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At first, you didn’t hear the sound of footsteps crunching through the fluffy, pliant snow over the whistling winds. You were far too stunned by the reality of the past several hours. Hugging your knees to your chest while sitting on top of a large rock, you stared blankly at three makeshift graves in the near distance. Your heart felt nearly as numb as your fingers and toes after you made use of the limited resources this frozen wasteland had to offer for the grim task of burying your last comrades slain by a giant, chromatic Nevron.
You had two options now, neither of which were very promising. Either push forward to face the Paintress yourself and most certainly perish along the way just like the rest; or you could attempt to retrace your steps to return to Lumière and live out the rest of this year until your Gommage when you would simply dissolve into nothingness. It was a peaceful, yet cruel fate that was the main driving force behind your rationale for being out here to begin with. It was the reason why this decision felt so weighted.
You started noticing the footsteps now and assumed that it was just another Nevron, a Danseuse perhaps. Yet as a shadow encroached on your vision, you didn’t hear the telltale crackling flames of the ones you’d encountered in the region so far. Instead, you were met with a calming, deep voice that rumbled through the limited space between you.
“Are there others with you?”
Steady eyes of a serene blue pigment studied you intently as you finally looked up to acknowledge the stranger. Soft waves of rich black hair weaved with pale strands as white as the surrounding snow kissed the tops of his broad shoulders. Your gaze trailed down from the coarse scruff framing his rosy lips to the Expedition uniform he donned and your heart squeezed in your chest. He must have mistook your hopeful surprise for fear or pain from an injury which reflected in his concerned expression.
“Merde… Are you alright? No wounds or anything of the sort?”
You shook your head, voice just barely audible over the thrashing winds slicing the air around you. “I’ll be fine.” You weakly gestured to the lopsided graves situated in front of you. “I can’t say the same for them though.”
His analytical gaze shifted over to the site before quietly returning to you. “My condolences.”
Fortunately, the sounds of the harsh weather filled the uncomfortable silence between the two of you as tears welled thicker in your eyes. As much as you wanted to just bury your frostbitten cheeks in your hands and sink below the icy terrain, your curiosity got the better of you. Your eyes drifted towards the sound of his boots crunching through the tightly packed snow until they planted directly in front of you while a hand clad dark leather reached out.
“Storms move through this area pretty quickly, we should get going.”
Hesitance crossed your expression over how quickly he was to loop you in with the term ‘we.’
“What makes you so sure I’m coming with you? I don’t even know your name.” Your eyes flicked back and forth between his outstretched hand and the confident smile spreading across his lips.
“You can’t stay out here by yourself. Have you even seen snow before your travels here?” The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smirk.
“No, but I—”
“Precisely. I know my way around here, let me help you.” He pushed his hand further out, the creak of his leather glove just barely audible as he wiggled his fingers.
The rapid chattering of your teeth was surely noticeable and the shivers wracking your weak frame were violent. The thinner material of your Expedition jacket was doing little to protect you from the elements, so you slipped your hand into the man’s chilled grasp and let him hoist you up onto your feet. He shrugged off the fur cape-like garment covering his shoulders and draped it over your own. You offered a feeble nod of appreciation, ears straining to hear what he said next over the wind’s sharp whistle.
“Verso.”
Your brows furrowed slightly, having already forgotten that you’d asked for his name just a few short moments ago.
“Call me Verso.” He repeated, turning and beginning the trek before you could even respond or offer your own name.
Flurries of snowflakes started to float from above, dancing around your face and sticking to your hair in soft, wet flakes. With a sigh, you looked towards the graves serving as a bitter reminder that you were the sole survivor of a group you’d come to know so well. You couldn’t tear your eyes away even when your new company stopped and turned back upon realizing your hesitance to follow.
He seemed uneasy to break the silence, fingers quaking slightly as he considered resting a palm on your shoulder in a gesture of comfort. He decided against it, hand falling away as the soothing note of his voice broke through the silence again. “Push forward. For them.”
Your eyes broke away to meet his partially solemn look, a sigh deflating your lungs before you eventually conceded with a nod. “Lead the way.”
He turned in silence, beginning to scout the path ahead once more, and this time, you trailed behind sheepishly.
That was three weeks ago.
Three bitterly cold weeks that seemed to crawl by painfully at first in your grief-stricken state. At first, you worried that you might never return to your former self, but now you were slowly making peace with the fact that perhaps you never would. Yet you found reasons to stay optimistic for the most part, still conflicted on whether or not you should continue the mission or return to Lumière. However, a third option was starting to sound more agreeable by the day, which was to stay here now that you’d found companionship.
The most assuring part was that Verso was patient with you through it all. He was willing to escort you back home or let you keep tagging along, although you could tell he felt reluctant to the idea of reaching the Paintress. He always made excuses to avoid the subject or outright refused because it would be too dangerous with just the two of you.
You were starting to get used to the new circumstances, having even cracked your first genuine smile in a long time the other day. Verso’s base camp was much more cozy and refined than you initially expected it to be in such a frigid environment with scarce resources. He had structured it around a vintage, forsaken looking train station. He wasn’t entirely alone, however, his co-tenants were far from what you were expecting. Large, fuzzy creatures known as the Grandis roamed around, and while they didn’t seem intimidating at all, Nevrons avoided the area for the most part.
You also met Verso’s best friend who turned out to be a Gestral. Although, he didn’t fit the description of the myths that the children of Lumière often dressed up as. Monoco was eccentric to say the least, and he spoke your language, always itching for a fair fight.
Verso himself was reserved, but you were getting better at discovering bits and pieces of his life every day. You learned of his immortality with a stunned expression, frowned as he explained the origin behind the serrated scar over his eye, laughed when hearing about his troubles with hair dye, and smiled fondly when he told you about the times he used to play piano concerts at an opera house.
He listened intently and respectfully when you opened up about your own life, cracking the most charming smile when you admitted to habits like scribbling in your journal until the first streaks of sunlight crept above the horizon. It warmed your heart that he always made an effort to relate to your interests. He told you about his love for poetry that he documented in a journal of his own, and your sparring matches turned into nightly events that you anticipated with bubbly excitement.
It was getting more and more difficult to hide the initial feelings that had taken root deep in your heart when you first met. It would flit around frantically in your chest every time his hand brushed yours while offering his journal to share a new poetry excerpt. Your cheeks would flush a deep red hue after every successful parry against his practice attacks, the air whistling shallowly from your lungs with every quip he tossed in between labored breaths.
‘You can do better than that, mon amie. I am immortal, remember?’
Lately it was starting to feel like he was doing these things on purpose just to earn more flustered reactions much to your mortification. Every time you lost your words with a stammer, he’d simply chuckle under his breath and shake his head with a satisfied smile.
‘One would think we live somewhere much warmer with your constant blushing.’
The tension finally broke two days ago during dinner one evening over a few glasses of wine. Your shared laughter grew more animated while words slurred together into more bold phrases. His sparkling blue eyes lingered longer with the weight of a vast sea and before you knew it, his lips were sealed tightly against yours. The fruity richness of the alcohol dipped onto your tongue and the heady aroma of fresh linen made your already swimming head feel even more woozy. You’d spent several long minutes losing yourself in the kiss, fingers sliding through the soft, shadowy strands of his dark hair and tugging him forward by the crisp, white collar of his shirt.
