For this tiny town, it was a momentous occasion indeed – the Shepherd himself coming to call, blessed seraphim unseen but attendant. However, for the young and unattached ladies of the town, the more salient point was that the Shepherd was young himself, young and handsome, and seemingly unattached even with the lady squire serving him.
It was a time of such tragedy in the world, and could one deny the right of a maiden in a small farming village to swoon and sigh at the sight of the strapping young Shepherd riding brave and tall through the town gates? One could not. And that is how Sorey found himself surrounded by a sea of giggling girls; boxed in by colored skirts, peppered with questions and pleas and at least three offers of marriage thus far.
Zaveid pressed a hand to his heart, and wiped a tear from his eye.
"Sheps is a chip off the ol' block, ain't he?" Zaveid said fondly. "All the wisdom I tenderly imparted to him is finally paying off."
"Is it?" Rose murmured absently. She was currently occupied with her own sea of giggling girls, who weren't quite as interested in the handsome Shepherd as they were the dashing squire with an air of danger about her.
"C'mon! Look at that smooth operator!" Zaveid gestured to Sorey, who was wearing a look of polite confusion, and a smile that was looking more strained by the minute. "A certain Shepherd's gonna be getting some action tonight!"
"Or won't be getting any for a solid week at least," Edna drawled, sidling a look at Mikleo.
The side of Mikleo's mouth twitched as he watched the carnage unfold.
Sorey stopped in front of his room at the inn to stretch, and to give quiet thanks to whoever was listening that the day had finally wound down. It wasn't that he minded helping everyone with their problems, even with Rose teasing him about being more errand boy than Shepherd, and even with Zaveid being weird about all the people who'd wanted to ask him questions today. Helping out around the villages they travelled to, doing mundane house chores and chopping wood and such, it all reminded Sorey of Elysia – and helped him not feel his homesickness so keenly. It helped him feel less like a lynchpin of the world's fate, and more like the ordinary boy he knew himself to more resemble than the Shepherds of old. It was relaxing. It was nice.
("There we are," said the old woman, satisfied, as Sorey handed her back the wine bottle. "Just as I thought – anyone who can unstick a stuck sword can unstick a stuck wine cork."
"Did you know that Shepherds used to have a certain level of self-respect?" asked Edna.)
But what was even more nice and relaxing was the opportunity to spend an evening with Mikleo. Just the two of them, in a room of their own – they'd been offered rooms at the innkeeper's insistence after helping purify and relocate the hellion possum infestation in their basement. With everyone else out and about, they were sure to be unbothered for a few hours at least. Which was maybe, possibly enough time for Sorey to do everything he'd been wanting to do to Mikleo after weeks on the road. His mind dreamily considered the possibilities.
Sorey opened the door, and he smiled stupidly wide as he saw Mikleo lounging atop the covers. Mikleo was dressed in nothing but one of Sorey's dark blue overshirts, and was flipping through a book as he very deliberately ignored Sorey's entrance. He then very deliberately uncrossed his long legs, soft skin whispering against the bedsheets as he shifted to re-cross them again; giving Sorey a tantalizing glimpse of what was between them. The unbuttoned collar of the shirt was loose enough to expose a bare shoulder as Mikleo moved. The long sleeves covered his slim wrists, leaving just the tips of his fingers visible as he turned a page in his book. Mikleo's moon-white skin looked almost luminescent against the dark fabric of his shirt. Oh, Sorey thanked the heavens for their work.
Sorey belly-flopped onto the bed, jostling Mikleo considerably less gracefully than his more controlled movements. He scooted into place against Mikleo's back, taking up his duties as big spoon, and settled his chin against that bare shoulder that was tempting him so. When Mikleo didn't respond to Sorey's cuddles, Sorey cuddled harder – the arm draped across Mikleo tightened up to press Mikleo a bit harder against Sorey's chest, a thigh nudged between Mikleo's legs to tempt him to rub on it, a sneaky hand came up to tug that droopy collar down Mikleo's shoulder a bit further. Sorey leaned down to press kisses there, slowly moving from shoulder, to neck, to nibble on Mikleo's ear.
