Chapter Text
The idea had been to linger around the tavern long enough for the rest of the party to wander out on their own, but Laios’ entrée arrived and Falin had made herself quite comfortable across the table from Chilchuck. Laios munched away cluelessly at his croquette as Chilchuck slumped further and further behind the protective shield of his beer stein.
“Falin,” Marcille whined. “Are you really going to chaperone them all night?”
Chilchuck’s eye twitched and he considered, not for the first time over the course of this eventful night out, just bailing and walking home on his own. If he tapped out now, Falin would probably back off, he wouldn’t have to try to make conversation with Laios, and everyone could move on with their lives, but he also wouldn’t maybe get his dick wet, so.
“I just want to know Laios is going to be okay,” Falin said, slow and deliberate. Chilchuck could feel his movement speed and defense dropping. Could a cleric debuff somebody without chanting or touching them? Falin was an exceptional mage, of course, but that wasn’t exactly reassuring.
“I’ll be fine,” Laios said, giving her an affectionate punch to the shoulder. “Really. Chilchuck and I were just going to—discuss the hunt, hash things out. Go over strategies to keep this kind of thing from happening again.” Chilchuck’s eyebrows raised. Even if nobody was buying it, it was a more graceful attempt to skirt the obvious implication than he would have given Laios credit for. “You’ve been wanting to catch up on The Daltian Clan with Marcille, right?”
Falin’s judicious gaze shifted to Laios; Chilchuck sucked in a breath of air, suddenly aware of how badly his lungs hurt. Marcille, meanwhile, shook Falin’s shoulder.
“Y-yeah! I have a new relationship chart drawn up and everything. We haven’t had a girl’s night in forever, Falin, please?”
Falin softened, closing her eyes gently. “Very well.”
The mood had gone icy, but Laios was undaunted. He cut out a long slice of his croquette and plopped it on Chilchuck’s plate, which had accumulated a few peanut shells over the course of the evening and little else.
“Ah.” Chilchuck waved the helping away. “I’m watching my—”
“It’s a special occasion,” Laios said. “Go on.”
Chilchuck leered at Laios, took a rebellious sip of his ale before indulging him. He stabbed a hitherto unused fork into the cutlet and took a big bite out of it. His sour expression softened up as he chewed.
“Not bad,” Chilchuck ceded, and Laios seemed suspiciously happy about that. Falin stood up from the table, and Marcille hiked up her skirt to jump from the bench. She was trying to play it cool, but there was a certain giddiness in Marcille’s restrained smile that Chilchuck recognized.
“We’re meeting up next week at the usual time, right?”
“That’s the plan,” Laios nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on job postings over the weekend, so I should have a lead by then.”
Marcille and Laios grinned at each other in an unspoken agreement as Marcille looped an arm around Falin’s elbow. “See you then!” she giggled, tugging Falin along. Chilchuck decided to fixate on the delicate crust of the pork cutlet instead of whatever that meant; there were a few spices he recognized from home, some rosemary rubbed into the pork.
“See you around, Chilchuck.” A heavy hand clapped on Chilchuck’s shoulder and shoved him playfully, nearly making him choke. “Don’t be too rough on the guy, alright? He’s learned his lesson.” Namari let out a raunchy laugh when Chilchuck whipped around, scandalized. Laios didn’t flinch; he dropped another slice of his croquette onto Chilchuck’s plate.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” Red pulsed at the edges of Chilchuck’s vision as he was redirected off of Namari’s back to Laios’ face, flushed from drink and sporting an easy smile. Chilchuck’s blood pressure was beginning to become a problem here. “They make the breadcrumbs in house.”
“Melini pork is something else,” Chilchuck muttered around his mouthful. “It’s fattier here than it is back home. Pigs are living free and easy in this climate, I guess.”
