alignmyheart | au of an au

Looking into his husband's eyes, the emotion there is nearly as clear to him as on the handsome human face he knows so well. His response sounds like a confession, as though he only realized how much he wanted this now that he's been given permission to have it. It touches Essek's heart, as Percival so often does. He loves this man more than he has ever loved anything, and he is certain now that he has chosen well.

A husband and alpha he treasures, a home on another continent, a position of power where he can do good, and in the future, children. A family. Nothing about this is what he expected from his life. Perhaps this is what it means to become someone else. The thought of Shadowhand Essek Thelyss asking to be knocked up is frankly hilarious.

Essek's arms loop around to the back of Percival's neck to cradle the wolf's head against his chest. Brimming with fondness, he kisses Percival instead, right between his ears. He feels one brush his cheek and learns that the fur there is incredibly soft. There is so much to discover about this new version of his husband, and everything he learns delights him. Percival has spent so long othering it, viewing it as separate from him, but this body is his. He deserves for it to be appreciated and admired.

"I know, my love," he says, and kisses each ear deliberately this time. "When you can kiss me again, I will expect enough to make up for missed opportunities."

Curling in to touch their foreheads together, Essek closes his eyes and breathes slowly as he assesses himself. This conversation has only intensified the buzz of his arousal. Elves rarely ever conceive outside of heat, but that makes it rather straightforward. This is when his body is prepared to be bred, and they have days to try. Though if their first attempt was any indication, he doesn't anticipate needing all of that time.

"I think it is...extremely likely that I will be pregnant before my heat is over, should we continue this way," he murmurs. "Unless siring a child while you are shifted is not possible. But I will have many more heats, and we will have many more opportunities if this one passes."

Percival closes his eyes as Essek kisses his head, then each ear. His heart swells. He couldn't ever imagine finding someone who would love him like this, in this shape or any other. But Essek has accepted this, without hesitation and without question, and still wants to plan a life and a future with him. Wants to try for children.

I love you, he murmurs, an he allows the sentiment as well as the words pass along their bond. I don't know that I can manage now, but... it certainly won't be for a lack of trying.

There's a sly smile in the sound of his voice and he pulls back enough that he can look at Essek's face. He has no idea if he can impregnate Essek like this, doesn't know just how different his body is. But if they can't, then they'll try again the next time Essek goes into heat. Hopefully it won't coincide with another full moon, but they'll--they'll manage. They're both intelligent men who can't leave puzzles or problems alone, so between them, they'll think of something.

For now, he has his husband here with him, away from the world for the next few days and in heat. Percy will take care of him as he's meant to.

Slowly, the great wolf moves forward. He barely gets up, just enough to make the movement count, and he uses his size and weight to push Essek back. He settles between the wizard's legs again, his own front legs resting under Essek's and framing his sides.

And I certainly intend to try, my love.

Essek no longer reacts with astonishment to being told that he is loved, but it is still not very long since he did. He lets those words and the emotion conveyed through their bond fill his heart, reminding him of what is important. He'd never imagined someone could see and understand him and still love him so completely. Feeling the proof of it is humbling. He opens his mind to send that in return, along with his own love, so strong he was frightened at first of feeling so much. He isn't afraid anymore.

The mischief in in his tone as he assures him he'll try makes Essek smile, though it quickly becomes a smirk as he's nudged onto his back again, knees pushed open to let the great wolf take his place between them. He likes this. There is power and control in the way Percival looms over him, and security in the way he's framed between his legs.

"I know you will, dear one. I am yours," Essek purrs.

It thrills him to put himself on lewd display for this massive, gorgeous creature. With his legs spread and his cunt still wet enough to glisten in the light of the fire, he must look completely debauched. He ought to be terrified of a powerful, deadly beast like this. Most would be. But this is his husband, and Essek feels only arousal in place of fear. Heat throbs through him, and he slips a hand between his thighs to trace two slender fingers up and down his slit until they linger on his cock to rub some stiffness into it.

"All yours. I only want to satisfy you."

Percival's ears prick forward and his attention gets more intent as Essek spreads his thighs more and runs his fingers over his slit and cock. His hips shift as he resettles his back legs. He lowers his head, nose nudging past Essek's fingers before his tongue sweeps out to lick between slick folds and over his cock, then again, and again. A low rumble builds in his chest and there is another restless shift of his weight.

