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“Sleep well, C’allissa.”
And then slowly, as if trudging through quicksand, he was walking away.
The hallway in front of G’raha expanded into a near endless tunnel as his mind struggled to catch up with the last few minutes. His heart had been in his throat as he waited those agonizing moments for C’allissa’s door to swing open, and he could hardly inhale as he stumbled over the intro to the prepared words he had wanted to tell her for so long.
Until…
He just couldn’t anymore.
Not with her standing so close to him, hair ruffled and soft and falling over her face in a way that made his chest tighten with overwhelming affection. Even while getting ready for bed she was breathtaking, and before he knew it he was faltering and wishing her a simple good night.
But she had asked if he wanted to step inside!
And the way she paused afterwards gave him the same funny feeling as the teasing, the inside jokes, the light nudges they had begun to give one another ever since returning from the Tempest. He had been so close to nodding, an “of course I would, I’d love to sit beside you and shoulder any burdens you wish to share with me, I love—” on the tip of his tongue…
…But it was too good to be true. Her friendship was too good to be true, and he couldn’t risk losing what he’d wished for for so long—the chance to merely stand by her side.
And he shook his head no.
His ribs ached as he continued back to his own quarters, dejected by nobody but his own nerves. Shoulders hunching in defeat, he shuffled his feet over the marble, trying to focus on the patterns below him instead of the empty pit in his stomach the further he trod further and further from C’allissa’s room. From C’allissa.
But before his failure could cause a frustrated tear to leak from the corner of his eye…
“G’raha Tia!”
Uh oh. He was in trouble.
His name was being hissed across the hallway before he could even think to duck behind something, anything to hide him from the two figures rapidly approaching him. The two angry figures.
He flinched, bracing himself for impact as they stopped in front of him.
“Alisaie! Krile! How do you fare this evening?” he attempted to greet as cheerfully as he could, but the frown spreading across each of their faces made his stomach sink impossibly deeper.
“I was faring quite fine, thank you, until this very moment,” Alisaie chided, crossing her arms and leaning to give him a meaningful look. Krile mirrored her, tapping her foot in disappointment.
“I would have to agree. Now, tell me, Raha—is there a reason why you’re not speaking with a certain special someone right now? And do not attempt to lie to us; your tail could not possibly be swinging any faster.”
G’raha fought the urge to grab said tail and shove it into his belt so it wouldn’t betray him any further. It was times like these when he half wished he could hide in the safety of his robes and cowl again—but as his ears drooped in shame, the softening gazes before him were the reminder of all he had gained since beginning his new life.
“I… I tried…” he mumbled, letting his chin sag to his chest. “I’m just returning from her room, actually.”
Two sets of brows raised in front of him, but didn’t stay that way for long. “Only… it didn’t exactly go over according to plan.”
Alisaie’s mouth fell open, but he held his hands up before her wrath turned. “Not because of her! I-I mean, ‘twasn’t anything she could have done. Because…” His tongue was leaden in his mouth, the words heavy marbles as the conversation with his friends from mere bells earlier rang in his mind.
When he’d come to them wondering if C’allissa’s sudden surge of physical affection towards him meant he should finally let her know how he truly felt about her. Of course they both had rolled their eyes with a resounding yes, you should have done it ages ago, but the boost in confidence was short-lived.
“Because I didn’t tell her.”
His admission ended so quietly that he was sure they couldn’t hear, but Krile’s sympathetic sigh refuted the thought and suddenly the words were pouring from his lips unabated.
“I couldn’t tell her—it was all just too much, and the last thing I wish to do is add to her enormous satchel of worries. For if she doesn’t feel the same, I’m not certain I could bear… but if for some reason she… she…” He couldn’t even speak of the possibility. “…But I shouldn’t distract her when she needs some much-deserved rest. And even if she didn’t, it’s too late now, anyways. I already bid her goodnight, and I—”
His rambling was cut abruptly off by a knowing look between his friends, but it wasn’t full of the disappointment or the wrath that he’d expected.
No, ‘twas something else entirely.
Alisaie’s gaze snapped back to him like a bowstring, and before he could react, one foot had been planted in front of him and an arm was being raised and—
“Ow!”
