Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Aeon sighs as the heavy hotel door swings shut behind him. He rolls his suitcase into a corner of the nondescript room, flings his backpack down on top of it, and stands for a moment in the stillness.

Dew had been the catalyst. On your knees, he’d said, pointing at the ground. Aeon had obeyed, sliding down, bending over backwards until his helmet nearly touched the ground. Spine in a pretty little bow shape just for Dew to admire. And admire he had. Aeon could tell from the slight cocking of his head, the little chuckle followed by a soft groan, almost parenthetical. And then he’d left him like that. Trembling and slick in his stage pants, aching as he watched the little fire ghoul cozy up to Cirrus on the bus ride to the hotel.

Not entirely atypical behavior from Dewdrop, but still harsh. Aeon sighs, flops back onto the too-stiff yet too-soft bed. He’s tired, simultaneously keyed-up and energetically shot. His nerves rattle at him, frantic for the next big shipment of nothing. He groans, about nothing and no one in particular. Or so he tells himself. He’s alone, this being one of the rarer nights Copia splurges on individual hotel rooms. They don’t often remain that way, of course, but the gesture is nice. The option for solitude, for once, is there.

Aeon doesn’t have it within him to work against these divine machinations. He’s sweaty and achy and he feels gross. Not unwanted, he knows. He’s sure if he texted Swiss or Rain or Mountain he’d get a quick reply, an invitation. But he doesn’t feel worthy, somehow, of their touch. He’s too in his head by now- he can tell by the light but insistent crawling feeling cropping up underneath his skin. He wouldn’t enjoy sex- would spend most of the time worrying, fearing. Feeling pity on them for touching him, convinced it must be like a chore for them. His senses working on overdrive, scrambling to scrape together whatever minuscule circumstantial evidence they can to prove him right.

No, it wouldn’t be good tonight.

The ache between his legs begs to differ.

He shifts on the bed, just trying to get comfy, but the wiggle of his hips grinds his thighs together and oh that should not feel so good. He sighs, resigning himself to his fate. More like acknowledging a fate long decided. He slides his sweatpants down, kicks them off with a few forceful flings of his ankles. His boxers remain, and he can’t help but whine as his fingers graze over the hard outline of his clit pressing through the fabric, the wet patch underneath. So needy- that’s what Swiss or Rain or Mountain would be purring low in his ear were they here. He finds himself nodding in agreement with this projection, biting his lip in the way he knows any one of them would go wild for. He palms himself more forcefully, once, twice, groaning in relief and something akin to raw need. He slips his boxers off hastily, reaches for his swollen clit-

And then a spark of pain shoots through his knuckles and he freezes, wincing.

It’s nothing out of the ordinary. His joints sometimes disagree with him after a long night of playing. Nothing a few hours of rest won’t fix. He groans, foiled once again, and pivots to formulate a new plan. He decides to fantasize, get himself as worked up as he can, in the hopes that by the time he starts touching himself, he won’t have to for long. So he closes his eyes, hones his attention in on the sharp pangs of need wracking his twitching frame. 

Someone pins him down, strong hands enclosing his wrists and securing them against the mattress. A hot mouth on his cunt, a tongue sliding between slick folds, before they push inside. Thrusts hit his sweet spot perfectly, filling him entirely. 

The form transfigures; it’s Dew, then it’s Rain, then it’s Aether, then it’s Sunshine, then it’s just a faceless, shapeless force pounding into him. 

“Please,” he whispers. He isn’t sure what he’s asking for or where the request is directed. Something shifts in his gut, a ripple in the pool of quintessence. It tingles, almost, increasing in charge. In confusion, he cocks an eyebrow, but he lets it happen. There’s a split second of silence, void, like all the air has been sucked out of the room. 

And then a trail of quintessence has peeled itself away from the rest and is hovering in front of him. Violet and shimmering, flickering in and out of the visible wavelengths. It extends out from his body, disappearing into his abdomen. The light from the shitty hotel desk lamp seems to catch and warp at the edges, as though it isn’t quite sure how to interact with it. It appears suspended in the air, as though waiting. 

He’s summoned this type of energy before, typically when performing a task. When he needs an extra hand, or when he needs to reach something across the room and can’t be fucked to stand. When he needs an implement that can operate with smoothness and precision, as opposed to his chronically shaky hands. Never in a context like this.

