Chapter 1: The Rise and Fall of Gentelmen
Though very few realized, Senri, in his journeys as the Warrior, grew to be something of a hoarder.
He didn't even know that there was an actual word for his habit of keeping whatever knickknacks and souvenirs he stumbled upon across his adventures, or didn't even really register the fact that the small cottage he bought somewhat on a whim in Lavender Beds became overcrowded with different kinds of such.
It also wasn't really a 'habit' – not really – until the passing of the hot, heady summer when he met, fell, and lost his Allagan prince. In years after that, whenever he stumbled upon something that looked interesting, he couldn't resist the curiosity if that thing – whatever it was – would put a shine in his prince's fiery eyes… be it of amusement or intrigue – and that eventually led to his uncontrollably growing collection.
It was pointless – he believed then… at least until the battle at Gimlyth Dark.
With most of his friends gone comatose and with an uncertainty of the upcoming battle… and, to be frank, him growing tired of his dance with fate and endless loneliness – he remembered asking Tataru before going to the battlefield that in case he didn't make it back… she should have all of his things stored and preserved by their friends in Ironworks – somewhat naively hoping that even if he couldn't ever see his redhead again… Couldn't see if he would find any of those silly items interesting, perhaps one day in the future…
Yes, he was only half aware of his 'habit,' but after losing Raha, he never lied to himself about his pure, undiluted obsession with the only man he ever loved.
Whom he still wanted – more than anything and anyone – even five years later and no matter how much foggy the memories of their time together grew.
Raha, with his sweetness and kind nature, grew in his mind to be something of a symbol – like some chose to see his miserable title. Everything about him was a sweet memory of the only – too-short – time in his life when Senri felt loved and accepted for every facet of his broken soul. And the half-mad beast living under his masks was soothed with a mere idea of a soul as beautiful as that of his historian… and made his sad fate bearable if one day in a distant future his lover would awake and even then know that – by his tasks and achievements – all he did and became was for him.
…that he would be proud of him then was something of a dream – and a hope that kept him going and let his cracked mind keep insanity at bay… most of the time.
And in the end, his hopes weren't that much off – to his delight – because when they were reunited and after the insanity of the Final Days, his cute redhead was properly awed by his collection.
And Senri – hilarious as his friends found it – was beaming for days after they moved to the mansion in Lavender Beds, and his soon-to-be husband insisted to display a huge part of the items he gathered across the years in their new home.
The safer ones, obviously, because they had four inquisitive kits running about the house and poking at everything they found interesting. Even if Nico – their adopted son – tried his best to keep the younger Seekers away from anything that was potentially dangerous, Senri swiftly decided that anything that could be harmful to them had to go.
Which, obviously, meant mostly his gathered weapons!
Only a certain portion of his so-called 'fans' knew that in the downtime between his more famed tasks, their 'Warrior' killed time by learning more practical things. Due to his boundless energy – amplified by the Blessing of Light – he didn't need much sleep and sometimes somewhat struggled with finding it in himself to learn anything by reading, as despite Echo making him understand any given language, he found the activity far too static to keep his attention. He didn't even realize himself before becoming what others called the omnigatherer and omnicrafter.
It started a tad ridiculous, to be honest!
Throughout their miserable stay in Ishgard, and during a crawl through the ice-covered Vigil Keep, he stumbled on a scroll depicting a weapon that sounded very interesting, but after returning to the city, he found that none of the blacksmiths there felt capable of making – not to mention that it required certain materials found in areas very unavailable to the Ishgardians. Annoyed by that, Senri put away that scroll and almost forgot about it… until the Dragonsong War ended and free to return to Eorzea, he suddenly found himself with more time on his hands than he knew what to do with. Finding that scroll while unpacking all the items he 'hoarded' during their banishment gave him something of an inspiration for what to do with himself… and away from the aggravating sight of the blue, crystalline spire visible from Revanant's Toll, where Scions of the Seventh Dawn's headquarters were located.
No matter how much time passed, that sight tightened his chest with longing – and he instinctively felt that if he spend too much time looking at it… it would drive him insane.
First off, he decided to learn anything he could about gathering and set to that with a determination he was quite famous for. (Ares – stuck watching silently from the back of their shared head at the time – was later prone to laugh about that period and the fact that neither Senri nor any of his friends seemed to realize that his so-called 'determination' in his eyes was a curious mix of Senri's inborn enthusiasm and innate tendency to get obsessed with things. It took him, however, a longer time to somewhat sheepishly admit that when it came to fishing… well, it wasn't exactly Senri who learned it and found spending bells fishing relaxing. Damon found 'fishing' that tidbit out of him very amusing and later laughed himself silly when after hearing about that, Themis, very not surprisingly, decided to try his hand at it… later on, pretty often making poor Alisaie make faces at her best friend behind the former Elidibus's back – intended for Ares – whenever politely asked to accompany her lover in that endeavor). Considering his unnatural strength and speed, not to mention that he actually found gathering quite amusing… Before he realized he had all the necessary materials for that miserable scroll, the next logical step was to learn the requisite skills to craft that weapon himself. Finding that most of the crafts shared skills didn't hurt either. And since it eventually allowed him to make the most interesting things for his collection… Things he was sure would make his historian's eyes sparkle with enthusiasm…
…well, it seemed obvious, especially when, while fighting Primals, he would occasionally leave the battlefield with some unique materials to turn into a souvenir.
But when the issue of his more dangerous mementos appeared, he set to remove them without much reluctance – seeing it just as another way to protect his family… Now, so much more important than those 'things' ever felt like across the years when making them was a way to stave off his loneliness.
And, even in that, he accidentally found a way to exchange the 'pointy' parts of his collection for things that were much safer and could even be offered as gifts to his family and friends.
Immortal Flames, the Ul'dah's Grand Company he 'officially' belonged to almost as long as he carried the tilted of the Warrior to somewhat save on their expenses, came up with the idea of offering the adventurers in their ranks an option of exchanging their no longer useful equipment for 'mystery boxes' containing a random minion or a mount – which proven to an extremely successful. It was simple enough: the gear, depending on the state it was in and its rarity, could be traded at their headquarters for a corresponding number of 'points' that, in turn, could be exchanged for one of those boxes and… well, Senri quickly found himself with quite a number of those.
A few moons after their Ceremony of Eternal Bond, his now husband found his beast's new hobby quite hilarious, if he still 'thanked' for all the gifts Senri shoved at him in a way… that former Warrior of Light found extremely satisfying. Raha even let himself be dragged into that past time, too, both accompanying him of his 'crawls' for items good for the exchange and eventually keeping for Senri a log of what minion he had given to whom – if in a way that few people knew about.
Damon, his husband's immortal passenger, was not only a brilliant soul but also had an excellent memory – which was a mild way to put it. He never forgot anything he learned or heard, and though occasionally he did tend to act a tad… snobbish, he never hid that he had an extreme weakness for any of 'his boys,' one of few titles that Senri carried with pride. Whenever he received from one of those funny boxes an item he knew that he already had, he had to ask Damon which of his friends he gave the previous exemplar to, and his lover's immortal never got it wrong – and actually also found this hobby of his quite endearing (his words!), making his own 'passenger,' Ares, snicker occasionally at his husband's badly hidden enthusiasm to be a part of it.