“It’s really interesting how the environment an animal is raised in affects the meat,” Laios said, staring off into the blurry space just beyond their table. Chilchuck grimaced as he realized what he’d just done to the conversation. “Up north, the pork’s tough. We have long-haired, hardy pigs. They get lean and mean and muscular once the winter comes.”
Chilchuck chuckled, despite himself. “You were raised on a pig farm? That explains a lot.”
“We had a variety of livestock,” Laios shrugged. “I guess it still counts as being raised in a barn, though. I slept in ours quite a few times.”
Chilchuck snorted into his ale. “I don’t get you,” Chilchuck leaned forward onto the table, not having to go very far, and folded his arms on the damp, yeasty wood. Laios, for whatever reason, leaned in with him.
“You’re not the first person to tell me that,” Laios laughed, a painful edge to his smile.
Chilchuck’s throat went dry, and he washed it down with more ale. Laios reeled in the plate of cheesecake he’d been saving for dessert. The frozen raspberries on top had melted a bit, pink juice staining the immaculate eggshell white of the cake itself and pooling in the center of the plate. He thought about it for a second, then pushed it over to Chilchuck.
“You want the first bite? You paid for it.”
Chilchuck swallowed hard and coughed up some panko. “Why are you feeding me like some kind of—never mind. I have to stay light on my feet. Keeps me from triggering pressure plates inadvertently. You eat it.”
Laios cocked his head quizzically, his flushed high cheekbones pressed into his knuckles. He held out a clean fork, handle side out. Safety first. “A bite’s not going to kill you, Chilchuck. You gotta put weight back on before we head back in anyway.”
Chilchuck opened his mouth to yell, but something stopped him. Laios waggled the silverware expectantly, and Chilchuck snatched it out of his hands. He stabbed straight down the middle of the slice, through a soggy raspberry and the wedge of cake, and carved out a piece, getting the most out of his begrudged portion. Laios watched unblinkingly as Chilchuck wrapped his chapped lips around the tines of the fork. Chilchuck’s eyes glittered.
“Well?”
“It’s alright,” Chilchuck shrugged, quickly stealing another bite before handing the fork back to Laios. There was a smug look on his face that Chilchuck wanted to wipe off. Laios finally had a piece and melted when it touched his tongue.
“Tastes more than alright to me,” Laios hummed. “You’re funny.”
“Funny how?”
“It’s just cake, Chilchuck.” Laios passed the fork. “You bought it, you like it, but you can’t say so.”
“Are you calling me a coward?”
“I’m saying that we can share. It’s not such a big deal.”
Chilchuck grumbled something in his mother tongue. He scooped up another piece and focused on the sour tang of the cream cheese instead, the delicate crumbled crust soaked through with fruit juice.
“It’s probably the best cheesecake I’ve ever had,” Chilchuck admitted. Laios clapped his hands and cheered.
“There you go! Wasn’t that nice?”
“It’d be nicer if you could shut your cakehole so I can enjoy this in peace.”
Laios grinned. “Why’s it so hard to admit what you want?” Chilchuck’s eyes rolled, but he wasn’t getting up from the table. He chewed on an extra-large piece and passed the fork back to Laios to finish it off. Laios took his time to savor the last piece, eyes closed and mind distant from the overwhelming chatter around them, drunken jeering and bubbling laughter.
“Most people don’t ask,” Chilchuck muttered. Laios’ eyes opened.
“So I’m asking. What do you want?”
Chilchuck flushed from his ears to his throat and slammed the last of his ale.
Laios hadn’t landed at the foot of the stairs into Chilchuck’s basement flat before he was ambushed again. This time Chilchuck was relatively gentle, hooking Laios by the back collar of his shirt to stop him before slipping his arms around Laios’ abdomen, face pressed into his back. Laios stood stock still, spine straight, as Chilchuck splayed his fingers and worked them down to his trousers. He gripped Laios’ hip as he cupped his cock, feeling the weight of him in the palm of his hand. Laios’ fists clenched; his hips bucked, but he tried to play it off as shifting his weight around.