Charmed, he reaches forward to touch it, and he gasps when he does. It’s the feeling of touching and being touched- similar to how it feels to touch one’s hand to one’s leg, but not quite. More direct, if that were even possible. Neuron-to-quintessence, rather than neuron-to-neuron. Two distinct sensations in counterpoint harmony. It occurs to him that he’s never reached out and touched his own quintessence when he manifests it into the physical world. It’s always an appendage, something to touch with rather than be touched by. This feels like… both. 

Aeon chews the edge of his thumbnail and reaches the only logical conclusion. 

“Why not?” he mumbles. He shrugs, suddenly compelled to demonstrate his nonchalance to the empty room. Then he’s guiding the strand of quintessence lower, lower, until it’s nearly grazing his clit, stiff and pulsing. His pulse accelerates. He presses lightly and instantly gasps at the contact. It’s unique, different from the touch of a finger. More tingly, or maybe more smooth. It’s good. 

He dares to slip it lower, moaning as it blissfully kisses his folds, sliding over the wetness in their center. He rubs it back and forth over his cunt, sighing in pleased relief. It taps at his entrance, as if waiting for permission. He nods, if only to his subconscious, and then it begins to slide inside. 

“Oh, fuck, hnn-“ he whimpers as his world begins to spin.

There’s the transmitting of information, just as with his fingers. He senses the wetness, the soft ridges, the pressure. But there’s also an unexpected pleasure. It blooms deep in his gut, in his core, through the length of his clit. He flexes his cunt around his quintessence and moans raggedly as the sensation rockets back through him. 

This must be what it’s like to be inside someone. 

The realization hits like a truck, hard and probably painful if not for the accompanying adrenaline. Aeon blinks back any ponderings, opting instead to put this hypothesis to use. He gives himself a few more curls to his g-spot, soft and finger-like. Then he pulls the tendril of quintessence out a few inches, and pushes it back in. 

“Fffffuck,” he gasps, lips lingering on the “f” sound while his mind catches up with the rest of the word. “Fuck, oh, unholy fuck.” He starts a slow rhythm, just like he would were he using a dildo, but the feeling is a far cry from that. He’s the receiver and the giver, feeling everything from both sides of the coin. 

“Please, oh- please,” he whines. Unsure what he’s asking for and uninterested in investigating. He arches his back, reaches both hands overhead to grasp at the sheets. They twist in his fingers as he fucks himself harder, feeling only marginally in control despite the fact that he technically should be. It’s perfect, though. He doesn’t want control, doesn’t want to think, doesn’t want to plan. He’s a writhing animal and he just wants to be touched, taken. He lets his mind drift, loosens the grip of cognition. Allows the energy to twist and flow as it wishes. 

It apparently wishes to hammer into his g-spot with wicked precision. He cries out, eyes rolling back into his head. 

“Fuck, fuckfuckfuck, right there,” he gasps, as if that’s something he doesn’t already know. He just needs-

A pressure on his clit, there in an instant, before he can even acknowledge the thought. 

“Oh- aahh, thank you.” Whether he’s addressing the quintessence or his semi-conscious command of it or an imagined lover, he couldn’t say. The sound of his own voice rings so sweetly in his ears and he makes a mental note to berate himself for his narcissism at a later time. 

“Gonna- oh, please- need to cum, please.” The quintessence inside him expands, the sudden stretch sending him hurtling toward the edge. The pressure on his clit doubles, and with it a baffling sense of vibration. Aeon revs up the intensity, brow furrowing in concentration as he whimpers airily. 

“Yes, yes- ahhh,” he cries as it hits him. It’s intense, enough to make him dig his heels into the bed in a near-bridge pose with no one to hold him down. He shudders, drawing gasping breaths as each pulse rocks his body. 

“Oh my god,” he whispers as it fades. His ears are ringing, chest heaving. He goes limp on the bed, bent legs falling akimbo on either side of his hips. He closes his eyes, panting. Hopes this afterglow will last forever. 

It doesn’t, predictably. He comes out of it slowly, blinking against the stark and sterile colors of the room around him. He flops over on his side and reaches for his phone, immediately noticing a certain series of messages.

Swiss, 11:47pm: I hear ya, sweets. Need a hand? ;)
Swiss, 11:58pm: Baby. You’re killing me.
Swiss, 12:03am: Fuck you sound so hot rn

Aeon laughs. 