Every airy, touch deprived noise that escaped from his lips fueled the heat slowly churning in your core until he was suddenly recoiling back. The fragile glass of this fantasy you’d slowly built up was now shattered into tiny pieces. It seemed as if he was worried about crossing your boundaries, yet when you expressed your consensual desire, he muttered something about needing rest and quickly retired.
You expected things to be tense from that moment forward with nothing more than a few phrases uncomfortably shared out of necessity. However, Verso acted as if nothing had happened at all. He resorted to his usual calm and suave demeanor with the occasional lighthearted comment. This reality felt much worse than the one you feared because it left a narrower window of opportunity to bring it up and talk through things. Every time you thought of trying, he clearly perceived your intentions because he would excuse himself or tend to other things before you could get the chance.
Although it seemed as if the two of you were backed into a corner with the current situation at hand. You accompanied Verso on a typical scouting trip for more resources and supplies when an intense snow storm started boiling from the cloudy skies during the lengthy trip home. You were forced into a nearby deep alcove etched out of rock and glowing crystals for shelter. Fortunately, you were safe from the cruel winds, yet the wintry air was still biting at your skin through the layers of clothing.
There wasn’t any wood or kindling to start a proper fire in this environment and it was far too dark to stray away in search of something. Elemental skills were trickier to master compared to weapons combat and so Verso was attempting to teach you how to summon a flame in the palms of your hands. He knelt beside where you sat on your bedroll with his own draped over your lap like a blanket.
“Just try to focus, the Chroma will do all the work.” He gingerly pushed your trembling hands closer together as if the contact alone could burn him. The subtle gesture of avoidance painted your lips with a frown that he didn’t seem to notice.
Warm air puffed from your lips with a smoky effect when it met the frigid air as you tried once more to focus on your assignment. A gentle glow bloomed from the center of your cupped hands, dimming briefly before swelling as you concentrated on nurturing it. Suddenly, a spark popped from its core followed by a few more as the Chroma glowed red hot before sizzling out with a deflated huff.
“Good, you were much closer that time.” Verso praised fondly.
You shook your head, trying not to let the frustration well up too much in your tone as you finally ended your silence. “You said that the past four times.”
“Because it’s true, you’re almost there, mon amie.” The smile bled through his tone, warm gaze tracing over your features with that same sense of unspoken longing you recognized over the glass of wine together. “But perhaps now isn’t the best time for a lesson.” He conceded despite his stubborn nature you were starting to learn well.
He brought his hands together and a sharp pop of crimson flames erupted into a loose ball coiling around in his palms. He made it look so easy, it was maddening, yet you were far too freezing to care. Then he offered the heat source and you gratefully started rubbing your hands together next to the radiating warmth to loosen your stiff fingers. The soothing comfort of the heat trickled through your bones with an instant rush of tranquility as you leaned closer to warm your nose and cheeks next. It wasn’t much compared to a campfire, but it was enough to ease the worst of the numbing pain.
Minutes passed by in silence, yet it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. You spent most of it trying to figure out how to approach the subject on your mind as you warmed your skin with the little pocket of fire. The inner turmoil must have crept onto your expression at some point because Verso was speaking up to address it.
“Are you alright? Still cold?”
It took a moment to register his words through your thoughtful haze, eyes eventually darting up to meet his own. “I’m fine. I mean yes but, it’s fine.” You answered with an apologetic half-smile.
“I can make it hotter, maybe some strips of fabric from the bedding could serve as fuel for a proper fire.”
“Oh, it’s alright.” You intercepted as he shifted the flame to one hand while his dagger materialized in the other with a white-gold spark of Chroma. Then, with a deep breath, you finally bit the bullet and forced out the words that had been tumbling around restlessly in your mind. “I was actually hoping we could talk.” You clenched your tongue between your teeth through the resulting silence as his weapon faded away again.
“Is something the matter?” He retained an oblivious, guarded expression that you could see right through. It made pushing forward with the conversation all the more difficult.
“Actually… Yeah, there is.” You took another deep breath, eyes snapping down to the fire’s sudden extinguishing.
“Hey… None of that.” His velvety rasp drew your attention back to his face just as the backs of his cold fingers brushed across your cheek. “That worried look doesn’t suit you.” His radiant gaze flicked back and forth slightly, his hand falling away before you could lean into it. “I’m sure you’re just tired and cold, we should try to get some rest.”
There it was. A smoothly calculated maneuver away from the unspoken conflict warring between you.
You tried to ignore the deflated sinking feeling in your chest as you watched him take inventory of the small supply cache you’d brought for the trip. “Where are you going to sleep?” You pulled his bedroll tighter across your lap, almost reluctant to offer it because a small greedy voice in the back of your mind wanted this dilemma as a way to address the issue.
“I’ll make do.” He deflected with ease, tugging off his boots and pulling one of the backpacks over to use as a pillow while he curled up a respectable few feet away. “I can bring the fire back if you need.” He offered kindly.
“C’mon, you can’t sleep like that.” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes in response to the intense display of perseverance.
“I’ve slept through worse.” His eyes drifted shut, head shifting across the backpack’s lumpy surface in an effort to find a spot of comfort.
“Verso.” You tried to keep his attention, frowning as he caved further inwards after the cold incited a shudder through his limbs.
“Verso.”
“Hm?”
“You’re shivering.” You clutched the fur-lined bedding beneath you before scooting closer with it.
“I’m not.”
“Just come share.”
“I couldn’t impose like that.” His eyes cracked open again.
“Then take the extra bedroll at least.”
“No, you need it more.” He held up a hand as if that would stop you.
“I’m not taking no for an answer, you’ll freeze to death.”
“I can’t die.” He reminded as you bunched up the thick hide covering your lap and started thrusting it in his direction. “Don’t—” He quickly sat up to reposition the warm cover back over your lap.
You shot him a chagrined look before silently shoving the bedroll off again and back into his arms, not making it far at all before he was throwing it back over your shivering frame.
“Alright, fine.” He yielded much to your surprise, yanking the fabric up to duck under and settle behind you on the matching soft material beneath. “Just until you fall asleep.” He grumbled, yet there wasn’t any disdained weight behind the words and you couldn’t help but smile conceitedly.
His arms wrapped tightly around your shoulders to pull you back against his chest and maybe it was your infatuated feelings, but you were starting to feel warmer already. “Better?” You glanced up at him with an impish glimmer in your eyes.
“I’m doing this for you, not me.” He reminded before adopting a softer edge to his tone. “I need you warm and safe. Can’t have my preferred company succumb to the elements.”
“Preferred company, huh? Maybe I should tell Monoco you said that.” You couldn’t help but laugh quietly as you pressed your cheek into the crook of his neck, nuzzling closer against the warm skin and appreciating the rumble of matching laughter as he muttered, “Oh please do.”
The lighthearted banter was quick to fizzle out again as he adjusted to lie down on his back in an ungainly maneuver that tangled your lower limbs and left you with a stiff back. “Are you comfortable?” He asked in a tone that lacked confidence.
