Concussive Rounds
"Do you have something I can change into?" Jasmine asked, leaning against the breakfast bar.
Charles scrunched up his face a little, looking over her tight jeans and frilly blouse. He didn't even know how she'd gotten herself into those pants, but he sure didn't mind seeing her wear them. "Sweats and a tank top?"
"Perfect." She smiled.
He waved his hand for her to follow him, and she did. Noting the way her gaze never stopped moving, he took her to the bedroom. He opened his dresser and pulled out sweats and a tank top before handing them to her. "Do you want to change in here or the bathroom?"
Shrugging, she tossed the clothes on his bed and sat down, unzipping her boots. "Here's fine." She glanced at him. "It's good you changed into sweats, too, but you should ditch your shirt if you're comfortable. It'll let me see your movements easier."
"Sure." He turned and took off his t-shirt, folding it and putting it back in his dresser since he hadn't been wearing it for very long. Turning back around, he found she'd already stripped off her shirt and worked on getting her pants off. He blinked a few times and let out a soft, "Uh …."
She glanced up at him. "What?" she asked, pulling her pants off and tossing them on the bed next to her shirt.
He laughed and shook his head, baffled. Fighting the urge to leer, he grinned and hollered, "Ares, your friend's in here getting naked."
"How else is she going to get changed?" Ares called from the living room. Leave it to him to deliberately overlook the obvious implication.
Snorting, Charles shook his head. "I could step out …."
"Why?" She pulled on the sweatpants, far too long for her, but then she sat down and rolled them up to just under her knees—still not wearing a shirt. "You shy, Charles?"
"No … but, uh …. Yeah, I'm going to go in there now." He left the room, shaking his head, hearing her laughter trailing after him.
He wasn't shy, not really, but her complete lack of modesty unnerved him a little. He definitely wasn't used to such behavior in women. He wondered what the hell life for an assassin must really be like for a chick to just strip down to her bra and pretty-much-see-through panties in a stranger's bedroom with him standing right there—when she didn't even intend to get laid.
He made his way back into the front of the house and sat on a stool next to Ares. She came out a minute later and moved to the center of the cleared living room floor. She'd pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Bending over, she pressed her palms to the floor, stretching out her hamstrings.
Lifting her head to glance at Ares, she said, "You should put on something comfortable, too. You're not sticking to the sidelines the whole time." She smirked. "I'm going to teach him a couple of things about turians, too."
Ares hummed, grumbling as he got up off his stool and headed to the bedroom. "Don't wait up for me."
Charles huffed, following Ares with his gaze before turning back to Jasmine, not bothering to lower his voice when he asked, "He always just listen to you?"
She chuckled, giving him a wry smile. "No, of course not. But he knows I'm right. And I'm always right."
Laughing, he raised an eyebrow. "That so?"
"Yep." She stood up and pulled her leg up behind her, at first just her heel to her ass, but then after a few seconds, she extended the stretch, leaning forward a bit and bringing her foot up to her head.
He watched her, mildly intimidated … but also a little aroused. "What will we start with?"
Ares had run him through a series of stretches when they'd gotten back to the apartment, telling Charles that she'd probably be teaching him things which required a lot of flexibility. He considered himself to be pretty limber, but watching her … he swallowed, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.
"You'll show me what you already know." She switched legs. "And then I'll go from there."
"I just know turian stuff, really." He shrugged. "I mean, I've been in fights before, but nothing trained."
"Sure." She lowered her leg and stretched her arm back behind her head. "You're … twenty-seven, right? Birthday's in a few days, isn't it?"
He shifted around on the stool, reminded again of how awkward it felt to have her know so much about him already. "Yeah."
"I'd be surprised if you made it to twenty-eight without ever having been in a fight." Winking, she smirked at him.
He smiled, the casual way she approached things helping to put him at ease. "How old are you?"
"Almost twenty-six." She switched arms, and it seemed like she moved a little slower with her right arm, didn't stretch it back quite as far.
"You're still hurt," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Hmmm. Good observational skills. Those will be useful." After a few seconds, she dropped her arm before swinging them both back and forth. She glanced up at him. "Alright, let's see what you've got."
Charles slid off the stool and moved to the middle of the floor before falling into the stance Cammus taught him, swaying a little on his feet. She paced back a little, gaze roaming over him before shifting into a stance more familiar to him than what he'd seen from the turians at the gym. In fact, he felt pretty sure he'd seen the same stance she used in a few MMA matches. She waved her hand, signaling him forward.
