To some extent, you were glad you were a hermit; Friday evening had rolled around in all its green glory, the noises and students wreaking havoc around campus could not have come quicker. It was his last class for the day and all the early birds took it upon themselves to disrupt the other side of campus, the side that could afford a break once in a while, but never in their wildest dreams would they disturb the engineering faculty. On account that the buildings were so far away from the rest of them, this faculty was considered the geeky one, housing students who derived pleasure from their own pain in sitting through countless hours of drawings and tutorials from the most dreary of lecturers probably anticipating a good snug with their pet once they arrived home. Gods forbid they didn't need more on their plate.

You didn't belong to this faculty but the lecturers let you sit in, permitting the request of their favourite student and the only one giving them an ear when the remainder of the class couldn't wait for that clock to finally strike five; Nero had been your friend since you were three, taking the place of the friend you had next door when he had moved in, and the rest was history. Every afternoon was either spent at his place or yours, cramming in homework and studies as your parents managed to wean you both into the same class from primary to secondary school, and now at the same college as neighbours once again – it was an obscenely difficult task to find a place to both of your liking and for the flat next door to be open as well, but nothing would stop your father's negotiation skills when it came to his daughter's needs. He saw a change in you since Nero arrived, one he welcomed with open arms at what a fine woman you had turned into because of him; true, you had worked hard on your own and achieved more than what you had set out to, obtaining a scholarship with not so much a cent paid by your parents for your studies, but Nero brought that distinctive happiness that came by once in a blue moon, the type you never easily give up on at a moment's glance simply because it was so rare. As a result your parents got along with his swimmingly, spending as much time as they could to foster a friendship similar to the ones their kin had.

You had your tablet in your hands, stealing glimpses of your best friend hard at work to complete the task set out by his teacher who smelled of bourbon and oatmeal. You had counted your lucky stars on the day that you met; at the tender age of five he was an adorable creamy bowl of ice cream with your favourite sprinkles on top that had grown into a breathtakingly handsome man every girl on campus wanted to take a chunk out of: reaching at a healthy height of six feet on the dot, every proportion of his body fit him to the T; the strong, broad shoulders capable of holding the weight of the world; the muscled chest gathering into a small, equally tantalising waist that held no shame being on display whatsoever; those legs that could stretch for days on end clothed only by the tightest denim; and obviously not forgetting the mop of glistening silver hair that had every female begging him for his care routine, none of them believing it was his natural hair colour. What really got the entire campus on his side, however, was the unusual right arm he carried with him: you knew the true story about the countless experimentations, how he was actually born without one and somehow made the perfect candidate for their research and proving to be the only successful result out of the entire pool. You wouldn't dare tell the tale to his closest of friends, but it had made him more popular since day one, the rest of the students not giving a damn where the abnormality came from but only that it existed on such a fine specimen.

Nero was the best thing to happen to you; not only did he know just what to say when you were in your moods, upset at the world for no apparent reason, but being cuddled in that amazing grasp of his, digging your face and hands into his chest while he pulled you close harboured enough mushiness to end world war three. He never took kindly to seeing you hurt, regardless of the reason being justified or nauseatingly stupid, and would do anything in his power to keep from any tears falling out of those eyes of yours. He was a saint in disguise, one call away from picking you up from a party you really didn't see yourself going to in the first place, to saving you from a possible romp in the sheets with a complete stranger that you would definitely regret come early morning. He may even go so far as to kiss you deeply in front of any stalking prey, rightfully stamping his scent on marked territory and take you home, taking your car and apologising the entire drive for not being their sooner or even going with you to prevent something like this from happening.

Because, you see, you were each other's first. You couldn't speak for him but he was your first and only, and what a fucking night it was. He had missed your eighteenth, a shindig you had hoped to spend alone in front of your gaming console beating the living crap out of supernatural monsters with an arsenal of swords in your wake, but your parents insisted you not be alone for it, inviting you to their home a couple of miles down the road for a night of death by chocolate cake and coffee. Nero said he would be there to keep you company and you found yourself unable to enjoy it without him; for whatever the reason, you deduced the task occupying his time to be really important, so you stashed all expectation of him arriving to the back of your head and grabbed at the bottle of flavoured vodka your parents set out for you to finish for the night. All you remembered was your father carrying you up the stairs to your bed, your mom tucking you in and laughing at your request for a family sized pizza before it all went black.

The throbbing began at two in the morning, waking you from a makeshift night's sleep in the best way possible – cotton mouth and a migraine. You wanted to scream at the burn in your lungs but you fought against it, clutching at two ice packs from the bar fridge/freezer next to your bed and setting one on your head and the other on your chest. It won't work, you tell yourself over and over again, but the cold is nice on your blazing skin. All you wanted to do was call him and ask what to do, what medicine to take or what tea to drink to quell everything you were feeling at that particular moment, including the void that Nero had made not coming to your party. It's okay. He was busy and it was far away. But he'd promised; he had yet to break a promise to you.

And he didn't – a small knock on your balcony door made you turn, the moonlight giving away his shadow almost instantly. The pain in your body subsided as you struggled to the door, walking as slow and as fast as your frame would allow and reaching it panting in exhaustion, unlocking it and coming face to face with your next door neighbour. He peeked into your room so as to not disturb another form hidden between the sheets of the bed, wondering why on earth you were doubled over in a cold sweat. "Come in, it's freezing."

He obeyed, closing the door to keep the warmth in. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"It's okay." It really wasn't, but you couldn't give that away, could you? "I hope you had a good evening."

