Chapter Text
It’s like a full-body hum. An aliveness, an awareness, an awakening of the senses. His consciousness never dims , that's the important thing. He's still present. He doesn't black out, he doesn't go anywhere, his motivation just… changes. And it's an easy motivation to listen to. Who doesn't like sex , after all, especially sex where the sensation of every touch is dialed up to eleven. Sex with orgasms so long, so smooth, they flow through his body with such liquid purpose that he can hardly tell when one ends and the next begins.
Of course, there's the emotional aspect to worry about when it comes to heats . Karl has a habit of getting tripped up in the physical so fast that worrying about the emotional side seems almost superfluous, until he's lying in bed alone suddenly abandoned halfway through his heat by a hookup who'd promised to stay, a low and constant pain throbbing in his chest. Aimlessly drifting between crying, masturbating, and sleeping until the horrid cloud leaves him after a few days. It's hard to tell what's worse: being truly alone, or feeling so alone with another person still there in the room with him.
So weighing the two options, he's taken to suppressants. They're iffy, likely to get thrown off, but at least the heats don't come like clockwork anymore. He doesn't have to plan shit around it, and it's always nice to not be incapacitated for several days.
It leaves him enough time in his schedule for Nick to finally come visit.
It's the first time, and every second of it has been exhilarating. Friendship through the phone or over the internet is absurdly difficult, and being with Nick in person feels like taking off the training wheels. They can just… hang out. All the time. Karl’s face gets sore from smiling on the first day alone, his stomach tensed and achy from too much belly-laughing. Streaming has never been so easy. Hours slip past like minutes. It’s a little like being drunk, and Karl’s addicted.
He notices the real, true pull of it during the Pokemon stream. How nice it feels to bury his face against Nick’s shoulder, grip his hand and lean into the sturdy warmth of his body. Nick never rebuffs him, always lets Karl fall back into his orbit like a wayward comet. It’s nice to watch him win, even, it’s fitting somehow. Like Nick deserves it just for being Nick. Even the abstract concept of luck adores him. How could Karl not, too?
They all come down with a lazy sort of after party, Karl curled up beside Nick on the couch with a cool plastic water bottle pressed against his temple. After God knows how many circular conversations about a basketball game that happened two months ago, Karl notices with a bland annoyance that he can feel the stitching on the inside of his jeans. And the ones on his socks. Everything itches, too sensitive, too sharp. His head, thrumming with a low-grade ache all day, squeezes down on his thoughts. He's hot, too, a nauseous excess of heat that leaves him to wonder if someone shut off the AC.
Beside him, Nick stutters in whatever argument he’s having with Chris. It's just a moment, a hitching of his breath before he barrels on. It's the kind of sharp that draws Karl in, his eyes wandering across Nick's face. His brow is furrowed, jaw clenching and hands swatting through the air to disarm whatever stupid points Chris is trying to make. His leg bounces furiously, even though a moment ago it wasn't even moving. Something suddenly got him twitchy. Karl’s fingers tighten around the seam on his jeans, breathing deep and closing his eyes for the sake of his stupid headache
Nick smells good, Karl thinks. He's still itching at the seam of his jeans when the thought dawns on him. Fuck.
It makes sense, in a terrible way. Karl's been late for a heat for months now; working with a crew of nearly all betas will do that to a man. Of course Nick breezes through the door with his pheromones and his big arms and his pale, kissable neck and sets Karl off. Stupid jerk.
“ Nick– ” Karl coughs, clearing his throat, heat flushing up the back of his neck. He didn't mean to say it like that, but his voice gets stuck in his head when this happens. His doctor once said it was something about airflow and increased heart rate, but it's still embarrassing. “I'm kinda tired, d’you wanna head out?”
Nick looks over, and Karl has the mortifying pleasure of watching Nick realize where the choking smell of heat is coming from. His eyes widen for a moment, mouth halfway around a question before he thinks better of it. Thank god.
“Sure, yeah. I'll get my stuff.” Nick’s tone is very different from the one he was just using to yell at Chris, who doesn't even get another glance. Soft. Accommodating. Nick stands, looking back at Karl like he's not sure if he can handle standing up unassisted. He can , but it's nice to think about Nick carrying him to the car anyways. His feet press uncomfortably into the insoles of his shoes, and it's making his skin crawl. Much better to be carried around. And held . He tables that thought at least until they get into the car, because the heat glowing in each of his limbs starts to coagulate between his legs.
They say friendly goodbyes, Karl feigning yawns while Sapnap daps everyone up in a twitchy, nervous way. Does Karl really reek that badly already? In a move that makes Karl’s body sing , Nick places a hand on the small of Karl’s back as they leave. It's a light touch, barely there, just utilized to herd Karl away from their friends. He lets go once they're out in the soft early evening light, but those six seconds from the foyer to the front stoop leave Karl hot .
Karl immediately pulls his sweater off, tucking it under his arm.
“Can you drive?” he asks, already digging in his pockets for his keys.
“Can I ask why?”
“Because,” Karl frees the key fob from his pocket and tosses it over, “I'm going into heat and I don't really feel like it. I'm gonna start cramping soon and it's gonna suck.”
Nick goes absolutely bright red, which is endearing. Apparently honesty was exactly the best policy, because there's no further argument. Nick even opens the door for him. He's still red when he climbs into the driver’s seat, gently shaking his head.
“Sorry I– I thought I smelled… yeah. Makes sense. Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?” Karl murmurs, thankful for the minimal light inside the car once they pull off down the road. His head is pounding .