Advancing on her, he threw a punch, and she easily brushed it aside. She held her ground, and he threw another, but again, she blocked the hit. He tried for a kick, but she danced out of the way. He followed, picking up his pace, throwing his hits a little faster. He tried a feint, but she didn't take the bait, leaning to the side to avoid his follow up jab.
Ares walked back into the room, distracting Charles for a moment when he realized the turian didn't just change his clothes but took off his prosthetics. Grabbing his arm, Jasmine spun around him, her hip ramming against him, and the whole apartment turned upside down. His back hit the floor with a solid thud, nearly knocking the air out of him.
"Don't take your eyes off of your opponent," she said.
Ares snorted, moving into the kitchen to lean against the counter and smoke his cigarette.
Groaning, Charles sucked in a shaky breath. The floor of his apartment seemed far less forgiving than the mats at the gym. "Ow."
She smiled down at him, holding out a hand. "Consider that your first lesson."
He closed his eyes for a second, letting out another groan before taking her hand and letting her help him back to his feet. "Yes, ma'am."
"No. No, don't do that. No 'ma'am' crap." She shook her head, backing away from him a little bit and then nodded at him.
Charles chuckled, falling back into his stance. "If you say so."
"You're tall and lean which makes you fast and gives you reach. You'll want to use it to your advantage as much as possible." She moved closer to him. "Keep using this stance when you're with … Cammus?" She said and nodded when he did. "But for what I'll teach you, you need to make some adjustments. Versatility is a good thing."
Her gaze flicked to his bite mark scars, but she didn't say anything as she reached out. She settled her warm hands on his shoulders, resting outside of the scars. "Lower your center of gravity a little." She pushed down on him gently, and he bent his knees a little more. "It'll bring your face down into closer range, but it'll protect your vitals a little better." She moved his elbows in a little further. "And it'll give you a faster spring response."
She looked at his hands. "You don't have talons, this isn't going to help you much." She curled his hands in a little bit further but didn't have him make a complete fist. "Still the same concept, though. Keep it loose, but your knuckles and surface area, as well as your strength, are what's going to do damage here. And you don't have to worry about breaking a talon when you hit."
She stepped back and glanced at Ares. "Ever broken a talon?"
Ares shrugged when Charles looked at him. "When I was a kid." He hummed and looked at his left hand. "Hurts like fucking hell, but adults usually have to worry more about stabbing themselves in a fist more than breaking one off."
She tilted her head to the side. "That, too. Lesson one about fighting dirty against a turian. If you can break one of their talons, do it."
Ares chuckled. "Make sure you're not fighting a turian who has thought about that, though." He flexed his hands. "You can hold your hands in a slightly different way so that when facing someone trying to break a talon off, you can turn their own grip against them." He shrugged. "Blackwatch also taught how to coat your talons. Not going to lie and say I don't have artificial strengthener on them."
"Fuck Blackwatch." Jasmine grumbled, and Ares laughed.
"That's right, you're who he helped with Blackwatch, aren't you?" Charles asked and then winced, holding up a hand. "Nevermind, sorry. It's reflexive."
She snorted, but her gaze flicked to Ares, giving her head a little teasing shake and made a 'tsk tsk' sound. "Alright, so, just like with the other stance, you want to keep your weight on the balls of your feet and stay in motion."
Charles shifted his weight back up to the balls of his feet, feeling disoriented for a moment with the shift in his center of gravity. "This feels weird."
"You're not used to it," she said, moving back out in front of him and dropping into her stance. "Does it hurt?"
"No." He shook his head.
She grinned at him and winked. "Then stop bitching and try to hit me."
Ares let out an amused rumble.
Scoffing, Charles moved in and threw a punch, but she wasn't there when it landed. She spun off to his side and swept his leg. Having fought enough with Cammus, he lifted his leg and hopped, keeping his weight on his back leg as he pulled the other free from hers.
"Good," she muttered, but then she dropped low and kicked out his back leg, sending him sprawling. She held her hand out to him, helping him back up. "Alright, when that happens, you need to be prepared to jump over my leg. Let's do it again."
Backing away from Charles, she stretched out her injured shoulder. She glanced at Ares and jerked her head. Charles stepped back out of the way, stretching his own arms a little. Ares finished off his cigarette and walked over to Jasmine, giving her a questioning rumble.
