Yozak sighed as he settled his still squirming Mate down against his chest. He had to admit he was a little worried about the other man. It had been two days since he'd gone out of Rutt and rather than getting better, Conrart had actually gotten worse.
This was not going as he'd expected.
It was common knowledge that once the more dominant partner in a relationship went out of season, a few things could happen depending on the couple. If both partners were submissive then nothing changed, the two would still cuddle and bed each other. On the other hand if both partners were dominant then the partner who'd just gone out of season would discover their roles rather abruptly reversed. When one partner was submissive however, then one of two things might occur.
The submissive could simply relax and become very cuddly for the remainder of their season, or they could become almost desperate for the touch of their mate. He'd thought Conrart would be the former rather than the latter based upon they way he'd acted during the war.
However, it appeared not.
He shifted slightly and gently rearranged Conrart against his chest, tenderly caressing the smaller man's side and hip hoping the gentle touch would settle him somewhat. Yozak was keeping a tight rein on his libido. Even now that he was out of season, Conrart was beautiful and his soft mewling cries were arousing.
They were meant to be.
Still it didn't make controlling his libido any easier. The soft touch of his hand against the smaller man's skin settled Conrart who promptly snuggled into his chest and slid into the arms of sleep.
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Selenay sighed as she gazed at the large pile of papers on her desk, it was mid May and she had a lot of paperwork to sludge through. She looked up at the light tap on her office door, and nodded to Herald Yozak as the young man entered the room.
"Hello Yozak, what can I do for you?" she inquired, glad for the distraction.
He smiled at her and she couldn't help thinking about the fact that he was one of the few Heralds she couldn't read as she gestured for him to take a seat. He did willingly enough, and they passed a moment in silence as the man seemed to gather himself.
After a moment he spoke, "Highness, about six months ago I informed you that I was in Rutt."
Selenay raised an eyebrow, "Yes, although I believe you did not consider it important enough to concern me until after you gave my husband a black eye." She replied with wry humor, before adding. "Why do you bring it up now?"
Yozak smirked at her in response, before replying "Conrart's in season," almost offhandedly.
"Oh dear," Selenay replied sharply suppressing the urge to groan, "And you are still in season, are you not?"
Yozak snorted, "as of three days ago, no." He replied candidly, "Hence my bringing Conrart's season up to your attention at all."
Selenay felt the tension in her back and shoulders bleed away, "Thank the gods," she said with a sigh of relief. "With Daren's brother coming to visit in a fortnights' time, the last thing we need is the two of you attempting to kill each other in the corridors."
Yozak laughed. "I'd more likely to attempt to mate with Conrart while he's in Heat, so no worries there."
Selenay flinched, "Considering the Rethwellan's opinion of the Shaych that would be a diplomatic nightmare." she replied, dry humor softening her words slightly. After a second it occurred to her, "wait, heat?"
Yozak sighed, "Yes heat" he replied softly.
"Heat in what sense?" she enquired, Yozak's only response was to raise an eyebrow. Blushing she asked, "You mean like a cat?"
Yozak smiled softly "kind of like a cross between a bitch and a queen really." He said simply, "Submissive's don't tend to throw themselves at people, other than the person they actually want; although some do. However they are more susceptible to suggestion or to insistence."
"I see." Selenay replied after a few seconds spent mentally sputtering.
Yozak sighed, "Actually I'm not sure you do."
"Care to explain it to me then?"
Yozak ran a hand through his hair. "Conrart for the most part will be fine unless the suggestions are of a sexual nature… also Conrart is highly susceptible, even to things other submissive's wouldn't be. I don't know how he managed to hide it all these years, really."
Selenay rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Are you telling me I should remove Conrart from active duty?"
Yozak blinked, "Not entirely no. Just don't send him out on circuit."
"That can be arranged," Selenay replied with a nod. "Anything else I should know?"
"Conrart will only be in season for a few more months, he apparently went into season while he was on circuit." Yozak told her mildly.