“I mean I must've– you said you were on suppressants, but I've been here for a minute so I must've–”
“Purposefully caused me to have a natural hormonal reaction?” Karl snorts. “Honestly I should be thanking you, my doctor was starting to bug me about ‘inducing chemical heats’. He thinks it's a risk to my ‘future fertility’ or something.”
“Sounds pretty nineteen-fifties of him, but okay,” Nick tuts. There's a long, loud silence before he asks, “Can I help, like at all? I do feel bad.”
“Plenty. Most of it involves seeing me naked, though,” Karl sighs.
Nick apparently wasn't ready for that visual, which makes Karl cringe. He goes pale, eyes wide and white knuckles gripping the steering wheel. He's sweating now, too, which isn't helping. He smells so good that the warmth in Karl's core turns into a burning, gripping fist.
Karl winces, drawing one knee up to his chest and gritting his teeth as the cramp squeezes at his insides. The worst part of the pain, he thinks, is knowing exactly what will stop it. Knowing the cure doesn't make it any easier to get, in his experience.
“Sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out, it's just… that's what this is. I need someone to try and put a baby in me or my body tells me I'm gonna die,” Karl laughs weakly, balling his sweater tighter and tighter in his grip until the cramp unspools itself and gives him a brief respite. “That's the long and short of it.”
“I…” Nick keeps shaking his head, trying to say something , and then curses sharply to himself. He fumbles for a moment and the window rolls down, sending a current of warm night air into the car. Nick takes a deep breath through his nose, and then lightly smacks himself on the cheek.
“Sorry, you just smell…” he trails off again, shaking his head. “Overpowering. You smell overpoweringly. But it's fine, we’re chill. I'm not… I’ll pull it together. It's cool.”
Nick’s posture says that something is decidedly not cool. God is he fucking cute. Like he's tipsy off of Karl’s fumes or something. Should he be driving? Should either of them? Especially if they're in the same car together, it can't be good for anyone's concentration. Still, Karl can't help smiling to himself. He smells overpoweringly . He likes the sound of that.
“But Karl, I mean, c’mon. Don't act like seeing you naked is some kind of… terrible task.” Nick’s bright red, resolutely facing the road. He looks so good, blushed along his ears like that. Karl rests his elbow heavily on the center console, chin in his palm.
“You don’t think so?”
“No, I don't.”
Karl watches him for a moment, his own nose prickling with Nick’s smell. A curve in the road has Karl leaning towards him, their bare forearms brushing for half a moment. It's long enough for a distinct electric current to run up through Karl's arm and into his brain. It makes him shiver, squeezing his thighs together with a silenced whine.
“So if I just throw all my clothes off right in the driveway when we get home, you won't care?” Karl says sarcastically, running absent fingertips over the place on his arm where he and Nick touched. This kind of questioning is bad practice. He knows it is, and that almost makes it worse. But is it so bad, really, if they both want to? Honestly, it’s only natural. Karl can’t imagine what’s going through Nick’s mind right about now. Having to huff the unfiltered pheromones of an omega in blooming heat and also drive the speed limit. It makes Karl giggle to himself, and crack the passenger window out of sympathy.
“That's not what I said,” Nick replies, glancing over at him. His gaze looks different than it did only a moment ago. Before it was concerned, afraid, insecure. Now he's looking just to look. Because he wants to look. “I think I could– I could help you, with how you're feeling. If you wanted me to. I have before, with other people. But maybe you have your own system that works better for you. I don't want to assume.”
“I don't have a system,” Karl says simply. This is going so well, it feels not only appropriate but necessary to reach over the center console and thread his hand around the inner joint of Nick’s elbow. It's a good thing he isn't driving, because the warmth of Nick’s skin makes his eyelids flutter. It just feels so safe , being with him. Touching him, breathing him in.
“So you want my help?” Nick asks, very quietly for how loud the wind blowing through the car is.
“If you're offering it.” Surely it can't be this easy.
“I'd be happy to.” Christ . Karl’s fingers dig involuntarily into Nick’s arm. He has to squeeze his thighs together against the tidal wave of filthy thoughts pouring over his brain.
“You can back out whenever you want. I feel like I have to say that,” Karl laughs, interrupting himself with a wince when his insides clamp up again. He can feel the warmth leaking out of him, he realizes with a harsh blush. Sticky and smearing in his boxers.
“I– thanks. And you too, of course. Like, kick me out whenever you want.”
“I'm not gonna want to kick you out.” That's a bit much. He knows he’ll be saying far worse within the next few hours, though, so he decides not to punish himself too much over it.
Nick opens the door for him again once they're home, and Karl accepts the hand offered to him as he steps out. He slides the pads of his fingers across Nick’s palm, realizing with a start how big it is. Karl’s hand is dwarfed in his grip. They're both lingering, but no one cares. Nick pulls him closer so he can shut the door, and Karl has to quell the shiver that runs up his spine.
“I– I have to go lie down, can you get me a water from the fridge? Maybe a few. And some for you, if you're gonna stick around.” He doesn't bother trying to change the pitch of his voice. His breath feels thin and insufficient, so it's not a high priority. Nick swallows, already nodding.
“Yeah,” he finally says. “See you upstairs.”
Karl has to peel himself away, rushing up the stairs before the next wave of abdomen-crushing need can crash into him. He strips himself first, down to his boxers, and pulls out the trunk of blankets under his bed. The trunk that also has an enormous box of SafeKnot! brand condoms stashed at the bottom, but that's neither here nor there. After an initial layer of towels, he unfurls the blankets one at a time over the rumpled sheets in an overlapping puff-pastry of softness.
