alignmyheart | au of an au

He nudges his nose against Essek's cheek. He'd never known - or hoped - he could feel so centered or so connected to another person. Essek has given him this gift out of an impossible situation. His hands rest on Essek's thighs as his husband's run over his torso and around to his back.

He stopped adventuring maybe a year before Essek came into his life, but that hasn't changed him much yet. Especially not when he keeps up regular target practice, muscles built both from hauling something like Bad News around and holding the pepperboxes, but also from absorbing the kick with every shot. Then there's all the building he does, not all of it fine manual work.

Percy looks at his husband, just drinking him in. He shifts his hips just slightly, testing to see how tied they still are. He's pretty sure his knot is going down, but he sees no need to try and separate just yet.

"I think--Essek, I think we'll run into the same problem as your heat," he says after a moment. "If I recall, a full moon is coming in the next few days..."

Essek's breath catches as Percy's hips rock just enough to shift the knot inside him. A new flare of sensation surges through his body like an agitated wave, adding to the pooled heat in his core. His toes curl against the bedsheets, and he feels his foot nudge the silken texture of his own robe, still spread out atop the covers.

"Ah." It takes a moment to collect himself again, but Essek remembers. Percival is right; it is the same as the previous incident, or nearly so. A day or so of difference. If he is remembering correctly, the full moon should occur as soon as tomorrow night. They'd had to plan the timing of their visit to Westruun very carefully because of it, and could only make the trip at all because Essek could teleport them home before Percival would need to depart for the Timberlands. "So we will."

There is a part of Essek--several parts of Essek, actually, one of which flutters around his alpha's cock in eager anticipation--that thrills at this recollection. His first shared heat was an intense experience, made still more so by passing the first several days with his beloved in his wolf form. It was new and strange and affirming and exhilarating, and though he wouldn't necessarily have planned it this way, it is an experience he is very willing to repeat. The sex was...well, there is a reason he's made an effort over the last few months to make that cave a more livable place. He intends to spend time there in the future, so as not to leave his poor Percival in solitude.

"It is good, then, that I have made prior preparations," he points out sensibly. "We will be much more comfortable this time than the last."

Percival can't help but notice the way Essek's body responds to the news. His breath catches quietly and he tries to give his husband a look that could pass as stern. The first time Essek ever saw him as a wolf was not ideal, with his mate freshly entering his heat. They made it work and Percy doesn't regret it: it allowed them to bond in a way they hadn't yet, and it gave him a comfort he couldn't have expected. Essek doesn't think he's a monster.

But that doesn't change the fact that he could hurt his husband, badly, and now he'll be in his rut on top of being a giant wolf.

"Essek, this isn't like the last time," he insists quietly, imploring his mate to see that. "I don't... know what rut looks like when I'm like that."

It hasn't really been an issue. His ruts had been infrequent and unpredictable before Essek came into his life. He'd been warned that might change if he and Essek were serious about spending Essek's heats together.

Despite a cocktail of hormones keeping him happy and pliant, Essek bristles slightly at the chiding tone between his husband's reproachful look and his warning. Aggressively sensible this time, he insists, "Then you certainly should not be alone. At the very least, I can keep you preoccupied so that you do not get into additional trouble."

To do otherwise would be silly, he thinks, when Percival has just admitted to him that he doesn't know what could happen to him, or what he might be driven to. Who better to manage him in such a state than his own mate?

"I am far from defenseless, should it come to that. Which I trust that it will not," he attempts to soothe, lifting his hands to cradle his alpha's face. "We cannot be apart during this time," he insists, more softly, yet more intensely. "I attempted it briefly, and it was torturous. I fear what you might do to seek me out far more than I worry about you doing me any harm."

Essek doesn't believe Percival would be capable of hurting him, especially now, when his instinct is to protect his mate and keep him to himself. But hurting others in a perceived defense of him, or an attempt to deter potential rivals? That is more concerning.

Percy meets Essek's gaze, eyebrows drawn together as the warning shifts to worry. He doesn't have a good answer, or a good counterargument, but he does have a great deal of anxiety. He has spent the better part of his life now worried them some dark think inside him will hurt the people he loves. It nearly did once. Perhaps more than once.