A paw drapes over Essek's waist as he lets his tongue push into him again. Percy can't get over the taste of him. He's always liked it, but with Essek in heat and his own taste and smell more sensitive... gods. On every lick his tongue tries to chase more of that taste, encouraging Essek's body to produce it.

I wish we had a proper bed or table, he says heavily. Something with a little more height.

Their size difference is not prohibitive, but it would be easier on both of them, he thinks. It would also ultimately be more comfortable for Essek, but it isn't something Percy can remedy right now. He whines, then gets up more so that his husband can see his cock emerging form its sheath again, slick and red.

The scent of you this morning was too much. I wanted to come into your room, to sink my teeth into you and breed you until you couldn't move.

The wolf lowers himself again, not enough to completely cover Essek, but enough that the tapered head of his cock can graze his mate's stomach.

Essek's hope that he'd be treated to more of that incredible tongue is fulfilled quickly as Percival nudges his hand aside to replace it with sweeping licks, hot and wet. He's moaning sweetly and his cunt is steadily leaking slick for him in no time at all, and he loves watching how eager his alpha is to lap it up.

"We'll...mm...have one brought out before next month," he says distractedly, commiserating with Percival's wishful thinking and revealing his intent to be here next month also. There is only so much his knees can take, and though the blankets are comfortable enough for now, he can imagine his back would thank him to have something softer soon enough.

It really is a shame to lose his tongue, but it is worthwhile for the pleasure of watching his cock slide free. He allows Percival to feel through the bond how much that arouses him, so he'll feel the sharp jolt of surprise and pleasure that comes with his confession about that morning, too.

"Light, if you'd caught me this morning, I would have let you do anything you wanted to me. I was aching for you."

He reaches for Percival's cock when it's close enough, lets the head drag against his stomach while he gently strokes what has already emerged with a soft, manicured hand. The other curiously slips up further to caress the soft sheath, wondering if he can coax more of his mate's length to slip out.

"I love your cock," he murmurs, glancing up briefly. "This one and the one you normally fuck me with." With an amused quirk of his lips, he observes, "Some men barely know how to use one. I've gotten lucky with you."

It's unexpectedly arousing to think of Essek joining him again for the next full moon, even if he's talking about getting a bed out here. He won't fit into the cabin, and--well. They can figure it out. Later.

Percy moves his hips lazily into Essek's stroking touch and he huffs a heavier breath when another hand reaches lower, sliding over his sheath. It doesn't take long to have the intended effect and he whines as he imagines how his husband's elegant hands look touching him like this.

Tell me, he murmurs, voice edged with a growl. Tell me what you would let me do.

He gives a firmer rock of his hips and gets a jolt through his belly when he feels his cock brush Essek's jaw. The wolf makes a sound that's almost like grumbling as he tries to adjust his position again.

"I would let you claim me," he says, licking his lips. As the great wolf over him shifts, Essek considers a moment before redirecting the tip of his cock the short distance between his jaw to his mouth. His soft lips smear over the wet head and his tongue licks over the slit. The taste is salty and thick, and his head feels light with the thrill of pleasure it brings him.

"I would let you leave marks all over my body," he murmurs, chin tilting to trail open-mouthed kisses as far as he can reach along the hot, throbbing red shaft his hand is holding steady. "Breed me until I could do nothing but beg for your knot. I've wanted it, Percival, and I know you have wanted to give it to me. Every time we played with that toy of yours you fucked me into the bed after like a man with only one thing on his mind. Of course I knew what you were thinking about."

If Percival could look beneath him now he would see the flash of Essek's eyes in the shadow cast over him by his body, the way his pink tongue flattens and licks a smooth line back up to the tapered head, the way his full dark lips open to let it slide inside. He sucks only on enough to comfortably fill his mouth, but even that much is heady enough to make him moan.

A hand slips back between his legs to rub urgently at his own cock, and the other is steady in pumping Percival's. He had more to say, he thought, but his alpha's taste on his tongue is so distracting.

Edited 2022-01-06 19:19 (UTC)

The wolf makes a low, whining sound as Essek's lips and tongue tease over his cock. His body tenses in an attempt to keep from thrusting forward again, wanting to allow Essek the freedom to do what he likes. And he is utterly wrapped up in his husband's sweet, wicked words.

You looked so good taking it, darling, he sighs. A shudder ripples through him as Essek's tongue explores the head of his cock, mouth opening to take him. His forepaws dig into the blanket and he groans at the tease of the slick heat. How could I not want you after seeing you do that? Watching you stretch to take it, to take me... Even then I wanted to devour you.

