The cold lounging between Vex'ahlia's soul and heart hadn't ebbed.

It felt the same when she'd returned from death in the sunken tomb, though it had gone away a lot faster that time. That was back when death was new, which felt like a lifetime ago.

Certain areas of Castle Whitestone were apparently always chilly this time of year, but that wasn't the cause. She'd felt the chill in the depths of Thordak's superheated lair, a decidedly un-chilly place. It was a feeling she hadn't noticed for a little while, but it was back to haunt her like a shadow.

Regret.

The half-elf found herself perched on the edge of her bed, the flickering of light from the fireplace throwing her shadow to dance in the hallway just outside the open door.

Sucking in a deep breath, the aching pinch of a bruise and the potential of a broken rib hindering a full inhale, she turned her head to look at the intricate bow beside her on the bed. It was comforting, but she felt alone for the first time in a while.

Moving to the pendant of the necklace tucked protectively behind the contoured leather armor, she turned toward the corner near the crackling fireplace and touched the gem. Trinket swirled in a cloud of inky magic to appear atop his nest of blankets, and immediate came the scent of singed fur.

Using nearly the last of her magical energy, she healed the bear into consciousness enough for him to pass out in a snoring heap to sleep off the six seconds that he bravely squared off against the largest and fiercest dragon Exandria had ever seen.

Her eyes moved back to Fenthras and she set it gingerly across her thighs with a frown marring her features. Another sigh escaped as her eyes honed in on the shallow word she'd carved into the strong wood.

'Sineath'

Vex had failed at forgiveness after Thordak fell. While she'd hesitated, the thought of holding back fled as Keyleth rushed after Raishan with vengeance in her eyes and heart. Vex'ahlia had called her back, but when Vax charged after the druid, she knew they were headed into the lair.

There…they just found more death.

Footfall brought her out of the regretful thoughts, the door to her room still open. When they didn't continue down the hall she assumed her brother had come searching since she'd been absent for at least an hour. She wasn't in the mood for company and kept her gaze on the weapon saying nothing to the lurker in the hopes that the hint would be received.

Percival leaned against the doorway content to simply observe Vex'ahlia as she stared absently at the ornate bow across her lap. She hadn't yet shed her armor or changed from her battle-singed and bloodstained outfit, and the moment his eyes took in those details along with the heavy slump of her shoulders, he knew he should have intervened an hour ago when he first wanted to sneak away to her room.

"A platinum for your thoughts," he whispered.

He took the slight angling of an eyebrow as a sign of surprise. Vex must have assumed him to be her brother come searching when she hadn't shown for breakfast or to the bathing rooms since their return to Whitestone. Adjusting his glasses, he spotted the tip of her finger slowly and repetitively tracing the carved Elvish letters, her quiet reply wafting to his ears.

"I'm afraid I would owe you change, darling."

Her words stung his heart as he'd expected from her the usual chiding and playful tone that rode the line of sultry, but instead it sounded watery and her throat constricted. Percival stepped into the room and decidedly closed the door.

"I boasted to you about forgiveness," she started before the words got stuck in both the back of her mind and her throat.

He nodded, though she hadn't yet looked up. "Wise words."

A scoff left her lips as her brow knitted together while her watery gaze lifted to his gentle blue eyes.

"We should have left Raishan until we were ready," she growled with a trembling chin.

Percy nodded in agreement and moved closer. He had a long flowing dress draped across his arm, a rich blue accentuated with intricate silver floss embroidery.

Laying it reverently over a padded chair near the wardrobe, he slipped his hands into his pockets and moved to stand before her with his legs nearly touching her knees. "Fighting the world's largest dragon before taking on the smartest wasn't the best idea, I'll give you that."

He expected her usual grin at what he knew was an attempt at levity, but all that moved was a single tear breaking free to roll over her scraped cheekbone. He wasn't ready for the sadness and worry that shone in her gray-dulled brown eyes.

"It was different this time."

He frowned. "What was?"

"Coming back. It...it was harder."

"Coming back? To Whitestone?"

Vex scowled in frustration. "From the dead, Percival. It was hard coming back from the dead."

"In - in what way?" Her words made his blood run cold as fear gripped his stomach. They had yet to defeat Raishan, and that fight was likely to drop another of them to death, or worse, at the very least. He'd only died once before and knew what a strain it had been, but revivify was supposed to be the easier of the returning processes. If it was now becoming difficult, what chance would they have later?