He knows what his husband is capable of, and yet that doesn't assuage his fears. Percy wraps his arms around Essek, pulling him against his chest. Essek is right, whether Percival is ready to admit it out loud or not. There is as much danger in leaving him alone in rut as there is in being together. The difference is that more people could be in peril with the former. His shoulders slump with what might be defeat, or possibly relief, and he bows his head to bury his face against Essek's neck for a moment. He breathes deep his husband's scent and tries to settle himself.

The decision is made. It would be foolish to try to keep Essek from finding him - especially now that the wizard has a much better sense of where Percy spends his time as a wolf. His hands run up Essek's back, then down again.

"Promise you will get away from me if you think there is even a chance--" Percival can't quite make himself finish the thought. "Just promise, please."

Essek knows that he is correct, but he does understand his partner's worry. Percival is still afraid of the wolf in many ways--afraid of himself. He is sympathetic to that, and touched by what his husband would sacrifice to protect him. As he holds Essek closer, head bowing to tuck against his neck, Essek strokes his back soothingly between his shoulders, embracing him in return as tightly as he can.

Light, the way his voice falters--he really is worried about this. Essek loves him, and he never wants to be the cause of such distress. But in his husband's concern for him, he feels the intensity of his love. It warms him from the inside, radiating from his heart and filling his chest until it aches.

"I can teleport home with a single word, my dearest," Essek assures him in a gentle murmur. A hand slides up to stroke the back of his neck, and his chin tips down to nuzzle into his hair. "If there is a need to seperate myself from you, I will do so. I promise you that."

The tension in his shoulders bleeds away beneath his husband's tender affection and gentle reassurance. Percy lifts his head to meet Essek's gaze, still full of concern but also trust. He lifts a hand to cradle his husband's cheek and kisses him sweetly.

"Okay," he murmurs, conceding at last. "I won't try to hide from you. We can go together."

It would be easier, and it would mean not separating for any amount of time. Percival strokes back Essek's pale hair and kisses him again. This time when he shifts, he feels that he's able to pull out. Rather than immediately unseating his mate, however, Percy simply slides down a bit so that they are more horizontal.

"I'll check the calendar whenever we want to get up," he says. He keeps one in his - their - bedroom as well as in his study. As far as he knows, there is also one in Essek's tower that tracks the course of Catha, whether to keep track of his husband's changes or for some other wizardly purpose.

Essek breathes a quiet, relieved sigh when Percival at last accedes to his logic. This will save him another inopportune walk through the woods, perhaps. It is also deeply touching, knowing the internal struggle behind those words. "Thank you for your trust, Percival de Rolo," he murmurs, and delicately kisses the corner of his husband's lips before his mouth is taken again in another full kiss.

The easing of pressure inside him tells Essek that they could part now if they wished, but his mate chooses not to. He sinks further into the pillows with a thoughtful hum.

"The second problem," Essek points out, thinking aloud, "is the matter of compatibility when you are transformed. As we have no evidence one way or the other, I believe we should assume that any coupling while in your wolf form will likely be purely, ah...recreational." His fingers card gently through Percy's hair from the nape of his neck to the crown of his head. "So we must make our efforts today count, yes?"

At any other time, Percival might shrug off the possibility that they aren't compatible for reproduction while he's a wolf, but being in rut makes that feel like a failure - one he can't control. His jaw tightens and he tries to ignore the barb of it. He can't control it, he can't prevent it from happening, and it has the potential to render useless their frequent and likely vigorous attempts in the next few days. They both want this, and it will be a failure on his part if they cannot manage it this time.

He thinks of Essek's last heat and the amount of time he spent as a wolf rather than a human. Percival tries not to let the frustration bubble up, tries to focus instead on the way Essek strokes his hair.

"Yes," he agrees quietly. Percy consoles himself with another kiss, lingering as he holds his mate close. He reminds himself that they have plenty of time, that there will be other opportunities to try if Essek comes out of heat again without a pregnancy. But now that they have decided this is what they both want--he wants to give this to Essek.

Oh, dear. Essek's brow furrows, and though attempts to meet Percy's eyes, his husband is already glancing away. His answer is short and quiet, and it betrays a great deal of the turmoil within. He will blame himself, Essek realizes, should he not fall pregnant during this heat.

