Chapter 8: PDA (Public Displays of Affection)

Summary:

8. Where are we now...

"Whew... It's been a while."

"Yeah... Sorry, guys, we had been CRAZY busy!"

"Yes, like Senri says, lately we could hardly catch our breaths, much less find time and energy to write. But now, that it got a tad... well, let's say: easier, we decided to go back and finish Senri's guide. Mostly, you know... not to leave you, Dear Readers, hanging and wondering what happened."

"Mhmm, we also saw that we got a bunch of questions from you again, but we're going to get to answering those at the end of this guide."

"Okay, so to kick it off, we have to warn you in those few months, we had some... changes and surprises jump out on us..."

"In some cases: literally!"

"That, yes! But to keep this guide... well, making sense, at least for the most part, we will try to avoid... spoiling some things ahead of time. For now, let's just say that, obviously, me and Damon attended that audience with Bast... But after going over our notes for this guide, we decided to leave that for the epilogue. Sorry! We know you're probably especially curious about how THAT went, but believe me... Well, again, not going to spoil about that yet, so let's go back to the topic of this chapter: PDA."

"Originally, I planned to have Raha write more smut, obviously, but now we had other idea. A bit back, but before That Day, we celebrated our one-year anniversary, and my cute mate suggested that going over that would work to be a neat contrast to how we started off, to where are we now."

"Yeah, perhaps... I wish to brag a little, too. You guys know by now how much I screwed up the beginning of our relationship with my lame ideas about dating, so I thought... Hey, I learned a lot since then and wanted to be able to a bit share that experience with you all. I know this is intended to be a guide for mixed couples like ours, so this time - this chapter, pretty much - will be my love letter to you, my dear humans, especially if you found yourself courted by a shapeshifter. If you read carefully, I hope you managed to avoid the mistakes I made, and here... I wish to show you how it CAN be, if you put the work in, relax and let your Miqo'te sweep you off your feet!"

"Aww, I love your enthusiasm, babe. So, guys, this one is completely Raha's... while I'm going to sit back and enjoy the read alongside you!"

On the day of their first anniversary (by their two-sided agreement: precisely a year after he unknowingly Soul-Bonded his gorgeous shapeshifter), Raha woke up alone in their nest and, due to that fact, grumbled an incoherent complaint into one of the pillows. Then sat up with a jaw-breaking yawn and chuckled sheepishly after tossing a quick look toward the clock. Finally, realizing that he had slept in, he scrambled out of their nest and, after stretching, pulled on a pair of shorts before heading out of the bedroom.

Instantly spotting his mate, he couldn't help but grin – lately that was a… thing – and despite how useless that was with Senri's sensitive hearing, tried to sneak up on him… her, as in female form and dressed in one of Raha's shirts, his lover seemed busy by one of the leftover counters that used to belong to the kitchen once.

Considering that Senri impossibly enjoyed taking care of their meals via the use of his magic, he eventually remodeled most of that area to – and what made Raha impossibly amused then – a set of scratching posts in size corresponding to his true, feline form. Leaving two counters, one with a coffee maker and its supplies and another for any necessary dishes, they mostly took their meals either in the living room part of the apartment or around the aisle separating it from the 'scratching' area.

Like always, in the female form, his mate looked no less a vision than in the male form, bouncing her head slightly to the music playing from her phone – set on an aisle – with long, ink-black locks tied back into a ponytail, while her tail swiveled to the rhythm of the song, and Raha couldn't help but think that he was surely the luckiest man alive… When he moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and set a kiss on her neck, Senri stopped what she was doing – apparently preparing a meal for Ink II – half turned in his arms and offered her almost too pretty lips for a kiss, which he used more than gladly. Enjoying her sweet flavor, only Ink's disgruntled meow of complaint made them pull apart (the pet was far too used that if it didn't protest loud enough, they were likely to get… distracted in such moments). Raha backed away with a chuckle and picked up the cat, letting it settle against his chest as he leaned back against the aisle, and his mate, with an adorable pout, went back to preparing the bowls, absentmindedly switching on the coffee maker.

"I made reservations for the evening, remember?" he asked, rubbing the cat's ear fondly.

"Mhmm, no worries. I have to swing by the lair today – promised Hades – but I have it all figured out," she winked at him before picking up the set bowls and putting them by the Ink's nest near the counter. The cat meowed, and Raha set it on the ground, smiling as it scrambled toward the food. "Now, while your coffee is brewing…." Senri purred and took hold of his hand, soon leading him – obediently – toward the bathroom. "Let's take a shower, then I'll make breakfast, hm?"

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed easily, following her lead like the lovesick idiot he truly was, and was more than rewarded for his compliance when swiftly after they undressed and got into the cabin, setting the temperature of the water to scalding hot, he was pulled into even a hotter kiss.