Still, Mikleo wasn't responding – no matter where Sorey tried to kiss or touch, Mikleo didn't give him so much as a sigh or a word of encouragement to work with. Sorey was just about ready to take the hint to leave him alone – maybe go jerk himself off in the bathroom to the memory of Mikleo's bare legs – when Mikleo seized his hand. Sorey looked up, and saw Mikleo's eyes on him; the violet barely visible under the veil of his long dark lashes.
"What does the Blessed Shepherd desire of his loyal seraph this evening?" Mikleo murmured, low.
Mikleo pushed his hips back, deliberately rubbing his gorgeous, firm ass on Sorey's already-hard cock. Sorey groaned at the feeling, and gripped Mikleo's hand a bit tighter. He would have been more embarrassed about how quick he was to pop a stiffy at the mere sight of Mikleo's legs if he thought there was another course of action even physically possible.
"I wanna...ngh," Sorey moaned, trying to compose himself. His free hand began to roam down the curve of Mikleo's side, over that wonderful ass, smoothing over his bare thighs. "Wanna touch you. So pretty, so gorgeous, want to touch you everywhere…"
Mikleo stilled that hand too, shifted their positions. Sorey went willingly, gazing up at Mikleo in rapt adoration as Mikleo shoved him down to the bed and moved to straddle him. He sat back on Sorey's cock, and smiled at Sorey as the shirt's collar continued to droop, and droop, and droop. A rosy pink nipple peeked out, and Sorey's mouth watered at the thought of tasting it.
"I wonder what your loyal followers would think if they saw you right now," Mikleo said. "Begging for favors of the flesh. Debauching the holy beings in his service. What a scandal."
"Not debauching," Sorey corrected him hoarsely. His fingers crept up to pinch that tempting little rosebud on Mikleo's chest, and he felt his soul ascending at the way Mikleo bit his lip to suppress his whimper. "Worshipping."
Sorey could spend forever watching that sweet, beautiful face change expressions as Sorey's hands roamed over his body. But the conflict here was that other parts of Mikleo deserved equal attention. Sorey's eyes slid shut, and he drew Mikleo down low so he could take the nipple he'd been toying with into his mouth to suck. His hand crept back to Mikleo's thigh, and then around and up, and…
Sorey felt his cock throb with longing as he felt Mikleo's entrance already slicked and prepared for him. He moaned from deep within his chest as he slipped two fingers inside, just to feel that tightness, that exquisite heat.
"Was I taking too long?" Sorey asked. "I'm sorry."
"Yes. Well." Mikleo was trying so hard to keep his composure. Sorey could feel Mikleo's arms trembling as he tried to hold himself upright, and he rubbed at them soothingly as he moved to give worship to Mikleo's other nipple. Both so cute and sensitive. Both so worthy of adoration and service. Just like the rest of him. "I wasn't about to wait up for you."
"I'll have to make it up to you," Sorey said. He fumbled a hand down to hastily unfasten his trousers and take out his cock. "At least two or three times tonight. Please?"
"I'll have to see whether your offerings are up to snuff," Mikleo said.
He sank his nails into Sorey's scalp, holding him in place against his chest. Sorey took the hint to keep sucking, and didn't dare stop even as he felt his cock sink, inch by delicious inch, into Mikleo's body. Hilt-deep, he panted hard and damp against Mikleo's skin as Mikleo shifted his hips to settle Sorey's cock right where he needed it. And then, he stopped moving altogether.
Sorey gazed up at Mikleo with eyes full of need, and tried to communicate the despair he was feeling in this situation by whining Mikleo's name piteously. Mikleo had Sorey's heart in his hand, and Sorey's cock in his ass. He held absolute power to grant ecstasy or agony, and Sorey wouldn't even mind a little bit of agony if Mikleo would just start moving. Sorey tried to thrust up to get some relief, and was reprimanded by Mikleo yanking his hair. ("Reprimanded" being a relative term. Sorey's cock certainly didn't consider the action as such, and throbbed in appreciation.)
Mikleo leaned in close to Sorey's lips, and Sorey could taste his sweet, damp breath as he spoke.