He not only returns the kiss Percival presses to his lips, but deepens it, slow and sweet with a simmering heat, before they part again.

"This troubles you," he murmurs, soft and sympathetic, still lingering close. "Percival, I have no doubt that we will accomplish our goal in the time we have. I am only attempting to flirt with you." Clearly not very well. He smiles as his hands slide down to frame his alpha's face between graceful fingers. "It is also possible that my guess is not accurate." As he'd pointed out, they have no real evidence one way or the other. If he were in a clearer state of mind, perhaps he might be able to determine a way, over time, to test that theory, but--

"I certainly intend to give it my best attempt regardless of whether you happen to be man or beast."

Percy meets his husband's gaze as elegant, warm hands cradle his face. He adores this man, is deeply in love with him, and quiet moments like this only prove he is not wrong to trust him.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, though there is a bare hint of a smile in his apology. He shouldn't be brooding now (possibly not ever), not when they are together and happy. "I love you," he adds, because it bears saying. He pulls Essek into another tender kiss and tries to let those thoughts melt away.

His smile grows and he gently bumps their foreheads together.

"Let it never be said that we are not thorough," he quips. With Essek a wizard and Percival--well, an artificer at heart--there is no shortage of long discussions once either of them expresses interest in theory. Neither of them is capable of simply ignoring a problem or half-assing something they have an active interest in.

He kisses Essek again, and again, not trying to build up to anything but taking a deep pleasure in just having his husband here with him.

"What I am more concerned about... is making sure the cave is well-supplied. Otherwise I will try to hunt for you, and we know that to be a disaster."

Perhaps that's an exaggeration.

"I love you," Essek echoes, which conveys his meaning much better than I am sorry too, I should have considered better what I was implying.

He sinks easily into another kiss, losing himself in it without a second thought. With his alpha's scent all around him, the warm weight of his body over him, bare skin to bare skin, his softening cock still inside him, what more could he wish for?

Well, perhaps there is something. With him, there is always something more.

"Then we will bring supplies along when I teleport us there," Essek says with a smirk. "My magic is more than capable of transporting things as well as people."

His tongue sweeps over his lips, tender from the frequency and the force of their eager kisses. With a conspiratorial glint in his eye, he asks in a silky murmur, "May I admit something to you? A fantasy I have continued returning to since spending my last heat with the wolf?"

At least it's a simple solution. Percival can carry a relatively heavy pack, between the two of them they should be able to get plenty of supplies out to the cave to make Essek comfortable for a few days. An absent mental tally begins as he considers who to inform, what to specify, how much extra to bring--

But he's content to let the thought go, to worry about it later - tomorrow - especially when Essek keeps talking. Percy lifts a brow and slides his hands over Essek's thighs, enjoying the feel of his husband against him. He wants to enjoy this while he can, knowing it will be pleasant but feel very different as a wolf. Speaking of which--

"Oh? You know you can tell me anything, darling." Percival guides Essek into another kiss and lingers near. "Especially if you want me to fulfill it."

Just as he hoped, Percival seems intrigued and distracted by the mystery Essek has dangled before him. That is more than worth the slightly embarrassing admission of a private sexual fantasy. Especially when there is a chance now that it could actually happen.

Essek enjoys the sensation of his husband's hands wandering his body as he ponders how to put this, feeling his face heat marginally as he does. There really is no delicate way to word it, is there?

"It is conceptually, at least, very simple. I...do not have enough experience to know whether that is the case in practice. But I have thought about--" Light, he may as well just say it. "About--having him in my ass. Taking his knot, all of it." As Percival is very aware, that is still quite new territory for him; his husband fucked his ass for the first time only months ago, and though Essek has expressed his enjoyment each time they have revisited it since, he still flushes at the idea.

There is a second part to this as well, one that isn't so simple, but which Percival may enjoy hearing anyway, even if Essek is growing steadily more shy.

"In this fantasy, you are seperate but connected entities, you and the wolf. You lay beneath me, filling my cunt at the same time." Light, just talking about this is causing his arousal to spike again, especially with Percival still buried inside him. Of course, his heat is responsible as well--every breath he takes reminds him that his alpha is in rut, and his body is very eager to match that need with his own. "You praise me for it--for taking so much of you. I imagine I would feel very full."