And one of the days when his husband was busy drawing the plans for their upcoming excursion across the Rift when Senri set off to the headquarters of the Immortal Flames for one of his 'annual' exchanges, turned into quite… interesting adventure.
When his linkpearl beeped with an incoming call, Raha raised his hand toward his ear absentmindedly without moving his crimson eyes away from the sheet spread in front of him on top of 'his' desk.
'His' because he shared it with Damon and half of it was stuffed with the miscellaneous items that his immortal found 'interesting' at the given time.
By the silence of his shared head, he knew by now that Damon was most likely busy pondering whatever he was… well, pondering because his 'passenger' was prone to do so even for days at the time, and during those stretches of time he usually avoided bothering him with anything that didn't automatically make the brilliant soul living inside him 'peak out' by himself. He had a good sense not to point out – like Ares sometimes teased his husband – that Damon tended to grow irritable and snappish if not allowed his 'musings' in peace.
And since from the time he first learned of his so-called 'possession,' Raha came to respect and love the being he shared his body with, he didn't mind his occasional bouts of… well, silliness – if even thinking that made his head ring with an indignant hiss… because, yeah, Damon could very much multi-task, and he admitted to finding quite an amusement in occasionally following Raha's trail of thoughts. He would say that he found how Raha's mind worked 'interesting,' and the redhead did learn that in his immortal's esteem, that was quite a compliment!
…if he had not always understood what Damon found so intriguing about it.
"…yes?" he said softly toward the call, a tad wrinkling his nose at the disruption. They still had time until the planned excursion, but he had… difficulty with picking out the correct assembly of the teams for each of…
"Sorry, my prince," Senri's deep voice – like always – sent a pleasant shudder down his spine and made a silly, lovesick grin bloom on his face while he leaned back in his seat, blinking. He saw his gorgeous male a mere two bells ago – which a quick peek toward the timepiece on the wall confirmed – but it already felt much longer… and actually made him frown a little because his husband was supposed to only swing by the headquarters of the Immortal Flames in Ul'dah, which usually took less than a bell. Raha was actually always looking toward his returns with his 'boxes' and the fun of helping his lover to decide on whom to 'bless' with his newest score. Senri's generous nature was not only one of the many things he loved about his mate, but it was also… just fun to see his enthusiasm in its pure form, not to mention that whenever Senri got something to bestow upon one of their Ancient friends… well, it usually turned out quite hilarious. (Especially when it fell on Hades, honestly, because the white-haired immortal tended to scowl something fierce… until Damon took over and send his son a glare that made the proud Emet-Selch wilt and take the offering with an expression that usually made Raha roll over with laughter in the back of their shared head).
And, though he refused to admit that out loud, perhaps he did have somewhat of a running rivalry with Hades for 'their' Father's praises and affection. In his head, frankly, Damon was 'his' and… well, Hades had at least a few millennia (before the world was sundered, yeah, but still!) of having the experience of being the sole focus of Damon's care… so, for Raha, he shouldn't be that 'sulky' about sharing now! (He didn't really think as far as that this way of thinking made him somewhat not only silly but also put something of a 'sibling' twist on the way he regarded the literal eons older immortal. Never really having an experience with the idea of the older brother for obvious reasons, he shrugged off the notion when Damon pointed it out with some mix of amusement and fondness).
"…would be nice," he heard and blinked rapidly, blushing furiously when he realized that he missed what his husband said, so busy with that ridiculous trail of thoughts.
He asked if you could warp to him, Damon's voice shook with stifled laughter, proving that he was not only following his thoughts and his lover's call – and working to make his flush so much worse. Apparently, there's something that he thinks you're… we're going to find interesting, my boy.
Which also explained why he didn't sound miffed by the disruption of his 'pondering.' If Senri claimed that his immortal was going to find something interesting – which was more often than not confirmed by Ares beforehand – he was very rarely wrong about that.
"But…" he started, narrowing his eyes with indecision on the schema he was working on while running his fingers through his loose hair. He didn't plan to leave their home today, so his wear… was more than casual. Actually… he was wearing only one of Senri's black shirts, enjoying the caress of the soft material and the lingering sweet scent of apple that he always found more than addictive.
"I swear, Raha… you're not going to regret it," Senri sounded like he was… well, enthusiastic was the norm to his beautiful man lately, but his deep voice also seemed a tad… dumbfounded, perhaps? Amused but baffled at the same time…?
"Okay… give me a moment to change, and I'll join you," he sighed, pushing his seat back and rising from behind the desk.
"Just… hurry, okay? I don't know how long… ah, well, you'll see but do hurry up, hm?" that tone again made him frown as they said their goodbyes while he speed up his step, heading toward their bedroom.
He changed into a pair of dark pants with one of his favorite sleeveless vests – dark red – then combed his hair and braided them with practiced movements, picking up his customary by now hairpins from their spot near their red-black nest, pushing back and pinning down a part of his fringe that otherwise always fell in his eyes. Deciding himself 'decent' after a quick look in the full-body mirror set in the corner of their bedroom, he focused and closed his eyes, warping to his lover's side.
"So what's so…?" he started to say, opening his eyes and froze… staring.
…the fuck? His immortal hummed, no less baffled by the display if the swear was any indication. He didn't even register repeating that out loud until his husband hummed with agreement.
"Yeah…" Senri chuckled somewhat sheepishly when his left arm wrapped around Raha's shoulders, with his right hand pointing toward the 'vision' in a wide gesture. "…my thoughts exactly, babe."
Raha looked between his painfully beautiful face, then back to seeing something that looked very much like… well, a bunch of undead dancing. Or… gyrating.
A group of moving corpses spread out across a sandy hill that indicated they were somewhere near the Sagoli Desert moved nearly in sync in an utterly… baffling sequence of poses that ended with them… preening?... with very unsettling, wide grins on their half-rotten faces.
…really… what the fuck?
Eitherys, in general, had many more or less… strange phenomena prone to happen, but this was definitely… new.
"Well, I was tasked with dispatching them to find their leader," Senri chuckled, moving away and effortlessly summoning his sword and shield. "Care to join, my prince?" he winked at him, and Raha couldn't resist a grin and ever-present excitement at the prospect of fighting alongside him… right before he felt a pull and familiar sense of disembodied when his immortal took over their shared body and pouted, resting his hand on their hips.
"…we're keeping one, yes?" he asked hauntingly, narrowing his eyes at Raha's lover, and Senri snorted before nodding.
