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The Days That Bind

Summary:

Sinestro can't figure out if all humans are this confusing or if it's just Hal Jordan. Either way, the new Lantern the Guardians placed in his care is fast becoming more than he ever bargained for... but maybe that's a good thing. His sense of timing could probably use some work, however.

[ Set during Hal's trainee period. Wherein Hal falls hard, Sinestro falls harder and they're both a little more open about it before everything goes to Hell. See also: Sinestro is a consummate lover, Hal sleeps around and knows what he likes, Sin's concentration is legendary, pillow talk is adorable, everyone is green and nothing hurts. ]

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Hal Jordan is a curious lantern. It’s not so much the fact that the man hails from a backwater planet in a largely quiet sector, or that because of this there is little in the databanks concerning Earth or humans in particular. It’s all fairly dry and basic physiology. Carbon based, mostly water, omnivorous, bipedal, reproduce sexually – nothing that should inspire any particular curiosity.

Then there’s Hal Jordan.

The man that made his entrance to the Corps by taking the ring of one of the most revered Lanterns in centuries; who, when his new compatriots were in true and mortal danger decided the best course of action was to merge with an emotional entity he knew nothing about. A man of a people who still mostly believe themselves alone in the universe, whose first response to new life forms is tempered curiosity. Who prefers talking and asking questions and running in without care to looking up anything at all in the broadest expanse of knowledge in the known universe linked to the device on his finger.

As a trainee, he’s something of a handful.

As a lover, he’s a challenge of a different sort.

As his mentor, Sinestro makes a habit of cataloging his charge’s habits – good and bad. At first, it was rote procedure to plan and track and modify and apply different techniques designed to carefully pluck and pull the man apart until the unyielding core of the being that had focused Ion came to light. The process has been… perhaps a little too enthralling. Thaal has an entire world to look after – an entire sector, but Korugar needs too much of his time these days to be running around the universe with a newly raised Lantern kicking at his heels.

No matter how many times he tells himself that, however, he finds himself tracking Jordan’s progress when away, tucking away extra bits of information that didn’t immediately make his list, and, eventually, falling into bed with the exuberant Earthman. It’s not so much that it bothers him to have made that decision – and repeated it – as Jordan’s response to it confuses him. For one of the many patterns he’s observed in the man is the nearly nonstop sexual curiosity towards each new species they meet on every trip to and from Oa, and on every side mission and planet visited along the way.

Hal Jordan is, simply put, not a man likely to turn down an offer freely given. The offers are typically very… temporary, however. So completely limited that he’s positive humans engage exclusively in casual sexual encounters right up until the third time Jordan comes apart in his hands.

The initial proposition was expected. Even the second. Korugarian men have something of a reputation, after all, and Sinestro is entirely confident in his ability to live up to it. The third time gives him pause, but there’s no reason to turn the man away. For all the faults in his charge, Jordan is a refreshingly obliging lover. So very interested and engaging and eager to please, but also surprisingly competent and so much more willing to fall in line between the sheets than in the field. If nothing else, it’s an excellent stress relief.

And then one night they stop over at one of the many Lantern space posts, and Hal drops into the same bed, asleep before his head hits the pillow. In the morning, Sinestro is cajoled back into bed with well-placed touches, warm brown eyes, and too-warm skin pressed against his own. On their next mission, those same eyes wander to another strange curiosity, Jordan is absent for the evening, and Sinestro thinks nothing of the anomaly.

Until he’s propositioned again on their next mission, and his initial analysis of human sexual mores starts falling apart. He resolves to watch more closely and only becomes more confused. There are several with whom Jordan spends his time, but it does not seem excessive, nor does it appear to have changed over time. Personal preferences are clarified – as much as they can be, given the topic of his analysis – but no new baseline emerges.

Hal continues to vacillate between infuriating and infuriatingly brilliant on missions, seeking him out sometimes hours, sometimes minutes later, flush with energy and a defiance that is so damned satisfying to drag out of him that Sinestro can hardly resist. They repeat the cycle. Jordan occasionally finds new beds, but always returns to his. It’s… inexplicable, and something about the easy familiarity of this new pattern pesters him until one night when he can’t stand it anymore and rolls over to face his companion directly.

“… Perhaps I am missing some relevant cultural information,” he begins, because Jordan is often easier to deal with when given some leeway from the start, “but according to my analysis of your social interactions, this seems… aberrant.”

The allowance doesn’t help. Hal blinks up at him from the pillow, both tired and utterly bewildered. “… What?”

"Your continued interest here.” Sinestro immediately clarifies. “Your other sexual liaisons since gaining the ring have been restricted to a single experience. There is nothing particularly varied in our physiology to account for continued curiosity and as Earth holds no intergalactic presence as of yet, I cannot assume it due to social mores relevant to bedding Korugarians specifically... as such, I am... admittedly at a loss."