G’raha whipped away, clutching his forehead more out of embarrassment that she’d flicked him again rather than actual pain. “Was that truly necessary?” Especially when he already felt defeated enough, he wanted to add, but Alisaie was clicking her tongue and scowling at him in her typical way.
“G’raha. I need you to listen here and listen well: how is it that you were able to lead an entire nation for one hundred years, yet you still aren’t able to take three seconds to tell your inspiration that you like her? Hm?”
“That’s nowhere near to the same, I—”
“I’m not finished.” Alisaie pursed her lips. “I’d expect this sort of thing from Thancred, or… or anyone else really, but not you. For how many tomes you’ve read in your long, long life, you’ve got to have some combination of the correct words stored in that mind of yours somewhere. And… I know you and C’allie have been to hells and back, but if anything, I’d have wagered it would have shown you that a silly confession won’t be what breaks you.”
She paused, and G’raha couldn’t help but feel C’allissa’s arms around his middle again, squeezing impossibly tightly against the Garlean cold. Her hair tickling his neck as her face buried into the collar of his coat. The trembling breath she took before whispering oh so softly if she could stay with him for the night just in case they returned. The way his own eyes had fluttered shut in disbelief, and even stranger, the velvet press of warmth against his cheek that could only have been…
The butterflies within him lifted off just imagining it once more, and this time he let himself get swept away on their wings. He hadn’t wanted to wash his sheets following that night for fear of losing her scent on the fabric—losing the ability to breathe her in again. If only he could return to that moment, cradle her closer, commit how she felt in his arms to memory.
Silence lingered between the three of them as the thumping in G’raha’s chest steadily increased with the prospect that he could have done just that. He still could.
“You know,” Krile finally started, “whilst I recognize you have known our dear friend for longer than I have, the C’allie I’m most familiar with isn’t one to retire early. Even during times when I’d recommend that she should.”
A half-delirious chuckle escaped him, because oh how true that was. Alisaie was smirking at him now, as was Krile in her knowing way, and his heart rate spiked further.
It wasn’t too late. He could still do this.
“Alright, alright, enough with the love-sick grin,” Alisaie groaned. “Go do whatever you like, just don’t make me regret helping you.” She gave a single exhausted eye roll before reaching to shove at him, which he was fortunate enough to dodge that time.
“Yes—and we expect a full report in the morning,” Krile chided, and G’raha was certain his cheeks had never burned brighter.
But through the heat radiating down his neck and the sudden dampness collecting on his palms, he forced his feet to remain firmly planted on the ground. He could do this.
…Could he?
‘Twould be embarrassing as all hells to return outside her door once more—even more so if he had to explain the scolding he was just given. Perhaps he should wait until he could gather his nerves, formulate a better strategy that ensured he wouldn’t be able to back out again. Maybe bring her flowers, or write a letter, or invite her to the stargazing spot near the Studium that he’d been dying to take her to.
But then again… when had anything in their lives gone according to the original plan?
He hadn’t wanted to come inside.
And it hurt.
C’allie’s teeth ached from her jaw clenching as she took it out on her poor kettle, jamming the lid on and wincing as she set it down a bit too hard on the stove. It just did not add up—after the night they’d shared curled next to one another, the fur of his tail tickling her calf in a soothing reminder that he was still there—she’d have thought him stepping inside her room would not even be a question.
But it was for the best. She’d been letting her head dawdle in the clouds for far too long lately, daydreaming about the tiny smiles and shoulder nudges they gave one another being more than just teasing between good friends.
Because that was all they were.
The water took ages to boil as she stared it down, clinking her spoon against the ceramic mug in time with her impatient heart. Gods, she had to pull herself together—this was all so silly and contrived and not what she should be focusing on right now. With the sheer number of times she’d attempted to let her feelings be known to him, it was high time she accepted the truth.
She had so much to be grateful for; the fact that they were all safe and together should be more than enough for her. And now she had a fresh mug of tea, the calming aroma wafting up to her nose as she watched the water darken with the rich leaves. The warmth seeped into her fingers as she carried it to a side chair, intent on finishing the tome that had kept her company these last few sleepless nights.