His breath catches on the next inhale. Percy has always had a very visual imagination, and now it is flooded with the image that Essek paints for him. Somehow it's only made better by the fact that his typically reserved husband is blushing and stumbling his way through this revelation. That Essek is making this confession with Percival's cock still buried inside him makes for a delicious experience.

"You would certainly deserve praise for managing that, my love," he murmurs, voice heavier as his hands lift to draw Essek into a kiss. "I'm not sure I could manage in a way that would be fully satisfying, but..." They have toys aplenty, and they absolutely have one that is similar enough to Percy's human cock that it would suffice if Essek really wanted to try.

As ever, a little flicker in the back of his mind worries over hurting his lithe husband, but... he is also rather confident that they could manage, given how determined Essek can be when he sees something as a challenge.

Immediately, Percival's reaction makes his embarrassment worthwhile. Hearing the heat in his husband's voice before he's guided into another kiss amplifies his own building arousal. Light, if they could manage even part of this fantasy, it would be satisfying. Of course, that could be too much to ask when both of them are already very preoccupied, especially not knowing how rut will effect Percival as a wolf. Yet there is no reason he can't do something to sate at least part of this desire now.

"I think that you should get that toy out, regardless," he advises. His face still feels hot, and he doesn't quite hit the smug tone he was aiming for. He sounds a little too breathlessly eager for that. "Perhaps we can find a use for it now," he suggests.

His pulse quickens again at the mere prospect. The toy in his cunt, knot inflated, would keep his mate's seed locked inside him in a way he would find satisfying while he takes his ass instead. Oh, he can only imagine how full he would feel. Call it a trial run, perhaps, to see if he is capable of even this much.

"You gorgeous thing," he murmurs before he pulls Essek into another kiss. He still feels sensitive, but he's also getting hard again and he grinds up against his husband to encourage them both. "You'll have to get up if we're to get it."

The toy isn't that far, but neither of them can get it without moving unless Essek wants to get creative with magic. And even then, if he wants Percy in his ass, he'll have to move anyway. Gods, he can't--he's dizzy thinking of the heated fantasy, and with the trial run that might render his husband senseless if they manage it. Now he's quite determined to manage it.

One hand slides down Essek's chest and his belly to brush over his cock, wondering if this will get his husband hard again. A spark of impatience flares in him and Percy makes a sound almost like a growl as he rolls them over. He pulls out and immediately gives Essek's ass a light swat.

"Hips up, love." He is absolutely serious - he wants to keep as much as he can inside Essek, certain in the haze of his rut that it will help their efforts. Percy moves to the edge of the bed to dig out the toy from where they keep it (and several others). He doesn't stay away from Essek for long, quickly returning to him. His blue eyes are intense when he meets his lover's gaze again.

"Think you can take it as is, darling?"

With a low growl from his husband's throat and a sharp little swat to his ass when he pulls out, Essek feels his face heat all over again. His breath catches loudly. Light, he has never been treated like this before going to bed with Percival. He wouldn't have allowed it, and no one had ever dared to anyway. But with this man, it makes him throb with desire, despite the indignity. Wordlessly, he turns over onto his belly and raises his hips as asked, ensuring as little of his mate's seed seeps from his cunt as possible.

Essek wets his lips, pulse skittering with anticipation as Percival locates the toy they're after. He looks at him over his shoulder, and a shiver courses down his spine when he meets his gaze. Oh, Light. He desperately wants this man to breed him.

"Yes," he says softly, tongue weighted with want. "If you engage the knot once it is seated, I will be fine."

He feels like a salacious, utterly wanton creature. He wants Percival to swat his ass again. He wants his alpha's knot in his cunt and his ass both. He wants to make an utterly debauched display of himself for his husband's pleasure. He feels a far cry from the version of himself so notoriously prudish that a flash of wrist or collarbone could unmake the men who sought him. But the creature he is now is for Percival alone. He could not bear any eyes but his to see him this way.

He presses a kiss to Essek's back and runs a hand over his hip. Gods, he's beautiful. Percy knows what he's meant to be doing, but he leans low to run his tongue along the slit of his husband's cunt, tasting them both. Perhaps that was a mistake, he immediate feels a sharp kick to keep going, to eat Essek out until he's gasping and mewling on the bed. But he has other ways of doing that.