“Um, not really.” You giggled before taking matters into your own hands. Loosening from his grasp and rolling over to face him before plopping back down, you were amused by his responsive grunt of surprise. “Much better.” You threw your arms around him and buried your face in the crook of his neck again to warm up your numbing nose and cheeks.
His muscles were tense at first from the shock of the sudden gesture, then he relaxed his head back against the padded surface of the bedroll and you felt his arms slowly encase your shivering frame again. “Well, good night I suppose.” He muttered softly into your hair.
“Good night.” You whispered back, yet your eyes refused to drift shut just yet.
There was the discomfort of your surroundings of course, but that didn’t accelerate your thoughts as much as the mere presence of him. His scent was an intoxicating mix of frost-coated leather, smoke from the extinguished flames, and earthy undertones. It was so inherently masculine, it made your heart throb relentlessly in your chest. The solid weight of him was enough to make your entire body hum like a livewire, the steady beat of his heart and rate of his quiet breathing serving as a reminder of how tangible this was.
It was still surreal to think of the fact that this year’s Expedition was whittled down to just you and now you were spending the rest of your time in the company of an immortal man who left more questions than answers. A man you’d grown so fond of despite how difficult he was to reach sometimes in an emotional sense. He felt so close yet so far due to the tension between you. Not even his embrace in the moment could comfort your racing thoughts or soothe your hopeless pining. So you lie awake, unable to let the depths of sleep claim you to end this moment.
The time you spent in his arms just barely drifting in and out of consciousness felt like an eternity with no definitive end. Yet just as you were beginning to think you might drift off for good this time, you noticed a subtle change. Beneath the weight of the makeshift blanket, you felt one of Verso’s hands start to rub your back from where he held you safely against his chest. The other carefully trailed upwards where you felt a finger start to curl around a lock of your hair. The idle twirling of the strand shifted into broader strokes, nails carefully massaging your scalp with a gentleness that felt beyond satisfying.
You had gone utterly still, the air stalling in your lungs while even your heart paused for a beat. You realized that he was offering what felt like small gestures of affection in secret while thinking you were sound asleep. You found yourself overthinking every little movement in your effort to keep pretending so that this moment could be prolonged.
You tried not to let a giddy smile crawl onto your lips as he quietly brushed your hair with his fingers, being extra careful around any tangled spots so as to not ‘wake’ you up. He continued rubbing slow circles across your back in a rhythmic manner, switching from his palm to fingers so he could trace pictures and words you couldn’t quite decipher. Your undoing was when his face nuzzled against the crown of your head to breathe in your scent before he hesitantly planted a tiny kiss.
Your heart raced laps behind your ribcage, an involuntary little inhale of surprise falling from your lips before you could stop it. Verso froze instantly, the rise and fall of his chest pausing as he held his breath in the same manner you were. Then he relaxed again with a sigh that felt defeated, a true reflection of his embarrassment that he kept under the tight wraps of his calm voice.
“You’re awake, aren’t you?”
Now that he knew, there was no avoiding confrontation. Still, you supposed you’d caught him just as much as he had you. “Yeah, can’t sleep.” You admitted while lifting your head to prop your chin against his collarbone so that you could study his void gaze.
“Neither can I. Although sleep and I never seemed to get along in the first place.” A half-smile tugged up on the corner of his lips as he used casual commentary to wriggle out of a heavier conversation once again.
You weren’t going to have it this time, words coming out in a tone that was more solemn than the persistent one you were hoping for. “Was it something I did?”
He spent a short moment clearly pondering what to say now that you’d directly addressed that night before choosing to act oblivious. “What are you talking about?”
“Nevermind.” The word was laced with a sigh as you rested your head back down, tears of frustration just beginning to prickle at the corners of your eyes.
Then he was speaking quietly again into the night. “Je suis désolé.” He muttered almost inaudibly before repeating the phrase in English. “I’m sorry.” He inhaled a shaky breath before continuing carefully. “It was never you, I’m the one who can’t…”
You glanced up again when his sentence trailed off. “Can’t what?”
You felt a tug on one of your hair strands as he started looping a finger around it in a fidgety manner while searching for the right words. “Can’t maintain a normal relationship with most people.” He finally decided on before adding in a quieter volume. “Not to mention a more intimate one.”
“What makes you say that?” Your mind was brimming with curiosity now.
“My last experience with caring for someone in that way didn’t end well.” He said quickly with a pause, toying with the words on his tongue before continuing more cautiously. “We had a… Disagreement. A breach of trust I suppose you could say.”
“How did you meet?” You couldn’t stop yourself from asking before quickly sealing your lips again.
“She was a member of Expedition Zero with me.” He answered simply and you nodded as you tried to picture more of what that might have looked like. How many others there were, how it ended—you had so many questions.
“You said your father was the commander of that Expedition right?” You recalled the moment a week or so ago when he told you about the scar over his eye. You hadn’t brought it up again out of fear of upsetting him until now, yet you could see it was still a sensitive subject.
“Yes.” He articulated the syllable slowly before diverting back to his lost love. “She and the others eventually got this notion that I knew more than I let on. I had to… Let her go.” He seemed torn with his last choice of words before falling silent and it was clear you weren’t going to get much more out of him.
“How long ago did all of this happen?” You tried anyway, picking at one of the buttons on his coat.
“Half a century.”
“Half a century?” You repeated, head lifting up to meet his aimless gaze.
“Give or take.”
“And you’ve been alone ever since?”
“Mostly, I still had family, and—” He cut himself off before quickly steering away from the painful topic. “—and I traveled with a few more Expeditions here and there, none of which survived as you know.”
“What I mean is…” You shook your head, shifting back towards the subject of relationships. “The last time you were in love was half a century ago?”
“Yes.” He admitted, a sigh visibly swirling from his lips in a cloudy puff from the cold temperature.
“I’m sorry that happened, I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt you.” You sympathized first. “But here’s what I think.” You noted the flicker of interest that passed through his cerulean blue eyes.
“I think you’re way too hard on yourself and you take the blame for things that are well out of your control.” You paused for a second, his expression remaining mostly unreadable aside from his lips sealing tighter together. “But it’s not your fault.”
He shook his head subtly at that, dark lashes draping over his eyes as his gaze shifted down in avoidance. “So I think you need to work on allowing yourself the things you deserve in life… Like love.” You concluded gently. “And maybe a hairstylist that isn’t a Gestral if you’re not happy with the white streaks, but I think it suits you just fine.”
An abrupt laugh rumbled from his chest. It graced his lips with one of the most authentic smiles you’d seen from him yet, the tips of his perfectly aligned, radiantly white teeth just barely visible. The sight of it made your chest bloom with warmth before he quieted again and reverted to a serious demeanor. Yet a remnant of joy was still swimming beautifully in his eyes as you spoke again.
“So about that night…” You absent mindedly chewed on the inside of your lip while searching for the courage to address it. “Did you want what happened?” You asked before quickly stuttering a follow-up. “I just wasn’t sure because maybe with the wine—”
“I did.” He quickly interrupted. “I don’t think you can even begin to understand how much I did.”
“Try me.” You retorted with a lopsided smile.