His breath comes quicker and he's vaguely aware of the movement under him, looks down to see Essek stroking himself even as he lavishes attention him. His cock throbs under Essek's encouraging touch, delirious with the way his husband seems to truly find him desirable like this. He wants to push deeper into Essek's mouth, but doesn't dare. He can't like this.

As soon as I can, I want to fuck your mouth. I want to get deeper than this. He is aching for it. And he knows that his mate's cunt is waiting for him. That acknowledgement makes him throb again, pulsing in Essek's mouth. The scent of his omega's growing arousal kicks his instinct into gear.

Essek. Now.

Percival makes himself pull back before he does something regrettable. He needs to be inside him, and his mouth simply cannot take him the way that Percy wants.

The flow of admiration and praise and dirty talk through his mind has Essek touching himself faster, spreading slick from his cunt over his cock and stroking over the sensitive head with his fingertips, the sensation an exciting burn of almost-too-much that makes his hips twitch up toward his hand. He give another soft moan, muffled by his mouthful of cock, because he wants it deeper too, wants his husband to tell him how good he looks swallowing his cock while he fucks his mouth. This is a rare enough thing by itself, as Essek has to be in a particular mood to want to give oral sex, but it seems his heat makes him eager for absolutely everything he can offer his partner.

He sucks Percival's cock messily for a little longer, unconcerned with the mixture of spit and precome dripping down his chin, happy to be rewarded by a throb or pulse against his tongue. But the sound of his name followed by a demanding now stops him short. The wolf pulls back far enough that his cock slips from his mouth, then his hand, and Essek licks his lips, slightly dazed. But he knows what his alpha needs from him, and it's the thing his own body craves most, too.

With some reluctance his fingers leave his cock so that he can roll over, pushing himself up onto his knees and then sitting back on his heels. Only as an afterthought does he wipe at the mess on his chin, using the heel of his hand somewhat delicately.

"How, ah...how tall would you want this table to be?" he asks, managing to put the scattered pieces of at least one part of his mind back together. "I think I can create a sturdy surface suitable enough for our purposes." He gets back onto his knees to reach for his cloak, dropped without a second thought beside the nest of blankets. He finds the component he seeks, a small jar of gold dust, in an inner pocket.

Percy backs off when he realizes Essek is getting up. The question momentarily distracts him, and he realizes that the wizard is offering to create a surface somehow. That forces Percival to think about logistics when all he wants is to bury his cock, which is only fair, since Essek is going to attempt to cast a spell when all he wants is to be bent over.

He huffs through his nose and looks at the wall that hides them from the entrance. The wolf approaches it and braces his forepaws against it to give Essek an idea of just where his hips might be when he isn't trying to fuck a partner who is quite low to the ground.

Your hips should be against it when you're bent over, he rumbles as he pushes away from the wall. Not quite as tall as his desk which, he recalls, forces Essek up onto the balls of his feet when he's bent over it.

Wide enough to brace yourself. Wide enough for me to lean on it.

That also saves them the concern of Essek taking his weight at all.

For a moment, all Essek takes from this demonstration is the incredible view of Percival's cock and how much he wants all of that inside him, but he forces himself to take in the essentials. The sooner and better he can get this constructed, the sooner and better he can get himself fucked.

"I understand. This will suffice, then." He shuffles off the blanket he's been laying on, freeing it so that he can lift and shake it out--not physically, of course, but with a motion of his hand and a tug on gravity. It will be wide enough when spread out, and softer than an actual table against his hips. Yes, this will do nicely.

The worst part of all of his is that Essek has to make himself stand. It takes a moment because his legs are shaky, and he hasn't gotten up since he first laid down. But he arranges things so that the blanket is suspended in the air at the ideal height for him to bend over and have Percival bent over him, as his husband had helpfully shown. Then he uncaps the tiny bottle of gold dust, taps a small amount into his hand, and casts the spell that will secure it.

There's a faint shimmer over the blanket as Essek sprinkles it with the dust from his palm, and through arcane manipulation reverses and then freezes the gravitational forces around this object to leave it resting in the air, not just floating, but fixed. Thankfully, this is a spell he's known for most of his life, and it is not one that taxes him in the way that Telepathy had earlier. While the result is impressive, it is really very simple if one only understands the most basic tenants of dunamancy.

"There," he announces. There is no need to brush the gold dust from his hands; the spell has consumed it. He caps the bottle to save what remains and lean his hip against the edge of the blanket as he would a table, though this is far more solid. "Even if we are very vigorous, it won't budge. For the next hour, at least."

