[Something hard drops in the pit of Leto's stomach, nauseating him as he stares down at the words. He left, two words that might come across as cold and stoic if you couldn't hear pain woven within every word. A hurt so potent that it closes Leto's throat and blurs his vision for a few seconds, no matter that the scar is two centuries old.
And what does he say to that? I'm sorry is meaningless, though he is. You deserved so much better is far more true, but Astarion knows that already. I love you, I wish I had been there, I will never do that to you, I will never leave you, my heart hurts for you, and all of those are true, but it isn't what he wants to say.]
Fuck him.
[It’s vulgar as he so rarely is, spat out and snarled. He can hear his heart thundering in his ears, a rapidfire rhythm that’s growing louder by the second.]
If he was fool enough to leave you behind, he isn’t worth recalling.
[That isn’t true, but he’s furious.]
You were a far better sibling than Varania ever was. A far better companion than anyone I have ever met in my life. He was a fool to leave you behind— and the fact you are here, now, with allies at your side and a knife in your hand ready to slaughter your master, only proves it.
And where is he now?
I will give him credit for teaching you if it helped you survive— but I will never forgive him for that.
[It can't undo the past. It can't change the loss his fledgling self had suffered, or the collapse of willpower that followed when weeks of waiting shifted into months, and years, and centuries soon eclipsed by the subconscious act of forgetting— or maybe by forgetfulness he never had a hand in in the first place (there is, as they attested to each other, tracing out the lines of glassy lyrium brands, only so much a man can take before his mind opts to wipe the slate).
But it doesn't need to.
What he has now is the penned-out-permanence of a heart that walked through the Crossroads themselves to find him, returned not only once, but twice. What he has now was bought upon the stepping stones of the sihlouette that disappeared two centuries ago, and this time it doesn't leave, and it doesn't abate, and it does more even in the darkest nights than scant lessons or soft-spoken pet names ever could.
Not just the better brother, the better man.
(Perhaps someday the others in the Elfsong bunks might tell him of his brother. Perhaps sometime soon the matter of a ring, and old confessions, and a pitiful goodbye had in Athkatla might come up in fireside discussions of adventures he's forgotten that they've shared. Perhaps, but perhaps is later's gambit.)]
Slim competition, if we're discussing the matter of being backstabbing siblings [A single pattering drop of wetness blurs the ink it spills across— apparently, even penned, his teasing levity betrays him. And at least between the two of them, Astarion admits as much.]
[He doesn't reply. Words are useless when he's so close that scrawling out an answer would only delay him more— and anyway, what is there to say? He knows why Astarion asks, so better to give him a few more moments to exhale the memories away.
A moment later there's footsteps darting swiftly up the stairs two at a time. A door opens, and like clockwork, a familiar chorus of delighted barks and eager whines arise around the coffin. Three bodies barrel across the room, leaping around Leto in a bid for attention that's equal parts overjoyed and greedily eager for his focus— but oh, all three girls are destined to be disappointed, for his pace slows just long enough to give each of them a swift scrub behind the ears as he murmurs his greeting. A few voices call out from beyond the partition, and those are offered a rumbling greeting tossed carelessly over his shoulder: yes, hello, so blatantly uninterested that it borders on rudeness— but who cares, for there the coffin is, and then—
There Leto is, emerald eyes serious beneath the low-hanging hood of his cloak.
There's nothing else so important as this, he thinks as he climbs into the coffin and closes the lid behind him. Nowhere else he needs to be that matters as much as being home, curled up and holding his mate as the last of those emotions shudders through him. He won't say anything, for there's no use in reopening an already raw wound. But he saw the way ink had smeared; he sees the redness in his mate's eyes, and he will not leave him alone to weather this storm.]
Come here.
[He wraps his arms around his mate, gathering him up without prompting. Come here, my love, his palms warm and firm as they sweep over his back. Gently he presses a kiss to his forehead, the tip of his nose, and then finally to the corner of his mouth. Come here and be with me.
A moment, and he wrinkles his nose in wry amusement.]
And do your best not to shriek your delight.
[If distraction comes at his own expense, all the better. Leto untangles one hand only to sweep the hood back away from his face. Two puppish ears pop out, one and then the other sticking straight up: their fur the same shade as his hair, their appearance tall and pointed.]
The tail is tucked down my pants . . .
[It's a miracle it isn't wagging, but chalk that up to his concern for Astarion.]
[He does his level best. Oh, cross his unliving, frigid heart he does. Any amount of noise will startle (and thoroughly alert) the others at a time like this, but gods above after all that they've endured today he cannot help the sounds that leave him in abrupt, abject delight. Not solely for the downy tufts pale claws carefully comb over— although they are, admittedly, a remarkably large portion of it— but more importantly that his darling Leto is here, subject yet again to a bevy of kisses and cooing remarks.
It is so hard to sneak up on a vampire, after all.
[There's no wisdom in fighting it— and truth be told, no real desire to either. He'd be embarrassed if this happened in front of others, but as it stands: there are far, far worse things than wriggling beneath the outpouring of delighted affection from his mate. Leto beams beneath the onslaught, alternating between kissing back when he feels cool lips against his own and rumbling in open contentment when he doesn't, his heart melting for every doting compliment and cooing exclamation. Gods above, he hears again and again as claws brush against his ears, and ooh, it feels so good. So good. So so so good, and without thinking he pushes into it, eager as Ataashi on her neediest days.
(Funny, he thinks a moment later. Funny how things change, for it wasn't two years ago that he would have been repulsed beyond belief by this transformation. Horrified and all but ready to take a blade to the damned things if it would fix it, and now . . . now, he knows better. Perhaps he will never adore magic. Certainly he never will in Thedas, but things are different here, and at least it no longer terrifies him the way it once did).
And oh: he loves this, he does, but ow.]
Wait, wait— Astarion—
[Laughingly said, but he does his damned best to free at least one hand so he can reach behind him. It's the work of a moment to shimmy his pants down low on his hips, just far enough that the other addition his backlashing magic gave him can finally spring free. It is, mercifully, proportionate enough that it doesn't take up much room in the coffin— but there's no mistaking the rapidfire thump-thump-thump that beats against the side.]
Er— it's uncomfortable to have it constrained.
[So. Yes, and he clears his throat, something a little less than embarrassment crossing his expression. It's no worse than the ears, but still. It's an odd thing to have a tail. Odder still to be unable to control how it wags— nor, indeed, how much faster it goes each time Astarion lavishes another bit of affection upon him.]
[Oh— oh oh oh— gods and stars above and every layer of the Hells themselves, he's utterly done for— if he hadn't been done in well over two centuries before now. All that's left for a heart that's long stopped beating is to squeal like a godsdamned child with stars drifting in their eyes.
He takes hold of it before he knows it— no, one hand still atop an ear, pinching it, but the other— ]
Oh.
My.
GODS—
[There's no avoiding it anymore, his keening will alert the Elfsong at this rate. Now all of China knows you are a dog.
Something to deal with later.]
