A Peaceful Night (Lysaedion Edition)
Long after the festivities were over and the guests had drifted away, Aedion found himself wandering through the wreckage of the Carravere estate.
Scraps of wrapping paper and torn ribbons festooned the entryway, parlor, and back halls. Dishes covered in scraps of food were piled high on every available surface. Aedion's ears still bled with the roaring of endless banter- much of it his own as he chatted idly with adults or (gently) roughoused with children.
In all over a hundred people tricked through the Orynth estate for some early Yulemas celebrations- all members or family of Aedion's Bane.
He and Lysandra had prepared small gifts for everyone, mountains of holiday sweets, gallons of hot cocoa, and what felt like an entire farm's worth of roast meat, potatoes, and vegetables. The sheer quantity of food was stunning to behold as they set up, but it was still barely enough. Just four small bags of sweets and trinkets remained- each neatly labeled for someone who hadn't made it to the party.
Two days before Yulemas and Aedion had already survived his third party. The first was an early feast in Orynth to formally mark the holiday with their friends in Adarlan, the first anniversary of Maeve and Erawan's defeat, and the unveiling of the monument to the Thirteen who Yielded. On its heels came a more informal gathering of the Cadre and Aelin to commemorate Gavriel's sacrifice (and get blasted drunk), and then finally this party- somehow louder and more chaotic than any that preceded it. The next day Lysandra would be flying to Perranth in Wyvern form to bring Elide and Lorcan back for two days of merrymaking (and more drinking) before heavenly quiet returned.
Aedion loved the light and life, but four gatherings in a week took its toll.
Even though he knew the servants would clean up the mess in the morning, Aedion picked up a trash bag and began in the kitchen. It would be easy to go upstairs and relax, but he wanted to do something with his own two hands. He wanted to earn it- to feel a sense of accomplishment and surprise the servants with an easier day than they were expecting.
Lysandra was upstairs soaking in a candlelit bath, for Aedion the same easing of stress and strain would come from a job well done (and maybe a bath of his own later).
FIrst, he cleared off every crumb of food or half-eaten cookie. Next, he set aside anything they might still nibble at the next day (which amounted to a plate of cheese and a few gingerbread cookies). In the parlor, he cleared all the trash with the aid of another three bags, then it was the ruins of the buffet in the dining room, and finally wisps of debris in the entrance and guest bathrooms.
With the trash taken care of, there was finally space to move dishes into the kitchen to be washed. Already he was feeling better. Methodical, tedious, repetitious- it gave his mind a chance to re-set and re-orient after the stress.
He could hear Lysandra come downstairs and head for the parlor, but he wasn't concerned she would start to help. She knew what it felt like to be social-to-death, and there was no mess in the parlor left for her to clean. Lysandra merely kindled the fireplace, straightened up a couple of decorations, and reclined on a low couch.
Aedion stopped four times to do the dishes building up in the drainboard, but even so he made quick work of his task. When he finally ran out of things to do and realized there was nothing left to tidy up, he smiled. The next two days of feasting and celebrations would be with friends rather than near-strangers, and he was actually looking forward to everyone's faces as they opened their Yulemas gifts this year. Especially Evangeline- Aedion and Lysandra had been squirreling away gifts all year for the girl. This would be the first Yulemas with presents, and they meant to spoil her rotten.
Aedion happily busied himself making twin mugs of coffee with slivers of chocolate melted in. A plate of slightly stale poppy-seed crackers (the only thing in the kitchen not holiday themed) accompanied the drinks onto a silver tray.
"Feel better?" Lysandra tipped her head back and smiled as Aedion entered the room. A scarlet silk robe was the only thing between her and the couch, and she'd already opened it to feel the heat of the fireplace on her bare skin.
"How could I not with a view like that?" Aedion winked and handed Lysandra her mug. She pulled her arms free of the sleeves of the robe and scooted over so that Aedion could sit beside her. "What about you? Feeling better?"
Lysandra sighed, "Promise me that after the next party we won't have any celebrations for a month."
"Four months," Aedion clinked his mug against Lysandra's, "But then we have to celebrate Josefin's birthday and you know that will be an Erilea-wide event."