He's straightening out the last sheet when a cramp hits him hard and angry between his legs. It doubles him over the edge of the mattress, his hand squirming between his thighs just so he can release a tiny bit of pressure and groan. Which is, of course, exactly when Nick walks in.
Thankfully Karl didn't have his ass facing the door, but he does have his face twisted up in a very unappealing half-agonized half-aroused expression. The seven water bottles Nick was carrying all fall to the floor with a muffled, multifaceted thud. Shit.
“Sorry. Cramp.” Karl tries to straighten up, only to fall back onto his elbows. Nick scrambles to pick up all the water bottles.
“Aren't you supposed to be laying down,” he says, carefully bundling the water in his arms and closing the door with his foot. He looks nervous again, which Karl doesn't get. He's not the one that's half-naked and aching to be fucked.
“Good point,” Karl replies, crawling onto the bed and settling in the center of the blankets. Nick lines up the water bottles on the nightstand, looking awkward. He's so stiff underneath all his clothes. Broad shoulders practically up in his ears, crinkling the thin plastic skin of the water bottles with his big hands. “Do you want to lie down with me?”
“Yeah,” Nick says, no thinking required, turning to look at Karl with something hungry in his eyes. It makes the ache between his legs even worse.
“You've gotta take all that off first.” Karl gestures vaguely at Nick’s clothes, nosing into the soft fleece of the blanket underneath him. “It's– I can't deal with the way clothes feel right now.”
Nick just nods, still looking at him, and pulls his sweatshirt over his head. Karl has never perked up faster in his life. He props himself up on one elbow, watching as Nick sheds his shirt and his shorts until he's standing there, pale and thick and unbelievably sexy. Even if he wasn't in the throes of a biochemical drive to start humping the first thing he sees, Karl would be drooling. It’s all too good for his eyes to stay in one place, flitting from Nick’s hairy, soft chest to his trunk-like thighs and the definite outline of something in his boxers. Karl can't judge, his own underwear is practically stuck to him at this point.
Nick places a hesitant knee up on the mattress, climbing on slowly until Karl reaches out and grabs at him. It feels like victory, pulling himself into Nick’s arms. Victory that leaves his stomach fluttering and his thighs itching to open. He clamps them shut, for the moment, and relishes in sliding his arms around Nick’s neck.
“Where can I touch you?” Nick asks, breathless, his hand hovering over Karl’s waist.
“Fucking everywhere. I'll be begging you to do a hell of a lot more than touch me pretty soon. It's all fair game.” God, and why shouldn't Nick touch him everywhere? Look at him. Inhale him. Karl buries his nose in Nick’s neck, pressing their bare chests together with a sigh. It's a dark scent, damp and rich like tilled earth. Smokey and hot, but sharp with the musk of arousal. And his hands, so gentle as they probe Karl's skin.
“I feel like we should lay some ground rules, or something. Or at least be clear on how much I'm helping.” Nick takes a deep breath through his nose, which is buried in Karl's hair. “I haven't helped with a heat in a long time. It’s hard to not just let it all… take over me .”
Nick squeezes him closer, his hand flat on the small of Karl’s back. It's such a little touch, just a squeeze and the barest press of strength, but it clouds Karl’s thoughts instantly. His fingertips curl into Nick’s shoulders.
“Maybe you should. Let it take over, I mean.”
“Karl…”
“I'm serious,” Karl murmurs. And for good measure, he curls one leg over Nick’s hip. The drag of his sensitive inner thigh sliding over Nick's hot, hairy skin prickles Karl with hot sparks of need . “Why shouldn't you? I'm not exactly fighting off my animal urges. You shouldn't have to either.”
“You don't know what you're getting yourself into,” Nick warns, but his grip gets tighter and tighter each second.
“So show me,” Karl says. Nick huffs, pulling away enough that he can look at Karl properly for a moment. The coolness that settles between them is unbearable, so Karl closes the distance with a kiss.
It's better than he could've imagined. Nick’s beard scratches his face, but not in a bad way. It adds to it all, another texture beside Nick’s soft lips and his warm breath, the pressure of his hands digging into Karl’s hips in surprise and desire. Nick groans into it, tipping his head awkwardly sideways so their mouths fit together better. Kissing is always nice, but it's even better when each brush of their lips makes Karl shudder. Without much more preamble at all, Nick grabs a handful of Karl’s ass and squeezes.
“ Oh ,” Karl whines, his hands flying to cup Nick’s face. His hips twitch forward, rutting his cock against Nick’s hip. It's hard to think, nothing can get in or out when Nick licks into his mouth and pulls him close.
“Promise you'll fuck me,” Karl says finally, inbetween hurried, deep kisses. He keeps opening his mouth and Nick, mercifully, keeps diving in. “Promise. I'm gonna fucking cry if you don't.”
Nick can't even form words for a moment. He grunts, digging his fingers into Karl’s thigh so hard it makes his cock twitch. He's nodding, though.
“I'll fuck you. Promise,” he pants. He hikes Karl's leg up higher on his hip, and then skirts his hand up the back of Karl’s thigh. The sensation is dizzying, even before Nick’s fingers reach his ass. “Fill you up with my fucking knot, that's what I'll do.”
“Yes, god, fuck ,” Karl splutters, impatient and desperate enough to reach down and cover Nick’s hand with his, guiding his fingers to the slick fabric over Karl's aching cunt. Nick takes over quickly, chest heaving, his fingers swirling through the mess of Karl’s boxers. Thick fingers lap at him like a tongue through the fabric, delicate strokes along the swollen folds of his opening.
