museboxofmuses | The Onsen Episode

Aza, of course, chose that exact moment of bonelessness to boldly barge in.

He did so with his usual boisterousness, the door rattling as he threw it open and the heavy 'clomp' as his boots being roughly kicked off to knock against the shoe rack. He always felt a bit restless when he came here, his shoulders tense and skin itching all the way from the Aetheryte Plaza to Aymeric's apartment, which sat just over the bridge and behind the main market street. Too short a distance to teleport, too far for him to completely fight off the discomfort of being in the open streets of Kugane.

But it was fine. He was in Aymeric's apartment, he told himself, gently balancing his blade next to the front door. He double checked the lock of the door, did a small sweep of his immediate area, and, sensing only his partner's aether in the apartment, finally relaxed. Not as much as he would've done in Ishgard, but it was a work in progress. He'll get there eventually.

"Handsome, I'm home~" he called, ducking out of the tiny entrance way and into the apartment proper. He almost did a double take at seeing Aymeric slouched over his windowsill, bottle in sake in hand and looking like, well, like him after a depression fuelled bender, "Uh, Aym? You okay there, babe?"

"Aza!" He set the bottle down with a thunk, getting quickly to his feet, hand clasping his robe shut. "I'm... fine. Well, more than fine now that you're here," he leaned down, to kiss him. He had a day's worth of scruff on his chin.

His room did not make him look fine. There were half-drunk bottles of sake, empty skewers on his desk, a tea set with cold, stale tea still in it. It was a mess, well and truly.

"Where have you been this time?"

Well.

"Uh, Aym-mmph..." Aza grumbled quietly at the very scruffy kiss, the taste of sake almost overpowering. He very much liked Aymeric's kisses, even sloppy drunken ones like these since that normally went into fun directions, but this one was kind of...

With a very quiet grunt, he planted a hand on Aymeric's chest and subtly pushed him back a fraction, enough for him to frown up at him. Despite his cheery greeting, Aymeric did not look fine in the slightest. What the hell happened in the last week? Aymeric had been a little stressed but otherwise fine when he left him last. Did something happen? Or... did someone do something to him?

"Never mind where I've been," he said firmly, doing a very quick once over of his partner. He didn't look injured, and while the stink of sake overpowered everything, he didn't smell anything that indicated poisonings or drugs. Aza started to feel agitated when nothing obvious leapt out at him, "Are you hurt? Or ill? Wait, lean down, lemme check..."

Aza had to lift onto his tiptoes to be able to press the back of his hand against Aymeric's forehead, in case he had a temperature.

"I'm not sick, well. Just homesick," he took Aza's hand off his brow to clasp them both between his own hands. "Everything tastes awful, Aza. Even in the midst of war, the worst of the rations we made from salted eft were at least familiar. How can you stand to eat so much strange food all the time?"

Aymeric felt just silly, really. But he was bored whenever Aza left and not adjusting that well.

"Everyone stares at me, too. I'm the only Elezen for malms around!" He let out a sigh. "'Tis not worth all the agitation. I simply wish I could have prepared a bit better. I should look on the bright side. The weather is nice. You are here..." He quickly ran out of high points.

"Tell me that you will be taking me somewhere fun."

Aza blinked, the agitation that had started bubbling up in his belly kind of... fizzling out as Aymeric rambled. Homesick? Aymeric was homesick? That was... Aza knew Aymeric had been (rightfully) upset about his abrupt posting here, but his partner always seemed keen and interested in experiencing other cultures and places. To hear him finding it difficult to settle in and enjoy the experience was... kind of heart-breaking, really.

"Um, I haven't made any plans to go out. I thought we were gonna have a night in together," he said hesitantly. Kugane was a pain to travel from, what with needing to book ship tickets or set aside money for a Ruby Tithe, and Aza was leery of wandering the city when just a five minute walk through its streets had him break out into cold sweats. He'd force himself to, if he had to for Aym's happiness, but that was very much a last resort thing.

Not that Aymeric was in any state to go out. With both of his hands clasping his, his partner's kimono was gaping open, revealing a very nice, firm chest and well toned abs, but was a worrying indication of his apathy, being practically naked and so poorly dressed. Aza was used to Aymeric being nothing short of impeccable, only showing such disarray post-fight or post-sex, but still possessing that hypnotic confidence even if caked in filth. This situation was not as sexy as those two scenarios.

"Maybe we should clean you up first," Aza said, gentling his tone. He lifted his free hand, cupping his partner's jaw to rub his thumb over the prickly scruff. So weird. He never kissed a guy with scruff before now and it had felt... okay? Unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, "A hot bath, yeah? How does that sound, babe?"

“Sounds nice,” he laid his head on top of Aza’s. “I’m a mess. I’m sorry, darling,” he wrapped his arms around his shorter partner, rocking him. “Do you know what I miss perhaps the most?”

He released Aza, gathering his clothes and toiletries for the bath. “Dancing. I miss dancing, and no one dances like they do in Ishgard here. ‘Tis all for spectacle, watching women dance to unfamiliar music. You know that one two-stringed instrument? Terrible.”

Aymeric felt guilt about complaining about the culture shock, but he would feel worse complaining to anyone else. He was supposed to be a diplomat, after all. He figured it was about time to give up and go make nice with Hancock.

“Although... seeing you in the nude will lighten my spirits considerably. I should have a painting done of you to hang by my bedside.”