Fenris— [Ah, no that hasn't been his name for a long time, not even in front of all the others, now.] Leto— I can't— lookatyou— [Those two sentiments aren't connected, as is evidenced by the overbright coddling and cooing louder than a flock of doves along the tail end: look at you is repeated again and again and again, scrubbing with both hands— forgetting how to blink. Forgetting that he should, and that this is in fact something that all mortals ought to do.] Look how adorable you are!! Why haven't you done this sooner?! It's so unbearably fetching— pun unintended but OH. MY. STARS, LITTLE PUP. You truly are my catulus now, aren't you? Aren't you?
[He's cradling that face in all its splendor, crowing like he's speaking to Ataashi at her best. Hello. Hello hello hello oh who's a darling little boy ♡♡♡]
[Oh gods, he's going to regret this the moment he exits out of the coffin (if he exits out at all; perhaps he'll just live in here for the next three days, forgoing food and water until these ears disappear). There's no way the others can't hear Astarion right now, effusive as he is— but oh, that's a problem for later. Right now Astarion is looking giddier than he has in ages, and flustered though he might be, Leto can't possibly take that away from him.
Especially when there's a part of him that's trying not to bark in overstimulated, giddying excitement. His tail is wagging up a storm, his cheeks flushed happily as he squirms within his husband's hold, every doggish instinct within him sitting up and panting in open response: it's him it's him, he's his catulus, oh he is he is, he's such a good boy good boy good boy, nonsensical and overstimulated in the sweetest of ways.
(Outside the coffin, there's one very petulant, very confused whine. Why, Ataashi wonders, are those wonderful sounds happening when they aren't directed at her? It can't be at the brats; they're still both visibly baffled as they snuffle the spot where their father had been a few minutes ago, trying to determine what makes his scent so strange right now. Which is good, for she'd riot if it was directed towards them— but if not them, and not her, then why is it happening? And yet there's no answer, no matter how loudly she whines— and so after a few minutes, she teleports her way beneath Shadowheart's bed, ignoring the cleric's startled squawking in favor of bedding down for a good sulk).]
Hush— hush—
[He's still grinning as he says it, unwilling to fully put a stopper in his amatus' excitement. But when mere words don't prove enough, Leto darts in to press their lips together in a forceful kiss. Settle in, the emphasis coming from how he surges forward and urges Astarion to lay flat against the bottom of the coffin.]
You are a menace. Does this really thrill you so much?
[Of course it does. It thrills them both, for Leto's tail (now perched in the air) is still wagging furiously.]
It was an accident, not deliberate— and if you do not settle down, the others will come disturb us, and that will be the end of your fun. You—
[Astarion's hands are still wandering over him: one at his ears, the other at his tail, claws combing through soft fur with indiscriminate adoration. The latter wraps around the base of his tail, tugging faintly, and Leto—
—moans.
The noise mercifully quiet enough to be unheard, but unmistakable in what it is, for his expression has gone vulgarly slack. For a moment he stares at nothing, cheeks flushing dark as a toe-curling wave of absolute pleasure unlike any he's felt before ripples through him. Oh, oh, and that felt—
Maker. The kind of pleasure akin to when Astarion sprawls him out on the bed and angles his prick just right before pistoning into him; it ripples up his spine and goes straight to his cock, so uniquely good that for a long few seconds he does nothing but stare blankly into space. Fuck. Oh, fuck, and he's so close to begging Astarion to do that again, but— he swallows thickly— not right now. Not when everyone is awake.]
After a beat, yes. After a long moment where the world itself feels far too lush with freshly-risen luridity for his own senses to truck with. Loud and shamelessly delighted— which is, to be clear, the apparent theme of the hour given said catalyst that started his braying.
Yet luckily for them both, unlike the noise that just left poor Leto's throat, Astarion cackling is no uncommon affair.]
Yes, my darling, I think you might be onto something with that hypothesis.
[The wicked gleam in blood red eyes; the sharpness of an already fanged smile; this is danger known by any given name, and it closes in along the curve of Leto's cheek with such a lightless hum that it coils over itself like the very inverse of sound: not something listened to, but something felt— his thumb and forefinger encircling that down-soft tail, stroking weightless circles in thick fur.]
[He breathes out the curse as his eyes flutter closed, something hot and heavy dropping like a stone into the pit of his belly. Fuck. Fuck, even that— even the slow, teasing glide of clawed fingertips through fur— is enough to make him shudder, little pinpricks of pleasure rippling down his spring. His hips glide and rock against Astarion's thigh, knowing that he's stoking the fire and not caring.
Because he knows that seductive tone, the one that always leaves him practically salivating from desire alone. He knows that wicked look in Astarion's eye and just what it means for the future: promising him the filthiest sort of vulgarity if only he'll beg sweetly for it . . . gods, it's not a question of if so much as when. And, perhaps, what Leto intends to do with these precious last moments before they lose themselves in one another.
Again, something instinctive in him whines. His back arches, his hips grinding forward more shamelessly: again, again, and it's only with an iron will that he manages to shove the desire to the side.]
Yes. But wait—
[As quick as when he's scolding the pups, the tone short and sharp. Not unhappy, not at all, but he knows his husband well enough to know that the moment Astarion hears yes, all the gloves are off. One hand stretches out and glows faintly; there's a buzzing noise, the taste of turmeric thick in the air, before the idle noises of outside fade.
There. That's better, and he cocks his head as he faces Astarion again.]
Can you manage it all in a coffin? Or shall we find somewhere else to explore?
[He is not above renting a room for six hours. Then, wryly (baitingly:]
Could you even manage to wait long enough to get to the brothel?
[And this time, Astarion will be able to actually feel the way his tail wags in playful invitation.]
No, yes, and....probably not. [ Astarion's honey-sweet yet unreasonably rakish coo back around a mouthful of captive elven skin (the nape, muffled by his unwillingness to let go) — though all he does is suckle, slow enough to measure whether or not the tail that he's still wrapped around might wag or tuck or lift....
The latter roils in him like a shiver.
Pushes his nose into the underside of Leto's jaw. Hard.]
The question is, my little pup— would you be able to endure the thought of having your leg hoisted barely a block away from brothel doors in some dark, scarecely shuttered alleyway, or perhaps endure the most loving sex of your life on top of a rented downy mattress one floor down knowing full well that someone [his money's on Mizora] is going to inevitably try to find out why we didn't tussle here.
[If they rented rooms each time they wanted to travel low between one another's thighs, they'd be more than copperless— they'd be idolized in debter's gaol.]
[My little pup— oh, it's been an age since Astarion has called him that, and the subsequent shuddering grind of his hips glides in eager response. But the way his tail flicks up (not lifts, not just yet) is all for the slow suckle of lips against his neck, hot and slow and claiming. With a low groan he tips his head invitingly to one side, lazy waves of heat pulsing through him in time with every flick of Astarion's tongue.]
Nn, Astarion . . .
[For a long moment Leto wavers, torn between the impulse to tease and the molten temptation of simply sinking into this here and now. His eyes flutter closed, his lips parting as he arches his back in blatant invitation, his tail lifting just a little higher . . .
But it's so much more fun to play.
His eyes gleam eagerly as he draws back to face Astarion. You haven't gotten me just yet, no matter that he can't seem to stop grinding against his thigh— nor shuddering each time those clever fingers tug on his tail.]