Selenay winced, "I see," she replied slowly. "So when he was in the vales." She closed her eyes briefly, "he was in the vales," she repeated with growing alarm. The Hawkbrothers were not known for celibacy, or for subtly in suggestion. She spent a moment trying to figure out how to ask after the sexual health of one of her Heralds. However Yozak interrupted her before she had the chance to do more than sputter inarticulately.
"Van was able to exert enough control over Conrart to ensure that he didn't get hurt." He replied softly.
Selenay nodded relieved. "Good to know." She replied. "Is there anything that can be done for Conrart? I know your people have a tea for Rutt, is there something similar for Heat?"
Yozak inclined his head, "Yes and I made certain Conrart was taking it the second I found out he was in Heat." He paused, a curious look on his face before enquiring lightly. "Didn't Elizabeth tell you there was a tea for Heat? She spent the better part of three hours in the greenhouse with me learning how to make it and modifying it so that a human could drink it."
"No she didn't, I suppose she didn't think it important enough to bother me with." Selenay replied thoughtfully, before adding. "Is there anything else I should know about your seasons?"
Yozak flushed, "about Season, no." he replied. "However there are some things you need to know about mated pairs – which is what Conrart and I are."
Selenay nodded. "Then by all means enlighten me."
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"You told Selenay What?!" Conrart screeched, though he would fervently deny the fact that he was capable of producing such a shrill sound. He couldn't believe Yozak's audacity.
Yozak raised an eyebrow and rubbed at his no doubt ringing ears. Mazoku had exceptional hearing well into ranges beyond that of a human and Conrart's own ears rang with the shrillness of his words.
"Conrart calm down." Yozak replied mildly.
"Don't you tell me to calm down! If I wanted anyone to know I'd have told them. Damn it Yozak. How could you humiliate me like that? How could you tell her something so personal? Did it ever occur to that if I wanted her to know, I would have told her myself?" Conrart crossed his arms and glared at his mate, he was humiliated, angry and more than a little hurt. "Shinou I, I've never told anyone about… about my condition and I wanted it to stay that way. What gave you the right to tell Selenay of all people?"
Yozak's eyebrow had all but met his hairline at the word "condition," and he took a deep calming breath.
"Come on Con, calm down." He replied gently. "She needed to know."
"She did not!" Conrart snapped. "There was absolutely no reason why you needed to tell her that." He took a breath and continued in a softer voice. He couldn't believe Yozak thought he was so weak that he needed the queen of all people to be informed of his condition.
:Chosen you're being foolish.: Vanyel informed him in exasperation. : I doubt Yozak thinks your weak. As for your 'condition' as you so eloquently put it, there is nothing wrong with you.:
Frustrated Conrart mentally snapped at the stallion to mind his own business. He could feel Vanyel snort through their bond.
Which only made him all the more frustrated
Yozak sighed, "Conrart, think for a moment what would happen if both you and Queen Selenay were in danger. If I could only get to one of you, our people know the risk, just as they know the outcome. Selenay does not!"
Conrart bloody well knew who's life and safety Yozak would see to first. Had their roles been reversed, he would have done the same thing. Hell he had done similar in his position as Captain of Yuri's guard and as Commander of his Calvary. Still it didn't mean he had to like what Yozak had done. Unable to contradict Yozak's logic, but still beyond furious, he raised his chin and exited the room in his most dignified huff.
Muttering to himself, in six languages, about annoying, pragmatic, copper haired, louts who's "ends justify the means" strategy at life was aggravating in the extreme, and likely to end in a perpetually empty bed if he didn't pull his damned head of ridiculously soft, fine, copper hair out of his ass and realize that his backwards optimistic worldview of – "Could be worse – we could all be dead," wasn't going to do him much damned good if he drove his mate mad enough to ring his admittedly gorgeous neck.
The fact that Yozak was currently laughing at him –
Was not helping the fop's chances of a warm body in his bed in the near future.
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Yozak lay quietly in his empty bed, gazing up at the ceiling he couldn't see and wondering if Conrart would really stay away all night. He didn't have long to wait for his answer though. The soft sound of his door opening and a trickle of exhaustion, lust, timidness, and mild annoyance washing over his empathy via his eternally open connection to his mate heralded Conrart's arrival. He lay still knowing full well that Conrart was less likely to turn right back around if he thought he was asleep before he'd actually reached the bed.