Edited 2018-09-14 05:56 (UTC)

Aza felt a bit of affectionate relief as the easy hug and Aymeric's petty complaining. It was edging a bit more into normalcy, and he couldn't help but smile like an idiot, his tail happily curling upwards as he watched his partner bustle about. He already looked a bit more animated and less gloomy, which was fantastic. Aza purred happily.

"A painting? Ugh, c'mon, Aym," Aza groaned. Who the hell would want a picture of him on their wall? Even Aymeric would get sick of looking at his scarred as hell body every day within a month or something, "Do you really think I have the patience to sit around for hours, letting some pervy painter do me?"

...wait.

"Paint me!" he hastily corrected in an open fluster, "I meant paint. Pervy painter painting me. Yup. Unless you're the painter then you can. Um. Do me. Or paint. Or. Whatever. Yeah."

His lips moved from their rather neutral state into a full, beaming smile. “I would never get sick of looking at you! I could have the scars updated every moon or so to stay current. Not all artists are perverts. Isn’t Master Alphinaud quite the artist?”

He deftly righted his clothes. “Perhaps I should learn to draw, then. I would quite like a painting of you. And it sounds like you would like me to do you.”

Aymeric stood at the precipice of his doorway, looking like he had a lot to decide between. Drag Aza onto his mattress for a fuck, or suffer chastity in the baths ‘til afterwards. “I think we know who the real pervert is.”

Aza started to go a rather impressive shade of pink as Aymeric spoke, his stomach doing that weird, squirmy thing whenever his partner was so free and direct with his compliments. Even now, after working at this 'healthy and equal relationship' thing for a few years, Aza always felt a bit on the back foot when confronted with the whole romantic element to it. He was better now, though. Whereas before he fumbled and acted like a skittish, mistrustful cat whenever Aymeric did his usual schmoopy shit, now he sort of... got it. Alrightish. Still blushed like an idiot and got all squirmy, but he got it.

"The last person I wanna pose naked for is Alphie. That's all kindsa wrong," Aza grumbled. Seriously, did Aymeric want to ruin the mood? With a semi-irritated flick of his tail, he half-turned from his partner, crossing his arms over his chest and peeking at him in his peripheral vision. Aymeric was standing in the doorway, looking unfairly perfect and handsome as always. He was always mesmerising, and Aza had to look away before he started staring like a brain dead moron.

Fuck. His face felt like it could fry eggs on it. Stupid, sexy Aymeric.

"Yeah, it's you. You're the pervert," he huffed, "Talking about naked paintings and whatnot. If you want one, you'll have to draw it yourself. I'm not, uh, getting naked for anyone else."

“Fine, then. I’ll go buy some proper utensils.”

“I would sit for a painting. I likely will need to, lest I die of food poisoning from raw fish before then. I had always imagined glorious battle or failing that, natural causes just waiting for Count Dounon to drop dead first,” he looked over his room, cringing a bit. His land lady was a dear though, she would likely just fret over him more than she already did.

“Come, let us bathe. I’ll brush out your tail, even if it ruins the bath water.” He picked up his supplies, walking to the outdoor bathing quarters. It was a low stooped building, cleverly designed to fill and empty the bath in a well heater room. The only drawback was that it was communal.

He undressed with little ceremony, folding his clothes neatly into a basket.

"You're so dramatic," Aza sighed, following after his partner, "And my tail doesn't shed that much!"

Well, okay, maybe it did. But still!

He sulked into the outdoor bathing quarters just behind Aymeric, giving the small building a critical once over and finding it lacking. His partner undressed, Aza identified the ideal spots where any assassin worth their salt would leap out from to murder them both, and very slowly began undressing too, while keeping an eye on said spots. Hey, it wasn't paranoia if they really were out to get you, and Aza already survived about seven assassination attempts in Kugane. Granted, said assassination attempts were normally when he was drunk or out drinking, but he wouldn't put it past them to try jumping him in the baths. Seemed like a logical step up.

"This seems-" he paused as he pulled his gambeson over his head, his hair fluffing out in a wild mess once he was freed, his ears flicking upright in an alert state, "-communal. No private bathrooms for the super important Ishgardian diplomat?"

As he folded up his gambeson - with some difficulty, as the stiff leather wasn't very cooperative in being neatly folded - his newly half-naked state revealed a fresh scar cutting a wonky, diagonal line across his lower back, a mere few ilms above the base of his tail. The scar tissue an angry red and the skin puckered in a way that indicated it was very new and recently healed with liberal application of magic.

Aymeric heaved a sigh. “Apparently, the Garleans purchased the estate days before mine arrival. ‘Twas this or purchasing a home of mine own. I am not sure I want to place that much permanence in this position.”

Because really, it isn’t as if he didn’t have the money. There’s no way this arrangement was helping, though.

“It is supposedly only for the residents of these apartments, but I have seen men that I did not recognize. Very assuring, I know.”

Aymeric watched Aza undress entirely unabashedly. His keen eyes found the new scar, looking barely a day from being a wound, with a frown. He didn’t want to touch it, it seemed fragile still, but r reached out with knitted brows. “Aza, dear, what happened here?”

That really did sound like the right level of Garlean pettiness, wasting shitload of money just to thumb their nose at the Eorzean diplomats. Still, so long as it stayed at that level of pettiness, and not 'sinking a knife into Aymeric's back', then Aza could see the humour in it.

