Authot's Note:
Back again from my little posting-holiday, and we start off with a heartfelt and smutty chapter :) (I swear, I don't mean for these sorts of chapters to always happen after I have a break from posting - it just sort of happened xD ) This chapter was actually originally written as a stand-alone oneshot featuring Caesar and a nameless OC, with Cornelia's death as canon. It has since been adapted for Ape Inside, both due to the fact that I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out, but also because I can't really imagine Caesar wanting to start off another romance such a short time after his wife's murder (which is also why I changed Cornelia's death from the canon version all those chapters ago :) )
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it - I certainly had fun writing it!
WARNING: This chapter contains smut - this will be clearly marked and is skippable (though as always, this is not recommended)
Lydia
Lydia startled awake with a sharp intake of breath, her blue eyes wide in shock. She quickly lifted her head from her backpack, which she had been using as a pillow, to take in her surroundings as her heart calmed down.
The roaring fire they had been sitting around earlier was now only a small, insignificant flame flickering pathetically among the ashes. The low light it provided danced across the features of her traveling companions.
They were all asleep.
Her eyes first found Maurice, just beside her, who had elected to sleep in a sitting position with his back facing the large wall of windows making up the ski resort's façade. The snores that came from the huge orangutan were even and deep as usual, and beside him, with his arm slung over her for warmth, was the little girl, curled up on top of a spare pelt. She looked to be sleeping peacefully, clutching her doll and Bad Ape's gift to her, a small trinket which Lydia recognised as the wordmark of a Chevy Nova.
Rocket was lying on his side opposite Maurice and the girl, on the other side of the fire, with another of their pelts draped around him to shield his almost bald skin against the bitter cold. A bit away from the group, breathing deeply as he slept, was Luca, leaning back onto the rubble by the large staircase. The one they had descended in pursuit of Bad Ape when he had stolen their horse and the supplies it carried the day before.
Speaking of Bad Ape, he was huddled up against the side of the enormous fireplace he called home, buried in a scavenged, patterned blanket for warmth and mumbling incoherently in his sleep.
It looked sweet and ridiculous at the same time.
Lastly, her eyes landed on Caesar, who was lying opposite of Lydia on the edge of the camp. He was sleeping in a sitting position opposite Bad Ape, but unlike the strange chimp, had nothing to cover himself with to ward off the cold. Even so, his rugged features were, for once, relaxed rather than set into the stern, almost menacing frown he usually wore, and his broad chest steadily expanded and contracted with each breath.
So, she hadn't woken anyone else up with her startled noise. What a relief.
Lydia let her eyes rest on the Ape King for far longer than on the others. It seemed like it had been ages since she had last let herself openly stare at him like this, taking in every detail of him and let herself be enthralled by them, just for a moment. For now, his features were relaxed and the deep creases on his heavy brow not nearly as pronounced as when he was awake, making him look several years younger.
And despite the fact that he had always looked more like his mother, Lydia couldn't help being reminded of Blue Eyes as she stared at the Ape King just then.
A stab of grief shot through her chest as she thought of the diseased prince.
Two years ago, the death of the Cornelia had been a devastating blow to the entire colony – most of all to Caesar himself. But he had managed back then, doing his best to be there for his sons and for the colony that needed him so desperately in the wake of Koba's betrayal.
Now though, Caesar seemed like a ship which had lost its anchor, and which was now drifting into dangerous waters as a result.
Lydia knew it also had much to do with the way it had happened this time around.
With Cornelia there had been plenty of time to say their final goodbyes once they all knew that her death was inevitable, and apart from Koba, whose actions had ruined any chance of obtaining the medicine the queen had needed, there had been no obvious target for Caesar to direct his anger at back then.
It had been a disease that took his wife. Something he couldn't challenge or reason with. Something intangible and invisible – but very much there all the same.
The human woman bit the inside of her cheek in thought. This time around, there was someone Caesar could hold accountable and she knew she couldn't blame her mate for wanting justice for his child – she wanted justice too, if she was honest with herself. Lydia had watched Blue Eyes grow together with Orion, the prince taking her son under his wing together with Ash, teaching him the ways of the apes like the human woman never could have… She would always be eternally grateful to the two of them for that…
And after this two-year journey, Lydia had hoped that she and Caesar could have somehow made it work and bring their families together.
Sure, she knew that she would never replace Cornelia as Blue Eyes' mother, and Caesar would never be able to take on Roy's role as Orion's father, but… She had truly hoped that they could have made it work. That their sons would be true brothers.
Perhaps it had been a foolish notion on her part. A misty-eyed fantasy. Their two broken families coming together to create a new, whole one? It seemed preposterous now, as she lie here in an abandoned ski resort in the middle of nowhere.
Pursing her lips, Lydia finally averted her eyes from Caesar and rolled onto her back.
There was no way she was going back to sleep now. She could barely remember the dream that had caused her to wake up, but the sudden adrenaline-rush it had instilled had woken her entire body in readiness for a fight-or-flight response. Besides, the train of thought had been set in motion now, and Lydia knew her own mind well enough to tell that there would be no way to stop it.
Looks like I'm in for another sleepless night, she thought, resisting the urge to sigh in irritation at her predicament.
Ever since the war between humans and apes had broken out two years ago, she had been waking up in this state more often than ever before. It frustrated her to no end, really. Especially since Maurice in particular had noticed it now that they were on the road and he seemed to be concerned by it. Well, concerned about this as well – adding to the pile.
And it wasn't just Maurice.
As recently as this night, while they were settling down to go to sleep, Luca had offered her to lean against him while she slept, under the pretence of keeping her warm. It was a kind gesture made out of concern from a good friend, but Lydia didn't want to depend too much on such actions. It might be silly of her, but she somehow felt that it would undermine her independence.
