Ned would consider himself a feminist. He'd certainly read enough of the literature, even before getting with Katie, but then read a lot of it after when they started dating. He would consider himself comfortable in his masculinity, as comfortable as he was with most things, which was to say, not very much.

He was very comfortable with her though. And he couldn't argue with the research. "I got the stuff," he offered lamely as he walked into their bedroom.

Katie was halfway into their closet, fixing something on her hips. She was wearing the silk robe he had gotten her for their last anniversary, when he'd not forgotten the date, but had forgotten that gift-giving was still a thing people did after nearly ten years of marriage. Sharing a nice night alone with her like tonight was enough for him, but he should've known better with parents like hers that they would be gift-giving until the end of time, and when he'd seen a wrapped package on the dining room table he had turned right back out the door to speed over to the mall.

Funny enough, the wrapped package had been new whiskey tumblers. She knew him so well and also appreciated the robe but had enjoyed the story of his panic buying much more.

And here she was, wearing it. She didn't need to. It was a cheap robe and wasn't all that warm, but because he'd gotten it for her it was special enough to stay in her wardrobe rotation. Usually coming out in cases like this.

"The stuff?" She parroted, then turned to face him, a smile easy on her lips. Ned could only spare a moment to linger on that smile before the rest of his wife completely stole his focus. "What are you twelve years old again? If you can't say dildo, we're not doing this."

Katie had owned the strap-on harness since college, which had surprised him. Why the attachment had gotten tossed, Ned didn't ask, but she had told him anyway. Something about cheap, melted plastic and Hannah's curling iron, but he had mostly been listening to her laugh as she told the story.

He loved hearing her laugh.

He also loved seeing her wear nothing but a robe and a strap-on harness. He had never really understood the appeal of leather or latex, even being a fan of superhero movies, but seeing the solid black straps hugging her hips, the way the edges of the silk caressed her breasts, was entrancing. She put her hands on those hips, just above where the harness lay waiting to be filled with what he bought, drawing more attention to them than usual.

Her shoulders were back, head cocked slightly, and smiled broadly at him, not quite shark-like but almost. Confidence was always a good look on her. "You have to say it," she countered playfully, but he could tell she was dead serious. "Or the deal is off."

"Dildo. I got the dildo," he told her.

Her smile burst into a grin, warm as the sun, and she crossed the room to pull down him into a kiss. It was so easy to melt into her. He went to wrap his arms around her, but the plastic bag flopped between the two of them instead. She pulled back and took the bag. "Oh."

"Shit," he cursed, "did I get the wrong one?"

"No, it's just…" She took out the toy, holding it with an ease he certainly did not have in the store. The navy blue had felt tasteful, of all the colors laid out on the displays, but now in the light of their bedroom, it felt almost too intimate. "It's bigger than I thought you would've chosen."

It certainly hadn't seemed big, only a little thicker than his own. Watching her fist curl around it, kicked a spark into igniting inside him. Any mortification from the shopping experience was a distant memory. "I mean, it's not that much bigger than mine. I think I can handle it," he said.

"You are bigger than average honey," Katie said and gave a delicate snort, leaning up to kiss him again. "I love you so much. On the bed, please."

Ned stumbled, head caught for a moment as he tugged off his shirt. He let himself fall forward onto the bed, balanced on his shoulder and knees as he shoved his jeans and briefs down his thighs. "I, uh, did that thing. It was... different."

A drawer opened and shut before she was hugging him from behind, dropping the bottle of lube onto the bed and letting her hands roam his increasing bare skin. "I'm not going to make you say douching, but do know that I could."

Laughter bubbled out of him, easy in a way that never stopped being surprising. She could make him do almost anything, and she knew that. He shifted on his knees, kicking off the last of his pants. "Is there anything I should do?"

"Just like this is fine. Relax, baby," she pressed a kiss to his shoulder as her fingers danced down his spine and then moved up, breasts pressed into his skin, to whisper in his ear. "But if you like this, I'd love to see you bounce on my cock next time."

His arms wobbled but he managed to stay up on his elbows. "Katherine Ann," he teased in return because it was too early in the evening for him to start whining.

"Shush, I know. Tell me if I do anything you don't like, okay?" She said with another kiss on his back. "Remember the safe word?"

"I do. Cinnamon," he chuckled.