"If any of those strange men come in here, they're getting kicked right back out," Aza huffed, giving up on folding his gambeson and just messily stuffing it into the basket instead. He started on his breeches, but paused with them halfway down his thighs when Aymeric spoke up again.

"Huh? What?" he looked over his shoulder, peering down at- "Oh, that. Just a botched assassination attempt," he said with a shrug, pushing his breeches down the rest of the way, kicking them off his feet and flinging them carelessly into the basket, "S'kinda sore, but it wasn't serious or anything, so you can touch if you want."

“Oh? And where did this assassination attempt occur?” Aymeric looked even more fretful than he did a moment ago. Sure, assassination was so common it was almost blasé at this point, but they were woefully unprepared for any sort of attack.

“A few ilms south and you would be sporting a bobtail like so many Hingan kittens.”

Aymeric’s gaze settled on the doorway. He held his straight razor in his hand with a tenseness.

"I think I'd look cute with a bobtail. With how my fur is, it'd look like a rabbit's tail, right?" Aza asked lightly, trying to diffuse the sudden tension, and pivoted on his heel to face his partner and get that troublesome scar out of sight.

"But don't worry. It didn't happen here. It happened in Doma," he murmured, stepping close to Aymeric with a pointed swish to his tail. He reached out, curling his fingers around the hand clutching the straight razor, rubbing the pad of his thumb over his knuckles, "The assassin's dead too."

Plus Aza was meant to be the paranoid one here. The Echo was a bit of a cheat, in that it would always give him a split-second warning (which no doubt drove his would be assassins insane), and it meant his constant vigilance wasn't all that exhausting, since the Echo was rather passive. Having Aymeric be all tense and actively on guard for an attack would burn him out fast, especially if he was already gloomy because of homesickness and culture shock.

"And if another assassin comes bursting in here to finish the job, I'll kill him as well," he continued easily, letting his voice drop into a low, soothing purr, "So relax, handsome. S'fine. Chill."

"I hate to admit it... But you would look very cute with a docked tail." The image filled Aymeric's imagination. He couldn't help but chuckle. With a bit of guilt he admitted to himself that a docked tail would produce a lot less fur to clean out of bed.

"Forgive me, it may sound insane, but I forget who you are sometimes," the tension from his shoulders began to fade. "My instinct is to protect you, when it has truly been the other way around the entire time I've known you."

Look, it was hard to remember that your boyfriend was an utter magical god-killer sometimes. Even still, Aymeric wasn't unused to blood. He had grown up with it. And Aza's casualness towards death and violence was quickly becoming his normal too.

"Perhaps I should let you hold the razor, then." His gaze dragged down Aza's body, shamelessly soaking him in. He had no more empathy for assassins, not after what he had been through. Not with the state of things. He allowed himself to be soothed. "Let us be done here quickly, even still."

He took up his wash cloth, lathering it thickly with a sandalwood-scented soap.

Edited 2018-09-15 06:29 (UTC)

Ahh, there was that squirmy belly feeling again.

"Well, you protect me in less... physical ways," Aza mumbled, easing back as his partner took up his washcloth, fidgeting a little, "You know, stop me from being a self-destructive idiot and all that."

Seriously, it was bizarre when Aza looked back at who he was, and who he was now. Five years ago he wouldn't have even contemplated being in a committed relationship, if only because five years ago he'd constantly been overshadowed by a disgusting fear of being vulnerable and keeping anyone who wasn't family arm's length apart. He still got flashes of that from time to time, but it was... easier? Yeah, easier to deal with now, and the trust he had in Aymeric was both scary and liberating.

...the sex was good too. That was also a very key point in their relationship, which went hand in hand with the trust. Aza was rarely, if ever, afraid during those moments.

So, instead of shying away from Aymeric's appreciative glance, which he would've done with anyone else, he subtly shifted into a more confident post. He rested a hand on his hip, shifting his weight more into that leg as he tilted his chin up just a fraction, already feeling his heart flutter a bit, "Hey, you can't rush a good bath. Kinda defeats the purpose of relaxing in one."

"At least the blows to my ego as a knight are always padded," he said with a little smirk.

It had truly been an adventure with Aza by his side. He would have scarcely been able to predict it wither. Not that the rest of recent history was anywhere he could have guessed either. That was partially the fault of his own optimism.

"Aye, but keeping lubrication in the bath is miserable work, and I'm feeling rather impatient. We can visit the onsen later if you wish to relax in the bath," Aymeric guided his lover to the edge of the bath, dipping the cloth into the water to begin washing the ever-present grime of sweat and dirt.

"And if not assassins, there are worse perverts than us roaming the streets. I do not wish to be caught up in frivolous scandal so soon to my arrival."

Edited 2018-09-15 06:52 (UTC)

Oh, well then.

"So soon? You mean you're expecting to be caught up in a scandal?" Aza teased as Aymeric drew him close to the bath, unable to stop himself from playfully whacking his partner's bare rump with his tail, "Guess it should be expected since you can never keep your hands to yourself~"

There were, after all, some... incidents back in Ishgard, where he and Aymeric were caught in compromising situations due to heated passions. Thankfully no one really commented on it - publicly. Aza was certain they bitched and moaned about it behind closed doors. Just seemed inevitable that that would happen here in Kugane too.

He let out a soft noise at the thwap to his backside. "What would be the fun of me? Would you prefer an upright citizen, chaste and demure?"