Maybe it also had something to do with her being able to feel Caesar's intense green eyes on her when Luca had made the offer, noting his expression somewhere in her peripheral vision. For some reason, his gaze had felt almost scorching then, making Lydia resist the urge to shiver pleasantly – for the first time in so very long now.
She knew that look hadn't been brought on out of any form of jealousy, but it was… territorial.
Alert.
Agitated, even.
And something had told her that she shouldn't take up Luca on his offer, even if she had wanted to. That doing so would somehow be an affront towards Caesar. An insult to his claim.
A claim he hadn't reaffirmed in quite some time now.
So, she had declined with a reassuring smile and told Luca that she'd be fine, to which the gorilla had responded by laying a heavy hand on her shoulder, using the other to slam his fist once against his chest and giving her an approving nod. As if to tell her that she was somehow strong for wanting to face the cold night alone.
Lydia sat up and combed her fingers through some stray locks of hair that had fallen out of her braid. She needed to stretch her legs and get some air. Clear her head. Lying around here and letting her mind wander like this had never been good for her.
So, getting up as silently as she could, she grabbed her hunting knife for safety and quietly walked towards the large wall of windows, where she had spied a door earlier that evening.
A walk around the premises, perhaps a stop to check up on the horses – yeah, that sounded good to her.
Stepping outside, she noticed that it had stopped snowing and the clouds had disappeared to reveal a pale, full moon. The bright orb lit up the pristine layer of snow quite nicely, making it much easier for Lydia to find her way in the otherwise dark night.
She sighed deeply, revelling in the cold, refreshing feeling of mountain air entering her lungs, and trudged aimlessly through the thick snow, her thoughts continuously returning, unbidden, to the brooding Ape King, and his uncanny ability to make her heart pound faster every time he got near.
Caesar
Caesar was conflicted as he cracked open one of his eyes and watched Lydia's back as she left the safety of their small camp. When she was out of sight, he opened his eyes completely to stare blankly at the gaping, empty doorframe leading out into the night, where he had last seen her form.
He had been woken by her sharp intake of breath as she startled awake from one of her nightly terrors. Instead of going to her, lay down beside her and wrap a strong, comforting arm around her waist, like he had wanted to do, he had chosen to feign sleep.
And while doing so, the Ape King had silently chided himself for having turned into a coward, all the while trying to keep his features as relaxed and neutral as possible when he had felt her eyes land on his face.
Then he had heard her move about and realised she was leaving, probably to take a walk, as she usually did when this happened.
He did not like it when she did that – at least not here. It was one thing to get up and take a nightly stroll while they had still been in the relative safety of the Ape Colony. He had often done the same. But out here, there were no protective walls or caves to shield her against any predators lurking in the dark and no army of apes to react, should she run into trouble.
Also, after everything that had happened, and the closer they got to their goal, the Ape King became still more protective of her. More possessive… Even if she had felt less and less like his in these last couple of weeks.
It was his own damn fault, Caesar knew. He had been the one to push her away, leaving her behind – or at least he had tried to – for her own and Cornelius' safety, he had said…
It had been true, at least partly.
But then they had argued, and he had said… that… And it had taken him days to apologise.
The Ape King pursed his lips. He was pursuing a fight with an entire army, doing so without a shred of fear as his hatred drove him onward… And somehow that didn't seem nearly as difficult as making up to Lydia for this horrendous blunder.
By now, he just longed for things to go back to a semblance of normality between them. Back to being close with her. Back to them taking comfort in one another again…
He sat there for quite some time, thinking hard about what to do about the situation he was currently finding himself in.
Apart from the night he had finally apologised, they hadn't had a private moment to talk – not in depth, at least, and certainly not about their relationship and where it stood.
The Ape King felt like he would have to do that soon, though.
He had talked to Bad Ape earlier that same night, when everyone had fallen asleep and only he and the strange chimp had still been awake. He had agreed to take them after hearing about Caesar's reason for wanting to find the soldiers.
He didn't even know if his target would be there or not, and yet Caesar couldn't help but feel an insistent need to go and be with his mate before they would ride on in the morning. To seek comfort and support from her and give it back tenfold like he felt he owed her.
Perhaps this would be his last chance to do this… To set things right between Lydia and himself before they would confront the Colonel? Before he would seek justice for his son, however that may turn out.
In the end, deciding that he should go after her to at least keep her safe, Caesar rose with a low grunt, careful not to wake the others, and silently walked out to find her, following her tracks in the deep snow.
The air was clear, and the stars were bright, with no wind to ruffle the Ape King's thick pelt. Even so, it was still far too frigid for the ape's liking and as he stalked his mate's footprints like a hunter looking for a deer, he found himself wondering how she could stand these temperatures, even with her winter attire in place.
She had been ghosting around the edge of the trees surrounding the large building, probably taking a patrolling route to look for danger, simply out of habit, before going to check on the horses. Caesar could see she had fed them with some crackers she had saved from the military rations Bad Ape had provided, the crumbs resting lightly on top of the snow under the horses' lowered heads.
His own black Frisian horse looked up and whickered at him, which he answered by petting its neck briefly before trudging onwards to continue his search.
After having retraced her steps for about thirty minutes more he came upon a small, white metal shed with windows facing out towards the valley between the mountains. It was situated near the ski lift they had passed the previous day in pursuit of Bad Ape, and Caesar reasoned that it must be some kind of control room, with its many different now-broken antennae on top of the roof.
And Lydia's tracks came to an abrupt end at the metal door leading into the small building.