“Alright.” He spoke the word between a huff of laughter under his breath. “I always knew you could take care of yourself. There’s a reason why you were the sole survivor of your Expedition and you spent every day proving that to me whether you knew it or not.”
The humor left his tone entirely as he continued, replaced by a grave weight that expressed just how serious these feelings were. “But this selfish part of me wanted to protect you. Keep you safe, keep you here with me even though I know there’s not much I can offer.” He shook his head, scoffing under his breath.
“I worried so much that one of these days you would ask me to take you back to Lumière and I thought about how I could convince you otherwise or stall for just a few more days.” You longingly eyed the way his tongue just barely poked out to wet his lips before pushing on, his voice a low rasp next to your ear.
“But you never asked.” A smile broke through the words, his eyes adopting a more distant look as he recalled the short yet meaningful time you’d spent together so far. “And then I got to know you. I shared parts of myself that I kept entirely secret for decades because of the way you looked at me… It felt good. I felt seen.”
You wanted to tell him how much that sentiment was equally reciprocated on your part. You wanted to tell him that your time in Lumière felt like wandering aimlessly as a lost ghost even after the Expedition set off. But you stayed quiet, heart palpitating so intensely in your chest, you thought it might burst.
“Things started changing faster than I could keep up with. I noticed during the smaller moments like when you’d sit in the corner writing in your journal with that serious expression. The one where your brows furrow together and your nose does that cute little scrunch. It was the most terrifying feeling in the world because I knew what it was. I knew it was love.” He confessed, words quickly melting together so as not to let the pause loiter for too long.
“So yes, I wanted to kiss you that night. I wanted to kiss you so badly, and not just then.” His palms aimlessly roamed your back, squeezing you into a tighter embrace against his chest that felt liberating. “Each little laugh, every time you hum to yourself, every time you knocked me down in a spar, I just wanted to pull you right down there with me and just… Just kiss you—love you, give you everything you deserve and more.” The pure, pent up emotion was bubbling higher in his tone until he was forced to slow down with a deep breath.
“But Merde… You just don’t get it.” The sheer longing in his tone deepened your respiration and elicited a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. “Because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one. And I just couldn’t—I can’t get too close because every time I do, someone gets hurt and I can’t let that happen because of how much I care about you.”
His trembling exhale and following admission struck a deep crack in your heart. “So I pulled away and hoped that the feeling would subside… But it never did, and I don’t think it will as long as you’re around.”
With everything out in the open, you lay still for a few moments of stunned silence. Then all you could do was whisper his name as the truth set in. His actual feelings couldn’t have been farther from what you’d feared for the past few days.
You started sharing your reciprocated feelings in a soft whisper. “I think a part of me has loved you from the moment you found me even through all of the pain from the loss because you truly did save me.” You reached up to brush the backs of your fingers across his beard, exploring the tiny grooves of the serrated scarring on his right cheek. “And my heart doesn’t just love you for that, but because you make me feel just as seen. More than I ever have before in my life.”
You inched up just a little until you could be eye level with him, whispered words aligned closely with his rosy lips. “So I could spend all of this time trying to explain exactly how I feel, or… I could show you instead.” You let your foreheads rest together, tangling your fingers through his and squeezing through the leather of his glove. “And I think I’d much rather you show me too, without holding back this time if you don’t mind.” You purred quietly, lips just barely hovering over his own as you watched his eyes drift down, filled with such an aura of tense yearning.
You barely had time to register the slide of fingers from his free hand into your hair before he was guiding you down into a rugged kiss. It was far more clumsy and hasty despite the lack of alcohol in your systems this time. Although you didn’t need it to feel confident now that everything was laid out in the open. You simply allowed your newly released desire to guide you through the motions, yet it was his own intense need that knocked the air out of your lungs.
Verso kissed you like it was a necessity that he’d been deprived of for so long. He didn’t care about relearning how to do it properly, desperately needing to just quench that ache as quickly as possible. Rather than tasting your lips with delicate licks, his tongue pressed further between them, skimming your teeth clumsily until it could curl around your own. His fingers twitched in your hand, flexing eagerly while his other hand moved from your hair to your lower back so he could squeeze you tighter against him.
The air caught in his throat as he savored just how real and authentic this moment actually was while you obediently let him navigate through familiarizing himself with the forgotten feeling. The taste of his lips was basically galvanizing, that pleasant dizzy feeling already starting to fill your head. The salt of his lips carried an undertone of something blissfully sweet, the chapped skin quickly wetting under your tongue’s lavishing strokes.
After a few moments of letting him lead, you found yourself applying the things that you quickly learned he enjoyed. You weaved your fingers through interlocking strands of black and white hair, your other hand releasing his to hold the side of his face for leverage on deepening the kiss. You panted softly against his lips, rewarding him with near silent mewls for things like nibbling carefully on your bottom lip and letting the bristles of his mustache graze the top.
Each warm exhale respired more quickly which felt rewarding in the chilly night before he eventually conceded and relaxed back down again. His lungs heaved beneath your own chest to replenish air as he broke the silence first. “Oh, mon Dieu… You taste better than I remember.” He couldn’t stop himself from taking your face in his hands, worn leather soft on your cheeks as he stole a few more grasping pecks from your lips. “Thank you… I needed that—needed you.”
“I can tell.” You couldn’t stop the giggling from rushing forth against his mouth.
“Hey, you said no holding back this time. I’m just doing as you asked.” He defended himself matter of factly before you quieted down again.
“Don’t stop then.” You instructed boldly.
This time there were no breaks and no time to exchange bouts of breathless laughter. If he grew winded, he simply let his arduous breathing complement the kiss and you savored every moment of it. He let his hands roam further this time, groping covetous handfuls of your ass that made you gasp quietly into the kiss. With each moment that passed, you grew less aware of the cold still gnawing at your skin and started noticing the persistent swell of throbbing heat emerging between your thighs. The tension between you that was finally starting to unravel and your own lack of intimacy lately was to blame for your body’s immediate, overly sensitive reaction.
His hand slid further up to find the skin of your lower back beneath your shirt and coat. The warm touch made you jolt against him to which he simply smiled against your lips and swirled his tongue harder around yours. A shaky sigh left your mouth as you felt a slow drip of your natural fluids start to coat the inner fabric of your panties in a sticky layer that made you shift uncomfortably. Through your embarrassment, you hardly noticed the evidence of his own arousal until you felt it stir ever so slightly beneath the layers of clothing.
Rolling your hips down made you realize just how thoroughly that thick weight was straining against the fabric. He reacted instantly as soon as you did it again to feel the bulging shape, his teeth nipping your lower lip to suppress a choked whimper while his hips rutted up involuntarily. You tried to suppress the smug grin that was desperate to break free on your lips and into the kiss where he would notice your purposeful intentions. Without losing rhythm in your dance with his plush lips, you slowly adjusted your lower half. You shifted your legs from lying in a parallel plank with his own so that your knees could bracket his hips and dig into the bedroll before sitting back down firmly in his lap.