Hal isn't sure whether to be insulted or not. He's still a little hurt, regardless. "Are you saying you can't think of any reason I might want you besides social advantages or general curiosity? Really?"

Sinestro furrows his brow and raises up on an arm to really look at the Earthman sharing his bed, still at something of a loss for the tone of Hal’s answer and wondering if it isn’t something to blame on the ring still adjusting to human language nuances. “Obviously, there is a fundamental level of attraction involved,” he musingly begins. “That much we share, of course. However, your repeated return is the break in the pattern I have thus far observed. I do not think I am incorrect in that.” It could have been a question at one point, but he’s rather certain of his observations.

Hal looks down, clearly unhappy, and picks at the sheet on the sparse training facility bed. "You don't have any idea why I might want to do that?"

It’s probably a bad sign, Sinestro thinks, that his chest tightens a bit at Hal’s downturned expression. He’s known since their first night that this wasn’t the best of ideas for more than mere protocol concerns, but it was easier to ignore when Hal wasn’t acting… well, he’s not oblivious, just cautious. A low sigh escapes and he reaches out to run his fingers through brown hair in instinctive, easy affection.

“If you were Korugarian, there would be many motives I could assign to your wish to linger here with me,” he murmurs quietly. “But as you are not, and have not shown to be similarly inclined, I am not going to assume they would apply.”

Hal is mad at himself for how happy the hair-petting makes him, even if he's still upset about the way Sinestro is talking about this. It's so clinical, like Sinestro is observing on someone else's relationship through a viewing window. Still, Hal can tell he's a little flushed now, and he leans into Sinestro's touch without thinking about it. Damn it, he's getting derailed.

"I'm not sleeping with you for political gain," Hal tries to snap, but it mostly comes out an unhappy mutter.

Sinestro spends a moment in stunned silence, blinking in confusion at his mentee before recovering well enough to lean in close and brush his lips against Hal’s temple in apology. “Obviously, I am being unclear.” A pause and then he presses another kiss just lower, his hand slipping down to the back of Hal’s neck. He seems to respond better to physical reinforcement, after all, and it was never Sinestro’s intention to upset the man.

“I know you have no ill intentions, Jordan. I meant only that there is little information on how Earthmen view sexual liaisons. Most of that information comes from you and you are deviating from your established pattern.” Long fingers press firmly into the muscles at the back of Hal’s neck, sure and confident that their location and force will be enough to ease the tension there.

Sinestro is really, really fucking unfair. He's kissing Hal's face and massaging his shoulders and generally being affectionate while seemingly willfully not understanding Hal's feelings. The worst part is that it's working. Hal can feel the anger and tension slipping out of him like water through his fingers. "Humans do have actual relationships, too," he grumbles, but there's not really much heat behind it now. Then he realizes what he just said and starts panicking, because: "...do Korugarians not have relationships?"

The decisive pang that catches Sinestro’s breath is something still raw and angry and – and definitely not intentional on Hal’s behalf. Sinestro draws another, long, steadying breath and lays his hand flat between Hal’s shoulders, holding him in place. “… I take it you skipped that section of the database?” His voice is somehow not as bitter and cold as the entirely unwelcome emotion the inquiry had jolted through him, but still carries a mild reprimand.

Shit, now Sinestro looks upset too. Shit. Although, does that mean Korugarians do have relationships, then, if Sinestro looks kind of offended? Hal's heart leaps a little.

"I didn't read the whole article," Hal admits. "I –" He pauses, flushes, and looks down. There's going to be a hole in this sheet before they leave. Hopefully not for the last time, but at least Sinestro is still touching him, so there's hope. "I like listening to you talk about Korugar more."

All the irritation and offense fades away in the wake of Hal’s words. In their place curls a tendril of fond amusement, and Sinestro eases the hand on Hal’s shoulders back to man’s neck. “Is that so?” he murmurs, and the amusement echoes in his tone as a self-satisfied smugness. “A useful preference in this case, as the database is not as accurate a source, but you should not let it become a habit. To answer your question, however: yes, Korugarians often form emotional and romantic bonds with those we bring to bed. It is… not a requirement, but it is what I meant when I said that there were motivations I could apply were you similarly minded… Am I to understand there is a similar inclination among Earthmen?”

Oh. Oh. Hal feels like maybe he's floating off the bed. He looks down to check just to make sure, and thankfully he isn't. Which makes sense – the ring doesn't run off of general positive emotion. "Yeah," says Hal, looking up at Sinestro again with his heart in his eyes. "Yeah, we, uh, we do that too."