"It felt like hours, not seconds. It felt like...like walking into a hearth-warmed room after a cold winter's outing. It wasn't dark. Everything was...dripping in sunlight and I-" she paused, her eyes looking forward but seeing through him, "I could hear my mother's voice. She was…calling to me."

As if waking from a dream, Vex'ahlia dropped her gaze back to the word she'd so carefully carved and shook her head to rid the thoughts. "If it happens again, what if I don't come back? Not...not because I can't, but...what if I don't want to? What if I choose to stay?"

"I'm not great at handling the notion that I may lose any one part of this family. But you, Vex'ahlia," he paused, "I am terrified to lose. More than any other."

Holding out his hand, he waited for her to relinquish the weapon. Her eyes slid to his fingertips, and Percy smiled when she lifted the vestige and placed it into his palm without hesitation. He cautiously carried it to the small writing desk on the opposite side of the room, setting it down before returning.

His steps were deliberate and smooth and his very presence put her at more ease in these few moments than she'd felt for over an hour.

She expected him to sit but was left confused when he dropped to his knees before her. Through conflicted eyes she watched his deft fingers loosen the ties of the boot against her right shin.

"I don't know where things sit between us, Vex'ahlia. Not that we've had much time to put any thought into it of course, and time still being of the essence, I'm sure any discussion will need to wait a few more days at the very least."

His words were so deliberate. The half-elf found solace in them as they swirled within the soothing timbre of his voice. She knew he was searching for the right thing to say because he was rambling. It was likely that he didn't know what she needed to hear to make her feel better but was talking anyway, and seeing as she didn't feel like contributing to the conversation, his rambling wasn't a bad thing. It was filling the space in the empty, chilly room.

Vex could tell that his talking was a veil over the worry that tottered from concerned to panicked and back again. Despite that, she couldn't help but think, 'he certainly does have a way with words.'

The right boot was unlaced, Percival making sure it was good and loose before moving to the left.

"I know, I know; I'm rambling," he said with that cock-sure grin that recently made her want to kiss it off him every time he used it, which was frequently.

An upward tilt played at her lips while watching his studious gaze and nimble fingers as they unlaced the tall, knee-high boot one loop at a time.

"I like this, uh," she whispered but stopped in thought. Only then did he pause, his eyes flicking up to meet hers. "This...undefinedness."

He merely nodded, another grin gracing his mouth, and he returned his focus to the boot.

"You've set yourself on a path to forgive using both determination and sheer force of will to guide the way. That's one of the things that makes you, you, dear. Your damn indomitable spirit has gotten us into many trials, and while I know I carry a pock-marked soul, we're all the better with you because of your damned spirit."

Rocking back to his heels, his knees padded by the rug stretching under and around the bed, he lifted her right leg and then the other to remove each boot and accompanying thick wool sock, setting them behind him. He rose with a hiss at a sore thigh and hip but didn't step away. Instead, he held out his hand.

Again, without hesitation, Vex set her palm against his, and Percival noted the gray beginning to leave her eyes. She expected a pull urging her to rise, but instead he gently gripped and rotated her wrist until the ties of the bracer faced up. Much as he'd done with her boots, he began to unlace the cord that fixed the scuffed and charred armor to her forearm.

"Forgiveness is hard, Vex. We struggle with asking for it yet spend our days trying to make sure we don't create a reason for it to exist. Most fail, or worse, never even try."

She felt the hardened leather loosen as Percival's hands methodically worked at removing her physical armor while his words chipped at the mental. The warmth of the gunslinger's touch was seeping through her skin and toward that radiating chill buried beneath her heart.

Tendrils of careful concern sped toward the worry-shattered space that had been slowly filling with frost. They reached out to cling and pull together the edges of a tear that had been widening this last hour to house the cold regret in an attempt to crush it completely.

Vex had done this for him more times than he could count, and he was excited to be able to return the favor. He gingerly set her freed arm down on her lap before holding his hand palm up asking for the other.

She gave it along with a small tilt at the very edge of her lips that broke the frown which had been plastered there since he'd come in and likely for the full hour prior to his appearance.

"Can I speak honestly, dear," he asked in a near whisper, blue eyes meeting her warming stare.

Equally as quiet came, "of course."

With the second bracer loosened and his eyes holding her fast, he gripped the fingers of her hand and pulled her onto her feet. They were inches apart, Vex'ahlia's nose brushing his for a moment, and they both felt the electricity at the sudden proximity. Everything between them was still, despite it all, new and shiny.