She smiled up at him. "Just stand there and be a giant turian for a couple of minutes. I'm not going for contact."
He huffed, flicking his mandibles. Clearly, he wasn't fond of the idea of being used as a training dummy, but he stood still. She swatted at him, a playful gesture when he grumbled. Charles raised an eyebrow, still trying to figure out the dynamics of Ares' and Jasmine's relationship. She moved around Ares for a couple of seconds, her gaze roaming over him in a clinical way.
Her eyebrow twitched, and she reached out, fingertips almost touching his right forearm before retreating. Looking up at Ares, she lifted a brow. "Show me?"
Rumbling, he flicked a mandible before holding out his arm. She looked at Charles' name carved into Ares' flesh and blinked a few times before letting out a low whistle. Charles expected her to say something, but she didn't. It seemed to take her a few seconds to process whatever thoughts she had, but after, she just nodded. When she glanced at Charles again, her face appeared utterly blank, telling him nothing about her opinion on the matter.
"Alright, so on a turian," she said, waving her hand at Ares, "you probably already know the most sensitive areas?"
He smirked and glanced up at Ares. "I don't know, what do you think?"
"I'm just acting as a giant turian at the moment," Ares teased, using Jasmine's words as he shrugged. "So you'd be better off showing what you know."
Charles stuck his lip out in a pout. "You're no fun."
She snorted. "In a fight, specific to a turian: spurs, mandible, crest, and as I said, talons. All highly sensitive, and not especially difficult to damage. Turians—most turians—will be in enough pain if you break their crest they won't even be able to see straight. Doesn't mean they won't still fight. Hell, they may even fight harder, but it'll give you more control. Mandibles aren't so easy to break, but they're easy to dislocate." She glanced up at Ares. "May I?"
He lifted a brow plate. "Are you asking to grab at my mandibles?"
"I'm asking to put my hand on your mandible to show positioning," she said with a smile, "no yanking, I promise."
He hummed, lowering his voice. "Good, because if you were, then we'd be better off going to the bedroom." He bent his knees and leaned more into Jasmine's reach, turning his unscarred mandible toward her.
"Keep dreaming," she said with a snort. "In the meantime, still spoken for."
She slid her thumb between his mandible and his jaw, directing her next words at Charles, "You may feel compelled to wrap your fingers around it like this," she said, switching to curve her fingers over the top, thumb cradling the bottom, "and yank down, but it's less likely to do the trick. Their range of motion with their mandibles is greater than you might expect. Instead," she said, shifting her hand back so Ares' mandible rested in the webbing between her thumb and forefinger, "you want to get your thumb here—without losing a finger or two …" She grinned when Ares' let out an amused rumble. "… and slide it as far back as you can. I won't go as far back as I can because even just that will cause pain and pressure in the joint."
She watched Ares closely, seeming to gauge his comfort level, as she slid her thumb further back. Ares seemed pretty calm and unconcerned, apparently trusting her not to actually hurt him. Charles doubted he'd be so chill with anyone else. Sure, he'd probably let Charles do the same, given the circumstances, but he doubted he'd have let others, even Cammus.
Stopping an inch or so away from the joint, she said, "From there, you want to pull your hand away from the face, not down. You want to do it with one, very quick motion to get the joint out of the socket." She slipped her hand free from Ares' mandible before pantomiming a swift jerk to the side next to his face. Glancing at Charles, she nodded her head for him to take her place and dropped her hand.
Ares rumbled, raising a brow plate when Charles gave him a skeptical look. He rumbled in question. "You're not going to break me."
Charles huffed, covering his doubt with sarcasm. "Yeah, but are you going to break me?"
Ares exhaled heavily and flicked his mandibles in the turian equivalent of an eye roll. "Not unless you actually try to snap my mandible off, no."
Grinning, Charles moved closer, muttering a 'pity' under his breath he knew only Ares would hear. Jasmine stepped back further and a little off to the side, watching. Charles took a deep breath and slid his thumb between Ares' mandible and jaw.
She reached out, adjusting his hand and wrist a little. "Keep your arm in a straight line or you'll end up torquing your wrist when you pull."
She nodded, so he slid his hand further along Ares' mandible. The closer he got to Ares' ear, the more resistance he felt. She reached out and put a hand on his to stop him.