Aeon, 12:06am: you want me to suck your dick or what

Chapter Text

Then there had been the time he’d tried it out on Rain. In a moment of dominance, no less, which had surprised him as much as empowered him and had surely left both of them with more than a few questions. So it should’ve been no surprise when Rain proposed it to him a few days later.

They’re in a familiar situation, although that doesn’t make it any less heady. Aeon perched on Rain’s lap, lips kissed rosy by insistent presses. His arms slung over Rain’s shoulders, his hands alternating between clasping together and roaming over Rain’s neck and shoulders. As they do, he finds those telltale knots that tend to haunt the lithe muscles of Rain’s upper back during tour. On either side of his spine, nestled between his shoulder blades.

“Want me to rub ‘em?” Aeon asks, placing a kiss to the corner of Rain’s mouth.

“Would you, please?” Ever polite. Rain’s blue eyes glimmer with affection. Aeon smiles, drags one of his thumbs up each side of Rain’s neck. Rain groans in appreciation. Aeon can tell he’s getting goosebumps already.

“Course,” he says, scooping his thumbs around the sharp curve of Rain’s jaw. “Long as you’ll let me kiss you while I do it.”

Rain doesn’t protest, just tilts his chin up into Aeon’s gentle grasp. Aeon leans in for the kiss, pressing his lips hard against Rain’s open ones. He slips his tongue in and something in his chest lights up when Rain lets him in immediately. Aeon starts on his shoulders, light at first, taking stock of the situation. 

He’s learned that Rain will let the knots tighten in his absence, always reluctant to ask for help. To ask Aeon to work on his behalf. Aeon presses his thumbs into tense muscle, rolls them over the knots in a pattern equally mesmerizing to both of them. Rain makes a noise of contentment against Aeon’s lips and it doesn’t feel like work at all.

“Oh, baby,” Rain sighs, enraptured. 

Aeon chuckles. “Good?” 

“So good.” He moans outright as Aeon presses harder, shifting in his lap to get more torque. “Thank you, love.”

“Anytime,” Aeon says, and he means it. Touching Rain is a privilege, and Aeon doesn’t intend to take it for granted. Every inch of Rain’s skin he can lay his hands on, every pleased sigh he can extract from him, is a gift. Every minute Rain’s gaze is directed at him is a gift.

“I love you,” Aeon murmurs into the space near Rain’s temple. Rain laughs breathily, beams up at him. 

“I love you,” he replies. “Too sweet to me, baby.” His voice is syrupy, thick with what Aeon knows is a cocktail of relief and affection.

“Impossible,” Aeon chides. He shifts his fingertips to the juncture of Rain’s neck and shoulder. A place Aeon’s learned a thing or two about after spending enough time this way. It’s too tempting. As Rain gazes up at him, open and sincere, he almost feels guilty for the desire to exploit this weakness.

Almost and not really because he knows this will make Rain melt.

He digs his thumbs into the pressure points, gentle but firm, and the response is immediate.

“O-oh,” Rain gasps. “You little-“ Aeon cuts him off with a cackle at his faux-accusatory tone.

“What?” He asks, half-ass feigning innocence through a teasing grin.

“You- haahh- know what you’re doing, huh?”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Aeon fronts, digs his fingertips in harder. Rain gasps, head starting to loll backward.

“Wish you never found this out,” Rain groans. He’s lying, of course. He loves it. He loves the release of tension, the stimulation of nerve endings that so often lay dormant. He even loves the way he’s weak for it. He’ll never admit it, but he doesn’t need to.

“Liar,” Aeon whispers, dragging his fingertips down the sides of Rain’s spine. Dendrites springing into action. Rain shudders. “You love it.” He directs his attention toward another pressure point near his mid-back, nestled in between his broad shoulder blades.

“Fuck,” Rain gasps. Aeon shifts in his lap, wiggling his hips and feigning surprise when he feels Rain’s hardness pressing against his ass.

“You really love it,” Aeon purrs. Rain whines in his throat, nods. He grasps Aeon’s thighs, ruts up into him. Aeon is struck with the thought that he could probably make Rain cum in his pants like this. He tucks it away into his bank of things he wants to try with Rain. He’s given up all hope of it ever running dry. 

“Hey,” Rain murmurs, smoothing his palms over Aeon’s thighs.

“Yeah?”