Reaching forward, Caesar tentatively opened the metal door, which gave a low, metallic squeal of protest, and immediately his eyes landed on his mate sitting there in the dim room. It was a small space lit only by the bright moonlight filtering through the windows overlooking the valley, but at least it provided a makeshift shelter from the chilling air outside.
Lydia was sitting on a chair in front of a control panel that was angled slightly down towards her sitting place, the entire thing full of small buttons that had now been rendered useless due to the lack of electricity.
Turning her head at the sound of the opening door, their eyes quickly met across the small space. She nodded briefly at him once she realised who it was, greeting him with a slight, but nonetheless welcoming smile, before turning her head back to face the windows.
She was looking at the moon and stars rather than the mountains and valley, which were all shrouded in darkness at this time of night anyway.
Caesar entered the room fully and closed the door behind him.
"You should not have gone out alone in the dark." His gravelly voice reverberated against the walls. He had meant to sound sterner, but the silence around them had made him soften his voice.
Or maybe it was the serene look on her pale face, illuminated by the bright moon, which had prompted him to do so? She did look quite stunning in this light.
"Sorry, I just had to. Couldn't sleep." Came her low reply.
He stepped over to her and laid a large, heavy hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him with a questioning expression on her face. She seemed surprised at his touch, which he supposed was understandable enough. They hadn't done that much recently…
"You could have woken me up. I wouldn't have minded." It was true, as he tried to make clear to her with his eyes by purposely softening them as they stared into hers.
She smiled lightly up at him before retorting playfully. "Seems to me that I did wake you up, Caesar." Then she gave a slight frown, more at herself than at him, he guessed. "Sorry about that, by the way…"
His lips, usually set in a thin frown, quirked up somewhat in a small smile. It was one of the very few times he had found himself able to do so since Blue Eyes had been killed.
He didn't remove his hand from her shoulder.
"And as I said, I don't mind that you did. I mind that you went out alone. You could have been attacked and we wouldn't have been able to help you. I don't want anything to happen to you…" It had slipped out before he realised he was even saying it.
Now she was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, looking almost surprised at his admission before her expression turned somewhat thoughtful. Like she was weighing her next words carefully.
Then, she sighed, her shoulders slacking under his palm.
"You do realise that's exactly the reason why I came along with you on this trip, right? Because I don't want anything to happen to you either…" She said it evenly, looking straight forward again instead of meeting his eyes.
Her voice had grown tense, though.
So, they were having this conversation now…
Well, he did want to make things right with her. Perhaps she was of the same mind as him? After all, Lydia wasn't one to dance needlessly around a subject, something which Caesar had always appreciated in her.
"Sometimes, it almost seems like you're angry at me for that…" She spoke, her voice so uncharacteristically small that she might as well not have said it at all.
But she had.
And at first, Caesar remained silent, regret creeping into his heart. He hadn't meant for her to feel that way – of course he wasn't angry at her for this. For her caring like this about him. For wanting to keep him safe.
What had angered him was that by coming along, she was putting herself in danger too, and adding to that, she had left Cornelius after Caesar had specifically asked her to protect him.
But he could never fault Lydia for caring about him. For loving him like he loved her.
He would have to remedy this somehow.
She rose from the chair she had been sitting on, making its sturdy metal legs scrape against the concrete floor as she pushed it back. His hand slipped from her shoulder as she stepped forward to lean against the control panel, resting both of her hands on it and sighing deeply at his lack of response.
"I want you to know, Caesar… I- I didn't come along just to spite you. I was angry and hurt… But now…" She trailed off, but with a slight break in her voice that tugged at Caesar's heart with every word she uttered.
"Now?" He asked when Lydia didn't elaborate further.
He stepped up behind her, so close that he could almost feel the tips of his hairs touching the back of her coat.
Caesar resisted the urge to reach his arms around her and embrace her. To hold her close, knowing it was too soon to do so just yet.
"Now I'm just afraid…"
The Ape King was somewhat taken aback by that statement.
"Afraid?" He echoed the word, his heavy brow knitted together in confusion. Lydia rarely seemed afraid of anything. In fact, she was probably the bravest person he knew.
His voice was a deep rumble and it seemed to startle her that it had sounded so close to her after she had moved away.
Nonetheless, Lydia calmly turned around to face him, then nodded softly.
The way she worried her bottom lip between her teeth had Caesar concerned that she might make it bleed.
Then, he spotted the tears glistening in her deep blue eyes.
"Yes…" Lydia confirmed softly, with a trembling exhale. "I'm afraid you'll die from me… Just like Roy did… And not just from me, but Cornelius too… He doesn't deserve that, Caesar…"
The Ape King's green-and-golden eyes widened slightly at her admission before he brought his hand up to place it gently against her cheek, wiping away tears with his thumb as they fell from her deep blue orbs.
"That was never my intention, Lydia. You should know." He spoke as softly as his dark voice would allow him. It still felt too loud in here, as it echoed against the metal walls of the room.
Lydia shook her head at him, though she did nothing to remove his hand from her face.
"I don't, Caesar. That's the thing… That look you get in your eyes all the time… Like nothing else matters but you getting back at the Colonel for what he has done. At any cost." She answered with a hint of desperation in her gaze. "I'm afraid that cost may end up being your life and… I can't do that again, Caesar, I just can't! I-"
"Shhhhh…" He hushed her gently as still more tears spilled from her eyes, and he realised that he had to calm her down. It was rare to see Lydia this distraught, even when they were alone together, and it only served to underline how sincerely afraid she truly was for him and for the future.
