Title: Take the Current When It Serves
Fandom: The Infernal Devices
Rating: R or M for sexuality
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: An AU in which Jem and Tessa are afforded a bit more opportunity at the start of their lives together, and Will must manage as best he can when those dearest to him have but one life to live.
A/N 1: This chapter opens with a sex ed lecture by Henry. This entire crazed scenario is from Majesta Moniet's story, The Cylinders & The Ratchets.
"Now, of course, you know the purpose of all this is generally procreation, but in the event that some gents aren't ready, they often "pull out early," that is, before ejaculation..."
Henry continued.
Will yawned.
Jem fidgeted.
Though Henry had been a hesitant instructor at first, Charlotte had insisted, and it was why they were now being educated in the various workings of sexual intercorse that "every nephilim gentleman must know."
Will had teased mercilessly at first, but the more Henry began to liken human organs to mechanical parts, the more dauntless he became, the more Jem's parabatai grew disinterested and distracted.
If Jem wasn't mistaken, Will was even holding a small novel beneath the table, reading it furtively, if half-heartedly.
Jem lifted his hand, warming his undercirculated fingertips on his blushing cheek. It wasn't the flush of fever this time, simply pure embarassment.
Would Tessa really expect him to know all this?
And what if not all of it was relevant?
He knew the "pulling out" part most likely wasn't. While Tessa worried about what she was, the general consensus was that she was a sort of warlock, and could not bear children. But what if there were other benefits other than what Henry said? What made things better? What made things worse?
According to Henry, very little could make the first time better.
Jem sighed.
He'd had... fantasies of the two of them locked in an embrace... not unlike the one they'd shared on his bed. He'd dreamed of the joy and discovery on her face, the noises she had made then, only louder and more drawn out-and he'd hoped to make the dream real on their wedding night. Even fortified his resolve to be a gentleman about their engagement with promises to himself of "later."
But that was before Henry introduced him to the concept of hymenal tissue.
And the menstrual cycle.
"Though women can be thankfully mindful of such things," Henry had assured, "And even go so far as to plan matrimony accordingly."
It was a startling thought to Jem. That Tessa might choose a day for them to marry not based on the convenience of a guest list or pleasant weather, but whether she was bleeding from a most private area or not.
Will had already known about this, apparently, and had been most smug about it.
"Never gonna look at a stain on a skirt the same way again, are you, James?'
Jem breathed out, "Not that it is my business to be staring at their skirts in the first place. The polite thing is to look them in the eye."
Will laughed. It was one of his practiced boast-laughs, the sort that came before a comment meant to further his sordid reputation. Now a matter more of habit than necessity.
"I assure you that when a woman whips her skirts off, and has misplaced her chemise entirely, she will be most put out if you stare at nothing but her face. Especially when her breasts are so considerate as to swell to twice their normal size when you look at them."
"Not the whole breast," Jem corrected knowledgeably.
Will paused as Jem's brain caught up with him. Jem stared directly at the floor, as if his shoes held the secrets of the clave.
"..." Will had opened his mouth to say something, but words would not come.
Bundun, Jem thought. He hadn't meant to-
But it was true. In his mind's eye, he could still see Tessa looking up at him with her soft grey eyes, her hair tussled across his pillow. He could see her breathing heavily, gasping for more than air. And he could see the tips of her breasts, tightened beneath her chemise. The pendant around his neck had grazed her there, ever so slightly and only for a moment, but her eyes had closed, and she had hissed as her leg braced tighter at his hip. Jem was certain down to his soul that she would have told him if it was from pain.
"Jem is correct," Henry blathered on, "But while puckering of the female nipple is often a complimentary sign of female readiness, it doesn't replace the importance of actually checking for sufficient lubrication before insertion. Now where did I put that oil can?"
Will dropped all pretence and burried his nose in his book, hiding his expression entirely.
Henry did not notice.
Henry still did not notice when Jem began to flinch at the rune-related part of the presentation.
"Now while there are very few runes that pertain to the sexual act directly, there are many that offer indirect benefits..."
Stamina rune, Jem thought. That much was obvious. It was part of his regular regimen anyway. Sometimes it was how he even got through the day, when he was feeling particularly stubborn about his yin fen ration.
But there were also runes for sensitivity. And there were things one could do to the marriage rune... would he get one? Would Tessa want him to? The only way to know was to ask, but it seemed unfair somehow. And how strange to put a sensitivity rune on himself, when he would not be able to do so for his wife?
He would ask her. In private. When they were alone.
Though if he were to be honest with himself, the last few instances he'd finally been alone with Tessa, he hadn't exactly opted to talk...
Jem sighed.
He was blessed to have a parabatai who reveled in a horrid reputation.
It made others fail to notice when he was in danger of damaging his own.
A/N 2: O. M. G. chapter fic. How do I even FIND myself writing chapter fic? Please do bear with me, as I have not attempted such a venture in approximately ten years. With that in mind, please do r&r, seeing as it is a wonderful ego trip and motivational tool. I don't do ultimatums, and I never do threats. It would just be nice. Thanks.