His lips delayed their movement, hands moving down to squeeze your hips in a gesture that almost felt like a warning. His fingers displayed the occasional fitful tapping as seconds passed with you teetering from side to side against the outline of his erection. Your tongue pressed deeper into his mouth, licking the corner and savoring the taste of his spit drooling heavier on your lips as you stole kiss after greedy kiss. While he was busy trying to keep up, you enacted another move further below. Grinding your hips down into his lap, you instated a delicious pressure that trapped his cock further between his abdomen and the confines of his denim pants.
His reaction wasn’t as subtle this time, hips twitching madly in an effort to keep them pinned in place while he severed the kiss. “Mm—don’t… You shouldn’t tease like that, just… Just ignore it, please.” There was a note to his husky rasp that almost felt dire through its clear insistence, yet that didn’t stop you from pushing further.
“Hm, why not?” You instated a careful rocking motion that applied rolling pressure up and down his throbbing cock.
“Chérie…” He warned, throat bobbing visibly with a tough swallow as he struggled to come on top of this losing battle.
“It’s like that for a reason, right?” You hummed with false innocence, hair framing around his face as you leaned closer to graze his beard with your lips on a path to his ear. “Don’t you want to see what you’re doing to me too?” The pout was evident in your tone as you gave his earlobe a little kiss before leaning back again to measure his reaction.
“We… We shouldn’t, mon amour.” He shook his head, clearly warring with his restraint.
“You don’t want to?” You frowned with a deflated tone before truly assessing his hesitant demeanor and realizing that you shouldn’t be pushing so hard if it wasn’t going to be reciprocated. “No you’re right, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s not that.” He quickly stopped you before you could finish the spiraling thought. “I want it—fuck, I want it more than anything, I just… Putain de Merde, this is hard for me to admit.” He chuckled anxiously before falling silent again.
You’d started learning that trying to force a subject with him was never going to work, so instead of asking why, you offered a sly compromise. “Maybe just a little bit then?” You lazily captured a strand of both his hair and yours before weaving them loosely together between your fingers. “Just enough to stay warm?”
He instantly realized the angle you were pursuing and the fond shadow of a smile showed that he didn’t hold any ill will against it. “You’re a clever little minx, you know that?”
You laughed brightly over his sharp quip, unable to disagree. “So what do you say?” You asked salaciously for the final time, ready to drop it if he wasn’t willing.
After drawing out a long sigh, he agreed. “Just enough to stay warm, but not all of it, okay?”
A triumphant smile erupted onto your lips. “Just a little, not all.” You repeated to seal the promise. However, the look that you exchanged with him made it clear that you both knew it wasn’t a very sturdy deal.
“I never thought I’d come to meet someone as stubborn as myself.” He scoffed under his breath while you started impatiently working at the latch of his belt buckle.
Leather got caught on metal and only seemed to tighten rather than loosen with the more you yanked on it, earning a pouty huff from your lips. Eventually, he brushed your fingers away to solve it himself and you used the opportunity to shed just enough of your own clothes. Your eyes stayed glued to his nimble fingers unlatching the buckle with a loud click, chiming softly against his thigh as he leisurely drew the belt out from each loop. Your frozen fingers pushed down your bottom layers, shimmying them down and adjusting your position to untangle them from your feet. You pulled the bedding tighter around your shoulders to trap out the cold now that a considerable more amount of skin was exposed.
The rasp of his zipper drew your attention back, your ravenous gaze loitering curiously as he parted the open flaps of his pants just enough to be able to reach in and free himself. His length sprang forth from its confines, jutting back towards his stomach with a welcoming curve.
Your mouth went utterly dry as cotton as you started absorbing every little detail. He was thick and rigid, the head blushed such a vivid shade of ruddy pink. The soft skin was pulled tight over his shaft decorated by the occasional slight bulge of a vein thrumming with life. The blunted head was practically shimmering with a layer of pre-cum, having already left a prominent wet patch on the front of his underwear below. Your eyes shifted from the dense base of hair framing his abdomen and trailing up the exposed part of his stomach you could see beneath his shirt to his hand sliding up the shaft. You tried to relieve your dry mouth with a clicking swallow as you watched him spread the clear fluid that threatened to drip over the tip with his thumb.
“C’mere. And remember to go slow, okay?” His fist slid back down to the base so he could hold himself out for you, his other hand moving from where it was propped beneath the back of his head to frame your hip for guidance.
You lined yourself up properly with a shaky exhale in an attempt to calm your racing thoughts of nervous excitement. He noticed the quick beat of hesitance, hand comfortably rubbing your hip as he spoke to you gently. “Are you alright, ma belle?”
“Yes, m’fine.” You assured, trying not to let your confidence falter now as you lowered down until your puffy folds could start parting around the slick head of his still leaking cock.
The contact was somehow searing in the freezing cold, the abundance of your shared eagerness creating a loose slide. You peered down at the point of connection, lifting slightly to watch a web of your cream stretching from where it was pooling just beneath the head. Pressing down again, you planted your hands on his broad chest as your opening gradually spread to encompass him.
“Just like… That.” True to your word, you only descended down to the notch where his shaft began.
You noticed the way he bit down on the corner of his bottom lip to suppress a noise now that you were gradually stimulating the most sensitive part of his arousal with a careful rocking motion to calm your hips from wanting to sink down.
“Like that, nothing to it.” He murmured more quietly almost as if to convince himself it wouldn’t escalate. You inferred that it related to his last thread of restraint tugging back and forth between giving in and convincing himself he wasn’t worthy.
“Still cold?” He checked in again, releasing his grasp on the base of his cock and rubbing both of your sides to generate friction heat.
“Not as much.” You shook your head. “I think the wind’s starting to die down.” You leaned closer to nuzzle the tip of your nose against his. “And your company most certainly helps.” Your lips breezed across the ink-black bristles of his mustache before planting a kiss on his waiting mouth.
As your lips synced up in a lazy groove, you tried to conceal the occasional frustrated huff that threatened to bubble up from your chest. Now that you’d had a little taste, the hollowness in the rest of your core was a near tangible ache. You weren’t entirely accustomed to this act either aside from a few lost loves many years ago in Lumière. It felt much more authentic, the yearning need between you akin to a palatable electric charge.
It was evident in every little gesture. Your heart squeezed tightly in your chest the first time you felt his flushed tip twitch just within the clasp of your walls accompanied by a low groan into the kiss. You continued moving your hips, pivoting on what little breached your entrance just to achieve some form of stimulation, tongue aimlessly lapping over his own to distract yourself. Your fingers found their way to his hair, gently twisting strands before your nails massaged his scalp while the tips of your teeth playfully nipped the fullness of his bottom lip. His groan vibrated down to your throat and you felt his cock suddenly kick once more, a tiny gush of wetness trickling down.
You couldn’t play oblivious for any longer, hands affectionately framing his face and rubbing his beard as you broke the kiss to glance between your bodies. The sensation was from another fresh dribble of pre-cum that visibly stained the length of his shaft like delicate tear streaks. “Verso…” You whispered, a plea swirling around on the tip of your tongue.
“Hey, why’d you stop?” He planted his own palms on either side of your face to redirect your attention. “Kiss me… Please.” His voice was the most stunningly beautiful note of a broken whisper.