"Of course, Damon," he replied easily, securing the brilliantly shining shield over his left forearm. Raha knew that the 'visual' of it was a glamour cast on his lover's latest set of arms – because Senri refused to part with something he claimed was impossibly annoying to get in the first place. And since, with his husband's 'enthusiastic' instructions, Raha was halfway on the road to gather the necessary materials for his very own (and first) Anima weapon… Well, he more than understood the sentiment! (And, secretly, actually really enjoyed every step of it – considering that it only served him as an easy excuse to drag his husband across the Eorzea and enjoy his snarking as they ventured into the tasks and dungeons his mate conquered as the Warrior… and, obviously, his stories of it!)
In the end, even after more than a lifetime since being the simple historian who fell madly in love with the Champion of Eorzea, he believed that that part of him would never get bored of stories of his hero's adventures!
"Very well, have fun," Damon, pleased with the promise, gave him the control of their body back, and Raha rolled his shoulders briefly before summoning his crystal-tipped staff.
They could easily deal with the undead in a matter of less than a second with their immortals' respective skills, true… but that would be far less fun!
They exchanged eager grins, the Allagan prince and his beautiful, beloved beast, then with enthusiasm and flare, tore into the dancing dead…
…not yet knowing what chain of events this phenomenon was bound to unleash.
If for nothing else, this escapade was definitely worth it for causing a cute, dumbstruck look on his lover's face.
"Let me get this straight," Raha blinked at him, leaning slightly against his staff while Senri kneeled to loot the fallen corpse. "That… person was famously a brilliant inspector, but he literally launched himself at Dalamud to stop it…?"
"That's what Wymond said," he hummed, grinning toothily when his husband snorted.
"What exactly launching himself at it was supposed to achieve?" his redhead drawled suspiciously and Senri shrugged – he had no idea either.
"Looking at his grave…" he muttered meaningfully, grimacing at the scent coming from the undead. With his sensitive nose – amplified by a Traveler's Ward (two of them) – zombie definitely stood high on the list of enemies he generally disliked to face. As – in fact – any of monsters that tended to smell. He was sick for a week after he stumbled in a fight against a fucking morbol right into its breath once!
Wait for it… Ares hummed in the back of their shared head with clear amusement and Senri turned away slightly from his lover to hide his smirk.
"You're pulling our leg, aren't you, boy?" the change of tone announced the shift and he looked up, blinking innocently under the characteristic, cool look in his husband's crimson eyes while his immortal snickered gleefully.
"I wouldn't dare," he said honestly with another slight shrug under the glare in Damon's eyes. Then he went back to ruffling through the nooks of the corpse's armor. After his immortal's husband was quite unable to determine what actually caused those particular zombies to act as they did… well, both Senri and Ares vetoed getting the smelly thing anywhere near their home, leaving them looking for his intended goal: clues of the undead apparent leader.
"And you really never before heard of that so-called inspector?" Damon drawled suspiciously and Senri nodded absentmindedly.
"Nah, I was thirteen when the Dalamud fell," he muttered, then crooned triumphantly when his fingers found something stiff stuck behind the material covering the undead's chest. He grabbed a small dagger from a sheath spinning his waist and carefully cut around it, jumping to his feet and away from the corpse with a folded piece of parchment in his hand. "I remember Bahamut's rampage, obviously – like probably everyone in Eorzea… but," he trailed off, grimacing at the reminder. It definitely wasn't a memory he enjoyed thinking about.
Growing up a Tia in the Condor tribe, he – like any of the other boys he grew up with – knew he was considered an expendable commodity. Women ran the tribe, and males, unless proven capable of claiming the breeding role were considered useless. Now, years later he knew that no every tribe was like that as one that one of their friend's proved.
Three moons ago he and Raha – and most of their friends, both mortal and Ancient – attended a party in Thavnair that brought a surprise of the arrival of another Warrior of Light – technically at least. O'rahm Xoorha disturbed the celebration looking for him – Senri – with the hope that the former Warrior could help him with his 'tiny' Esteem issue. He wasn't completely wrong, if eventually it was Damon who resolved that issue – despite his misgivings about the Ancient, Erebus, that O'rahm was not only reincarnation of, but who was inadvertently causing the boy's troubles.
In the end, they did find that Senri was quite… guilty of screwing O'rahm over – even if he had no clue at the time. No only his trip to Golmore Jungle was what left there a Dark Knight's soulstone that O'rahm ended picking up on the way out of the jungle but their efforts during the Final Days – and the sight of meteor shower – was what woke up Erebus – partially, at least – and caused the boy and the Esteem the soulstone enjured – to get quite… violently disturbed.
Thing was, Erebus used to hold the Seat of Pashtarot – one of the fourteen stations in the Convocation, the council ruling their star before it was sundered – and he and Damon shared quite an unpleasant history. Though Damon had scarcely anything to do with the Convocation, Ares used to hold the Seat of Azem, the Traveler – and it wasn't a secret that most of the others despised him. Well… most of the Ancients did, frankly, because Ares was considered a soul that was an anomaly among them – and he was scorned for that almost as long as he was alive.
Which for them counted in literally millennia.
The man who held the Seat of Lahabrea – the so-called Speaker of the Convocation – probably hated Ares the most and was one that ended up setting up Erebus to clash with Damon – which for none of them ended well.
Many of the Ancients back then were born with certain aptitudes toward their magic, but Damon was quite unique even among them. Literally bred to achieve perfection by his parents – if the subject of that was something more than touchy – he carried not only the title of the most brilliant man among them, but also a gift that could be truly terrifying – especially if one did something to poke his fiery temperament.
And nothing did that as fiercely as somehow insulting or demeaning his beloved husband – which Erebus found out in an extremely unpleasant way. While the Pashtarot himself had a very unique gift: an ability to force the truth out of anyone among other things, it somewhat paled in comparison to Damon's talent to literally bent the reality to his whims. When Lahabrea ordered Erebus to use his talent on the redheaded immortal in hope to humiliate Ares enough to force him to step down from the Seat he just claimed after his aunt, Venat who named him her successor, it ended badly for O'rahm's Ancient. Stripped of the control over his own gift by the infuriated man, he nearly went insane when forced to face all truth – especially that unpleasant fact that their world was very, very far from perfect.
Something that Ares was forced to know his whole, long life – born with an ability to see the souls of his peers and the rot eating at their insides – which was likely the idea that inspired Damon's punishment.
Ironically enough, later on Erebus's son, Hythlodaeus, ended up close friend – and more – with Hades, who though was Ares's younger brother, was raised by him and Damon as their son. Though clearly in love, they however failed to reconcile their misgivings before their world literally ended – and it would end in a tragedy if not for Ares's and Damon's plot, eons in the making, that spared Hythlodaeus making a huge mistake of becoming part of Zodiark – will of the star made manifest in effort to save it. Or – more like – a temporary measure to stave off the influence of Meteion and her despair-charged dynamis.
O'rahm, after appearing on the said celebration, swiftly ended up mated with on of Senri's oldest friends, Y'shtola Rhul. Though it was a surprise for him and Raha at the time, they found out that Shtola was actually a reincarnation of Nemesis – Erebus's wife and Hythlodaeus's mother. Leaving to her the decision of what to do with the half-awoken Erebus – with notion that his full awakening might wake up Nemesis as well, making her what Senri and Raha were: a living vessels for the souls of their respective Ancients, Shtola picked to risk it.