"I would destroy every gun I own to have even an ounce of your ability to forgive." His knuckles against her cheek were so light she would have missed them if it weren't for the bolt of excitement that shot from her scraped cheekbone to the underside of her heart.

"Don't be drastic, darling. You're still going to need them."

His nod brushed their noses again. "Turn," he ordered softly.

She wanted to stay where she was as he'd very nearly chipped through the icy wall inside her chest, but despite craving the radiating warmth of his body, she complied and gave him her back. The hard leather breastplate loosened from bottom to top. He opened the sides completely and she felt the long leather cord dangle and tickle the back of her calf. Percival slid the armor forward and down her arms, moving until his chest was flush against her back as the weight of the armor took over and dropped it to the floor.

Running his hands down each forearm, his fingers twined with hers before folding their joined arms to pull her against him into a hug. Setting his cheek against her ear they stood quietly for several moments taking in the sounds around them.

The crackling of the burning wood and the occasional pop that sounded from the fireplace to their right.

The large brown bear's snores and a snuffle of the wide black nose prompted a shared smile.

Percy pressed a soft kiss to the sensitive point of her ear before his hands untangled from hers to start unclasping the belts around her midsection, and sound was replaced for Vex by a momentary muffled pulse of blood in her head followed by a shudder of excitement rippling down her spine. She kept her hands splayed across the back of his wrists to follow the movement while tilting her head back to rest against his shoulder with a quiet sigh.

Everything in her was beginning to relax. Tension and worry were quickly being replaced with anticipation and relaxation, though the two should have been at odds instead of peacefully coexisting in her lower stomach. The first belt opened the second following, then the third. They were decorative adornments attached to the leather false corset she wore over her blue undershirt, and once they were loosened, he was one step closer to her soft skin.

Peering down he had a perfect view of her cleavage, the sight and feel of her against him shooting straight to his groin and stoking the fire in his stomach. No matter, he was set to take his time. Their previous trysts had been rushed with far too much alcohol in each system. This time, he was prepared to relish what may be their last day together, and he intended to spend it solely with her as many times as possible.

He felt the muscles of her abdomen jump as his fingers followed the ivory buttons from just under her breasts to the juncture of her waist where the last button had gone missing and the longer right and left triangular sides of the fabric split and flared over her hips. Backtracking, he stopped at each and every piece to slip them through the corresponding hole leaving the two sides separated. He left them in place, however, not yet pushing them open or removing the garment.

Vex'ahlia could feel the breath in her chest quicken each time his calloused fingertips brushed the skin between the edges of the tunic. A burst of excitement coursed through her veins before settling in a wet pool between her legs. She both did and didn't want him to quickly rip the suddenly warm cotton from her body and relieve the desire pulsing from her elevated heartbeat.

'If he wants to fix this, who am I to deny us that?'

Percival nuzzled his nose against her neck just below the ear, and despite everything that had transpired in Emon against the self-titled Cinder King, an echo of the floral-scented perfume that she dabbed behind her ear each morning lingered against her skin. His lips ghosted down to her shoulder as his thumb lightly brushed the underside of her breast while tracing the lines of her abdominal muscles, each jumping under the intimate contact.

He held her in place while leaning his upper body back to create a gap in which to work. The unoccupied hand trailed fingers up her arm to her shoulder until he found the end of her braid. They slid the tied cord off the singed ends and he dug into the tightly wound hair to release the now wavy strands up to her scalp. The silken cascade immediately released a similar floral scent straight into his nose and he resisted the urge to bury his face in the locks and take a deep breath. Pausing the massage, he removed the blue feather clip and slid it into his pocket since the desk was too far for him to reach, and he'd be damned if he was to step away from the warm woman in his arms.

"Percival," she whispered.

"Yes, my dear?"

"You're entirely overdressed."

He chuckled, and his fingers massaging the base of her skull both relaxed and caused shivers to run down her back.

"I'm always overdressed."

She was about to retort until his hand left the back of her head and ran down her side before coming to rest against the ties of her leather trousers. The words dissipated before they could make it from her lungs, the only sound escaping a breathy half moan.

Vex'ahlia closed her eyes and surrendered to float in the sensations he was conjuring. This slow exploration was new between them. The past two times had been hurried both from necessity and accessibility, and though neither of them really felt the need to hide their newfound relationship, whatever it may be, there was an added thrill in keeping it from the rest of their group.

Now, however, she was very sure that every other member of Vox Machina was sleeping like the dead for the next few hours, and though she felt fatigue trying to worm its way to the forefront, growing desire was stuffing the need for sleep back into a closet and slamming the door..