"As it should be," Yrene had saved all of their lives while Josefin was growing inside her, they both deserved to be canonized as far as Lysandra was concerned. "Is Josefin too young for her own pony?"
"A year old? Yeah, just a bit too young," Aedion snorted. "How about you give her the pony when she's three. There are always abandoned snow leopard cubs turning up this time of year, train one of those for her. Chaol will love having a predator in the house around his child."
"Deal," Lysandra took Aedion's mug from him and he obediently removed his shirt before she returned it. Bargain struck, she nuzzled into his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her naked torso and pulled her against his side. A simple comfort- to bask in the warmth of the fireplace with his mate in his arms and a mug of cocoa-coffee in his hand.
"I don't have to head out until a few hours after dawn," Lysandra mused as she sipped her drink and listened to the fire crackle.
"I know."
"Darrow isn't expecting you to pick up Evangeline until mid-morning." It still baffled Lysandra how that old prick had turned into putty in Evangeline's hands. He was her favorite babysitter now.
"I know that too," Aedion raised an eyebrow and peered down at Lysandra. His eyes drank in her breasts and he shifted the arm around her shoulders so that he could brush his thumb across the soft curve of one.
"We're completely alone," she murmured the words against his neck.
"I'm aware."
"Then take the damn hint," Lysandra growled.
"What hint?" Aedion teased. He innocently stretched- and when he settled one leg was over hers, "We're just discussing our holiday schedule."
Lysandtra grinned as he tightened the grip his leg had on her thigh, pulling her open slightly.
"You assume a lot," Aedion nuzzled the top of Lysandra's head as his free hand lightly traced her throat. When she closed her eyes and waited for him to kiss her he hesitated, then flashed a wicked smile, "Don't just hint. Take."
"Fine," Lysandra was slightly breathless as she huffed a laugh, "then- kiss me."
"That's more like it."
"Make it good," she added.
Aedion was smiling as his lips brushed against hers. The first kiss was chaste, light. Aedion's fingers traced her collarbone. His smile only grew as Lysandra kissed him again with a hint of the passion she intended to unleash. He felt her shiver in the fire's heat as his tongue flicked across the seam of her lips.
Lysandra let him enter her mouth as another shiver wracked her body- this one emitting a whiff of her magic. Between one kiss and the next her jaw shifted. Aedion felt the light scratch of shaved hair brush against his lip. He moaned as her beautiful breasts slid away, replaced by steely muscle. Aedion moved his hand to her stomach to feel the thick, corded muscles they both loved.
Aedion drifted away from Lysandra's mouth, disobeying her orders for a kiss already. His soft lips never left her skin as he traced along the edge of her new jaw to the curve of her neck. Aedion breathed in the musty scent, growing drunk on the perfume of it.
His hand slid back up to her chest, though it took Lysandra a while to notice. Aedion's mouth against her neck made her heart race and her breath hitch. Blush crept across her cheeks. She'd told him to make his kiss good, he was doing his very best to exceed expectations.
Lysandra moaned as he gently rolled a peaked nipple between two fingers. Her legs parted slightly as she directed a final wave of magic to form the long, thick shaft Aedion preferred. His tongue found its way up along the column of her throat before he claimed her mouth once more.
She grabbed the hand on her chest and pushed it down her torso towards the apex of her thighs. Aedion didn't move, waiting to see precisely what she wanted. She broke the kiss with a shuddering breath and both of them looked down to where his hand was poised and waiting just above her cock. Lysandra shifted her legs again and slid a hand down the front of Aedion's pants.
Slowly, he matched her movements and timed himself so that his fingers brushed against her shaft at the same time hers did his. Aedion took the lead and wrapped his hand more firmly around her. He stroked her firmly while staring deep into her shining green eyes. Lysandra gasped as Aedion's free hand slid into her hair, then pulled her head back so he could latch once more onto her neck as he slid forward and pressed his bulge against hers.