Nero was looking at the floor not daring to look you in the eye, and you could feel the guilt exuding from his heavenly form. "My arm went haywire. I needed some tweaking done to it before I could be in anyone's company."

Oh shit. That's more than a good enough reason. "How is it now?"

"Just fine." Nero pulled it from behind him for you to inspect; up close it was a daunting mess of hardened red scales and glowing blue light, the utmost flawless weapon to ever be wielded by anyone who dare challenge him within arm's reach. The only times he had ever used it was to protect you, not that you had ever caused trouble or caught on anything for a hit to be placed on your head, but sitting in a dark corner for your entire life would bring taunts from the immature few who couldn't grasp the comfort in loneliness, breaking you down bit by bit until he showed up and gave them a week's worth of terror to remember the next time they chose to step in your way. "He's just fine."

You loved how the arm immediately warmed to your touch, poking and prodding lovingly at the various layers to it and holding it close to your frame that was already on fire. "I'm glad-" You phone sounded next to your pillow; a message from your mom stating there was cake in the bottom fridge for Nero and yourself to enjoy when you were feeling better. You weren't even close, but no force in this world would stop you from eating the delicious treat. "There's cake in the fridge downstairs if you want some-"

You didn't realise he was behind you the entire time; your bodies were undeniably close as you turned to relay the message, looking up at his face through glazed eyes at how much hotter in temperature he was compared to your fire. He was like a fever you couldn't sweat out, laying his forehead against yours to halt his hastening heartbeat you felt through every pore on your body as he pulled you into his grasp, clutching at your clothing and not wanting to let go. "Let me make it up to you." Nero nudged his head forward and kissed your lips impatiently, hoping it was enough to convince you of his need to be inside you. "Please, let me love for a few hours."

Tiny wet kisses followed, his tongue barely grazing your open mouth as he led you to your queen-sized bed in a satiating crusade as an apology; he peeled your clothes off carefully, setting them to an easily accessible pile one after the other as an obligatory build-up in your intoxicated state. Nero crawled between your legs and kissed you like his life depended on it, the both of you working on the many layers he donned for style and warmth until an equally naked body was against yours, lacing your fingers together as he buckled against your tight heat in an act he saw fit as the only proper way to treat you for the wondrous occasion. A burning kiss singed your lips as his tip begged for entry, opening your legs in an attempt to hinder the strain of the new invasion on both of your bodies.

He kissed you again, distracting your point of focus to his mouth instead of the soft, enticing length of his fingers dipping into you, caressing your folds affectionately before plunging in at a steady, unmoving pace and touching every part of you he could reach. Nero broke the kiss at your walls tightening around him, a sure sign your release was well within his clasp; he gazed between your bodies at his silken fingers covered in your liquid orgasm, running them against your swollen sex and into his mouth as he slid his hardened length on your sodden bundle of nerves, coating what he could before lining himself with you. "I should have done this a really long time ago." He stabilised himself on either side of your heaving chest as you wrapped your arms around him, preparing to dig into the meat should his actions prove too uncomfortable for you to handle.

His mouth hovered over yours at a safe distance, your breath mingling in hotness and anxiety as he slowly pushed inside you, tearing at your innocence in a swell of lust and devotion that was his to command from this day until your last. Your legs spread wider to accompany his frame as he found a rhythm pleasing to you both, the previous moans of pain turning themselves on its head into whimpers of desire for his body and everything he had to offer; you pulled yourself onto your elbows in a momentary lapse of curiosity, observing the source of the blissful noise coming from your joined limbs as his thrusts grew in pace, obeying your body as much as he did his. Nero clambered onto his knees, unlacing his grasp while pulling your legs further onto his lap, holding you in place as the unforgiving part of the night began, the screech from the back of your throat the starting whistle to his mounting need to show you just how sorry he truly was.

A few snaps of his finger woke you from your daydream as you looked around at an empty class. The clock had barely struck two minutes past. "You good?"

You could only smile and nod, having to control yourself for him being so close to you. It went without saying that you had a crush on him for a really long time unable to do anything owing to the ridicule you both would have to withstand from the crowd more fitting to his aesthetic needs. Nero was better suited with a tall brunette on his arm that would cater to his requirements, yet still only loving him a slice compared to the way you felt. Keeping your feelings under wraps was something you could do for the rest of however long you needed to and against your better judgement.

You reached the bottom of the tedious five flights of stairs you had to take each time, telling yourself that the cardio was worth it. "Protocol triple one?"

That was your pre-established code for 'let's hold hands so nobody bothers us'. "Affirmative," you reply in military fashion, heeding his request with the seriousness and sincerity of its intention.

The two of you giggled all the way to your car, hand in hand with your fair share of stares of male and female alike, ignoring the multiple twin holes baring in your back as you were sucked into another dimension while listening to him drone on and on about his day, the specific classes you missed while you were on the other side of campus. It was a rather far walk as you had parked close to your building, made all the more shorter at Nero's adorable laugh at cracking a joke you were light years from understanding.

You both buckled in to take the short trip home; you synced your phone to the radio and took caution in the parking area, wanting to get home as soon as possible. "What time did your parents say they're coming through tonight?"

You were so thankful when your mother called and told you they were being stolen away by their siblings for the weekend; they may make a turn the Sunday evening, but that still left two uninterrupted days of video games with no sleep, pizza with whatever toppings you wanted and as much coffee your brain could dream of: a recipe for the best disaster in a forty eight hour time period. "They're not coming. They're going away for the weekend so I'll be alone. Finally."

Nero was busy checking his phone for messages and missed calls, his head bent at the bright screen blinking in the corner of your eye but the frown evident between his ceaseless brows. "It's not good to be alone, ya know."

