It was a hot sunny day when Takashi's parents arrived at the castle with an irritated Lord Hiei in tow. His mother was ecstatic to see him and his father seemed to be beaming. It seemed that his falling for Hikari had erased any of their animosity that led them to exile him months ago. Lord Hiei seemed as livid as he had when left, if not more so.
Hikari was standoffish and skittish around his parents, but it gave her an excuse to stand close to him. He did like that. Thankfully she was wise enough to listen to her mother's advice and keep her bite on her neck covered up in case her father saw it.
Her father flitted away after the pleasantries were exchanged and the conversation turned towards the serious discussion about their possible matehood. He expressed his disapproval once more and left.
That was bit disheartening for Takashi to hear. He wanted Lord Hiei's approval, even though he knew Hikari did not care enough for it to dissuade her. She tried to convince him once more to claim her the day before his parents arrived, but he summoned up all his free will to keep from doing it.
The discussion between the two of them, his parents, and her mother happened even though Takashi hardly saw the point. He pondered over how he could still get Lord Hiei convinced, coming up with no answers. He did not want to claim Hikari without it.
He focused back into the conversation when Hikari grew uncomfortable. "I would have to leave Alaric?" she asked hesitantly.
Takashi's eyes popped up, looking at her next to him at the table. She looked suddenly quite unsure of herself. He turned and looked at his father when he started speaking. "Yes. The prince's place is at the Hayato Territory, where the kingdom is run. As his mate, your place is with him."
Her mother jumped in, "you won't be gone forever. You can visit as often as you want and you will still be the Lady of Alaric." Her mother, who was sitting next to Hikari on the other, put a reassuring hand on her forearm. Hikari pulled her arm away and wrapped it around her middle.
"But I'm to be in charge of Alaric," Hikari countered. "Surely I need to be here."
Takashi watched his father shake his head and lean forward over the table to speak with Hikari. "One day Takashi will be king and you'll need to be with him to help run the Demon World. Alaric, as well as all of the other territories of the world."
Lady Nanashi spoke up, "we can run Alaric in your name. Me, your brothers when Kaze is older."
Hikari turned and looked at her mother. "Father supposed to do that," she said forlornly.
Lady Nanashi pursed her lips at that, not saying anything.
"Give him time, he'll come around," Takashi mother soothed. She struck a more formal tone as she continued to speak. "Now, the claim can happen this evening. If something goes wrong, I can heal you if the need arises. I can be the healer on stand by so to speak."
Hikari looked down, not speaking. Her mother spoke up, "or we can ask Asa to do that, if that makes you feel more comfortable." Hikari still did not say anything, but her arm pressed tighter around her middle. "What do you think?" she asked Hikari tenderly.
Hikari looked ready to bolt. Takashi spoke up, trying mostly to put her at ease. "Let the two of us discuss it privately and decide later." He held his hand out to her in offering. She gingerly took his hand in hers, pulling it into her lap.
His mother sounded a little too eager at that, "yes, please, do so." She rose up from the table, pushing her chair back behind her.
Hikari's grip on his hand tightened. "We'll find somewhere private," Takashi suggested, pulling her up and with him to leave the room. He could tell she was apprehensive based on how close she followed him.
Once they left three of their four parents behind, Takashi slowed, not sure where to take Hikari. She seemed to get her fiery confidence half back as she went from him leading her to her leading him. She lead him to his bedroom and sat herself down on his bed.
As he set himself down next to her, she mused, "would I really have to leave Alaric?"
The sullen face she was making made him want to tell and promise her no, but the truth willed out of him. "As my queen, one day, the whole Demon World will need you, not just one territory."
"One large territory," she reminded him with a hint of pride in her voice and in her eyes. She laid her upper back upon his bed, stretching herself out and humming. She brought her hand to rest on her stomach. "I want to be with you, truly, but I'm just not looking forward to leaving my family is all. I could just name Kaze as my heir, which is expected anyway, but still..."
"You might not have to," he thought out loud.
"What do you mean?" she asked in a tight voice.
"Your father will never go for it, so it..." he shook his head. "I don't know..." He thought about the vision he saw, the vision he desired, irregardless of whether or not the future was set in stone.