She quickly undid the front ties on his pants and pulled his cock free so that it slid alongside hers. Aedion rode her slowly, keeping his pace slow and measured, enjoying the whimpers and moans that escaped her lips as their shafts rubbed against one another. In her male form Lysandra's voice was deep and sensual. It made the blood boil in his veins with want.
Lysadra rolled her hips, grinding against him even as Aedion released her neck and loosed a breathy laugh.
"Was the kiss good?" he said.
"Um-huh," Lysandra bit her lip at the sweet sensation building inside her.
"What should I do now?"
"Exactly what you are doing," she turned to rest her forehead against his and reached around to slide her hands in the back of his pants. His breathing turned to heady pants as her index finger started to swirl around his rear entrance. "Where's the lubrication?"
"Upstairs. And no, I don't want to go get it," Aedion moaned as he felt her applying pressure. He reached over and pulled one of her hands back out. Lysandra kept rolling her hips, grinding against him as he sucked her fingers into his mouth and wetted them with his tongue.
Aedion released her and leaned forward to give her easier access. His gaze grew heavy as she pressed against his entrance. An appreciative shudder wracked his body when he felt himself give way and her finger slid in knuckle-deep.
When he fell in love with Lysandra Aedion thought- with some sadness- that nights like these would never come again. Nights where he could feel a hard cock against his, a broad chest beneath his hands, and feel his lover opening him in preparation for the ultimate arousal. He could never thank fate enough for granting him someone as wonderful, kind, infuriating, and generous as Lysandra. Someone he could be with without sacrificing his physical appetites for male or female companionship.
She kissed him again and Aedion's smile returned as Lysandra stretched him with a second finger.
"Stop-" Aedion forced himself to break the kiss. He got up from the couch and quickly undid the ties on his pants, freeing himself of them once and for all. With that Aedion straddled Lysandra's lap once again, wrapped a hand around both of their dripping members, and started to stroke them against one another. He pressed himself against her chest and those wonderful fingers pushed their way back inside of him.
They were both hard and in desperate need of release. Usually Aedion monitored the curve of her shaft and slowed his pace when he felt she was too close. This time though he was giving her full command, so he rubbed against her in time with her fingers in his rear.
Lysandra's breath hitched as the wave building in her began to grow. The movement of her fingers in his ass grew stronger, more forceful. She wanted to give into her own desires and take the first steps towards release, but Lysandra was exhausted from the party. She only had one go in her, so she would save it even if it drove her mad.
He felt so soft and warm inside, it was an effort to keep moving her hand and resist pouncing on him. The scent of Aedion's arousal was thick as any holiday pine and cinnamon in the air, and the way the fire illuminated his silhouette-
"Slow down," Lysandra's whisper was a broken plea. She couldn't do it, couldn't last if he continued stroking her like that.
Aedion opened his eyes and grinned viciously, "I win?" He released her shaft.
"I didn't know we were competing, but yes, you win," her laugh was breathless. She was panting harder than he was, and beads of precum dripped from the head of her member. If they went on much longer she was going to be a shivering mess. "Do you want to change positions for this?"
"I wouldn't dare," Aedion grinned. He wasn't in the mood to be taken roughly from behind (though it was certainly a preferred method of penetration). He wanted the intimacy of how they were now- chest to chest with their breaths joined.
It was time for his favorite part of the joining. Aedion spat in his hand and reached down to stroke Lysandra's cock, wetting it thoroughly. She licked her hand and added more moisture to his hole. He rose slightly and shifted forward. Lysandra and Aedion worked in tandem to press her member against his entrance while he slowly forced himself down onto it.
Aedion's toes curled as he felt the head slide inside. His breath hitched and his body tensed as he struggled to accommodate the size of her- a size he chose himself a long time ago. Inch by inch, with lances of both pain and pleasure crashing through him, Aedion let himself be filled. He kept a hand behind him to guide her inside and add lubrication as needed, while she stroked his cock and helped him relax onto her member.
He groaned as he finally settled against her lap and the cock in his ass pressed against a small knot deep inside. He was as full as he could comfortably be, and he smiled as Lysandra grabbed his chin and began to kiss him once more.
