For a few moments Lucas has to remind himself to breath. That tone in Max's voice is strange, unsettling even, until he takes these few moments to consider it. In the lens of Max's past, of that horrible year he barely remembers, the moment he broke, and the years since then living as Erik's Pet, it all comes together in a horrible moment of realization.
An order.
His gut twists. Lucas wants so desperately for Max's own sake for him to make his own decisions, and he has been making progress, but it's only been a little shy of half a year since they both arrived in the city. Not nearly enough time to completely undo damaged that reaches so deep it's buried itself in the core of Max's soul. This is simply...too much.
Swallowing thickly Lucas presses on. He can think, and fall apart, later. Max needs him now.
"You're doing good," He praises, another kiss to follow. "You're still tense, so we're going to relax all of these tense muscles next. Okay? Focus on your toes first."
Slowly Lucas walks Max through relaxing everything from his toes up, while frantically rattling his brain for what to tell the man next.
[with Rowan, that's actually an easy answer, because they've not been a pack for that long and there haven't been that many pack decisions]
When we decided what to do about the leeches, we all set down what we knew and thought would be right. But Rowan set down the final plan of what to do.
Max is breathless when the kiss finally breaks. His cheeks are bursting red and the rest of him is just as heated. His hands wrap around Dimitri's waist more out of a need for support than anything, because his legs feel like wet noodles. Fuck, he can't handle how hot it is to hear Dimitri's voice dip low like that.
"More than sufficient," he pants, "but... mmm, I really want more."
"I had thought you might. A simple kiss seemed an insufficient payment for the return of my senses." He laughed, lips brushing against Max's with each syllable. Max should have no fear of falling - Dimitri's holding him tight, and even as he pushes the other man back toward the nearest sturdy surface, he all but carries him along the way, holding him by the waist.
The king is only slightly hesitant. He's more experienced now than when they first met, but he still worries he might fuck something up or hurt the other man despite that. So he is careful - as careful as a beast if a man like him can be - as he leans in to trail kisses along Max's neck, not knowing how sensitive it is. Once he's got him pushed back against whatever he hit, he wedges a muscular thigh between Max's, pushing them apart so he can rub against his crotch. "What is it you want? I owe you quite a bit - so anything you request, I can surely manage."
"I mean... I guess the fact that you don't look outwardly different is a little bit of a blessing and a curse. But, obviously some things are different if you can survive drinking this stuff," He finally offers the flask back to Michael. Now that he's reasonably sure it's not going to actually kill him.
Oh, but he almost wants to tease Michael for being sweet on Raleigh. He won't, sensing that might still be a fragile new development. "I hope the two of you keep working. And, I mean... you know what his backstory is too, I assume. If he can see you as you, I'm sure a lot of people will." The Kaiju were sort of like big space invaders too, weren't they? as Max understands it.
Max wraps an arm around Michael as he leans in. "Yeah, Daniel has told me a little. He doesn't like talking about it much. Can't say I really blame him. I know why you're nervous, but I think he can see you'd never hurt him. And if you need me to vouch for you, I will. And so will Raleigh, I know."
"It's like..." Michael waves a hand. "Kind of like being bi. I'm passing, which is safer, but sometimes I fucking hate it." Oh hey his flask. He takes a quick swig.
Ughhhhh yeah tease him if you want him to curl up tighter than a porcupine, jerkface. "I mean yeah, but that's...different. That's giant creatures stomping buildings, not a systemic takeover and destruction of your government and freedoms." The Kaiju Raleigh faced were nothing like the Legislators that Daniel described.
He digs the heel of his hand against his eye, letting Max hug him. It's....good to have friends. "Mnngyeah." Maybe.
Much easier, this time. Less...desperate. I feel so warm.