'We'll sleep when we're dead. Until then, I'll stay up with him forever.'

Percival's hand deftly undid the ties that held her leathers around her waist, though he didn't push them down, simply leaving the cord slackened between the loopholes. The moment his hand slid behind the laces he suctioned a wet kiss to the side of her throat. Vex'ahlia went up on her toes then, one hand rushing to clasp the lengthening hair at the nape of his neck in an attempt to hold him tighter against the sensitive spot he stroked with his tongue.

Her grip tightened with the first brush of his fingertip past her curls against the bundle of nerves at the top of her sex, and as he guided his hand back out from behind the loose laces, the frustrated grumble carried by a rush of air from between her lips made him laugh quietly from his chest. The breath cooled her skin where his mouth had left behind a red oval, and her disappointment ebbed despite her inclination to step away, strip, and cast them both into the bed beside the firelight.

At this particular moment, Vex was surprised to find herself enjoying the ride.

Their first time she'd dominated, though he hadn't enjoyed it any less than when he boldly took charge of the second inside his workshop. But as his hands gripped her hips to turn her in his arms, she realized that this time would be wildly different, and if tomorrow went the way they were worried it would, this could be a new type of normal for them. It was definitely something she'd never had with any previous flings, and it was becoming painfully obvious that the comparison wasn't applicable as Percival wasn't a fling. At least…not in her mind. Not any longer - perhaps he never was and it was only her mouth that had said it to herself and not her heart that knew the truth.

This was together.

Shared.

No one in charge.

Vex'ahlia found her palms resting against his chest over the buttoned black silk vest while his hands relaxed high against her backside, thumbs flicking at the leather sagging from the lack of ties holding it tight.

Following the embroidered hems to each of the sparkling silver buttons, she undid them one by one without their eyes parting. She'd noticed that Percival's passion was written in his eyes the first moment she'd opened the door naked. They'd immediately darkened, something she could see even in the dimly lit hallway of the inn. They were typically a clear blue like the cloudless sky in summer but immediately gave way to the crashing blue of an iceberg floating out to sea, and she found the transition beautifully fascinating.

His eyes were darkened - almost stormy at the moment, and it sent another pulse of blood to her center.

With the vest open, their upper bodies separated just enough for her to slide it off his shoulders and down his lithe arms before it hit the floor. She traced the same lines back up, though his undershirt was buttoned to the collarbone and tucked dutifully into the top of his fancy cloth breeches behind a thick leather belt.

The polished ivory buttons undone left the garment hanging open, and it wasn't until she got to the bottom and fought where it was tucked that she had to break his gaze with the focus of getting to his skin below.

"Damn your propriety, Percy." With a tug, the shirt pulled free and her eyes took in the obvious bulge straining the leather cord tying his trousers closed and on his waist.

He laughed. "I suppose I could have just…come to your door naked?"

"It's surprisingly effective."

The pristine white shirt was fitted perfectly, because of course it was. Once the Lord of Whitestone had made it home for longer than a day, he'd apparently had new ones fitted immediately and his room down the hall was well-stocked. Ten minutes in the castle and he would change from his travel attire into comfortable noblewear and demand that the holes and stains of his travelwear be fixed while they were there. Vex'ahlia didn't hold it against him. Seeing him relaxing with his nose in a book and a fitted shirt stretched across his chest and shoulders brought a blush of excitement to her cheeks. The attire was so deliciously Percy.

They'd glossed over paying much attention to the nakedness of one another the two previous encounters and had quickly explored with fingers and lips before plunging into the deep end of the pool, only coming up for gasping breaths when necessary. Now, however, it felt like they had all the time in the world. If they were to die tomorrow, then today she would memorize every inch of his skin.

But her eyes weren't drawn to skin or even muscle, though his lithe body sported enough to surprise her their first time. She hadn't expected much from the bookworm noble, but smithing and climbing like a madman gave him purpose-built muscles on his chest, back, and arms. Yet, all of that was ignored as the pointed tip of her fingernails spread and traced the parallel and jagged scars left marring his skin by Orthax on the Isle of Glintshore. From the top of his right pectoral to the left side of his abdomen, the puckered yet healed flesh reminded her of that time when he had been ripped open.

In the center of two rakes just over his heart was a small dented pucker where Ripley's bullet had fully taken him away from her the first and hopefully only time, and she found herself leaning in to press a sweet but sad kiss over the injury. It was a finger below her chin tilting her gaze back up to his azure eyes that stopped the regret from gnawing its way back out of the container she'd been fitting it into since his ministrations began.