Caesar would gladly be her shoulder to cry on – it was his duty as a mate to provide such support – but he hated the fact that he was the cause of her tears to begin with. Hated that his desperate need for vengeance clashed with his wish to protect those he loved. He was partially doing this for Lydia, after all. For what the Colonel had done to Blue Eyes – and tried to do to her – that night.
And yet it seemed that all his actions really did was making her hurt even worse.
He had to do something to soothe her. To reassure her that she wasn't going to lose yet another love.
So, Caesar did what came natural to him.
He brushed his thumb against her cheek one last time before moving it to the back of Lydia's neck, pulling her head towards his own. Their foreheads met, and he briefly closed his eyes, exhaling deeply through his nose. His other hand took hold of hers and guided it towards his solid chest. There, he placed her hand over his heart and held it firmly in place, willing her to feel the raging beats against his ribcage.
"I will not die, Lydia." He spoke as he stared directly into her tear-glistening eyes, the conviction in his voice so firm that Caesar himself was almost startled by it.
He meant it nonetheless. While he may have set out on this mission without knowing whether or not he would return, he realised now that dying was just not an option.
It never had been.
"And I was angry – at first. I wanted you and Cornelius to be safe. Together… But…" It was difficult for him to put his feelings into words. Even if he had come to rely more on verbal communication rather than sign, he still preferred actions above all else to speak for him.
Way back when, it had been like that with Cornelia too. Luckily, she'd been able to catch on easily and understand the meaning behind Caesar's rather quirky approach to romancing. Having been brought up by humans and never having interacted with other apes before had left him socially inept when it came to females of his own species. Cornelia had understood and because of this, in time, Caesar had learned.
Of course, with Lydia, it was entirely different once again.
And not so much because she was a different species, but because she, much like Caesar, had been the one most in need of emotional support in her previous relationship. Roy had provided for Lydia what Cornelia had for Caesar and now, the two of them were stuck in this awkward dance where they each had to give and take in equal measures.
That had been easy to figure out – the hard part had been putting it into practice.
"I understand, Caesar…" The sound of Lydia's voice brought the Ape King back from his reminiscing and he directed his verdant stare up at her eyes once more. "But I don't suppose you can blame me for wanting my mate to come back alive, now can you?"
She had regained some of her composure, though her voice was still thick with emotion. At least she wasn't crying anymore, the only remnant of her tears a slight redness of the whites of her eyes and wet trails down her cheeks.
He brushed her cheek with his thumb once more.
"No… I can't." His voice sounded almost grittily as he felt her breath against his lips. "But right now, I am glad you came too, Lydia."
It was a struggle to get those words out, but she needed to hear this and he needed to get it off his chest. Lydia, despite sometimes being just as stubborn as Caesar himself, was great at keeping him somewhat grounded – like today when Bad Ape had refused to take them to the 'human zoo', as he had called it.
"And I'll stay with you, right through it all, whether you'll like it or not." Lydia answered with a barely-visible upturn of the corner of her lip.
The Ape King mirrored her smile, glad that she no longer seemed distraught.
"Promise?" The he asked as his thumb moved back to gently brush the area just beneath her ear.
"Mhmm" Lydia nodded against his brow in response, her expression now one of fondness and acceptance.
Good, Caesar thought in relief. It seemed like he had gotten his point across.
He let go of the back of Lydia's neck and the hand against his chest, moving to stand up straight again. Her eyes never left his as they softened, and her lips parted slightly, causing sudden, strong urge to reach up and touch them with the calloused tips of his fingers. He chose to ignore it, in case she would reject his advances.
Judging from her expression, though, that was not her intention.
"Caesar…" Lydia whispered so quietly, he almost didn't hear it. The sound sent a shiver up his spine.
Then, she reached up with her own hand towards his face and ran her fingers slowly through the greying beard on his chin. It tickled pleasantly and made his bottom lip quiver slightly in response.
She let her hand travel further up then, carding her fingers through the thickening hair up along his jaw and temple, to rest her palm against his cheek.
He couldn't help but lean his face into it, her soft hand a stark contrast to the harsh, wintry winds that had lashed at his face these last couple of weeks.
Caesar took her gesture as a silent invitation and stepped closer to her, so close his chest was touching hers now.
The Ape King could feel his hardened features go soft at her gentle touch, could literally feel the hard lines across his brow smoothening out as he relaxed into the hand that cradled his cheek. He had needed this, he realised. After all this time with them not speaking or being close, and feeling nothing but pain, anger, sorrow and regret, Caesar craved this rare moment of tenderness.
He laid his long arms around her form, effectively caging her in his embrace, and guided her back towards the control panel until she was trapped against it.
There was a mutual understanding between them in this moment. Lydia's gentle touch had told him all he needed to know. That she felt the same as he did. That it was finally okay for him to approach her – that she had missed their closeness just as much as he had.
Caesar's arms tightened possessively around her.
Having her pressed close to his chest, he leaned forward to nuzzle the crook of her shoulder, taking in the sweet scent of the soft skin he found there. Lydia, in turn, reached her arms around his shoulder and torso, returning his fierce embrace, and beginning to softly run the tips of her fingers through the fur on his back.
The Ape King sighed deeply against her neck at the sensation, feeling how it served to both soothe and excite him at the same time.
They stood like that for quite some time, silently enjoying each other's touch. It brought a sense of peace to Caesar's mind that he had almost forgotten about. A peace he had almost stopped believing he could achieve after everything that had happened.
He began to run his rough lips up the side of Lydia's neck to her jaw, and a sharp intake of breath close to his ear encouraged him to continue his ministrations. The mood in the room was slowly changing.
(Smut Begins Here)
His hands snuck beneath her open coat to grab her hips where he started to run his fingers tentatively under the hem of her shirt. Caesar let his hands venture further up to gently rub his thumbs against her hips soothing, circular motions.