Aside from the brief expression of what Sinestro is pretty sure is wonder, Hal’s reaction seems both positive and hopeful. And, well, maybe he should have anticipated this somehow, it’s still a little… not scary, but it makes him a little more… careful. The thought of someone wanting a kind of intimacy that isn’t restricted to the physical is… Well he’s already breaking regulation for Jordan, but he’s pretty sure the Guardians would take greater issue with the possible emotional connections than physical ones. Then again, was it not the Guardians themselves that placed Jordan in his care? They were already breaking the territorial edict of their own volition, so perhaps…

Sinestro’s hand instinctively returns to the firm massage of before – for his own stress relief as much as it serves to keep Hal calmer and engaged. “… I know this is not your strong point Jordan, but think carefully about your answer before you give it,” he prefaces on a low sigh, making the effort to catch and hold Hal’s gaze with his own. “I am… not averse to such an arrangement.” Against all better judgment, damn him. “But you have not been a Lantern long enough to completely understand exactly how great of a risk this is – more for you than I.

“I have witnessed lanterns forced to resign not due to laying with another corpsman, but for the emotion between them. For all your potential, you remain largely untested. If it came down to it, the Guardians would strip you of your ring long before they ever made an attempt at my own. I do not agree with their judgment on these matters, but that does not change it and I...” Another, measured exhaled gets Sinestro through the discomfort of finishing his admission, “I would not be able to protect you from any reprisal.”

Hal listens to Sinestro's full speech with his heart pounding loudly in his chest; he's sure Sinestro is able to hear the sound if he isn't able to feel the pulse. There's a lot in there about Guardians and stripping him of his ring, but all Hal can focus on is the phrase "I am not averse", which means that Sinestro wants him. Wants him as more than a fuckbuddy, wants him even despite all the difficult bad shit that Sinestro is trying to warn him about.

Even as Sinestro is making an annoyed face and finishing his sentence about not being able to protect him, Hal is surging forward and kissing that stupid mouth shut. Hal kisses him hard, and hot, and dares, more than ever before, to put all the feelings he has about Sinestro into it. "I don't care," he breathes during a pause, and then kisses Sinestro again.

Thaal's not sure if it's an Earthman trait or just Hal Jordan, but the bursts of emotion the man is capable of remain some of the most unwieldy, unpredictable and damningly attractive facets he has yet to completely understand. He doubts, quite thoroughly, that he ever will, but it’s charming all the same. Charming and blindingly appealing. Sinestro can actually pinpoint the precise last time in his life he was so easily riled by the person in his arms, and it’s that momentary surge of anger more than anything that pushes him to grab Hal by the arms, roll them over, and pin the man to his back once more.

He leers down at his prize, slipping a knee up between Hal’s thighs and pressing them flush together. “Shall I assume that you consummate such things similarly as well?” he taunts, leveraging superior height to keep his human lover shoved into the bed with a single hand flat against a tan chest.

Hal lets out an obscene sound partway between a whimper and a moan. He hasn't gotten hard again this fast since he was in high school, Jesus. Sinestro just — pushes his buttons. A lot of them. Probably all of them. Especially now that Sinestro is admitting he wants an emotional connection and, combined with the pinning and the knee and the incredibly sexy dominance, Hal never stood a chance, really.

"Only if that means you're going to do inappropriate things to me," says Hal, when he can catch a breath, and then arches his back and rolls his body up against Sinestro's.

"Inappropriate to what, exactly?”

Sinestro smirks, and it’s not an altogether soft expression. He can feel himself react to Jordan’s pleasure as easily as if it were his own, and deliberately pushes his leg forward into the roll of Hal’s hips to encourage more of the same. The fact that Sinestro’s physiology allows him such an easy way to keep pace with his lovers was a point of fascination for Hal their first night, but it’s the fact that Hal never attempted to manipulate it that’s kept their dalliances enjoyable for them both. Now, he thinks it should have shown enough of Hal’s intentions from the second night alone to have made him reconsider questioning the man’s motives… but that’s irrelevant now.

He bends down over the human beneath him, sliding a hand up to coil around Hal’s throat – just lingering without pressure. Then he drops his head and pushes up, forcing Hal’s head back by the hold on his neck, and teasing the soft flesh along Hal’s collar with lips and tongue before settling on a spot to sink his teeth in and worry a deep bruise into the tan skin. Not high enough to be a concern in uniform, but that’s hardly the point, so long as Hal feels it every time he moves for the next day.

Hal grips Sinestro's shoulders tightly, suddenly feeling way over his head again, but the touch of Sinestro's hands gives Hal a strange sense of security. With his head tilted back, it's almost natural for Hal to arch up into the heat of Sinestro's mouth. It's theoretically cooler than a human mouth, but Hal swears it feels hotter.