“So fucking wet,” Nick marvels, pressing his fingers down just slightly. Enough to make Karl claw at his back. “So fucking wet, and it's all for me , isn't it?”
Karl's brain short circuits. He nods through the mind-melting arousal, and pushes his hips back into Nick’s fingers. Because it's true, really. The heat probably wouldn’t have happened if Nick weren’t there in the first place. It's like Karl's body threw a party just for him.
“I'm gonna pull these down,” Nick murmurs, gentler but still in that special register deep in his chest. Karl can feel it rumbling when he talks, the frequency tuned to Karl’s exact wavelength. He doesn't need to ask to do anything, he already knows that. Karl is warm, willing putty in his hands. He lifts his hip up a little when Nick tugs on the waistband, shivering at the cool air on his slick skin. His boxers are barely down his thighs when Nick rubs his fingers over the exposed, throbbing wetness between his legs.
Karl jumps, crying out in ecstatic surprise. Nick curls the arm pinned underneath Karl’s side more firmly around his waist, holding him in place while his other hand gets familiar with making Karl whimper, just from the outside. Just from running his fingers from Karl’s entrance to the head of his cock and back again.
He's making sure I'm slick everywhere , Karl thinks to himself. He's too busy trying not to fall apart from how good it feels to really take in the sweetness of the gesture. Then, suddenly no longer sweet, Nick sweeps over the opening of Karl’s cunt and sinks two fingers into him.
Fireworks burst behind his eyelids. The noise he makes is somewhere between a squawk and a hiccup. Every muscle in his body goes limp, sweaty fingers slipping down Nick’s cheeks. Finally , the relief his body has been begging for. He can't help rocking his hips back into it, fucking himself blindly and stupidly on Nick’s fingers, stomach already tight with the first bubble ready to burst. A horrible itch finally being scratched. He doesn't have to chase the feeling for long before Nick starts finger-fucking him in earnes, palm smacking against the base of Karl’s dick with every thrust, fingers crooked hard and firm. He seals their mouths together again, sucking on Karl’s bottom lip and holding him tighter, fucking him harder until Karl cracks.
“Oh f-fuck, Nick, gonna cum alr-ready… I'm– Nick I'm cumming!” Karl’s spine bows, his head thrown back in a heaving cry. The first of many, he’s sure. Nick coos something in his ear as he writhes and gasps and clutches for dear life, slick leaking down his inner thigh. The sound of Nick’s fingers sliding in and out of him gets thicker, wetter, impossibly more erotic as he twitches with aftershocks.
“Thank you,” he slurs, prying his fingers from Nick’s shoulders so he can pull him in for a kiss. “Oh my god. Fuck. Thank you.”
“You're thanking me just for that?” Karl blushes at Nick’s cocky tone. His fingers are very much still buried inside Karl. One twitch of them and Karl is effectively mute. It feels like the right amount of power for Nick to have, especially now. “You're so cute.”
Karl doesn't reply, just opens his mouth and presses his tongue against Nick’s when it's offered to him. His skin is still tingling, and it doesn't help when Nick begins to slowly rock his fingers in and out. Much less hurried than before, and Karl doesn't mind it. He feels looser now, less on edge. He could lie there and let Nick play with him for hours.
It's an easy task for his quickly simplifying brain. Making out with the hottest alpha he's ever seen and getting two thick fingers worked in and out of his cunt. It's like, the greatest activity imaginable. Better yet, it's not even his job to imagine anything else. Nick does that for him.
“Wanna taste you,” Nick murmurs, pulling his fingers out to smear the self-made slickness over Karl's cock. Nick strokes him slowly, root to tip, twisting his fist on each tight downstroke. “And I need to get a better look at your pretty cunt. You’re so tight I'm worried I'll break you in half.”
Nothing has ever sounded more appealing than getting broken on Nick’s cock.
“You can,” Karl breathes, grabbing a messy kiss before continuing. “But I– Nick I want you to fuck me really bad–”
“I'm gonna, gorgeous, don't worry,” Nick soothes, effortlessly sliding his hand back down past Karl’s cock and sinking back into his warmth. It makes Karl groan and fall silent. “You can wait though, can't you? Or do you need to cum again first?”
He might, actually. But he also wants to wait, because Nick clearly wants him to wait. Nick wants him open and needy and sobbing for it.
“I can wait.” He does push his hips back into Nick’s fingers, though.
“I shouldn't make you wait, though, should I? You need it more than you need to breathe.” Nick’s voice is rich like honey in his ears, his fingers gently emerging to cup Karl's tender parts. He rolls them to the side, flipping Karl onto his back.
Karl kicks his boxers the rest of the way off, flinging them somewhere far away and unimportant. It feels really good to be naked. His skin can breathe, and whenever he touches Nick it's so easy. No barriers. Just skin. Soft skin, hairy skin, fevered warm skin that presses him down into the soft blankets beneath. Nick kneels between Karl's spread legs, trailing his hands up Karl's stomach. When his fingers brush up Karl's chest, raking over his nipples, Karl turns pink with a quickly-silenced gasp. Nick doesn't like that.
“Why're you trying to be quiet? Don't.” The snap of Nick’s voice has Karl's mouth falling open before he can even think of arguing. He doesn't want to anyways. Nick touches his nipples again, light fingertips over the little pink buds, and Karl moans for him. He forgot how sensitive they get when he's in full heat. So sensitive each brush against them makes his hips twitch.