Pointing to a position on Ares' mandible, she said, "When doing it for real, the goal is to get your thumb to at least this point before pulling."
Charles nodded. "Okay, and how exactly does one get into this position with a turian without losing fingers?"
"Or getting disemboweled," Jasmine smirked and tapped his hand.
He dropped his hand from Ares' face. "Or disemboweled."
"Practice," she said with a shrug.
"And balls," Ares added, chuckling as he stood up straight. "Most turians don't pull that move on each other because you have to be faster to get into position than it takes your opponent to figure out what you're planning." He rumbled and flicked his mandibles a few times. "Though, we also twist them, but it takes a better grip and the talons help get a good hold."
"Which potentially snaps them," Jasmine added.
Charles shrugged. "I should've dislocated Travium's mandible."
Ares hummed and shook his head. "No. You shouldn't have. Attacking a turian's mandibles without reason can get C-Sec on your ass. Even turians don't do it to each other unless they're spineless fucks."
Charles huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't like how dismissive Ares sounded toward the whole incident. "I think I had a reason. He threw me on the mat—when I wasn't even sparing with him—and drew blood from my throat." A part of him still wanted to go slit the turian's throat, but he admitted it was rather satisfying to see Ares break Travium's arm. Shrugging, he smirked. "But I got to watch you kick his ass, so I guess it was worth it."
Ares rumbled, seeming to consider before responding, "I guess it's a species thing …."
Charles shrugged again, seeing no point in pressing the subject even though he felt pretty sure had it been Ares who Travium did that to, Travium would be dead. "Probably." He turned his attention back to Jasmine.
She put her hand on Ares' arm and nudged him with her other hand. "Turn around, please."
He looked her over before making a curious rumble. "Do I need to get down to your levels?"
"Nope," she said, giving her head a little shake, making her ponytail swing back and forth, "we're looking at your spurs."
He flicked a mandible—actually starting to seem amused by the whole training dummy thing—nodded, and turned away.
She turned a little and aimed a kick at his spur, pulling it just before making contact. "At this angle, not only will it hurt like a motherfucker, but if you catch it right and you're strong enough, you can break it clean off." She stepped back and waved Charles forward. "Uhhh … maybe don't actually kick, just in case. Just position yourself the same way."
Charles snorted, affronted. "I can pull a kick."
"Yes, but can you do it well enough to be damn certain you don't make a mistake and hurt him?" She raised an eyebrow, clearly challenging him.
He hesitated a second before saying, "No."
She lifted her other eyebrow up to join the first and gave him a smug smile. Charles sighed, as happy as it made him to learn new things, he got tired of constantly being surrounded by people who were better than him at everything. Turning to the side, he brought his leg up, tilted a little as she did, and lifted his foot to about an inch away from Ares' spur. She adjusted his foot and then his hips before squatting down next to Ares' leg.
Pointing to an area about an inch up from where the spur connected to Ares' leg, she glanced back up at Charles. "It won't snap below this point." She brought her finger up a little higher. "Aim your kick here for maximum damage." She moved up to the tip. "Here for less damage but still a lot of pain."
Ares hummed and glanced down at them. "Closer to the leg will cause more damage to the nerves. You can make a turian's leg go numb from pain if you get close enough to the base. You won't even have to break it completely off at that point."
Jasmine looked up at him, a mischievous grin on her face. "But where's the fun in that?"
He snorted. "If you leave it hanging on, you can hit it more often. Breaking it off completely leaves only the one spot for pain, but having it still on, but damaged, turns the entire spur into a lightning rod of pain." He shrugged. "Just from experience fighting and breaking another turian's off."
"Hmmmm. Help me up, my side hurts." She held her hand up to him. "I'd think exposed nerves and bone would make a good target to cause a shitload of pain, too, but I'll take your word on it."
He nodded and gave her his hand, hoisting her up to her feet. "Might just have been because we were trained to, but a missing spur hurts less than a hanging one. You can zone out a bullet wound" he said, and she snorted, "but you can't zone out a wound with a blade sticking out of it when that blade is constantly getting jostled by shit."
"Fair enough. I'm not going to make you bend to get to your crest, it's pretty obvious, anyway." She moved around Ares to point, though, and Charles followed her. "The further away from the skull, the easier to break. A sharp blow with a blunt object, and it'll snap. Otherwise, if you're strong enough, you can snap one off like a twig with your hands."