"Polite society?" Hal gasps out, "Public decency?" God, he's going to be feeling that bruise for days. Sinestro marks him harder and darker than most anyone he's slept with, but this time, with Sinestro's words from earlier still ringing in his years, Hal feels truly claimed. And the worst of it is that Hal likes it. When Sinestro presses just a little too hard for an instant, Hal moans his mentor's name shamelessly and loudly.

The sound rolls down Sinestro’s spine far too potently and for moment, his bite is a fraction too hard for human skin to withstand. It’s such a brief lapse, but he can taste blood on his tongue, and no matter the pleased shudder that passes through the lust-drunk form beneath him, he immediately laves the wound apologetically with his tongue and lips. His grip around Hal’s throat tightens just a bit – just enough to distract – and a faint, green glow hovers just out of Jordan’s sight.

“Mind your voice,” Sinestro rumbles into burning skin. It feels like flame under his lips: hot and tender and always a touch ethereal.

Light takes on texture and form as it wraps like ribbon around powerful thighs, lifting just enough for another band to sweep under Hal’s hips, and Sinestro is moving again, delivering open mouthed kisses down the center of Hal’s chest. Just when his hold on the human’s throat gives, another slip of green ribbon slides up his arm and coils around the bared neck. It cinches seamlessly in place, and Sinestro twists his hand to wrap the leash-like construct into his grasp and drags down as he surges back up, sealing their lips together in a fierce, overt claim just as his hips rock down. The friction is enough to make him groan, heated and hungry, into the kiss, but hardly enough to distract him from stealing every gasp of breath he can pull from the human bent by his will.

Hal is generally a tactile person who enjoys sex, but Sinestro has been so far above his previous partners – in part due to Hal's emotional attraction, but also in part due to Sinestro's ability to do the sorts of things Hal finds stunningly hot. Things that make his breathing catch. The feeling of Sinestro's constructs moving and restraining him is one of his favorite new sensations, even if it's been a little hard to concentrate on missions lately.

And Hal tries, because he wants Sinestro's approval, but Sin is claiming every part of him right now, and he is so weak to that. He can feel the pull against his neck, the grind from Sinestro moving against him, each tug from the constructs wound around his legs as he tries his best to grind back. He can feel, more than anything else, the searing heat of Sinestro's kiss, branding Hal as his.

"Sin – Sin – " he pants between the scarce breaths he snatches, but Sinestro seems to discourage breathing in favor of kissing, so Hal kisses back until he's dizzy. When Sinestro finally lets him up for more than half a second, Hal’s body is shuddering with breaths and whimpers. His mind isn't exactly at it's clearest right now, and even though he generally knows Sinestro doesn't like for people to use his given name, lust-addled Hal isn't able to stop himself. "Thaal..." he breathes worshipfully.

It’s enough to break the kiss earlier than anticipated.

Sinestro pauses then, holding Jordan’s gaze just long enough to catch his breath before he’s starting the kiss all over again. Now deeper, now harder, with a tilt of his head and a click of teeth. He tugs on the leash again, mentally shrinking it to a much shorter length to keep the pull on Hal’s neck constant and the kiss inescapable until he’s finally had his fill and allows the man a moment of air once more.

That,” he murmurs, low, and simmering with a barely restrained heat, “you had best qualify.” Sinestro rocks his hips down again, but it’s a slower motion, meant for building sensation more than forcing it. His expression remains fierce and challenging, but his voice tilts towards teasing and affectionate almost without his consent. “Did you want something, Jordan?”

Hal feels as though he's lost the ability to orient himself. He can't take a full breath or clear his vision or really do anything except lose himself in the cloud of desire and heat and the full force of Sinestro's unrelenting passion. Sinestro has always been intense, usually about his work, but now, having all of that intensity turned on him, Hal is awed and overwhelmed. Sparks of fire shoot up his spine even with just the pull at his neck and the savage, plundering mouth on his.

When Sinestro lets go and starts talking, Hal slowly blinks open hazy eyes to see Sinestro staring down at him, gaze burning hot. There's something softer there, too, deep in Sinestro's eyes. It dimly occurs to Hal that Sinestro just asked him a question. "I – what?" he asks dumbly. To make up for it, Hal slides his still-free hands appreciatively up the muscles of Sinestro's back.

The amusement lingering in Sin’s voice drifts on to his face as well and he can’t help nipping once at Hal’s lips in response. He would normally find Hal’s lack of attention irritating, and perhaps a part of him still twitches over the human’s inability to stay focused during sex… but the rest of him is probably a little too proud of himself. As a Lantern, Hal needs work. On focus. On details. On staying in the present moment.