The wolf sneezes as Essek casts, as if the arcane energy tickled his nose. But when he focuses again, he can see his husband leaning on the surface made out of the blanket. Percival's intrigued about the spell. He's always found Essek's dunamancy fascinating and he likes listening to the wizard explain what he's doing when Essek is inclined to do so. Tonight, however, he has more pressing things on his mind.

Then I have an hour to breed you until you can't walk. Or until you're satisfied.

Whichever comes first.

He prowls closer and nudges Essek. His instinct says to just push his mate over, bend him and mount him. He noses between Essek's thighs, damp with slick and saliva.

Bent over or on your back. Decide quickly.

Even if his need is burning, he wants Essek to be comfortable. An unhappy mate defeats the purpose of any of this.

The threads of arcane reasoning Essek had managed to grasp slip away again as he watches the white wolf, taller at his shoulder than Essek's full height, close the distance between them. In his mind, his husband says exactly what he wants to hear.

Essek wouldn't be displeased, in this state, with the rougher approach, but he's pleased to have an option. Out of necessity, he reluctantly pushes his mate's muzzle away from his thighs before he gets any ideas. Even feeling the warm puff of his breath there excites him. If he starts licking at him again then he'll stop thinking all together, and he's been told to make a quick decision.

After only a moment of deliberation, Essek pushes himself up onto the blanket and lays back, though he supports himself on his elbows rather than laying down entirely. It's more comfortable than a table would be, at least. Or Percival's desk.

"Like this. I want to watch this time."

Since his alpha is clearly in a hurry to do as much with their time limit as possible and he's also been feeling the urgent need of his heat returning full-force as the minutes tick by, Essek spreads his legs without prompting, bending his knees back toward his chest. With is ass on the blanket's edge and his hips tipped up to present his cunt, folds flushed a pretty dark plum and dripping with fresh slick, he's only waiting for his husband to make good on his intentions.

Percival groans at the sight of his mate on display, wet and ready and waiting for him. He's beautiful, he is everything Percy wants. He shares that thinking as he moves closer. It takes nothing to get paws on the table and he growls as his cock, slick and hot, brushes against Essek's cunt. With a bit of help, the tapered head presses against his opening and the angle the table creates is perfect, making this easier far easier. And it probably doesn't hurt that Essek's taken him once already tonight.

Even if he wants to just bury himself, Percy tries to be careful. Every short, shallow thrust pushes him deeper. The wolf bows his head as he gets as deep as he can. Unless Essek gives him cause, he doesn't wait before he starts building a steadier rhythm.

I want everyone to know when we go back. I want them to know you are mine in every way. That I'm yours. I want you to smell like me.

Everyone knows that they are married and most of the castle knows they have consummated, but this is different. Now they have claimed each other, and in this first heat and every one after they will cement that bond.

His strokes get longer and now that he is inside his mate the urgency has diminished. He is where he belongs and he does not want to deny Essek pleasure by rushing.

Essek is ready to assist again if needed to guide his alpha's cock inside him, but it seems the makeshift table has been helpful for that, because he barely has to nudge it into place against his opening before the tapered head is sinking in without resistance. He gasps in surprise and sudden pleasure, and he isn't given time to catch his breath, as it only builds from there.

Percival is wasting no time in working his cock back inside him, and almost before he realizes it, Essek has taken all of him again. The real stretch happened the first time, but it is a tight fit still, snug enough for Essek to really feel every thrust when he gets this deep. He's startled by the intensity of the pleasure that begins spiking when the wolf starts to fuck him properly almost too soon. His cunt is still clinging, throbbing, stretching, and that cock forces its way insistently inside him like it's meant to be there, because it is.

"I am going to smell like nothing but you. Everyone will know," Essek reassures him breathlessly, and though there is some amusement in his voice, the thought makes him throb around his mate's cock.

These long, deep strokes satisfy and build the flame of his desire without driving him to climb the bed (the blanket, but still) just yet, and Essek is glad to have the mental capacity to really admire his partner, to press his face into his soft fur and breathe in, to look down between his legs and watch the way his cock sinks into him, almost mesmerizing. Before tonight, he would never have believed he could fit so much inside him.

The wolf's fur carries Percy's own scent, but also fresh air and pine and now smoke from the fire. But beneath it all, especially to a sensitive omega's nose, he is still Percival de Rolo. He is grateful now that he doesn't lose his mind every time he changes.