“Still hard, huh?”
“It’s—it’s not like you let me get off earlier…”
“I figured you would have calmed down after dinner,” Chilchuck chuckled, giving Laios a rough squeeze. Laios’ jaw dropped and he fought down a groan, making a choked, frustrated noise. Laios leaned ever-so-slightly back; his spine curled as Chilchuck nuzzled his cheek along the length of it. His shoulders shuddered. Laios’ hands clenched and unclenched, unsure of what to do with themselves. Chilchuck pulled one end of Laios’ belt through the buckle and paused.
“C-Chilchuck?” Laios’ voice cracked.
“Hmm?” Chilchuck smirked into Laios’ tunic.
“Are you going to…?” Chilchuck let the question hang without answering, and Laios fidgeted.
“What? No clue what you’re talking about.”
“You know…!”
“I don’t. So spit it out for me, eh? So I can be sure about what you’re looking for.”
Laios took in a long, tortured breath. Chilchuck hugged him around the middle and left him untouched, belt hanging half-open from Laios’ pants.
“… I have no idea what I want you to do.” Chilchuck groaned and thunked his forehead against Laios’ spine. “I just want—you.”
Laios’ heart thudded; Chilchuck could easily hear it even without his ear pressed to his chest, but it was almost deafening now.
“Oh,” Chilchuck said. “Well. Hm. You haven’t—”
“I’ve never had sex, no,” Laios said all at once.
“That’s interesting,” Chilchuck breathed. It wasn’t exactly surprising.
“You have, I take it?”
“Many times.”
“Well, I—guess that bodes well for me?”
Chilchuck shoved Laios down onto the landing and huffed. “Go sit on the couch.”
Laios made a beeline for it, nearly tripping over some of Chilchuck’s household clutter on the way there. He worried about breaking the sofa when he sat on it; it was barely large enough for Chil to sleep on, seeing as there was no actual bed. Nevertheless, he sat there politely with his hands clasped, then on his legs, then at his sides. Still no clue what to do with them. Cute.
“Take off your shoes and kick up your legs,” Chilchuck said. “I’m not kneeling for you. You haven’t earned that yet.”
Laios swallowed dryly and complied. As he shimmied his foot out of his calf-length boots, he turned that over again and again: You haven’t earned that yet. Chilchuck cocked his head as he watched. “I didn’t think it would be this easy to order you around.” Laios blushed and fidgeted under his scrutiny, removing his boots and trying to make himself comfortable laying lengthwise on the couch. The arm of it only came up to his lower back, so there was nothing comfortable to lean against. Chilchuck straddled his legs and suddenly that didn’t matter very much at all.
Then Chilchuck just sat there, staring. Laios avoided eye contact, shyly rubbing at the back of his neck, his palm damp when he pulled it away. Chilchuck grinned, Laios peeking to see the lopsided curl of a lip over one of his fangs, and his skin buzzed.
“You really are clueless, huh?” Chilchuck mused.
“Don’t make fun of me…”
“I’m not. Just thinking out loud.”
Chilchuck knee-walked further up Laios’ long, broad body, and sat down hard in his lap like before. Laios made that same, strangled sound, and when Chilchuck rocked his hips down, it keyed up into a yelp. Laios thought, distantly, isn’t he still kneeling? Chilchuck’s hands on his shoulders interrupted that line of thinking, pushing insistently. Laios wasn’t going to budge under normal circumstances, but he felt compelled to fall back anyway.
“Good boy,” Chilchuck said, and Laios snapped to attention. Laios met his eyes unflinchingly, lips slightly parted, and his cock gave a hearty throb through two layers of clothes. “Oh? You like a little positive reinforcement?”