As a lover, however, Jordan has proven himself remarkably attentive. Watching him unravel practically on command is its own thrill and Sinestro allows himself to indulge. After all, only one of them has to keep a level head during this. So he leans forward, dragging out the motion so that his muscles flex slowly and pleasantly beneath Hal’s hands, and traces the cusp of a round ear with his tongue. His constructs move in sync, extra ribbons extending from bound thighs to slip between the globes of Hal’s ass, and run enticingly over sensitive skin still slick from their previous activities.

“I was asking,” Thaal purrs as he directs the thin constructs to slip back into his lover, quickly and deep, but with care to the tender muscles quivering around the energy that keeps the constructs soft and yielding. For now. “… if there was something you wanted.”

A sharp shiver racks Hal's body, and his grip tightens on the delicious flex of Sinestro's back. A string of moans falls from his lips like a prayer, and he has just enough presence of mind to turn his head so he can press his mouth conveniently against Sinestro's throat.

Sinestro has the highest of standards, demands perfect attention and no mistakes when completing missions, but Hal is feeling too many things to concentrate on any one of them right now. It's a talent of Sinestro's, focusing hard enough to do so many things at once, enough to make Hal lose focus entirely. Hal doesn't remember his ear being this sensitive in the past. Nor has he ever slept with anyone else who is able to conjure elaborate constructs at the same time, but Sinestro might be the only person with that ability. In some way, Hal finds it very intimate, the idea that a manifestation of Sinestro's will, or the things Sinestro wants, is inside of him.

This is hardly the first (or second, or third) time they’ve had sex, but the sight and sensation of Sinestro fixing all of his mind on Hal, on making Hal's body hum and burn with pleasure, still steals Hal's breath. Everything feels really fucking good, but the hungry golden eyes on him makes it an unparalleled experience.

"A-anything," Hal finally manages to respond, squirming as much as he can within his restraints, because even with his head still not quite in the game he knows he wants what Sinestro wants. The constructs inside of him are moving very gently still, but one momentarily grazes his prostate, causing Hal to bite his own lip hard to mute the cry of pleasure. "Anything you, hn, want."

The smirk that curls Sinestro’s lips is decidedly self-satisfied. He straightens just enough to provide the space needed to draw Hal up by the softly lit green leash, his other hand hooking under Hal’s legs and lessening the pull on his constructs there to encourage the man to hook them around his waist. It’s a mimicry of being held in his arms, or simply in place, but he knows the suspension appeals to Hal. The man is nothing if not adventurous after all, and seems to be enjoying his hands elsewhere besides.

“If I told you to keep yourself up like this… could you?” His grin is wicked and quickly hidden against the tender flesh of Hal’s neck. The constructs pressing deeper into his lover undulate gently against the tightening walls of muscle, whether in tease or challenge he’s not quite sure.

Hal bites back a whimper. There is a smart answer and a Hal answer to this question, and the two are not the same. The problem is, Hal's never been great with making smart choices, especially when it's phrased as a challenge. Plus, he's wanted to impress Sinestro pretty much from day one, so Hal finds himself already nodding and breathing an affirmative before he even finishes thinking about it.

Hal can feel the constructs pulsing against him and pressing inward, and he presses back against them. It's a little too much even as it's not enough. He moans and throws his head back, exposing the line of his throat more clearly to Sinestro. The leash tightens and pulls at his neck with the movement. Hal only moans harder.

“Then impress me, Jordan.” Sinestro’s hand moves with his words, sliding back up Hal’s leg and wrapping long fingers bruisingly around the curve of Hal’s ass. The ribbons gentle their hold as he rocks them together again, testing the human’s ability to keep his word immediately. Like this, he can still easily catch the stubborn man if he fails, but in this moment, Sinestro wants to witness nothing less than resounding success.

Hal cries out at the squeeze, and again at the friction, but he's too stubborn to lose the game. Even as his entire body twitches helplessly up against Sinestro, Hal clenches his grip on Sinestro's shoulders and wraps his legs a little more tightly. He rides out the wave of blinding pleasure clinging on to Sinestro's body with all the strength he has. "Sin," he whispers, halfway to a moan. "Thaal."

Sinestro gives a low, pleased chuckle into the crook of Hal’s neck and layers soft kisses along the length of it exposed to him. He’s honestly a little surprised the human hadn’t gone for the flashier method of holding himself up through his will alone, but then Hal wouldn’t be Hal if he didn’t take the option no one knew existed.

“Admittedly, that is impressive,” Thaal teases, his teeth light and affectionate against the curve of Hal’s ear. “I suppose you deserve a reward for that tenacity of yours…” The pliant constructs lazily twisting and pressing inside his lover twine together instead and then, slowly, steadily, and firmly, expand: an unrelenting, intimate pressure. “You’ll have to tell me if you like it.”