He was going to take his time with her tonight. It had been too long, and he wanted to revel in her touch at last.
He was starved of it.
Soon, though, Lydia let go of him and started to shrug the restricting coat she was wearing off her shoulders until it fell back onto the control panel she was leaning against, providing Caesar better access to her shoulder and neck. Conveniently, it also provided more space to run his hands further up inside her shirt.
Her own hands went to his chest where she began to stroke up and down his body with increasing urgency, her breath hot against his ear.
As was her custom, Lydia was quickly beginning to make it very difficult for Caesar to not just rip off the rest of her clothing. He let out a low growl close to her ear as a warning not to get ahead of herself, which resulted in her unexpectedly arching her back toward him and baring her neck further to his mouth.
It sent a pleasant jolt of primal longing through the Ape King's entire being to have her submit to him so readily, and he swiftly lifted her shirt over her head and threw it carelessly to the floor.
Caesar couldn't help but temporarily marvel at the feeling of her soft skin as he ran his rough palms up Lydia's sides, which made her tremble pleasantly. The chest guard she wore was now the only barrier between him and her breasts.
He could hardly wait to be rid of that thing as well.
As a matter of fact, it was getting harder and harder to keep himself in check. Every primal instinct in Caesar now screamed at him to get on with it. To renew his claim to this lithe, soft, intoxicating woman in front of him. To take her for his own once more.
He felt his hardening cock twitch at the thought.
Perhaps next time, for there would be a next time, he would do that. For now, though, he was still planning on taking things slow. Wanted to repair their bond and rediscover this exotic body in front of him.
To say that he hadn't realised how much he had missed doing this with her would have been a blatant lie – he had been very much aware of what he had been missing out on, but simply hadn't allowed himself to dwell on it until now. It had been a distraction from his goal and besides, he had known his advances would have been unwelcome after what had happened.
But right now, he needed this distraction more than anything else as his body grew fevered with desire.
And he knew Lydia did too. Could feel it in the way she touched him. Hear it in the way she whispered his name against his ear.
Caesar groaned as he pressed himself to her hips, giving Lydia's neck an appreciative nip of his teeth as he felt her hands clutch at his shoulders for support.
Meanwhile, she had begun to kick off her boots. A difficult task, to be sure, but she still managed to do it before he could move to help her with them.
So instead, he chose to focus his attention on loosening her hair from its braid and bury both his hands in her wild, soft locks. With his fingers tangled in her tresses, the Ape King took hold of the back of Lydia's skull and once again pulled her forehead towards his own, staring intensely into her hazy eyes and breathing harshly through his nose.
For a moment, they both kept completely still, the only sound around them being their own heavy breathing.
Then he felt her hands press lightly on his pectorals, pushing him gently backwards. Caesar was surprised enough by this action, this sudden shift in dynamics, to momentarily forget himself and let confusion flash across his features.
It didn't take him long to realise what she had in mind, though, as the back of his legs hit the chair she had been sitting on when he had first entered the room. He noticed her half-lidded eyes, now filled with lust, and the way her hands kneaded his shoulders as she pressed him gently downwards.
He did as she wanted and sat down while still looking up at her with hungry eyes, letting his hands slide out of her hair and down her body as he seated himself. From their very first mating, it had always managed to arouse him beyond anything that this woman, this human woman, who was physically so much weaker than him, would take charge like this.
And this moment was no different from that time, as Caesar felt the warmth in the pit of his stomach intensify at the way she pushed him to lean against the chair's backrest.
Lydia took one step back from him but made sure to maintain eye-contact as she began to unbuckle the belt keeping her pants securely around her shapely hips. When they slowly slid down her smooth thighs, it was all Caesar could do not to lurch forward in blind carnal desire and simply yank them down himself.
He somehow knew this was part of her plan. To entice him and work up his desire further still.
It would seem like she wanted to take her time with this too.
And so, the Ape King, not used to being told to wait, willed himself to keep his hands off her. For now.
She finally kicked her pants aside and stood before him clad only in her chest guard and panties. Her eyes were still connected with his intense, green stare and he saw her visibly shiver under his hard gaze. Then her hands went up her own body, toward her chest, where she slowly started to undo the buckles keeping her leather chest guard in place.
It was agonizing and intensely arousing at the same time, to watch her slowly remove the last concealments of her body. Sure, he had seen it all at least a hundred times before by now, but the fact that Lydia's body was hidden away beneath layers of clothes at pretty much all hours of the day only made an unveiling like this all the more special.
Particularly because it was only him who got to see this. It was him and no one else in the world who could feast his eyes upon her naked flesh.
Caesar let out a loud growl of pure, undiluted want when the leather clothing finally left her chest to join her shirt, pants and boots on the floor. Lydia's rounded breasts fit perfectly with her slender form, her nipples perked by arousal and the cold air of the room.
Oh, how he wished he could just devour her entirely. It had been so awfully long since he'd had the chance.
Caesar was practically quivering with desire when his mate finally slid her panties down her long legs and, at last, stood fully naked before him. He could smell her desire for him on the air around them – could see it in her eyes – and he felt his male pride being stoked at the notion.
She moved towards him now, her eyes full of intent and he pressed his lips into a hard line. Then, she straddled his waist, pressed her chest to his, and finally, his hands shot up to pull her flush against his torso.
Her body was all luscious curves and smooth skin under his rough touch. Lean and soft at the same time.
And Caesar loved it.
He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind that, logically, he shouldn't feel attracted to the body of a human female. He did, though, and he didn't exactly know who or what to blame it on. Maybe it had been his upbringing among humans. Maybe it was the serum that had made him the way he is.