She did not look at the space in the empty chair next to her.
Her mind was already beginning to settle as she took a breath and flipped to where she’d folded the corner of her current page. The window was still open and a cool wind disturbed the steam rising from her teacup, bringing with it the faint scent of salt and freshly-cut grass. This was nice—she probably needed a quiet night like this, for they were meant to meet early tomorrow anyways…
It was almost sad how quickly her hopes lept into her throat when her ears swiveled to catch the three short raps on her door.
But it couldn’t be…
She froze in place at the familiar sound, one she could have sworn she heard earlier that same night. “Um, one moment!” she called after a few more beats, thudding her tome shut and cursing as she smoothed out her shorts, suddenly keenly aware of just how underdressed she was.
Be cool, she reminded herself as she strode towards the door, it may not even be him.
But of course it was.
She couldn’t hold back the giddy grin that spread across her cheeks as her eyes slid to meet his. “Hi again,” was all she could utter, praying it didn’t sound as shaky as she felt. “Did you forget something?”
“No,” G’raha replied quickly with a strong shake of his head, but it soon turned into a look of conflictedness. “I mean… yes. Er, ahem, sort of. I only wanted to…”
C’allie’s nerves only leaped the longer he stuttered on. “Wanted to…?” she prompted when his ears couldn’t sink any lower on his head—whatever was coming next did not bode well.
“...There’s something… more that I would share with you, C’allissa. If you are amenable, of course. If not, it can wait until tomorrow, it’s nothing of any major concern…”
She could hear the cogs spinning in his head, eyes and tail darting wildly about, and for some reason she just did not believe his last sentiment. “It is a concern if it’s truly something bothering you enough to come back,” she soothed, pressing her lips tightly together when he visibly winced.
This may be worse than she initially thought.
Worry churned in her gut as she motioned inside of her room, same as she had done earlier that night, but somehow she didn’t feel better when he nodded hesitantly. The door swinging shut behind them almost made her jump as she led them to sit on the small bench next to her armoire, picking up her cooling mug on the way.
“Do you want any?” she offered cautiously to him, but G’raha shook his head.
“No, thank you—I pray this will take but a moment of your time.”
It was definitely worse. He never turned down tea, even when they were back on the First and she had to nearly drag him to supper every night.
His shoulders rose and fell in a self-soothing breath, fingers fiddling with the leather of his bracers as he seemed to prepare himself for whatever was to come. C’allie fought the urge to cover his hand with her own.
“I said before that I feared this might be the last quiet night to talk for quite some time…” G’raha finally started again, “which is why I cannot leave this unsaid. Despite my nerves attempting to keep me from doing so,” he added with a twist to his lips, but said nerves kept the smile from reaching his eyes.
C’allie gripped her mug a bit tighter at his tense tone, pressing into the warm surface as if it would stop the scenarios running rampant through her mind. If something had happened when she had been on the moon…
But his next words brought a wave of something else entirely. “It’s no secret that I have admired you and your deeds as the Warrior of both Light and Darkness for years, even as far back as our time spent unsealing and exploring the Crystal Tower together.”
Oh.
So this was what it was about.
She inwardly cursed herself for pushing the boundaries of their friendship too far as of late—asking to sleep in his bed had probably reminded him that he needed to let her down easy, as he was doing now. “Many know how my admiration for you only grew after I read of the deeds you did for this world prior to bringing myself and the Tower to a time that no longer exists,” he continued, and she almost stopped him there.
Another tale about how she was his greatest hero and inspiration just didn’t feel the same now that she had pinned a word to the feelings bubbling in her chest.
“The truth is, however…”
C’allie began to turn away, dreading the inevitable follow-up.
“...For much of that time, I have felt not only admiration, but something… else.”
Else?
That… certainly was an interesting way to describe a friendship. Her eyes flicked back to him questioningly, and suddenly she was ensnared in the heat of his gaze on her. All nerves from before seemed to be melted away in his low-lidded eyes and parted lips, and the way he seemed to lean in the barest bit closer…
“Something… more.”