On occasion the smaller man had been willing to sacrifice sleep for pride until he was actually warm and comfortable.
Yozak was taking no chances, so he feigned sleep as Conrart drew nearer.
"I know you're awake," Conrart said softly into the din.
Yozak sighed and rolled over, folding down the covers in clear invitation. "I didn't want 'his stubbornness' to run back to his own room." He replied in the same soft tone, using his childhood nickname for Conrart in a princely snit.
Conrart stripped out of his robe and slipped into bed beside him, naked as the day he was born. "Great One, you're freezing!" Yozak exclaimed wrapping the smaller man in his arms and pulling him up against his chest, before quickly rearranging the blankets and tucking them around Conrart's slim shoulders. He could feel him shivering – Conrart always had gotten cold easily.
"Thank you," Conrart said softly snuggling into his chest. There was a brief pause and then Conrart whispered "I'm sorry Yoz, had I been in your place I would have done the same."
Yozak smiled and kissed the smaller man's neck, "no need to apologize love, I understand."
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Conrart groaned as he sat down on the bed he shared with Yozak. He'd spent the better part of the day working with students in the salle and he was very sore. He'd been trying to teach several of the students to use everything around them as a weapon. In hind sight that likely had not been the brightest lesson to be teaching a class that heavy in blue clad students.
End result: he was very exhausted and ached all over.
Grumbling under his breath about students that were going to be the death of him, he began to attempt to massage the knots out of his right shoulder.
He was still sore an hour later when Yozak came home. True to character Yozak dropped the leather shoulder bag he used to carry the students' work and his teaching materials down onto a chair before ambling into what was still technically his bedroom.
"You up for din-... are you all right?"
Conrart groaned, "I had the idiotic idea of teaching a class full of blues to use everything in their surroundings as a weapon."
"Any casualties, beside your dignity?" Yozak enquired as he settled himself down beside Conrart on the edge of the bed.
Conrart flushed, "Just my back, and hip."
Yozak nodded, and Conrart felt the other man's mind brush his own, before the other man asked, "Would you like a backrub?" in a carefully neutral voice.
If he was honest with himself he didn't know how that made him feel – ever since he'd initiated the second test, Yozak had handled him with kid-gloves. It was as if he was afraid he'd accidently influence him into doing something he wasn't ready for. It meant Yozak was almost constantly checking on his emotional and mental state before the other man was willing to put a hand on him. It was endearing –
And damned annoying
"Yes please." He replied softly.
Yozak inclined his head. "Before or after dinner?" he asked gently.
Conrart groaned, carefully pulled off his shirt and after a moment's thought he simply stripped down to his 'standard issue panties' (as Yozak had always called them) and crawled up the bed until he could stretch out.
Yozak gave a long whistle at the sight of his bruised back, "make that a massage and I'll send a page to bring us some dinner. Are you sure you don't have any fractured ribs under that bruise or should I send for Elizabeth?"
"No thank you, I know what fractured ribs feel like and mine are just bruised. I'll be fine with a massage, and some bruise salve." Conrart replied.
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Yozak briefly considered asking exactly when Conrart had learned what fractured ribs felt like – but dismissed it, since Conrart told him just about everything and he was fairly certain that the man had probably learned about that when he'd been taken prisoner by King Belar. He shifted his weight slightly as he straddled the other man's hips and began to work the knots out of Conrart's shoulders, before shifting tactics and keeping his touches more sensual as he worked his way down over the bruises, his hands gently working the salve into the abused flesh.
Conrart didn't need any more pain.
The smaller man squirmed slightly under his touch, but he could feel Conrart relaxing as he carefully concentrated on making his massage soothing and avoided touching anything even remotely related to an erogenous zone. It didn't take long before Conrart completely relaxed under his gentle touch.