"Don't know what?" she said, sitting herself right back up again next to him. There was a fierceness in her eyes he did not dream of wanting to quell.
"Don't know if I should claim you, given your father's stance against me," he admitted. He closed his eyes, seeing the vision, wanting it with a burning, passionate desire.
In rough haste, she grabbed his collar, making him open his eyes, turn, and face her head on. "You make your own decisions. I make my own decisions. No one else gets to make decisions for us," she decided. She took a moment to pause and kiss him. He could almost feel her will moving in this moment. "I love you, and I will be damned to hell if I let one person, be it my father or anyone else, come between us the way you mean to allow." She stood up, facing him. "I'll accept leaving my home for you if you give up your puritan desire for whole parental approval. You saw me mated when you saw my future and it's either you or no one."
He almost broke then, wanting to tell her the whole vision, not just the vague part she was told by him that she was now referring to. Yet he wanted her to go through the future without it being spoiled for her, as well. "I love you, too," he fumbled out.
She went over to him, hesitantly climbing onto his lap. He could feel her tremble as she kissed him firmly. He felt his own arousal perking up. She pushed him down onto his back, with her straddling him. He let her take the lead, even as she started pulling up at the bottom of his shirt. He was nervous, tempted to stop her, but he quelled the desire. He let her pull up his shirt, exposing his torso. She kept pushing it up, making him sit up enough to let her take it off.
Shyly, she rubbed her hands over him. It felt like a small fire was igniting in his chest. He shivered in spite of that heat. "You okay?" she whispered.
"Oh, yes," he breathed out.
"Good," she purred down at him.
He mouth joined her hands, kissing at his chest and making him pant noisily. He wound his hands around her hair. Her mouth dipped down to his lower abdomen, making his feel things he had never felt before. He was scared of how she would react if she noticed how excited he was getting.
He wanted to let her do as she wished, in spite of his nerves and excitement. When her hands slipped down to the front of his pants, he gasped, but did not stay her. Not if she wanted this.
Her hands came to the undo his pants, she asked, "can I?"
He closed his eyes, took his hands from her hair, and nodded. He panted nervously as he felt her unbutton and unzip his pants. He moaned softly as he felt her pull out his cock and expose it. He moaned louder when her lips came around it. He wanted to let her do as she pleased, and it seemed like she wanted to please him.
She took him into her mouth, not very far, but enough to make him quiver beneath her. Her mouth was soft, wet, and warm. It made his heartbeat pound in his ears.
She pulled her mouth away, almost disappointed. They would go as far as she wanted, leaving him to want to go farther than this though. He hoped she would take the lead and go for it.
He opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows. He could tell his face was flushed. She gave him a seductive looking, saying demurely, "are you going to claim me now or are we both going to be left disappointed?" She left her words lingering as she pulled her own shirt over her head.
He stared up at her, not at her face, but at her neck, where he had already bit her. He felt a spark light in his chest. He propelled himself forward, grabbing her, and pulled her down onto his lap. She gasped in shock, but pressed herself against him boldly.
Goodness, she was amazing. He wanted her and in the haze of his mind, he could not think of any good reason anymore why not. He pushed her neck to one side, exposing the old bite on her neck to him. He brought his lips to it, nipping it gently. She squirmed and whimpered at that. She clung to him, hands on his upper arms. He lapped her bite with his tongue, liking how excited she was getting.
"Bite," she ordered him desperately.
He hummed against her skin. Her nails dug into his arms. He nuzzled the spot, chuckling under his breath. Before she could order him one more time, he sunk his eye teeth down on the same spot he bit last time. She whined out, trying to hold her cry back. As he sucked at the wound, enjoying the delicious taste of her blood, he thought absentmindedly about how only half planned this was. If he fully claimed her right here, they had not warned their families. Yet his mother was nearby, so they at least had a healer close. And this way, there was less pressure on them if they decide to and implement this here and now, without their parents' knowledge.
