{A/N: This is yet another fanfic of a fanfic, this time for absolute power/astronobish's "Alfred the Racist Dragon" AU. I've told her I would do this for a while now, and I finally finished it.

BAFFLED KING IS COMING SOMETIME I SWEAR}

Clutching Rhythm, His

Starry-eyed, he sits on the edge of a cliff and lays back, staring at the skystars and waiting for the shadow to come, his shadow, his own personal star that makes him forget about those far away. He's late.

He breathes in, out in. The time alone would be nice if it was rare, but he hasn't spoken today, not even to the air. He misses his shadow.

A roar.

He quickly scrambles up and steps back, gold appearing and tumbling down in a rush and he makes room and backs up and he's in the mist, damp and heavy and clinging, latching on to him like life. The mist settles and he's clutching a golden-skinned dragonman to him, running a hand up and down his bare back. In turn, he is clutched, brazen and desperate for contact.

"Sorry I'm late," his dragonman murmurs, nose and mouth and face in his human's neck (his hishis), and his human shushes him and holds him close for comfort. "I've just had the worst day, Artie. I- I lost-" he breaks off and his fingers lose themselves in the fabric of his human's lower back, who shushes him again and presses his own mouth to his neck absently, softly, you're safe now, shush, I'm here.

"Calm down, dear," his human soothes, rubbing circles with nails. "Go ahead and tell me what happened." His dragonman sighs and breathes, breathes him in and he smiles and he sighs again. Then he remembers the question and he tenses. His human's eyes narrow over his shoulder.

He laughs nervously into his skin. "Heh heh. Um, remember that book you liked so much? That spell book thing?" His human draws back and holds him by the shoulders, suddenly glaring.

"You didn't."

A guilty grin is his response. His human smacks him in the side of the head. "Hey!" He raises his shoulders to defend himself, not quite ready to take his hands from his human's waist. "It wasn't my fau- okay, it wasn't entirely my fault! I didn't really lose it, someone stole it from me! Yeah!" he babbles under his human's unflinching dagger glare. "Yeah, stolen! It was this other dragon and normally I could easily kick his butt but he took me by surprise and I hate him so much and other stuff happened too and and please forgive me?" His dragonman smiles his best at him and he purses his lips. His human looks away.

The hands sitting on his waist shift back around and pull him in again. "This is why I love you," he whispers into his human's shoulder. His human blushes and coughs against his temple.

"Yes, well. Let's get you inside, it's freezing out here." His dragonman snorts into him but obliges, shifting away to follow him closely, never really losing contact. His human doesn't notice.

They don't get far into the firelight until he pulls his human into his chest, face out, back to clutching and breathing. "You know, I still had a bad day," he mumbles, swaying back and forth slightly and his human sighs, puts his arms over the ones around him. "And I know you missed me," he whispers, only audible because his mouth is against his neck. His human scowls and starts to protest, turning in his arms and that's just what he wants because he pulls his waist flush to him and kisses him, slow and deep, and his neck is clutched instantly and his human buckles back, he scoops up and lays back, down.

"Not beating any bushes, I see," his human says against him, laying back and letting him go, breathing out more than in as he works, works on him, loose and lose himself in them. They breathe together.

His dragonman grins down at him, close and gold and hair in his eyes. "Couldn't if I wanted to, sweet." They tilt forward together and brush together. Back away, serious intense. "And I really don't want to." Duck down to touch foreheads together for a single moment, heart ache makes them pull away and his human kisses him with firmly clenched eyes. He's his opposite, harsh and demanding, which is strange considering he's the normal half but it is what it is. He's making up for something.

Since his dragonman came without clothes they're already halfway open and quicker. He's aching as he unwraps his human slowly, mouth never leaving, hips rolling slow and languid and it slows down his human's fevered harsh somewhat, hot in the making. Slow kisses, pressing in large circles in his side. Slowly eating him alive.

His dragonman bites at the corner of his mouth gently, sharp teeth leaving ghost marks and he shudders neck down, lifting partially clothed legs up and around, ignoring the hands trying to open him up as he heats up friction, it's not really necessary but they both can benefit. There is no such thing as losing now.

One dragonman hand slides up to tangle itself in his sleeve as the other kneads at his back, moving in time with his mouth and his hips and his whole body, a pattern, steady even as music, taking them over slowly. His human crumbles to him and he's shaking, touching him all over out of rhythm still but slower now, he's trying, and he drags his nails down scales and breathing stutters and they quicken a count.

He scrapes off his human's clothes, inefficient but in rhythm still, in rhythm, hold still, I've got you. He lets his legs fall down and his dragonman sits back so he can take off his pants better, barely enough time until he follows, hungry and he missed him, it was only a few hours but he was pointless alone, he's pathetic, vulnerable, and he loves it. He crawls into his dragonman's lap and wraps himself around him, going back to the kissing like they never even stopped, open and shivering until arms cover his back in broad strokes, embracing and warming.

"Are you still mad at me?" his dragonman asks, breathing into his ear as they grind together, up and down, and his human tilts back and gasps at the friction. He has to repeat himself to get a response, and even then it's just a groan and a more forceful thrust. His dragonman giggles and trails a hand down his back and lower. He's not that far gone, it seems, for his human flashes and grabs and glares. A hot snort that may contain smoke and he lays him back again so he can keep the leglock down and close, reaching up and past, finds it. He comes back to him with a snap and grins, a bit more than necessary, and his human scowls then softens, reaching to run a finger over the exposed teeth. The grin falls in and the finger disappears in his lips. They stare and freeze and watch for time, starlit skies echoing in their eyes and there is nothing more to say.