Conrart had pulled on a robe by the time their dinner arrived and had taken up residence on their sofa, relaxed despite his bruises. Yozak was profoundly thankful that whatever had made Conrart desperate for his touch when he'd first gone out of Rutt had finally passed. It had taken about three days but Conrart had finally calmed and gone back to his normal behavior of simply curling up against his chest.
If he didn't know better he'd say Conrart had actually been pair-bound.
The very idea was idiotic.
But it was the only thing that had matched Conrart's symptoms.
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Yozak smiled to himself as he gently ran his hand over Conrart's hip. The other man had been asking for a massage multiple times a day for the past two weeks. It had only taken a few days before Yozak had realized that Conrart was so relaxed there wasn't a single knotted muscle for him to work out and the rest of the week to work out that all Conrart really wanted was his touch.
He'd changed his tactics slightly keeping the massages light and airy, trying to sooth Conrart, and doing his level best to keep from arousing the smaller man. Conrart would curl up against his chest afterwards and just rest there, his breathing patterns making it clear he wasn't asleep; just extremely relaxed.
Conrart shifted slightly and cuddled a bit further into his chest as he slipped into sleep. Yozak smiled and softly dragged his hand up Conrart's bare back and after a moment began to card his fingers through his mate's hair. He'd let the other man sleep for the next hour or so and then he'd wake him for dinner.
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Conrart suppressed the urge to laugh at the papers he'd been reading, some of the answers he'd gotten were downright amusing. He'd assigned a four page paper on the policies, procedures, and important changes and events during the reign of one of the twenty-seven Maous of the student's choice. Unsurprisingly most of his students had chosen Shinou, Maou Henstridge Davidson (more commonly known as King Slaughter) and Heika Yurri.
He set aside the seventh essay he'd graded on how Heika Yurri earned the honorific title: 'The Just', and poured himself another glass of water. He picked up the next essay on the stack noting the fact that it was at least eight pages. Idly he wondered which Maou, Bardic Trainee Saxon had decided to write an epic novel about.
Queen Cecilia von Spitzweg, 26th Maou of Shin Makoku.
Despite himself, he laughed. Her reputation as 'flighty' and her position as the leader of the 'Free Love Movement" notwithstanding; his mother had actually been a good Maou. It hadn't been until after his father's death that things had gone downhill under the regency of his much detested Uncle.
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His mouth was hanging open in abject horror, disgust, and more than a little indignation when Yozak cleared his throat. Conrart jerked, his head snapping up to meet his mate's gaze so quickly he was surprised he didn't get whiplash. He sputtered and tried to forget the sordid images the essay had painted of his mother.
"Are you alright, you look like you're going to be sick?" Yozak enquired, gently bringing his hand up to rest on his forehead as if to check his temperature.
Conrart swallowed and held out the paper he'd been too appalled to put down; holding it loosely by one corner. "I asked for a four page paper on the political policies and governance of any one of our 27 Maous – and got THIS. So yes, I think I may be sick."
Yozak raised his eyebrows, and carefully took the paper out of Conrart's nearly limp fingers. Placing it on the table he led him away from the desk in their rooms and over to the couch. Conrart shuddered as his stomach rolled, settling himself against his mate's side, he'd only read the first page.
It was enough to make him very, very ill.
Honestly he hoped the trainee had written more than porn, but was frankly too alarmed by the idea of even attempting to find out. For crying out loud the damned free love movement was mentioned in exactly one paragraph and dealt not with his mother's love life but rather with her desire to see the old noble customs about purity upon one's marriage reduced so that peoples' lives were not ruined by an act of stupidity before marriage!
Did the little –
Did he even read the chapters on the 27 Maous?
It took him a moment to realize Yozak was gently rubbing his back, he looked up at the larger man and quietly enquired, "Is it wrong of me to want to burn that...essay?"
Yozak gave him a gentle squeeze, "Just fail him and make him rewrite it – like we all do when Trainee Saxon's rather sordid imagination gets the better of him. It won't do the Heraldic reputation any good if we start burning papers that we find offensive. Besides the Bardic Circle is already convinced that all he'll ever write once he gets his scarlets is ballads of drunken debauchery."