Maybe it was simply a quirk of his.
Right now, though, he really didn't care either way.
He ran his hands along Lydia's thighs, all the way to her hips, where he slipped them around to grab her ass firmly, pulling her abdomen against his own and trapping his hot, twitching member between their bodies. Caesar was barely able to contain a pleasured hiss at the sensation. His breath was leaving him harshly through his nose, his lips set in a thin line with the sheer effort of keeping the sound from being uttered.
For the first time since she had directed him to sit on the chair, he broke eye contact with her to run his mouth down her throat, past the dip between her collar bones, until he finally reached her chest. Once there, he started running his tongue against her full breasts, anywhere his mouth could reach – like she had instructed him to do the very first time they had done this together.
The moan that escaped Lydia's lips was positively obscene and only served to encourage Caesar further.
There was an urgency to his movements now. After watching her undress like that, he just couldn't help himself anymore. Especially not when she started moving her hips sensually against his, creating wonderful, hot friction between their bodies. His hold on her ass tightened and he groaned deeply while kneading the soft flesh. Caesar could feel Lydia's fingers digging into the fur on his shoulders as she held on to him, steadying herself in his lap and pushing her chest towards his teasing mouth.
Her moans and soft pants echoed against the metal walls of the room, egging him on.
He had not even entered her heat yet and she was already driving him wild!
Just as that thought crossed his mind, as he was leaning his face against her chest, gritting his teeth in pleasure, Lydia lifted herself slightly, reached down to grab hold of his throbbing member, and lowered herself onto him in one swift movement.
A breathless gasp left Lydia then.
Caesar practically roared.
His head shot up from against Lydia's chest and his wild eyes found her face twisted in pleasure. He then felt her hands move up to his head, where she laid them against his cheeks and looked down at him with half-lidded, hazy eyes from her slightly elevated position.
Then, she began moving languidly up and down on top of him, sliding along his shaft.
And it was the best thing the Ape King had ever felt.
Deep groans started coming forth, now unhindered, from deep in his chest as he helped her movements along with his hands still on her ass, her throaty moans spurring him on. The way she fit snugly around his cock all the way down was intoxicating to Caesar, especially when he could feel her walls already sporadically convulsing around him.
Lydia kept a steady pace as she rode him with firm downwards thrusts, her legs quivering ever so slightly as her feet braced against the floor. He figured, in the far back of his mind, that it would probably be uncomfortable for her to do so, if it wasn't for the fact that she seemed so caught up in her passion that she hardly noticed. Her lips were slightly parted, and her eyes were glazed over with pleasure, unseeing.
She was the most erotic thing Caesar ever laid eyes on.
And she was all his.
Lydia suddenly lowered her face down to his. She wasn't able to press her forehead to his at this angle, as the Ape King had expected her to do. Instead, she leaned forward and captured his bottom lip between her teeth, biting gently before swiping her tongue across the area.
That was when the last of his control left him.
A mighty, threatening growl came from his throat as Caesar suddenly stood from the chair, still holding onto Lydia, and carried her the few steps towards the control panel in front of him. There, he laid her roughly down onto her coat, which was still splayed across the sloping surface, and, leaning his formidable form over her, began rutting into her core with the ferocity he had originally intended to save another coupling.
She just made it so damn hard to resist his most primal instincts.
Not that Lydia seemed to mind the sudden change in pace, Caesar was pleased to discover.
He kept a fast, even rhythm, her legs tightly wrapped around him and her moans getting considerably louder than before. He liked the sounds coming from her, encouraging him to thrust even deeper into her and making him bare his formidable canines once again with the effort.
Her hands were all over him, carding through the fur on his back, his arms, his chest, his shoulders. Anywhere she could reach.
She seemed to settle them at the back of his head, though, when his mouth found her breasts again and he began alternating between licking and gently biting at them. Her back was arching up against him and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her ever closer.
He was absolutely overwhelmed by her scent, thick and heady with her arousal. It made him want to encompass her completely.
Caesar was utterly lost in his mate as he felt her need for him. Everything from her slender hands pressing his face further towards her breasts, to her legs holding his hips in place like a vice. From his name leaving her throat in the form of passionate moans, to the pathetic jutting of her hips as she tried to reciprocate his unyielding thrusts.
The way her slick core gripped around him desperately.
Everything about her screamed need, want and desire for him and him alone.
The Ape King groaned loudly at the mere thought, the sound vibrating against her heaving chest.
He continued his vigorous thrusts as he looked up, intending to fix her eyes with his intense, verdant stare. Instead, he discovered that Lydia had moved her head to the side, deep blue eyes closed in pleasure, and he found himself staring at his reflection in the window behind her head.
His image in the glass was positively feral, pupils blown, his maw opened over a supple breast and his fur standing on end.
This was the effect Lydia had on him, laid bare before his very eyes. This was what she did to him – for him.
And just then, an idea popped into the Ape King's head.
He lifted himself off her and, untangling her legs from around his hips, pulled out of her core, earning a weak moan of protest from her. Then he dragged her up with him to stand on her wobbling feet, supporting her with firm hands on her hip and shoulder.
Lydia's eyes were confused, her expression dissatisfied, and Caesar almost felt bad for stopping so abruptly.
Almost.
Her voice was husky and shaky as she spoke.
"Caesar? What are you-?"
"Turn around." Came his gravelly voice. Even in his dishevelled state, it still held its customary authority.
Trusting him, Lydia immediately obeyed.
The moment she caught sight of his reflection in the window, he saw her eyes widen in understanding and heard her breath quicken in raw anticipation.
