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It had been a quiet afternoon, warm and sunny, and perfect for lounging around doing absolutely nothing. And iii and iv had taken to that like fish in a stream, after iv had dragged out blankets, pillows, a truly astounding amount of hoodies and cloaks that the others had thought lost, and then constructed a nest in the middle of their living room. It wasn’t an often used room, as they preferred to take their meals at the small table in the kitchen, the chairs having been replaced with wide benches to accommodate the near inevitable fate of them sitting in each others’ laps, as well as allowing Sleep to join them physically on occasion, without having to constrain himself to a humanoid form.
Their practice room, with ii’s drum kit and an almost obscenely large couch that could fit the four of them comfortably, but usually only hosted three of them as they relaxed, the small man finding comfort in the mediation of keeping a steady beat and watchful eye on his mates.
Even when the four (five, six) of them were piled together, fingers intertwined and limbs touching and skin on skin and mind to mind until they became nothing but each other, they found their escape in their room, in a nest of their own creation, one that had been started by Sleep when Vessel was so new that he could do nothing but sleep and fight for existence, and added to by a Vessel who found a foothold in his new world in a god who held him so precious that he was afraid for when Vessel would leave, and found that the nest was too small for the two of them.
ii came next, and the nest, already more than large enough to fit Vessel and a mostly unshifted Sleep, grew again, the three of them working together to create a nest that would suit them well. iii’s additions didn’t expand the size, but added color and texture that had been missing, as he came back with piles of blankets and throws and knitted afghans and crocheted shawls and bolts of fabric that had been pushed to the side almost immediately as they were judged to be lacking by iii’s discerning eye, but that he had his mates scent nonetheless, just in case he changed his mind later.
Fore’s additions had been limited, and despite the guilt and sorrow associated with them, they could not bear to remove the large quilted pillows. They no longer smelled like Fore, but they would stay in their positions of favor, and remain warm until he returned.
iv was still finding what he liked and wanted to add, limited more by his desire to add everything he liked, rather than a lack of choice.
In retrospect, Vessel mused, as he watched iv shift on top of iii, the both of them naked and oh so tempting, it shouldn’t have been surprising that they had the materials to build a new nest. Vessel didn’t think he would mind them having another one, not in this room, one that was too small for dancing, and too large for comfort, but with floor to ceiling windows facing the west, letting in the afternoon sun through the the color and fractures of the stained glass, dappling the room in yellows and reds and blues and greens, all backlit with pink and purple of the setting sun.
The room would cool soon, and Sleep would join them in their rest, in their nest, always open to him no matter his form. And hadn’t that been an adventure, convincing Sleep that he was welcome in what he considered his most monstrous form, with the only caveat being his size. And only even that for practical reasons, as it would be rather hard to fit a being as large as Sleep in a house, even one as large and stately as the manor he had created for them.
Vessel felt a calloused finger run a thin line down the narrow of his back, and shivered lightly. He rocked back slightly, sighing as he felt ii’s hand flex and stay, supporting Vessel’s weight completely. It had been so long since ii had touched him for the first time, but his touch had never stopped being welcome and gratifying, always a cool balm and warm fire, backed by the gentle strength that lay in ii’s heart.
“Pretty.” ii murmured, and Vessel nodded idly, eyes darting across the forms of his lovers, the dimples in iv’s back, nearly stretched flat by the way he curved around iii, who had a leg hooked around iv’s own, pulling him even closer. iii was almost completely hidden by iv and the various textiles that smelt of all of them, but Vessel could imagine the way his chest looked under iv’s hands, the blush showing through where the patches of inky black ran thin, nipples no doubt pinched stiff and aching by iv’s determined fingers, never mind that neither of them, for all their nudity, were working towards anything but just enjoying each other’s company.
Vessel could feel ii’s amusement curl through his mind, and he looked away, eyes finding ii’s with habitual ease. He leant down on nothing more than instinct, and pressed a warm kiss to ii’s lips, reveling in the huff of laughter ii gave to him.
“I was talking about you, you know.” ii whispered as Vessel pulled back. Vessel had long since lost the embarrassment that came with his flush, courtesy of a god who claimed his vessels so wholly, although ii was certainly close enough to feel the heat emanating from his face. Vessel wouldn’t be judged for this he knew, but for all that they could share emotions and thoughts, there was still something about being so obvious in his affection that Vessel liked to keep away from prying eyes.
ii pulled him closer, his hand snaking around the back of Vessel’s neck and drawing him in for another kiss. Vessel sunk into it gratefully, pleased that ii didn’t push. Vessel loved his mates and knew they loved him, but even the smallest praise or compliment would set his heart to flutter and stomach to flip as sudden arousal coursed through him. Of course the downside to the mindlink was that his lovers knew this, and didn’t hesitate to use it in their favor, but ii had always been quiet with his words, preferring to settle with them in their minds, sharing love and affection and desire that way. Vessel wasn’t sure if he had always been like that, or if that had changed when he became a vessel, but either way, he was glad that ii’s verbal admirations would end there. ii drew back, his hand fisting itself in Vessel’s hair as he tried to follow, a soft smile on his lips.