Her breath snagged in her lungs and something twisted low in her stomach—but no, it had to still be mere wishful thinking. There was no way, no chance, no…
But then G’raha tucked the tips of his fingers into her palm, and she was ruined.
“Knowing what lies ahead for all of us, I cannot continue to keep this—” he gave her hand a light squeeze, pulling it closer to rest between them, “—to myself for any longer. I hope you know just how much I care for you as a friend, but… I need you to know that I care for you as much more than that alone. And… that I have felt this way for much longer than I’m willing to admit.”
A breathy laugh floated from his lips as her world spun and collapsed to nothing but the soft skin against her palm. She couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but stare as he smiled gently at her, a rosy blush blooming across his cheeks that no doubt matched her own with the way her face was burning in disbelief.
But it was over too soon as he released her hand, and suddenly C’allie couldn’t sit still for a moment longer. Her trembling finger set her mug down next to her, body moving on its own to stand a few paces from his seat. This had to be a dream, there was no chance this was happening—she must have dozed partly through her tome and would wake at any moment.
Why, then, could she still hear the warm rumble of his voice continuing on about the same feelings she’d held for so long as well?
“O-Of course, if you don’t return these feelings, I would more than understand. Being with you on this journey as your trusted friend and ally has already been more than I could ever ask for. More than I could ever dream.”
“Raha,” C’allie whispered, carding through her hair to ground herself, but he pressed on as if he hadn’t caught it.
“...‘Twould also be foolish of me to not consider as such given my actions of deception on the First, much less my summoning you there without your consent or knowledge.”
“Raha,” she tried again, but to no avail once more.
“And then there’s the fate of our star to consider… If what we now know holds true, ‘tis more than understandable if you should wish to focus on the task at hand—”
“—Raha!”
She wasn’t exactly sure how it happened, for the air was still reeling around her, but suddenly it seemed the only way to stop him was to take a long stride, plant a hand firmly on the wall behind his head, and leverage a knee next to his bouncing thigh. The darks of his eyes instantly dilated from this distance, searing into hers while his brow twitched in surprise.
The moment stretched on for infinite, precarious as her position hovering over him. An ilm closer would send her tumbling in a direction equally terrifying as it was thrilling—so she opted to let out the truth instead.
“Has anyone ever told you that you worry way too much?”
Not what she had intended to say, but it did the trick. The corner of G’raha’s lips curled into a boyish grin, his exhale sweet on her face. She raised her thumb to brush over his stubble, the roughness under the pad a soothing reminder that she was, indeed, awake.
“You have, if I’m recalling correctly,” he uttered, melting into her touch and allowing her to tilt his chin further upwards.
“And what if I told you that you’re doing it again now,” she giggled, curling the rest of her fingers under his face and sighing when he broke into a full grin.
“Then…”
The word was cut off with a choke and his lips pressed shut, eyes shimmering and blinking rapidly as if he was coming to the same realization.
“...Then you don’t need to continue worrying, or say anything else,” she finished for him. And even though her pulse was leaping from her skin, the flood had built for far too long to withhold any longer.
“Because I feel the same, Raha.”
Putting it into words clicked something within her, a tumbling that could only be steadied by the heat of his hands sliding to caress her lower back.
“Oh,” her Raha breathed, “oh, C’allissa…”
Her name held a new kind of music on his tongue now, his laugh of relief a song that made her draw him yet closer. Their foreheads knocked gently together, noses ghosting apart, lashes fluttering in time. The world may very well have already begun to crumble around them, but at least this was right.
“C’allissa,” he repeated, lower this time, and the syllables sent sparks flying over her lips. “Can I…?”
“What did I say about worrying,” C’allie murmured, then swallowed his answer by pressing her mouth to his.
The first thing to register was that his lips were soft, softer than she could ever have possibly imagined during all her time spent stealing glances at them. Plush, full skin enveloped her own, slotting so perfectly into the seam of her mouth that she thought she may burst.
The small noise he made against her only prodded her onward, for she was kissing G’raha—no, she was kissing Raha. Raha, who laughed at her jokes and lent his shoulder to cry on and wished upon stars with her since those days in Silvertear. Raha, who held her when she trembled in the night, who knew her, who felt the same about her.