"Yep. I'm sure we won't need it because I'll be gentle and slow, but it's always good to have one." Another kiss and her hands moved to the scant meat of his ass. Katie's hands were slender, but they managed to palm most of the sensitive flesh there, touching for a hungry moment before her fingers slipped between his cheeks. They'd done this before, and even before her, he wasn't a stranger to a finger in his ass. No sensible man should be, but still, mental preparedness never seemed to be enough for the feeling of weirdness. Not bad, but also not good until a little later in the process. He knew this, but it didn't stop him from squirming.

She ran her free hand down his side. Her hands were always warm and she put just the right amount of weight behind her touch to steady him against the incredibly unsexy sound of lube being wrung out of the bottle. "We're going to need to add this to the shopping list."

"Not exactly thinking about groceries right now, honey." He let his face fall forward as two fingers pressed into him. Her fingers were so slender that he couldn't even begin to imagine how many he'd need to take to fit that dildo inside him. Maybe he did get the wrong one.

Any worry melted away from him as Katie's touch reached deep enough inside him. "Oh fuck."

"Yeah, there you go." She scissored her fingers, spreading him wider as she continued. The not-bad-but-weird stretch was immediately soothed by a bright spark of pleasure. Mark could feel himself dripping onto the sheets. "I love you like this."

Her voice was rough with arousal and he rolled his hips back to meet her touch. She let him, for a handful of moments, fuck himself on her fingers. Her wrist completely stopped moving, letting him do all the work. He could practically hear her smirking and it felt like something was glowing in his chest. Making her happy, amused, mirthful, whatever, that was his purpose on this stupid planet. She loved him like this and that was the only thought he could think.

"Alright," she whispered. Her free hand stilled his hips and she pulled out enough to wring the last of the lube onto her fingers before sliding three in him. The stretch tried to take up more space in his mind but no room was left for it. There was only joy and the faintest realization that she was pushing him towards the edge.

"I—" Ned managed but that was enough for her to pull back. Above the ragged sound of his catching his breath, there was a slick slide of flesh on wet plastic. Ten minutes prior it would have been the least appealing sound he could think of, but right now, it stole his breath again.

Katie pressed the tip against him and he whined, tilting forward and away. "I can't." He was such an idiot. That thing was huge. He now understood every girl he'd ever hooked up with's wary feeling when they'd first gotten together.

"Breathe for me, babe. I'm not gonna hurt you." Her words were so fond and relaxing, and Ned would never tire of it.

He gulped down air and shuddered it out in a drunken sounding laugh. "I love your brain."

She pressed a kiss into his shoulder blade. "Another breath, please." He obeyed, and as he slowly exhaled, Katie pushed into him.

The dildo didn't stop being huge, but she was so slow pushing into him, always steady. A constant pressure, still weird, but not bad. There was a high-pitched sound and eventually, he realized it was coming from him, but she kept her slow, sure push forward until he could feel the leather straps of her harness pushing into him.

"You good?" She asked.

The weird wasn't gone, but it was quiet compared to the feeling of being full. More than just her fingers, or any experience, the silicon was unyielding. Solid and smooth in a comforting way. He felt like something was unraveling in him, making room for something more.

When did he stop breathing?

Ned took in a slow and steady breath. He wasn't about to start panting, not yet. He didn't want Katie to worry and he certainly did not want to stumble into something like panic. Not that he could imagine panic right now. This fullness was starting to expand inside his brain like he was a dingy bobbing on a quiet lake.

"Yeah," he managed. Oh god, his voice was already a wreck. "Good." She bent and kissed him again, just below his shoulder blades. The movement shifted her harness on her hips, shifted the toy inside him, rubbing itself against his prostate and he bucked back. "Sorry."

"You're fine. How many times have you done that to me, hmm?" She teased.

And then they were both laughing, bodies shaking as Katie struggled to stay balanced on her knees and Ned let his face smush into the sheets. Bone-deep laughter that alone would have left both of them breathless, but the dildo was unwavering, and its base pressed back against her, and any hope of steadiness started to fade. She bucked back into him, still giggling, and he rocked his hips back. The laughter petered out into strangled gasps and the two of them moved together.