“Been thinking about when you fucked me,” he breathes, hot and confessional, “like, with your quint.” Aeon takes a deep breath, memories flooding back. “Would you wanna do that again?”

A pang of anxiety wracks Aeon’s stomach, sudden and unexpected. He struggles not to shudder, digging his fingertips into Rain’s shoulders.

“Yeah,” Aeon asserts. He tries to keep his tone steady despite the shakiness threatening to surface. “Just… I think I need you to, uh. Take control.”

“I can do that.” 

Aeon laughs nervously. “I know. But do you want to?”

“Baby,” Rain starts, placing a gentle hand on Aeon’s forearm. “Baby, you know I do.” 

Aeon nods quickly, exhales feebly. 

“This is really getting you, huh?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “Dunno why. But… yeah.”

“No pressure, love,” Rain insists. “We can do whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“I wanna make you feel good,” Aeon insists. 

“You always do,” Rain assures him, cupping the back of his neck in a steady hand. Aeon leans forward, kisses him deeply. Rain responds readily, parting his lips so Aeon can flick his tongue inside.

“Wanna do it,” Aeon whispers.

“Alright, baby,” Rain smiles. He brings his hands to Aeon’s waist, massaging his pelvis and guiding him to a faster rhythm. He pulls him closer, plants a kiss to Aeon’s clavicle. He laves his tongue over it, up toward his throat, and Aeon gasps. Rain chuckles, hardens his grip on Aeon’s waist. His sharp teeth nip lightly at Aeon’s skin. 

“Fuck,” Aeon groans. Rain plants a wet kiss to his neck. Solidly on the offensive. A weakness for a weakness, Aeon supposes. Rain chuckles, lips gliding smoothly over taut tendons. Aeon grinds harder, groaning at the friction on his clit.

“Please,” he murmurs. He can’t see Rain smile, but he can feel it.

“You gonna be a good boy for me now?” Rain’s voice is low, saccharine.

“Yes,” Aeon nods. Rain tugs at his shirt, and Aeon pulls it off hastily. Rain attaches his lips to a nipple, gentle. Aeon gasps airily, tugs at Rain’s hair. Rain flicks his tongue lightly over it, cognizant of Aeon’s heightened sensitivity there. 

“Oh- gods, Rainy,” he murmurs. Rain hums, gives the same treatment to the other nipple. He picks his head up to see Aeon, flushed and panting, still mindlessly grinding on his cock. Aeon’s breath hitches when Rain presses his lips to one of the pearly scars that run across his chest. Another kiss and Aeon feels like his heart might explode. He wonders if Rain’s soft lips can feel its pounding through his ribcage. He pulls Rain in for a kiss, chest aching as he does so. Brimming with a love that his mortal frame struggles to contain.

“Alright,” Rain says, patting Aeon’s thighs with both hands. Aeon clambers off his lap, slides his pants off, watching with hungry eyes as Rain does the same and settles on the bed.

“I, uh,” Aeon begins. “Gimme a sec.” He feels like a deer in the headlights, and he knows it shows on his face when Rain reaches for him. He strokes his forearm, soothing.

“Take your time.”

Aeon takes a deep breath. As difficult as it is to tear his gaze away from the beautiful body beneath him, he closes his eyes. He sifts through the quintessence lodged in his lower abdomen, wills a piece of it to break away. Directs it down, positioning it in space. It ends up between his legs, an extension of his clit. He finalizes the connection, willing his nerve endings to accept the temporary projection. 

Aeon opens his eyes with a start. The phantom limb stares back at him. It looks and feels foreign and natural at the same time, artificial in construction but organic in conception. An emotion that he doesn’t care to examine bubbles up in his throat.

Rain appears transfixed.

“Can I?” He murmurs, reaching a hand towards it.

“Yeah,” Aeon tilts his hips so Rain can reach it. Rain gingerly wraps a hand around it, and they both take a sharp inhale. Aeon strengthens the tethers to his clit, solidifying the projection. He whines as Rain begins to move it, feeling a flush creep onto his cheeks under Rain’s attentive gaze.

“Ahh, oh, oh shit,” Aeon moans, dropping his chin to his chest, overwhelmed.

“Good?”

“Yes,” he whimpers as Rain grips him harder. It’s surreal, looking down between his legs, seeing Rain jerk him off with a fist rather than fingers. 

