Work Text:
A Lesson in Drowning
Some of the water crested over the edge of the bathtub and spilt on the floor, gleaming on the already damp tiles. Moonlight leeched colour out of the world, throwing the bathroom into stark chiaroscuro. Black tiles. White walls. One black shoe at the doorstep. One black shoe under the white washbasin. White towels. White hand clawing at the white porcelain.
Hubert's other hand was tangled in the mass of wavy hair, as though it were the only thing anchoring him. The scales scattered in patches down Ferdinand's back seemed almost silver in that cold unreal light as he continued pushing into his willing prey. Hubert could feel the muscles in Ferdinand's tail shift while he held him down with all the ease of someone lifting a teacup.
Ferdinand smiled at him, an open, unpretending smile full of sharp teeth. A thrill shot up Hubert's spine, and overflowed in a moan at the first shallow thrust. His head lolled back but he stayed acutely aware of the fingers brushing his hair away from his eyes.
"I want you to look at me when I am inside you," Ferdinand murmured and punctuated the statement with a peck on the tip of his nose.
"I should've known you were a deviant," Hubert shot back, his voice cracking far too much to truly sell the facade of nonchalance.
"Compared to whom?" The monster nuzzled his neck, a hint of those sharp teeth teasing the skin above his pulse point, claws gripping the shirt clinging to Hubert's torso. "Have you forgotten who did this to me? Shall I remind you?"
It was an accident, Hubert didn't say. Because they both knew that. Because it would change nothing. Because no words fit around the twist in his heart. Because, frankly, his brain was not in charge at the moment. Instead, he loosened his grip on Ferdinand's hair to stroke his cheek. "Consider me contrite."
Ferdinand took his hand and pressed a kiss to the centre of Hubert's palm, gold eyes meeting green. "Can you take more?"
Hubert scoffed, shifting under the weight until his legs wrapped haphazardly around Ferdinand's tail, silently urging him on.
The whispered 'very well' brushed his ears like a caress, followed by a kiss just below his ear. Hubert inclined his head, trying to relax as Ferdinand began to push deeper in. How much more could there possibly- he gasped, his grip on the edge of the bathtub painfully tight.
Ferdinand paused and cupped Hubert's face, amber eyes studying his expression. With some effort, Hubert's eyes re-focused, meeting his gaze, observing in him in turn. As much as he fancied himself in charge, Ferdinand didn't get to remain unaffected. Satisfaction flickered in the pit of Hubert's stomach.
"Go on," he mumbled, "don't tell me you intend to go easy on me."
Ferdinand laughed at that, breathless. "Only you would be offended by a little consideration."
"As if…" Hubert licked his lips and tried again: "As if you're any better."
He covered Ferdinand's mouth before he could argue. "You talk too much."
Ferdinand buried his face in the crook of Hubert's neck, and finally started moving in earnest, each thrust a little deeper than the last. Hubert tilted his head back, sinking into the sensation, into the discomfort, into the pleasure, into the sheer intensity of feeling that drowned out everything else. His mouth fell open, unable to stifle a moan when Ferdinand sheathed himself fully. The sound reverberated through the bathroom, returning to him in obscene echoes.
Ferdinand nipped at his earlobe, slurred pleas spilling out of his lips.
He was trembling, but still waited for Hubert to adjust. The surge of affection that washed over him at the realisation had to be more dangerous than the caress of those too-sharp teeth. It was the affection that made him let go off the bathtub and wrap his arms around the monster, winding strands of wet hair around his fingers. Perhaps there was more than one way to drown.
Claws raked down his torso only to slide down under his soaked shirt. Could he feel himself in…? Hubert shut his eyes closed, blindly leaning up for a kiss to distract himself - and Ferdinand, that darling, reliable fool, was more than happy to oblige. The first brush of cool lips left Hubert gasping and surging for another one right away. More water splashed out on the tiles.
"Look at me."
What could he do but humour him? Hubert blinked. Droplets of water clung to his eyelashes, only half-responsible for his unfocused stare. Looking directly into the sun would be easier. The sun wouldn't look back. The sun wouldn't notice the tear running down his cheek, nor would it wipe it away with such excessive tenderness.
Cool hand cradled his face, the claws a mere suggestion against his skin. Everything was Ferdinand. He invaded all his senses, holding him in place as he found his rhythm. That vulnerability wasn't supposed to enthral the way it did, but he could taste the desperation in Ferdinand's kisses and it left him writhing under the weight, trying to meet his thrusts.
Ferdinand whined into the kiss. He tried to draw his hand away, but Hubert grabbed it and pressed it against his cheek again.
"More," he murmured against his lips.
"Hubert-"
"No less than everything."
Ferdinand stilled. Liquid silver moonlight slid over his scales as he - torturously slow - pulled out. He wouldn't stop now, would he? Hubert opened his mouth to complain, but-
A splash of water and the drag of skin on porcelain rang into the silence. Hubert nearly lost his balance as he was forcefully flipped over, half draped over the edge and holding onto the bathtub for dear life when Ferdinand drove into him, all delicacy abandoned, over and over.
Hubert slipped, but Ferdinand held him close. Sharp teeth sank into his shoulder, hard enough to tear through skin. Then it came. The drop into the deep, where pain and pleasure dissolved in each other. Hubert went limp, utterly helpless in his bliss while Ferdinand chased his own orgasm.
The unyielding coolness of the porcelain came in sharp contrast with the hot, viscous spend overflowing with each increasingly erratic thrust. All Hubert could do was cling to the tub. He hoped the bite mark would stay with him, the tenderness of healing flesh a perpetual reminder underneath his shirt.
"What-" he stammered out when a smooth, foreign object lodged itself deep inside him. His thoughts scattered, circling around the intrusion in narrowing circles. The last thing he could recall, if only with the hazy quality of a dream, was a claw, stroking his belly gently. Then his vision went blurry.
He came back to himself only reluctantly. Ferdinand's chest rose and fell in a familiar rhythm, his heartbeat steady, comforting, tempting Hubert to close his eyes again. What a routine that could be - trapped in the coils of Ferdinand's tail, in the winding gold of Ferdinand's hair, in the snare of Ferdinand's affections, asleep until it was time to be filled again, entirely at his lover's whims.
Alas. The scales were already vanishing, leaving behind patches of skin beneath his touch. The lips brushing his forehead, too, were growing warmer. Hubert cracked an eye open. It was almost daybreak.
Ferdinand cupped his cheek and tipped his head up. "You ought to dry off and go to bed."
Idly, he dipped his fingertips into the water to warm it up with a faint spark of Fire magic. "I do not recall asking for your input, Ferdinand."
"You said you wanted everything."
Hubert tucked his head into the crook of his neck. "Stop twisting my words."
He felt more than heard the chuckle he got in response, but it still made the tips of his ears burn.
There would be discomfort, eventually. But other things would come first. An arm draped around Hubert, keeping him nestled against Ferdinand's chest. Lips, warm against his temple, coaxing him out of hiding. Then kisses, too many to count, covering his cheeks, his nose, his eyelids, sealing his lips and drinking in his whimpers. A claw-tipped hand delicately enveloping his length. There would be a few additional reasons to be sore later.
And they'd be there too. Together.