Could I endure it? Having you so desperately ravenous to touch me— taste me— that you can't help but drag me into an alley and put your mouth on me. One hand between my thighs while the other tugs my tail, seeing how loudly you can make me moan as you glide your prick against me and promise to fuck me if only I'll beg you sweetly for it . . . I suspect I could endure it, Astarion, yes.
But that isn't what I want.
[Reaching back, he takes Astarion's hands (quietly mourning the loss of those fingers combing through his tail) and pins them lightly against his shoulders. White teeth flash as he bites his lip, emerald eyes hooded with desire.]
I want you to give me the most loving sex of my life— and given what you have offered me over the past four years, Astarion, I suspect that will be more of a challenge than you expect. I want to fuck on a bed, not hidden away while we fumble for room. I want to fuck the way we used to, not with my magic to silence us or with limited tools, but with all the space and time and toys we desire.
I want, [he says, and wends his way closer, blunt teeth catching against the soft skin of Astarion's jaw over and over,] to sprawl out on the bed and hear the way you groan for how my tail lifts for you. I want to feel your fingers in my hair as you pin my face to the mattress and listen to me scream as you fuck me hard enough to break the bed, forgetting every word except please. I want to be so filled with your come that I drip it, and worship you with my tongue and my throat until you finish on my face— claimed on both ends.
And I want to tie you to the bed. I want to listen to the way you groan as I tease your fangs, fucking your mouth with two fingers while I bounce on your prick. I want to pin your legs back and fuck you slowly, watching you melt beneath me all the while.
[He draws back again.]
I want to go to that brothel, amatus.
And I know you have self-control enough to make it there, for you have before.
So.
[He leans down, offering Astarion one languid, indulgent kiss: their mouths moving together with molten indulgence once, twice, before Leto breaks away with a little gasp. Sitting up (as much as he's able to, anyway), he gathers his cloak around him.]
The Fey Fox is six blocks away, and the sun was setting when I came in. You can either walk with me— or you may meet me there, and see what surprise I may have in store for you when you walk in.
[Either way, he has every intention of climbing back out of the coffin and heading towards the brothel. Thank the Maker for cloaks that cover not just ears and tails, but a notable swell at the front of his trousers.]
He doesn't want to be more than a step away at any point in time, no, but less so in the second that their kiss is broken with a faint pop of hungry suction, as if the laws of physics bend their necks to the very same desires: stay, it bellows through the hollow pits within his bones. Stay, he echoes in response, its singular syllable blown back against his lips with a scrape of decompression— coffin lid raised high enough to let in all the sights and sounds and smells that wipe clean the focused slate of his vampiric senses (what once was only Leto now invokes a flooding clamor as that seal is broken: roasting meat and puppy nails across hardwood, a bickering contest over where the weapon oil went and a faint demonic whiff of sulfur— nevermind the city just outside, barely held back by windowpanes). If he was impatient before, he's more impatient than ever now, already up across his knees to follow suit before common sense returns, and he realizes what he must look like in his rush to find his feet.
Two parts of him. The vampire that would rather die than wait, and Astarion, who thankfully has the better part of two hundred years of experience in anticipation's worth.]
Go, then.
[Muttered with a bite to one tattooed, cloak-covered throat that scruffs instead of sinking in. Like getting in the last word, it's a substitute for what he'd rather have, made heavier with strain— and it lasts only a moment before he's vanished in a streak of crimson mist.
There, and not.
(In actuality, his boots are pacing out a rhythm all their own atop the Fey Fox's high roof. In actuality he's been waiting all of fifteen minutes attempting to fan down the heat of his own swollen prick where it's jammed right against the stupid lacework of his inseam at an uncomfortable angle, telling himself that eventually he'll 'cool off' and 'regain control'— as if that's ever fucking worked before in the whole of his unlife. Like an animal he circles his own footfalls, and when that fails he shifts into his winged, batty counterpart, tucking the fan of his fingers tightly round himself to form a vibrating little cocoon of agitation. Urgency.
And then he catches it, that scent.)
He lasts barely three minutes of restraint before the tavern window's clawed open from outside, nearly yanked off of its hinges; pale claws sunk into the windowframe with his other arm whilst he tries to (noisily) squeeze in like a cat through the wrong side— barely halfway in past his own hips, his red eyes wide and overly dilated.]
[FUCK. WHY CAN'T HE DO THIS. HIS AMATUS IS RIGHT THERE AND HE WANTS IN SO BADLY THAT IT'S GOING TO KILL HIM. AGAIN. CUE WILD ANIMAL LEVELS OF THRASHING JUST LET HIM IN JUST FUCKING LET HIM IN—]
Truly: for a moment Leto's heart falters, his eyes softening in response to that plea. Stay, and every instinct within him cries out to fulfill that wish. But the coffin opens in the next second, there's that scruffing little command— and oh, for all his heart longs to be near Astarion, it will be so much better when they have the privacy of a room. Still: there's a little nuzzle of assurance offered in that chaotic transition: I'll be there, wait only a little, and then Astarion is gone.
To his credit, he walks fast as he strides down the street. He's no interest in prolonging their separation, after all, and maybe that's why negotiations for a room seem to take so long. Or maybe that's just due to his age, for the madam takes a special sort of pleasure in making him ask for what he wants. If she thinks she'll embarrass him, more fool her; Leto answers tartly and swiftly, and soon enough she's accepted his gold. From there it's up the stairs, ignoring the flirtatious men and scantily-clad women who coo at him and think him an easy mark, counting the doors until at last—
The door opens, the door closes. And Leto leans back against it with a heavy exhale.
Gods, he hadn't realized how starved he was for an empty room until just now.
He won't ever say a word of it to Astarion, not least of which because he knows the lack of privacy grates on his husband's nerves as well. But he's such a solitary creature at heart, and to have spent the past however-many-weeks sharing a space with not just one or two, but a whole host of people he barely knows— gods, it's a lot. And now to have a space where for the next day or so, they won't have to fuss over what others might overhear or think or say, or be on their guards twenty-four/ten . . . oh, it's worth the price, he thinks.
He paces around the room once or twice, stretching his arms above his head, taking a few moments to do nothing but savor it. How he can kick off his hated shoes and walk around barefoot without a host of questions; the way he can cross the room without attracting any stares, friendly or otherwise, or have someone inquire after him . . . gods, he should have brought Ataashi, he thinks with amusement— and then, glancing over at the array of toys laid out, remembers just why he hadn't.
And he'd promised Astarion a surprise, hadn't he?
It takes him only a little time to get ready, and thank the gods for that, for no sooner has he finished setting everything down that he hears a tell-tale scraping. One pale claw makes its way between the window slats and unhooks the latch, and Leto is just about to greet him when—
Oh.
Oh no.]
Come in, [he says, just in case it's something to do with being invited in. But no, that can't be the case, for Astarion is inside . . . sort of. Halfway there, anyway, and it's not his fault that his bat-form is so rotund, nor that the window swings outwards instead of in— and so Leto tries (semi-successfully) to bite back his laughter. That, he gives his husband; he does not bother hiding his grin as he approaches.]
Are you stuck?
[Of course he's stuck, but far be it for Leto not to be a little brat in moments like these. Still grinning, he angles his hands around his husband, trying to figure out a way to sort of— just grab Astarion and the window both—]
Stop— Astarion, stop—
[Finally he just sort of clamps both palms around that fat, fuzzy little body, pinning his wings down and forcing him out before yanking him right back in.]