You had to watch out for oncoming traffic owing to the tiny slip road you took as a shortcut to get to your place. "I know, but I want to catch up on some work that I've left dormant for weeks because of varsity." One look at the bush of white hair and drivers nearly caused accidents of the monumental kind, keeping their eyes glued to the sleek muscles in his neck and not paying attention to their own manner of driving; if there was one thing uncommon about driving with Nero, it was the many hooters sounded to either catch his eye or waking another driver from the lust-induced sleep the man had coaxed them into.

He locked his phone and shoved it into his backpack at his feet. "And by work you mean-"

"Games. Yes. Uncharted has been calling my name for weeks now." You were wearing the straightest face; he loved how serious you were with your gaming and that you at least had something to occupy your time, but his worry came into play at your nutrition, skipping meals to finish one last mission over and over until you eventually gave up and went to bed, doing nothing about the rumble in your tummy.

He wasn't planning that on his watch. "Why don't you come to my place for dinner?" He was looking at you full on, his gorgeous face in view at your blind spot as you continued to do everything in your power to not succumb to his appeal; he always got what he wanted whether the involved parties liked it or not. "My mom made too much pie and gave me the entire thing to finish. I know you love it – well, not as much as her lasagne but she promised that next weekend."

Nero looked straight out of the window and back to you, opting for the view he preferred to tease to your mutual wits end; he knew you could see him and he knew you were trying not to – one inappropriate move from him could send the car swerving, but it still amused him to watch you lose your shit at the smallest of signals; whether it be a wink in your direction or a ghostly touch on your arm, he was well aware of the effect he had on you for a long time already, using all those years of bottled frustration to tease you and get whatever he wanted. It was just as bad that he was this amazing person alongside this mischievous beast, flipping a switch at a moment's notice to be sincere and caring when he needed to be.

And in a style only he could, he brandished a smile that could get away with murder of the first degree, showing off his pearly whites to any being he willed for something to be done. Fuck that smile; it split his face and flipped your galaxy on its axis, leaving you with an upside down Milky Way and on the opposite side of a black hole with your body strangely intact. "I was thinking to just getting some pizza actually; my mom left me some money a few weeks back, but the shops are going to be packed with horny teenagers and that's valuable time wasted."

He chuckled in his seat, clearly hearing something in your words that you missed; he adjusted the tightness of his seatbelt, a clear indication to you that his chest was getting bigger with the extra workouts he had added to his already intense regimen. "Since when has anything horny ever bothered you?"

Is that really what he took from that entire explanation? "I was talking about the teenagers part-"

"You like me horny." Nero was in his element, knowing how susceptible you were to specific stimuli. In this case, him; he had called you out a while back on your intense liking for him and it drove you mad every time he'd use it in a conversation or argument he knew he was losing. You had never once admitted to it, not denying it either, because giving him that one-up he'd been craving for years was something you couldn't do to yourself. He was intense and mocking all at once, never knowing when he was serious or just taking the mickey out of you for his own pleasure, but never had he left a conversation without making you feel good or left a topic dwindling in the air; unfortunately for you, he was a man – a very masculine one to boot – and because he considered you his best friend no subject matter was off limits; he spoke freely and rampant about the things he was passionate about, and one of those things just happened to be how badly he assumed you wanted him over every surface in existence.

You weren't about to be a willing pawn in his maniacal game so you played it safe, calling him out at the crux of his position to deter his train of thought. "Don't do that thing where you twist the conversation to something dirty. I'm driving; I need to concentrate."

The roads you had to take were winding and tricky, most of them missed by anyone who ventured the path on their first attempt, but sitting in traffic with the chaos next to you wasn't a luxury you would afford him. You did this for your benefit, opening the car door and walking to your place unscathed at his frolics in trying to rile you up. "So me being horny bends your concentration?"

Ah. So it begins. "Anything horny bends my concentration – you're nothing special."

His mouth gaped open as a flawless eyebrow was ready to reach the roof; even out of your view you could feel the potency of just how dangerous it was as a full on attack. "I can definitely challenge that, given that you were saying my name in your sleep." To your demise you were caught by a red light: the cars sped passed into Nero's line of vision with a tongue in his cheek and half of the smirk that got you in this mess the in first place; it would have been okay if he were facing straight forward, but his body was turned to you, tensing the seatbelt to the furthest amount of strain it could take before you gave him what he came for, that face only he knew when he was pulling your leg to the extent that you wanted his fib to be true.

You would have heard it; the many times that you did, you had managed to wake up upon the third mention of it, waking in a cold sweat at the things he did to you in your own personal reality. "I was not."

Nero grabbed at the case between his legs searching for his phone as the traffic lights turned green. "Oh you were. I can play you the recording as proof-"

"Please, no." You wanted to hear it, but giving him the satisfaction of hearing it twice, or however many times he'd already listened to it, was not on your fuck-it list for today. In the back of your mind he played a good game and his acting was on par worthy of an Oscar nomination. "I know you're lying, so… just… oh come on, we're almost home."