Ares snorted and nodded. "The middle is stronger than the two sides. It's thicker, so it's harder to break, but it has more nerves."
Jasmine nodded, too. "Once it's broken, just like with anything else, it's going to have exposed nerves that can be targeted again."
Humming, Ares glanced over his shoulder and flicked a mandible at Charles. "When you don't have the hand to just start breaking pieces off, go for smaller, but just as painful targets." He motioned to his eyes. "Eyes hurt just as much as they would you, but don't think it's going to stop someone just because you blind them." He tapped his nose plates. "A good hit to the nose will do wonders. We're very sensitive here and if you hit right in the center, you can make their vision double. You'll be doing more than just breaking their nose, you'll be stunning them for a good while until their nerves stop firing from the pain."
She put a hand on Ares' hip, turning him again. "Their dicks may be inside, but they still have a nerve here." She pointed to his groin at the juncture between thigh and plates. "A good knee strike here will double them over." She glanced up at Ares, waving him down, and he lowered himself. "Just as with a human, asari, batarian, drell, and maybe krogan if you're brave enough …." She traced the outline of Ares' ear on the side facing Charles.
"You know a drell?" Charles asked, curious after his talk with Ares about the elusive species.
"I do, and you'll not ask any other questions about him," she said without missing a beat.
"Ahhh … okay." He pursed his lips a little. "Sorry."
"It's alright," she said, having not even looked away from Ares' ear. "Cupping your hands and clapping them over the ear canal creates pressure in the ear, if done right, it can rupture the eardrum." She cupped her hands and then swung them in toward Ares on either side but stopped with her hand about an inch away.
Charles cupped his hands the way she had hers, and she gave him an approving nod.
She reached behind Ares, putting her fingertips against the base of his skull. Her gaze flicked to Ares', surprise flitting across her face for a fraction of a second before vanishing again. "They've got plates here, so it's not as effective as with a human, but the plates really don't add much protection. You see how this curves here?" She glanced at Charles, and he nodded. "A solid blow here, especially with something pointed, can cause a blackout." She dropped her hand and patted Ares' shoulder, and he stood up. "Butt of a gun, elbow … whatever."
"Any more turian anatomy lessons?" Ares rumbled as he looked between Jasmine and Charles, lifting a brow plate.
Smirking, she shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Why? Is he bad in bed?"
"Him? No," he said, smirking at her, "but I would love to see what knowledge on turian anatomy you have in that head of yours."
"I bet you would." She chuckled then sighed. "I've got to get back. I need to go over a few things and plan. I can swing by tomorrow, though, if you want?" She glanced between Ares and Charles.
Charles nodded. "Definitely."
"Sounds good." Ares rumbled and nodded. "We'll go eat somewhere that actually has decent dextro food. Maybe get shitfaced."
"Mmmm." She waggled her head a little. "Maybe on getting shitfaced. I'll see what Ray thinks about …. I'll let you know."
Ares snorted. "So, no."
"Don't be an ass." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm here on work, remember? I have to be a responsible adult at least some of the time."
Rumbling, he nodded but let out a long, suffering sigh. "If you have to."
She grinned, patting him on the shoulder as she moved past him. "You should make time to come say hello while we're here. I'm sure he'd like to see you again."
Ares hummed, the sound both interested but doubtful. "I'll see what I can do once you have your work done."
"Oh." She stopped and turned back to Charles. "Charles, do you shoot?"
He nodded. "I'm learning."
"Hmmm." She pursed her lips and looked up at Ares. "We could take him to the arena?"
Ares huffed. "Ask him. I'm not his mother. He can do what he wants."
She snorted, stopping and dropping her weight to one hip again. "I'm not taking your … bondmate to the arena by myself, jackass." She rolled her eyes. "Do you want to go?"
Ares looked at Charles, a question in his expression.
"I don't know what she's talking about." Charles shrugged.
Ares sighed. "The arena is a way to weapons test. Instead of shooting immobile paper targets, you're firing on VI controlled programs that are firing back."
"Oh, you mean Armax Arsenal Arena?" Charles asked, lifting an eyebrow.
She grinned, giving him a curt nod. "Yep."
"You want me to go into a combat simulator …." he said, letting his words trail off, doubt heavy in his voice.
"Yep," she said, dragging the word out.
He glanced at Ares for a second before shrugging. "Okay." He shook his head. "Just don't expect much from me."