One thing Hal bets no one would ever guess is how absolutely gentle Sinestro can be, despite being one of the least vanilla people Hal has ever slept with. As much as he likes the thought of the now-widening construct inside him (and he really likes that thought), what truly drives the indecent sounds from his lips and turns his skin feverish is the feather-light sensation of Sinestro's lips and teeth. Hal doesn't know exactly why that's so tempting, but it has something to do with Sinestro reining in the enormous amount of power he has in order to touch Hal so tenderly.

"I do," Hal moans, twisting his head until he can lean up for a kiss. The leash stops him, so he simply looks up beseechingly, eyes heavy-lidded and lips slightly parted.

Although Sinestro’s first instinct is to berate Hal for the overly simplistic answer, the words die on his lips. Hal is wrapped around him, hot and heavy, and breathless in desire, but it’s the image he makes that breaks Sinestro’s control for the briefest moment. It’s just a flicker, nothing more, but it irks him that it happens at all. How dare this creature crawl up under his skin and into his head and burrow into a heart still bleeding too much to be stone. It’s a disaster and an affront and in that moment there’s nothing and no one he wants more than the man in his arms.

He’s falling again, he can feel it, and it’s terrifying.

Sinestro rolls the leash around his hand again, using the motion to focus on the construct as much as to pull Hal to him and capture those desperate lips with his own. His grip tightens and there will definitely be bruises there later, but the thought of it only races heat through him, deepening the kiss and drawing it out longer. He doesn’t want to spare Hal the breath, but eventually relents with a rock of his hips. The jolt of pleasure that follows is a reprieve from heady thoughts, and he allows a low groan to slip past.

“I could let you come like this,” Thaal murmurs, and it’s an offer for all the tension in his form. The construct inside Hal is already thick enough to be filling, but still shy of what he knows the man prefers. It twists and presses up in a smooth, deliberate motion. “Is that what you want?”

Hal can feel the bruises forming from how tightly Sinestro's hand is gripping his ass, but it only makes him whimper appreciatively into the kiss. It feels like Sinestro is branding him, like Hal will remember who he belongs to every time he moves tomorrow, but the idea doesn't repel him at all. It's actually incredibly enticing. Hal hasn't felt like he belonged anywhere or with anyone for a long time.

The sudden thrust of the construct is a surprise, and Hal finds himself caught off guard by the spike of heat that electrifies him. The sound he makes is loud and unintentional and decidedly obscene. "If you want," Hal manages to gasp after that. He deliberately shifts himself upward and curves his back a little until the construct inside of him is pressed against Sinestro's thicker length. "I would rather –” Hal has to pause for a breath. "– have you." Then he grinds himself against Sinestro in offering.

It’s too much.

Sinestro isn’t even thinking the actions through anymore - just moving. He drops the leash and the thin length vanishes along with the construct buried in Hal. Then his free hand curls around Hal’s ass, and he can properly lift the man into a better position to rock his hips up and drop Hal’s back down, driving deep into his lover in one, smooth thrust. His words escape in a low growl, Korugarian and unintelligible besides, and he rocks his hips back, holding Hal firmly in place, but unwilling to drag out the motion now that the heat has all but enveloped him.

“Good answer,” he praises and it’s hardly breathless but just as short lived, as Sinestro’s attention switches almost entirely to pulling back far enough to drive hard and deep into the slick, tense heat - his pace instinctively measured, but no less brutal for it.

Hal's body arcs back, not entirely of his own volition, and a helpless cry escapes him that sounds a little like Sinestro's name. It's not even the first time they've done this today, but Hal is so turned on he thinks he might come without anyone touching his cock if Sinestro continues on like this.

There's also something endearing and incredibly hot about Sinestro letting his desire run unchecked, like Sinestro is as desperate for Hal as Hal is for him. With what little focus he can muster, Hal pulls himself forward until he can press frantic moaning kisses into Sinestro's shoulder. With every other thrust, Hal finds himself a little more overwhelmed, and so more than a few bites make their way on to Sinestro's skin as well.

A low, mostly hissed word escapes into the air, and Sinestro isn’t even sure if it’s praise or encouragement, but he knows it’s a word his lover will recognize in spite of their rings’ background translation. He knows because he’d had to explain it once, after the man had somehow managed to override the translation process through stubborn will alone and he’d been too taken by surprise to withhold the phrase. It’s something like perfection, and he knows somewhere deep inside that for all the corrections and ridicule and demands set upon the man, one day Hal will achieve it in the corps as effortlessly as he does here between them.

So Sinestro repeats it, tone low and with a hunger he could not hide if he tried and he’s certainly not trying now. Not with his arms full and his erection buried deep in his impossible lover. Not with Hal’s moans and gasps filling the air and the way blunt, human teeth dig eagerly into his flesh. All he wants is to wrap himself in the endless fire trapping him and dragging him in.