[There goes the caught window under Leto's guidance, rattling to be set right against strained hinges around tanned knuckles and pale wings. There comes Astarion then too, spilling over the brim of steady hands with all the proud momentum that bore him right across the threshold— expanding in a snapshot whirl of scarcely staved-off gravity as fur becomes fine silk, becomes a slender throat with two white scars, and foxlike ears settle into elfish ones that altogether loom over the creature underneath him as he squeezes his cool lips across a pair of warmer ones— so much teeth involved in the process of stealing a velvet kiss that if not for the arms he wraps about the back of Leto's neck, their grins might smack together as they collapse in painful unison over delicately tiled flooring.
Instead the folded measure of his elbows play the role of brace and cushion equally; old grout pulverized to gritty chalk in ways that he can feel through silk and doesn't waste a second considering, too busy chasing with a lazy sort of eagerness the soft muscle of Leto's pretty tongue. Trying to wolfishly devour the wolf, as it were.]
Much better. [He mouths out low and rough and sharp around the corners of his fangs, his claws shifting whilst they cradle Leto's weight to toy with the tips of tufted ears.
[He laughs in delight when Astarion transforms in his arms; he's chuckling still (hot puffs of air ghosting against chilly lips, his arms already wrapped tight around his husband's lithe frame) when Astarion's mouth meets his. In an instant he surges into the kiss: neck craning upwards as he tips his head to deepen it, his thighs spreading in open invitation. I missed you, I longed for you, I want you, every inch of him thrumming with swiftly-growing desire. Another, another, just one more, until his lips throb from how they ache and he has to break away with a gasp to suck in a breath of air.]
Mm, but perhaps better still with a be— ah, aha—
[One nimble claw glides against the rim of his ear, teasing at the tip— and oh, Maker, it should be illegal to do so much with so little a touch. Leto's mind goes blank as he fights not to roll his eyes back (or worse still, pant with his tongue lolled out like a bitch in heat). It's just— gods, these puppish ears are just as sensitive as his elven ones, and every slow, seemingly careless little flick of a claw leaves Leto shuddering.]
Astarion . . .
[Wait, what was he saying? But it barely matters. A bed, a couch, a wall, a floor— gods, he'll get fucked against the frosted window so long as Astarion will keep doing that.
Except . . .
They have a whole room to themselves right now, and why should they indulge in something they could have done in the coffin? If they're going to indulge as they haven't been able to in months, why not indulge? Those golden false piercings throbbing beneath his shirt were only the start as far as Leto is concerned.
Knees locking around Astarion's hips, he flips them over in one smooth movement: hands bracing against Astarion's chest as he perches atop him and his tail wagging faintly as he surveys his husband. Almost absently he rocks back, plush ass rubbing slowly against the swiftly-swelling line of his cock.]
Aht . . . not yet. What do we say first?
[He hasn't forgotten Astarion's talk on why letting Leto take charge is so immensely difficult— but on the other hand, it's not as if he doesn't know what he's doing. He has no illusions about topping, but playing . . .? There's such a thrill to be had in baiting a tiger, and they've always flirted with danger.
With one hand he pins his wrist loosely to the floor; he glides his fingertips over the swell of Astarion's bottom lip with the other, coaxing him into opening his mouth. The moment he does they slip inwards: not to greedily take, but merely to tease, knocking against his teeth and tracing the line of his fangs.]
When you want something . . . when you have spent the past twenty minutes thinking of nothing but how I'll look flat on my back with my thighs spread, begging for you to plunge your cock in so deep that the entire brothel will know your name from the sound of my cries alone . . . when you're outright salivating around the swell of my fingers for the thought of tugging my tail until I bark for you . . . [He rocks his hips back, stomach rippling gliding against Astarion's cock in one sinfully fluid motion.] Astarion, what do we say first in order to get it, hm?
Edited (a lil more sluttiness UvU ) 2026-01-07 22:28 (UTC)
[There's so much there to bite into. Close his mouth around and rend like the mouth-watering first taste of supple fruit— the urge is there before the rest of him, practically scraping over the borders of his fangs in conjunction with those fingertips. Overconfident, he thinks deep within the chasm of awareness, measuring the way pressure scuffs against the points of him designed to kill. To catch overreaching little strays like the pretty thing perched in his lap, flirting with danger like it's been his lover from the start.
And you know, it really has.
Astarion grins back from the clay shackles of allure and that hand slid round his wrist. He groans as he feels his own prick harden up between undulating sensations washed hotly over him, sparking one after the other they leylines of his nerves. He watches all the while, still marveling at those glimpses of soft, wolfish fur above all else.
And bites down.
Not hard. Not stiffly enough to draw blood or split skin even in slight passing— just the catch. Just the subsequent release to remind that cub of what he toys with when the door is locked and the brothel beyond utterly devoted to its own pursuits.]
Please.... [He starts, letting the exhale rise up to his panting clavicle and open shirt. Pendulum swung the other way, that petition as damnably pretty as he'd ever managed, softened everywhere but in his spit-slicked jaws (like the claws he used to trim, the only place he can't feign probity).
It doesn't last. Leto scooped into his arms in a continuation of that prolonged scuffling they'd started at the sill, only this time it isn't harsh flooring against shoulders. Antithetical to that is perfumed feather down as it floods in to pillow around any space that isn't taken. An expensive mattress underneath, culled petals a cascade that spills down over skin and clothes and flooring just the same, Leto sprawled out over finery even the Elfsong couldn't manage, and Astarion at a half-lean beside him, still wearing that ambrosia-sweet expression, still licking at his fangs like a fox within a henhouse.
I want to fuck on a bed, not hidden away while we fumble for room, was the insistence that led here, after all. I want to fuck the way we used to, not with my magic to silence us or with limited tools, but with all the space and time and toys we desire.
So his continuation of his entreaty comes with a talon set light under one handsome elven chin.] ....show me what you look like under all those clothes. Glorious thing that you've become, I'm tired of trying to fit my view of you around the borders of our coffin.
Show off for me, little pup. [He urgers, index finger hooking down to clip one shirtlace.] Make yourself a meal that I can savor, and lift that pretty tail so that I know where I should start.
[His voice low and coy, his eyes hooded as he gazes up at his husband. Excitement sparks in the pit of his stomach, a thrill that he hasn't felt in— oh, months, maybe. Their sex life is never a dull thing, for it's Astarion that's always the joy (and someday, Leto swears, he'll convince him of that: that they could do nothing but the most chaste, rote sex and he would still love it, for he loves being with his mate). But it's been such a long time since they've had this kind of intimacy— and he wants to take advantage of it.
This first, though: one slow, molten kiss that lingers. Because he wants to savor this; because the mattress is soft beneath him and Astarion looks so sweet above him. Their lips move together with languid heat, the swiftly deepening push-pull rhythm only broken when his lungs burn in protest— and then he breaks away just to pant softly against slick lips, licking at them just once.]
Watch me. Let me give you a show.