"When I've come, you can do whatever you want," he murmured against her lips. He was exhausted, and while he didn't mind if she continued to use him once he'd climaxed, he couldn't muster the energy to participate with much enthusiasm.
Lysandra just laughed, "I only have one in me as well tonight."
Aedion leaned back and slowly gyrated his hips to stir the cock inside him, "Well in that case when we are done you can carry me upstairs and bathe us both."
"As you wish," she purred. Her male form had enough upper body strength to comfortably manhandle her husband.
Aedion rested his hands on Lysandra's thighs and rolled his hips, shifting her again. She grinned at the wondrous sensation.
Lysandra rested her hands on Aedion's knees, holding him as they began to move in earnest. He rose and fell high enough to take advantage of the delicious friction without losing too much of her inside him. Lysandra's back pressed hard against the couch as she rolled her own hips to counter his movement.
His cheeks were flush and sensual desperation filled his eyes as Aedion's cock began to curve ever so slightly. Hearing someone as disciplined as Aedion lose control made her blood boil and her cock pulse with need. She released one of his knees to massage the thin scrap of skin between his hole and balls, adding fuel to his fire.
Aedion felt the need between his legs quickly turn into something sharp-edged and all consuming. He was forced to rely on Lysandra more and more to maintain their rhythm as his body began to shudder. She was as close as he was, and Aedion could feel her shake with the effort to resist her release. She was doing it for his sake- giving him a chance to finish first.
"Almost," Aedion whimpered as he forced himself down harder and harder onto her lap. She responded by slamming her hips up into his against the rhythm they'd set, interrupting his control. Aedion cried out and by her third thrust Lysandra could feel his muscles clamping down on him.
He threw his head back and cried out as his cock erupted, splashing ropes of white across his own chest. Lysandra let her own control slip before he was even done she felt her cock erupt inside him. Aedion never stopped moving, drawing out Lysandra's climax as he felt her hot seed flooding into his ass.
A second wave struck Aedion as Lysandra filled him and he shouted her name. His cock seized, twitching against his stomach without anything left to give. He collapsed back onto her lap as the wondrous intruder inside of him began to wilt.
Lysandra slid herself from Aedion and gently rubbed an open palm along both of their shafts, bringing them down from their release slowly. Phantom bolts of pleasure lanced through them.
"Good boy."
"I always try my best," Aedion waved a hand blindly until Lysandra took it and helped pull him up. He tipped forward to lay against her chest where he could feel her heart thundering in her chest. This was where he appreciated her male torso the most. Breasts were soft and wonderful in their own right, but they somewhat muffled the feeling of her racing heart. This way he could feel as much as possible.
"Bath time?"
"Bath time. You may carry me," Aedion forced his feet behind her back, making Lysandra curse and scramble to accommodate him. He was promised a ride to the bathroom and would accept nothing less.
Lysandra struggled to stand with her husband clinging to her chest like an infant. His only move to help her was to reach back and cover his ass as she finally staggered to her feet, keeping her release inside him and off the floors.
Aedion was half asleep in her arms by the time they reached the bathroom. He released her and settled into the tub, but by the time she turned on the water and re-took female form he was barely conscious.
She wiped his cum from his own chest as he- with eyes still closed- called upon the thin stream of water magic in his veins to clean some of her release from inside him. Aedion's breathing was deep and even as Lysandra leaned back against his chest to rest a moment. He halfheartedly took the washcloth from her and brushed her chest to remove the splotches from where her male chest had pressed against his cum on the way up.
"I love you," Lysandra murmured.
"I love you too," Aedion revived long enough to pull her from the tub and carry her to their bed. He kissed her forehead and tucked in behind her. Lysandra hummed as she pulled his arm up to rest between her breasts and curled both of her hands around his.
In that moment Aedion decided it didn't matter how many parties they had to endure or how many armies of people marched their way through the home during the festivities, he could survive it all on just the scent of Lysandra's hair and the warmth of her body beside him- whatever form she may be in.
He couldn't imagine a more perfect life than the one fate blessed him with.
Aedion smiled as he drifted off to sleep with the only gift he could ever wish for already wrapped in his arms.