“It’s just—surprising,” Laios choked out. “You’re not really… I mean, we just—”
Chilchuck crawled further up to grip Laios’ jaw, keeping him from looking away. When Laios got the message to hold still, Chilchuck touched a mostly faded bruise on Laios’ cheekbone, Falin having healed away the worst from their scuffle. Laios sucked in a breath, letting it out in a long shudder when Chilchuck brushed his thumb in a circle around the bruise. Chilchuck wasn’t sitting on his lap anymore, but he could feel Laios’ stomach tighten and a slight buck of his hips.
“It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?” Chilchuck mused. “I would say I’m sorry, but… I’ll be more upfront next time and warn you before I take a swing.”
“Thanks?” Laios winced, but when Chilchuck scratched his jaw, just a hint of stubble starting to grow back from the last time he shaved giving it a nice bristly texture, Laios’ eyelashes fluttered. No wrong answers with this guy.
“You know what’s really surprising? That you let me kiss you anyway,” Chilchuck teased, pushing his fingers through Laios’ hair until he got deep enough in to grab hold. In another hand he stroked one of Laios’ round pecs, feeling it flex and fill out his palm, roaming around until he found the stiff peak of a nipple, and Laios whined, whistling through his nose like a needy mutt. “You could’ve shoved me off, y’know. You still can.”
“I don’t—” Laios’ hands came to hover at Chilchuck’s legs, fingers itching to grab Chilchuck’s thighs but too intimidated to commit. “I don’t want to.”
“You don’t want to what?” Chilchuck paused and studied Laios’ face.
“I don’t want to throw you off,” Laios admitted, step by step, trying not to stammer. Chilchuck laughed, raunchy and low. “I—liked it. I do like it.”
“Then touch me, dumbass,” Chilchuck cackled. Laios looked starstruck as he grabbed Chilchuck’s thighs, lean enough that he could grip nearly all the way around them. Laios’ thumbs pressed in at the femoral artery on each thigh, where he felt Chilchuck’s pulse quicken through his tight pants. Chilchuck crawled up further to get a better angle to kiss Laios, more leverage to push back when he met him fervently. It was… still pretty bad, but Chilchuck growled and Laios froze, shuddered, parted his lips. Chilchuck gripped at the longer hair on the crown of Laios’ head and guided him into tilting his head so his nose wasn’t jabbing into Chilchuck’s eye. There were myriad little problems in fucking tallmen, but Chilchuck liked to solve them.
“Better,” Chilchuck assured him, parting just to breathe, and Laios melted. Chilchuck hummed with interest as he chased after him, kissing him into the thin cushion of the couch. Laios’ hands wandered further up, big and clumsy like paws, settling around his hips, thumbs on his hipbones and fingers curved around Chilchuck’s ass. Chilchuck gripped Laios’ tits hard, using them as leverage to stay on top and bearing down on him, and Laios’ eyebrows pinched together, mouth screwing shut to hold back his desperate sounds. His weight was nothing compared to Laios’, but Chilchuck might as well have been made from solid stone. Laios wasn’t moving save for the slight tremble of his legs, heels braced into the arm of the couch and the circling of his thumbs on his hips, something that goes straight to Chilchuck’s dick but felt a bit too proprietary.
Chilchuck bit his lower lip and growled until Laios opened for him again. He licked behind his teeth in the way that made Laios squeak, something they’d figured out on the tavern porch stairs earlier. The sound of Chilchuck’s fond laughter slipping out was enough to make Laios wrap his arms around Chilchuck’s lower back and squeeze.
“You’re getting the hang of it,” Chilchuck said, and Laios whined. “Now let me at you.”
Laios panted for breath, blinking sweat out of his eyes stupidly. “Um.”
“What?”
“I’m—not gonna—if I move, or you move, I think I’ll—”
Chilchuck dropped his head between Laios’ pecs, something that also made Laios choke in warning.
“You’re that worked up, Laios?”
“I’m sorry! You’re just really—mm.”