Raha, whose lips were working against hers in earnest now, sighing through his nose as she slid a hand from his shoulder to the curve of his neck. But the kiss was broken much too soon as she pulled back to take in his parted, rosy lips, flushed cheeks, blown eyes.
He hummed in contentment, flickering over her own mouth and letting his head fall back to rest on the wall. “If you only knew,” he started breathlessly, “just how long I’ve been waiting to do that.”
“Oh?” C’allie teased just to see him smile again, reaching to twine her fingers with his braid. “I've got to admit I’ve also wanted that for quite some time myself,” she murmured, and he huffed a laugh.
“Gods, aren’t we just a pair of fools?” he groaned, now nuzzling into the side of her face as his tail thumped on the bench. “Hearing that… ‘tis impossible to describe how happy it makes me, but at the same time…”
He groaned again, louder, and the lips she felt pressing to her jaw sent a wash of static down her spine.
“...That we could have been doing this ages ago…” he finished, and the low buzz pooling deep in her core spiked to a new tempo.
“Well… we definitely have a lot to make up for, don’t we?” she dared, tugging his braid until he met her gaze again. A flutter of something close to excitement bunched in her stomach when she saw Raha—Raha!—looking just as ruined as she felt, and she closed the gap between them with every onze of yearning from the years.
Just as soft and wonderful as the first time, but with a hint of heat that left her chasing his lips when he pulled back to pant against her mouth. “That we do, C’allissa,” he exhaled, “that we do.”
Emboldened by his sudden intensity, she captured him in a bruising third kiss, finally swinging her other leg up to fully perch in his lap. He whined against her lips when she threw her arms around his neck, the new angle allowing her to tilt her head gloriously against his.
Another soft sound and he opened to the gentle prodding at the seam of his lips, and when their tongues met—oh, it sent tendrils of heat curling and winding around her core and upper thighs. His mouth was just as warm as the rest of him, and the bit of wetness that coated her lips made her shiver with a feverishness.
That she got to map the shape of his lips, his tongue, his noises—it was almost too much to bear.
Almost.
Taking one last long drink of him, she drew back to speak, but was quickly distracted by peppering several sweet kisses along the corners of his reddened, glistening mouth. But the urge to feel more of him quickly won out, and she pulled back with a loud gasp.
“...There’s no way that bench can be very comfortable, can it?” she panted, and the blush that bloomed on Raha’s face would have been downright adorable if she didn’t want to kiss the life out of him right now.
“Not terribly,” he managed, and she grinned wickedly at him while offering an outstretched hand. The moment they stood she pounced on him again, dragging him to her by his scarf to taste him once more. He let her guide him backwards until his shins hit the frame of her bed, and without breaking their kiss she climbed onto the quilt and led him to the headboard.
Now reclined comfortably on her pillows, their positions were reversed, Raha hovering over her while kissing lightly down her jaw. “Mmm, this is much better,” she hummed, then frowned at the polite distance he was keeping between them.
A tug to the folds of his clothes quickly remedied that, and suddenly the weight of his body on top of hers was driving her to new heights of desire. Spread in her lap like this, mouths locked together, fingers twisted into hair and tails teasing each other's waist… Raha moaned softly when she guided his chest yet closer, aching to feel even more of him.
And he wanted more too. She could tell by the way he shuddered and tensed against her, teeth clacking together when the kiss grew sloppy with pure and utter want. His hips were beginning to rock slowly in place, as if he was taking great care to restrain himself.
Her scalp felt a release of tension as one of his hands suddenly vanished, reappearing between them to shield a spot between his legs.
Now that needed to be remedied. And fast.
“Raha,” she rasped, watching his auburn lashes flutter shut and promising herself to kiss them later. “You can let go. Please—it’s just me.”
It must have been the permission he needed, for he sank even further into her and buried a cry into her hair, arm withdrawing and sliding back where it belonged to cradle her neck. And that’s when she felt it—the hot pulse of his arousal pressing into her stomach, sending washes of fire that seeped under her skin.