[The half-command, half-request given as he squirms back, shifting until he can sit up. Making quick work of his clothes (such a rough thing with his body and his belongings both), he only belatedly realizes he ought to be a bit more deliberate about this. Show off for me, little pup, and it's about so much more than just vulgarity, isn't it? He'd learned that years ago, but Astarion was the one to truly refine such a skill, showing him just how good anticipation can make things.
So: slow. Slow as he leans back against the headboard and spreads his legs wide, baring every flushed inch of himself to his husband. Slow as he draws one hand languidly up his lithe frame, fingers rubbing teasingly against the glinting gold studs that gleam against the dark skin of his chest. Slow as he wraps his fingers of his other hand around his already swollen cock, his wrist stroking in lazy echo of the way he plays with his piercings. Slow, he tells himself as he looks into crimson eyes and ignores every adolescent instinct that screams to just take, for the way Astarion looks at him now is worth every second of delay. He's flushed, he knows, his cheeks and ears darker, his chest rising and falling as his breathing grows more labored— oh, it isn't long at all before he's worked himself up, and it's only that mantra that stops his hand from snapping in earnest.]
I thought about what we might do here. How we might occupy ourselves. What would make it worth the price, for I intend to take advantage of nearly every luxury they have here.
[Like the oil that he drips over his fingers, deliberately careless in letting it splatter against the planes of his stomach. Like the delicate little toy he pulls out from beneath one pillow, a slender thing meant to titillate far more than satisfy. One slick slide against his rim just to find his mark, and Leto groans as he pushes it in with one smooth motion— letting Astarion watch as he spreads open so sweetly around that intrusion, his body squeezing greedily around every slick inch, fighting to keep what impales it as he glides it in and out, in and out . . .]
Is this what you meant by showing off?
[A playful purr, no matter that he's biting his lip and moaning softly for every slow thrust.]
Or is this not enough to entice you?
[Oh, it assuredly is, for he can see how hungrily Astarion stares at him. There's a countdown silently ticking, he knows; he has only so long before lust and vampiric instinct both demand he sate himself on his teasing consort. And yet— the first time Astarion approaches (a hand on his thigh, a shifting of his weight, a tongue slipping out to entice) one foot draws up swiftly and plants itself against his chest.]
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[Something hard drops in the pit of Leto's stomach, nauseating him as he stares down at the words. He left, two words that might come across as cold and stoic if you couldn't hear pain woven within every word. A hurt so potent that it closes Leto's throat and blurs his vision for a few seconds, no matter that the scar is two centuries old.
And what does he say to that? I'm sorry is meaningless, though he is. You deserved so much better is far more true, but Astarion knows that already. I love you, I wish I had been there, I will never do that to you, I will never leave you, my heart hurts for you, and all of those are true, but it isn't what he wants to say.]
Fuck him.
[It’s vulgar as he so rarely is, spat out and snarled. He can hear his heart thundering in his ears, a rapidfire rhythm that’s growing louder by the second.]
If he was fool enough to leave you behind, he isn’t worth recalling.
[That isn’t true, but he’s furious.]
You were a far better sibling than Varania ever was. A far better companion than anyone I have ever met in my life. He was a fool to leave you behind— and the fact you are here, now, with allies at your side and a knife in your hand ready to slaughter your master, only proves it.
And where is he now?
I will give him credit for teaching you if it helped you survive— but I will never forgive him for that.
Fuck him.
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But it doesn't need to.
What he has now is the penned-out-permanence of a heart that walked through the Crossroads themselves to find him, returned not only once, but twice. What he has now was bought upon the stepping stones of the sihlouette that disappeared two centuries ago, and this time it doesn't leave, and it doesn't abate, and it does more even in the darkest nights than scant lessons or soft-spoken pet names ever could.
Not just the better brother, the better man.
(Perhaps someday the others in the Elfsong bunks might tell him of his brother. Perhaps sometime soon the matter of a ring, and old confessions, and a pitiful goodbye had in Athkatla might come up in fireside discussions of adventures he's forgotten that they've shared. Perhaps, but perhaps is later's gambit.)]
Slim competition, if we're discussing the matter of being backstabbing siblings [A single pattering drop of wetness blurs the ink it spills across— apparently, even penned, his teasing levity betrays him. And at least between the two of them, Astarion admits as much.]
Thank you.
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—how in the Realms did we get here??
[On this subject, he means, laughing weakly to himself.]
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A moment later there's footsteps darting swiftly up the stairs two at a time. A door opens, and like clockwork, a familiar chorus of delighted barks and eager whines arise around the coffin. Three bodies barrel across the room, leaping around Leto in a bid for attention that's equal parts overjoyed and greedily eager for his focus— but oh, all three girls are destined to be disappointed, for his pace slows just long enough to give each of them a swift scrub behind the ears as he murmurs his greeting. A few voices call out from beyond the partition, and those are offered a rumbling greeting tossed carelessly over his shoulder: yes, hello, so blatantly uninterested that it borders on rudeness— but who cares, for there the coffin is, and then—
There Leto is, emerald eyes serious beneath the low-hanging hood of his cloak.
There's nothing else so important as this, he thinks as he climbs into the coffin and closes the lid behind him. Nowhere else he needs to be that matters as much as being home, curled up and holding his mate as the last of those emotions shudders through him. He won't say anything, for there's no use in reopening an already raw wound. But he saw the way ink had smeared; he sees the redness in his mate's eyes, and he will not leave him alone to weather this storm.]
Come here.
[He wraps his arms around his mate, gathering him up without prompting. Come here, my love, his palms warm and firm as they sweep over his back. Gently he presses a kiss to his forehead, the tip of his nose, and then finally to the corner of his mouth. Come here and be with me.
A moment, and he wrinkles his nose in wry amusement.]
And do your best not to shriek your delight.
[If distraction comes at his own expense, all the better. Leto untangles one hand only to sweep the hood back away from his face. Two puppish ears pop out, one and then the other sticking straight up: their fur the same shade as his hair, their appearance tall and pointed.]
The tail is tucked down my pants . . .
[It's a miracle it isn't wagging, but chalk that up to his concern for Astarion.]
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It is so hard to sneak up on a vampire, after all.
And this is the cutest thing he's ever seen.]
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(Funny, he thinks a moment later. Funny how things change, for it wasn't two years ago that he would have been repulsed beyond belief by this transformation. Horrified and all but ready to take a blade to the damned things if it would fix it, and now . . . now, he knows better. Perhaps he will never adore magic. Certainly he never will in Thedas, but things are different here, and at least it no longer terrifies him the way it once did).
And oh: he loves this, he does, but ow.]
Wait, wait— Astarion—
[Laughingly said, but he does his damned best to free at least one hand so he can reach behind him. It's the work of a moment to shimmy his pants down low on his hips, just far enough that the other addition his backlashing magic gave him can finally spring free. It is, mercifully, proportionate enough that it doesn't take up much room in the coffin— but there's no mistaking the rapidfire thump-thump-thump that beats against the side.]
Er— it's uncomfortable to have it constrained.
[So. Yes, and he clears his throat, something a little less than embarrassment crossing his expression. It's no worse than the ears, but still. It's an odd thing to have a tail. Odder still to be unable to control how it wags— nor, indeed, how much faster it goes each time Astarion lavishes another bit of affection upon him.]