Percival works up some saliva and takes the first few inches of the toy into his mouth to wet it. Essek is plenty wet and already stretched, so he doesn't spend much time on it. He does take a moment longer than necessary to just look at Essek, drinking him in. Percy never knows what to think of weighty things like fate, but he does known that Essek has brought so much possibility into his life that he did not dare dream of wanting before.

He rubs the slick head of the toy between Essek's folds, teasing his entrance just for a moment before he gently pushes it in, inch by inch. He draws it back a little, then thrusts it deeper until the knot near the base is rubbing against Essek's cunt.

"How's that, love? Are you ready for it?" he asks as if he doesn't already know the answer. Percival brushes another kiss to Essek's back, then leans back again to see how Essek's cunt spreads around the toy.

"Gods, look at you, of course you are," he murmurs. "You're perfect."

And with that, he eases the knot of the toy in with a firm little thrust.

Essek muffles a long moan against the crook of his elbow as Percival leans in and drags his tongue along his slit. Oh, more of that would be divine--but he certainly isn't complaining about getting exactly what he asked for, either, as Percival rubs the tip of the toy, slicked by his own spit, against his entrance. After being fucked so thoroughly by his husband, he takes the toy quite easily, but it fills him up in a satisfying way.

He barely notices the way his hips push up and back as Percival fucks the toy into him to the knot, teasing it against his folds. Though he answers his own question, Essek still whimpers a soft affirmative, which becomes a gasp as the wide swell of the knot presses into him. As with the real thing, his cunt spreads for it slowly, then takes it in easily past the widest point. Essek moans again, softer, as his cunt flutters around it, then clenches hard. Though it can't compare to the living warmth of his alpha, the stretch feels delicious. As Percival well knows, this toy drives him wild even when he isn't in heat.

He also does love when his husband calls him perfect.

"Please," he murmurs, feeling the flare of his own arousal sharply. It is shameful and thrilling what even a false knot can do to him, especially knowing it is keeping his mate's seed locked within him. "I can take more."

Bracing his forearm on the bed, Essek arches his back in to lift his hips higher and spread his legs wider. An elegant flick of his free hand and a whispered word casts Prestidigitation, and he reaches back to trace slicked fingertips along the seam of his ass until he reaches his own hole, rubbing over the tight muscle to make it slick and shiny. Light, he wants his alpha to fill him and claim him in every way possible.

"Couldn't you just?" he says breathlessly as Essek rubs slick fingers over his own hole. Percy runs his hands over Essek's sides, then back down again, following the beautiful lines of his body.

"Come on, love. Onto your side for now. We'll need to work you open." He coaxes Essek down to the bed and rests his husband's ankle on his shoulder to keep his legs spread. Percy presses a kiss to Essek's calf and runs his hand up along his dark thigh. He's been besotted with the wizard for a long time, but being in rut with Essek in heat makes it feel like obsession, and he's sure Essek bloody well knows it.

He rubs his fingers over Essek's slick hole, taking over for him. He's slow with it until he feels the tension ease, until he feels like he can press a finger in.

"Cast it again, my darling. I have every intention of being thorough."

He kisses Essek's leg again. He waits until he feels the oil on his fingers before he gently pushes one in, seeing how Essek does with that first. His body is hot, and Percival isn't really capable at the moment of discerning whether it's more so than usual. It doesn't matter, he feels perfect and Percy is already a little dizzy thinking of how it will feel to have his cock - his knot - inside him along with the toy.

"How do you feel?"

Essek moves as his alpha directs him, laying splayed on his side, his leg lifted with a dainty ankle resting on a handsomely broad shoulder. He looks up at his alpha through his lashes with eyes at half-mast, lids heavy. He loves the reverent way Percival kisses him, touches him, massages his slick rim with the rough pads of his fingers.

By the time Percival urges him to cast again--which he does, promptly--and presses that first finger inside him, Essek is nearly ready to beg for it. Thankfully, he is spared that humiliation for now--though currently, he thinks he wouldn't really mind begging. The sound he makes is unmistakably needy.