With Damon's help, Erebus woke up – so did Nemesis – and alongside their respective hosts, they seemed quite happy exploring the new, broken world Eitherys became. A moon ago the millennia old bet – Damon didn't know that Erebus was taking a part of – found its conclusion when Hades and Hythlodaeus celebrated finally uniting their families with their Bond.
And just last week Senri and Raha spend the whole, sunny day helping Shtola and Rahm move in into their new home: a medium house in Mist, the residential district of Limsa Lominsa. And next week they and their friends were invited to a housewarming party on the beach near it… so in Senri's book it worked out just fine!
Even if Damon did tent to get a tad irritable anywhere near Erebus – but hey, they all learned by now that he did tend to hold a grudge. And usually Ares had a real knack for distracting his husband – which both more than enjoyed.
"Sorry, didn't mean to remind you," he heard and blinked, getting back to reality as he smiled sheepishly toward his lover, gingerly unfolding the dirty piece of paper. Look toward Raha – and clear empathy in his expressive eyes – proved he was back in charge.
"It was a long ago, babe," he shrugged carelessly, if he couldn't help a slight grimace.
"I'll never understand how could they leave you to fend for yourself," his redhead sighed, unsummoning the weapon before he moved toward Senri and at his meaningful gesture the former Warrior wrapped his free arm around his shoulders, setting a kiss on top of his red hair when his husband wound his arms around his waist, pressing tight against his side. Offering the heat of his body in comfort – just like the day they met and he inadvertently claimed his heart with that seemingly simple gesture. Unaware then yet of Senri's aversion to touch but knowing it was in part caused by his preference to males… His prince's kind and sweet nature took the hold of the beast living under Senri's skin and never let go. "You were just a kit," he sighed again, pressing his cheek against Senri's chest while he shook up the parchment, setting it so they both coul read it. "Something's written here… "A gentleman is, rather than does'… What's that supposed to mean…?"
"A password perhaps?" he hummed with distraction, then chuckled and lowered his head to press a kiss on top of Raha's cute nose when he looked up with an adorable wrinkle between his dark-red eyebrows. "And don't worry about it, love. All things considered, that night was the literal least unpleasant memory from my childhood… I was scared shitless, yeah, but at least all the other boys were, too and we had each other…" he sighed then grimaced when his lover scowled at that even deeper. "…you know what I mean."
Raha's expression went slack for a second, then his eyes grew chilling with that typical for Damon inhumane cold detachment.
"Are you sure you don't want to do to your tribe what we did to Raha's?" the immortal living inside his husband's body asked pleasantly enough, but Senri grew careful, smiling easily in return. Because – he learned by now – Damon never bluffed and his… lack of empathy toward anyone he didn't considered under his care couldn be extremely dangerous.
The Gryphon tribe learned of it – and now very, very few even remembered that it existed in the first place. Not that the didn't deserve it, the fucked up monsters they were.
"I'm sure, but thanks," he said softly then motioned toward the paper with his chin. "What do you make of this?"
Damon blinked – pouted, funnily enough – and narrowed his fiery eyes toward it.
"It's a map, obviously," he said, then looked up at him. "And don't be cute, boy, I see what you're trying but you have a long way to go before you can distract me… The females of your tribe had no right to treat you – and the other Tia's – as if you were something expendable. Really… I'll never understand what went wrong in Sundering to make mortals so… careless of their young," he grumbled with distaste and sighed, then a blink and Raha was back in charge. "He's right, you know."
"He rarely isn't," Senri agreed with a sheepish chuckle, then shoved the page in one of his pockets after folding it again. His arm freed, he shifted his grip around his husband, wrapping the fingers of his free hand around his chin and tilting his head to press a kiss on the corner of his gorgeous, full lips. "We should get it back to Nashu and see what she makes of it, then..."
"…mhmm," Raha hummed in agreement, still wrapping his arms around the taller Seekers neck and sank the fingers of his right hand under the material of bandana wrapped around Senri's head. More than a head lower than him, the redhead rose against him while pulling his head down and smiled coyly right before their lips met. Met, parted and Senri purred into the kiss with delight at his lover's sweet, addictive taste, moving his hand to the back of Raha's head and while holding him in place set to attempt to sate the instant, painful hunger for more.
Raha's spicy scent – so reminiscent of delightful mix of cinnamon and almonds – grew thick with arousal and filled Senri's head, spiking his need to unbearable hights instantly. Forgetting that they were out in the open, on a sandy hill near the edge of Sagolii Desert and surrounded by the fallen corpses of undead, he didn't even try to resist, true to his favorite title of 'shameless beast.' It was Raha who finally pulled back, breathless and flushed as he wrapped his warm hands around Senri's cheeks and nipped on his lower lip before speaking again in a voice raspy with desire.
"Let's get this over with, hm?" he purred with a heated look and Senri nearly expired, painfully turned on by the promise in the depths of crimson eyes. "I had plans for today, my beast."
"Did you now…?" he chuckled, utterly out of breath as he dropped his hand against his lover's ass and pulled him even tighter against his body. Letting him feel the effect he always had on him.
"Mhmm," funnily enough Raha nodded sagely with a serious expression even as the look in his eyes grew even hungrier while his eyes trailed over the taller Seeker's face. "You and me, my beast – in our nest for the rest of the day… and night… How does that sound?" his sly smirk sent the former Warrior's heart affluter but he managed to growl playfully in response, brushing the tip of his nose against his husband's with affection.
"That sounds like my kind of heaven," he grinned toothily and Raha laughed.
"I know," he agreed. "Mine, too," he added and pulled him into another heated kiss before they parted and exchanged a wink before teleporting to Camp Drybone.
About two bells later, Raha arrived on two conclusions:
One, he disliked Nashu Mhakaracca.
Two, there was something seriously wrong with Inspector Hildibrand Manderville.
And he wasn't that surprised when Damon more than agreed with both. Perhaps only a tad annoyed that his immortal found the strange man 'interesting.'
You have to admit that it's… baffling, yes? Damon chuckled at his expanse and Raha barely managed to stifle a growl in response. Not only he really survived launching himself at the moon… Well, it wasn't exactly a moon, but still… But also apparently having explosive tossed at him didn't fazed him as much as it should. Do you think he's somehow immortal? The immortal sounded intrigued by the idea and the redhead rolled his eyes, trying not to grind his teeth as he followed behind his lover up the street leading from the Aetheryte in Ul'dah toward the main road spanning the city.
I would rather assume that it's true what they say: stupid don't die, he replied testily, making his passenger chuckle at his expanse.
You're just miffed that Senri find this girl cute, Damon accused and now he did growled softly, thankfully quiet enough that his husband seemed to miss it, oh, so busy with chatting with that insufferable female. Don't be ridiculous, Raha, you know that he's not interested in women.
He let's her touch him, he pointed out, glaring at the spot when the female's arms spanned his lover's muscular arm.