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He takes hold of it before he knows it— no, one hand still atop an ear, pinching it, but the other— ]
Oh.
My.
GODS—
[There's no avoiding it anymore, his keening will alert the Elfsong at this rate.
Now all of China knows you are a dog.Something to deal with later.]
Fenris— [Ah, no that hasn't been his name for a long time, not even in front of all the others, now.] Leto— I can't— lookatyou— [Those two sentiments aren't connected, as is evidenced by the overbright coddling and cooing louder than a flock of doves along the tail end: look at you is repeated again and again and again, scrubbing with both hands— forgetting how to blink. Forgetting that he should, and that this is in fact something that all mortals ought to do.] Look how adorable you are!! Why haven't you done this sooner?! It's so unbearably fetching— pun unintended but OH. MY. STARS, LITTLE PUP. You truly are my catulus now, aren't you? Aren't you?
[He's cradling that face in all its splendor, crowing like he's speaking to Ataashi at her best. Hello. Hello hello hello oh who's a darling little boy ♡♡♡]
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Especially when there's a part of him that's trying not to bark in overstimulated, giddying excitement. His tail is wagging up a storm, his cheeks flushed happily as he squirms within his husband's hold, every doggish instinct within him sitting up and panting in open response: it's him it's him, he's his catulus, oh he is he is, he's such a good boy good boy good boy, nonsensical and overstimulated in the sweetest of ways.
(Outside the coffin, there's one very petulant, very confused whine. Why, Ataashi wonders, are those wonderful sounds happening when they aren't directed at her? It can't be at the brats; they're still both visibly baffled as they snuffle the spot where their father had been a few minutes ago, trying to determine what makes his scent so strange right now. Which is good, for she'd riot if it was directed towards them— but if not them, and not her, then why is it happening? And yet there's no answer, no matter how loudly she whines— and so after a few minutes, she teleports her way beneath Shadowheart's bed, ignoring the cleric's startled squawking in favor of bedding down for a good sulk).]
Hush— hush—
[He's still grinning as he says it, unwilling to fully put a stopper in his amatus' excitement. But when mere words don't prove enough, Leto darts in to press their lips together in a forceful kiss. Settle in, the emphasis coming from how he surges forward and urges Astarion to lay flat against the bottom of the coffin.]
You are a menace. Does this really thrill you so much?
[Of course it does. It thrills them both, for Leto's tail (now perched in the air) is still wagging furiously.]
It was an accident, not deliberate— and if you do not settle down, the others will come disturb us, and that will be the end of your fun. You—
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[Astarion's hands are still wandering over him: one at his ears, the other at his tail, claws combing through soft fur with indiscriminate adoration. The latter wraps around the base of his tail, tugging faintly, and Leto—
—moans.
The noise mercifully quiet enough to be unheard, but unmistakable in what it is, for his expression has gone vulgarly slack. For a moment he stares at nothing, cheeks flushing dark as a toe-curling wave of absolute pleasure unlike any he's felt before ripples through him. Oh, oh, and that felt—
Maker. The kind of pleasure akin to when Astarion sprawls him out on the bed and angles his prick just right before pistoning into him; it ripples up his spine and goes straight to his cock, so uniquely good that for a long few seconds he does nothing but stare blankly into space. Fuck. Oh, fuck, and he's so close to begging Astarion to do that again, but— he swallows thickly— not right now. Not when everyone is awake.]
I think, ah, I think it may be sensitive.
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After a beat, yes. After a long moment where the world itself feels far too lush with freshly-risen luridity for his own senses to truck with. Loud and shamelessly delighted— which is, to be clear, the apparent theme of the hour given said catalyst that started his braying.
Yet luckily for them both, unlike the noise that just left poor Leto's throat, Astarion cackling is no uncommon affair.]
Yes, my darling, I think you might be onto something with that hypothesis.
[The wicked gleam in blood red eyes; the sharpness of an already fanged smile; this is danger known by any given name, and it closes in along the curve of Leto's cheek with such a lightless hum that it coils over itself like the very inverse of sound: not something listened to, but something felt— his thumb and forefinger encircling that down-soft tail, stroking weightless circles in thick fur.]
Shall I test it whilst it's here....?
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[He breathes out the curse as his eyes flutter closed, something hot and heavy dropping like a stone into the pit of his belly. Fuck. Fuck, even that— even the slow, teasing glide of clawed fingertips through fur— is enough to make him shudder, little pinpricks of pleasure rippling down his spring. His hips glide and rock against Astarion's thigh, knowing that he's stoking the fire and not caring.
Because he knows that seductive tone, the one that always leaves him practically salivating from desire alone. He knows that wicked look in Astarion's eye and just what it means for the future: promising him the filthiest sort of vulgarity if only he'll beg sweetly for it . . . gods, it's not a question of if so much as when. And, perhaps, what Leto intends to do with these precious last moments before they lose themselves in one another.
Again, something instinctive in him whines. His back arches, his hips grinding forward more shamelessly: again, again, and it's only with an iron will that he manages to shove the desire to the side.]
Yes. But wait—
[As quick as when he's scolding the pups, the tone short and sharp. Not unhappy, not at all, but he knows his husband well enough to know that the moment Astarion hears yes, all the gloves are off. One hand stretches out and glows faintly; there's a buzzing noise, the taste of turmeric thick in the air, before the idle noises of outside fade.
There. That's better, and he cocks his head as he faces Astarion again.]
Can you manage it all in a coffin? Or shall we find somewhere else to explore?
[He is not above renting a room for six hours. Then, wryly (baitingly:]
Could you even manage to wait long enough to get to the brothel?
[And this time, Astarion will be able to actually feel the way his tail wags in playful invitation.]
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The latter roils in him like a shiver.
Pushes his nose into the underside of Leto's jaw. Hard.]
The question is, my little pup— would you be able to endure the thought of having your leg hoisted barely a block away from brothel doors in some dark, scarecely shuttered alleyway, or perhaps endure the most loving sex of your life on top of a rented downy mattress one floor down knowing full well that someone [his money's on Mizora] is going to inevitably try to find out why we didn't tussle here.
[If they rented rooms each time they wanted to travel low between one another's thighs, they'd be more than copperless— they'd be idolized in debter's gaol.]
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Nn, Astarion . . .
[For a long moment Leto wavers, torn between the impulse to tease and the molten temptation of simply sinking into this here and now. His eyes flutter closed, his lips parting as he arches his back in blatant invitation, his tail lifting just a little higher . . .
But it's so much more fun to play.
His eyes gleam eagerly as he draws back to face Astarion. You haven't gotten me just yet, no matter that he can't seem to stop grinding against his thigh— nor shuddering each time those clever fingers tug on his tail.]
Could I endure it? Having you so desperately ravenous to touch me— taste me— that you can't help but drag me into an alley and put your mouth on me. One hand between my thighs while the other tugs my tail, seeing how loudly you can make me moan as you glide your prick against me and promise to fuck me if only I'll beg you sweetly for it . . . I suspect I could endure it, Astarion, yes.
But that isn't what I want.
[Reaching back, he takes Astarion's hands (quietly mourning the loss of those fingers combing through his tail) and pins them lightly against his shoulders. White teeth flash as he bites his lip, emerald eyes hooded with desire.]