You couldn’t keep your eyes from flicking back down to watch his hips contradict his ignorance with little upwards pulses that nudged his cock head a bit deeper within your warmth. “You’re—it’s so…” you lifted up just enough to see the tip’s edge, now flushed with a potent red hue that signified his need.
“Eyes up here, chérie.” His voice gently guided you back again and you barely had time to meet his icy blue gaze before his lips were impatiently fastening to yours again.
You weren’t going to dance around it for a moment longer, hips ready to grant what the both of you craved so desperately. You waited until he was particularly occupied with cradling your tongue in a series of possessive licks before you started purposely shifting down. The stretch from his weight steadily spearing deeper inside felt like rapture, your eyes fluttering behind closed lids. He realized far too late, breaking away from the kiss when you were already halfway lowered onto his glistening shaft.
“Wait, nghh—fuck…” He squeezed your hip, practically panting as you closed the rest of the gap with one smooth pivot of your hips.
The second you settled down into his lap, you couldn’t suppress the sigh of satisfaction that gently blew from your lips as you attuned to his body’s reaction. His pelvis was tense, muscles sharply defined as his fingers dug into your waist and you could clearly feel a strong pulse humming deep within his cock.
Before you could comment, he was expressing breathless laughter and allocating charismatic allure into his words. “Oh mon cœur, you promised you’d behave for me.”
“I’m sorry, accidents happen.” You threw together the poor excuse with a devious smirk curling up tightly onto your lips.
“Oh I’m sure.” He shook his head, cock twitching a few times before the throbbing started to subside. “Don’t move, okay? Just let me feel you, let me keep you warm just like this.” He pulled you closer until your chest was pressed flush with his.
As you kissed him again, your mind zeroed in on the sensation of how utterly full you felt. He was far more than just well endowed, the hardened swell of his length prodding into a depth you didn’t know could be stimulated. The stretch was immense, your outer folds buzzing with content warmth from the effort to keep him suctioned all the way inside. It felt much more gratifying to have his tip nurtured deep within your syrupy heat, nudging the end of your space with persistence that sparked a tingling heat all throughout your abdomen.
Just a subtle little push forward and that sensation would explode in a crackle of intense sparks, enough to start triggering a landslide all the way to your pending climax. But his hands on your hips kept you tethered in place and you knew that patience was the direct path to winning this game.
So you stayed put, trying to ignore each little stir of his cock speared safely inside down to the hilt. It was satiating for now, but you knew the need would only grow stronger and so you spoke up to distract yourself from it.
Your wish was delivered with abruptness into the quiet night. “I want to know more about you.”
You watched as he blinked twice before fumbling with his own words. “Now?”
“Yes now.” You affectionately rubbed your cheek against his stubbled jaw. “You have this… Aura of mystery. Everything I learn about you leaves me with more and more questions.”
“Alright. Ask me one of your questions then.”
There were so many to choose from. You wanted to know the details of his travels across the continent, the specifics of his immortality, what the other Expeditions were like, and much more. Instead, you decided to start with something simple that went back much farther. Something he didn’t share much about that you often tried to picture with a flicker of a smile across your lips. “What was your life like in Lumière? It must have been so different back then.”
He hummed thoughtfully, ruminating over the question for a long moment while his palms crept beneath the hem of your shirt tucked under your jacket. His calloused fingertips exposed by the gloves skimmed up your sides and inwards to lazily draw across the inner curve of your breast. Your lower back dipped into an arch, sticky folds gripping his member in a fluttering pulse as the pads of his fingers found your nipples.
You were so distracted by the tiny bolts of pleasure sparking from where his fingers rubbed, that his vague answer caught you off guard.
“Sugar.”
This time it was your turn to blink twice, head shifting into a slight tilt to express your confusion. “What?”
“I lived right above a bakery.” He clarified with a charming breath of laughter, fingers tweaking your little bud into a rounded point. “It always smelled like confectioner’s sugar, and yet that never deterred me from wanting to eat there every morning.” His eyes shimmered radiantly with light that mimicked the sun setting across a vast, indigo ocean.
“What was your favorite thing to order?” You asked a follow-up question, tilting your pelvis ever so slightly to stimulate your tender clit against the dense hair gathered below his navel.
“Dessert of course, I have quite the sweet tooth.”
“Oh yeah?” You smiled to yourself, joyful warmth blooming in the center of your chest from how peacefully nostalgic that sounded.
“Yeah, cake was my favorite part of every birthday. My sisters, they used to bake—” The words trailed off before he stiffly cleared his throat. “I uh, I suppose that’s a luxury I can’t afford now. Not out here.”
Thoughts and jumbled imagery scrambled through your head relating to the new topic of his sisters. You wondered if they were older or younger, where they were, and if they shared his striking physical features. However, you forced yourself to pack the theories back down before moving forward with a new question. “Have you thought about going back? To Lumière?”
“I did go back.” He answered simply. “After the Fracture.” His fingers fell away from your breasts, sliding around to rub your back with the warmth of his palms. “Things change I suppose.” He continued, lips scrunching up slightly in a contemplative expression. “I wouldn’t have it any other way though.” His eyes focused back onto you, fully absorbed in the conversation and gripping onto every word. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have met.”
A smile broke out onto your lips that got tangled up in the kiss you asserted. He pulled you closer with an even tighter squeeze if such a thing were possible in your current position, lips eagerly stealing quick pecks. You took this as your opportunity to move, body unable to keep its strong needs bottled up for a moment longer. Every nerve ending nestled within your walls lit ablaze as you slid upwards and felt the intentional drag of his stiffness. Settling back down made a gluey noise that punctured the space between you from all of the creamy slick still mingling together.
It was your turn to pout when he terminated the kiss, shooting you a knowing glance beneath hooded eyes. “I’m just… Adjusting.” You made a false excuse.
“Is that right?” His tone was saturated with suspicion as his eyes studied every angle of your features.
“Mhm.” You nodded slowly, fully prepared for him to steady your advances again, yet that didn’t seem to be the case this time. His hand slipped out from beneath your shirt and moved up to support the back of your head while his lips drew closer to the shell of your ear.
“Liar.” He murmured the syllable in a prurient whisper that pinpricked your skin with sharp chills before stringing his next words along in a slow rasp. “You filthy, sweet little liar. Just look at what a trembling mess you are for me.” His other hand wriggled between your flush bodies, encouraging you to lean back and reveal where your dripping cunt was mindlessly suctioning and spitting back out an inch of his cock at a time.
“We should be doing this properly, you know?” He blew away a strand of alabaster-white hair that threatened to slip over his eyes. “In the comfort of a warm bed, not…” He gestured between you, fingers flexing inside the leather of his glove. “This.” His hands settled back onto your hips, eyes never leaving your face in spite of the obscene sight below from your joining.
“But I’m a weak man, and you’re a temptress. A clever, cunning temptress who I can’t seem to get enough of.” He leaned closer again to whisper, pelvis tilting in a slow pivot to nudge your delicate end.
“Oh, Verso…” You were unraveling completely now, hips stuttering as your thighs begged to shift with a tender ache. “M’gonna move… Gonna move just a little more, okay?”