“You hold the stars in your eyes.” Vessel started to pull back, surprise and pleasure streaked across his face in blurred measure, but ii’s hand kept him steady, kept him there, with ii’s gaze boring into Vessel’s soul. ii’s hand lingered in Vessel’s hair for a moment before he let go, trailing his hand across Vessel’s neck and to his shoulder, fingers settling and pressing into relaxed muscle, dimpling the skin and creating marks that would turn a darker shade of black from ii’s claim.
“I could tell you a million things you would not accept,” ii murmured, leaning in to press a kiss to Vessel’s chest. “So I will have to tell you a million and one, and a million more beyond.”
“ii, what-,” ii just grinned, teeth stark against the black of his lips, and without missing a beat, swung Vessel into his arms, and falling oh so carefully to his knees, settling Vessel down in the layers of cloth that sung with love and care and them. ii perched himself on Vessel’s thighs, his hands finding Vessel’s and lacing them together. He pulled one of Vessel’s hands up, pressing a gentle kiss to each impossibly long finger, seemingly ignoring the way Vessel squirmed beneath him.
“You think nothing of the way you use your hands. Think nothing of the way your fingers curve over the keys,” ii flipped Vessel’s hand over, his mouth hot against the pads of his fingers and Vessel could feel the arousal starting to build, uninsistent and calm, but flooding through every cell in his body as ii looked at him. “You have never seen the way your fingers wrap around a microphone as if it were your only tether to this realm, like it is your grip and not your resolve that keeps you strong.”
ii licked across Vessel’s palm, and Vessel felt his breath catch and stutter.
“The biggest shame is that you have never stopped to see they way they wrap around my cock.” Vessel made a noise, that truthfully he would have preferred had never been heard, but even without the way ii grinned, he knew it had been a pipe dream.
“You spend so much time watching me, watching us, that you miss what you do to us.” ii brought Vessel’s other hand up to his mouth and Vessel could feel his clit twitch as ii pressed a kiss to his knuckles, treating him like-
“You are precious to me. And it pains me that you do not hold yourself in the same regard, but that is what partners are for, are they not? To love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live, according to the will and purpose of our god?” ii grinned widely at the end, never one to avoid a chance to invoke their lover in place of a more traditional deity. Sleep never minded anyway, humor flowing through their minds as they mocked a church and god that had never existed for them.
Vessel swallowed, his throat dry and ii leaned forward.
“Never forget that you are my heart, the very thing that keeps me alive, and the blood flowing through my veins. Without you, I would not exist, would not be here to love you, and that would be a tragedy.” ii whispered lightly, as if he wasn’t shaking Vessel through to his core.
“It wouldn’t be a tragedy for me, you understand, for I would not be here, I would not care one whit about a man I didn’t know and had no way of conceiving of in death.”
“ii…my love, what-,” ii cuts him off again, rocking against him and sending a spike of pleasure up his spine, and any words he had were lost in a moan.
“It would be a tragedy for you Vessel, to not know how loved you are, how deeply and desperately loved you are, and I look at you some days, and you live and you thrive, but it is for us, and not yourself.”
Vessel took a shaky breath. Did he do that? And if he did, what was wrong with that? He loved his mates, what was wrong with living for them?
“You are so much more than just us.” ii whispered, his voice hoarse. “Love yourself for you, not for us.”
Fear spiked up Vessel’s spine at ii’s command, for that is what it was, the only thing it could be, but Vessel did not know what to do with it, how to even begin to obey. But ii knew that, and reached out, a steady presence in his mind that calmed and soothed him as if the fear had never been there.
“I don’t know how.” ii smiled softly, if a little sadly.
“I know. But you are not alone, not at all, and I do not ask more than I know you can do. For today, can you listen, and feel?” Vessel nodded. He could do both of those things, they were easy, and he would do anything ii asked him to, even if it broke him.
“Did you know you listen best, seem to remember the lessons we teach you best, when you are insensate with pleasure?” ii sat back, rocking against Vessel again, the heat of his cock dulled through the layers of fabric, but it was enough for Vessel’s mouth to run dry at the friction, and the surety of what was to come.
“How are you feeling?” And oh it was not fair that ii could sound so calm and put together even as Vessel could feel his cock hardening and pressing more and more firmly against his clit. His mouth fell open in a groan as answer, already closer to orgasm than he would have thought possible, but ii stilled, his cock still firmly pressed against Vessel, but with no motion. Vessel whined and tried to buck against ii, but ii’s hands had found their way to Vessel’s hips and held him still.
“How are you feeling?” ii asked again mildly, and Vessel cursed him in his mind.