“Oh, fu- Ra-ain,” Aeon gasps when Rain’s thumb brushes over the tip of it. He nearly doubles over, and Rain gives a little breathy laugh. He has to brace his hands on Rain’s shoulders, legs going weak.

“C’mere,” Rain mumbles, pulling him in for a kiss. Aeon pants into it, heavy breaths against Rain’s lips. Rain pumps him faster and he can’t help but whimper. 

“You’re so cute,” Rain teases. Aeon whines in his throat. “Even sensitive here.” 

They both lean back in sync, watching as Rain’s hand gracefully moves over the shimmering quintessence.

“It’s beautiful,” Rain breathes. Aeon laughs shakily. “You gonna give it to me, baby?” he murmurs expectantly. 

“Uh-huh,” Aeon nods. He leans forward, shifting onto his knees and positioning himself between Rain’s legs. He takes a deep breath. “Ready?”

“Yes,” Rain says, spreading his legs out further. Aeon scoots closer, lowers himself until he’s almost grazing Rain’s hole. He gives himself one more glance at Rain’s face, his own face flushing in a way he can’t quite explain, glances back down. 

He pushes in, slowly, keeping the strand of quintessence thin at first. He’s about halfway in before he wonders if he should’ve prepped him with fingers first. Rain didn’t say anything, and he’s certainly not complaining, and it’s how they did it last time. His thoughts are only interrupted by the sensation that reverberates through his clit. Pressure, swallowing. He gasps, in awe of the way Rain’s body opens up for him. He wraps a hand around Rain’s cock, pumps him gently. 

“F-fuck,” Rain whimpers. Aeon watches as his eyelids flutter, crossed eyes behind them. “Fuck, that’s it.”

Encouraged, Aeon pushes in deeper, until he nudges up against Rain’s prostate. He marks it in multiple ways- the sight of Rain’s mouth falling open, the sound of his delicate moan, the feeling of his pleasure returned to him through the quintessence. 

“Rainy,” he gasps, flexing his fingers over Rain’s waist. He gives a gentle thrust and makes a sound somewhere between a disbelieving laugh and a desperate moan.

“Oh,” Rain gasps, “Aeon, ah- oh, fuck.” Aeon starts up a rhythm, clumsy though it is, thighs quaking. It’s starkly unfamiliar, being the one on top. He silently reprimands himself for his lack of practice or planning. For his historical aversion to The Strap. He realizes he has no muscle memory to reference.

Fear crops up; worry begins to filter in through the arousal. Is he thrusting in the way Rain wants? In the best way he could? What if he’s not performing? His stomach flips. Rain’s moaning, apparently pleased, eyelids fluttering. He’s so gorgeous, feels so good on his… cock…? Aeon’s head spins.

“Am I doing this right?” he mumbles. As quiet as possible, as though the walls themselves would mock him if they heard.

“Uh-huh,” Rain groans, nodding. “Just push- oh- push in a little more.”

Aeon does with the next thrust, studying Rain’s face. His mouth falls open, eyebrows furrowing. All because of him.

“Yeahhh,” Rain breathes. “F-fuck, right there.” Aeon grins to himself, relieved, fucks him harder. Rain whines breathily, digs his fingertips into Aeon’s back. He clenches around him, dizzyingly tight.

“Good boy,” he croons, and Aeon keens.

“Been wanting this since last time,” Rain says, breathless. He threads his fingers through Aeon’s hair and Aeon can’t stop himself from purring, leaning his temple against his palm. “Needed you inside me again.” 

“You did?” Aeon hears the hopefulness plain in his voice and he cringes internally. 

“Yeah,” Rain assures, eyebrows raised in sincerity. “You’re- oh, fuck- incredible. Doing so good.”

Aeon whines at the praise, insides twisting. He burrows his face in the juncture of Rain’s neck and shoulder. 

“You feelin’ good?” Rain asks, sounding like he’ll die if the answer is no.

“Yeah,” Aeon chokes out. “Yeah, oh- fuck, Rainy.”

“Yeah? I’m makin’ you feel good?”  

“Yes,” Aeon emphasizes. 

Rain clenches around him and laughs as Aeon nearly doubles over on top of him. Aeon bites his lip to stave off the uselessness threatening to overwhelm his body- that learned helplessness of submission that he’s curated so thoroughly. It’s wired into him, he realizes with a start, as he feels himself drifting. His focus blurs, his body trembles, reflex driving him toward collapse.