You didn’t wait for permission, fingers digging into his chest where his shirt had bunched up to reveal the pale beauty of his ivory skin. He sucked in a sharp gasp of air, throat bobbing as his fingers pressed back into your waist with a near bruising pressure. With an adequate grip, he managed to slow your movements again before the rhythm could fully establish itself.
“Ma belle, hold on just a moment, stop…” He sounded as if he’d just ran a mile, cock pulsing furiously with veins no doubt straining against the sopping plushness of your passage.
“…Why?” The syllable was shared in an immature hiccup that melted into a long whine, the backs of your thighs just barely springing against the front of his. “Gonna cum, Verso, please…”
“Because, I am too.” He ceased your begging with the admission. “Far too soon than I’d prefer.” The fingers squeezing your hips lifted you straight off and you mewled at the loss of heat while his cock slapped against his stomach, your weight pinning it there in a wet press.
“That’s what I wanted to tell you before.” He started again, eloquent charm faltering in a manner you weren’t used to from him. “I’m well out of practice—I’ve been alone on the continent for far too long as you know…” His lips pursed in the shape of words that he couldn’t seem to force out. “Do you see what I’m getting at?” His long lashes shamefully concealed his eyes as they shifted away.
“Verso.” You grazed your fingertip beneath his chin to tilt it up so you could meet his lips in a quick kiss. “I don’t care.” Another kiss planted firmly against his tender lips. “Not in the slightest, you’re perfect just the way you are.” You let a final kiss trail across the scruffy texture of his cheek towards his ear. “Besides, we have plenty of time to get back into practice.” You giggled softly against his skin.
“Can I… Can I just make it up to you? Take care of you, make you feel good, yeah?” He nodded shyly, not acknowledging the offer but not dismissing it either.
“What did you have in mind?” You asked for elaboration.
“Here, turn over.” He guided you off his lap and down on your back in his place before parting your legs and sliding down in between them.
“Oh, I see.” You giggled again as he wetted his lips, fingertips teasing along the edge of one of your folds.
“Just relax.” He peppered kisses all along your inner thigh, some of them ending in vicious little nips of teeth that made your muscles twitch. “You’ll get to cum, chérie, I’ll make sure of it.”
You heard the raspy slide of leather as he peeled one of his fingerless gloves off before brushing his palm across your inner thigh. He used two fingers to spread you open and simply admire your fluttering hole, shoulders quaking with a slight shudder that wracked his body.
“Parfaite.” A smile populated his rugged lips as he started squishing two fingertips against your glistening entrance, appreciating how your body pulled him in with such ease.
He curled his fingers all the way down to the knuckle where they settled with a little wiggle before leaning closer, the bristled hairs of his beard ticking lightly against your outer folds. His lips sealed around your clit with a punctual kiss that felt so sudden in your sensitive state that your body betrayed you with a tiny jolt.
“So cute…” He mumbled against your delicate flesh, suctioning your clit again before puffing hot air that felt gratifying in the chilled night. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to taste you like this.” He pumped his fingers a few times before retracting and cleaning them with a quick lick.
Then he spread your folds with both thumbs and dipped his tongue into your drooling entrance, scooping up the fluid with tiny laps before drawing a long stripe back up to your pulsing bud. “You taste—fuck… You taste so sweet, mon amour. So sweet…” He babbled silently to himself, the long ends of his hair brushing across your inner thighs as he resumed his feverish licks. Each one was more enthusiastically poignant than the last, tongue eagerly burrowing into your hole as far as possible to drink all remnants of your essence.
What drove you closer to the edge more than the finesse was his sheer passion, siphoning your runny slick faster than your body could make it. It was almost as if he would perish without it, possibly needing this act even more than yourself. Labored breaths and diminutive groans poured from his lips and into your heat. From further below, you could see the slight movement of his hips, just barely grinding his bare arousal against the soft bedding to achieve some form of relief.
His thumb was circling your clit now with a steady pressure just above where he tasted you with such messy fervor. It provided the extra bit of stimulation needed for that tight sphere of pressure to start unfolding in your abdomen. The glide of his tongue against your satin-smooth flesh was almost too much, his free hand rubbing your hip as your lower back threatened to bow off the bedroll. The back of your hand wasn’t nearly efficient enough in stifling the volume of your keening cries as the feeling crested higher. Your little pearl throbbed under his thorough flicks, the electric bliss of it sending little sparks behind your closed eyelids before you cracked them open to steal a glance.
He looked utterly ruined in the most lascivious way possible, tangled hair mussed with fly-away strands venturing in different directions. The tiniest drops of your dewy fluid had beaded in the hair covering his chin, shimmering brightly with each little movement. His brows were furrowed with determined concentration, cheeks flushed a mellow pink as his lips sucked intently on your twitching sex.
He must have felt your enamored staring because his glacial eyes gravitated up to your blown out pupils as his tongue laved ruthlessly with a final lick before he spoke. “Want you to cum right here on my tongue just like this, I wanna taste it—every single drop, chérie.”
His fingers sunk into the sopping heat of your cunt while the other hand drifted over to possessively splay across your lower stomach. The digits curled up to nuzzle deeper against the tender curve deep inside where molten heat swirled low in your abdomen, threatening to detonate in one harsh snap.
“Mm—! Oh god, soon…” You whined, hips rocking up to meet the minute thrusting motions.
“Yeah, you’re close now, ma belle petite—my pretty little thing, just let go.” He coaxed gently before diving back in to circle your taut bud with the tip of his tongue.
You closed your eyes again, head falling back as you surrendered to his ministrations, that smoldering tension blazing like a furnace. Your ears were practically ringing with static as the pressure finally bloomed to its threshold. That was when you just barely heard his silent begging whispered against your wet sex.
“C’mon, my sweet. Please… You can do it, cum for me, please…”
With a pitched cry that you tried to hide by slapping a palm over your mouth, it finally washed over you. Your clit spasmed with relief under his tongue before his fingers slipped out and he licked back down to your clenching hole. You watched him through hooded eyes, drunk on the feminine aroma of your salty musk as he burrowed his tongue deeper between your slit and sucked tightly on your blushed folds. You trembled beneath him, limbs weakening from the immense pleasure that your body had been craving for so long. Streaks of your honeyed fluid melted onto his tongue and stained his beard as he affectionately nuzzled his face even deeper.
The volcanic waves started to fade away, leaving hot pinpricks of overstimulation in its place that made your thighs jump. Verso quickly retreated, panting deeply through bright red lips. “Sorry…” He apologized in a timid murmur.
“Don’t be.” You quickly shook your head, chest heaving as you both worked in unison to steady your breathing. A laugh started to spill over your lips as you spoke up again. “And you said you were out of practice.”
“Sometimes enthusiasm outweighs skill.” You eyed the silvery pattern of the scar crinkling around his eye as a warm smile decorated his lips.
“Well, it was perfect either way.” You smiled back, studying the way his fingers brushed back frazzled strands of hair before he wiped the sodden parts of his beard with the back of a hand. “I think you’ve earned something in return.” You alluded in a suggestive tone, linking your fingers through his gloveless hand and encouraging him closer.
His knees settled between your legs, height towering over you as you looped your arm between his leather coat and shirt. A flicker of reluctant uncertainty that you were sure was quelled resurfaced through the stormy hue of his eyes. Before his leaking cock head could press where you needed it, he released your hand to start tucking himself away.