“I was feeling good until you stopped moving!” He bit out, more than a little exasperated. Denying him orgasms wasn’t the best way to get him “insensate with pleasure” as ii had put it. ii smiled down at him and thrust against him, Vessel’s eyes rolling back at the slide of slick fabric against his clit.
“And now?” ii asked, as he settled back into a rocking rhythm, and Vessel could feel the pleasure flooding through him, renewed by ii’s steady attentions.
“ii!” Vessel gasped out, and ii started to slow again. Vessel wrapped a leg around ii’s back, desperate to keep him close.
“Good! I feel good! You make me feel so good!” Vessel barely managed to get out around his moans, but it seemed to be enough for ii.
“Is it not because you let yourself feel good?” If Vessel didn’t love this man so much, he would have hated him for asking him questions when Vessel felt like this. If Vessel ever figured out how ii could get him so incomprehensibly turned on, while staying completely unaffected himself, he would turn the tables in an instant and fuck himself on ii’s cock until his balls were empty and tears ran dry.
Vessel came with a keen before he could fully formulate an answer, and ii did not show him any mercy, hips steadily rocking as Vessel soaked through his pants, a dark stain streaking through onto ii’s sweats, and making him whimper.
“Vessel?” ii prompted, not slowing at all, and fuck there was something evil about how ii could take him apart so easily.
“I don’t- I don’t know!” ii hummed in thought, and Vessel’s clit throbbed in time with his racing pulse.
“I would think that you could feel good, feel pleasure without me, could you not?” Vessel whined, leg tightening around ii in an attempt to prevent him from pulling away. It wouldn’t have worked, but ii didn’t even try, granting Vessel the mercy of his cock, as limited as the mercy was.
“You could touch yourself, pretty fingers on your clit and in your cunt, and you could cum like that, I’ve seen you do it before.” Vessel nodded, unsure where ii was going, but feeling the heat curl through him at the remembrance of his lovers’ eyes on him as brought himself off, three fingers working furiously, not stopping as he came, or when he squirted, soaking the sheets, and shaking, not until iii had grabbed his hand and pulled it away, taking his fingers into his mouth and licking them clean as iv fell onto him, not even bothering with a cursory amount of preparation before taking Vessel’s clit in his mouth and sucking, determined to make him cum again.
“Do you ever do it when you’re by yourself?” ii’s voice broke through Vessel’s thoughts, and it took him a moment to figure out what the hell ii was trying to ask him.
“What? No?” ii slowed, making Vessel whine, but ii ground against him harder and Vessel forgot any complaints he might have had.
“You always come to us for pleasure, don’t you?” It was not truly a question, but Vessel nodded anyway.
“Pity. I wanted to hear about how you touch yourself when you’re alone.” At that, Vessel resolved to masturbate everyday if that was what ii wanted.
“I can do that!” Vessel’s voice shook, and he could feel ii tense.
“I know you can. And I know you would, but would it be because I asked you to, or you wanted to?” ii didn’t let him answer, just leaned forward to kiss Vessel. “Is that enough for you for one day?”
Vessel nodded, overwhelmed and only one orgasm in, and thankful that ii knew him well enough to know when to stop.
“Just one more question my heart.” ii said against his lips, and Vessel bit back a whine. “Oh you’ll like this one, don’t worry. How many times do you want to cum-,”
Vessel didn’t even let him finish before gasping out, “As many times as I can.”
“Oh, and that’s before you play with iii and iv?” ii was laughing at him, he could hear it in his voice, and Vessel swallowed, wanting to pull back his answer, but ii wanted him to love himself right? Vessel might regret it later, but the only thing he wanted in that moment was to cum until he passed out, and wake up on someone’s cock.
ii had almost worked him up to another orgasm, and Vessel could tell by the way ii’s cock was twitching that he would be getting fucked into the ground sooner rather than later. Hopefully more than once.
“They can get a couple more out of me after you’re done with me I think.” The cockiness of Vessel’s words were a laughable contrast to his breathy gasps as ii worked him towards his next orgasm.
“Oh, my heart, no, it’ll be after you’re done with me.” And in a flash ii was on his back and Vessel was swaying on top, taken aback by the sudden change in positions. “Take your pleasure my heart, for I am always willing.”
Vessel’s hips jerked of their own accord, and he came with a loud whine, hunching over ii to kiss him messily, any grace he usually had diminished by his arousal. He shoved his pants off the best he could, leaving them dangling off of one leg, but that was so very unimportant when he had ii’s cock to unveil. Vessel didn’t even have to look down, sinking down on ii’s cock, mouth dropped open in a voiceless moan as ii’s cock stretched him open. He remembered his desire from earlier, to have ii cumming dry and crying, and thought that maybe that wasn’t quite was ii had in mind, but ii had told him to take his pleasure, and Vessel would obey ii, even if it broke him. The only real question now, would it be Vessel or ii that broke first?