Laios did let Chilchuck go, so he sat up and peered down at Laios, perched on his abdomen. He inched himself backwards, staring down at Laios as he averted his gaze, as if that would set him off. Kind of annoying, kind of a thrill. Good summation of Laios thus far.
“Really what? Use your words, boy. C’mon. Speak.”
Laios snapped to attention, eyes locked. Chilchuck reeled a little from the intensity.
“You’re… really… attractive,” Laios ground out, bracing to be smacked. Chilchuck hummed in acknowledgement.
“Good boy.” Laios hid his face in his hands, ears turning red. Chilchuck snickered. “Oh, don’t be like that. It’s fun for me too, you know.”
Laios peeked between his fingers, the whites showing around one golden eye. “Really?”
“Why do you think I dragged you over here?”
Laios lowered his hands.
“I gotta say,” Chilchuck said, sticking his hands under Laios’ tunic and rolling it up, “I didn’t think you could get embarrassed.”
“This isn’t exactly my wheelhouse,” Laios warbled. “I don’t want to mess this up.”
Chilchuck’s eyes, previously fixed on Laios’ muscle shifting under a healthy layer of fat he’d managed to retain in the dungeon, flicked up to his flushed face.
“Then let me take care of it, yeah?” Chilchuck nodded. Laios nodded emphatically in response. “If I need something, I’ll tell you. For now, just try to calm down. Would be a shame to send you home to your sister with dirty clothes because you couldn’t control yourself.”
Laios chewed the inside of his cheek and clenched his fists at his sides. Just thinking about that was enough to make him gasp for air, focus on his lungs, think about the kinds of things that would turn off a freak like Laios, if there were any. Chilchuck enjoyed his suffering for a moment, gently stroking his chest and ribs, giving Laios a few seconds to get a grip. He helped Laios pull his tunic over his head as he came back to himself.
“There you go,” Chilchuck cooed, “Easy.” Laios’ shoulders slumped and he gulped for breath like he’d nearly drowned. “So dramatic. Honestly, I’d rather you go off too soon than be too freaked out to get it up.”
Chilchuck made sure to grind down as he moved further back, sitting on Laios’ legs and watching him squirm as he passed over his firm bulge, feeling it twitch between his thighs. He shucked Laios’ pants down and gripped him through his smallclothes. Chilchuck palmed his nuts and the uncomfortably bent shaft of his cock, finding the cloth nearly soaked through at the tip.
“Chil—chuck,” Laios gurgled, reaching down to grab Chilchuck’s wrist—he slapped it out of the way and slipped Laios’ belt through the loops.
“Hey. I said I’d take care of it, didn’t I?” Chilchuck glowered at Laios, trying to fight a grin as he watched Laios shrink into the sofa. “Don’t you trust me? We’re a team, after all.”
Laios gulped. It was a loaded question. Chilchuck didn’t begrudge him for weighing his options. “Yes,” he breathed, and Chilchuck rewarded him by squeezing his nuts—just a bit, not trying to hurt him (not this soon), but the way Laios’ back arched off the cushions told Chil that he didn’t mind, even if his groaning sounded a little pained.
“Give me your hands,” Chilchuck said. Laios’ brain took a minute to catch up, slowly raising his arms, facing his palms up. Chilchuck wrapped the belt loosely around Laios’ wrists and forearms, loose enough that he could slip out of them, even, turning his palms in to keep them pressed together as if in prayer. Laios didn’t fight it—that was enlightening.
“Since you’re having such a hard time figuring out what to do with them,” Chilchuck explained. Laios licked his lips and nodded.
“Thank you,” Laios said, and this time Chilchuck was the one to burn up.
“No complaints?” Chilchuck asked, incredulous. Laios shook his head. “Really? Wow. You’re weirder than I thought you were.”
Laios’ cheeks went hot. He fell back and tried to cover his face again, but the bindings made that motion awkward, pushed his chest out and made it difficult to wrench his hands close enough to hide anything. Chilchuck grabbed Laios’ jaw, forcing him to be observed.