“Look at you,” Nick breathes, leaning down to kiss Karl again. Karl takes him gratefully, throwing limp arms around Nick’s neck. “I mean really, shit, look at you. Wanna fuck you in front of a mirror just so I can make you see how pretty you are.”
Karl’s brain turns to mush at the mere mention of fucking . It's a very serious battle inside his head. He wants a knot inside him so bad he could cry, but so much more, he wants to be good for Nick. He wants to do everything Nick wants to do. Because if he's good, and compliant, and willing, Nick will never want to leave. He’ll stay in bed and touch and make decisions and… be there . That's what Karl wants more than anything, at the end of the day. For Nick to just be there with him. Maybe forever, he's not picky.
“You can fuck me however you want,” Karl murmurs, tangling his skinny leg with Nick’s thick, muscled one.
“I know I can, gorgeous, and you'll thank me the whole time, won't you?” Nick pinches one of his nipples, squeezing it between his thumb and index finger. Between the painful, skin-scalding pressure and the sick pleasure that comes with it, Karl can't even speak enough to reply. Nick laughs, kissing Karl’s stunned mouth before pulling away to sit back on his heels.
That's unacceptable. Karl mewls at the loss of touch and tries to sit up with the intention of crawling into Nick’s lap, but he's stopped by a firm hand on his chest.
“Not going anywhere, needy. Lie down.” Karl's head falls flat back against the mattress, eyes still pointed at Nick. “Haven't even tasted you yet.”
Oh. Right.
Nick flattens himself onto the mattress between Karl's thighs, winding both arms up around his hips to lock him in place. He doesn't hesitate at all, lowering his head and licking a long stripe up Karl’s cunt.
Karl gasps, clumsy hands flying down to grab on to Nick’s hair. His thighs clench, muscles going stiff and squeezing around Nick’s face. Nick's hot breath flutters against him, thick fingers kneading into the pillow-soft flesh of Karl's thighs.
“Fuck,” Nick groans, and licks him again. Flat tongue, lips suctioning around the base of Karl’s cock once he reaches it. The stubble of his beard prickles the sensitive folds around Karl's cunt, and it is heavenly . “You taste… better than anything on the fuckin’ planet.”
After that, there's barely a moment Nick doesn't have his face buried between Karl's legs. Lapping at his entrance, fingers stretched out to caress Karl’s cock. Karl’s gotten head before, sure, but this is otherworldly. He’s gonna get a sore throat from sobbing Nick’s name. He can't tell if Nick keeps groaning against him on purpose, but the vibrations through his lips and tongue are doing something fantastic. Karl keeps rudely mashing his cunt down into Nick’s face, it just feels so good he can't help chasing it, and Nick doesn't seem to care a bit.
Nick has to surface for oxygen eventually, pressing his wet, messy cheek to Karl's thigh and panting. Karl takes a moment himself to swallow some drool and blink his eyes open, un-flexing his fingers from Nick’s hair. He had been yanking on it quite a bit, so he soothes his fingers through it gently, scratching at Nick’s scalp. Nick turns and kisses Karl’s thigh, reverent. But that's all the rest they earned, apparently, because Nick kisses his way back down Karl's thigh, stretching his fingers to grab the base of Karl’s cock and swallow it down.
It's not big , obviously, he's an omega, so Nick has no trouble taking Karl down to the base. Karl has no trouble with it either, aside from the whine that claws out of his chest. Nick’s tongue is so warm, so slick, his mouth so inviting. And the suction , the way he keeps tonguing the head like he's never tasted anything sweeter.
Karl was hot before, but he's beginning to sweat now. He can feel the moisture at the base of his spine, in the crooks of his knee and arms, on the back of his neck, his forehead. Furthermore, he can feel the puddle of slick and Nick’s spit that's dripping down his ass and pooling beneath him on the fleece blanket. It's disgusting, and messy, and Karl kind of wants to run his fingers through the mix and taste it. Nick and him, mingled together so intimately. Just thinking about it makes him grin. He languidly pulls one hand from Nick’s hair, placing it over the large one on his thigh. Nick immediately unlocks his fingers to grab onto Karl's, squeezing.
And then, after a deep breath, Nick pushes his tongue inside Karl’s cunt.
Karl's spine arches clear off the mattress, his legs winding up behind Nick's head so fast his heels probably leave bruises on the pale expanse of Nick’s back.
“ Fuck ,” he cries, sharp and clear like the pleasure rising up in his lungs. Nick hums, which makes Karl’s empty head roll to the side. He makes the conscious effort to unclench his legs so he doesn't strangle Nick, and for his troubles he gets picked up off the bed.
Nick grabs him around the waist, leaving Karl to hook his legs over Nick’s shoulders as he rises up onto his knees. He almost makes it to a full kneel, holding Karl up at the perfect angle to rock his head down and thrust his tongue in and out.
He gives Karl the grace of eye contact. Before, his gorgeous dark green eyes had been lightly closed in concentration or bliss, but now he stares down the flushed length of Karl’s body with an expression akin to pride. His eyes are so dark, his cheeks sticky with Karl’s drying slick and he just keeps fucking going . Unrelentingly. Overwhelmingly . Karl stutters broken praise, but can't get the words out around the constant interruptions of fuck and please and much more embarrassing non-English sounds. He knows he’ll cum again any second, but he can't brace for it when Nick’s impossible tongue keeps turning him into a puddle. He still isn't braced for it, right up to the moment Nick wraps a hand around his cock and his vision goes white.