He let out a short laugh. Layered joke and all that; of course he was an upright citizen, but he was also one with many needs.

"In case you haven't noticed, scandals simply follow me. I may as well anticipate them now and adjust accordingly," he began cleaning his partner in earnest.

"So, how many days of Othard's dirt is this? When did you wash last?"

Aza snorted at the chaste comment, unable to even imagine it. While Aymeric was charismatic and well-behaved in public, he was also a fiend with a surprisingly lusty mouth when it suited him. Not that Aza minded at all...

"You make me sound like a filthy bastard," he complained, shamelessly enjoying his partner washing him down. He liked being pampered, okay? A low, barely audible purr rumbled deep in his chest, the tip of his tail flicking this way and that in an open show of contented enjoyment, "I washed two days ago... kinda."

'Kinda' being that he was chased into a lake by Bluebird after he took his teasing too far. He had stayed for two hours in that lake by the time his sister grew bored enough to wander off, so it counted as cleaning, right? The water had been sort of scummy though, but, whatever.

“You are a bit of a filthy bastard,” Aymeric laughed. You could totally smell the lake water’s plant life remnants on him.

“Turn around, I’ll wash your back.”

But he would have it no other way. As far as he knew, when Aza fled for his adventures he was simply too busy or in places too inhospitable to be washing up. Aymeric, on the other hand, was accustomed to washing up twice a day. Partially because that was how he had grown accustomed to having some personal time, partially because he had to trade his lack of sleep somewhere. Freshening up was just routine now.

He didn’t need to drag filth into his bed, not more than Aza routinely did.

“You need soap, or it doesn’t count. Why am I telling everyone I know this? Estinien likes to pretend wading in frozen waters counts as well.”

Aza obediently shuffled round until his back was facing his partner, his tail giving a very lazy flick before it dipped its length into the bathwater. It was going to be a bitch to dry the fur out, since his winter coat was still grown in - his body hadn't gotten the memo that Ishgard was no longer going to be a frequent destination - but even Aza had a limit when it came to his own hygiene. His fur had been getting so disgustingly matted and dirty that even if Aymeric hadn't suggested the bath, Aza would have had one under his own power anyway.

"Estinien has the right idea of it. I mean, after three days of no washing, any water'll do, soap or no soap," Aza said, just to be contrary, and crossed his legs into a more comfortable sitting position as he pulled his braid over his shoulder, out of the way. The fresh scar in his lower back twinged a fraction, and he gingerly kept his back straight so he didn't aggravate it by slouching too much, "Besides, least we use water. Back home we use dirt to clean. Just toss it on, rub it in, and you're done."

Edited 2018-09-16 21:45 (UTC)

“Don’t tell Estinien that’s an option,” he said with grim humor.

“I supppose no one from your homeland pleasures one another orally either.” At least he fucking hoped not. “I never went on assignment where I would have to camp without soap...”

Mentally, Aymeric was already counting the number of towels he would need to line dry later to handle his tail. Having a tail must be so difficult.

“You’re shedding... quite a lot.” He reaches for a brush he purchased that was ordinarily marketed for cleaning horses, but he figured that this may come in handy here, too.

Aza made an odd noise in the back of his throat, like he only just managed to swallow down a laugh.

"Oh, they do oral back home," he said, his voice light with amusement, "Quite a lot of it. Bluebird says it's the preferred way of doing things."

Since, for obvious reasons, Aza didn't really explore his sexuality much whilst living with the Borlaaq-Iriq, he had to take his sister's word for it on that front. Mom had been more than a little overprotective when it came to her little Coeurl, so he honestly never even had a chance to figure that shit out until he struck out into Othard proper and could stomach trying it again. The sex lives of the Borlaaq-Iriq were still a mystery to him, thinking about it. Huh. Weird.

"Which makes sense, since blowjobs are pretty amazing," he added playfully, reaching up to where his braid was hanging over his shoulder and idly undoing it. As always it had degraded into some messy tangle, rather than the neat braid it once was, and he carefully raked his fingers through the thick locks, wincing whenever he hit a tight and stubborn snarl, "Especially yours, handsome. Your mouth's very clever."

At the mention of shedding, though, he let out a quiet sigh, flicking his tail out of the bathwater.

"Yeah, I'm still getting rid of my winter coat, so it's going everywhere," he grumbled, dropping his hand from his hair. His ears twitched back, and he said, somewhat hesitantly, "But, if it bothers you, I can... try shaving it down a little, or... something."

Edited 2018-09-17 09:27 (UTC)

"Do they not care if they get dirt in their mouths? Not to be culturally insensitive..." he couldn't help pulling the face he was now, trying to stop imagining dusting off Aza's penis before trying to do something with it.

"Is that truly the preferred method? Don't the Xaela try to... You know, make more Xaela, whenever possible?"

Aymeric had to take a break from brushing just to pull clumps of fur out and plaster them to the lip of the bath.

"No, no. It doesn't bother me. 'Tis merely a thing to keep up with. I can't imagine how long mine own grooming would take if I were Miqo'te..." Since... He bathed at least three to six times as much as Aza.

Aza visibly perked up at the mention of no shaving, and he glanced over his shoulder with a tiny grin that flashed his sharp canines.