Despite the fact that Hal is almost entirely unable to focus anymore, he knows the Korugarian word Sinestro is using over and over. He’s engraved that word in his head since the first time Sinestro explained it. It was rare for Sinestro to praise anyone, and Hal craved every drop of it he managed to eke out. And hearing it now, repeated and reverent, is too much.

Hal isn't familiar with what he's feeling now, outside of the distractingly hot throbs of pleasure. There's something beyond that, though, as he looks through fluttering eyelashes at the amazing creature above him. It's a different kind of heat, a glowing warmth that spreads through every part of him at the thought that this beautiful, strangely affectionate man has agreed to be his lover, has claimed Hal in every way so that it's clear Hal belongs to him, has let go of some of that tightly leashed control because of how much he wants Hal.

The strange feeling welling up inside him, he thinks, might just be love.

“Jordan…” It’s more of a snarl than an endearment by then, and a sharp flare of green follows. Sinestro shifts his grip a little lower, parting the globes of flesh in his hands to guide the press of soft constructs around where their bodies join together and further. It presses firmly against the sensitive skin between Hal’s bobbing erection and where his own thrusts hard and deep into the man. His breath catches, finally laboring under lust, and it’s sheer stubborn pride that makes him hold their position in spite of the intense urge to throw Hal to the bed and force him to finish on his back, separate of even the small friction the press of their bodies provides.

Alone, the pressure from the construct wouldn’t be enough, but combined with the roughness of Sinestro's voice, the sound of his own name, the punishing rhythm of Sinestro fucking hard into him, the occasional thrusts that catch his prostate, it's all too much. Even expecting it, he’s still overcome when the waves of pleasure assail him. "Thaal," he cries out too loudly, throwing his head back, "Th--ah--Thaal!" And then his words are lost in a series of incoherent noises as he rides out the climax, clinging on to Sinestro like an anchor in a stormy sea.

A low, wordless groan escapes Sinestro when Hal’s muscles cinch down around him, his whole body taut and barely trembling in Sinestro’s grasp. He draws a shaky breath, firms his hold, and guides Hal through it. His pace slows, but he drives hard and deep, milking Hal’s climax for every last shudder of passion. The construct slips away from now too sensitive flesh, and slides up Hal’s back, a gentling, warm brush of energy that flexes against exhausted muscle and encourages him to relax as Sinestro lowers them both carefully to the bed.

Green light vanishes shortly after, and he draws another, steadying breath to keep from driving in too hard, too quickly after such an intense climax. So he presses a flurry of kisses down Hal’s torso, just trying to focus his attention somewhere other than the desperate need that fists his hands into the sheets to either side of his human lover. He murmurs lowly into tan flesh, quiet, encouraging words of praise and eventually brings a hand up to rub affectionately down Hal’s side as the aftershocks die out and the extra touch is not quite so overwhelming.

Hal lets Sinestro guide him, unprotesting, as he's too wrapped up in the incessant spikes of intense pleasure. Even as he comes down from the high, he's still twitching around where Sinestro remains buried inside of him. Hal's body is shivery as Sinestro switches to soft kisses and comforting touches, and the change is so immediate that Hal's a little concerned.

Once his breathing evens out, he unclenches his hands from Sinestro's slightly bruised shoulders and allows himself a moment of simply touching his lover and reveling in the connection and the afterglow. It's only a moment, because Hal can still feel the hot, hard length inside him, despite the tight control Sinestro is exerting over his own desire, and Hal never likes things to be one-sided.

"Hey," he says, voice slightly hoarse but expression euphoric. He moves a hand to Sinestro's cheek. "How do you want me?"

A too pleased smirk tugs at Sinestro’s lips and he turns to tuck it into Hal’s hand, kissing his palm fondly. Then he catches that hand by the wrist, pulling it away enough to brush his lips over the pulse point there as he shifts his knees up closer, sliding his thighs up under Hal’s with a roll of his hips. It’s a testing thrust, a little shallow and still somewhat restrained, but more for his own sake now than Hal’s.

Pleasure drags over his nerves and the vision of Hal sprawled out and blissful beneath him makes it nearly suffocating in its intensity. Still, he waits, eyes bright though heavily lidded as they drag over Hal’s form, cataloging each shift and tremor. He’s still learning his partner – human limits as much as Jordan’s preferences – so he’s careful as he wades back into his own pleasure: watchful and awaiting clear confirmation.

“Exactly as you are.”

Okay, how is Hal even supposed to respond to that? That answer – well, Hal's mind is already performing below its usual standards due to having barely recovered from likely the best orgasm of his life, and now Sinestro is saying things like that. And Sinestro is being painfully sweet about this, more so than pretty much anyone else Hal has ever had sex with. Hal can feel himself melting into a happy little puddle of satisfaction.