It was far from the perfect unison that pornography depicted, of kilter and desperate in a way that would make the whole thing end too soon. The sounds were weird, squeaking leather and plastic, but he couldn't hear them. There was static in his ears, heavy breathing and whatever sound air floating around a room made, that was all that existed. Her hands were tight on his hips, nails digging in just slightly, trying to wrangle a little more direction for their fucking as he moved towards any sensation he could. In a fleeting moment of clarity, the smoothness of each thrust inside him was delightfully baffling. Everything about this felt right.

"Katie, please—" Ned was amazed she even heard him, with how pressed into the mattress he was, but she released one-half of his hips and wrapped her hand around his cock, squeezing on the right side too hard. Her hips were moving with force, chasing her pleasure just as much as she was driving forward to service him. Her fingers tightened around him and he was gone.

As he came to, somehow his face was even more mashed against the bed. He grits his teeth through the horrible joy and wonderful torment of overstimulation. Her hips stilled and left him with the quiet, content feeling of being both empty and full. She let herself drape on top of him, breast pressed alongside his spine, arms loose over the edges of his back. They breathed together, panting but steady. "How was that?"

"All good." He reached back a hand to hold hers. "Really good. Though…"

"Yeah," she agreed, squeezing his hand before peeling herself from his back and kneeling behind him again. Her hands returned to his hips. "Breathe." And he did. With the same steady care that she pushed in with, Katie pulled the dildo out.

There was the click of a buckle falling loose and the gentle whoosh of something moving through the air until the harness landed in a heap on the floor. "We're going to have to clean that," he said, even as he collapsed from his knees to lie flat on the bed, immediately grimacing at yet another thing they'd have to clean.

"I know." She flopped onto the bed next to him, hands finding his hips yet again to pull him out of his mess and press against her side. His arm always seemed to fit perfectly across her middle, under the gentle swell of her breasts, and his head rested on top of her usually perfect hair. He could feel it flying away in a frizz, brushing along his chin as he breathed. "Later?"

"Later," he sighed, content. "I still have to get you off too."

She smirked. "You should just relax. Watching you was enough for tonight," she said. "I'm sure you'll wake me up in the morning well before we go to get Ash from my parent's house."

"In the morning then," he agreed without hesitation like he always did with her.

It was early when he woke up. Katie was still asleep, hidden amongst the array of pillows, but she shifted when he reached out and brushed a careful thumb over her cheek.

"Hey," he whispered.

A small moan of protest emerged from the nest, but she let him continue to stroke her face, nuzzling into the touch. She wasn't a morning person compared to him and yet, even with the sky starting to lighten outside, he wanted more than anything to settle in beside her and so he did. Their first kiss was slow. As slow and gentle as he could make it, like easing into a too-hot bath.

She sighed happily into it, touched his face, and hummed a little. "You're not gonna let me sleep in?"

He shifted closer until they were lined up. "No."

"Rude," she complained, but she was kissing him back. "What time even is it?"

"Dunno," he said, and honestly, lying there amongst the wreck of bed linen, he could be content just to kiss her.

They kiss until his lips felt swollen, exhaling into each other's mouths, hips rolling together. She made the most addictive sounds whenever they make out like this, like teenagers with nothing to be scared of, and he wished he could pick them up and save them all.

She sighed when he dropped a line of kisses down her neck, curving against him so prettily, half reclined against the pillows, carding her fingers through his hair. She must've pulled on one of his shirts last night after he was asleep and it rode up when she bent her knees, scrunching when he smoothed a hand over her hip, pushed up against the shaky inhales of her ribcage.

"I believe it's your turn," he muttered into the hollow of her throat as he rolled her onto her back.

"How are you not exhausted?" She asked as he spread her legs so he can ease down between them.

"Who says I'm not?" He loved the way she arched when he kissed his way down to her thighs, suckling her soft skin and leaving marks.

Katie sighed, relaxing into his touch, hands finding his hair and scratching his scalp. "That is nice," she muttered. It's his turn to sigh and he pressed into the sensation and licked again, opening his mouth and sucking on her clit until he felt her squirming and saying, "oh god, fuck... like that, yes."

His pleasure was secondary to the sensation settling over him like a cloak at the notion he was doing well enough to make the beautiful woman writhe, and he clamped his hands on her thighs to keep her in place as he buried his face deeper, kissing her folds mindlessly, curling his tongue into her in long focused drags.