“There…” she soothed as she eased a hand between them, feeling over the bulge pressing out from his trousers to gauge his reaction. Sensitive, she thought as he jerked into her palm, rolling his hips urgently now to gain more friction. She wondered how long it had been since he’d been with anyone—perhaps she’d ask him later—but it didn’t matter now. She was there.
“I’ll take care of you, Raha.”
Thumbing upward against his straining length, she finally found the tie of his trousers and undid them with a quick pull. His own shaking fingers attempted to aid in the effort, tugging down the fabric and then the thinner cloth of his smalls until his cock was exposed to the space between them.
“Ahh,” he groaned as he took himself in hand, wrapping around the thick base nestled within dark crimson curls. C’allie’s throat grew thick at the sight of him, so flushed and breathing heavy over her. “C’allissa,” he almost whimpered as she held onto his hips, sinking lower onto the bed so his knees were framing either side of her shoulders.
And without a single second thought, she breathed hotly over his beading tip and finally tasted him the way she had imagined for so long.
He was fire on her tongue, his velvet head so deliciously heavy and filling her mouth as she wrapped her lips around him. Moaning obscenely around his cock, she allowed her throat to vibrate in a soft purr as she worked her way lower and lower, and he threw his head back and gasped her name. The last coherent idea she could form was that he was so perfect for her, the stretch of her jaw just right as she lightly sucked and swallowed over his skin.
A few tilts of her head and flicks of her tongue and his pelvis was stuttering again, and she couldn’t help but wish he’d fully let go and drive into her mouth the way she wanted him too. But after far too short a time of carefully gliding up and down, he retreated with a gasp and nearly collapsed on top of her.
“S-sorry, I-I just… that was…”
“Breathe, Raha,” she reminded, scratching over his back in a calming motion that she knew he liked. “No apologies—I told you. It’s just me.”
His eyes glimmered with still disbelief, but she could tell the acknowledgement was beginning to set in with the way he followed her instructions, taking a settling breath. “Right,” he smiled, pressing his lips to her temple sweetly and he leant over on his elbows. “I just… as incredible as that was, C’allissa,” he started, giving her another coy kiss, “there’s… something else I’m afraid I must confess to you tonight.”
“Oh?” C’allie pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, toying with it as she gazed up at him. “And what might that be?”
She wasn’t sure what she expected him to say—for nothing that had happened that night was anything she could have predicted—but it certainly wasn’t this.
“...Do you remember that day you climbed on top of my shoulders? In the Noumenon?”
C’allie had to stifle a giggle, for of course she did. A long day of research had left both of them in a somewhat delirious state, and after some of Raha’s failed attempts at reaching some of the higher shelves, she’d offered to help him out. If he was willing to give her a bit of a boost.
“Yes…” she drawled, extremely interested in where this was going. Raha smirked in the mischievous way she’d come to love since she met him under shadow and cowl, lowering his body until he was fully laying on top of her, forcing her legs to fall wide open.
And then, he moved downward.
“My intentions were completely innocent when I accepted,” he rumbled, planting a kiss to the middle of her chest with a small nuzzle. “But it didn’t take long for my thoughts to… change.”
His lips brushed against the hem of her short sleep shirt, nosing the fabric upward, and his mouth on her exposed skin sent sparks flying all the way to her toes. “Your thighs around my neck and face… wicked white, C’allissa, the things it did to me.”
His journey continued further south, stopping just above the waistband of her shorts. “Knowing what it would feel like to have you for real… and now that you’re here…”
He trailed off, but she couldn’t wait any longer.
“Do you want to have me, Raha?”
His fingers clenched around the outside of her upper hips, ears completely flat to his head. “More than anything in the world.”
And she was officially gone. “Then have me.”
Her shorts were torn off before she could even blush or feel any type of way about the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. The night air was cool on her dampened core, but she was warm again quickly by Raha’s mouth settling gently on her folds.
Her thighs instantly clamped around his head, fingers grabbing for his hair for dear life as he dragged the flat of his tongue from her entrance to her throbbing clit, the stimulation exactly what she had been craving. Her head threw back into the pillow and she stifled a cry as he lightly sucked, swirling and circling every ilm of her dripping heat with a precision that couldn’t possibly be real.