"But, but… this was about mother!" he squeaked and then added, "How'd you know it was Trainee Saxon?"
Yozak winced, "No wonder you look green." He said gently. "Let's get your mind off of that paper and change the subject shall we?"
Conrart nodded. "Anything to take my mind off the papers I still have to grade."
Yozak leaned down and kissed him gently on top of the head.
Conrart leaned into his mate, a soft mewling noise tearing its way up his throat and past his lips at the gentle attention. Yozak purred softly in response sending a shiver down Conrart's spine. He moved closer to the larger man, so that he was all but sitting in his lap, chirping and mewing softly in response to Yozak's soft purring. He shifted slightly, fidgeting uncertainly before climbing into Yozak's lap and burying his nose in Yozak's neck, nuzzling the larger man.
Abruptly Yozak chuckled, and shook his head slightly, "how did I miss this?" he asked softly.
Conrart sat up leaning back a bit so that he could look his mate in the eyes. "Miss what?"
Yozak made of soft chirp-like purring noise in response, and Conrart felt his cheeks flushing in embarrassment at his instinctive mewling response. Horrified and humiliated he clapped a hand over his mouth, and slid backwards off of the other man's lap so that he sat beside him on the sofa his legs still draped across Yozak's lap.
"That," Yozak replied softly, gently pulling him back up into his lap. "You're calling; you've been doing it for years."
"I- Yozak, I-"
Yozak smiled and gently rubbed the small of Conrart's back, "I like it," he said softly. "I just wonder how I missed it. I purr and you mew in response. The only explanation I have is that I didn't know you were a submissive so I wasn't looking for the signs."
Conrart shifted slightly, "I'm sorry," he replied softly; "I should have told you."
Yozak sighed, "I understand why you didn't." He hesitated slightly before adding. "I know you spent part of every one of my Rutts with me, but that doesn't explain how we were able to mate. Can you tell me about your Heats?"
"What about them?" he replied timidly.
"When?" Yozak asked simply. "I doubt you were faking Rutt while in Heat."
Conrart flushed, "I – I waited until a week after I was out of Heat… faking Rutt while feeling sick didn't seem like a good idea so I waited for the sickness to pass before pretending to start pre-Rutt."
Yozak inclined his head, acknowledging the sense in that, before asking softly. "Heat makes you feel sick?"
"Only after the last month," Conrart replied softly. "I feel sickly and off for the next week."
Yozak shifted slightly, "that sucks, I'm sorry." He paused then added, "right before you went into pre-Rutt. So there was the war, then practically every 10 years after that until now." When Conrart nodded he pressed on. "How the hell did I not notice?"
"You've said that already." Conrart replied with slight amusement.
Yozak sighed, "yes but it was so obvious."
Conrart raised an eyebrow but refrained from commenting.
Yozak smiled at him, kissing him gently before he continued. "So let's see, I was there for the entirety of your first heat."
Conrart flushed, he knew Yozak was referring to the war which was actually his third Heat, but he couldn't tell his mate that, Yozak would be disgusted – and it was technically true anyway. Okay so Yozak had only been there for a little over half of his first heat, but he had crawled into bed with Yozak almost as soon as he'd gotten home from school, tucking himself against the larger boy's chest crying quietly over the events of his 85th birthday.
He closed his eyes briefly and silently lied to his best friend again.
He hated to do it…
But Yozak simply couldn't know how much of a dirty whore he was.
So he said nothing
Yozak laughed a bit self deprecatingly, "and I got ridiculously over protective of you, going so far as to coax you into my bedroll. Using the most ridiculous excuses imaginable, I might add. After that you quite happily shared my bed until the end of the war. I was content to keep you safely tucked half underneath me from the night you went into heat until the day we both went out of season, during which time I was celibate after losing interest in the only willing submissive in our platoon."