"They tend not to mix clean up time with sexy time, 'cuz bathing's public back home," he said, unable to stop his tail from wriggling when Aymeric deftly began pulling out clumps of loose, wet fur free. Some of those clamps were matted with days worth of dirt, and honestly, Aza was so fucking grateful his partner (weirdly) enjoyed grooming his tail for him, even though it could be nasty sometimes. It felt very nice though, gross matted fur or not, and he shivered right down to the tip of his tail as he purred low in his throat, fighting very hard not to melt into a useless puddle of Miqo'te.

"And it's just what Bluebird says," Aza mumbled after a brief pause, starting to slouch as he relaxed more and more. His lower back twinged painfully, but he ignored it, "I dunno if they prefer oral sex or not. Never really... did sex stuff back then."

He had to pause, though, when Aymeric muttered about being a Miqo'te. That was... huh, a thought. Aymeric didn't look right in his mind's eye with Miqo'te ears and tail, and his hair was so thick and so frizzy when damp, it'd be a nightmare to groom.

"We'd drown in shed hair if you were a Miqo'te," he sighed, "Best you aren't one."

Aymeric was downright practiced with deshedding at this point. Between his own cat, that he sadly worried if he would make the journey in its old age and thusly entrusted to his former manservant, and Aza- he considered himself a downright expert.

"Most Miqo'te are with other Miqo'te, though. They must manage somehow."

Aymeric was almost envious with the grooming. He would be remiss to admit it, but he craved pampering, too. He briefly considered growing out his hair before remembering brushing out Estinien's on his maybe-death bed. There were a lot of very strange feelings all housed within him at the same time.

"I meant more... After 'cleaning up'... with dirt. The dirt would still cling to your skin, would it not?" Aymeric could at least stand the concept of communal bathing from his time as a foot soldier, but it kicked up an awful lot of other questions.

"Seems a shame, in ways, does it not? There are a rather lot of appealing Auri men."

Aza supposed Miqo'te did know how to tend to each other quite well - except he sort of missed out on those important milestones. He had to muddle through learning how to attend to his own personal grooming since Auri hygiene differed greatly from Miqo'te hygiene. Honestly, his adopted family ended up using the same methods for grooming ponies on his tail and that kind of worked, so Aza carried on with it. But he didn't feel like explaining this, so he just let out a noncommittal hum in response.

At the mention of Auri men though...

"Oh, Gods, I feel you on that," Aza sighed wistfully. He admitted it. When prowling Othard a few years before he travelled to Eorzea, he did go through a phase of leaping from one Auri's bed to the next, trying to settle a bet with Bluebird as to who were better lovers: Xaela or Raen. The Raen won, in Aza's humble opinion, even if Bluebird persistently contested the results even to this very day, "But appealing or not, they are pretty big, handsome. Always a danger of choking with them. They're not a comfortable mouthful like me, ha."

Hence why Aza always tended to be a little slow and careful whenever doing blowjobs himself. Past experiences before Aymeric had always had them be rather... trying ordeals at times.

"And yet, their women are so small... How does that...?" His question trailed off into tasteful ambiguity. "You are larger than the average Auri woman, is all that I'm saying."

There were many biological questions, but ones he definitely was not going to ask. Like: Horns and childbirth. They weren't like aldgoats, since those were their ears and not true horns. Hm.

"In the Temple Knights, we used to keep one another company during bathing, from time to time. Had to be careful about which commander was about. 'Twas safer to wait for nightfall, of course. Though the obvious trade off is you could never see anything."

He worked down the tail, filling a literal wooden pail with fur. When he reached the end, he went over it once more, satisfied by how the brush stopped catching. "It sounds as if you are trying to entice me, which such a comment."

Auri biology was truly a mystery, one Aza was content to remain a mystery, in all honesty. Women were small, men were huge, and sex was somehow not a terrible, traumatic experience for them. That's all Aza needed to know on that front.

"That certainly explains how you're so fucking amazing with your mouth. You were a very busy, naughty recruit, huh?" Aza mused aloud. First time Aymeric had pleasured him orally, Aza almost fucking died it had been that perfect. Privately, a small part of him got on his hands and knees and thanked all those lucky bastards who helped Aymeric refine his sexual prowess into something downright lethal. Thank you, nameless Temple Knights. Thank you.

"Oh, I'm..." Aza trailed off to let out a rather breathy purr when Aymeric smoothly stroked him from the base of his tail to the very tip without his brush catching once. He immediately melted. "I am... mm..."

Oh, that felt like heaven, he thought happily, his tail beginning to curl upwards slightly in a clear sign of pleasure, "I'm... kind of, am enticing.. oh, that feels really nice..."

Aymeric set the brush down immediately.

“How can I listen to you make such sweet sounds and be forced to sit here like this?” He pulled Aza close, already embarrassingly half-hard from all of Aza’s vocalizations. He was using him as a sort of barrier from prying eyes. Not that beingso close and naked was really much better. Not to mention his downright dirty talk.

“I had my share of partners,” this was so modest it was almost an outright lie. If Aymeric had been even slightly less committed to his career path, he surely would have been dragged fully into a few love triangles. He was popular among the lonely, questioning, flexible, and outright gay.

Truthfully, back then, he had enjoyed the attentions— even if he only truly had eyes for Estinien.

“But right now, I only want my share of you,” Aymeric slipped a hand between them, thumbing at his partner’s pubic hair.