His lips closed the proverbial lid as they brushed hers in a soft whisper. His other hand raised from her hip to flatten her palm against his chest with a pressure that enabled her to feel the quick and steady heartbeat beneath.

"Stay here, Vex'ahlia; stay here with me."

The ask was a hushed plea against her mouth as he gently claimed her mouth. The flick of his tongue against her pouted lower lip sent another ripple of excitement from her head to her toes, and though his hands returned to her waist, hers stayed pressed against his chest over the marks of the past in an attempt to hide them while soaking in the warmth of his very living body.

Their kisses brought her back to this moment, this room, with him. As his tongue swooped languidly against hers, his thumbs hooked the loose band of her leathers and began to loosen them around her hips, though not pushing them down completely.

Percy's body went stiff and his mouth parted from hers with a smacking groan when her fingers brushed his hardness as it waited impatiently to be set free from the confining fabric behind the leather cord and belt. He felt every movement as she loosened and tugged at the fabric, and the moment she cupped him through the clothing a sultry low laugh hit his ear as his forehead hit her shoulder.

Pervical's mouth smiled against her skin at the sound and feel of his belt hitting the floor atop their feet, and seconds later the relief of the loosening of his trousers took the edge off of his straining erection.

As much as he wanted her to continue the soft touches, she had other plans. His disapproving groan was cut short as he sucked another wet kiss to the junction of her neck and shoulder.

"See? That's what it's like," she breathed into his ear.

He apologized by lifting his head and catching her crooked grin with his lips, their tongues leisurely caressing as Vex slipped her hands inside the soft cotton shirt to skim her fingernails across his abdomen and up to his chest. Following the lines of lithe muscle, she pushed each side of his shirt until it slipped off of his shoulders and stretched behind his shoulder blades, stuck against his biceps.

He leaned away for a moment to shrug the clothing to the floor, and this allowed Vex's fingertips to explore every inch of his newly revealed skin. Her eyes caught a deep scrape across his right collarbone that continued up to the top of his shoulder, and she winced knowing that certain positions or stretches to his arm would likely garner a painful sting.

She pressed a light kiss to the injury prompting a hiss to leave his lips. Using the last ounce of her magic through her lips with a whisper of the incantation and the gesture of her fingers against his stomach, she cured the worst of the damage. The faint red streak it now resembled was clearly not as sore, which became immediately apparent as he stood a little straighter, his shoulder returning to what she assumed was perfect posture.

Percy leaned his torso back a bit, his right hand coming up to cup her cheek and brush her cheekbone with his thumb. "Thank you, dear heart," he said quietly.

A radiant smile was her response as the last bit of ice melted inside her chest, and instead of the hollow near emptiness, she felt passionate heat fill the void and overflow throughout her chest with a warm tingle that extended to her fingertips.

They met in the middle once more, a slow and careful study of the other's taste closing both sets of eyes. His hands pushed the blue top off of her shoulders and down her arms as far as he could with them angled up as one of her hands clung to his shoulder and the other wrapped around to massage the nape of his neck. They parted enough to allow the garment to drop to the floor with a whispering rustle, and his warm palms and strong fingers spread across her back to rub at the tight muscles behind her shoulder and at her lower back.

Her pebbled nipples rubbed ever so gently against his chest and he swallowed her sweet moan before they broke apart for a breath. Her hands dipped low dragging her nails down his pecs to his taut abdomen, the muscles jumping slightly on the journey. One made it to the straining, stretched leather at his waist, the other joining slowly as her pointer finger dipped into his belly button forcing a miniature giggle snort to leave his pursed lips.

"Are…are you ticklish, Percival?"

His retort was sudden and louder than a whisper, "no! Of course not. It…you - it just caught me off guard."

She left it alone and moved down to trace the sprinkling of short hair that traveled below his navel and behind the loosened waist of his trousers, but he could see in her eyes that it would be something that would come back up at another point in time.

'For the love of all that is holy, don't let her tell anyone.'

Tilting his head down he fastened his mouth against the racing pulse point of her neck as a breathy hum spurred him on. Slipping his hands around from her back to each side of her ribcage, her body jerked slightly out of his grip as a gasp of pain replaced the sounds of passion from mere seconds earlier.

His eyes flicked down to see the blue of a bruise over her right side knowing that in a day or so, without healing, it would be a nasty shade of aqua purple. For the first time ever he regretted his inability, and unwillingness, to learn magic.