So maybe he should wait a little longer before telling Sinestro to move, but – Hal just really wants Sinestro to feel good. He wants Sinestro to experience the same kind of incredible pleasure that he gave Hal. So he sets his jaw and swallows a small whimper as Sinestro tries a shallow thrust. Hal's still a little over-sensitized, but he's cooled down enough that he doesn't care enough, so he clenches as much as he can and pushes back.

Sinestro gives a strangled moan in response and even reading the shiver in Hal’s body that tells him it’s a little too much a little too early, he relents to his lover’s insistence. He’s still teetering on the edge, no matter the tight reign he’s kept on himself, and he can feel the pull of his own need to match his lover quickly taking precedence. So he moves, setting Hal’s captured hand to the bed as he leans over once more, interlocking their fingers as he rolls his hips forward again, deeper this time. The pressure and heat drives a deep shudder down his spine, and he’s lost.

His thrusts are hard and deep, and his hips shift under to encourage Hal’s up, bettering the angle. Even if Hal can’t fully appreciate it, his body still reacts, drawing Sinestro in deeper, rocking up, and tensing around him. It only drives him harder, faster, into the fire consuming him. Buried in Hal, overwarm and drowning in withheld pleasure, the world falls away. There’s only the rock of their bodies, the heat of their connection and his own low moans that melt into Hal’s shoulder, where he bites to muffle himself as he spills long and hard, his whole body shuddering in relief.

Watching Sinestro unravel is an experience. Hal has seen it before but he's still fascinated, and he's pretty sure that's not going to change anytime soon. There's a certain wonder in the way Sinestro lets go of all his vast control and surrenders to feeling and heat. He might also have a bit of a thing for the sensation of Sinestro spilling inside him. If Hal had the same refractory period that Sinestro did, he'd be painfully hard again by now. As it is, he just feels a low pleasant burn as he moves his free hand down Sinestro's back, gently massaging the tight muscle and rubbing his palm against the warmed skin.

His other hand has been repossessed by Sinestro, and Hal doesn't let go even as Sinestro's grip tightens and then goes slack. Hal's movements are somewhat restricted due to his position, but he manages to turn his neck far enough to kiss Sinestro's jaw, and then his cheek, and then just stares up at Sinestro with a blissful smile.

Thaal comes down slowly, drawn back by the gentle attentions of his lover, and arches into the hand at his back. The movement stimulates now oversensitive parts of him, drawing a low moan and flattening his hand against Hal’s for the moment it takes him to catch his breath again. He draws a steadying breath and turns into his lover’s affections with his own, catching Hal’s lips in a soft, almost chaste kiss and loosely twining their fingers together again.

Hal grins delightedly into the kiss and lazily chases it down when it ends, so that they end up in a chain of sweet quick kisses. He has a stray thought that it might be a good idea for Sinestro to pull out, but Sinestro seems busy and Hal is perfectly content to stay like this a little longer.

It's somewhat out of the ordinary, though, for Sinestro be so affectionate. All of the other times, he's usually been fairly coherent and in control the second he finishes. Hal is surprised, but definitely not complaining. "Can I ask what I did right?" he asks in between kisses.

A moment passes in silence between breathless kisses as Sinestro draws himself slowly back together, under no real hurry, save for the ache in his chest when he realizes the source of Hal’s question. It’s an altogether addictive rush of hormones he hasn’t felt in some time. A damning rush, but not one he’s willing to give up all the same. He gives a light shake of his head, determined to move past shadows of something clearly gone and give himself over to the present instead.

“… Hormones,” he eventually rumbles, his voice rough and thick with lingering pleasure. “You…” Explaining this when in the middle of it is not the easiest thing he’s ever done. He’s warm and languid and wants to wallow in the sensation and the sweet detached ease it affords him. “Emotional connections stimulate additional – Jordan, this will have to wait.” Because he’s not going to fight this, not now when there’s no reason to deny himself the high.

Hal laughs quietly, charmed by Sinestro's response. He has an idea of what Sinestro meant to say, and while he's planning to ask for the full explanation later, for now he's happy to indulge Sinestro. Hal leans in to nuzzle against his newly minted lover's chest simply snuggles there, pressing occasional incidental kisses to the skin there. His hands rub slowly up and down Sinestro's back.

Satisfied with Hal’s silence on the matter for at least as long as he can enjoy the moment, Sinestro carefully slips an arm around and under his companion as he rolls them to the side, keeping them close as he finally gains the presence of mind to pull out. The movement causes a brief attempt to rile his nerves further, but he ignores it for the placid bliss blanketing his mind. Another, gentle adjustment drags Hal mostly atop him, the covers following with a flicker of green light. He sighs contently and brings a hand up to thread through brown hair, guiding the human to his preferred spot: tucked into his chest.

The rest can wait for later.