Ares hummed. "We'll get you something to go in there with that's more than a shirt and jeans. It's not live rounds, but it'll still hurt if you get hit."
Jasmine snorted. "I'm not allowed to go in with anything but street clothes." She glanced at Charles. "Don't worry, combat like that isn't really my cup of tea, either. But, it's fun."
"You use a rifle," Ares retorted. "He does not. You can go in there with street clothes." He rumbled and looked at Charles. "Unless you want to go in with a weapon you've never trained with," he joked with an amused thrum.
"Not really." Charles moved into Ares' side, wrapping an arm around his waist. "But I do kinda want to know what it feels like to be shot."
Scoffing, she shook her head. "No, you don't." She glanced at Ares. "I don't only use a sniper rifle. It's just my favorite."
"You also have years of experience avoiding bullets when he just admitted to wanting to be shot. So, no, he won't be going in wearing street clothes." He looked down at Charles. "You won't need armor but at least more protection than something like that," he said, gesturing at Charles' sweatpants and shirtless torso.
"What happened to you not being my mother?" Charles asked, grinning up at Ares, and Jasmine laughed.
Ares smirked. "If you really want to feel what it'll be like to be shot at the arena, I can go get my concussive rounds and show you right now."
Charles seriously considered it for a few seconds and then said, "Okay."
Ares pulled Charles' arm off of him and looked at Jasmine. "Wait around for this." He headed for the bedroom.
"Ares? You can't be serious?" She called after him before turning to look at Charles. "Dude, no, don't do this."
He shrugged. "I want to know."
"Jesus Christ." She rubbed her forehead.
Ares returned, Charles' Stiletto III in hand, as he adjusted the ammunition. "Pick a spot. Not your head …. I'm not dealing with you having a concussion."
Charles bit his lip, thinking it over.
"You're both insane," she said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
"Shoulder?" Charles asked.
She scoffed. "Not if you want to shoot tomorrow."
He held his hands out to the side, shoulders raised. "Well, where?"
Sucking in a deep breath, she said, "Someplace fatty or muscular, not bone. Not your abdomen, it can break a rib or rupture an organ. I can't believe you're seriously—"
Ignoring Jasmine, Ares aimed the gun at Charles' upper, left thigh and pulled the trigger.
Charles howled, doubling over as his leg buckled, taking him to his knees. He cut off the scream, sucking in a hissing breath. "Motherfucker," he said, the word grinding out between clenched teeth. He rocked forward, gaze dropping to the floor. The beast inside roared, rattling the bars of its cage.
"I told you," she said.
"You would've tensed if I waited," Ares said. "This way you know what it'd really feel like."
Jasmine started to move over to him, but his head snapped up, staring her down. Her eyes widened a little for a second, and she shifted, not quite taking a step back but almost as if she was about to fall back into a fighting stance. "Are you alright?"
He growled a little but nodded, pulling himself back to his feet. "Yeah … fuck that hurts." It also turned him on.
Ares hummed, looking between Charles and Jasmine a moment before clicking on the pistol's safety and tucking it into his waistband. "Come on. Icing it will keep it from seizing up tomorrow."
He limped over to Ares.
"Yeah. You're both fucking nuts." She laughed, shaking her head as she turned to the hall. "I'm going to go change my clothes."
"Let the dog out of the room," Ares called after her. He turned his attention to Charles and said, "Go sit on the couch and prop up your leg."
He grabbed Ares' arm as the man started to step away, tugging him back before he got too far away. He reached up, wrapping his fingers around Ares' cowl and urged him down for a kiss. Pressing himself against Ares, he shoved his tongue into the turian's mouth.
Growling, Ares stroked his tongue against Charles' before pushing him away and toward the couch. "Sit and stay, or I'll make you wait until tomorrow for any more of that."
His jaw dropped open. "Uh!" He sniffed and turned to the couch. "Using sex as a weapon against me now? Shit, I guess we really are bonded."
He plopped down on the couch, groaning as he lifted his leg up onto the cushions. Eezo came running down the hall and jumped up there with him, excited and trying to lick his face. Ares chuckled as he dumped ice into a plastic bag and brought it into the living room. He urged the dog out of the way before grabbing the waistband of Charles' pants, pulling them down on one side to get a look at his thigh. Ares hummed at the already blossoming bruise and set the ice pack on the center of the throbbing ache. Charles hissed at the sudden cold and the pain but didn't say anything, just watched Ares with a smile.