He pulled his mouth away, licking his lips like an after thought. She looked up at him, face pink with her own arousal. He looked down at her chest, mostly hidden by her bra. She slipped out of his lap, standing up before him. She closed her eyes and reached behind her back. She unhooked her bra and let it drop to the floor. He reached over to her, pulling her close to him, but keeping her on her feet. He nuzzled the center of her chest, humming against her breasts. He could hear her pulse quicken beneath her breast bone. The pounding made him think of her blood, which in turn made him salivate. He craved more. He brought to his mouth to the inside of her left breast, resting his eye teeth against it.
He bit down on the spot, making her half stifle a gasp. She did not want to scream. Her blood bathed his tongue with its sweet, silvery flavor. He drank slowly, not wanting to take too much from her. He had to keep his wits about him lest he harm her.
He let her go, sighing in pleasure. She stepped away from him, hands going down to her own pants to undo them. He watched her take them off. She hesitated after that, though. He stood up, looming over her. She looked up at him trustingly as he guided her to lay down on her back on the bed. He had no experience with what he was supposed to do next, but he had not been so sheltered that he did not know what should happen next.
He laid down over top of her, feigning fearlessness. He kissed her chastely, thinking she would not like to taste much of her own blood in her mouth. He then went back down to her neck bite, lapping at its sweet stickiness. He hummed at the thought of how delicious it was and how it was now all for him. He slipped his head down to her chest, lapping at the newly made bite there, too. She lay beneath him, eyes closed and panting.
"One more," he said against her skin.
"Do it," she instructed him.
That gave him the dash of courage he needed to sit up and slide his hands down her hot body. His hands came to her panties, sliding them down her legs. He must have been going too slow as she squirmed her way down, to help him hurry up.
"Patience," he teased.
She smiled up at him coyly. He pushed her gently back down on her back. She flopped down, smile still on her face. She bit her lip. He kissed her stomach, feeling shy about going lower. He rested his hands on her hips. Her hand came down and clutched his. He was unsure what to do exactly, but wanted to use his mouth and tongue on her. He licked her down the middle, tasting her wetness. She brought her free hand's fist up to her mouth, stifling a moan. He repeated his action, making her buck her hips.
"Bite," she told him breathlessly.
He brought his mouth down at the right side of her core on the spot near her leg. He used just one eye tooth to pierce into her flesh. She bit her knuckle hard, fighting back a scream. He drank from her, finding it the most delicious of all three bites. He drank only a little from her, not wanting to take too much from her.
He pulled himself away from her, sinking down to the ground on his knees. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand absentmindedly. All he could feel or sense was the desire to bed her, but not the courage to rise up off his knees and do it.
She bent down, looking at him. "Get up here, my love," she told him. "Finish your claim."
He reached his hands up to hers. She yanked him up to stand and then passed her on the bed. After a slight unsure whimper, she straddled him, resting her mound just beside his cock. He groaned at the sight of it. She frowned down at him in full determination. She grabbed his cock with her hand firmly and shoved it inside of her. She cried out in fright and pain while he gasped in shock and awe. She felt so wet, tight, and hot. She moved over him, drawing him in and out of her shallowly, even though it seemed to pain her to do so. He closed eyes, moaning loudly as he felt his own pleasure release inside of her.
She slipped off of him, pulling herself off of him. She laid herself down at her side next to him while he lay still, feeling lightheaded and blissful. He hoped quietly to himself that she would feel the same.
He rolled over to his side to look at her. She looked tired and still pained. Her hand rested on the front of her hip bone. There was blood below her hand and blood on himself as well. Bloodied and bonded.
She rolled herself up onto her hands and knees and slipped off the bed. She winced, hand clutching her front, but stood up only slightly hunched over. He raised himself up to a sitting position, waiting to see what she wanted to do next. She took his hands in hers, pulling him up with her on his feet.
"Can we shower?" she asked in an almost hoarse voice. "The blood is making me a little bit queasy."
"Oh, of course," he said, feeling like he was clumsy and partially neglectful to her for not suggesting it first.
She took him by the hand with one hand while her other hand remained on her front. She lead him into his bathroom and then dropped his hand from hers. She went over to his shower and turned it on, the hot water flowing down in pure heat and steam. She steamed into it gingerly, sighing as the water flowed over her slim body.
He watched her, his mate, probably far too long. She huffed under her breath, reached over to him and pulled her under the water with her.