But it was, and he kept going—undoing her with every noise from his throat that vibrated her sex, sending a weightlessness up through her abdomen and down her legs until she was rocking into his open mouth for more. His tongue teased at her opening, dancing in broad strokes around where she ached the most and dipping in just enough to make her almost fully unravel.
She didn’t even notice the imprints of his fingers vanishing from her hips until she felt a different pressure at her entrance, pushing ever so tenderly along with his tongue, hot and slick and filling. She could have easily let him continue onward, writhing against his mouth until she shattered, but all of a sudden she missed having him so close to her.
A gentle tug at his braid—which had mostly unraveled by this point—and his attention was diverted upward once more. She almost lost it again when she saw just how wet his lips and chin were, leaning to pull him back on top of her and kissing the slickness off of them.
“Hells, Raha—where’d you learn how to do that, hmm?” she murmured, and he chuckled darkly.
“A very, very active imagination,” he toyed, and she laughed and drank deeply of herself once more.
“...I meant what I said earlier, by the way,” she continued when they eventually pulled back for air. His cock was still hard and brushing her bare skin with every shift of his body, and she’d never wanted him more than in that moment.
“You can have me, Raha.”
As if to demonstrate for him, she slowly curled her fingers underneath the hem of her top, then pulled it upwards and over her head until she was completely exposed to him. His jaw fell slack as he watched, eyes darting up and down her body before landing on her hands when they pulled on his own top. “And I want to have you, too,” she whispered.
A muscle in his jaw twitched as he rested his hands on her shoulders. “...I hope you know that this was not my intention in coming back to your quarters tonight,” he huffed before helping her undo some of the buckles on his shirt, peeling it off to uncover his broad, flushed chest. His trousers followed quickly, already half-undone, and finally she was able to kiss him with nothing left between them.
“I know,” she teased against his lips, “but oh, am I glad that you did.”
The air was somehow hotter around them as their tongues slid together once more. C’allie whined as she felt a heaviness settle in the juncture between her thighs, wet with both of their spit, so close to where she needed him. Thankfully Raha was putty under her hands, rolling with her when she pushed them over so that she could climb on top of him, sliding his cock through her folds to coat him in her desire.
“...Want you, C’allissa,” he finally pleaded, “Want you so badly.”
She had never understood something more.
The initial stretch as she sank onto his head made every ilm of her skin prickle, every nerve ending erupting into flames. She let out a downright filthy cry—or was that him? She couldn’t tell, but didn’t care as he filled her ilm by ilm until she was fully seated on the thickness of his cock.
A small moment passed as she adjusted to his size, pelvis flush with his and body bent over to lean on her hands. He took the opportunity to lean upward and take a pert nipple into his mouth, the sensation sending jolts directly to her core and making her clench around him.
“You’re breathtaking, C’allissa,” he moaned against her breast, tonguing the hardened flesh and leaving trails of glistening spit. “Feel so good…”
The understatement of their Umbral Era, however long it would last. He felt incredible inside of her, hot and pulsing, and she shifted her hips upward only to sink back down again and catch some of that delicious friction. He arched his back underneath her, sucking hard enough on the side of her breast to probably leave a mark in the morning, but the reminder would be a welcome sight.
Wrapping her legs more tightly around him, she began to move the smallest bit faster, sitting back on his cock somehow deeper every time. One of his hands found her other nipple and started massaging over it in rhythm with his long, wet strokes, his hips beginning to grind upward to meet her own. The timing made her swollen clit catch on his pubic bone and she almost sobbed, toes curling as she drove into him again and again.
Somewhere between laves of her nipple she caught him eyeing her with a devious glint in her eye, and moments later her world spun around and the soft quilt was at her back instead. He never once pulled more than a few ilms away though, reminding inside of her and continuing the fluid motion with a few pumps of his hips. His mouth returned to hers, nibbling on her lower lip with sharpened incisors that she found herself wishing he would use even harder.