[ He flexes his fingers, staring down at his hand in awe, Max's arm still cradled in a delicate hold being slowly lowered to his lap. Not in a salacious sense. Just laying it across his thighs. After a moment, he lifted one hand and laid it against the side of Max's neck, so he could feel how much warmer it was. ]
"Oh, god..." That party. It was supposed to be a fun event but it seems to have brought misery to so many.
"Shit, man. I can't imagine the kinds of bad memories that dragged up for you. I don't... I mean, I don't think it was really him. But, that doesn't actually matter much. It's still awful."
Max knows the feeling. He saw someone from his past too. "My mask only slipped once, and that was enough. I'm so sorry." He keeps saying that: sorry. But he just doesn't know what else there is to say.
The praise warms him. So does the kiss. On Lucas' cue, he begins to do as he's told, attempting to relax his muscles one-by-one starting at the toes.
Lucas will feel his body loosen as they go, and once they've reached his chest and arms, Max's breathing is steady and deep. It's working. The anxiety is receding.
"I'm so tired," he says. He stayed up fretting all night. "I want to just... sleep for a while?" If Lucas tells him to do it, he's sure he'll be able to now.
"Almost, Max. You're doing so good." Lucas manages to say while his stomach ties in knots. He hates this realization and the darker implications that spiderweb out from it. If this helps Max move forward and slowly shake off the shackles of being a Pet, then he'll swallow down how much it makes his heart ache without protest.
"Just one more thing and then you can sleep." He promises with another kiss. Focus on Max. Lucas takes a quiet breath to steady himself. "I need you to accept Lior's forgiveness. And I know! I know. It's not easy and that you don't believe you deserve it. But accept it and talk to her. Soon. Alright?"
Max nods his head in reaction to more praise. Good. He's doing good. He's doing better. The world is stable beneath him once more. His place in it feels solid. There's just that one thing...
Accept Lioriley's forgiveness.
Another tremor runs through him. He tenses one last time. But it's still an order. It's what he must do. So, he nods again.
"I will," he promises. "I... do. I'll call her."
With that promise cast in stone, he closes his eyes and lets out another long shuddering breath. Lucas said he could sleep after that one last thing. He longs to let that blissful nothingness take him for a while. He's reached the point of exhaustion now where he doesn't think he can resist it anymore. He's slipping already.
Lucas stills, his chest near bursting with broiling emotion as he waits. Max will either accept the order or rail against it and part of him is hoping it's the latter.
It isn't.
His stomach drops and slowly, carefully, Lucas measures his exhale out and forces himself to relax around Max, to hold in a tremble and keep the wetness stinging his eyes at bay. A kiss to send Max off to slumber. No further orders from the Medium will follow aside from a quiet, "Good night, Max. I love you."
Long past the moment he's certain the man is sleeping, Lucas waits, swallowing down the burning lump in his throat, blinking to hold back tears until that no longer works. They slide hot and silent down his cheeks. Afraid for Max, worrying for Max, in ways that absolutely fill him with dread, because he'll do it again. If another situation arises, if it means helping guide his love along a better path, then Lucas vows he'll take on this mantle again. As many times as he needs to, but it's not a noble gesture.
It makes him no better than Erik, in the end.
The thought keeps him up umtil his tears have dried and the castle starts waking up. No rest for the weary, he had promised to check on Lioriley and he means to do that, too. Once Max is up and moving, Lucas kisses him goodbye and slips out of the man's room.
"How do you know it wasn't just because, selfishly, I couldn't stand someone not being able to taste my cooking?" He says it teasingly. Obviously, that's not the real reason. Or, not the only one.
Max is trying to play it cool, right up until Dimitri's kisses begin to trail down his neck. He can't pretend anything with that, it sets fire to his skin.
"Oh, fuck yes."
His hands grip Dimitri harder, to hold himself up. But that proves not to be necessary at all. Dimitri is so strong! Lifting Max and carrying him like he's made of paper. They hit the kitchen wall and Max groans from pure unadulterated lust. He can barely stand how hard his cock is now. When Dimitri parts his legs with a thigh, Max grinds himself eagerly against it, desperate for relief.