"I'll go get-"

She cut him off by tucking a finger into each side of his trousers at the hips and pulling his lower half back into full contact with hers. "Absolutely not, it's just a bruise. Don't poke it and we'll be fine."

His protest was cut off by the flat of her hand journeying behind the laces much as he'd done to her earlier, her fingers circling the velvet-wrapped steel of his shaft as the pad of her thumb idly brushed the sensitive underside of the head. He immediately forgot what he was going to go and do as a gravelly groan bubbled up from his chest and out through the slight drop of his jaw.

His brain was kind enough to keep part of his memory intact as the hand on her right side stayed at her hip while the other wrapped around the left side of her ribcage, his thumb rubbing against the taut nipple of her breast. Vex'ahlia hadn't realized that they had been moving until the back of her knees hit the edge of the soft mattress behind her.

Pressing his advantage put her on her backside and then tipping fully to lay atop the coverlet. Her hair fanned around her like a dark halo, and rising halfway up, Percy gripped the leathers at her hips and tugged them all the way down until they slid off her feet. The flickering of the firelight was enough for him to see the glistening wetness against the curls of her womanhood, and the sight of her full nakedness sent a surge of blood straight to his cock. Adjusting his glasses against sweat building up at the bridge of his nose, he was thankful that he'd left them on this time so no soft curve or muscled edge of her would be blurry. Below him was the woman that had laid claim to his heart, and he would give it to her a thousand more times before the end of the night, of that he was sure.

Vex'ahlia's eyelids were heavy over deep, nearly black irises and her swollen lips were parted. Her breasts moved very slightly with each breath as she watched him stand tall and move to finish untying his breeches, a soft smile playing at her mouth.

Their eyes didn't part until his hardness sprang free from the cloth prison he'd forced it to endure for far too long, and as he pushed the perfectly fitted trousers down to the floor, her eyes took in all that was, 'Percival Fredrickstein von Mu…uh, von Musel Kloss - no, Klaus?'

'Ugh, fuck it. My Percy.'

She scooted back and turned so that she lay at the head of the bed, the downy pillow soft against her cheek. The wood of the frame creaked and the mattress sank slightly as he joined her, and the pair ended up lying on their sides to face one another, eyes locked. It wasn't until her hand sought his shoulder and his reached for her hip that they closed the gap between them with no more than a breath separating any part of one from the other.

They ended up with her slightly higher, head atop a pillow, and him with his head resting on her bicep. She hooked her right leg over his hip and pulled his lower half flush with hers as his free hand sat atop her now raised hip.

That damn catch in her ribs forced her to readjust ever so slightly, and Percival dipped his head down to pepper small kisses along her throat, then jawline, then chin before he settled to her arm and fixed her with his blue eyes.

"I like this undefinedness," he repeated her words, a smile her only answer.

They lay like that, unsure of how much time passed, but a chill in the air made them both peek over at the slowly dying fire, Vex'ahlia responding. She loosened her hold and lifted her leg off of his hip in an attempt to turn over and rise off the other side of the bed, but Percival's hands tucked under her arms tightened and kept her in place as fixed her with a curious gaze.

"You may be used to the chill of Whitestone castle, darling, but if the fire goes all the way out-," she started with a whisper as her breath fanned his forehead.

He didn't respond. Tucking back against her throat, he brushed his lips against her collarbone without releasing her from his grip, though he was mindful of her sore ribs. Resigning quickly, Vex returned her leg up over his hip and settled back against him with a soft sigh. If the entire room was freezing they could always maneuver under the blankets. Truthfully, the heat between their two bodies could likely warm the whole castle.

His tongue flicking against her pulse point closed her eyes as another hum vibrated her throat. Percival's actions stopped, a moment passed, and she opened her eyes to see his closed and a look of pure relaxation and comfort written across his face. She was beginning to wonder if he'd dozed off until his hands slid further around her back pulling her closer. Rubbing her soft cheek against his temple she closed her eyes and sank into the tingling feeling that had been radiating from deep behind her heart out to her extremities.

Gentle fingers traced invisible lines down her back toward the curve of her hip before trailing back up to her shoulder while his lips moved up from her neck to her jaw. He pulled his head back and opened his eyes to give her a lazy smile. This granted Vex access to his upturned lips, so she pressed a sweet kiss against his mouth. They fit together perfectly, the kiss reverent and unhurried.

"If we die tomorrow, I'm definitely going to miss doing that," he said, his voice a whisper.