Maybe he’d even let her sink her own into the sensitive skin below his inked neck—leaving something so everyone would know they were one another's—but the sentiment remained the same.
They still had enough time for that.
His hips were beginning to stutter again, hands cupping her breasts and squeezing as his cock began to drive into her harder than before. She felt him swell impossibly harder, lifting one of her legs to wrap around his lower back so he could plunge inside of her with a new urgency.
The crescendo that had been building ever since she first felt his strong hands grip her hips was rapidly approaching—and wanting to hold on for just a little longer, she clawed down his back and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.
“Close, Raha…” she warned as his thumb slid dangerously over the peak of her breast, pushing her that much nearer to the edge.
But everything was far too much, and Raha was gasping and moaning her name into her hair, and she knew it was over. Her vision turned to static as her release slammed into her, spasming around his cock and calling his name in return. She felt him drive into her once, twice more before tensing and spilling deep inside of her, riding out both of their climaxes until there was nothing left but the ringing in her ears.
Boneless, she barely sensed him pulling out of her until she felt soft fabric swiping between her legs.
“Raha!” she giggled when she saw he was using his undershirt. “Won’t you need that tomorrow?”
“I have more than one,” he teased back, tossing it to the side and wrapping her in a thick embrace. “Besides—’tis well worth losing a silly old shirt to this.”
After a slightly awkward shuffle, the quilt was finally pulled over them, caressing them in a warm cocoon against the chill of the night air that was finally creeping back to her limbs. Maybe tomorrow she would care that the window was still open—no doubt they were at risk of someone overhearing their activities—but for now she was content to bask in Raha’s arms, listening to the settling of his heart against her ear.
“So…” she started amidst the comfortable silence, tracing random patterns into the swell of his bicep. There were faint freckles that she’d never noticed before, and another thrill of excitement overtook her that she would now get to map every one.
“...What does this mean for us now?”
She had to know, had to hear him say it once more before they drifted off.
“What does this mean for us?” he repeated slowly, cradling her closer and planting a kiss to the base of her ear. “That may be the easiest response I’ve had to give all night.”
She pulled back just enough to catch the sparkle in his eyes. “As I spoke before, for some time have I dreamt of us together, more than just on your journeys as your friend. C’allissa, to be with you on every adventure as your… as your partner… There is nothing in this world that would make me happier.”
Her heart felt fit to pound out of her chest with everything. With love. With Raha.
“I don’t think there’s anything that could make me happier, either.”
If possible, their next kiss tasted even sweeter than the last.
But before she could fully surrender to the rapid onset of drowsiness, she felt his torso rumble with something more than just a pur. He was… laughing again?
She sent him a questioning look, but his hands soothed down her bare back and shoulders.
“I… I just remembered that I may have some explaining to do to… certain individuals. Particularly two who have become quite invested in our relationship.”
C’allie’s brow twisted in amusement before laying back on his chest. Whatever he meant by that, she was certain they’d be able to figure it out.
They always would.
His sheets felt different somehow.
They were softer, silkier, and hadn’t smelled like this since C’allissa had stayed the night. But it didn’t make any sense, unless…
No, no—he didn’t want to wake from this dream, didn’t want to face the reality once more that this entire night had only been wishful, lonely thinking. But like the sun chasing away morning frost upon grass, consciousness caught up to him with a tearing jolt that usually made his heart wrench in his chest.
But not this time.
A heavy warm was weighing on his limbs, and the tousled hair tickling his nostrils couldn’t be anything from his wildest imagination.
This was real. He had been able to do it.
Giddy, he intertwined his fingers with the ones curled around his arm, blinking against the dredges of morning light beginning to creep through the window. A tiny twinge of fear struck him when C’allissa stirred sleepily, lips parting to mouth something against his chest.
…Something that made him reconsider the whole real thing altogether.
“What was that, my heart?” he couldn’t help but whisper, sinking further down to better catch the mumbled words on his skin.
He had lied, earlier. This was the thing that could have made him yet happier.
“Love you, Raha.”
And later, after she had woken properly from him peppering endless kisses over every ilm he could reach, he finally got to say it back.
“I love you too, C’allissa.”