"God," Max gasps. Words are hard when he'd this turned-on, "fuck me right here against the wall. Oh, please!"
[It's no surprise to Max that Astarion's hand is warmer against his neck. His own master can remain warm for close to an hour after a good feeding. But it always fades, eventually.]
I--suppose I must have, after Quentin, but I didn't...there were more pressing matters. The blood of animals...it satisfies, but it doesn't make me feel, almost as though I were alive again.
[ His fingers flex and play almost absently, toying with the hair at the nape of Max's neck. ]
My former master. He...required a meal, every few weeks, but when he fed, he took all there was. [ Gods but it's humiliating, lowering, utterly pathetic to understand so little about his own nature. That Cazador kept him so ignorant, so weak, so starved. ] I'm not sure how many small feedings it will take to keep from becoming a danger again.
[Oh. She wasn't supposed to get suspicious. Well. Shit.]
I have a history with vampires. Remember? So, I'm kind of interested to hear what the pack's general plan is for dealing with them.
[None of that is even a lie. He really does want to know what their policy is, that might be vital to know if, god forbid, the truth ever comes out about him and Jackie.]
"Is it, though?" Max asks shrewdly. "In here?" he taps lightly at Raleigh's temple. Max has reason to think otherwise. Why would he be answering a call in the middle of the night like this otherwise?
"Or here?" He taps at Raleigh's chest too, over his heart.
"There's moving on and then there's... drinking to forget. Or, working long hours to stay distracted hoping you can. Believe me, I'm intimately familiar with that concept."
[If Astarion continues to toy with that area at the nape of Max's neck, he will no doubt brush up against his mark. Max's skin bears a raised brand in a perfect circle with his Master's coat of arms burned in the center. A griffin on one side and a shield crossed with a sword on the other.]
That's... not great.
[He does his best to put aside the knowledge of how many lives that adds up to. How many poor souls died in his master's jaws? That's not Astarion's fault. That's on his master.]
It's extremely hard to judge. In my world, the older a vampire gets, the less blood they need. I have no idea if that's true for you.
For you I just... I don't know. It's really not safe to do big feedings on the same human more than every three months. My master is old. Very old. So, he'd take a very small amount from me on a weekly basis... and even that had to be carefully managed with iron supplements, diet, and exercise. The first day after I'd usually have to spend sleeping.
Now, here, I have that special regeneration boon I asked the fae for so I could do feedings more frequently. But still I... I'm worried my master here isn't going to be happy if I'm double-ing up too much.
[He taps a finger to his lips, thoughtfully.]
There are creatures in the woods. Deer and other big game. And there are the brothels too. I've heard they will let you pay for a meal. I'm not saying I don't want to help, just that if you require a lot then you're going to have to plan on varying your sources.
"I have a strong feeling that is not the case." He saw the look in Max's eyes when he offered, the sincerity in wanting to see someone happy, in wanting to see him happy despite not knowing Dimitri at all. And even if the gesture was selfish to a degree, it was still something Dimitri felt he needed to pay back.
And so he would via obliging in Max's request. A request that did not surprise him and yet still caused his cheeks to light with a rosy hue, and a heat coil in his belly. He pushed his leg forward, making sure Max could grind as much as he wanted against the corded thigh, all the while kisses along the curve of his neck.
"As you wish." He murmurs, lapping his tongue along the column of Max's neck. He tugs on whatever clothing covers his upper half now, trying his best not to just rip it off with his strength - but making no promises that he won't either.
"No, he admits. Not for either, his heart or his head. But what do you do? How do you move on, when you feel all of these things, all the time? It's overwhelming, and sometimes it catches up to him.
"Yeah. I've done...all of those." On more than one occasion, here, and back home.
"I'm having some strong feelings too," Max groans. He's expressing them with his hips, undulating against Dimitri's strong thigh. But it's not enough. his body cries out for more.