"Good," he says, accent heavy. He's relaxed enough for this first finger, but he'll need to work up to even a second. This is still a fairly recent discovery for him. No one but his husband has ever taken his ass, as Percvial well knows. "I want to be full of you, my love. Keep going."

Laying between his thigh and his hip, Essek's cock has begun to take interest again, plumping up slowly but steadily. He reaches down to palm himself lightly, giving his still mostly-soft length an encouraging squeeze and circling the sensitive head with his thumb. His thighs tense and both his cunt and his ass bear down for a passing, dizzying moment where his lips part in a soundless gasp. Already this feels almost too good. What will it be like when Percival's cock is inside him as well?

Knowing what he does is all the more reason for Percy to take his time. He fucks Essek slowly, watching his omega's face as he does. He can feel his cock stir, vaguely aware it never went fully soft, when he catches sight of Essek touching himself.

"You will be," he assures warmly. His lips brush over Essek's warm skin and Percy slides Essek's leg higher so he can nuzzle his knee and kiss him there, too. "That's it, love. Stroke your perfect cock hard for me. I want you to come again when we get my knot inside your lovely ass."

Percy fucks Essek a bit faster with his finger after that sweet wave of tension passes, then slows again. He withdraws it so that he can rub over his hole with two again, gently coaxing him to relax more without much penetration.

His other hand isn't idle, though. Since Essek is busy stroking himself to hardness, Percy reaches for the toy buried inside him. He puts pressure on it, drawing it back until the knot threatens to pop out. Then he lets it sink back in. Percy can't tear his eyes away.

"Let's try another, hm?" He's slow as he presses in with two fingers this time, keeping them pressed together as they sink in - not all the way, but enough to determine if Essek is ready for more.

Essek's dark skin is already flushed a deep, warm purple. If he could color more though, he would, with the way Percival is talking to him. He bites his lower lip, a sharp eyetooth scraping over it, as he tightens his grip on his (perfect) cock and gives it a real, full stroke. That is what his alpha wants to see, after all. Beyond the physical sensation, it feels so good to please him, to know that he is looking at him with so much desire. He nods almost desperately, conserving his words, managing little more than a strained whimper as his husband's lovely voice drips sweet filth into his ears.

He can't contain more noises as Percy coaxes his body to relax. His mouth hangs shamelessly open as he pants audibly, gasps sharply when his lover plays with the toy in his cunt as well, making him really feel the electric pleasure of his muscles stretching around the knot without ever actually pulling it free. His cock throbs in his hand, and Percival's second finger goes in with less discomfort than he expected--nearly none.

"Yes," he pants, locking eyes with his alpha as he presses those two fingers carefully deeper. "Please, husband, I want to take your knot in my ass--claim me, show me I am yours--" he speaks almost senselessly, raw need giving voice to words that he's given no thought at all. He is barely speaking Common. This is a fantasy he's had for months now, in one form or another. It feels almost surreal to make it a reality.

"I intend to," he purrs as he gives a gentle thrust of his fingers, pushing them deep. Essek feels tight and Percy can't tell how much of that is from the toy and how much is from the time that's passed since they last did this. The first time he had Essek's ass is a giddy memory now, one of many in the unfolding of intimacies between them.

"I remember first seeing you, covered from chin to the floor," he murmurs as he drags a few more kisses across Essek's leg. "I could not have imagined I would one day see you like this."

As he speaks, he works his fingers steadily in and out of his omega, coaxing him to yield to the gentle but persistent effort to stretch him open. He leans down enough to bite Essek's thigh - not hard, but enough to pinch.

"Maybe I dreamed of it," he admits. "But never dared think you'd be mine."

Not like this. They'd been cordial with each other, cautious, until finding inroads through mutual passions, or at the very least the ability to see each other's capability for passion through their work: Essek in his tower, Percival in his workshop and in the civic projects he's been elbow-deep in since they met. But now here they are, moving in the same direction, wanting the same things.

Gods, he loves this man.

He looks down at Essek as he teases with a third finger, prepared to stay at two for a while longer but curious none the less. And as he does, a flicker of that wicked streak that has never really died appears.

"If only your Dynasty could see you now," he murmurs.

au of an au - for graviturgy

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