Purring his approval, he gladly pinned Senri against the tilled wall, not surprised in the slightest when she – matching his purrs – soon easily let him pick her up, coiling her long legs and tail around his waist. Digging her nails into his back, she mewled with satisfaction when he took her, filling his head with the addictive sounds of her pleasure. Kissing almost as lazily as he rocked into her, enjoying every push and pull of their tongues no less than the sensation of her cunt wrapped tightly around his cock on each thrust, he was drunk on her sweet taste by the time Senri broke the kiss and came with a round of her (his) distinctive mewl-purrs of his name, wrapping around him tight like a vice. Feeling her fangs sink into his shoulder, Raha groaned loudly and returned the favor – with his matching set – nearly weak with bliss as he followed her across the edge.

Sagging against the wall and pinning his shapeshifter to it – if carefully keeping his weight from her, they were both smiling as they pulled back just enough to return to kissing and tasting a tang of copper on her rough tongue, he couldn't resist but snuck his hand between them and curl it possessively around her abdomen, like every single time: utterly blown away by its increasing curve.

When Senri went into heat, he was… well, a tad too out of his mind to pay that much attention to the fact that his shapeshifter throughout it made sure to stay in the female form. And who could blame him...? A four-day long marathon of fucking would turn any man's brain to mush… and he definitely wasn't immune to that, so only when the impossibly maddening way his lover's scent turned to waned – too soon – he connected the dots and understood his mate's intent.

So far – and a week before their audience now – neither he nor Damon were able to Shift, but the changes to their physiology seemed to run their course. They both still looked mostly human, at least considering their ears and lack of tails – if definitely more feline-like than they started. Both now with feline, crimson eyes, after comparing their notes – so to say – it seemed that they were kind of… stuck on the very verge of a full turn – as if their bodies waited for some trigger to allow them to Shift. Damon – as he was prone to – theorized that that 'trigger' is whatever reason the Bastet wished to see them, and they both decided to wait and see.

But – apparently – his lover had a better idea, and Senri's ploy proved that Raha was just Allagan enough already to… well, cross that interspecies bridge. And though not warned about it by his mischievous mate beforehand… he did pretty much pass out when Senri gleefully announced that 'she' was pregnant. After coming around afterward, both beyond deliriously happy, they decided to keep that a secret… for now. At least until that whole audience is behind them if Senri's brothers seemed a tad suspicious about his sudden insistence on staying in the female form.

They planned to share the news – at least with their respective brothers – after finding out whatever the goddess ideas were in all of this, then start looking for a bigger, better 'lair.' Raha loved their apartment as it was now but understood that some sacrifices had to be made, considering the circumstances. On Senri's part, he was very much stuck Shifting only between his female and true form, as anything else would… terminate their kits, apparently. He did warn Raha that in the last few weeks of the pregnancy – if everything goes as it normally does with the Miqo'te because his added human genes were an unknown – he would have to stay permanently in his true form up to birth since, yeah: the kits were always born literally as kittens. And more often than not, more than one at a time.

Enough said, Raha was as excited as he was nervous!

Pulling back for the kiss, and despite the water pouring over their heads, he leaned his forehead against his lover's shoulder, and Senri wrapped her arms around his head, soothingly running her fingers through his wet hair. Keeping his hand over her belly between them, he smoothed his thumb over her heated skin, barely half aware he was purring until she giggled, pointedly tightening her thighs around his sides.

"Now, let me down, my cute mate," she said, setting a kiss on his temple. "Before you put my schedule for today completely out of whack, hm?"

"Mhmm," he sighed, then pulled back just enough to kiss her again. "Just before you storm off, my heart… are you feeling okay?"

"We are feeling marvelous, worrywart," she grinned his Senri's lovely, goofy grin and his heart stuttered to a stop for a moment, then doubled its rhythm, and he couldn't help but kiss her again, electing a cute round of purrs mixed with giggles. "Now, let's wash, eat breakfast and see about getting through the day, yes?" she said, flicking him on the nose delicately when he finally set her on the floor of the cabin.

"As you wish, love," he replied, then stole another quick, delicious kiss. While she laughed softly under his mouth, his thoughts ran briefly to his plan for the evening and the ring – safely hidden from his curious shapeshifter – adorned with a stone well matching his lover's ice-blue eyes, no matter Senri's form.

Like their whole relationship, pretty much, they were going about everything completely out of order – but despite that, or perhaps because of that – there was one human tradition that he found that he didn't want to let go of.

After Senri left to meet up with her brother, Raha with Ink II for company set to put the finishing touches to his book. He spent nearly every free moment on that since Senri's heat, wanting to send it to his publisher before the 'Doomsday.'