I want you to give me the most loving sex of my life— and given what you have offered me over the past four years, Astarion, I suspect that will be more of a challenge than you expect. I want to fuck on a bed, not hidden away while we fumble for room. I want to fuck the way we used to, not with my magic to silence us or with limited tools, but with all the space and time and toys we desire.
I want, [he says, and wends his way closer, blunt teeth catching against the soft skin of Astarion's jaw over and over,] to sprawl out on the bed and hear the way you groan for how my tail lifts for you. I want to feel your fingers in my hair as you pin my face to the mattress and listen to me scream as you fuck me hard enough to break the bed, forgetting every word except please. I want to be so filled with your come that I drip it, and worship you with my tongue and my throat until you finish on my face— claimed on both ends.
And I want to tie you to the bed. I want to listen to the way you groan as I tease your fangs, fucking your mouth with two fingers while I bounce on your prick. I want to pin your legs back and fuck you slowly, watching you melt beneath me all the while.
[He draws back again.]
I want to go to that brothel, amatus.
And I know you have self-control enough to make it there, for you have before.
So.
[He leans down, offering Astarion one languid, indulgent kiss: their mouths moving together with molten indulgence once, twice, before Leto breaks away with a little gasp. Sitting up (as much as he's able to, anyway), he gathers his cloak around him.]
The Fey Fox is six blocks away, and the sun was setting when I came in. You can either walk with me— or you may meet me there, and see what surprise I may have in store for you when you walk in.
[Either way, he has every intention of climbing back out of the coffin and heading towards the brothel. Thank the Maker for cloaks that cover not just ears and tails, but a notable swell at the front of his trousers.]
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Astarion doesn't want to be left behind.
He doesn't want to be more than a step away at any point in time, no, but less so in the second that their kiss is broken with a faint pop of hungry suction, as if the laws of physics bend their necks to the very same desires: stay, it bellows through the hollow pits within his bones. Stay, he echoes in response, its singular syllable blown back against his lips with a scrape of decompression— coffin lid raised high enough to let in all the sights and sounds and smells that wipe clean the focused slate of his vampiric senses (what once was only Leto now invokes a flooding clamor as that seal is broken: roasting meat and puppy nails across hardwood, a bickering contest over where the weapon oil went and a faint demonic whiff of sulfur— nevermind the city just outside, barely held back by windowpanes). If he was impatient before, he's more impatient than ever now, already up across his knees to follow suit before common sense returns, and he realizes what he must look like in his rush to find his feet.
Two parts of him. The vampire that would rather die than wait, and Astarion, who thankfully has the better part of two hundred years of experience in anticipation's worth.]
Go, then.
[Muttered with a bite to one tattooed, cloak-covered throat that scruffs instead of sinking in. Like getting in the last word, it's a substitute for what he'd rather have, made heavier with strain— and it lasts only a moment before he's vanished in a streak of crimson mist.
There, and not.
(In actuality, his boots are pacing out a rhythm all their own atop the Fey Fox's high roof. In actuality he's been waiting all of fifteen minutes attempting to fan down the heat of his own swollen prick where it's jammed right against the stupid lacework of his inseam at an uncomfortable angle, telling himself that eventually he'll 'cool off' and 'regain control'— as if that's ever fucking worked before in the whole of his unlife. Like an animal he circles his own footfalls, and when that fails he shifts into his winged, batty counterpart, tucking the fan of his fingers tightly round himself to form a vibrating little cocoon of agitation. Urgency.
And then he catches it, that scent.)
He lasts barely three minutes of restraint before the tavern window's clawed open from outside, nearly yanked off of its hinges; pale claws sunk into the windowframe with his other arm whilst he tries to (noisily) squeeze in like a cat through the wrong side— barely halfway in past his own hips, his red eyes wide and overly dilated.]
—are you—
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He can do this. He's a vampire. This is a windowsill.]
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Truly: for a moment Leto's heart falters, his eyes softening in response to that plea. Stay, and every instinct within him cries out to fulfill that wish. But the coffin opens in the next second, there's that scruffing little command— and oh, for all his heart longs to be near Astarion, it will be so much better when they have the privacy of a room. Still: there's a little nuzzle of assurance offered in that chaotic transition: I'll be there, wait only a little, and then Astarion is gone.
To his credit, he walks fast as he strides down the street. He's no interest in prolonging their separation, after all, and maybe that's why negotiations for a room seem to take so long. Or maybe that's just due to his age, for the madam takes a special sort of pleasure in making him ask for what he wants. If she thinks she'll embarrass him, more fool her; Leto answers tartly and swiftly, and soon enough she's accepted his gold. From there it's up the stairs, ignoring the flirtatious men and scantily-clad women who coo at him and think him an easy mark, counting the doors until at last—
The door opens, the door closes. And Leto leans back against it with a heavy exhale.
Gods, he hadn't realized how starved he was for an empty room until just now.
He won't ever say a word of it to Astarion, not least of which because he knows the lack of privacy grates on his husband's nerves as well. But he's such a solitary creature at heart, and to have spent the past however-many-weeks sharing a space with not just one or two, but a whole host of people he barely knows— gods, it's a lot. And now to have a space where for the next day or so, they won't have to fuss over what others might overhear or think or say, or be on their guards twenty-four/ten . . . oh, it's worth the price, he thinks.
He paces around the room once or twice, stretching his arms above his head, taking a few moments to do nothing but savor it. How he can kick off his hated shoes and walk around barefoot without a host of questions; the way he can cross the room without attracting any stares, friendly or otherwise, or have someone inquire after him . . . gods, he should have brought Ataashi, he thinks with amusement— and then, glancing over at the array of toys laid out, remembers just why he hadn't.
And he'd promised Astarion a surprise, hadn't he?
It takes him only a little time to get ready, and thank the gods for that, for no sooner has he finished setting everything down that he hears a tell-tale scraping. One pale claw makes its way between the window slats and unhooks the latch, and Leto is just about to greet him when—
Oh.
Oh no.]
Come in, [he says, just in case it's something to do with being invited in. But no, that can't be the case, for Astarion is inside . . . sort of. Halfway there, anyway, and it's not his fault that his bat-form is so rotund, nor that the window swings outwards instead of in— and so Leto tries (semi-successfully) to bite back his laughter. That, he gives his husband; he does not bother hiding his grin as he approaches.]
Are you stuck?
[Of course he's stuck, but far be it for Leto not to be a little brat in moments like these. Still grinning, he angles his hands around his husband, trying to figure out a way to sort of— just grab Astarion and the window both—]
Stop— Astarion, stop—
[Finally he just sort of clamps both palms around that fat, fuzzy little body, pinning his wings down and forcing him out before yanking him right back in.]
Is that better, hm?
[Rude, the way he's so blatantly enjoying this.]
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Instead the folded measure of his elbows play the role of brace and cushion equally; old grout pulverized to gritty chalk in ways that he can feel through silk and doesn't waste a second considering, too busy chasing with a lazy sort of eagerness the soft muscle of Leto's pretty tongue. Trying to wolfishly devour the wolf, as it were.]
Much better. [He mouths out low and rough and sharp around the corners of his fangs, his claws shifting whilst they cradle Leto's weight to toy with the tips of tufted ears.