The she-elf merely nodded in response and opened her eyes, Percival smiling as he brought up a hand to cup her cheek, thumb brushing again across her bottom lip.

She grinned, "did you know that when you're in bed with me your eyes change color? They go from soft to this fierce winter's blue." He was surprised and expressed it with the lift of his eyebrows, a minute negative shake of his head his wordless answer. "Now, every single time I see you with darker eyes it's going to drive me crazy."

"In that case get used to seeing them frosty, dear heart. I feel like this every moment I'm with you."

Leaving her cheek, his hands wrapped back around her as his mouth fastened to the crook of her neck and shoulder, sucking at the soft skin and leaving a pink mark behind. Her breathy moan made him smile as his tongue soothed the spot before moving down and trailing across her collarbone to dip into the indent between her throat and chest.

Deciding that she'd been idle enough through his gentle exploration, Vex'ahlia moved her hand from its spots around his shoulder. The arm tucked beneath his body moved up to play with the ends of hair at the nape of his neck while the other dragged a fingernail along the muscle lines of his tricep down to his elbow. After tracing the sinewy lines of his arms she set her palm flat back over his heart letting the steady thump comfort her soul.

As he nibbled her neck, shoulder, and chest, the taste of her skin was slightly salty as her floral perfume mixed with the scent of a campfire. A quiet gasp left her parted lips as his heated mouth surrounded her nipple, tongue flicking against the rock-hard bud as his lips sucked gently against the mound.

One of her hands stopped outlining the sinewy lines on his arm to dig her fingernails into the muscle of his tricep, and her hips pushed forward to trap his straining erection between their stomachs. It was now his turn to give a low groan from deep in his chest.

Pulling him close using the leg looped over his hip, it pressed her heated center against his hardness which throbbed in response. His mouth stilled against the softness of her breast and he moaned while his fingers massaged the tight and sore muscles of her back. He held still as her hand crept between them to trace the stiff outline with the pad of a finger before guiding his tip against her wet opening. Letting go and settling her hand over his heart again she pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder.

Percy flattened his hand against the rise of her backside and pushed his hips forward to slowly slide an inch at a time into her wet channel. Her breath was a ragged exhale against his hot skin and he had to close his eyes, forehead pressed against her jaw and nose tucked against her neck as the sensations overwhelmed them both. Once he was as deep as he could go he stilled and held her.

Though he'd spent nearly the entire time from her door to her bed convincing her not to worry about the past or tomorrow and to live in the here and now, the realization hit Percy in the heart that this may be the last time that he would hold her, especially like this, and he found himself lost away from the moment.

She moved first after several seconds passed, lifting her head and fixing curious, doe-like eyes on his pleasure-filled features. Worry wrinkles stood out on his forehead behind the rims of his glasses, and her hand over his heart strayed to press them away with gentle fingers, a kiss following. A soft smile relaxed his face as she fluttered her lips across his forehead, the bridge of his nose and cheek, all before settling against his mouth.

He pulled his hips back achingly slow, and she felt emptiness seep in behind his departure. It was short-lived as he re-entered, the pace something she'd never before experienced. Typically, by the time she and anyone else had gotten to this point, it was the last dash to the finish line for neither had time nor wont to wait.

Percival included.

It dawned on Vex that this wasn't the sex she was used to. This was something she'd never had before but had read about in all those cheesy romance novels she snuck glances at when book shopping in various towns: this was love-making.

Tears filled her eyes at the thought of this being the one and only time it happened this way, and for an instant, her heart broke. Those three, sacred words bubbled up and she couldn't stop them. Her position against his neck ensured that the whisper floated to his ear easily, and he stilled before sliding to the hilt. He held her shaking body against his, Vex unwilling to meet his gaze.

'It was far too soon, you idiot! It's been days!' Her brain screamed over and over again.

Not oblivious to her panic, Percival was on cloud nine. She'd said it – she said she loved him. The three little words he'd wanted to hear from her so badly for who knows how long, and it finally happened. A small smile worked across his lips as he brushed them against the lobe of her ear.

"Me too," he responded, pulling back with his hips for another tender and slow thrust. He felt her relax under his hands, the tensing of her shoulders disappearing instantly.