"F-fuck—" she whined, and when he pulled back to breathe, the sight of her chest heaving almost undid him.

"Baby," he groaned, rocking his hips down onto the mattress to find some relief as he scattered kisses onto her thighs and ran his knuckles over her.

"Hey," she smiled, dimples showing. "Get up here." He pressed his face against her leg, ears warm, and tried to focus on being gentle as he slid two fingers into her before doing as she asked and looming over her. He couldn't stop himself from kissing her, lips swollen and waiting for him. "S'good," she whispered, humming another noise of approval. "Feels so good."

"Like that?" he whispered, his heart pounding away in his throat.

"Yeah, baby, fuck—"

He twisted his fingers, nudging another into her, and had to pause and breathe when she tightened up around him instinctively, his cock hard and leaking against her thigh. The desire to be buried inside her was creeping up to the forefront of his mind, but he wanted to watch her come undone on his fingers.

"I want you to come," he said, fingers curling up to press where he knew she liked.

"Please," she whined, hands scratching at the sheets as he fingered her earnestly now. He couldn't get enough of it. "Oh god, oh fuck... I'm gonna—"

And all Ned could do was drink in the sight of her greedily as she came, her skin glowing and flushed in the sunlight filtering through the curtains. "Fuck Katie," he muttered, face hot, withdrawing his fingers to palm over her clit and make her sob and squirm underneath him.

He was so hard it hurt. The bedsheets needed changing. But none of it mattered. He traced careful fingers down her thigh, closing his eyes at how slick it was, at the fact that he did that for her. "You okay?"

"So okay," she groaned happily, beckoning him closer for a kiss. "I still want you, you know."

"How are you not exhausted?" He parroted her from earlier, only to barely duck and miss a playful jab to the side. He loses himself to their next kiss a little, the warmth of her mouth always distracting at the best of times, except now all he can think of was the softness of her underneath him as her hand was curling around his cock.

"Inside," she whispered, surprising him. They hadn't talked about trying in a while but they'd been using condoms since Asher was born. He was nearly three and old enough to understand what being a big brother would mean now. He loved being at the Clancy house. Emma and Lana were only a few years older, despite being his aunts, and they were close playmates. He had others from daycare, but a sibling? Ned never had any like her and wanted to give their son one. "Inside me. Finish inside me."

"Okay," he managed. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, smiling at him. "If it happens, it happens. I've been thinking about that recently," she encouraged. "Unless you think it's not the right time?"

"No. Never. I want a million babies with you," he whispered against her lips. He slipped the head of his cock between her folds and lined himself up carefully.

"Oh wow. A million?" She teased and pulled him into a kiss as he sank into her, making them both moan. "I don't think my body could handle a million of your ten-pound babies honey. But we can try. It might be fun."

Ned laughed. God, he loved her so much. His thrusts were short and ragged, her tight heat almost too much for him to handle. Deep, hard strokes pressed her into the bed, driving the breath from her lungs. He moved in her like he couldn't get enough, and she reached to clutch at his head where he was sucking marks into her breast. He slowed for a moment, uncertain if he might've hurt her.

"More," she moaned, her body welcoming his invasion with heat and wetness and a throbbing pleasure that built against his with every thrust. She tried to brace herself, to gain some sort of traction, but he gripped her wrist and pinned it to the bed.

His pace quickened. He wanted her to feel him between her legs all day and only released her wrist to slide his fingers between them. Then she was coming, wild, uncontrolled. The sweet bite of her nails clutching his ass and pulling him in drove him wild, and he was overcome and lost himself inside of her.

When awareness returned, he pushed over onto his back. "Are you alright?" he asked, gazing over at her in concern. He could see her smile and his worries dissipated.

"Never better. That was amazing," she said, and though her voice was breathless and weak, she sounded satisfied. "Just a little tender."

"I will take care of you," he said and pressed kisses to where he had marked her. "We still have some time before we have to get up."

Katie laughed; her face was flushed, hair sticking to her with sweat. He found her stunning. "Good. Come here," she sighed happily and settled into him, head on his shoulder and breath tickling his neck. "Will you hold me like this for a little while?"

"Of course," he whispered and held her close. He would never tire no matter how long she needed him to hold her in his arms. "I love you."

"I know. That's one of the many reasons why I love you too," she said, closing her eyes.