Exactly a month before the 'audience,' they received another message from Bastet, and if he was being honest: the sight of described by Damon white, winged cat landing right in front of their feet during one of their late-night walks through the park… really drove the point home. Later he admitted somewhat sheepishly to his twin – when they brought the message to his and Ares's apartment for translation – that he still somewhat held on to the illusion that his brother made it up to… tease him or something.

In opposition to him, Damon was quite openly excited about meeting the goddess. He gleefully announced that the message contained the details: the time they were 'expected' to be present at the gate leading into abandoned Allagan's lair. The place didn't surprise them much, and his twin didn't hide hope that they'll be allowed to scour it after whatever reason Bast wished to see them and find out more about their predecessors. About themselves, too, pretty much.

And especially: why aren't they able to Shift?

If everything went well, their brothers shared with them the fact that after That, they planned to finally permanently move to Ares's lair, and his twin with flare announced that he planned to set about trying his hand at uniting the Clans. During that year and multiple visits to the shapeshifters' den,' as Ares said with obvious pride, Damon used his 'charms' to wrap the whole Clan around his little finger with his helpful tips and pieces of advice on how to improve or solve various issues about the lair.

Raha admittedly laughed himself silly after their latest visit the whole way back to their 'lair' after seeing that one of these 'improvements' was the addition of a multitude of human-inspired toys, walkways, and posts added to the 'nursery' of the Clan to help keep the kits entertained and give more breathing room to their caregivers. If he also made a mental note to remember that… tip for their later use, too.

The whole time, he was downright itching to share the news with his twin – especially if, as they surmised: they were on the exact same stage of their Allagan state – but all things considered… Well, if Damon knew, so would Ares, and they weren't quite ready to deal with Senri's normally overprotective brother going into the hype of soon becoming an uncle. Raha suspected that even Hades – normally calmest out of the trio of hybrids – was going to lose it and had no doubt that Ares would instantly include him in whatever he was going to see as 'fitting' care for their baby brother… And, honestly, he was quite happy to put off dealing with hyper-overprotective brothers-in-law as long as possible.

With the audience in a week, his book almost ready to go and somewhat gingerly looking around for something that could be a fitting 'lair,' they had enough on their plate as it was, thank you very much!

He sighed as he closed the file, then attached it to the message to his editor, sent it, and pushed back from the desk, petting Ink's head before he headed toward the bedroom.

He had tonight's evening planned to the finest details already for weeks, and with a no small amount of cash, he managed to secure the whole terrace of one of the best restaurants in the city, making sure to keep them aware that lights and sounds were meant to be kept to a minimum – as the presence of any humans other than those absolutely necessary. Not only as a nod toward his lover's more sensitive senses but also as a sort of proof that he learned his lesson from their initial 'dating' experience.

They both improved, honestly, as after spending a year among humans – and despite his shapeshifter's original apprehension toward anything human-related – Senri came to appreciate many things about their culture, habits, and technology. Their everyday life was now a balanced mix of both worlds, as Raha was inclined to think of it, and he had to admit that he was deliriously happy on a daily basis. And hoped that once they found a perfect place for their growing family, they could raise their kits to as well appreciate humanity more than other shapeshifters were raised to be wary of it.

Of course, they were also sort of… iffy about 'what' exactly their children were going to be. With Senri being a hybrid of Seeker and Keeper, and him Allag-human… Well, he was sure that Damon would have a field day with his theories up to the birth of their kits! Raha, however, planned to – if possible – have a word about that with a certain goddess.

Throughout this year, and in every spare moment, he studied mythology with dedication – and not only the one focused on Bastet.

As he discovered over that time on at first seemingly accidental occasions – and more than freaked out when he realized it wasn't accidental at all – Senri, with his cheery and easy-going attitude, gained many friends among the creatures that opposite to Miqo'te didn't choose to reveal themselves to the volatile humans, apparently standing back and observing the development of the situation between them and the shapeshifters.

Their meeting with Gabriel apparently sent the ripples across the web of interspecies connections and… well, gossip ring, and soon it seemed that every friend of Senri's Clan turned up, wanting to take stock of the hybrid's 'human' mate.

He was probably the most blown away by meeting the man again over a week later and during another of their strolls, but this time the Pyre wasn't alone. His sister, Roxy, was a lovely young woman with matching blonde locks and gorgeous, dark-blue eyes that nearly constantly shone with amusement, but it was her mostly silent companion that truly… scattered his wits when they were introduced by somewhat reluctant Senri – since he didn't seem the biggest fan of the dark-haired man with even darker eyes. Handsome, if not classically for his tad too-sharp features, the male that called himself 'Raphael' (admitting easily that it wasn't his real name, but that very, very few were able to pronounce that anymore) was apparently one of the first Pyre created… over twenty thousand years ago! Aptly nicknamed the Children of the Night, Pyres were the blessed creation of Nox (or Nyx), the primordial goddess of the night born of chaos. Senri later somewhat sheepishly admitted that he didn't like Raphael simply because of how impossibly old the male was – treating the other creatures mostly like silly children. Other than Roxy, obviously, who – Raha learned – like Gabriel, was much, much older than she looked, but not as extremally as her lover. And learning about how she ended up with a man like Raphael in the first place… Well, was definitely an interesting story by itself.