Needy moans rumble in his chest at the delicious sensation if the man's tongue along his neck. He's too desperate to care if this shirt gets ruined. While Dimitri takes care of that, he moves shaking hands to his belt, unbuckling it and then undoing the fly of his trousers. He'll let everything fall around his ankles, and kick them away, along with his shoes.
"Lube, in the kitchen drawer," he pants, motioning to a nearby drawer under the counter. He wants to waste no time, but he's also seen what Dimitri is packing. He's going to need it.
[ Considering the large seal that marred his own back--and how it got there--even if Astarion's fingers did find it, he wouldn't think that much of it, or remark upon it. He would simply assume Max's master was as sadistic as his own.
Clearly there were too many factors to know for certain. Astarion was 200 years old, but what did that even mean in terms of undeath? Was it different for him, being a vampire spawn--and having his little passenger sleeping dormant in his head, allowing him to walk in sunlight and cross any threshold he liked without the need for invitation?
He sighed. He had quite a learning curve ahead of him, didn't he. Perhaps the game in the woods, coupled with a few sips of kith blood, would suffice HANG ON HOL' UP-- ]
...Wait. I'm sorry, your master here? [ Explain, Max, cause he is confusion. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-13 04:11 am (UTC)An order.
His gut twists. Lucas wants so desperately for Max's own sake for him to make his own decisions, and he has been making progress, but it's only been a little shy of half a year since they both arrived in the city. Not nearly enough time to completely undo damaged that reaches so deep it's buried itself in the core of Max's soul. This is simply...too much.
Swallowing thickly Lucas presses on. He can think, and fall apart, later. Max needs him now.
"You're doing good," He praises, another kiss to follow. "You're still tense, so we're going to relax all of these tense muscles next. Okay? Focus on your toes first."
Slowly Lucas walks Max through relaxing everything from his toes up, while frantically rattling his brain for what to tell the man next.
video; private
Date: 2020-12-14 10:08 am (UTC)When we decided what to do about the leeches, we all set down what we knew and thought would be right. But Rowan set down the final plan of what to do.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-14 06:58 pm (UTC)"More than sufficient," he pants, "but... mmm, I really want more."
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-14 07:07 pm (UTC)The king is only slightly hesitant. He's more experienced now than when they first met, but he still worries he might fuck something up or hurt the other man despite that. So he is careful - as careful as a beast if a man like him can be - as he leans in to trail kisses along Max's neck, not knowing how sensitive it is. Once he's got him pushed back against whatever he hit, he wedges a muscular thigh between Max's, pushing them apart so he can rub against his crotch. "What is it you want? I owe you quite a bit - so anything you request, I can surely manage."
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-15 03:49 pm (UTC)Oh, but he almost wants to tease Michael for being sweet on Raleigh. He won't, sensing that might still be a fragile new development. "I hope the two of you keep working. And, I mean... you know what his backstory is too, I assume. If he can see you as you, I'm sure a lot of people will." The Kaiju were sort of like big space invaders too, weren't they? as Max understands it.
Max wraps an arm around Michael as he leans in. "Yeah, Daniel has told me a little. He doesn't like talking about it much. Can't say I really blame him. I know why you're nervous, but I think he can see you'd never hurt him. And if you need me to vouch for you, I will. And so will Raleigh, I know."
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-15 10:28 pm (UTC)Ughhhhh yeah tease him if you want him to curl up tighter than a porcupine, jerkface. "I mean yeah, but that's...different. That's giant creatures stomping buildings, not a systemic takeover and destruction of your government and freedoms." The Kaiju Raleigh faced were nothing like the Legislators that Daniel described.
He digs the heel of his hand against his eye, letting Max hug him. It's....good to have friends. "Mnngyeah." Maybe.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-16 04:49 am (UTC)[ He flexes his fingers, staring down at his hand in awe, Max's arm still cradled in a delicate hold being slowly lowered to his lap. Not in a salacious sense. Just laying it across his thighs. After a moment, he lifted one hand and laid it against the side of Max's neck, so he could feel how much warmer it was. ]
Remarkable, isn't it?
