Can we pleeeeeaaaasssseee talk about something interesting? If I see another number, I fear my head just might burst.” She feigns looking for an alternative conversation topic with a hum, the one thing she’s been itching to bring up all night the sole thing on her mind. She then turns a dramatic head towards her friend beside her, a devilish look on her features.

“How did your date with the Exarch go?”

“My what—?”

“Oh come on, you don’t go searching for the café your study partner works at to try her coffee and ask to take her out for lunch the next day just for pleasantries.”

A heat comes over the Keeper’s cheeks, giving her the need to turn her head away in embarrassment. “That was not…he only did that because—“

“What, to make up for hurting your shoulder? Any normal person would have just said ‘sorry’ and that would have been the end of it. He just wanted an excuse to ask you out, so let’s not beat around the bush.”

The Keeper’s voice raises a pitch, “an excuse to ask me out?! Now that’s chocobo shite!”

“Alisaie! it’s rude to prod into Panne’s personal business…but what did you end up eating, since we’re now on the topic?” The two turn to Alphinaud in the front, looking at them with a slight flush in his ears. “Did you two mayhap go out somewhere? Or did he bring something?”

The Miqo’te groans. “He brought some sandwiches he made…”

“He made them?!” Alisaie gasps, leaning in while resting her hands on her cheeks.

Alphinaud steps closer. “…How were they? Were they good..?”

Panne pauses, a vein popping in her head before answering, “you two are such a pain in my arse!” She sighs before lowering her voice and continuing, “yes, they were good. There, you happy?”

The smirk on Alisaie’s face grows wider before she starts shooting the girl with a barrage of new, teasing questions, “was it a picnic, then? What did you do after? Did you hold hands? Did you kiss?” She hugs herself and starts making smooching noises while Alphinaud shoots questions of his own—“Did he treat you well? He did make sure you had a good time, yes? Does he have a decent academic and or familial background—“

“—Alright, that’s enough!” The Miqo’te abruptly stands from her seat, lugging her bag over her shoulder, “what the hells’ up with you all and my relationship with this guy? He’s just a study partner, for gods sake!” She storms out of Alphinaud’s room and marches her way to the exit of the twin’s shared apartment as she irritatedly yells, “Good. Night!” 

The two hear the door slam before silently looking at one another. Alphinaud raises his voice first. “Sister.. Did we, mayhap…go too far?”

Alisaie is silent for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. “I’m sure she’ll be fine! ‘‘T’was but a bit of harmless fun after all!” Alphinaud looks back at the chalkboard and sighs to himself.

“Right.. harmless fun..”

_________

Panne makes it out of the apartment complex and begins her walk home, grumbling all the while in a wave of utter irritation.

“I swear those two are gonna be the death of me…” she mumbles before a sudden vibration in her pocket stops her in her steps. She takes her tomestone out and looks at the screen, an ominous text greeting her.

Unknown Rest well, hero. Fore next we meet, it shall be on the field of battle.

The Keeper raises an eyebrow before deciding to answer.

Me Who the hells is this?

An answer comes almost right away.

Unknown 💃💃🎆

She sighs as she puts the device back in her pocket, the exhaustion from the day now hitting her all at once. Too irritated to turn back and ask the twins for a ride (plus that’d be embarrassing…), she drags her feet all the way home to finally flop on her bed and sleep off the long day.

<---- Previous Next---->

[emahriel]

my ul'dahn warrior of light, aemirah ✨

[candlewinds]

#KDRAMAWOMENSWEEK 2023 | Day 4: Bad Girls Club

Kim Hye Eun as Park Hong Joo in The Guest (2018) Kim Hye Jun as Queen Consort Cho in Kingdom (2019-2020) Ji Eun as Kang Wol Hye in The Red Sleeve (2021) Park Ji Yeon as Choi Ga Yeon in Bloody Heart (2022) Kim Hieora as Boss Yong in Bad and Crazy (2021) Han So Hee as Yoon Ji Woo in My Name (2021) Uhm Ji Won as Won Sang Ah in Little Women (2022) Song Hye Kyo as Moon Dong Eun in The Glory (2022-2023)

[dogicrimsonofficial]

I've fallen into the FFXIV rabbit hole, and my friends are not helping. Nay, they are enabling me, by not only writing stories with me, but by also shipping my WOL with Haurchefant and feeding my brainrot.

(Legally) blind miqo'te is completely smitten with a local lord. More at eleven.

[Please do not give any spoilers, I've barely stepped into Heavensward!]