They actually can stay there forever if they want, and they know this, which is precisely why his human lets his finger fall away slowly and trace down his dragonman's chin, neck, chest, winnowing in the skin and scales and his eyes don't follow but they stick in blue. He is clutched to places he can't touch and all they're doing is breathing.

If they don't move now they never will.

His human wrenches his face down to his own suddenly, kissing him for all he's worth. He's priceless to his dragonman, who draws his arms from underneath him slowly and rests his forearms above his head, using his earlier find blind and kneels above him, raising his human in the air slightly and leaves the lotion where it falls and settles back into his earlier rhythm like a song as he reaches down and fingers him open gently again, eyes closed but open and weak, it's all he can think about. His human gasps into him but refuses to let him go, urges him on, trying to prove something, saying nothing at all.

He hums into his human and holds him by his thigh, lifts it slowly to his shoulder, nuzzling the side of his knee with his temple when it's in reach. His human shudders, and he uses the opportunity to break away and turn his face to kiss the knee, updown his thigh, back towards his calf, straightening his leg until the muscles start to fight him. He opens his slitpupiled eyes and grins down as his gasping human, letting the leg go. It falls onto his shoulder and stays there.

He lifts his other leg up to his dragonman's other shoulder and crosses his ankles over his back, squirming for the best position, rocking the fingers more into him, they never left. His dragonman watches, grinning absently and mesmerized. He stops suddenly with a moan, heels digging into his dragonman's spine as his squirming hits something and it forces his dragonman into action, brushing forward and he almost screams. Okay, okay darling, are you ready?

When his human can breathe again, he scowls up at him the best he can when he's folded like that. He thrusts not into fingers but into hips, doing his best to spur him on without actually begging, it's beneath him to beg. His dragonman laughs through his nose and reaches up with his free hand to the forgotten lotion. Breathe, breathe, his human takes the opportunity to kiss his face, neck, forehead, holds his hair close as he reaches back down with a freshly slick hand. His dragonman rubs their noses together and he flushes and huffs. Serious intense.

His human breaks for a moment and slides his hands down to cup his face. "You'll be the death of me," he whispers, smiling. His dragonman smiles in return.

"That was the plan, wasn't it?" His eyelids lower slightly and he leans into one of the hands, it doesn't matter which, they both follow. "I told you I'll be here until the end." Blink blink.

He pulls his dragonman's face into his shoulder, ignoring his straining leg muscles so he can clutch him without being seen, skin hot and smooth and pressed into scales, you, you're so perfect, why. His dragonman pulls his hands away so he can hold him softly, let him clutch desperation. He turns his face and kisses, drags tongue over scales, shivering and he's not going to cry, he's not, really. Really.

His dragonman moves in rhythm again around him, not even realizing it as he start-stop-starts, absorbing him again, bending down to eat him as he guides into him ever slowly, rhythmic inching broken by breath and he tries to suck on skin to distract himself, scales don't pull, he switches sides, bites. Flesh in his teeth slides away, he drags it back, repeat, repeat, stop. Ankles curve down and he winces, trying to breathe right. His dragonman waits. They have all the time they need.

Tired of waiting. "Come- on – Alfred!" He's in time now, too, tugging down and up with each beat and his dragonman picks it up, holding his waist up to him and pushpulling and they're finally moving together, synchronized, fall in. His human's lips move from his neck back to his mouth and bites his lip, pulling and he's growling and the rhythm increases, he takes over and shoves his teeth on his human, who groans and smiles and yields to everything, falling backwards and falling in and that's it, keep going, that's great, oh god

There's far more than a drop of blood, pink with saliva, exchanged between the two, but they're damned if it doesn't turn them on. Even more animal than usual. They swallow, feral; this is the basics.

The rhythm causes his human's legs to slip off his shoulders slowly, resting in his elbows now; he doesn't even realize it as he hugs his dragonman tighter, pinning his arms to his sides and pulling down-up-down, green eyes thrown back with his head and he moans for a few measures. His dragonman scrabbles for a moment before pushing his arms free, and they're back to clutching waists and kissing, they can kiss now, it's like they never have although that's not true, never true, they love it. Each time is the first, but better. They know what they're doing.

His dragonman breaks away, sloppy, still pressing kisses to his face with each thrust as he listens to his human writhe under him, breathes him in. This is what he lives for, this is his life now.

Philosophy fades from their minds as they pick up, up, no longer dragonman or human but just (his hishis), almost, just there, you're perfect, forever go on, yes-

Crying as they come, they clutch one another, dragonman crouched and human curled, unnecessary senses dead so they can't feel the tears or the chill but just the touching and the pleasure, pooled and cooling. They are frozen together for time again, all the time, pressed together and shuddering, rhythmic unmoving.

Finally his dragonman moves, backing out and reaching up to wipe a thumb over his human's cheeks. His human reciprocates. Then he laughs, and his human smiles, both glowing and golden. They shift to the side and he pulls his human on top of him, tilting his chin up and pressing his mouth to his nose, his forehead, he trembles. He sits up to find the blanket and pull it over them, settling back down on his dragonman's chest. He lays his cheek against his dragonman's collar and sighs, arms wrapping around him slowly, clutching. He closes his eyes. His dragonman nuzzles into his hair, kissing like biting and he doesn't notice, neither notice.

A thought comes to him and he breathes against golden skin. "You know, I am going to get old one day – not soon, of course, but…" His question trails off to the skystars. His dragonman pulls his leg a little closer with his ankle.

"We'll get there when we get there," he mumbles, half-staring at the faraway ceiling and half beyond. "I'll be there with you, love, don't fret," he assures, and his human hums with a smile and wraps his own arms around the torso he can reach, promises of together his new lullaby.

They dream in the same rhythm, clutching each other, each (his hishis) and breathing, forever on, dear darling, you're mine, change with me