Pretty reasonably mind-blown, after that, Raha grew nearly obsessed with all manner of pantheons, and soon it paid as the Pyre were only the first of many to make an appearance and introduce themselves. Even his lover was somewhat surprised about how much attention his mating to a human seemed to raise, but as with pretty much anything else, he seemed fine as long as none of his friends seemed hostile. And as all of them seemed to be mostly just curious – and perhaps a tad worried for the shapeshifter – Raha ended up using the gained from the books knowledge to reassure each and every one of them of his 'best intentions' toward his hybrid mate. He figured that it would be easier to reveal his status as the lost Allag, but they refused to do so until meeting with Bast – unsure of her motives and intentions.

As he grew increasingly nervous as the date approached, his lover chose to see it all as the will of the goddess that created his kind. And Raha, after his research into her, would be inclined to agree – after all, she did once carry the title of Ra's All-Seeing Eye – but after discussing it with his twin… Well, both he and Damon were left with one question: if she was that omniscient… why allow the Allagan slaughter in the first place…? How did their bloodline survive to be rediscovered now…?

And most crucial of all: what did she want from them…?

He caught himself, shaking his head with a sheepish chuckle as he realized he was spinning into yet another round of worries about THAT day. But no, today was all about Senri and their love for each other. A celebration of how far they got in this one year of their mating – and in a way, his own personal goodbye to the idiot that at first couldn't see the wonder of his shapeshifter for which Senri truly was.

In a way, a farewell to his human upbringing, too, as whatever comes from that audience, and whatever it's going to be the trigger that lets him – them – Shift or not, he had his growing family to think of and focus on. And regardless of what ancient Egyptian goddess wanted from them, he refused even to entertain the idea that it would be something that separated them, choosing to believe alongside his mate that the patron of love and fertility wouldn't be that cruel.

Pulling out the small, velvet-clad box from its cache in between his clothes, Raha flipped it open and smiled at the sight of an ice-blue diamond decorating the ring. Senri didn't much care for material possessions, but he was sure that his mate would appreciate the idea behind this particular gift: a memento and symbol of the fact that every single facet of the redhead's soul and nature belonged to the shapeshifter with the eyes matching this pretty stone. Closing the box, he whistled as he picked the clothes for the evening – right for the occasion – and with all in tow, marched under the shower.

When she said 'yes' under the starlit sky spread above their heads, Senri surprised him yet again – as he always tended to do – giggling madly as she pulled out a very similar-looking box from her purse and with a gorgeous, playful grin offered him with a beautifully carved ring adorned with a ruby exact shade of his uncovered eyes.

"What humans say: great minds think alike," she grinned toothily – in his Senri's best fashion – and after, with adorable focus on her face putting the ring on his finger, pounced, pulling him into a deep, delicious kiss that tasted of promise for their future.

"…and then we had a really, really hot sex against the glass wall surrounding that terrace."

"Sen!"

"What… it's true!"

"…you are impossible. But, yes, then we had an impossibly… pleasant rest of the evening, including not only sex but a lot of music and dancing. No alcohol, though, obviously!"

"Okay… you're fine with finishing it here, babe? We still have 'Pets and Gifts' left before the epilogue."

"Mhmm, should be perfect. Perhaps I'll only add this: we agreed to hold our wedding on our second anniversary, and though we mostly want to keep it … human way, so to say, for symbolism sake, there had to be some adjustments made for the fact that when the news hit the… gossip wheel, as we call it, many of the more unusual of Senri's friends expressed their wish to attend. And let me tell you, Dear Readers, that searching for a fitting venue is… interesting! Damon laughed himself silly when I complained about the fact that a very few of the places having an available dates on the said day were big enough to fit in a dragon…"

"Two dragons, babe, and only if Ienao's eggs don't hatch by then, too."

"…I have to make some calls."

"Pfff… if you could see his face as he stormed off! But… ah, among everything else, I think he's having fun taking care of the preparations for something like that. So, see you in the next chapter, guys, and I hope you'll forgive us for being so… secretive and all. Some of you, especially my Miqo'te kin, probably at least heard the rumors of what went down… but for the story's sake, I hope you too will look forward to Raha's description of it, because… Yeah, it was pretty wild. And, privately, I think he enjoys the suspense, if you know what I mean. Take care and, hopefully, you'll hear from us again soon!"