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The last thing Nero saw of Bradley was his back. It was different this time. Different, perhaps, because this time was their last, or different because it was unwanted. And both of them had different ideas of how this night might go. Bradley was always used to living every day as if it were his last, kissing Nero and tasting his cooking like it was his last meal always. And he loved this. It made things like his food all the more delicious, and his touch all the more exciting. Nero always berated him for his recklessness, and most nights Bradley got away with a lecture and cold shoulder at worst, and at best, a good, desperate fuck.
It wasn’t quite the same for Nero. Every meal he made for Bradley, whether before or after a dangerous mission, wasn’t one he could cook with love and care like he wanted, but fear. Fear that this would be his last. Every desperate touch at the end of a particularly rough night was far too real for him. It was as if Bradley were going to crumble underneath his fingertips. His strong body and scarred exterior could only handle so much. Of course he did all he could to keep Bradley from meeting his demise. He fought by his side, he patched his wounds, and he took care of him with the gentle love and care of a mother, or a wife. But with each wrapping of a bandage around Bradley’s arm, chest, neck, head, Nero’s hands trembled more and more. At the end of every passionate and heated night together, Nero found himself on the verge of tears. He'd never let himself cry, not in front of Bradley or anyone for that matter. But he found himself wanting to cry in front of him more and more. Anything to shake some sense into him.
Of course, talking it out wasn’t an option. He had tried, many times before, and it always led nowhere. Bradley always had an excuse, a bombastic lecture showcasing his reckless ideals. They were Northern, and death was an inevitability if you weren’t strong enough. And surely he was strong enough to dodge death’s door, to assume otherwise was an insult.
How Nero finally found the words to leave didn't matter to either of them. He fought on it until Bradley was convinced that this time, Nero was serious. And some part of Nero was hoping he would have Bradley on his knees begging him to stay, making claims that he would be better, be more careful. But there was no such thing. Just a “Stay one more night.” and “What’s for dinner.” Perhaps Bradley knew this time that Nero was serious. It showed in his touch that night. His gentle, persuasive touch.
He found himself easily coaxed into Bradley’s arms that night, like usual. He didn't have any words left for Bradley, not after his last words to him were so harsh and cutting. To avoid the cold silence, he pulled Bradley’s face in for a rough kiss. A kiss that left their lips numb, but created warmth between them in the cold of their cavern hideout. Nero was eager to pursue this further, not wanting to leave Bradley a chance to talk him into staying again. His kisses were rough and unlike him, and there was no hint of a smile behind them. Not even on Bradley’s usual shit eating grin of a face when he could tell he was going to have a good time.
Even his hands hovering over Nero’s waist as the other moved to sit on top of Bradley were surprisingly gentle. His normal aggression and eagerness were replaced with something more somber, as if he were touching something that already wasn’t there. This gentleness would not win Nero over, but he wasn’t sure Bradley was doing it with any purpose either. His hands simply snuck their way under Nero’s shirt as Nero kissed his face and neck. His skin was so smooth underneath his rough and calloused hands. Even as hollow as all this felt to Nero, those hands on him still made him shudder, and his own began feeling Bradley’s already shirtless upper body. He traced the rise and fall of his muscle, traced the outline of old scars and kissed new ones. Whereas Bradley’s touch was gentle, curious, and longing, Nero’s was far more desperate. It was as if the two had switched roles for once, and Nero’s fingertips were doing all they could to memorize every square inch of Bradley.
Nero was almost never on top, not that he didn't like being on top, but it was easy to let yourself become overpowered by Bradley’s hunger and eroticism. He expected any moment to be flipped over onto his back. He was welcoming it, really, wanting nothing more than to just be fucked senseless, until he couldn’t think. But Bradley was making no such move, and eventually the pressure of sitting on top of his ever present cock was frustrating him more than he liked.
“Are you gonna do something or are you just gonna let this slip through your fingers too?” Nero whispered between grunts as he’d begun rutting against Bradley’s hips. Clearly his words stung Bradley, and the hands on his waist that moved with him tightened their grip.
“I didn't know you wanted that, heh.” Bradley’s tone was his usual snarky one, but Nero could hear the sadness in it. Good, he thought, feel bad about this.
“You’re so fuckin’ stupid.” Nero’s words were cut short before Bradley sat up and angrily kissed Nero, a hand moving to undo his hair and grip his head in place. This was the roughness Nero was accustomed to, and he couldn’t help but let a soft moan escape him as Bradley kissed him like this. With him sitting up like this and Nero properly positioned in his lap so that his legs were wrapped around the other’s waist, they were closer than before, and Nero could feel every rock hard inch of Bradley on him. It made him want to take hold of him and have him all to himself, it made his prior decisions hard to follow through with, it made moving against Bradley’s grip difficult even though all he wanted to do was pull him in and take him completely. Maybe then he would feel satisfied, safe, loved.
His words didn't cut that deep into Bradley clearly, because as soon as he was thinking with a different head, he was back to his usual self. He couldn’t help but laugh at Nero’s eagerness, and let his hands tease the waistband of his pants, tugging ever so slightly to slowly undress him. He watched with a steely, unfamiliar gaze as Nero’s face grew pink and his eyes were downturned. He refused to meet Bradley’s eyes, and instead focused all his attention on pulling Bradley’s dick from his pants. He stroked him gently, far too gently for Bradley’s liking, and his impatience with the sensations Nero was giving him were showing in the way he placed rough kisses along Nero’s jaw and neck. His hands eventually slipped around to Nero’s backside, and with a bit of magic, his fingers became slick with something invisible, allowing him to slide into Nero’s hole relatively easily.