Karl wails, hands scrabbling for Nick’s wrist just to find something in the whole world to hang on to. Where his first orgasm was sweet and quick and almost hurried, this one certainly takes its time barrelling him over with its weight. It's so much he can barely breathe for a few moments; and with another gasp of air, another spike of stomach-roiling pleasure. The fog truly is rolling in over his brain, now, leaving him twitching and limp as Nick pulls his tongue out. Are his ears ringing? He can't tell, it's hard to hear over the heartbeat thudding in his chest and between his legs. He feels raw, cracked-open. Nick is taking him apart so easily, pulling out a vulnerable, tensed cord of Karl’s heart and tugging. It's a delicious feeling of tension.
“ Come here ,” Karl breathes, opening his arms and begging with his whole face. Nick does, instantly. He shrugs Karl's legs off his shoulders and crawls up between them, draping his hot, perfect body overtop of Karl’s. Never mind the fluids smearing together between their skin, because when they kiss, Nick tastes like them . There's the heady, salty-sweet remnants of Karl all over him, smeared on his tongue and lips and cheeks. It's intoxicating. Karl can't help but giggle madly, threading his fingers into Nick’s hair.
“I love you,” he says. It doesn't have the same burdensome formality as it usually does, so he says it. It must be true, anyways. What else could this lightness in his chest be? So bright it's burning him up from the inside out.
“Shit, I think I love you too,” Nick replies, and Karl quietly thinks what a joy it is to feel Nick smile against his lips, and to know without a shadow of a doubt that Nick loves him.
“Never cum that hard in my life,” Karl murmurs. Nick reaches up and brushes a sweaty frond of hair off his forehead, humming.
“And you still want more, right?” Nick asks, just as softly. Not so soft, he grinds his clothed cock against Karl's ass. Oh . The heat of it. The size, even just as it presses against Karl's asscheek.
“Always, from you,” Karl coos, kissing Nick on cheek and once again tasting himself. It can't be comfortable, having that drying on his face. It'll get gross, and inconvenient, and Nick doesn't need to be inconvenienced. If he had a washcloth, Karl would climb into his lap and wipe it off carefully, reverently, while maybe also sitting on his cock. That would be nice, he thinks, dragging the tip of his nose along Nick's cheekbone. But he doesn't have a washcloth, so it only makes sense that he opens his mouth and cleans up his own mess. For his alpha.
Karl takes Nick by the back of the neck and starts in the center of his right cheek, licking a thick stripe over it. It's strangely erotic, tasting himself on Nick's face of all places. Nick makes a small noise of confusion, but not exactly disapproval
“What're you doing?”
“Cleaning you up,” Karl answers, and then licks him again. Nick giggles, which makes Karl giggle, but then Nick ducks his head and pulls his cheek out of reach.
“You don't have to. I could go get a towel.”
“You don't like it?” Karl pouts, straining to pull Nick close again. Like hell he’ll go get a towel. Over Karl’s dead body. He noses in close to Nick’s cheek again, but they’re both laughing too hard for his next lick to be all that effective.
“You're so cute, you moron,” Nick laughs, shaking his head for a moment, and then stilling with another laugh when Karl scolds him for moving. “I'll have to cum on your face and return the favor.”
Karl has to pause to collect himself as that image flashes through his head. And then it lingers, and lingers, like a melody. Nick cumming in his face. Nick’s thick cock in his mouth. He must make some small noise, or maybe Nick just notices him go still. He grins, shark-like, and pulls back to admire the effect his words had on Karl.
“You like that? Thinkin’ about me cumming all over your pretty face?” Nick brings his hand up to grip Karl by the chin. He runs his eyes down Karl’s throat, and then over his still-pink chest. “Or here. You’d look really lovely in a pearl necklace, Karl.”
Nick slowly rolls his hips into Karl, and the noise he makes turns Karl’s remaining brain cells into mush. A gut-deep grunt, soft and breathy, Nick’s eyelids fluttering for just a second. It takes Karl’s breath away, seeing him like that.
“You’re so… handsome ,” Karl sighs, hooking his legs over Nick’s hips and pushing back into his lazy rutting. Nick, fantastically, goes a brilliant pink. It burns up his cheekbones, coloring the tips of his ears a shocking maroon. Karl grins, toothy and stupid and elated. “Can you remind me why you’re not inside of me right now, by the way?”
Nick laughs, the pink flushing down all the way to his chest now. Karl giggles with him, placing a hand on his warm chest and stroking through the gentle coat of dark hair between his pecs. They should be kissing, too, now that he thinks of it.
“I really should be, huh?” Nick murmurs, kissing a delicate line over Karl’s cheek, still holding his head in place by the chin. His other hand draws back from Karl’s hip and starts impatiently tugging down his boxers. Karl hiccups a little uh-huh , letting his eyes fall shut when Nick’s lips reach his neck. He’s shaking, just a touch. His heart thumps in his chest like the drumming of expectant fingers. Eager and anxious.
Nick shoves his boxers down enough that he can free himself, Karl craning his neck to try and get a glance down between them. And then he feels it before he can even catch a glimpse.
It’s big. Nick lets it rest against Karl while he kicks his underwear the rest of the way off, and the weight of it makes Karl’s cunt leak .
“Ready?” Nick asks, taking himself in his fist. He drags the velvety skin of his cock over Karl’s, smearing the head down Karl’s folds and lining up to press inside
“Yes, yeah ,” Karl pants, nodding feverishly and pushing his hips down as hard as he can until the head probes just barely inside him. He really might start crying, for any number of reasons, the first of which being that it isn’t enough .