Conrart flushed refraining from telling his mate that the thought of how Olaf had warmed Yozak's bed, even for only a fortnight made him want to hiss and growl. He was embarrassed to admit it, but he had always enjoyed the feeling of Yozak's comforting weight on top of him. After he'd gone into Heat that comforting weight had taken on an additional pleasure he wasn't entirely comfortable with. Once Yozak had started his Rutt, the soft sound of his rumbling purr was comforting, enticing and erotic. He loved the way the soft noise made him feel, and yet he feared the instincts it raised. He'd often awoken during one of his Heats, having wiggled his way beneath Yozak, with his legs spread wide. The few times he hadn't snuggled into Yozak until he was underneath the other man, he'd awoken more than half on top of him usually with their legs twined.
It was damned embarrassing.
"You chased Olaf out of the tent once." He replied softly after a moment of silence, "and you used to growl at him, if he or any of the other men got to close to the bedroll while I was in your arms. I felt safe." His ears burned with that admission, and he'd added the last part before he'd realized exactly what he'd just said.
He tucked his face into Yozak's shoulder in mortification. For a submissive nothing was more intimate than calling…
Unless one was actually being intimate
Although, according to Yozak a submissive called for a variety of reasons and not all of them sexual, the same was true of dominants.
What Yozak had been doing however, was blatantly possessive, and sexual. His actions had rather loudly proclaimed Conrart to be his …
That Conrart had enjoyed the attention and found it comforting –
Yozak chuckled, cutting off his thoughts. "And here I'd thought the only thing stopping you from skinning me over taking that liberty was the fact that you'd been asleep;" he said mildly.
Conrart flushed and cuddled a little closer to Yozak's chest. "It made me feel safe," he confessed softly into Yozak's chest again.
He felt Yozak's deep rumbling chuckle as much as he heard it. "I'm glad you feel safe with me." He said sincerely before pressing on with his original topic of conversation. "You spent the first month of my first Rutt following the war sleeping naked in my bed, during which time I was content to use you like a teddy bear. That is until Gwendal sent you to deal with the border raids. Which I might add greatly annoyed me at the time. However, you returned while I was in the middle of getting my rear end handed to me by an equally dominant male who happened to be older and more experienced than me, in a battle over a lass I had been bedding since you left, and wasn't interested in losing to him when she'd just come into season herself. Upon seeing you I decided that there was absolutely no way in hell I was going lose that fight in front of you, and promptly wiped the floor with him. But it was you who wound up warming my bed for the last two months of my Rutt, and I was once again celibate for the rest of the season – despite the fact that you slept naked as the day you were born. Did I leave anything out?"
Conrart shook his head "No," he said softly.
Yozak gently stroked his hair, "tell me about that season's heat." He said firmly, before reaching out and gently placing his hand under Conrart's chin, forcing him to look up into his flame blue eyes.
Conrart sighed, "That was a bad season for me, and I was too scared to sleep. The only time I got a full night's sleep was in your arms, or immediately after you'd given me a massage – because it made me relax. I was safe… you wouldn't let anything happen to me."
Yozak smiled tenderly at him, , "That was the year after Gisela decided you should start getting massages to help with your stress levels and hopefully your hip as well." He acknowledged, and then added cheekily, "If memory serves, I gave you a lot of massages that Heat."
"Yes," Conrart squeaked
Yozak snorted. "No, a lot of massages and if memories serves, I stayed with you every night of that Heat or I'd wake up to you crawling into bed with me a few hours later because you couldn't sleep. I sleep naked and so did you that season. Yet somehow I was still celibate."
Conrart cringed slightly, and then mewled happily when Yozak began to deftly rub the small of his back.
Yozak kissed him gently before pressing on. "Let's see, my next Rutt was when I was 135 and you would have been 127/128?"
"127," Conrart replied softly.
Yozak nodded, "you where there for the last two months of my pre-Rutt, and all six months of my actual Rutt; which I spent celibate – somehow, despite the fact that there was a naked man in my bed every night."
Conrart's flush was an almost Bardic Scarlet, "not exactly." He replied softly.
"Explain?" Yozak said in a tone that was far harsher then he'd intended.
"You weren't exactly celibate," Conrart replied softly finding something in the vicinity of his lap very interesting. "I – I kept waking up with your hand between my legs almost nightly."
"So I spent that Rutt molesting my best friend? Well that's just great!" Yozak replied sarcastically.