His pace stayed slow as if he was intent on memorizing every inch of her body from the inside out, and her breathy moans were soft yet echoing in his ear with the closeness of her lips. Vex felt the familiar tingle and burn in her lower stomach, the angle at which they were laying ensuring that each thrust, no matter how slow, pushed against her g-spot first until the base of his shaft nudged her sensitive button before he pulled away. He felt the flutter of her inner muscles as she gasped against his throat, her orgasm sending shockwaves from her head to her toes as her body tensed in his arms. A brief flash of pain from her sore ribs tried to poke in past her pleasure, but it was easy to ignore as she squeezed her eyes closed until stars danced in the blackness.

Percy chuckled quietly against her shoulder moving his mouth up against her ear once more, "how many of those do you think I can get out of you tonight?"

His accent was nearly cockney, and the pitch of his voice was low and gravelly, almost unrecognizable. It very nearly sent her off the edge again. "Please let it be a hundred," she begged with a breathy whisper as she sucked air into her suddenly starved lungs.

The sharp rap of knuckles against the wood of her door froze them both. "Lady Vex'ahlia, you're requested in the hall."

Sighing dejectedly, she was confused for a moment as his reaction was to hold her tighter and shake his head.

"Ignore them."

"But-" she was cut off as he pulled his hips back and thrust slightly harder than he had before, her mind blurring with pleasure until the knocking broke back through.

"L-lady Vex'ahlia?"

"No. Right now…you're mine. They can't have you," his voice was commanding and made her smile at his moment of possession. At any other time, in any other place, she would have slain him with her patented Vessar glare at the mere insinuation of being owned by anyone. But at this moment, in this place, it made her feel warm.

Vex cleared her throat in an attempt to sound like she'd just been woken from a deep slumber. Faking a lower voice wasn't difficult, they'd neither spoken in anything louder than a whisper since he'd arrived. "I'm sleeping after killing the world's largest dragon. Whomever it is, tell them to wait until later."

"As you wish, my lady," the sullen voice came, and though they lay still for several minutes more expecting someone less waifish and quiet than a chambermaid to come knock on her door, none took up the task.

He felt her settle her head against his shoulder as he pulled his hips back and thrust once more, picking up a slightly increased pace, though much slower than their previous times together. He sprinkled kisses against her shoulder and collarbones, small pink marks marring her skin in his wake until he pulled his head up and back to allow his cheek to rub against hers. Their mouths found one another, lips and tongues moving almost as slowly as their lower halves.

No other noise bothered the couple, leaving in a quiet wake his occasional moan and her breathy cries as she tumbled off the cliff into another orgasm, his mouth taking in the sounds as his right hand moved up to cup her cheek and hold her in place for his kisses. His hips marginally quickened, though he kept the strokes long, nearly pulling free of her warmth before pressing back in until the base of his cock rubbed against her nether lips.

Their mouths broke apart and both gulped in air, his hand leaving her cheek to slip between them to lightly swirl his thumb over her swollen nubbin. "One more time, Vex," he pleaded against her mouth, his hips keeping a consistent rhythm.

Her previous orgasm never really stopped, merely acting as a rising wave for something larger, and his finger against her clit was fanning the flames once more in her belly. She crashed into oblivion and the contractions of her inner muscles milked him with each pulse of her channel, and he moaned long and deep into her mouth, their kissing taking a back seat to breathing and their lips brushing with each exhale.

Minutes passed as they stayed connected, his body pulling from hers as he adjusted his hips, but they stayed plastered together afraid to break the magical bubble that surrounded them. Vex'ahlia's face was tucked into his shoulder and his into the loose hair at her neck, neither wanting to be the first to move because if they did it would end everything. Percival finally felt the cooling air of the bedroom begin to seep into his sweaty skin and peeked up from his vantage against her shoulder to see smoldering embers instead of flames in the hearth. The fire had gone out completely.

Their breathing calmed and bodies cooled, and their lips continued gentle caresses and brushes until another knock sounded against her door making their stomachs jump as it shattered the solace.

"Vex'ahlia," it was her brother. "I've arranged a bath poured for you. Come now, sister, you owe yourself some relaxation. Don't make me come back to drag you out and dump you into the water," he growled through the barrier, and she could recognize the worry in his voice through the playful demand.

Percy murmured, "we avoided the outside world for as long as we could."

"What I said,'' she started, "before…during," her voice against his shoulder. He tensed for a moment thinking maybe the regret had resurfaced, this time painfully targeting his heart through her worry. "I meant it, darling."

Percival relaxed with a sigh and pushed a kiss against the top of her shoulder. "Thank gods," he muttered. "I don't know what I'd do if you'd taken it back." He disentangled himself from her limbs, much to her protesting groan. "Come now, dear heart. A bath awaits."