“More,” he hiccups, winding his arms tight around Nick’s shoulders. “ More , Nick, please I’m gonna– I can’t–”
“Shh, honey, I got you,” Nick soothes, kissing the underside of Karl’s jaw as he slowly, achingly presses into him.
This is what Karl imagines being a lock would feel like. The perfect fit, pushing all of Karl’s pins into place and opening him. He’s so full it's hard to breathe, and Nick’s panting too. Karl laughs breathlessly, the pitchy tail-end of it falling off into a moan as Nick bottoms out. He grunts, kneading his hands into Karl’s hips.
“How hard can I go? Don’t wanna hurt you.” He reinforces his point with a kiss to Karl’s hammering pulse. What a stupid question.
“I’m yours,” Karl says, turning his head until his lips brush Nick’s temple. “Fuck me like I’m yours, Nick.”
He couldn’t have given a better answer, apparently. Nick shivers , and Karl can feel goosebumps raising on his skin. He turns and crashes their lips together, already pulling his hips back and snapping them back in. Karl’s nails dig into his shoulders.
“ Fuck ,” Nick groans, planting one hand on the bed beside Karl for better leverage. He starts out slow, stirring in and out of Karl like an absolute gentleman. “You feel fucking perfect .”
Karl preens, squeezing his legs around Nick’s waist. He wants Nick buried in him, as deep as he can possibly go. If he could squeeze their bodies together so tight they became one singular being, he would. But this is a pretty good compromise.
Another orgasm is already waiting, he can tell, coiled at the base of his spine like a snake waiting to strike. It's a humidity of sorts, a constant cloying pleasure. He doesn't pay it any mind. He's too caught up in staring at Nick, his dark eyelashes fanned out over lightly-freckled cheeks. His face is slack apart from his adorably furrowed brows, lips parted and pink. Karl’s done a number on his hair. It sticks up at odd, soft-spiked angles and clings to his temples with sweat. His composure is falling away bit by bit, his moans growing louder and hips snapping faster. He's absolutely beautiful. Perfect, some might even say. Karl would.
“Love you,” Karl says softly, cupping Nick's face in his palms. Nick's eyes blink open, hazy and yet so brilliantly focused. Karl gets to brush his thumbs over the blush that spreads across Nick’s cheeks in the instant before they kiss again.
Without breaking away, Nick grabs Karl under his thigh and presses it up towards his chest, spreading Karl open. The change in angle makes Karl’s fingers squeeze shut on Nick's shoulders. How is he going deeper , still? It pushes the breath out of Karl’s lungs every time Nick’s hips slam against his ass. Tenderly, Nick thumbs the head of Karl’s cock, smearing the constant drips of slick down the shaft like he knows instinctively exactly how Karl likes to be touched. Karl's body is a live wire and Nick is a fucking nine-volt battery.
“Say it again,” Nick murmurs against Karl’s lips. He would, but Nick’s fucking him harder now and talking gets difficult for a few moments.
“Love you, Nick,” he finally gasps, digging his heel into the base of Nick’s spine. If he can hold himself up just a little more so Nick hits him just so –
“O-oh, fuck, don't stop, please don't stop,” Karl croaks. Nick, perfect man, picks up the pace. They're both unloosing, Nick’s fluid strokes sending shockwaves all up Karl's spine. “Love you, love you so fucking much, fuck I'm–”
Broken . A teacup shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. He screams loud and wanton as he cums for the third time in an hour, all his limbs squeezing Nick with every ounce of strength he has left. He's vaguely aware of the tears pricking the corners of his eyes, but the unyielding tide of endorphins rolling over him takes precedence.
Nick keeps his face buried in Karl's neck the whole time, kissing and sucking and running his teeth over the soft skin, almost certainly breathing in Karl's scent like oxygen. Karl bucks with aftershocks, which throws off Nick's rhythm enough to make the tears flow harder. He still needs more , of course, even if he's so oversensitive that his thighs tremble.
“Keep– you have to keep going,” Karl begs, trying to force his hips to cooperate. They keep twitching away and it's agony to feel Nick’s cock slip further away when it should be going deeper . It's a tightness inside him, a bruise that needs pushing. “I can't…”
“I gotcha, baby, don't cry,” Nick murmurs, emerging from Karl’s neck. He does have to stop for a moment to manhandle Karl, but before pulling away he kisses away the salty tear-tracts on Karl’s cheeks. It's a quiet moment, the lewd sounds of their bodies moving together gone silent for just a second. And then Nick pulls out and slides off the bed, dragging Karl to the edge of the mattress with two firm hands on his hips. Karl barely gets a peek at his cock before, blissfully, it's back exactly where it should be.
Karl bites his lip, eyes rolling back in his skull as Nick bottoms out. He takes both of Karl's legs and bends them up almost against his chest, and leans down to plant his hands on Karl’s biceps.
“Can't go anywhere, now,” Nick grins. He proves his point by slamming into Karl harder than he has so far. And he's right. Karl can't squirm away, he’s too busy trying to stay conscious.
“ Thank you ,” Karl sobs. Nick’s grip is impossibly strong, pinning Karl’s arms to the bed. All he can do is tear at the sheets and fight to keep his eyes open. He can't miss it when Nick cums. He can feel it rising in the other man, the delicious pull around Karl’s rim as the knot at the base of his cock thickens. He reeks of it, too, the whole room does. Mostly Karl, he can smell himself sharply in the air, but beneath it there's the simmering sweetness of Nick.
“So good for me,” Nick pants, his voice tight. It's a little painful that Karl can't kiss him from this position, but hearing Nick say that almost makes up for it. “So pretty, honey, you're so fucking pretty. And you're mine.”