Most likely because that twat is clearly harmless, Damon sounded like he was rolling his eyes – or his tone at least sounded like that and Raha knew he was being ridiculous… but yeah, the dark-haired Keeper was downright glued to his lover any chance she got since they met her on the lichyard near Camp Drybone and then discovered her so-called mentor – alive, somehow – among the sands of Sagolii Desert.
And Senri – who usually made it a point to avoid anyone's but his touch – apparently agreed with Damon's notion and let Nashu hang onto him… which she was eagerly using to piss Raha off!
Soon enough you'll have him all to yourself again boy, his constant companion chuckled again.
Not soon enough, he grumbled back with annoyance and Damon laughed again. He smiled at that reluctantly – just in time when the girl looked back at him and beamed, tightening her grip on Senri's arm.
She was so fucking oblivious she apparently had no clue that she clinging to Raha's man – grinning like an idiot any time Senri even said a word. And he was nearly tempted to grab the Keeper by the neck and drag her off to one of the stalls in the Ul'dah's market that displayed the plethora of so-called 'fanart' and see if then she would get the fucking clue!
Because apparently Senri introducing him as his husband wasn't enough for the dimwit.
He ground his teeth, but managed to smile at the girl politely enough and she turned her head, going back to chirping some nonsense about weapons' thief at his man. He dropped his eyes to the ground under his boots… completely missing the downright sly look of ice-blue eyes tossed his way or the sight of smirk on his husband's beautiful face.
Silly boys, Damon chortled and Raha scowled.
What's that supposed to mean? He asked with annoyance.
If you didn't guess it yet, I'll let you have the fun of discovering it yourself, the immortal replied far too innocently and he pouted, looking up… just in time to see Senri incline his head and whisper something in the Keeper's ear that had the girl giggle gleefully.
Now he didn't manage to bite back a growl.
"Ah… are you alright?" Nashu flinched slightly and looked back with a sincere-looking worried expression.
"I'm fine," he replied stiffly, smiling tightly when his husband looked back as well, with a completely earnest and innocent look on his face.
…and probably it was his own jealousy that made him miss the fact that it looked far, far too innocent for his beast.
"Perhaps you're a tad too warm, babe?" his lover suggested kindly, looking up toward the sun blaring over Ul'dah. "After the desert here isn't that much cooler. And where did that man scampered off to…" he hummed with distraction, pretending not to sew his scathing glare.
Normally Raha wouldn't mind Senri's insistence on following the seemingly insane 'Inspector' when the tall Hyur insisted he 'sensed' the case and left them in the dust… but, yeah – he had plans that involved a different kind of heat that the one ruling over Thanalan!
…and Senri seemingly forgot all about it, letting that female paw at him to boot!
"I know!" the Keeper chimed in with a brilliant grin he would love to wipe off her face when she did that petting Senri shoulder she was hanging onto to gain the attention of ice-blue eyes. And right under the edge of the tattoo decorating his lover's skin – the mark of his Warrior's devotion to him even when he believed they'll never see each other again… The sight of it – as always – made Raha smile, soothing some of his aggravation… until Nashu rose on her toes putting her face far to close to his lover's – at least for Raha's liking. "I know this wonderful restaurant here, T'senri! They offer something they call 'soft ice' with all manner of wonderful toppings! I'm sure it would work to help you both cool down!"
"I actually love the heat," Senri remarked with a grin and Raha blinked at him incredulously… because if it was anyone else, he would say it sounded like flirting! But the look on his lover's face was completely innocent and his smile only kind when the Keeper giggled, swatting her hand over his bicep.
"I bet!" she remarked and Raha groaned internally when she fluttered her lashes at the tall Seeker. "But doesn't it sound delicious?! I'm sure you'll both enjoy it!"
"Fine with me… What do you think, Raha?" his lover said toward him with another smile.
I'm being ridiculous, he thought to himself, only nodding in response and following when the girl cheered and tugged the former Warrior along the path leading toward the higher level of the city. Senri was his – any way he could be – for the rest of eternity, literally, so he hardly had a reason to be jealous of all things!
All of the fucking Eorzea knew that Senri was claimed… all for the one ridiculous girl, apparently, determined to annoy the seven hells out of him!
He grumbled profanities under his nose when Damon laughed again for no reason.
Senri always knew that he was weak regarding his mate, and his self-control was downright puny. Even when they first met, and he spend a while utterly confused between believing that his preferences were unnatural and in helpless lust after the cute historian – it was a wonder he didn't end up pouncing on him.
Most likely because, at the time, he had no idea that it was even possible for two males to engage in a sexual relationship.
Now, nearly eight years later, he was well versed in all types of such pleasures – and all due to his Allagan prince. He was glad that Raha was his first and only lover – always was – and he spend a good portion of the time they were together learning just what made his mate… tick.
Above all else – he was ready to admit – he loved Raha's temperament and, occasionally, stoking it into a blaze because, in his humble opinion, there were few things hotter in the world than his sweet Raha getting snarly and domineering in their entanglements.
(None of their friends knew why Senri tended to snicker whenever one of them praised his husband's 'versatility' on the battlefield! He also actually knew for a fact that their 'fans' who tended to love to imagine and draw them together, seemed unable to get the correct idea of their relationship when it came to sex. He didn't mind – just found it funny!)
The dichotomy in their temperaments also likely was responsible for the not-so-subtle differences in how they perceived each other – not to mention the fact that, opposite to him, Raha did have previous experience with other lovers. Sucky experience, but still.
While when provoked, his normally sweet and considerate lover tended to get 'hot' and snappy, it was actually very hard to do that. Provoke him that is. Raha was extremely understanding and empathetic by nature, kind and selfless beyond reason, and more often than not - due to his unfortunate experience and upbringing – tended to play down his feeling and stifle them before his temper could reach the temperature of a boil. And even if he did snap – his anger burned out quickly, if depending on the circumstances and cause – he could be extremely dangerous.
Far, far beyond anyone else seemed to ever realize.
Senri, on the other hand, was easier to provoke, but his temper turned 'cold' and vicious. Ruthless and brutal. If his mate wasn't in the vicinity to placate him – he was most likely to tear the reason for his rage into pieces and only later – perhaps and again, depending on circumstances – feel bad about it. Or not – as his worldview tended to be a tad… skewed compared to others. Even compared to that of his lover – because while Raha was easy to forgive and forget – Senri, in opposition, was relentless, especially if what provoked one of his 'outbursts' had anything to do with his mate in the first place.
Enough said: most of his husband's previous lovers ended up facing that facet of his personality… and didn't enjoy it. Not because he was jealous sort of a man – not really – but because they dared to hurt his lover's feelings when he was young and wanting nothing more than affection his peers denied him.
He told Raha once when the topic came up that he wouldn't mind his lover's previous experiences if those bitches – because they were all female – had the good sense to see him as the wonderful person he was and not use and discard him afterward. And he was very truthful in that – as all he cared about was his lover's heart.