He knew he'd won; when you changed the subject to real world problems, that was your white flag – as an act commemorating his fast win he held his gaze forward as his normal hand found your upper thigh, pulling impressed faces at the muscles under the fabric as it shifted under the work of the accelerator. "Indeed we are." Nero normally sat like this to keep you calm when driving in the dead of night, your unscripted trip to the seven-eleven around the corner when you were out of ice cream or microwavable waffles; it was so small, so delicate a gesture at his reassurance that you were just fine, that he was close by to protect you with everything he had and more. His hands would subtly venture deeper between your legs giving it a comforting squeeze before the rest of the trip would have you drive one-handed, the other having soft circles traced within the boundaries your laced fingers would allow, and not daring to let your hand go until you both arrived home safely. A little dangerous on all accounts, but it did the trick, acting as an unspoken rule amidst the two of you that he had implemented on your first day of driving.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

You parked in your shared driveway and climbed out of the car, giving him a nod as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm used to occupying myself, Nero. Really, you don't have to worry. You live literally five steps away; if it annoys you too much just come over and see for yourself." You wanted him to; his company instantly made everything that much more bearable, even though being alone wasn't exactly an uncommon sight for you.

You met at the hood of the car as you always did to share a quick peck on the cheek that served as the closest thing to a goodnight kiss there would ever be between you two. "I might just do that."

He was too close. Whenever he got too close your cheeks would burn and alter to an infernal colour as it has done the many years you had known him. "Although, quick disclaimer: I don't think there'll be any pizza left over." You chuckled at your own joke wishing for your mind to wander into any plane that didn't contain him and his vigorous aura.

Nero laughed, that auspicious sound reverberating in the back of your skull and resonating deep within your being and dying in the pit of your stomach, waiting for another to burst into a medley of pandemonium that would undoubtedly take your mind off any objective you had hoped to complete whilst playing your games. "Noted." He closed the gap and cupped your face in his hands, yours finding refuge in the crook of his elbow; his jumbled scent always hit you hardest when he was being intimate, taking a step out of his comfort box to bring something new to the table every time and providing you with yet another angle to crumble your mind into a shiny pile of bleh. "Lock all the windows and the doors, okay? Close the curtains too, and get that electric blanket going. It looks like it's gonna be cold."

The material of his shirt was soft enough for you to tear it off in a matter of seconds. "It's always cold here." The look in his eyes wasn't convinced; he had a way of plucking at your heartstrings with an elusive twitch to his demeanour that would send you wilfully spiralling into the depths of your own psyche, making you feel the same thing he felt to get you to admit that you needed him. "You don't have to worry-"

"Just eat. That's all I'm saying."

You could feel his breath ghosting your lips, sending the soft flesh on a drunken frenzy into the darkest recesses of your mind. "I will. I've learnt my lesson, Nero. I'm a big girl now." You twiddled your thumbs against his forearms, yet he didn't cease his grip; he kissed your cheeks one after the other with a grave look in his icy blues, unknowing of the repercussions that you'd face in not living up to your side of the deal. A smile on your part was all you had left, telling him you would heed every word and look after yourself for the short time that you would be alone. It wasn't a big deal, but he treated it like Hercules' thirteenth labour.

He took you into his arms and growled into your ear, attempting to appear menacing when all it did was assist the wetness between your legs to spring free in a stream of moist desire. "I will come when you least expect it." Nero kept your gaze for two seconds too long, allowing his lips to fall onto yours in surprise as your shoulders dropped in the unanticipated action, rising onto your tippy toes for the kiss to linger some more. This wasn't your first kiss but it had been a while since, scrambling up the courage to take you under the darkness of the evening and bring you with him on the incredible passage to the deep and murky unknown he knew best.

He pulled your lip between his teeth as he made his way to his front door, leaving your mind to drift on its own. You watched him disappear behind it, falling onto the bonnet of your car to claim your bearings for what had just happened; you covered your face in your hands, giggling like a younger version of yourself just like the first time you shared that very same kiss; the pupa in your belly gave zero fucks to the time it spent lying dormant in you, springing forth in majestic colour as their glittery wings tickled the inside of your chest in relief. "Get inside, it's cold out." Nero was probably watching you through the massive windows of his property as he shouted to you, frightening you and making you lose balance and almost slide on your butt onto the freezing tar. You picked yourself up quickly as if nothing happened, looking around for witnesses and jogging to your door for the sake of your own dignity, not risking him seeing the natural pink hue of your face. You could bet your life on hearing him snicker on the other side of the wall as you closed your front door, turning and leaning against it with your face in your hands once again.

The new dungeon you had just entered was a bit more troublesome than you expected; you were on your third try, dying on the same spot owing to a flaw in your tactic and exhausting your health supply too quick for the first few demons that had surfaced. You were ready to give up, mustering the rage for one last try as your doorbell rang and crossing your fingers it was the delivery man with your pizza. You couldn't remember how long ago you had ordered it, but considering how far you had reached in the game it was quite a while back and definitely not within the normal timeframe of the thirty minutes they promised each time. You were so hungry you didn't bother checking the peephole and opened it on a whim, smelling the fumes of crust and cheese from afar.

The door swung open to reveal a fresh looking Nero in new clothes holding two large pizza boxes in his blue claw, adjusting a rucksack with the other and stepping in with as you stepped back to make way for his overly large frame to fit through the door. "Not exactly when you least expected it, but I thought I'd have to fight with them for the pizza." You held your hands out to take the rucksack from him, noting the sleeping bag and pillows he had managed to stuff inside; it was so typical of him to take matters into his own hands, not leaving any form of responsibility to you because you weren't doing things his way, and what was better than him being in charge of everything, watching you like the hawk he was and criticising everything you did? His loss – the evening was pretty much set without flaw with very little available for him to comment on.

"See? I'm fine, am I not?"

"I wouldn't doubt that." He sat your dinner on the counter and dug out the bottle of Dr Pepper that your eyes had missed. "I'll be taking the couch then; my house is too far to keep an eye on you." Nero was now standing in front of the TV attempting to make sense of the flurry of numbers and meters on the screen, too many flashes of blue light confusing him to the overall purpose of the mission at hand; he plonked himself on the cushion next to yours, sinking into the cotton and resting his solid arms along the back of it, making himself as comfortable as possible. "And honey, you'll be even better now that I'm here."