"I'm taking the time I need to evaluate the offering I've been given." Mikleo squeezed down on Sorey to demonstrate, and Sorey barely held back a shout. "Surely you can understand, gentle Shepherd."
"I want to make you feel good-" Sorey gasped as Mikleo squeezed down on him again, and his head lolled back against the pillows. He was seeing stars, but none of them were as beautiful as Mikleo. "Mikleo. I want you to feel good, please, let me make you feel good…"
"If you insist." Mikleo guided Sorey's hands to his hips, and leaned into brush his lips chastely against Sorey's. "You may present your offering."
Sorey returned Mikleo's kiss with fervor, and began pumping himself in and out of Mikleo hard and fast; fucking into him as deep as he could get, wanting Mikleo to feel him in every limb, on every inch of his skin. Distantly, he heard himself moaning and grunting like an animal; such a contrast to Mikleo's short, choked off noises that he muffled against Sorey's neck. Mikleo was always so embarrassed about the noises he made during sex – as if they were anything but the most beautiful music Sorey had ever heard in his life. It took some doing to get Mikleo to let his voice loose, but oh, the doing was such a pleasure in and of itself.
Mikleo choked out a frantic little noise, and slipped two fingers into Sorey's open, panting mouth. Without thinking, Sorey was already suckling on them, swirling his tongue between the digits. His mind began to drift – if only he could fuck Mikleo and suck Mikleo's cock at the same time. That would be so wonderful. He supposed that humans could not comprehend that kind of pleasure, so perhaps it was for the best. (Though he supposed seraphim weren't flexible enough to go for that kind of thing either, so maybe it was a moot point.)
In the midst of his fantasies, Mikleo pulled his fingers from Sorey's mouth, leaving Sorey bereft and needy for something of Mikleo's to suck on. Mikleo moved his wet fingers from Sorey's lips to his own nipples, rolling the stiff peaks between his fingers as he bounced up and down on Sorey's cock. Mikleo could try to stifle the noises coming out of his mouth, but the lewd sounds of skin on skin, the slick noises Sorey's cock made as it slid in and out of him – these noises were out of his control, and were becoming more out of control by the minute.
Sorey wasn't going to last a moment longer. He reached out for Mikleo's cock, squeezing and rubbing it just how he knew Mikleo loved, trying to get him to come while Sorey was still fucking him – he loved feeling Mikleo shiver and squeeze around him, loved feeling the heat and wetness of his cum in his hand, loved seeing his flushed face and shining eyes.
Mikleo whimpered Sorey's name, and that was that – Sorey moaned long and loud as he emptied his cum into Mikleo, giving him every last drop he could wring from within himself. Distantly, he felt Mikleo follow him over the edge, felt him continue to bounce on his cock as he rode out the waves of his orgasm.
He came back to Mikleo trying to squirm out of his vice cuddle grip. Sorey gave him a tight squeeze, and a kiss to the crown of his head, right where his hair swirled into its part.
"Where do you think you're going? I've still got two or three more offerings' worth in me," Sorey said.
"I'll pass for now. You made quite a mess with your first one," Mikleo retorted, gingerly holding up the hem of the shirt he'd borrowed. "I need to let this soak before it stains."
Mikleo carefully let Sorey's cock slip out of him, and, despite Sorey's protests, he rolled out of bed to be the responsible one of the two. However, it meant that Mikleo came back to bed wearing nothing at all, which was a pretty good end result. He helped Sorey out of his own clothes, and made them a comfortable nest of blankets. Sorey let his hand rest on the small of Mikleo's back for a long, comfortable moment while they caught their breath and let their minds drift.
"'m really sorry if I kept you waiting," Sorey said, voice low and deep, into Mikleo's ear. He was warm and comfortable and had his arms full of his other half. It was a wonderfully relaxing way to wind down after a long, trying day. "Everyone had a lot of questions for me. And Zaveid gave me some weird lecture on the way back to the inn about wasting opportunities."
"Yes, well." Mikleo gave a noncommittal shrug. "I'm sure Rose is currently comforting all the girls whose hearts you broke today. She has enough stamina for all of us."