He couldn't help the smirk that graced his lips just then as he leaned forward to ghost his lips across the back of her shoulder and neck.
And his smirk only broadened at the way she shivered in response.
From behind Caesar guided Lydia towards the sloping panel once again, placed a calloused hand on the back of her neck and gently pressed her upper body down against her coat across the panel. He then leaned over her again, shifting his hand from the back of her neck to reach under her left arm, where he gently but firmly took hold of her throat and jaw.
As he directed her face towards the window in front of them, he guided his thick, eager member back into her with his other hand.
Back where I belong, the Ape King thought almost smugly as he slipped inside his mate's tight heat with relative ease, placing his now free hand on her hip to guide her movements against him.
Lydia let out a slow moan of contentment as he did so, obviously pleased with having him back inside her as well, and Caesar felt his member swell further with desire at the sound.
He started his unrelenting pace anew and her hands reached forward to grab the top of the control panel tightly, her knuckles turning white from the strain.
His face hovered over her shoulder and his warm breath hit her ear as his voice sounded just beside her head.
"Look at me."
Lydia did as she was told, staring straight ahead at the window in front of them, where their reflection mirrored the pair's primal lovemaking.
Caesar immediately transfixed her with his own stare and from then on, neither of them could tear their eyes away from the image before them as they continued to move roughly against each other. Lydia's eyes were half-lidded, her mouth opened slightly and her dishevelled hair falling around her shoulders.
He groaned from deep within his chest at the sight of them in the window. Seeing for himself how he was taking her so thoroughly for his own heightening the king's arousal like nothing else ever had.
Caesar pushed Lydia's hair away from her right shoulder, lowered his mouth to the junction connecting it with her neck, and gently ran his teeth against her soft skin. He wanted so badly to just bite down and fully renew their union. Mark her as his for all to see. The urge was so strong that the Ape King, in his lustful haze, decided to steadily increase the pressure of his teeth on her skin. He just couldn't help himself.
Lydia leaned up in response, as much as his heavy, dense body on top of her would allow, into Caesar's waiting jaws, moving her head to the side to give him more space.
That was all the encouragement he needed to bite down. Hard.
He didn't draw blood. That would have been too much. But he knew that his teeth would leave four dark bruises on her otherwise pristine skin, and that would be more than enough to satisfy his urge.
By now, Caesar could feel that Lydia was close to coming undone beneath him. Her moans were louder than ever, her pupils dilated to the point that there was almost no trace of the deep blue irises left and she was trembling violently around his member.
He was close too, throbbing heavily within her and every thrust another step closer to that blissful abyss of release.
What she did next surprised him, though.
Lydia let go of the panel she had previously clutched with her right hand, grabbed his own limb, the one that was guiding her hips against his thrusts, and pulled it down between her trembling legs.
His rough fingers met her clit, and Caesar immediately understood what she wanted him to do. What she needed him to do. If he hadn't been so caught up in a lusty haze, he would probably even have chuckled. This human woman, panting and writhing beneath his hard body, so pliant and willing, still had it in her to tell him what to do.
Feeling merciful, he complied with her silent demand and moved his fingers in rhythm with his jerking hips.
It worked wonders, Lydia's wanton gasps and fluttering eyelids a testament to that fact.
Her walls started convulsing ever more tightly around him and Caesar could feel himself reach his peak just as quickly now. She cried out loudly as the tidal wave of white-hot pleasure washed over her, keening his name while she rode out her orgasm, grinding desperately back against his hips. A couple of frantic thrusts more and Caesar tumbled over the edge as well, his cock pulsing deep within her heated core.
He very nearly collapsed on top of her back as the pleasure began to wear off and left him nearly boneless but caught himself leaning on one elbow above her. He lowered himself to rest his flushed cheek against her shoulder while their breathing evened out.
The Ape King struggled to remember the last time he had felt this content.
After a minute or two of them basking in the post-coital afterglow, he felt hit mate shiver beneath him and realised that she was probably beginning to freeze, now that the heat from their vigorous activities had begun to dissipate and her bare skin was finally feeling the wintry air of the abandoned control room.
Caesar ran his warm lips over her shoulder briefly. Affectionately. Then he slowly moved away from her to give her the space she needed to get up and dress, a groan leaving the both of them as he pulled out.
(Smut Ends Here)
Lydia turned to smile light-heartedly, almost shyly, at him before going about picking up her clothes from the floor. He decided to help her and watched her intently as her body was once again, piece by piece, being hidden from his eyes.
When she had managed to put on most of her clothing, Lydia sat down on the chair to pull on her boots. Before she could get that far, however, the Ape King moved forth and bent down in front of her, taking the footwear out of her smooth hands, so unlike his own rough ones, and began to help her with them himself.
He could feel her eyes on him as he did this, but he kept his own gaze focused on his task.
When he had pulled the second boot up her calf, Caesar's hands paused briefly before continuing slowly up either side of her clothed thigh, quickly followed by his lips, and he heard her breath hitch sharply.
"Caesar…" He looked up at her at the sound of his name. Her voice was soft, if a little hoarse, and her hands went up to lay gently against the sides of his face.
The expression she wore was one of deep affection, and Caesar felt his heart skip several beats at the pure emotion he found in Lydia's deep blue orbs. She hadn't looked at him like this since… well, before all of this mess had begun.
And seeing that expression on her face now was as welcome as a warm summer's breeze to the Ape King.
He didn't remove his hands from her thigh.
Lydia leaned forward, her breath ghosting across Caesar's rugged face for just a moment before she tilted his head further upwards and their lips met. It surprised him at first, even though it really shouldn't have – they had just mated and after all, it wasn't like they had never kissed before. The sensation was quite familiar to him, probably more so than to any other ape.