“Haha… don’t be so tense.” Bradley’s voice was deep and rough in Nero’s ear as he leaned forward into him to allow him easier access. He couldn’t help but tighten his grip both around the other’s dick and the thigh his other hand rested on as he felt his fingers slide into him with familiar ease. With the added feeling of an extra finger in him, Nero could almost forget everything that happened prior, his head achieving that cloudy fog of pleasure he wanted, and his hands on Bradley showed his loss of concentration.
“Already weak? C’mon, Nero, don’t give out on me yet.” Bradley’s words were exuding confidence and self control, even if his face told a different story. Nero’s touch was easily flustering him, and he clearly wanted more, though what that more was depended on Nero. It felt a lot like their normal, a lot like Bradley was either doubting Nero’s claims to leave, or eager to win him over again like this. It wasn’t going to work, though, when every word that came out of Bradley’s mouth now was like a thousand needles in his back.
“... Shut it.” He managed to say between heavy breaths. He reached around to grab Bradley’s wrist, pulling his fingers out and positioning himself over the other’s dick, taking what he really wanted with ease. He had an inkling of control in that moment, rare for Nero when it came to Bradley, and felt as Bradley helped him lower himself onto him. Nero rested his hands on Bradley’s wide shoulders for support, but as soon as he was comfortably riding him at a slow pace is when the other promptly took control. With a grin he leaned forward so much so that Nero ended up on his back, with Bradley still partially inside him, and Bradley was now on top, holding Nero’s legs up until he could properly position himself over the other. Nero couldn’t be surprised if he wanted to, the sly grin on Bradley’s face as he thrust into him with all his force was enough to knock him out of whatever he was going to say and just let out a moan he tried to stifle with his hand.
That didn't last long though, and Nero couldn’t hide his flushed face or the quiet sounds that escaped him once Bradley grabbed both his wrists in a hand and held them over Nero’s head.
“... Let me look at ya… one more time.” Bradley spoke between hard thrusts that practically rocked the makeshift bed they slept on. Surprisingly gentle and caring words for such animalistic and rough acts, and Nero could only turn his head to the side and look away from the man on top of him. He only heard a sigh come from Bradley after, and refused to look back up at him the entire rest of the night. Even with all of Bradley’s rough kisses to every inch of Nero’s bare skin, his hands brushing against his skin and eventually stroking him in cadence to his thrusts, Nero never looked back up at Bradley. It was bad enough he could barely control his moaning and panting as Bradley handled him like some kind of plaything. Even going so far as to use magic to touch him where his already busy hands couldn’t. It felt good, that he couldn’t deny. And he wouldn’t let himself think or feel anything but the pleasure coursing through his body.
Bradley only got rougher as they went on, eventually opting to use magic to tie Nero’s wrists together as well, and using his free hands now to grip Nero’s thighs - hard enough to leave bruises come morning. Nero’s flexibility allowed for Bradley to push his legs closer to Nero’s body so that he could lean even further into Nero, ramming into him with all of his length. The feeling of Bradley hitting just the right spot, exerting Nero’s body to its limits, made Nero’s entire being shake, and if he were in any right mind, he’d feel like Bradley was doing this on purpose to render him unable to even walk let alone leave. It didn't matter now, not much else did other than their bodies pressed against each other, Bradley’s magic holding him down and teasing him.
The closer Nero got, the more he squirmed against his restraints and Bradley’s body. Bradley took advantage of this and slowed his pace, undoing his magic restraints on Nero’s wrists while he was at it. Though Nero didn't immediately move his hands once he could, Bradley did the work for him and took one of Nero’s hands in his. An oddly sentimental gesture, holding hands during this, and it flustered Nero more than all of this dizzying penetration had done prior. Even going so far as to bring his hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it, letting go and allowing Nero to do what he wanted. And Nero’s hand naturally rested on Bradley until he resorted to pulling him closer to him.
Nero felt like he was going to say something, but the fog in his head and Bradley suddenly picking up his pace again threw that out the window. He came almost instantly after, stifling a moan into Bradley’s mouth and kissing him for what seemed like an endless amount of time as the other eventually came inside him. Nero swore he heard Bradley moan his name somewhere there, but opted to ignore it in the midst of recovering from an orgasm that shook his whole body.
They remained there like that for some time, Bradley on top of Nero and Nero holding onto Bradley, drawing light circles and patterns on his back with his finger absentmindedly as he stared at the ceiling of the cavern, both feeling a sweaty mess. Nero didn't want to move, get up, or leave. He realized he wanted this more than anything, to be at Bradley’s side, silent and safe in this moment. But looking up at the craggly walls and high cave ceilings, the utter lack of anything in the room indicating this was a bandit hideout and not a home, the guns lying around and the quick escape routes. He didn't feel safe here, and he didn't want this for himself nor Bradley anymore. These comforts were only so temporary, and he couldn’t convince himself, even after all that, that staying was worth it.
He worried he wouldn’t be able to leave, under Bradley both physically and figuratively. He was important to the gang, and Bradley wouldn’t let go of such an important asset, whether they were a fling or not. The only way people left the gang was via death, and even Nero knew he wasn’t exempt from this rule. But to his surprise, when Bradley finally got up and left the room without a word, he didn't come back. He had turned his back on Nero, in a way letting Nero go without being able to say it in words. The reality that this would leave Nero on Bradley’s bad side crossed his mind many times, and it had again. He couldn’t make sense of whether he was angry, upset, or if he couldn’t care less. He was Northern after all. It was instilled in all of them that the loss of a person was as normal an occurrence as breathing, and to Bradley, Nero may as well be dead if he leaves.
The last thing Nero saw of Bradley was his back.