Conrart flinched, "I'm sorry," he said softly. "You were asleep, I didn't want to wake you, and I felt safe so I just moved your hand and went back to sleep."
"Please tell me this is a very distasteful joke?" Yozak replied with an almost desperate air.
Conrart looked down, and slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't"
Yozak was redder then his hair briefly before all the color drained from his face. "You kept spending the night with me despite everything, because you have trouble sleeping? Conrart, do you have any idea how lucky you are? Do you have any idea what I could have done? We were both naked, do you have any idea how much that would have hurt?" he was horrified by what he could have done, and horrified that Conrart didn't seem even remotely alarmed.
Conrart couldn't help being confused, Yozak was alarmed and angry – but he knew the other man could never hurt him. He looked up at his mate, his eyes wide with confusion. "You would never hurt me." He replied with all the confidence he felt in that simple truth.
Yozak sputtered, Conrart looked up at him with an innocent naivety that Yozak frankly couldn't believe the other man was still capable of. Still it soothed his ruffled feathers and he relaxed gently kissing the other man lightly before continuing on with his original topic. "Your next heat was 10 years ago when you were 139, am I correct?" Conrart made an affirmative noise, and he continued. "Again we slept together naked." He said before adding softly, "Please tell me I wasn't molesting you while you were in heat!"
Conrart shook his head in the negative, and snuggled deeper into Yozak's well muscled chest. "You just held me. I was safe; you kept me safe… even during your first Rutt."
Yozak sighed, "Thank the great one," He said softly. Conrart might not have understood the significance of what he'd been doing in his sleep but he sure as hell did. He paused, considering what Conrart had just said, why was his first Rutt significant in this conversation? "Conrart," he asked after a few seconds. "What did you mean by 'even during my first Rutt'?"
Conrart blanched, "Nothing, just I was having night terrors and was sharing your bed even then and you made me feel safe. You were someone I could just be safe with."
Yozak raised an eyebrow, Conrart's speech was smooth and if he didn't know the man so well he likely would have believed him, but the man's body language screamed – lie.
"What did you mean by, 'even during my first Rutt'?" he asked again firmly before adding sarcastically; "What you going to tell me you were in Heat then too?"
"NO!" Conrart replied a little too sharply, all of the color draining out of his face.
Yozak stared at him in abject shock as the implications of his body language and tone washed over him. "You were in Heat during my first Rutt." He said softly. Conrart whimpered, pulling away from him to bury his face in his hands, the odd mixture of embarrassment, shame and fear was plain to Yozak's empathy and he quickly mastered his dismay. He reached out with gentle hands and pulled Conrart back into his arms, purring softly to quiet his mate. "You started early," he said softly. He was more than a little alarmed by the spike in Conrart's fear and the way the smaller man flinched at that comment. "Conrart?" he enquired gently.
"I'm not a whore." The other man replied softly, struggling to get out of his grasp.
"Never said you were," Yozak replied, keeping Conrart firmly in his arms.
Conrart squirmed. "Only whores go into heat before their first century." He said in a manner that suggested he was quoting someone – or several idiots.
"Where in Shinou's name did you get that idea?" Yozak asked a little sharply.
"Everyone knows it." Conrart replied mildly.
"That's just stupid noble nonsense." Yozak replied firmly. "Next you'll be telling me you believe that noble nonsense about masturbating weakening your Marioku."
Conrart snorted, and relaxed into his embrace. "I love you, Yozak." He said softly. He was honestly amazed by the fact that Yozak wasn't treating him any differently after finding out that he'd gone into heat so young. But would Yozak still be so understanding if he knew exactly how young he'd truly been?
He couldn't take the risk that he wouldn't be.
Yozak smiled "I love you too".
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AN. firstly i would like to apologize for the wait, we spent part of this semester living on friends floors out of suitcases and we are very behind in classes. secondly i would like to apologize for any misspellings of Valdemarian terms as one of the casualties of the fecal-matter that has been going on is the loss of my Valdemar Companion. it may take us some time to get the next chapter edited and posted sorry for the delay.