Jasmine came back out of the room a couple of minutes later, holstering her pistol at her back. She stopped in front of them and looked down at Charles' leg, shaking her head again. Leaning over, she kissed Ares' scarred cheek before pushing herself upright with a hand on the back of the couch. He scoffed, sounding like a petulant child who didn't want his mother's affection in public.
Ignoring Ares' sound of protest, she turned to Charles and held a hand out to him. "Take good care of this asshole. I've grown fond of him."
He shook her hand and chuckled. "He doesn't make it easy."
"No, no he doesn't." She smiled. "It was nice meeting you. See you two tomorrow. Ares, I'll message you before I head over."
Ares rumbled and nodded, standing up to walk her out. They left Charles sitting on the couch, ice pack on his thigh, and headed to the door. Eezo wriggled back up a little closer to Charles, yawning and laying her head down on his knee.
"Thanks for giving him some training tips," Ares said, his voice pitched low, but not low enough for Charles to miss in the otherwise quiet apartment.
"My pleasure," she said, just as softly. "You seriously need to tell me how you two went from a random hookup to bonded." She let out a soft chuckle. "We've got some business to discuss at some point, too, if you're still interested."
Ares rumbled, and then Charles heard the door open and close.
He watched the hall waiting for Ares to return, and when he saw him again, he said, "She's … interesting."
Ares hummed in agreement as he made his way back to the couch. Without making Charles get up, he dragged the couch back into place, pulling a laugh from Charles, before he sat down. "She is."
"You two haven't fucked?" Charles raised an eyebrow.
Ares huffed a laugh and pulled out a cigarette, shaking his head once before lighting it. "No," he said, taking a drag. "She's serious with another."
"Hmmm. Monogamy, then? Ew." Charles took a deep breath. "You seem to really trust her, though. Well, trust her some, at least."
Ares stayed quiet as he held a breath before slowly blowing out the smoke from his mouth. "You were jealous."
Charles huffed, embarrassed to have been read so clearly. "If I have to stay here, will you go get my cigarillos off the breakfast bar?"
Humming, Ares set his cigarette box and lighter on the arm of the couch before standing up and getting Charles' cigarillos. When he returned, he held out a cigarillo for Charles before flicking his lighter to light it for him.
Charles smiled and leaned over, putting his cigarillo into the flame, taking a deep drag before blowing it back out. "Maybe. A little."
Ares dragged over one of the side tables and tossed Charles' pack on it before sitting back down. "Why?"
Charles scratched the mostly healed scar on his forehead where the bottle the asshole threw at him hit. He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess … I just wasn't expecting any of it. You went from holding a gun on her to hugging her and sharing your cigarette with her."
Ares just hummed, taking a drag and watching the smoke as it drifted out of his mouth.
"You took your prosthetics off with her here." Charles shrugged again, trying to find a way to express himself that didn't tip over into something pathetic and whiny sounding. "That's kind of a big deal for you, it all just took me by surprise. Don't worry, though, I'm not going to turn into one of those guys who's constantly making demands or trying to insist you don't spend time with anyone else or whatever."
"I didn't think you were," Ares said, relaxing back on the couch. He dropped his free hand to Eezo's fur, and she turned, lapping at his fingers a couple of times before laying her head back down on Charles.
"Good." Charles smoked in silence for a few minutes before asking, "How long do I have to stay here to avoid the torture of not being able to kiss you or fuck until tomorrow?"
Ares hummed as if in consideration. He reached over without looking, pressing a finger into Charles' bruised leg, and Charles hissed, whimpering a little, but it just made him more aroused. "Until your smell is stronger than your sounds."
"Pffft. So, I'll just sit here and fantasize about your cock in my ass for a few seconds." He closed his eyes and did just that, cock starting to twitch in his pants.
Ares chuckled. "Keep fantasizing. Too long and I'll just go take care of myself on my own. I need a good shower."
"One, that's just cruel. Two, the day you can only go once a night is the day we both keel over." Charles grinned, opening his eyes. "How do I smell?"
Ares hummed and glanced over at Charles, flicking his mandibles. "I don't know …. How's the leg feeling?"
"Like it'd feel so much better if I was being fucked," Charles said with a smirk.
Chuckling, Ares stood up. "I still can't smell it."
Charles let his gaze roam over Ares, taking in the sharp angles, hide and plates, lingering on the scars a little longer than the rest, cock growing harder. "Liar."