Aza inhaled sharply when Aymeric suddenly pulled him close, unthinkingly tilting his chin up to bare his throat a little. He unthinkingly pressed his hands against his partner's chest, palms flat, fingers splayed, before letting them slide up enough for him to hook his arms around Aymeric's broad shoulders, pretty much making it very clear to anyone who'd walk in that Intimate Things were happening. Not that Aza cared about that right now. He desperately wanted...

"You're such a flirt," he murmured, shivering to the very tip of his tail when Aymeric thumbed at his pubic hair, making hot anticipation stir low in his belly. He felt a little embarrassed at how quickly it riled him up, feeling himself stiffen, but Aymeric just had that effect on him. Honestly, his partner only had to look at him sometimes, and Aza would find himself fighting the urge to just fucking jump his bones and ravish him senseless.

Common sense was kind of knocking on the back of his mind then, pointing out that they were sort of in a communal bathroom and anyone could walk in at any moment. Aza politely told Common Sense it could go fuck itself, and instead, possibly unwisely, rocked his hips very gently against Aymeric's hand, leaning up with a very low, needy rumble purring in the back of his throat.

"But, I only want you too," he admitted roughly, meaning every word, "No one else... really compares to you, handsome."

“Nor you,” Aymeric leaned down to kiss Aza as he hooked his hands to the back of Aza’s thighs, lifting him to straddle his hips.

“There, better,” he moaned, going in for a passionate kiss. He was keenly aware of how this looked right now, but frankly he didn’t care. His own cock was fully stiff, teasing against Aza’s backside. He thrusted his hips a couple times, just to let Aza know what he does to him before turning and planting his ass on the bath ledge. Aymeric sank to his knees, making keen, teasing licks around the base and balls.

Aza’s cock was pressed fully against Aymeric’s cheek, so close to properly being in his mouth. Aymeric looked up at him through his long, dark lashes, breathing hotly against his skin.

Aza let out a low, guttural noise deep in his throat when Aymeric pulled him close, his strong, broad hands gripping underneath his thighs and lifting him so they were dangerously close. It took every scrap of willpower not to start mindlessly humping against that too-perfect stomach pressing up against his cock, his hand blindly pawing up to curl his fingers into Aymeric's thick hair, pressing hungrily into the kiss.

Mindful of his overly sharp canines, of course. Aza wanted to bite, he always wanted to, loved teasing that very tempting bottom lip until it was red and swollen - but he stifled the urge, digging his nails into Aymeric's shoulder instead when he felt his partner's hard cock rub up against his ass. His tail instinctively lifted, his hips tilting to- but abruptly found himself dumped on the bath ledge, Aymeric sinking low and-

"Fuck," he gasped, tangling both hands into his partner's hair and holding on for dear fucking life when that too clever mouth and tongue descended on him without warning. Every drag of that hot tongue, the warm lips, Aymeric's quick, panting breaths - it was driving him insane, and Aza made the mistake of looking.

Aymeric between his spread legs, looking up with dark, hungry eyes beneath his thick eyelashes, reddened lips against his cock, with that expression- fuck, that face needed to be made illegal for the good of his sanity. An embarrassingly desperate whine wrenched out of him, his fingers restlessly stroking through that lovely dark hair as his hips started to rock desperately, wanting - needing - more. He was certain that if someone walked in right now he just - would not care. Not with this sitting right between his legs.

"You're too amazing," he moaned quietly, unable to stop the breathy, desperate praises from slipping out. Like he'd want to stop them. Aymeric deserved every whimpering adoration until the end of time, "So amazing, Aym, fuck, you look so good like this, on your knees. I want..."

Aymeric was happy to continue on, but he couldn't help but latch onto those words. "Oh? What is it that you want?"

His hands were rested against Aza's legs. He trailed kisses down to his knee, toying with him.

Aymeric was plenty pleased from where he was sitting as well. He was sure enough that he might die before Aza accepted that he was truly attracted to him, but in the moment that didn't diminish his own enjoyment. He ran his hands across scars before dipping his head back into Aza's cock.

You know, just as someone was rounding the corner to enter the communal bathhouse.

Aza made a very tense, strangled noise when Aymeric teased him, kissing down to his knee, his fingers trailing over the ugly, thick scars that rippled over his thighs. His legs shifted, fighting the urge to close them, and pushed them wide instead, applying very gentle pressure to the back of Aymeric's head until his partner deigned to dip close, his hot breath fanning over the tip of his cock...

"I want you to-" Aza began in a low rumble... only to abruptly tense and clench his fingers in Aymeric's hair, stopping him just short when the Echo pinged a very loud and frantic warning of INCOMING. His ears flicked upright, alert, hearing the footsteps of someone approachi- shit!

"-get down because someone's coming!" he finished in a quiet, panicked whisper, pushing Aymeric's head down, under the water, without thinking before realising he was sitting here with his fucking cock out. No way was he being caught like this by a fucking stranger, so he hastily slipped off the edge of the bath and into the water himself, ducking right underneath so he all but landed flat on his ass on the bathtub's bottom, almost nose to nose with Aymeric now. A stream of bubbles left him as he exhaled, then inhaled the warm water and felt it fill his lungs, that weird, ticklish tingle of the Kojin's Blessing warming up his chest cavity.

This was fine. They could just wait until the intruder left. Aza could breathe underwater fine, and he could just breathe into Aymeric whenever he started to run out of air. It was a tactic that worked, he had proven it in a very awkward situation with Bluebird that they vowed never to speak about again, and he pulled at Aymeric, pointing at his mouth as he let out another oxygenated exhale, bubbles drifting up, then pointed at Aymeric, hoping he understood.