How more right could he be? You followed his exact footsteps to your seat after stealing a single slice and eating it in record time, washing it down with the sparkling water you had sitting next to you on the couch. The tips of his fingers strategically lined up with the nape of your neck, massaging gently to calm you as you explained the current trouble you were having in getting to the heart of the dungeon. "I was just going to finish this and then be done; I can't wrap my head around those stupid things." You wiped your hands clean on the napkin you kept just in case, clutching at the controller and giving Nero an apologising look that you weren't able to give him the attention he came over for. "Just a few minutes, I swear I can do it-"

"I have no doubt you can, but you need to relax." The small tinge of his fingers evolved into both his hands on your shoulders and the middle of your back, rubbing the growing tension the game was instilling in you. You unsuspectingly embraced the pattern he mapped out, pressing at the knots that grew tighter the longer they loitered dormant and without release. "If you do it, you do it. You don't, you go to bed and dream of the best solution and then carry it out when you wake up."

Nero stirred in his seat, moving to slip behind you for a better angle and reaching more of your back that way. You had to fight with yourself to not throw the controller across the room and straddle him right there and then – the thought of presently being between his legs was an idea you had to push to the back of your head for the sake of your game, his hands still working their magic on your fragile form. "That really does happen, ya know?"

The dungeon seemed somewhat easier than you recall, or was it that you had to show off your skill to the audience you now had? Either way it worked, with you utilising your army of weapons and magic to create combos you hadn't thought would initially work. Just when you thought you had clenched it from under the sophisticated AI's feet, he rested his head on your shoulder to catch a glance of what button corresponded to which attack and so on, a move so small and adorable you didn't resist leaning into, that claw sprawling across your ribs with its generating heat penetrating through your thin layers of clothing. "Why did you choose to play as the skinniest one?"

"There isn't a choice – the other three back you up and you can call them to assist you, but you can't play as them." He nodded deeper into your shoulder as his hands rubbed at your frame, jealous of the four characters on the TV screen and now seeking the attention he rightfully came for; you knew him well enough to know that he gets all touchy-feely when he felt lonely, transported into another world until you pulled him back to your own reality and kept him entertained by means of whatever necessary. Just like you, Nero fully relished in the qualities complete solitude brought him, but it was the option to be lonely by your side that won all his internal battles every day. At your fourth and final death you gave up and turned the console off from your seat, feeling a smile against your clothed shoulder as you pulled him with you to the kitchen to feast on your cooling dinner. He moved with purpose behind you, slipping tiny peeks at the deep curves your body displayed as you dragged him across your lounge and into a high chair at the counter.

"So-" he said between bites of chicken and mushroom, "you're alone at home, no parents for miles, and you opt to spend it dying multiple times until the early hours of the morning instead of-" another bite, "oh I dunno, breaking out the ol' rusty toys and having some fun with them."

You almost choked on your bite, having to lie through your teeth to show face. "I don't have toys." You ran a mental check of their last known locations, knowing for certain there was no way he would find them. "Besides, I wouldn't want you losing sleep by sitting up all night with a glass to your wall." You observed his strong jaw make mincemeat of the thin base and toppings, flexing its godly splendour at slicing thin air with its sharpness at every chew.

Nero chuckled with a full mouth at the way you ogled him, licking the edges of his lips for any trace of crust or topping that may have been left behind on the way to its delectable destination. You watched the food go down his throat as he swallowed the stringy mess, placing the last piece of crust between his teeth and biting slowly, knowing your eyes wouldn't dare to be occupied with anything else but him. "If that's how you think I'd do things, then you clearly don't know me as well as you think you do."

You raised an eyebrow at him, refuting the fact that he claimed he knew himself better than you did – that was one for the record books. "Oh really? What would you do then, assuming you magically caught me on my bed naked with a hardened piece of purple rubber between my legs?" You classily dusted your hands off on your plate and crossed your arms against your chest, practically urging him to dig into the part of his brain where he kept you and his sexual impulses at bay, realising your mistake three seconds too late.

Now why did you have to go and say that? The image of him walking in on you pleasuring yourself was now imprinted in your subconscious, the look of hunger on his face as you moaned in pleasure at your own hand, working your walls to bring you ever so close to the edge before spilling all over the plaything in your grasp and pulling it out from deep inside you, your orgasm stringing across its tip right to your entrance and watching it stretch as you set it down next to you, the glistening substance spread across your thigh when you attempt to do the same with your fingers. "You're kidding right? You know I can do a way better job than anything you might be hiding in those drawers of yours." He dropped half of his new slice back into the box, wiping that sultry mouth to continue the boost to his ego. "If it came to that, I'd probably pull it out of you so fast you wouldn't know what's happening; if you're close, and I know when you are, I'd push into it and replicate what I'd do in the situation until you came, then I'd pull it out of you and show what I'm really capable of."

You stuffed the last piece of crust into your mouth and closed the box, unable to swallow anything else that might fill your belly given the complex web of acid your neighbour was building inside of you. "And what would that be?"

"You know, don't you?" Nero got off his seat and moved the boxes to the oven, thinking the same thing you were in the evening taking a much different turn to what you had planned. The two of you were in sync, but you made the mistake of leaving it up to him to make the first move every time, a costly one that then later blossomed into a hankering need only he could satisfy with his skills. "Wait, no, who am I kidding? Five years is a long time to try and remember."