Opening his omni-tool, Ares lowered the lights before pulling off his shirt in the near dark. He paused to finish off his cigarette before opening the clasps of his pants and pushing them off his hips. Charles watched him, cock growing fully erect. He licked his lips, loving watching Ares undress, even in such little light. Growling, Ares leaned over to cup Charles' face and kissed him forcefully, shoving his tongue into his mouth. Charles let out a little moan, wrapping his hand around the back of Ares' head to knead the hide beneath his crest.
Ares kissed him for a moment, hand reaching down to palm Charles through his pants. He curled his tongue around Charles' before pulling away. "Come on, Eezo," he said, walking away toward the bedroom. "Bedtime, dog."
Charles let out a loud groan. "I'm not tied down to this couch you know?"
Eezo' head snapped up at Ares' whistle, and she hopped off the couch, trotting to the bedroom. Charles heard the door close and lock.
"Seriously?" he yelled.
"Go to sleep," Ares called. "You have a big day tomorrow, and I'm not carrying you through the arena."
Grumbling, Charles said to himself, "I am not sleeping on the damn couch." Grabbing the ice pack, he eased himself up, biting back a hiss as he hobbled down the hall to the door. He opened his omni-tool and hacked through the lock, slapping his palm against the door's release. "You're so mean." He limped over to his side of the bed, stripping off his pants and shorts before climbing into the bed. He rolled over and dropped the ice pack on Ares, holding it against his stomach.
Ares rumbled, amusement in his vocals as he covered the ice pack with a hand. "About time you came to bed. What took you?"
Charles snorted, pulling the ice pack away again. "I don't know, I considered staying out there. Jacking off and stretching out, but I thought you might be a little more fun."
Chuckling, Ares grabbed the ice pack from Charles' hand and forced him to roll over, putting his back to Ares' chest. He rumbled as he nibbled along Charles' neck and shoulder, the hand with the ice pack finding his thigh and pressing it back to the bruise.
Charles huffed and pushed his ass against Ares' crotch. "Please?"
"Please what?" Ares tossed the pack on the side table, freeing up his hands to slide his palms along Charles' stomach and hips.
He let out a light growl. "Fuck me."
Ares chuckled, licking and nipping along Charles' skin as he dragged the tips of his talons across Charles' thighs. Charles hissed as the talons found his bruise, then moaned. He reached behind him to wrap his hand around Ares' crest.
"I want you," he said, his voice a husky whisper.
"I know," Ares said, growling against Charles' as he moved one of his hands between them, rubbing his palm over his plates, coaxing himself out. "I can smell you."
Charles huffed a soft laugh. "Mmm. Do you like smelling me when I want you?"
"You're damn right." Ares licked along Charles' neck, pulling his earlobe between his mouth plates.
A shiver ran through Charles, bringing up goosebumps. "I wish I could smell you the same way." He tugged at Ares' crest, squeezing a little. "But I can hear it when you want me."
As if to prove it, Ares pressed his mouth right below Charles' ear and growled into his skin, hand sliding up from Charles' thigh to wrap around his cock.
Moaning, Charles shifted, pushing himself into Ares' hand. "I love hearing that sound."
Ares' chuckle sounded rough as he flicked his mandibles and licked just below Charles' ear. He moved his other hand from between them and pulled Charles back to him, grinding his erect cock against Charles' ass. "Do you want me to prep you tonight?"
Charles hummed. "If you want to."
"I just asked if you wanted me to," Ares said with a snort. "If you don't care, I won't. Just cut right to the chase." He ran his tongue along Charles' pulse, stroking his hand up Charles' cock.
Moaning again, Charles pressed his ass against Ares. "I don't care. So, cut right to the chase."
Growling, Ares ducked his head to wrap his mouth over Charles' shoulder and released his cock. He lifted Charles' leg over his own hip, putting his foot to the bed as he positioned himself up against Charles' asshole. He thrummed, biting down as he pushed inside, pulling Charles back onto his cock.
Charles sucked in a ragged breath as Ares' teeth sunk into his shoulder, and it seeped out of him in a throaty croak of pleasure. His heart slammed against his ribs, washing away whatever jealousy he'd felt before over Jasmine. Ares was his, and he was Ares'. He let out a soft whimper, pushing back in against Ares before reaching behind him, wrapping his hand around Ares' crest and squeezing.