Rude, the way he's so blatantly enjoying this.]
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Mm, but perhaps better still with a be— ah, aha—
[One nimble claw glides against the rim of his ear, teasing at the tip— and oh, Maker, it should be illegal to do so much with so little a touch. Leto's mind goes blank as he fights not to roll his eyes back (or worse still, pant with his tongue lolled out like a bitch in heat). It's just— gods, these puppish ears are just as sensitive as his elven ones, and every slow, seemingly careless little flick of a claw leaves Leto shuddering.]
Astarion . . .
[Wait, what was he saying? But it barely matters. A bed, a couch, a wall, a floor— gods, he'll get fucked against the frosted window so long as Astarion will keep doing that.
Except . . .
They have a whole room to themselves right now, and why should they indulge in something they could have done in the coffin? If they're going to indulge as they haven't been able to in months, why not indulge? Those golden false piercings throbbing beneath his shirt were only the start as far as Leto is concerned.
Knees locking around Astarion's hips, he flips them over in one smooth movement: hands bracing against Astarion's chest as he perches atop him and his tail wagging faintly as he surveys his husband. Almost absently he rocks back, plush ass rubbing slowly against the swiftly-swelling line of his cock.]
Aht . . . not yet. What do we say first?
[He hasn't forgotten Astarion's talk on why letting Leto take charge is so immensely difficult— but on the other hand, it's not as if he doesn't know what he's doing. He has no illusions about topping, but playing . . .? There's such a thrill to be had in baiting a tiger, and they've always flirted with danger.
With one hand he pins his wrist loosely to the floor; he glides his fingertips over the swell of Astarion's bottom lip with the other, coaxing him into opening his mouth. The moment he does they slip inwards: not to greedily take, but merely to tease, knocking against his teeth and tracing the line of his fangs.]
When you want something . . . when you have spent the past twenty minutes thinking of nothing but how I'll look flat on my back with my thighs spread, begging for you to plunge your cock in so deep that the entire brothel will know your name from the sound of my cries alone . . . when you're outright salivating around the swell of my fingers for the thought of tugging my tail until I bark for you . . . [He rocks his hips back, stomach rippling gliding against Astarion's cock in one sinfully fluid motion.] Astarion, what do we say first in order to get it, hm?
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And you know, it really has.
Astarion grins back from the clay shackles of allure and that hand slid round his wrist. He groans as he feels his own prick harden up between undulating sensations washed hotly over him, sparking one after the other they leylines of his nerves. He watches all the while, still marveling at those glimpses of soft, wolfish fur above all else.
And bites down.
Not hard. Not stiffly enough to draw blood or split skin even in slight passing— just the catch. Just the subsequent release to remind that cub of what he toys with when the door is locked and the brothel beyond utterly devoted to its own pursuits.]
Please.... [He starts, letting the exhale rise up to his panting clavicle and open shirt. Pendulum swung the other way, that petition as damnably pretty as he'd ever managed, softened everywhere but in his spit-slicked jaws (like the claws he used to trim, the only place he can't feign probity).
It doesn't last. Leto scooped into his arms in a continuation of that prolonged scuffling they'd started at the sill, only this time it isn't harsh flooring against shoulders. Antithetical to that is perfumed feather down as it floods in to pillow around any space that isn't taken. An expensive mattress underneath, culled petals a cascade that spills down over skin and clothes and flooring just the same, Leto sprawled out over finery even the Elfsong couldn't manage, and Astarion at a half-lean beside him, still wearing that ambrosia-sweet expression, still licking at his fangs like a fox within a henhouse.
I want to fuck on a bed, not hidden away while we fumble for room, was the insistence that led here, after all. I want to fuck the way we used to, not with my magic to silence us or with limited tools, but with all the space and time and toys we desire.
So his continuation of his entreaty comes with a talon set light under one handsome elven chin.] ....show me what you look like under all those clothes. Glorious thing that you've become, I'm tired of trying to fit my view of you around the borders of our coffin.
Show off for me, little pup. [He urgers, index finger hooking down to clip one shirtlace.] Make yourself a meal that I can savor, and lift that pretty tail so that I know where I should start.
no subject
[His voice low and coy, his eyes hooded as he gazes up at his husband. Excitement sparks in the pit of his stomach, a thrill that he hasn't felt in— oh, months, maybe. Their sex life is never a dull thing, for it's Astarion that's always the joy (and someday, Leto swears, he'll convince him of that: that they could do nothing but the most chaste, rote sex and he would still love it, for he loves being with his mate). But it's been such a long time since they've had this kind of intimacy— and he wants to take advantage of it.
This first, though: one slow, molten kiss that lingers. Because he wants to savor this; because the mattress is soft beneath him and Astarion looks so sweet above him. Their lips move together with languid heat, the swiftly deepening push-pull rhythm only broken when his lungs burn in protest— and then he breaks away just to pant softly against slick lips, licking at them just once.]
Watch me. Let me give you a show.
[The half-command, half-request given as he squirms back, shifting until he can sit up. Making quick work of his clothes (such a rough thing with his body and his belongings both), he only belatedly realizes he ought to be a bit more deliberate about this. Show off for me, little pup, and it's about so much more than just vulgarity, isn't it? He'd learned that years ago, but Astarion was the one to truly refine such a skill, showing him just how good anticipation can make things.
So: slow. Slow as he leans back against the headboard and spreads his legs wide, baring every flushed inch of himself to his husband. Slow as he draws one hand languidly up his lithe frame, fingers rubbing teasingly against the glinting gold studs that gleam against the dark skin of his chest. Slow as he wraps his fingers of his other hand around his already swollen cock, his wrist stroking in lazy echo of the way he plays with his piercings. Slow, he tells himself as he looks into crimson eyes and ignores every adolescent instinct that screams to just take, for the way Astarion looks at him now is worth every second of delay. He's flushed, he knows, his cheeks and ears darker, his chest rising and falling as his breathing grows more labored— oh, it isn't long at all before he's worked himself up, and it's only that mantra that stops his hand from snapping in earnest.]
I thought about what we might do here. How we might occupy ourselves. What would make it worth the price, for I intend to take advantage of nearly every luxury they have here.
[Like the oil that he drips over his fingers, deliberately careless in letting it splatter against the planes of his stomach. Like the delicate little toy he pulls out from beneath one pillow, a slender thing meant to titillate far more than satisfy. One slick slide against his rim just to find his mark, and Leto groans as he pushes it in with one smooth motion— letting Astarion watch as he spreads open so sweetly around that intrusion, his body squeezing greedily around every slick inch, fighting to keep what impales it as he glides it in and out, in and out . . .]
Is this what you meant by showing off?
[A playful purr, no matter that he's biting his lip and moaning softly for every slow thrust.]
Or is this not enough to entice you?
[Oh, it assuredly is, for he can see how hungrily Astarion stares at him. There's a countdown silently ticking, he knows; he has only so long before lust and vampiric instinct both demand he sate himself on his teasing consort. And yet— the first time Astarion approaches (a hand on his thigh, a shifting of his weight, a tongue slipping out to entice) one foot draws up swiftly and plants itself against his chest.]
Aht . . . wait for the show to end, greedy thing.