Has it really been five years? "That was such a long time ago, but contrary to what you think I do remember it – I can't forget it really, as much as I try-"

"And why would you want to forget it?"

Nero made his way back and was standing close to you, taller than you in your seated position; he smirked as he moved flailing strands of hair behind your ear, his digits gently trailing your features to rest at the crook of your neck and almost burning away your thoughts at their own frayed ends. "It's not that I want to, I just can't-" He wedged himself your legs and looked deep into your eyes, searching for any reason to not go through with the truth he had for the two of you; blue flames ignited in his eyes, the heat radiating through a piercing stare that left you motionless upon contact, soaking into him and falling one step closer to his ultimate plan.

"Then let's make sure you never do…"

He held your hands tightly in his as the kiss from before snaked its way to the surface, continuing to deepen its constricting talons on the grey matter between your ears, pumping in its infamous Nero-toxin to later transgress through your entire body by the end of the night; inside your mouth, Nero's tongue willed deep strokes in its swollen grandeur against your own, tugging you off your seat to embrace your entire body properly to bend to his will. Nero's hands found your neck, spreading his fingers on the expanse of soft skin that tingled under his touch, sending warning signals between your legs of his plan all along. He stopped dead in his tracks, holding your hand sweetly as he pulled you upstairs.

Oh my, it's finally happening. Oh dear god, I'm done for. You couldn't talk to yourself long enough when he halted at your door, opening the entrance to your room that served as the door to your untimely demise under his command as he justly ravaged your frame the way you deserved all these years. Nero held you near as he closed the door lightly behind you as your skin tingled at the warmth of the room – you had both the heater and blanket going, meaning the cold would stand no chance while you slept.

He sucked your lips into another kiss, holding your chin in his soft grip as he pushed you into the cupboards next to your bed, forcing himself deeper into your mouth and exploring the scorching heat that he whole-heartedly controlled. Your palms found the fabric of his shirt, lightly pressing into his torso and watching him pull away, concern dripping on every line of his perfect face. "Would you hate me if I brushed my teeth real quick?"

He made no effort to move just yet. "Why would I hate you?"

You rubbed your legs together, brazen as his eyes caught sight of every move. "Because I'm killing the moment and all-"

"I'll get it back, don't… you… worry…" Every pause was complimented by a peck to the lips, glazing your eyes in a second layer of pure lust. "Just make it quick." Oh, that undertone was ready for murder, a veiled threat for the deepest punishment if you were to deviate from his authority. You rushed into your big en-suite bathroom and brushed for the overpowering garlic on your breath to dissolve under a strong blast of mint and calcium, rinsing and drying your mouth as quickly as you could to meet the source of your own undoing, feeling silly in having to walk to your own burial: you opened the door and he was right there, his shirt and vest a crumpled mess at the foot of your bed as you looked straight ahead at the god over the threshold; none of his clothes did justice to the protruding muscles he sported under his early morning activities, each prominent in their own right with lines dividing dreams from reality, his skin taut to support them from falling out of his frame; you traced the sharp curves in his hips as they dipped into the waistband of his jeans, condemning that godforsaken belt for keeping them at their desired position. As if he read your mind, he held your stare with his tongue between his teeth as he removed the piece of leather out of its homely loops, dropping it where he stood and holding his hand for you to take.

All dignity aside, the words escaped you without a second thought. "Where do you want me?"

He placed you in the same previous spot, tweezing the hem of your shirt before lifting it over your head and shoulders; he licked and bit the flesh your bra didn't cover, lapping across the planes of your collarbone and finally resting at the base of your jaw. "All over this room."

Nero's raspy voice turned the atmosphere on its head, your body hitting the hard wood behind you with a thud as his arms wrapped around your ribcage and pulled you close, using his mouth to release the clasp on the black lace you had chosen over the normal red you'd wear when you were alone, and weren't you so happy you had changed your mind; the piece of metal was easy work for his skilled tongue, lifting the clasp as far upward as he could and then pulling it apart between his teeth, letting the lace pop open to reveal your naked, perky breasts hardening as he glared at each one, licking over each nipple respectively as a professional courtesy to give them both the attention they deserved. He lifted you in his arms and aligned your chest with his mouth, taking the chance to enclose over one of them as the hands on your back pushed you into him, your hands tugging violently on the silver strands for support as he moved you to the bed, your back bouncing on the mattress at the sheer magnitude of his unparalleled need to make you his between your flimsy sheets. Your sweats were taken care of, the weak drawstring pulled and ridded with ease. "Up," he says, coaxing your hips involuntarily upward for him to remove the sickening cotton out of view, standing tall on his knees as he burned you in your half-nakedness into his memory. "I want to ruin you for anyone that follows, including me."

You already have, Nero. You already have. "I need you as wet as possible, so don't hold out on me." He fell forward into your chest once again, biting and moaning into the goose bumps that made you breathe heavy, grappling onto the sheets at your side as a last ditched effort to keep yourself calm under his weight. Your chest arched into him as he traversed downward with his lips never leaving your skin, burying his tongue into your belly button and on the sensitive flesh just above your sex; you sunk your head deeper into your vast collection of pillows as the bottom half of the black lace moved from its intended purpose to the floor, Nero purposely scratching your instep with the material with full implication that you were now naked and spread on your bed, ready to be devoured by the only man capable of driving you this insane; he took it slow, tasting every inch of your leg from your ankle to your calves, the back of your knees to your inner thigh, revelling the subtle differences in sweetness your body gave for him to consume. What energy you had from dinner diminished under his lips as they found your sex, smooching your folds the way he would the pair of lips on your face, his tongue venturing over and inside you at irregular intervals so you were kept in the dark for most of the trip; the irrevocably grip on your thighs could only mean one thing in his books and that was a release upon release, letting you out of his clutches only after you gave him an orgasm that left you empty and dripping on the covers of the bed. You watched the head from above sync the sensations with his movements, draping his tongue on the parts he could reach, extending it and pushing into you further and further for you to scrunch the muscles along your walls and clamp him in as the first marker of you budding release. The hands in his hair proudly pushed his face into you as you opened your legs to accommodate him, arching against the mattress and shutting your eyes at the powerful liquid bursting from your body; you had the scream to match, your grip on his head wilting as every ounce of you being exited through your vagina and into Nero's mouth.