He himself never found females attractive, and the experiences of the camp he grew up in – and later as the gladiator in Ul'dah, Scion, and the Warrior – left him with a severe aversion to touch. His oversensitive nose also played a part in that, obviously, but it was mostly due to that he hugely grew apprehensive and aggravated around females that weren't his family or friends. Especially around women that got enticed by his unnatural appearance and didn't have a good sense to stay clear of him.
It was getting better, however, in a way. The last few moons having the constant reassurance of his husband's love – and the fact that now he lived with women and girls most dear to his heart was something that was slowly helping him to not see every female he met as a potential threat.
Sure, they ran into a bunch of those who had the extremely bad idea of provoking his lover's ire by thinking they had the slightest chance of getting between them by some scheme or ploy – but they were secure in each other's relationship.
If, funnily enough, he did know that Raha tended to get jealous. Senri considered it a leftover because, despite his true and boundless devotion to his redhead, Raha still dealt with some insecurities – which the former Warrior's unnatural beauty wasn't helpful with. They knew his appearance resulted from Damon's spell that allowed their Ancients to be reborn into them – turning both into mortal vessels for their immortal souls, and considering all the suffering their presence spared them… They agreed it was a puny price to pay.
And he – personally – liked that Raha enjoyed his looks. Obviously, any way he could please his lover was something he loved, but because of the mix of all of that together, he wouldn't even think about somehow causing his husband to get jealous.
Until today and Nashu Mhakaracca – who was so completely committed to her insane 'mentor' that since the moment he first met her on that lichyard near Camp Drybone, she somehow reminded him of himself and his obsession with Raha. And perhaps a little of his younger sister, Ralla, who, despite the differences in their coloring, tended to get as excitable and energetic as the young Keeper.
Well… he wasn't sure about that 'young,' but she just seemed young with her cheerful disposition and gleeful attitude. And if he would be honest, he was somewhat absentmindedly considering introducing her somehow to Nico, their adopted son. The boy not long ago passed puberty, growing into a handsome and capable young man – if still completely obsessed with taking care of the younger Seekers they lived with: Senri's sister and Raha's niece and nephew, Nari and Navi.
An airhead like Nashu seemed like a glorious counterbalance to their son's serious nature – especially considering that it wasn't truly his nature but the result of abuse and neglect the boy experienced from his real father before becoming theirs.
Nico had to grow up far too early – fighting to survive on the backstreets of Limsa and having for only 'support' a drunken father who liked to hit the tiny thing – something that Senri gleefully repaid him for. And when the boy moved in with them, he seemed to grow unnecessarily determined to repay them for taking him in by looking after the younger kits – and no matter what, didn't seem convinced that the only thing they wanted for him was his safety and happiness.
In Nico's worldview, all had price – and though Senri understood that, he saw their son's upbringing as a work in progress. And he somewhat gingerly thought that Nashu might help in that – thought that Ares seemed to agree on… until they noticed the way his husband's crimson eyes narrowed into slits when they met the girl again, and she cheerfully pounced on Senri.
Again, he didn't sense from her even a shade of the usual way the females regarded him for his looks – Nashu just seemed like a complete airhead utterly committed to her so-called mentor. A man… well, Senri, after the brief meeting, was convinced that had to be some kind of lunatic even for Manderville standards.
This was saying a lot, considering he met Godbert Mandeville a few times during the years he was the Warrior of Light. The similarity in their appearance was hard to miss – and so was their… weirdness.
But one could hardly expect anything else from the man who owned The Gold Saucer. Senri had however a healthy level of respect for the older Mandeville – especially considering that the man belonged to one of the Ul'dah's higher class. Opposite to most of those fuckers, at least he seemed like a genuine gentleman and businessman instead of a viper like the rest of the Monetarists. From the Sultana herself – who was his dear friend in private – he heard plenty of praises heaped unto Godbert and his family… he was only surprised by his son's… unusual hobby.
Not to mention that the man seemed immortal in some way! Ironically enough, he wasn't the first person that Senri saw survive being tossed explosives at… but even M'zhet at least had those grenades weakened before asking the Warrior to toss them at him!
Yeah… along his travels, Senri met many weird people – if Hildibrand Mandeville was quickly climbing his list of the strangest encounters.
Though the look on Raha's face when those bombs went off was definitely a pro!
Then, yeah… his ridiculous redhead apparently grew jealous of the dark-haired Keeper for no reason… and Senri had the devious idea to see just how riled up it can get his fiery redhead.
Nashu made it actually ridiculously easy, too – apparently completely oblivious to the glares his husband was tossing their way. Raha was polite – like always – as his good manners were something that many admired him for, but knowing him as Senri did… he could see the signs of his temper rising… not to mention he could literally feel his redhead's growing aggression. Which from him… was a treat in Warrior's humble opinion!
Or so he thought… until it completely backfired!
In his defense… he had a poor idea of what was the 'soft ice' Nashu invited them to try. It had to be something new on the Ul'dah's market – and he wouldn't be that surprised to learn it was one of either Mandeville's or Tataru's inventions when he did see it. And considering that he had quite a weakness for sweets… yeah, he loved it instantly!
Raha seemed a tad less enthusiastic… overall, at least until a little bit after they settled in one of the booths available to the clients of the restaurant called a little on the nose 'Sultana's Delights' near the Chamber of Rule. Though the place itself seemed packed with eager citizens and very popular… well, Senri's fame made the visibly excited employee – a cute young Seeker with dark curls and cheerful hazel eyes in a pink apron – offer them a cozy and comfortable spot in the back, proudly announcing it was the seat reserved for Sultana, but nothing less would suffice for the 'saviors of their world.' She, of course, did so loudly enough for the other patrons to hear, and very, very quickly, the restaurant became even more crowded with their fans… especially those who realized that his husband was present.
And – to Senri's amusement and Raha's cute blushes – he didn't miss more than a few of the new arrivals sporting the drawing supplies!
He did wonder what would happen if he 'slipped' to those enthusiasts with the fact that by now wildly popular 'Ice and Fire' novel – with the new chapters published weekly by the newspaper available now not only in Eorzea but also in Thavnair and Old Sharlayan - was actually written by his talented husband… with his enthusiastic support, of course! He did ask Raha once if he wouldn't consider asking one of his more artistically inclined fans to draw illustrations for it… but his ridiculous mate almost expired with the idea that anyone could realize that he was writing that… or how real the 'naughty bits' were exactly.
It was bad enough – his lover said, blushing up to his hairline – that O'rahm realized that and was pestering him for the new chapters ahead of their release – which Senri, Ares, and Damon actually found beyond hilarious! And when Rahm… 'innocently' left one of the exemplars of it lying around in Rising Stones, which led to Tataru getting aware and seeing profit in a before quite niche market… Well, let's say that in the time afterward, the ideas of 'fanart' and 'fanfiction,' especially where the Warrior of Light and Scions of the Seventh Dawn was concerned, blew up quite a bit.
He loved that, especially because some of his favorite artists were easy enough to convince to give his 'commissions' a priority – and some of the 'naughtier' ones were an easy way to get his lover quite wonderfully riled up!