“Yours,” Karl nods, as best he can while getting his brain knocked around in his skull. If Nick isn't careful, Karl’s gonna cum again. He's being too nice and too rough at the same time, Karl can feel the flush on his own cheeks so harshly it should be embarrassing. It can't be, though, when Nick’s looking down at him like he's the most gorgeous creature on the face of the earth. The base of his cock is practically throbbing inside of Karl.
“Gonna fill you up, yeah?” Why is he even asking ? Karl nods, broken agreements pouring past his lips. “Fuck yes. Good boy. Take it, take it, fuck! ”
Nick moans high and clear when he cums. Karl's going to remember that forever, along with the way he shivers from head to toe. His harsh, bruising-fast pace stumbles, falters, trips into a few final half-pumps as he spills hot and heavy inside of Karl. When he stills, heaving breath, Karl unfolds his trembling legs and wraps them around Nick’s hips. He's not knotted yet, not fully, but when the bulge of it isn't pressing against Karl's inner walls he gets itchy.
He has the strength to pull Nick close enough that the nearly-formed knot slips back inside. As a bonus, Nick lets out a soft, vulnerably surprised moan.
“F-fuck,” he says, dragging his hands off Karl’s biceps and folding forward to press their chests together. Karl giggles, agreeing, and wraps his freed arms around Nick's ribs. He's never been this satisfied in his life.
“Honey, baby, love of my life,” Nick murmurs, pressing a kiss to Karl’s collarbone. “Can we get more comfortable before I'm stuck?”
The pet names really influence Karl's decision. He allows Nick to pull the topmost blanket down since it's soaked and disgusting, and only gets a little bit teary eyed when Nick has to pull out so they can lie down.
As soon as Nick is settled back against the pillows, a fresh blanket ready to pull overtop of them, Karl rolls onto his knees and clenches tight. He's not sure why, but the thought of even a drop of Nick spilling out of him makes him hysterical. Slowly, he shuffles over and straddles Nick's lap, delighting in the opportunity to stroke his fist around Nick’s cock before he sinks down on it. Nick’s full, aching knot stretches his rim almost painfully wide before Karl envelops it, and the anxiety of his few empty seconds melt away into exhausted post-coital bliss. He holds Nick around the waist, his head pillowed on Nick’s shoulder, right where all the lovely Nick-smell is concentrated.
“You should drink some water, honey,” Nick says. Feeling the rumble of his voice through his whole body makes Karl purr.
“Kay,” he says, holding tighter to Nick when he leans over to grab the closest water bottle. Nick cracks the lid open behind Karl's back, and then holds the bottle up to his lips. It's not exactly cold anymore, but it's definitely cooler than Karl is. He gulps it down, Nick’s free hand gently cradling the back of his head. He drinks almost half the bottle and Nick is satisfied enough with that to take a few swigs himself. Once the cap goes back on, Karl returns to his perfect dozing position.
Nick draws his fingertips lightly over Karl's bare back, drawing nonsensical patterns that quell the residual buzzing in Karl’s skin.
“Do you wanna lie down, honey?”
“Mm-mm.”
“You cold?”
“No.”
“Anything in the world you could possibly want?”
Karl grins squeezing his arms around Nick’s middle.
“Wanna know why you keep calling me honey,” he murmurs. “I like it.”
“Cus that's what you taste like.” Nick shrugs, turning to nose into Karl’s curls. “Honey.”
Oh . Karl's stomach flutters, but in the sweet way rather than the lusty way. It's nice. Nick makes his stomach flutter like that a lot, if he thinks about it. It's too hard to think, though, so he just rests his cheek against Nick's warm skin and breathes in the wholeness he feels.
“I don't even know what you taste like. Not fair.” Karl doesn't have the energy to properly pout, so he just frowns and then kisses Nick’s neck, hoping he can feel it.
“You've gotta lick my cock instead of my face, sweetheart,” Nick laughs, and instantly Karl’s faux-frown lights into a smile.
“You liked it,” Karl murmurs. He lazily lifts his head to face Nick, stroking his hands over the soft, very squeezable flesh of Nick’s sides. “Don't pretend you didn't. I liked it.”
“I liked it fine, honey, but my point is that you've gotta aim better next time,” Nick says, his eyes absolutely sparkling. Karl giggles, trying to take a photo in his mind of how Nick’s face looks at this moment. This absolutely perfect moment. Nick kisses him before he can get too lost in the staring.
He must fall asleep, time couldn't pass so quickly otherwise, but it doesn't feel like it. Sleep is too light a word for it. He's a plant sitting on an enormous windowsill after months in a cellar. It's nourishment just to lie there with his skin no more than a few inches from Nick’s in any given place. To bask in his warmth, his scent, the sound of his breath. Hours tick away like seconds. Nick's knot softens, and Karl’s knees grow stiff enough that he murmurs for Nick to help him lie down, and then to turn off the lamp, and then to hand him some water, please . Nick is delighted every time. He takes the job of lifting Karl out of his lap very seriously, rolling him gently to the side and rubbing sympathetically at his stiff legs. Karl’s pretty sure he's strong enough to hold the water bottle for himself, but it's nice to be waited on.
In the fresh darkness, Nick presses himself against Karl’s back, his arm thrown heavily around Karl’s waist.
“Love you,” Karl mumbles, already on the edge of sleep. Real sleep, that void of inky blackness with its impossible gravitational pull. Before he slips away, Nick’s hand finds his and he laces their fingers together.
“Love you too.”