Aymeric just, ever so barely, held his breath before being thrown underwater. Aymeric sort of understood, but wasn't really sure if he was going to be able to fight instinct to not breathe underwater. He tried to look up through the water, seeing nothing for a moment.

And then, he saw someone approach, getting a complete eyeful of the Raen intruder. The Raen peered into the water with a frown, then backed away slowly, totally unsure of what he just walked into here. There were other bathtubs, he didn't need the one with two weird foreigners stuffed into it.

Aymeric glanced between Aza and the very concept of being so obviously delinquent, deciding he wasn't going to just hide in there for the entire duration of this other man's bath. So he tries to gesture with his eyes that this is silly, and he's going up for air now!

Aza was tempted to speak - the Kojin's Blessing allowed him to do that as well underwater, but he always sounded distorted and bubbly when it he did underwater talking, and Aymeric might find it weird, so he kept his mouth shut. Instead he relaxed his grip on his partner, giving him a small nudge towards the surface of the bath to show he was happy with him going up for air.

Aza himself was... reluctant. His arousal had faded now, because his instinct had kicked into full alert - someone he didn't know was in the same room as him, both of them naked and Aza's weapon out of arm's reach. He felt fidgety and uncomfortably exposed, and he found himself having to force his legs under him enough for him to kneel and sit up high enough so he was breathing normal fresh air, instead of warm bathwater which had been, admittedly, kind of unpleasant.

"Brrgh..." he coughed into his hand, feeling water rattle in his lungs somewhere. It burned uncomfortably, right in the back of his throat, but he ignored it, "I think I'm done with the bath now."

Edited 2018-09-26 18:51 (UTC)

Aymeric came up for air with a small gasp, making the intruder turn his head. They engaged in very brief eye contact, each breaking it out of some embarrassment.

"Aye, agreed," he muttered quietly. Even if he didn't get to shave his stubble. They were in the middle of something else right now.

Aymeric's own erection hadn't been strangled out by surprise. He leaned over to grab his towel, being careful about positioning himself as he wrapped up to betray nothing. He picked up his things, wrapped his kimono around himself loosely and turned to Aza.

"I'll buy a house today, I promise."

Aza waited until the Raen stranger was very pointedly ignoring them, going so far as to put his back to them, before he climbed out of the bath. He didn't even bother grabbing a towel and drying off. He pretty much dived into his clothes and was fully dressed within mere seconds, ignoring how his breeches and undershirt were sticking to his damp skin, his hair loose and dripping wet. He hastily scraped it into ponytail, keeping his gaze fixed to the floor.

"It would be more private," he muttered, but guilt was beginning to squirm in his gut now. He just made that weird and awkward, he knew, with his massive overreaction, when a normal person might've played it off or just endured the embarrassment. Aymeric didn't need to go wildly out of pocket buying a damn house of all things, just because Aza was a social disaster.

"But," he began, then paused, glancing over the baths, before moving forwards and started to usher Aymeric out. Once the sliding door shut behind him, he continued, "But you don't need to get one, if you don't want one. I mean, I'm... I could've handled that better. I'm sorry."

He turned to hold Aza's hands in his, looking over his soaked partner.

"Oh no, no, dearest. That wasn't your fault. I've been missing my privacy, that simply... highlighted the urgency of the situation. 'Twould have been a brilliant plan if I could breathe underwater, that is."

He wouldn't tell him anything silly, like not worrying about that man. Since... He was actually his neighbor. He would smooth that weird thing over later. He'd done worse.

"Once we redress properly, you can help me pick somewhere nice." Aymeric had other ideas for what to do while redressing, but he could stand to be discreet until they made it back to the room.

Aza felt a bit more settled when Aymeric grasped his hands, and gently squeezed them as he peeked up at his partner from beneath his eyelashes. Aymeric looked to be telling the truth. He didn't seem annoyed or exasperated at all, so... the guilty squirming in his belly eased up and Aza relaxed.

"Okay, if you're sure," he said quietly, but he did seem perkier as he stepped a bit closer to Aymeric, gently bumping his hip against him as he urged them back to the apartment. He still kept a hold of Aymeric's hand, reluctant to let go because... well, while his arousal had faded, Aza still had a very strong urge to touch and press close. He knew once they were in the privacy of Aymeric's room, his passion would come flooding back with a bit of coaxing, so he shamelessly snuggled close to his partner's side as they walked.

"Do you wanna breathe underwater?" he asked after a brief pause, "Because I can probably make a deal with the Kojin..."

"Will you have to fight a god or some sort? If not, I would not be adverse to it. I feel that because I work so close beside enemy territories that it is a mere matter of time before someone tosses me starboard," said that man who had gone on exactly one boat trip and hated it. But remembered the boat terms.

He pulled Aza in neatly under his shoulder, a hand resting heavily on his shoulder as he led him back to their room. Once inside, Aymeric hastily set down his things and pulled at his robes and towel. The effect left him with an open kimono and nothing underneath. He was still not less excited than he was in the baths.

He pulled Aza along, kissing him and groping at the wet fabric on him, leading him to their bed. "Fuck me, Aza."

"No God fighting necessary for it," Aza promised, privately hoping that he hadn't just jinxed himself with that. The Kojin were normally pretty cool, so he was sure they wouldn't make him do some bullshit tasking to have it done for his partner, like, fist fight Susanoo because of blah blah reason.