The words that fumbled from his lips came as a shock. “That’s alright, it’s not necessary.” He shook his head, spirals of black and white hair creeping over his eyes.
All you could do in the moment was blink back at him with a dumbfounded expression. “What do you mean it’s not necessary?” You couldn’t hide the exasperation that was slipping into your tone, unhappy with how childish it sounded.
“You don’t have to feel obligated to please me.” He rephrased the sentiment more clearly as your eyes drifted down to the stubborn swell of his cock, half concealed by his hand.
“…But you’re—”
“I can take care of myself. You need to get some rest anyway, it’s been a long day.” He struggled with the task of fitting himself back into the tight opening of his trousers before your hand shot out to grasp his wrist.
“You and I both know better than that.” You put it bluntly with a pause.
He took a long inhale through the nose and let it pass from his lips as his eyes avoided contact before meeting your gaze again. “It has been a long, long long—”
“Time.” You finished for him. “I know.” Your hand loosened, fingers dotingly rubbing his wrist.” “I already told you I didn’t care and nothing’s going to change that now.” Your eyelids fluttered with a few shy blinks before you added at a quieter volume, “But I understand if you don’t want to. That’s all I’ll say.” You pulled your hand away and let it fall to your lap where you tried to study it intently rather than viewing his expression.
Then you felt the subtle tap of a finger beneath your chin, his shadow looming darker over you as he drew nearer to speak. “Are you certain, ma belle? Entirely certain?” He waited until your eyes found his again with a doe-like gaze. “Because once I start, I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back.”
“I’m sure.” You nodded.
“Just… Try not to judge me.” He let himself spring back out while shuffling his pants further down his hips.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” You promised with a toothy grin that only blossomed further when he kissed the corner of your mouth.
Your fingers found their way to the front of his shirt exposed through the open flaps of his coat, tugging on buttons until they snapped open in your voracious desire to reveal more of him. Your palm traversed the dark, supple hair dusted across his chest as his tip nudged your malleable hole. The contact was feverish, soaring in intensity as he sunk all the way down to the base in one push. The motion tore a groan from both of your throats, your legs tightly framing his hips as he cursed under his breath.
“Putain, I won’t last...” He confirmed his fear, shaking his head as his teeth audibly gritted together through every word.
“It’s alright.” You reminded him in a whisper, carding your fingers through his hair with gentle strokes. “Just take what you need, I’m right here.” The words melted into a praise as your lips found his cheek in a kiss.
His flared tip burrowed exceptionally into your fragile, spongy space, drawing a whimper from your lips as your palms slid around to knead the muscles of his bare back. It was a perfect curve that made your swollen sex pulse weakly with interest despite the still diminishing fatigue from your orgasm. He offered a few shallow thrusts, the punch of each creating a resounding smack from the collision of your hips. Then he stilled again, nuzzling into the crook of your neck where his lips started teasing along the outline of your collarbone.
“Merci.” He whispered so quietly that your ears had to strain to catch it. “Thank you… For letting me have this—have you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” You started to object only for him to persist, head raising again to lock eyes with you.
“But I do.” His hands restlessly explored every inch of exposed skin he could find—your thighs, waist, fingers, neck. “It’s been an eternity since I’ve allowed myself to love. An eternity of silence and regret that made me feel like I’ll never truly know how to love properly again.”
Now that his cock had enough time to temporarily settle back down and cease its restless kicking against your walls, he started moving again with deeper strokes. “But that’s something I’m willing to overcome as long as you’ll have me and keep offering your kindness and patience.” He was already panting, the warm air from it fanning across the side of your neck.
All you could come up with in the heat of the moment was a quiet moan of his name. “Verso… I—”
“Look at me.” His palms found your face, cradling either cheek in his loving possession as his forehead rested against yours. “I love you… I love you so much.” His hair breezed across your cheeks and neck with each forward thrust that rattled your frame against the bedroll with its escalating fervor. Tears burned behind your eyes and threatened to spill from the corners as he chanted the same devoted sentiment in his language. “Je t’aime, mon cœur… Je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime…”
Your hands resurfaced from his shirt to hold his face in a matching position while he attempted to kiss the tears that had rolled over onto your cheeks. Each one landed clumsily because of his unyielding rhythm. “Thank you, for saving me, for opening up to me, for this—for everything.” You squeezed his hips tighter with your inner thighs, heels digging into his lower back to further accent the force of each thrust.
The genuineness of your love shattered him completely, his head ever so slightly shaking back and forth. “I can’t, chérie, I can’t…” He warned you of his impending release in a trembling voice.
You leaned up to meld your lips together in a firm kiss that you held for as long as your depleted breath would allow. “I love you too, Verso. I love you so much.” You professed wholeheartedly upon pulling away.
You each released your grasp on each other as his head dipped back into the crook of your neck. “I’m gonna—merde—!” His hips faltered, plunging harshly in quicker sprints before he seated himself all the way inside of you and released with a broken sob muffled against your skin.
He ground his pelvis against yours, seeking every last inch of your warmth as a scalding rush of heat bloomed deep in your core. It was hot and wet, spurting from him in thick gushes that entirely painted your inner walls and the edge of your womb. The raw intimacy of it made your heart kick into a faster rhythm as he shuddered through the final pulses. His claim was sealed tightly as he kept himself buried deep, your inner walls already pulsating in an eager effort to accept his seed.
As the hazy cloud of lust started lifting from his mind, Verso’s features shifted with apprehensive realization. He leaned back on his palms just enough to eye the trickle of viscous, white spend escaping down your inner thigh in a liquidy trail.
“You’re… Fuck, I—I’m sorry.” He stuttered an apology for the reality of finishing inside.
“I’m not.” You said matter of factly, reassuringly rubbing his shoulder. “It’s alright.”
“You’re certain?” His eyes were still laced with a heavy seriousness.
Being an Expeditioner, your time was already nearing its end—a reality that pained you to think about now that you had found such a profound source of happiness to cherish. “I am.” You nodded, shoving that thought away as best as you could in the moment as his muscles went slack again.
“I’ll be more careful next time.” He slowly started to pull out of your tight heat, the thick gush of his spend already rolling down to fill the space and leak from your spread hole. “It will be proper, in a much warmer place as well.” He rolled over onto his side and tucked you safely into his arms before adding in a more bashful tone, “And much more prolonged, that I promise you.”
“Even if it isn’t any of those things, it won’t matter.” You planted a kiss on the dimple in the center of his nose tip. “I’ll still love it, because it’s with you.” You added on with a smile, “Although a warm bed would be nice.”
That earned a hearty laugh from deep in his chest, vibrating through your body pressed securely against his. “I’ll see to it. Now rest, we’ve still got quite a ways to travel tomorrow.” He reached down to grab the second bedroll serving as a blanket from where it had slipped down before wrapping it tightly around the both of you.
“Good night.” You whispered against his stubbled chin, dragging a kiss through the coarse texture before snuggling closer against his chest and tucking your head into the crook of his neck.
“Good night.” He whispered as you closed your eyes before adding in a whisper, “Je t’aime… I love you so much.”