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-16 05:37 am (UTC)"Shit, man. I can't imagine the kinds of bad memories that dragged up for you. I don't... I mean, I don't think it was really him. But, that doesn't actually matter much. It's still awful."
Max knows the feeling. He saw someone from his past too. "My mask only slipped once, and that was enough. I'm so sorry." He keeps saying that: sorry. But he just doesn't know what else there is to say.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-16 05:48 am (UTC)Lucas will feel his body loosen as they go, and once they've reached his chest and arms, Max's breathing is steady and deep. It's working. The anxiety is receding.
"I'm so tired," he says. He stayed up fretting all night. "I want to just... sleep for a while?" If Lucas tells him to do it, he's sure he'll be able to now.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-16 02:08 pm (UTC)"Just one more thing and then you can sleep." He promises with another kiss. Focus on Max. Lucas takes a quiet breath to steady himself. "I need you to accept Lior's forgiveness. And I know! I know. It's not easy and that you don't believe you deserve it. But accept it and talk to her. Soon. Alright?"
this looks good to wrap up
Date: 2020-12-16 04:39 pm (UTC)Accept Lioriley's forgiveness.
Another tremor runs through him. He tenses one last time. But it's still an order. It's what he must do. So, he nods again.
"I will," he promises. "I... do. I'll call her."
With that promise cast in stone, he closes his eyes and lets out another long shuddering breath. Lucas said he could sleep after that one last thing. He longs to let that blissful nothingness take him for a while. He's reached the point of exhaustion now where he doesn't think he can resist it anymore. He's slipping already.
And good to call done, enjoy the feels
Date: 2020-12-16 05:13 pm (UTC)It isn't.
His stomach drops and slowly, carefully, Lucas measures his exhale out and forces himself to relax around Max, to hold in a tremble and keep the wetness stinging his eyes at bay. A kiss to send Max off to slumber. No further orders from the Medium will follow aside from a quiet, "Good night, Max. I love you."
Long past the moment he's certain the man is sleeping, Lucas waits, swallowing down the burning lump in his throat, blinking to hold back tears until that no longer works. They slide hot and silent down his cheeks. Afraid for Max, worrying for Max, in ways that absolutely fill him with dread, because he'll do it again. If another situation arises, if it means helping guide his love along a better path, then Lucas vows he'll take on this mantle again. As many times as he needs to, but it's not a noble gesture.
It makes him no better than Erik, in the end.
The thought keeps him up umtil his tears have dried and the castle starts waking up. No rest for the weary, he had promised to check on Lioriley and he means to do that, too. Once Max is up and moving, Lucas kisses him goodbye and slips out of the man's room.
Re: video; private
Date: 2020-12-17 04:24 am (UTC)Actually... what did Rowan decide on that? What is the plan?
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-17 04:35 am (UTC)Max is trying to play it cool, right up until Dimitri's kisses begin to trail down his neck. He can't pretend anything with that, it sets fire to his skin.
"Oh, fuck yes."
His hands grip Dimitri harder, to hold himself up. But that proves not to be necessary at all. Dimitri is so strong! Lifting Max and carrying him like he's made of paper. They hit the kitchen wall and Max groans from pure unadulterated lust. He can barely stand how hard his cock is now. When Dimitri parts his legs with a thigh, Max grinds himself eagerly against it, desperate for relief.
"God," Max gasps. Words are hard when he'd this turned-on, "fuck me right here against the wall. Oh, please!"
permanent video; private - well whoops, that was two int successes
Date: 2020-12-17 08:07 am (UTC)For what reason do you need to know?
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-17 10:21 pm (UTC)[It's no surprise to Max that Astarion's hand is warmer against his neck. His own master can remain warm for close to an hour after a good feeding. But it always fades, eventually.]