“I think you look good like this,” Chilchuck grinned. “So that makes me a little weird too, doesn’t it?”
Before Laios could answer, Chilchuck kissed him, brief and almost chaste, before pushing him back into the cushions. He sat down on Laios’ lap and finally, finally pulled himself free, revealing just enough of himself to get his cock out. He was fairly thick, short for any other race but girthy for a half-foot, not that anyone usually cared if they got this far.
Laios seemed to, though, trying to angle his arms out of the way to see. Cute.
“You weren’t kidding,” Chilchuck sighed. Laios’ cock was flushed deep red and dripping with pre, his balls were tight. He twitched, the tendons along his inner thighs jumping with his heart. “I’m impressed you held it together this far.” Laios whined and squirmed. “But you’re not gonna last much longer, are you?” Laios shook his head, then lolled to one side, panting like a dog. “I could tell, from how you clammed up.”
“A lot going on,” Laios wheezed. Chilchuck gave him a sympathetic pat on the tit—Laios pushed up into it. Chilchuck tugged Laios free and stroked his shaft. Laios’ muscles tightened in waves and his heels scraped at the upholstery.
“Easy,” Chilchuck warned. Laios made a garbled, frustrated sound that Chilchuck somehow interpreted as stop making it hard, then! He straddled Laios’ legs as comfortably as he could (not at all) and lined himself up with Laios’ length, practically obscene in comparison. The difference in size might have curdled his bravado a few years ago, but now it just made him burn. He couldn’t even hold the two of them together in one hand, relying instead on gripping Laios and rutting up against him, messily grinding together.
Laios wasn’t suffering for lack of technique, breathing open-mouthed and sweating bullets. He flexed uselessly against the arm bindings, too worked up to figure out how to undo them—to want to undo them. He barely knew Chilchuck, really, and he trusted him—so soon after fucking it up, so soon after fighting. Chilchuck had every reason to walk out but stayed with him at the tavern, long after everyone else had left. They may have come to blows, but at least he knew where they stood. Sort of. Maybe. Chilchuck seemed to know, and Laios was happy to let Chilchuck show him.
“Chil—chuck—I’m gonna—please—"
“You don’t have to kill yourself for me, kid, c’mon.”
Laios shuddered, canted his hips up, and cried out as he came. Chilchuck squeezed his shaft and pulled it all out of him in hard strokes. Laios’ bound hands grasped at nothing as he writhed, hips twisting; Chilchuck hugged his hips like a bucking horse and rode him out, not caring so much about getting off as getting the most out of Laios’ first orgasm. He relished how he shot off hard enough to clear his bindings reach his clavicles and drip between his pecs, thicker ropes painted on his belly and arms. On impulse, Chilchuck reached up and slapped one of Laios’ tits, and milked another fat rope out of him before Laios yelped and thrashed, overstimulated. Chilchuck let go of his dick and squeezed Laios’ hips soothingly as he settled. It took Laios a while, but he eventually fell limp. His breaths came in quick little huffs as his muscles relaxed. Chilchuck got up.
Laios made a disappointed noise, and that made Chilchuck feel—something. “Hang on, hang on,” he griped, kicking his shoes off and his pants down in a clumsy rush. “Needy little bitch.” A nasally whine followed. “Ah, negative reinforcement too? I really can’t go wrong with you.”
Chilchuck hesitated for a moment before pulling his shirt off, but when he turned around, Laios was watching him with awe.
“You’ve got to have some standards, Laios,” Chilchuck teased. Laios just breathed and stared. “Say something, man, you’re scaring me.”
“Sorry, give me—a second.”
Chilchuck’s eyebrows pinched in worry. He hated being naked for this, but he owed it to the guy, being his first time and all, and walked up to put a hand on his head and ruffle his hair. The action seemed to ground Laios a bit.