And yet it felt like this was somehow different. Like a seal. A promise.
It didn't take long for him to ease into it, and his green eyes slowly closed while he hummed lowly from deep in his throat.
When she pulled back from the kiss, he was loath not to follow her in an attempt to prolong it.
"We probably shouldn't tell the others about this…" Came her quiet, calm voice.
"No. We should not." He replied simply. He wasn't sure how well the others would take all of this, even if they had come to see Lydia as part of the Ape Colony a long time ago. He wasn't even sure how much each of them could tell by now, from the way Caesar and Lydia behaved – or if they could even tell at all.
Maurice knew about them – had for a long time now, but there had been little to indicate that Rocket and Luca had figured it out as well… And just thinking about having to explain this arrangement to Bad Ape almost had Caesar sigh in exasperation already.
No, though he had considered coming clean about it to everyone for some time now, it would be better to wait a little longer still. He didn't want to complicate things further on this journey.
Just then, Caesar's eyes landed on the dark purple marks his teeth had left on Lydia's shoulder, just beside her necklace. The mark was slightly exposed by the wide opening of her shirt, and the Ape King groaned in frustration over his own carnal urges.
He might as well have climbed up into one of the power masts outside and roared his claim to her out across the valley for all to hear.
So much for subtlety.
"I'll cover them as well as I can with my coat collar, Caesar. Just like I always did. Don't worry about it." Lydia smiled at him as she said this, brushing his cheek with a thumb.
He was glad that she didn't seem to get the wrong idea when he voiced his frustration upon seeing the markings. It wasn't like he wanted her to cover them up. In fact, he could feel a deep desire to just throw caution to the wind for once and have her openly showcase them.
But that would have to wait for now.
He nodded at her before laying his hands on hers and remove them gently from his cheeks. getting up going to retrieve her coat. She was still lightly shivering, though Caesar could see she did her best not to let it show.
"Let us go back to the others." He said, voice low and gravelly as ever as he placed the coat over Lydia's shoulders.
She stood up as well.
"Yeah. I guess we should."
She leaned forward and pecked his lips before turning around and going for the door leading outside, the barely-noticeable wobble of her long legs making the Ape King's chest swell with a sense of accomplishment.
He paused as his mind wandered back to the camp.
"Lydia… Listen, I know that… this," Caesar gestured between them with one hand, vaguely referring to what they had just done. "has not solved things… Not entirely."
His voice was apologetic. He didn't want her to think that he believed it all to be fixed by a single night of passionate sex. He knew that was far from being the case – but it was a start.
"Not at all, but that's okay, Caesar." Lydia answered with a soft, understanding smile on her face, grabbing his hand to intertwine their fingers. It always managed to surprise the Ape King how slender and fragile her hand looked inside his own large and rough one.
"I know now this is something you have to do. It's not like I can't understand why you feel so strongly about it either – believe me, I want justice for Blue Eyes too… It's just the way this whole thing happens that's completely messed up." She elaborated with an exhausted sigh.
Caesar nodded, thinking to himself that this, this right here, was the way they should have talked about it several weeks ago. With calm voices and open hearts instead of spewing words like poison at each other.
He reached up with his other hand, grasping her chin between his forefinger and thumb so that he could gently pull her head up to face him. Even in the relative darkness of the room, Caesar could still make out the startling deep blue of her irises, as well as the slight tinge of red that tainted the whites of the orbs.
Whether this was from tears or fatigue, he couldn't quite tell.
"When this is over… When I have killed him, and we return to the other apes... I will tell them all, Lydia. They will know, and we will be a family. We will not hide like this anymore. I promi-"
Lydia silenced him before he could finish his vow, learning forward to capture his lips in a deep, searing kiss. The kind that always seemed to send pleasant sparks down Caesar's very spine.
She pulled back just as quickly, though she stayed close enough for her warm breath to caress his lips as she spoke.
"If that's the motivation you need to get through all this alive… But please, Caesar, don't make any promises you can't keep. For now, just focus on coming back to us. To me and to Cornelius. Okay?"
He nodded, his eyes staring fondly into hers as she reached up to lay her free hand on his chest.
"I will, Lydia." Caesar's voice reverberated against the metal walls around the two of them, strengthening the ape's resolve as his words bounced back at him from all around the room.
"That's all I ask." She answered, relief clear in her expression. "Now come on. I want to try and get some sleep before Bad Ape starts to lead us to that awful place tomorrow."
The Ape King raised a curious brow at his mate.
"You heard?"
"Told you I had trouble sleeping, didn't I?" Lydia retorted as she removed her hand from his chest. Her tone was teasing, but there was a hint of exasperation lurking just beneath the surface that managed to irk Caesar slightly.
"Right…" He spoke ruefully, squeezing the hand still in his grasp. "I wish I could do something about this."
He truly did want to just lay down beside her, more so than ever before, pull her close and fall asleep with her body against his own.
She turned her head to meet his eyes for the umpteenth time that night, a mischievous glint in her gaze.
"Oh, after what we just did, I think it's safe to say you've helped plenty. I'm exhausted!" She spoke coyly, dispelling his regret as quickly as it had manifested. "Let's just hope I can sit properly in the saddle come morning. Otherwise I'll probably give us away."
And with that, Lydia opened the creaky metal door to the cold outside world, gently pulling him along.
His huffed out once in laughter and started walking out of the small building with her in tow.
His mark on her would fade in time, so the chance of the others noticing that was minimal. He'd be sure to never let it leave her completely, though.
Not again, anyway.
After tonight, he was more than certain of that.