After Essek has had a chance to get a good look, Percy lowers himself more, letting his paws hang over the edge of the blanket-table and his forelegs rest on either side of Essek. He nuzzles his mate's hair, breathing him in.

I could keep you just like this for an hour, he murmurs. I wouldn't even have to pull out between knotting you.

With something to lean on, Percy doesn't anticipate that being difficult. It's Essek's endurance that will determine how long they stay in one position. At least on his back, he doesn't have to hold his own weight at all, slight as it is.

Somehow, it is true that Percival's scent both calms and enflames Essek. Breathing him in makes him feel relaxed and safe, but also arouses him like nothing else. The smell of the forest threaded through it only adds another dimension of interest. He's never liked the scent of pine more.

As the wolf covers him more, Essek lets himself lay all the way back against the blanket beneath him, reaching up instead to curl his fingers into his fur as far up as he can reach, chin tilting up to nuzzle him back. It isn't as easy like this to rock back against him, and there is something appealing about that right now, to just lay back and take what he's given, but he tries anyway, a little restless.

"Please," he whispers, sounding even more desperate than he intended. "Don't pull out, stay inside me. This is where you belong."

Percy shudders on top of Essek and leans more of his weight into the table as he starts fucking his mate in earnest. Every stroke builds the tension in his belly, encourages the swell of his knot until he can feel it rubbing against Essek's cunt with every thrust, offering friction and pressure.

I want to see your belly swell with an heir. Percival cares so little about an actual heir, but in this moment the possibility of having even one child with Essek is consuming. If his husband does not come away from this pregnant, it will not be for a lack of trying on their part, he is determined in that and he knows Essek will be for as long as he's in heat.

And that Essek is so keen for it, even if it is just for a few days, is appealing in a way Percy hadn't anticipated.

He pants as he leans over the smaller body beneath him, feeling delirious with the perfect, squeezing heat of his mate's cunt, wet and open and ready for him.

Essek's soft noises of pleasure become more pronounced as soon as he begins to feel his mate's knot swell. He already loves the way it feels rubbing inside him, but the intent of it thrills him just as much--as it does Percival as well, it seems. They've decided that they are going to get him pregnant, and every harder, faster thrust with his knot fucking in an out of his cunt makes this more real, more immediate. This could be it, tonight or tomorrow or right now. He could very well return from the wilderness carrying his husband's first child. The heir to Whitestone.

He wants it. Light, he wants it. His body aches for it. And he is going to do everything in his power to get it.

"Then you had best put one there, husband."

His cunt is already tightening, probably because he's been fucked well enough to make his legs quiver where they're drawn up close to his chest, but Essek would like to think it is his body responding to his alpha's growing need. Perhaps it's both. His fingers wind tighter into white fur, holding on and reassuring himself that Percival is staying close, right here with him.

"When my belly grows, everyone will know how completely I am yours," he murmurs. "Let me show them how well you bred me, my love."

Soon enough the knot sinks in and doesn't come back out. Percy keeps moving in short thrusts until he starts to come. He leans over Essek, head down as he pants. This is easier than trying to keep his husband's hips up earlier, both on him and Essek, he suspects.

He nuzzles Essek's pale hair and feels the deep satisfaction in this act. It's more than that, though. He knows, logically, that everything about Essek's heat is meant to encourage bonding. He also knows that doesn't always happen, but he went into this already loving this man. How could he not feel closer?

Buried as deep as he can be, Percy can feel each pulse as he fills his mate again. He wonders, absently, if it's the wolf shape or the impact of Essek's heat that keeps making him think that way. Mate. Another word for what they already are. Their marriage might have been arranged, but they have chosen each other.

Percival moves his forelegs, gently getting them under Essek's shoulders so that he is almost completely surrounding the wizard.

This is bliss. For once, Essek feels caged but not stifled. He is something precious and wanted, protected in his most vulnerable state by someone who loves him. There is nowhere else he would rather be, anyway. The warm, heavy body over him, holding and surrounding him, pressed deep inside of him, may as well by the whole world to him right now.

Essek has been in that delirious state right on the edge of orgasm since the wolf's knot locked inside him and he felt the first hot pulse of his come. Everything feels maddeningly good, and he doesn't know if he wants to come or make this last. The impact and pleasure of even the smallest movements are multiplied, and his cunt gently milks the cock spilling inside him. Essek twitches every time his inner muscles flex. Yet even as he constantly hovers near but doesn't quite hit that peak, he doesn't feel frustrated. He's relaxed and fulfilled, because it was his alpha's orgasm he was striving for, not his own.