The beast resurfaced from between your legs as your shaky hands ran through your hair, unable to control your limbs at what had just happened. "I need more."

Did you have more to give? "What do you mean 'more'?"

He exhumed cockiness at this point, driving his sentiments home that he could make you feel better than any one of your toys. "You're holding out on me." He gave a look to his claw and his eyes found yours, heating the abnormality to a cool enough temperature to nudge you over the edge; he ran the claw on the outside of your engorged clitoris, readying three of his best to squeeze everything out of you. "We can fix that-" and your body twisted again, your lungs not willing to help you save face as it expelled a shriek so lovely to his ears, he made it his mission to drag one similar to that with all of his individual efforts to make you come a second time. He watched your body from above, clenching his teeth at the satisfactory responses he had over your frame, rubbing you to a new level of sensitivity for what was to come next.

You couldn't take it anymore: no way was he going to reduce you to a raging mess like this, let alone it being done by improper penetration – you were better than this, stronger than this, and you would never forgive yourself as being the only fuck of his to die on his every touch and being a good girl for the sake of his own ego. The strength boost came from nowhere, breaking Nero's train of thought as you rose and sat on your knees, your hands holding his firmly at your entrance while the other held his arm securely in place, working your orgasm as an indirect result of your actions; an incredulous look encased his face as he angled his head to watch you bounce on his digits, taking him deeper than he alone could manage before pushing him away in fury, falling onto your ass as the clear liquid oozed slowly out of you, permitting the devil a full view of an orgasm he was only half responsible for.

Nero scrutinised the growing wet pool on the covers, becoming envious at his dry claw. "Why did you do that?"

Your face turned soft and squared your jaw in triumphant defiance; if he knew you as well as he thought he did, this should be no surprise to him. "You were slacking." He wasn't going to win this, not by a long shot; you were painfully aware of the stark difference in stamina, but something like that held low efficacy when it came to messing with his head – it was your specialty and you'd be damned to walk out of your room without making him earn what he so desperately wants. You'd do anything for him but you were no pushover; he was on enemy territory, and he needed to be reminded of that in a slow, agonising fashion: you looked deep into his furious soul as you busied yourself with the button and zipper on his jeans, feeling the impressive bulge between the two offending materials; it was bigger than you imagined and stouter than your last encounter, pulling the rough denim to Nero's knees to take him in fully. Your hands were antsy at the pulsating yet covered organ before you, driving you mad with hunger and its potential inside your tightness that you couldn't wait to be reminded of; before you could make a move to free him from his spandex prison, his bringer was on you, nailing you to the bed by your throat. He climbed off at the edge, proficient in removing his clothing with one hand – his jeans met your underwear on the floor and your eyes were brought back onto his incredible body as he played with himself over its covering. You struggled under the big glow not for the sake of air but to annoy him to no end, loving the confidence it gave you to not be a typical bed for him, wanting to put his better energies on display to gage his true capability.

"You move a muscle, I swear I will make you scream until your fucking lungs are on fire." No menace; delivered with pure calm and composure, more deadly than any decibel he could raise his voice to. You had him now; his previous shock had not died down, and the more you disobeyed the more he was putty in your hands. "Why can't you just be quiet and take it like a good girl?"

The grip on your throat heated with his temper, and you'd never admit to how good it felt being irrefutably his for the next few hours. "You said you wanted to ruin me; where's the challenge if I don't fight b-" Your breath caught in your throat as his briefs dropped to the floor joining the pile of clothing, his massive penis pink under the weight of all the blood in his body concentrated on satisfying the need that began and ended between your legs. You stayed immobile as he resumed his position on the bed using a single finger to nudge your legs in his desired position – far away from each other. He used that same finger to trail down your thigh and dig into you, your orgasm thick on his finger as he hooked it on the corner of his lips.

"The fun comes in watching your face drop as you slowly realise what's about to happen to you."

You weren't scared in the least. "And what would that be?"

The bringer faded on your neck as he used it to lift your entire body off the bed to place you both under the covers, taking refuge in his favourite spot and coercing your legs further apart on account of his muscular hips, taking your hands and lacing them safely in a beguiling vice and kissing you with as much love as he would allow. "Unleashing fifteen plus years of having to watch from the side lines as you become everything I've ever wanted." He fortified his position against you, wanting it to be just perfect. "May I?"