But – as stated – Senri was weak regarding his mate. And sitting in that booth across his gorgeous redhead swiftly backfired when glaring at the girl next to Senri, who obliviously chirped about the 'achievements' of her mentor, Raha absentmindedly licked the sweet, quickly melting white mass off his fingers, completely diverting Senri's attention from his intended plot.
And he knew that his husband realized that instantly – had to feel his instant arousal at sight – because under his bashful tendencies and likely provoked by that silly jealously of his… Raha – the fucking tease that he was – caught his stare, his gorgeous plush lips tilted into a smirk, and he utterly shamelessly dipped his finger into his cup, then slowly curled his tongue around it before pressing it inside the heated cavern of his mouth … just like he would do with Senri's cock whenever he was bent to drive him utterly mad with need.
He loved Raha's mouth – always did. His prince's lips were full and plush and prone to easy smiles and grins that never failed to make Senri's enamored heart lose its rhythm. But in bed… Well, he loved them even more! Raha, among a few other kinks that Senri adored to explore, had a real oral fixation – and he knew all the right ways to completely blew his mind by now.
…like he was doing right now, under Senri's utterly focused and devouring eyes, pretty much fucking his plush lips with his fingers when still holding his gaze, Raha discarded the spoon in favor of using two fingers to scoop the sweet mass of the ice cream and…
Senri was sweating… and not because of the heat as he shifted in his seat without taking his eyes off the spectacle – and his hands itched to dive under the table between them in an attempt to try to relive the swiftly mounting, painful pressure when the material of his pants grew quite too… tight over his dick. He lost the sense of time and space – consumed with watching his lover's fingers sliding between his full lips… and when his mate uttered a nearly musical tiny moan of appreciation, and the sound of his low purrs hit Senri's ears… he flattened them against his head in distress, curling his hands around the edge of the table until the wood cracked to stop himself from launching across it and putting that gorgeous mouth to a proper use…
And a mix of amusement and arousal in his lover's crimson eyes proved that Raha was more than aware of his struggle – his jealousy apparently forgotten in the face of the opportunity to tease him out of his mind… as his redhead loved to do.
The leash he had on his instincts – the so-called self-control that in his case was never very good in the first place – was frying at a scary speed… and Raha knew, as his spicy scent grew thicker and thicker with arousal, each breath of it downright a torture as the flesh between his legs throbbed in the mad rhythm of his heartbeat and his head filled with static. His tail whipped against the black material of his seat as everything, but the sight of his lover's cheeks dipped, his lips sucking around his fingers disappeared.
And he was really… really ready to give his husband a lesson in what his teasing could lead to… when Raha dropped his hand, grinned at him cheekily, and stood up from the booth, bowing slightly to them both.
"If you excuse me for a moment," he said in a surprisingly easy tone and nodded toward the back of the restaurant.
"Ah, are you okay?" Nashu asked worriedly, apparently completely unaware of the situation.
"More than…" his prince smiled at her more warmly than before – his play apparently enough to reassure himself in his claim – before his fiery eyes narrowed ever so slightly toward Senri, and he couldn't help but swallow thickly at the challenge and hint of temper in their crimson depths. "…fine. Just a quick trip to the restroom, that's all," he said with an easy air toward the girl, while his eyes dared him to follow before he turned and left them alone.
"Ah, okay…" Nashu hummed, then turned back toward him. "So, as I've been saying…"
"Sorry, be right back!" he shot to his feet with a strained, sheepish smile and, not waiting for an answer, chased after his man. And when Raha tossed him a heated, pleased look over his shoulder… he swallowed again, remembering that his lover had an even bigger and more prominent kink… he himself spent a lot of time provoking and exploring.
And by the looks of the people he passed – trying not to seem too eager – he could guess that their imagination was on fire no less than his own… if he also knew he's sure to pay a price for spiking his lover's temper and his need to reestablish his ownership of all Senri was and ever going to be.
…and he couldn't wait!
Raha pushed the door of the restroom open and stepped inside, looking around the room briefly. It wasn't very big, but quite elegant and decorated in a typical for Ul'dah fashion in gold and brown. Two stalls on the one side and two sinks on the other with golden framed mirrors above them.
He moved in front of one of the sinks and turned the water on, carefully washing his hands while in reflective surface watching his beautiful husband step in and close to door behind him – barely there movement of his almost too pretty lips a telltale sign of compulsion, something his lover and his immortal passenger excelled at.
Long before their star was sundered, Ares's infamous gift was one of the things that brought upon him the endless scorn of the Ancient society. With a mere word able to control the aether around him, in opposition to how they could only control that of their own, this gift had almost as endless possibilities as Damon's ability to bend reality with carefully crafted spells. And even though they were no longer bound as they used to – Senri and Ares, that is – he knew his lover kept more than a shade of that uncanny skill after their separation.
Ares's once sacrificed his immorality and a good portion of his soul to save his host's sanity after the toll of Senri's life proved to be too much – and later to save Raha, Senri restored them into two separate beings – inadvertently causing certain quirks to their already peculiar situation – if it took them a while to figure things out after the mess of Final Days passed.
Though they were no longer mortal – their bodies connected to the boundless stores of aether commanded by Hades who took offense to his brother making himself and his husband vulnerable to mortality – their forms were never really as normal as their peers, if before they had a very poor idea about it. They couldn't be – as their bodies were born to contain two souls – one vastly denser and more powerful than the other. Not to mention that in Raha's case his situation was even… weirder, as his soul was fused of two – G'raha Tia who sealed the Crystal Tower in this timeline and Crystal Exarch who spent hundred years on the First Reflection waiting to save the man who meant more than life to him.
Seven times rejoined soul added to an eight times rejoined one was what it took for him to truly be able to contain Damon at his full power – which by itself spoke volumes about his immortal. But it also gave them certain… freedoms so to say, within their forms.
Once for his benefit Damon created for him a space within their mind where Raha could slip in to more closely interact with the soul he came to regard as a father. By nature earning for a physical connection with those he loved, he was grateful for the moments he could basically cuddle with his Ancient – if later that space became a tad more.
When during the Final Days Meteion attacked Raha's soul specifically when trying to pay back Damon for him defying her attempts, he instinctively called his lover across their bond and Senri saved him… as instinctively creating a split between himself and Ares, and turning the link between them into a bridge. He literally dove into Raha's and Damon's form – drove Meteion out brutally and stayed with him for bells afterward to guard his dreams… and when later able to contemplate that development they used that skill to their benefit.
Though only their families and those closest friends knew that every other day they and their Ancients rotated in the control of their shared bodies. It took some practice and learning – but the days that Damon and Ares were in charge, Raha and Senri spent together within their own, private 'heaven' – the sort of soul-scape carved out of that space Damon made for him within. In the meantime Ares wore a necklace made of a stone he once asked Hades to create for him to win a bet against Damon – a small, blue crystal that made whoever looked at him see Senri as they expected to see him and covering with that illusion the sight of Ares's Ancient-bright sky-blue eyes – the most telltale sign of the switch. Damon had it easier with how dominant were the Allagan genes – keeping their eyes crimson and cat-like even when his immortal was in charge of their body.