“Do you want me to free you?”
“I think a break would be nice.”
Chilchuck complied, unbuckling the belt. Laios flexed his hands, stretched his arms. He seemed almost disappointed.
“I tried keeping it loose… were they going numb? You could’ve said something.”
“No, they weren’t. It—it felt good.”
Maybe arm restraints were a bit far for a guy’s first time. “Lemme see.” Laios offered his arm, and there were some imprints upon the skin where Laios had been pulling at the bindings. Didn’t seem much out of the realm for a guy who got off on it, testing the restraint.
“It looks worse than it feels,” Laios clarified. Chilchuck nodded.
“Good. Probably should lay off, anyhow,” he said. He brushed a thumb over a bruise and watched Laios’ face, not seeing much of a reaction other than bashful fidgeting—and maybe disappointment. “Why the long face? Not satisfied with your service?”
Laios sat forward, pushed himself up, and swung his legs over the side of the couch. “Could I—kneel for you?”
Chilchuck’s knees buckled a bit. “Sure,” he coughed, trying to smooth out his expression. “That’s fine. Yeah. I’ll allow it.”
Laios dropped to his knees, turning to face Chilchuck. Even kneeling he came up to about eye level with Chilchuck. That was enough of a power trip for him, but then Laios went down another step to support himself on his hands, assuming a quadrupedal position. Laios had to look up from this angle, and that got Chilchuck back into the right headspace. He smiled down at him, strangely fond.
“And I didn’t even have to ask,” Chilchuck said, shaking his head. “You’re something else.”
Laios couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not, but Chilchuck’s guiding hand had taken its rightful place and pulled him forward until he bumped into his thin hips, cock pressed to the arch of his cheekbone. The image Laios made on all fours helped his enthusiasm, as did the complete lack of restraint showed on Laios’ part when he lapped at his cock, broad tongue curled around his shaft and dragging up. Laios drooled all over himself in the act but all the shame had suddenly evaporated, as if dropping to the floor had turned him into something else that didn’t need self-awareness.
Chilchuck hissed through his teeth. He kept a tight grip on Laios, unwilling to trust him not to use his teeth, but Laios seemed content to lick at the outside, nuzzle and investigate him, breathe in his scent. The attention was embarrassing, even if there was no one else to see, but when Laios licked Chilchuck’s sack into his mouth there was no brainpower left for decency.
“Woah,” Chilchuck marveled. “So now you know what you want, huh? Should’ve just told me you were a slut sooner; we could’ve cut straight to this.”
Laios’ eyebrows furrowed and popped off one of Chil’s nuts, hot breath ghosting over his slick inner thighs. He wrapped his lips around the head and sucked. “No way in hell you haven’t—sucked a dick before,” Chilchuck choked, and Laios hummed in the negative. “First time? I call bullshit.”
Laios sucked hard, and Chilchuck’s toes curled. “Ngh—watch the teeth, watch the teeth—f-fuck—”
A brief brush with disaster wasn’t enough to deter Chil from rutting down against Laios’ tongue, dangerously near the back of his throat. The slick, hot pressure of it—and Laios’ greedy hum around him—finally tipped him over. Laios recoiled a bit but swallowed before he could pull completely off, out of reflex; Chilchuck squawked when he dove back in, almost to the base before second-guessing it, continuing to suck until Chilchuck smacked Laios’ shoulder to get him to pull off. Chilchuck nearly doubled over when Laios pulled away.
“You’re lying,” Chilchuck gasped, clutching his chest to check for his soul. “You’re hustling me.”
“Nope,” Laios said, a little too casually. “I, uh. I just did what came naturally.” Chilchuck barked out a laugh.
“Yeah, sure, alright.” Chilchuck patted Laios on the head. “You can get up now.”
“Do I have to?” Laios asked, head cocked. Chilchuck peered down at him.