He went quiet after that, soaking up the comforting press of warmth against his side as Aymeric tucked him close, a low, rumbling purr humming in his throat. He never got tired of snuggling against Aymeric, and privately felt a very childish sense of security and safety at having his larger, more powerful body press against him. It was odd, because Aza thought he'd rankle at the feeling of needing to be protected but... he still liked it.

He sighed when they stepped back into the privacy of Aymeric's apartment, stepping away as his partner practically threw off his robes and towel. He pulled his damp hair loose from its ponytail, fluffing it out just as Aymeric turned back to him and approached with eyes dark and intent.

"You're so impatient," he tutted playfully as his partner grasped and pulled him along, leaning up into the kiss and squirming at the large hand running over the curve of his hip. Then Aymeric murmured that, and Aza made a very embarrassing, breathless little groan when his mind very gleefully leapt feet first into the fantasy of Aymeric panting and arching under him and-

Okay, focus. Aza inhaled deeply, curling his fingers into Aymeric's open kimono before pushing it open wider, his palms smoothing over that very tempting, bare chest, until his fingers brushed against one pert nipple, where he idly rubbed a lazy circle over it.

"What's the magic word?" Aza purred, his voice deep and husky, "Gotta remember your manners, handsome~"

"Please," he keened, his arms around Aza's back, hands brushing over scars.

He pulled Aza onto the bed, being very essentially naked at this point. Lewd woodblock prints he had seen weeks earlier flitted through his mind. How appropriate, the dark-skinned lover and his functionally-naked partner. He was so, so very hard. And his partner's clothes were so wet. He found himself almost caring that he would saturate the bed if he didn't get Aza naked quickly enough.

"Please, strip for me," so our bed doesn't get wet, "And fuck me before I lose my mind." He was impatient. He had failed to truly entertain himself in the last week, so this was as good as it would get.

"I'll do anything for you." His pupils were blown out, his focus solely on the man before him.

There was something darkly, viscerally satisfying having Aymeric like this - tense and eager and very impatient, very much wrapped around his finger. Aza had absolute control over this situation, and there was a brief, mischievous urge to draw it out a little, just to tease but... well, Aymeric was just too adorable like this, too tempting. So...

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Aza laughed breathlessly as Aymeric pulled him down onto the bed and started pawing very pointedly at his clothes. He really couldn't deny his partner anything when he was like this, really, so with a very fond sigh, he started wriggling out of his clothes, gambeson first then the trousers. It wasn't very sexy - he had enough of provocative stripping to last him a lifetime in thank you very much - but it was brisk and methodical, and within half a minute he had tossed his wet clothes somewhere on the floor, now completely naked and on full display.

"Mm, there. Better?" he murmured, as he leaned back on his elbows on the bed, his legs slightly spread to accommodate his partner as he crooked a finger to beckon him closer, his tail very carefully curled away so there was no accidental knee to the tail bone (because nothing was a bigger mood killer than having the weight of a solidly built Elezen squashing your tail), "Now, c'mere, handsome. Get me in the mood."

"Yes, ser," because technically, he was a knight. In a few different ways. Aymeric crawled closer, already breathing a bit more deeply. His half-lidded eyes fell over Aza's body.

He met his body with his hands first, slipping them up to Aza's pecs. He pinched at the nipples between moments of firm massage. His head dipped down, taking a nipple into his mouth, all teeth and tongue. He peered up at Aza for the second time that afternoon to watch his reaction as his hand slowly moved down his body, settling on his hip.

He couldn't help but want to worship at Aza's body, the very temple of his bravery and sacrifice. HIs lips moved up to Aza's collarbone, leaving wet, biting kisses in his wake. By the time he was up to Aza's jaw, he himself was panting, his body growing hotter with arousal.

"Do you require more convincing, my lord?" Ah, Aymeric was putting on a bit of roleplay now, wasn't he?

The noise Aza made was borderline obscene when Aymeric descended on him with too clever fingers and a too hot mouth, making him tremble right down to the tip of his tail as his pulse stirred, hot and fast. He clenched his thighs hard against Aymeric's sides when he felt that calloused palm against the curve of his hip, his jaw tilting up as his partner's panting breaths tickled his throat and had him whining, softly, sweetly, right in the back of his throat for more. Amazing. A few touches and he was just as taut and eager as he was in the baths, aching for...

"A-A little more," Aza managed to force out semi-coherently, lifting a hand to curl his fingers into Aymeric's hair just as he turned his head so their noses bumped, briefly, before he dipped enough to press a half-blind, very desperate kiss to the corner of his partner's mouth, murmuring; "I want- more, o-of, of you, handsome, your mouth, your hands. I wanna feel you- fuck, just fucking- hump me or something...!"

It'd been too long, he realised then. The last time they had been together like this, it had been far too long. Aza almost felt embarrassed at how eager he was being, clinging Aymeric tight to him, almost trembling, so very hard from such little touches... but he didn't shy away. He really did want more, he thought dazedly, his pupils blown from sheer arousal, his eyes dark from beneath his thick eyelashes. He wanted Aymeric's too clever hands and too hot mouth to completely undo him until he was a panting, whimpering mess, he wanted to make Aymeric a panting, whimpering mess, he wanted both of them rutting and arching against each other within the next minute, or so help him he was gonna get Frustrated.

The Onsen Episode

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sorry I did a total rewrite here oTL

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