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-18 12:06 am (UTC)"Yeah. It's fine, it's over." Raleigh doesn't particularly want to go into detail - it was...traumatic. "Time to move on, right?"
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-19 12:05 am (UTC)[ His fingers flex and play almost absently, toying with the hair at the nape of Max's neck. ]
My former master. He...required a meal, every few weeks, but when he fed, he took all there was. [ Gods but it's humiliating, lowering, utterly pathetic to understand so little about his own nature. That Cazador kept him so ignorant, so weak, so starved. ] I'm not sure how many small feedings it will take to keep from becoming a danger again.
dang it milla, don't be smart now!
Date: 2020-12-19 05:58 am (UTC)I have a history with vampires. Remember? So, I'm kind of interested to hear what the pack's general plan is for dealing with them.
[None of that is even a lie. He really does want to know what their policy is, that might be vital to know if, god forbid, the truth ever comes out about him and Jackie.]
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-19 05:11 pm (UTC)"Or here?" He taps at Raleigh's chest too, over his heart.
"There's moving on and then there's... drinking to forget. Or, working long hours to stay distracted hoping you can. Believe me, I'm intimately familiar with that concept."
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-19 08:31 pm (UTC)That's... not great.
[He does his best to put aside the knowledge of how many lives that adds up to. How many poor souls died in his master's jaws? That's not Astarion's fault. That's on his master.]
It's extremely hard to judge. In my world, the older a vampire gets, the less blood they need. I have no idea if that's true for you.
For you I just... I don't know. It's really not safe to do big feedings on the same human more than every three months. My master is old. Very old. So, he'd take a very small amount from me on a weekly basis... and even that had to be carefully managed with iron supplements, diet, and exercise. The first day after I'd usually have to spend sleeping.
Now, here, I have that special regeneration boon I asked the fae for so I could do feedings more frequently. But still I... I'm worried my master here isn't going to be happy if I'm double-ing up too much.
[He taps a finger to his lips, thoughtfully.]
There are creatures in the woods. Deer and other big game. And there are the brothels too. I've heard they will let you pay for a meal. I'm not saying I don't want to help, just that if you require a lot then you're going to have to plan on varying your sources.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-20 06:03 pm (UTC)And so he would via obliging in Max's request. A request that did not surprise him and yet still caused his cheeks to light with a rosy hue, and a heat coil in his belly. He pushed his leg forward, making sure Max could grind as much as he wanted against the corded thigh, all the while kisses along the curve of his neck.
"As you wish." He murmurs, lapping his tongue along the column of Max's neck. He tugs on whatever clothing covers his upper half now, trying his best not to just rip it off with his strength - but making no promises that he won't either.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-21 02:24 pm (UTC)"Yeah. I've done...all of those." On more than one occasion, here, and back home.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-22 06:26 pm (UTC)Needy moans rumble in his chest at the delicious sensation if the man's tongue along his neck. He's too desperate to care if this shirt gets ruined. While Dimitri takes care of that, he moves shaking hands to his belt, unbuckling it and then undoing the fly of his trousers. He'll let everything fall around his ankles, and kick them away, along with his shoes.
"Lube, in the kitchen drawer," he pants, motioning to a nearby drawer under the counter. He wants to waste no time, but he's also seen what Dimitri is packing. He's going to need it.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-12-22 07:51 pm (UTC)Clearly there were too many factors to know for certain. Astarion was 200 years old, but what did that even mean in terms of undeath? Was it different for him, being a vampire spawn--and having his little passenger sleeping dormant in his head, allowing him to walk in sunlight and cross any threshold he liked without the need for invitation?
He sighed. He had quite a learning curve ahead of him, didn't he. Perhaps the game in the woods, coupled with a few sips of kith blood, would suffice HANG ON HOL' UP-- ]
...Wait. I'm sorry, your master here? [ Explain, Max, cause he is confusion. ]