“… I guess not?” Chilchuck replied. Laios smiled. Chilchuck cleared his throat and smoothed the hair on the back of his neck. “I have to clean you up, though. I can’t send you home looking like that.”
Laios’ smile faltered a bit. “Oh… yeah.”
Rather than address it, Chilchuck hastened to pull his pants back on. He fetched a mostly clean towel from the large, square organizer on the opposite wall and came back to Laios watching him intently. He’d risen back onto his knees, so Chilchuck didn’t have to stoop too low to run the cloth over his chest and arms. He got the worst of it on the first dry pass, and he may have taken a detour to brush the linen over Laios’ nipple to see him shiver.
“This is the quietest I’ve seen you so far,” Chilchuck mused. “Maybe I ought to do this in the dungeon when you’re getting a bit too excited.”
The prospect of doing this again was enough to perk Laios up. Bad move to commit now when the endorphins were still pumping, but that would be a regret to have tomorrow. There was a jug of water he kept on his desk and a bucket by the stairs, and Chilchuck fetched those to finish the job.
“Thank you,” Laios said, again, like it was something that Chilchuck didn’t need to do.
“Don’t mention it,” he replied. “I’ll, uh. See you next week.”
Laios blinked, reached for his tunic, and tugged it over his head. “Yeah. See you then.”
Laios took a few tries to get off the floor, his legs having gone numb. Chilchuck reached out to help him to his feet, as if that would do anything for a tallman. Laios climbed the stairs, and Chilchuck followed him; to lock the door, he told himself. Laios hesitated at the threshold, looking back to find Chilchuck just behind him, stepping back to give him some space.
“You were—I had fun,” Chilchuck blurted out. Laios gave him a brighter smile, enough to assuage that guilty acid burn in Chilchuck’s throat.
“Me too,” Laios said, a sheepish curve to his smile. “Until next time.”
Chilchuck watched Laios’ back as he left through the union lodge lobby. After he’d made it through the front doors, Chilchuck willed himself to close his own. He stood there staring into the woodgrain as an insipid urge rose to chase him and make sure he made it home. The whole point had been to avoid Falin’s wrath, why risk getting caught without outside witnesses?
Chilchuck rubbed his face and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, then went straight to bed.
Laios opened the door to the Touden apartment carefully, but no matter how much they oiled the hinges they always squeaked. Laios winced as he heard Falin turning in her bed. He hoped she was just tossing in her sleep and kept from peeking around their partition to check in the act of perceiving her woke her up somehow.
Laios stepped out of his boots on the rug to mask his footfalls and crept towards his bed. He pulled the covers back and as he slipped into the mattress, he found Falin at the foot of it, stock still with a piercing gaze that reflected the moonlight like a cat’s.
“Falin!” Laios squeaked. “I didn’t mean to wake you up… sorry. You can go back to sleep now.”
“Did he treat you well?” Falin asked. Her tone still had that soft, gentle cadence, but it wasn’t as soothing as it usually was.
“He—we just talked—”
“You don’t have to lie, big brother. I’m not mad at you.”
“Chilchuck treated me fine, alright? We had a good time. Do you really want details, or…?”
Falin shook her head, her neatly trimmed bob still pristine. Probably had been reading by spell light this whole time, waiting for him.
“I just wanted to make sure. That’s all.”
Laios shrugged it off. “I know. I’m glad you’re looking out for me.”
“What are those marks on your arms, by the way? Should I heal them for you?”
Laios flushed and yanked his blanket up around his shoulders. “No worries! I tied my bracers a little too tight today! Goodnight!”
Falin lingered at the bedpost like a sleep paralysis demon for the slowest minute Laios had ever suffered through. “Goodnight,” she bid him, then drifted back to her bed like one of the specters that were so drawn to her. Laios closed his eyes tight and turned into the pillow, breathing in the familiar. He’d be waking up somewhere he knew, at least, and things could go back to normal.
Laios didn’t sleep a wink.