With the week counting eight days, they split their time 'in control' in exact half – and unless some 'special' circumstances arrived or they agreed on switching the days around, they stuck to that schedule – so they friends learned on which days who to expect to meet at the helm. It made their coexistence as comfortable as it was possible in their circumstances – with both sides pleased with the freedoms they've been given.
Today, the first day of the Eorzean week – Firesday – was his and Senri's, while tomorrow it would be Damon and Ares in control – and so on, alternating throughout the week.
Meeting his lover's gaze in the surface of the mirror when Senri moved behind him, Raha seemingly carelessly turned the water off and dried his hands on the towel hanging next to the sink… not even trying to bite back a pleased smirk when Senri's big, hot hands curled about his hips after greedily smoothing over his sides. Lowering his dark-haired head, purring insistently, his mate nuzzled against his neck while still holding his gaze in the mirror.
Raha raised his hand behind his head and carelessly pushed his lover's bandana off Senri's ink-black hair, gently petting his ear as he leaned back against him, resting the back of his head against his husband's shoulder. Unnaturally tall for their race, the other Seeker downright dwarfed him… and he always loved that difference between their bodies, giving him an impression of being surrounded by the heat radiating from Senri's skin. His pale, ice-blue eyes framed by a thick veil of jet-black lashes narrowed with predatory focus on the reflection of Raha's face as his mate's right hand moved off his hip to edge under his vest, pulling the dark-red material up before diving under the waistband of his pants.
"You'rrre an insufferrrable tease," Senri growled against his ear and he smirked toward his beast, shuddering involuntarily at the sound of telltale rasp and hint of fangs between his pretty lips. He never hid that the anomaly to his lover's physiology turned him on beyond reason and Senri always used that eagerly to drive him mad.
"…who started, hm?" he deadpanned, finally understanding Damon's amusement with the whole thing. Fisting his hand in the dark strands at the back of Senri's head he pulled him closer, arching his neck meaningfully and at the same time with a barely a thought – and more than enough of experience – set a sound shield around the room. His mate's hand curled over his dick at the same moment his fangs sank into the redhead's shoulder and he downright mewled at the double sensation, wrapping his tail around his husband's thigh with a possessive claim. Senri's long, ink-black tail reflected the gesture while without breaking his bite he almost brutally shoved Raha's pants down, then his own, and only then pulled back with a growl, pushing him forward toward the sink. He chuckled breathlessly, obediently resting his hands around the mirror and sent his lover a cheeky grin even as his blood threatened to boil out of his veins when his mate reached into the pocket of his pants.
He was more than glad that his beautiful man insisted on always carrying a proper supplies at hand… and never more than in circumstances like this, especially when Senri a moment later gripped his hip tightly with his left hand, keeping him still while the oiled fingers of his right hand slipped between his buttocks, pressing inside him. He arched with a moan, closing his eyes and more than enjoying the burning stretch of his lover opening his body for his cock, impatiently pumping two long digits inside him as he curled over his back, nipping at the junction of his neck and shoulder with nearly deafening purrs.
"That's what you wanted, babe?" his lover chuckled if more than a tad out of breath and he rolled his hands in the fists on the wall, nodding without opening his eyes or hint of shame. He was rewarded with a third finger pressing into him and he nearly meowed at the pressure, pressing back against their strokes as his dick throbbed in the mad rhythm of his heartbeat. The illusion of the risk of being caught like this sent his arousal over the roof – like always – and with the way they were connected there was no point in hiding that. It wasn't the first – or the last – time they played like this and he loved that Senri was always ready to indulge his… kinks. That he was as turned on, as the hot, heavy erection pressing against his hip proved no less than the rougher than usual treatment. "Naughty, naughty Rrraha… You're just too perfect, my prrrince," his lover breathed, then sighed with bliss and pulled his hand back, curling both around his hips as he positioned his cock against him and then pressed in, careful at first until Raha hissed with outrage, glaring through the slits between his lashes at their reflections. "…Twelve, help me… you're too cute…" his husband choked out, then resting his left hand over his on the wall, they nearly automatically laced their fingers tightly as he shifted behind him and took him with a rough, hard thrust.
Raha groaned hoarsely at the feeling, the nearly unbearable heat of his mate's flesh as it speared his insides. His body clenched around it, tearing a guttural snarl from his beast's mouth, the sound as arousing as addictive that send his instincts to a furious life. The burning need to submit and the dizzying sense of freedom that always sent his soul to soar above clouds took his breath away. He mewled mindlessly, clenching his fingers around Senri's almost painfully as he pushed back onto the fiery intrusion, whimpering embarrassingly loudly until his lover growled and his other hand nearly dug into Raha's hip, forcing him into stillness as he pulled out painfully slowly, then repeated the harsh, merciless stroke, pushing all the air out of the redhead's lungs on a blissed-out whine. Keeping him stock still like this, Senri set a rhythm purring his name until Raha opened his eyes and with unbidden fascination watched in the mirror his face as his husband fucked him.
His mate was so beautiful… so powerful… and yet in moments like this Raha couldn't help but feel at the top of the world and intoxicated with the sense of power in the thought alone that this man belonged to him. The intensity and pure devotion of pale eyes as they met his gaze tore at his heart no less than the pleasure of his beast's claim at his senses. The earlier jealousy seemed even more absurd now as the love in his lover's embrace was as clear as the boundless mix of lust and pleasure pouring over their bond as Senri rocked into him brutally, just like he needed.
There were times when their lovemaking was sweet and affectionate, and they kissed and touched each other for bells before succumbing to the inevitable pull between their bodies and souls. He loved those times no less than the rough, nearly animalistic fucking the other turned into – like right now. And still feeling the burn of his temper, he relished in his mate's downright violent possession – as that tiny, insecure part of his heart felt reassurance of his husband's desire.
His Sun, as hot as it was blinding, right there – reflecting in Senri's pale eyes and only to him, baring the true beauty of the beast that claimed him and never let go. Not the beauty of his features that others found so tantalizing – but the feral side of his lover's soul that called to the most primal, deepest level of his.
He called it – in and out – as he came and their souls combined, entangling with the physical pleasure that made his tail curl into a leash around his lover. Their eyes, stuck within each other spoke more than words ever could as Senri mewl-purred his name in that raspy, deep voice and filled him up to the brim with the heat of his seed and the scorching blaze of his unfettered, blind devotion.
Panting raggedly, they sagged against the wall, and he finally closed his eyes as his senses reeled in the bliss of the afterglow – both physical and on a deeper, emotional level.
"You're mine," slipped his lips half-consciously as his lips tilted into a pleased, delighted smile.
"Always," his beast purred, nuzzling against his neck as Senri wrapped his arms around him securely, letting him melt into his heat. "As you're mine, my heart."
"Mhmm," he hummed with agreement… because there was nothing more true in their broken world than this.