Everything was different now that he admitted his feelings to you; after the long years waiting your attentive spirit had paid off, and he was mere seconds away from making you his the way you'd both craved. "Please…"

Nero's grip tightened as he gave you a soul-crushing smile, crashing your lips together as an urgent plea of self-righteousness before you saw the covers shift over him in a deep thrust so good you moaned in synchronised fashion, both arching your backs to cater the profound discovery lost amidst your bodies on the bed; he wasted no time in dipping his head into the crook of your neck as he began his onslaught, moaning deeply into your ear canal with every move of his hips, ramming his penis so deep inside you that breathing became your second priority. Your legs wrapped instinctively around his waist, giving him more room to survey your spongy walls like never before, causing intense friction that wasn't going anywhere any time soon. You shoved your head into the feathery softness as he plunged deeper and deeper, hitting all the spots he missed out on the first time round; you took no notice that your hands were no longer bound by his, keeping them in place until the victimisers in question held your hips powerfully, rendering you immobile. He began with long, plunging pushes to give you a feel of his potential, unchanging in pace yet effective at building that orgasm that he needed; you were in awe of his focus and myriad of tricks up his sleeve, watching him disappear in and out of the gap designed for him and him only, the whiteness of your juices stewing thicker under his concentrated actions.

"Yes, baby, just like thaaaaa-" You timing was perfect; his pace quickened on the upstroke and slowed on the down-stroke, jack-hammering your fragile form higher on the bed to which you pushed down by means of the supporting headboard. You gave up the fight with your lungs and let the moans and shouts expel from your mouth, screaming profanities that made Nero smile beneath the shade of the covers. The man above you fell forward and assumed his calculated thrusts, his improper breathing giving way for an orgasm you haven't yet seen; his weighty inhales grew substantially difficult with every second that passed but his thrusts took no strain, working harder and faster to bring you to the same point he currently was. Nero took no prisoners as he held fast on your thighs, pushing them together as his final act as a sane man and holding your legs tightly, clenching you around him until all his liquid frustration spilled freely inside you with a gratified snarl in the back of his throat.

The butterflies were content in your tummy, seeing him as you've never before, elated and happy on his own terms. His eyes opened at the girly giggle escaping your mouth; a big mistake considering you laughed with your entire body and he was still very deep inside you. "Your turn."

"My what?" He was on you in a flash, quick to grab your entire body and flip your positions so you straddled him, the only position he saw fit to completely embed himself in you. You were quick to realise it as well, your ribcage concaving on the new depth he was reaching far beyond your human comprehension.

"I want you to come for me, sweetheart. Do whatever it takes." You were still coming down from your high at the new sensation when a thought struck you like a lighting jolt to the spine; this was payback, an opportunity to use him and make him whine and whimper at wanting you, needing the blistering heat he had grown accustomed to in the short span of time. As practiced as you'll ever be, you fell forward and attuned your position, making his mouth open in anticipation for what was to come; his hands impulsively journeyed to the back of your thighs to take immediate control, but one look at the compelling face you pulled dared him to go further, surrendering his grasp to rest behind his head for as long as he could handle. Your fingers dug into his chest as you pumped your hips along his length, alternating between forward and back to drown him in his own juices for easier access to the deeper parts of you he was sure to hit some time later on. Using only your pelvis you varied your moves in the same manner Nero did – long, deep strokes and quick defining ones – to your advantage, heightening your unpredictability and startling him whenever you needed to. The looks on his face didn't help at all; that sexy smoulder as you transported him to another dimension of pleasure was just the spurt you required to begin your half-sated release from before, readying your lower half for an attack on his senses he could never anticipate. He swallowed gravely as his hands itched to move to your hips at the same moment you rammed unforgivingly onto him from every angle, fast-paced and delicious on his cock that swelled to accommodate each thrust. Nero had had just about enough, liberating his clutches from under his head only to have his forearms stuck to the bed by your grasp, adding rotations to the mix at what was clearly Nero losing his mind. He swallowed again, dry at the mouth at his loss of wit thanks to your sex, his lungs proving breathing too tumultuous of a task on his current state. You ogled his perfect face one last time and there he was, begging and pleading for you to let his arms free to travel your body in all its sweaty glory. He was yours. "I hate it when you do that."

You relieved him of his torture and set your hands on his shoulders, knowing that feeling sorry for that charming face would come back to bite you in the ass; the chaos beneath you found your hips, grazing on the ripe skin of your inner thigh as he pushed you back into his favoured position. "Hold on tight," he says, the flicker of a smirk appearing and disappearing at his jerking hips finding a new, relentless pace with which to pound into you; the sheer force of his thrusts forced your docile body to levitate off the bed, meeting each of his shoves in mid-air and riding you down each wave respectively, gravity playing its part at bringing you back to the sticky situation you've gotten yourself into. Nero moved faster, tightening the grip on the lower half of your body as he felt your thighs give away your oncoming orgasm, shaking in delight at his new take on lovemaking as your spine finally caved in, your mop of hair hiding your sweaty features from view while your hands flattened on the headboard behind him for support. He couldn't see your mouth forming that 'O' shape that he loved so much; he couldn't see the tears of ecstasy falling from your eyes as that ripe scream finally escaped from your tummy, burning its way up in an inebriating echo around the room while your fluids spilled all over him down below, making that squelching sound that warned him of your arrival to his reality of fierce desire and longing.

You collapsed onto his chest exhausted, that last release taking everything out of you at once; you steadied your breathing as best you could, the after-effects of his sex still lingering within your bloodstream below your navel, the skin prickling at his now tender touches to the muscles on your back. He moved your hair of the way and kissed your forehead gently, realising the consequences of the night and smiling at the revelations that were to come going forward. "My princess."

Nero was deep inside you still as you lifted your tired frame to meet his eyes. "You called?"

He smiled as he pulled your face to his, giving your features the once over he'd be doing for the rest of his days, lifting your jaw to meet his lips and tongue as his submission in a long-fought war for your love and affection, teasing your bottom lip the same way he did hours prior to remind you of the costly effect you had on him as you relaxed into his embrace, laying your body flat on his and feeling every inch of skin you now called yours.