"How does it feel?" he asks somewhat dreamily. To come for minutes at a time, he imagines, must be intense. "Is it best right at the start, or as good the whole time? Is it better when I--" Tightening more deliberately, Essek hisses, baring his fangs as the sensation echoes through him, feeding his own pleasure. The knot feels especially good, swollen right near his entrance and too big to ever really get used to. Which is the point, of course.

Percival groans when he feels Essek tighten around him like that as part of a question. He noses his mate's hair and quietly adores the sight of Essek's sharper eyeteeth. Little fangs.

It feels good from the moment I'm inside you. This part is satisfying, though. The pleasure doesn't wane at all, but becomes less pressing, less urgent. Being able to stay like this and just feel, knowing that his omega is just as content, is fulfilling. Do you really want me to stay in you until the table is gone?

Promises and pleas made in the heat of a moment are worth revisiting when at least one of them is feeling slightly clearer. Percy would rather avoid Essek getting too sore, though he knows with his size and the frequency of their fucking in the next few days, that might be entirely unavoidable. He'll have to take extra care when they are home again. But if he can mitigate that now in any way, he will.

At his husband's groan, Essek smirks, small and mostly to himself. He will assume, then, that it is indeed better when he does that. Whiskers brush his face when he tilts it to kiss the side of Percival's nose. His favorite part of doing it like this, he thinks, is being able to look up into his face, into his eyes, and see him looking back.

"I need you to," he replies without much thought. "Unless it is uncomfortable for you somehow, I...would prefer not to be separated."

The outcome of all of this is inevitable soreness, but Essek had understood and accepted that from the start. His heat will likely keep him from feeling it too much until it is over, at least. And by then they will be able to return home and his attentive alpha can pamper and dote over him as he recovers, as he should.

"To have you inside me like this..." He squirms a little under him, still balanced perfectly in a place where pleasure is a constant, and just enough concentrated effort would make him come in moments. "It is like nothing else. I feel complete. I am closer to you not only physically, but...in my soul. I can sense your satisfaction, and it brings me the same."

A small tremor runs through him when Essek answers that he needs Percival to stay like this. He's close enough that the wizard could likely feel it. The wolf hiccups on a breath as Essek shifts beneath him and, without thinking, he pushes his hips right up against the curve of his ass, just to make sure there is absolutely no risk of separating. As if there could be while he's still locked inside.

It means something to hear Essek talk like this. Percy knows what independence has meant for Essek and he understands deeply the vulnerability of attachment. But here he is, confessing these probably overwhelming feelings while he is pinned beneath the body of a beast who is also his husband. Percy shifts, turning one great, articulated paw over so that he can cradle the back of Essek's head. He doesn't have much finesse, but he can do this.

He gives the man a fond look, admiring him and wishing again that he could just kiss Essek the way that he wants to.

Is that blasphemy, talking about our souls this way? It's nothing more than a gentle tease, filled with affection. I love you.

That little push knocks a groan from Essek's chest. He clings tighter to Percival, relishing being reminded of how full he is--as though it would be possible to forget. Knowing that his husband is equally as affected brings a flicker of a smile to his lips as he relaxes again.

The paw that turns over to support his head is so careful and the gesture so tender that he can't do anything but reach up for Percival's face, cradling it softly between his hands, which are so much smaller in comparison. He finds those familiar blue eyes and looks into them, his own softened with love, plain and simple. It is terrifying to give another person the power to hurt him by opening his heart this way, but he trusts Percival more than he fears possible pain. This man would never want to hurt him, even in this beastly shape.

"The opposite. A communion of souls is divine. Or so it is said." His voice remains soft, but the curl of his lips shows how amusing he finds his husband's teasing. "You know my thoughts on divinity, but I think I understand finally why so many of my people feel this way. I love you, Percival." He returns the sentiment with every bit of the powerful and layered emotion behind it. How strange it is that something he'd never thought possible could become the most important part of his life. "That love feels bigger than me. After a century spent leading a selfish life, my wants and needs have grown to include yours. I no longer live only for myself. While it may not be the will of the Luxon, I...I do believe our souls have touched."

That admission is made with a little more trepidation, like he might be found silly for it. He has rejected so much of his culture for its fanatical focus on a religion that he does not believe in. Finding a part of it that he can identify with, even just a little, stirs a buried longing for that connection, and it makes him wish even more to be understood.

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