“Just like that,” Rain murmurs. He smoothes a grounding hand over the small of Aeon’s back, brings the other to his cheek. Aeon’s eyes refocus as if on command. 

One day Aeon might understand how Rain can read him so effortlessly. Those deep shimmering eyes, soft and piercing at once, seem to know him inside and out. Strong hands pull him back from whatever precipice he finds himself on. Aeon leans into him, sighing in contentment at the press of Rain’s chest against his own. Too far gone and far too okay with it.

“You’re fuckin’ me so good, baby,” Rain purrs. “Su- hahh- such a good boy for me.” Words chosen specifically to shut Aeon’s brain off. It works. 

“Jus’ wanna be a good boy for you,” Aeon mumbles, cheeks flushed. Rain pulls him closer by the nape of his neck.

“You are,” he whispers.

Rain gets lost in it. Aeon can see him slipping. Smoothly strung-together sentences giving way to staccato mumbling. Gasps of his name interspersed with swears and beautiful syrupy moans that ring in Aeon’s ears like a choir in a high-ceilinged church. 

“Fuck, Aeon, ahh,” he gasps. The raw pleasure in his voice stirs a fire in Aeon’s gut. “You’re a natural,” he says with a broken little laugh. 

“You think so?” Aeon’s somewhere between teasing and desperate. He pumps Rain’s cock faster, with more urgency.

“Yeah,” Rain confirms, “yeah- oh, oh, you’re gonna make me cum, fuck.” He twists his fingers through Aeon’s hair, and Aeon can feel them shake as he does. 

“‘m close, too,” Aeon breathes. He tucks his head into the crook of Rain’s neck, where it feels like it belongs. It’s safe, easy to give the shaky, desperate whimpers he can’t help but make. 

“Cum inside me,” Rain urges. 

Aeon feels like the floor just fell out from underneath him.

“Can’t.” It comes out like a sob, gut-punched and mourning. Rain’s eyes widen as he remembers. He jolts, cranes his neck forward, reaches a gentle hand toward Aeon’s flushed cheek, but it’s too late. Aeon feels tears start to build in the corners of his eyes, a familiar tightness gripping his ribcage, an ache settling into his heart.

“I can’t, Rainy. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Frustration and despair are swirling together in his chest, forming an awful acidic concoction that he doesn’t know what to do with. Rain feels so perfect underneath him, around him, and every part of his being aches for a load to give him. Something physical, tangible. Something that lasts after he’s pulled out. Something that drips out of Rain’s puffy hole after they’re done, a mark of what he’s done. Of what Rain’s let him do. 

But quintessence can’t do that. Quintessence is energy, not mass. Quintessence doesn’t leave marks- at least, not benign ones. And so Aeon sobs again, digs his fingertips into the sheets. His quint cock threatens to disperse, annoyed with his lack of attention. He doesn’t see the point in keeping it there. He lets it go. He hears Rain take a sharp inhale at the sudden absence, the emptiness. He feels Rain’s arms wrap around him, pulling him close.

“This alright?” Rain’s voice is soft. Aeon nods, lets his muscles go slack, lets himself be held. “I’m sorry, baby,” Rain continues. “I’m so sorry, I misspoke, I didn’t mean to-“

To ask for something I know you can’t give.

Aeon shakes his head. “’s okay.” 

It’s not, but I forgive you. It’s not even your fault. 

“It’s my fault.”

“No!” Rain assures, quiet but forceful. “No, it’s not your fault.” Aeon sobs harder. “You’re so perfect, baby. I love you so much.” Rain holds him tighter, strokes his trembling spine. “I’m so sorry, love.”

“I want to,” Aeon whimpers into the crook of Rain’s neck. His voice comes out petulant, whiny, and he hates himself even more for it.

“I know,” Rain soothes, “I know, baby.” His fingertips graze Aeon’s scalp, rubbing in calming circles over the follicles. With his ear pressed against Rain’s throat, Aeon can hear him swallow hard. The tightness of his voice as he speaks.

“Don’t cry, Rainy,” he beseeches. He shudders at the thought of Rain feeling pain because of him. His sole purpose now is making Rain feel good. If he can’t even do that, what is he good for? 

“Okay, I’m sorry, baby,” Rain shakes his head. “I just- I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Hurt is inevitable, Aeon thinks. Part and parcel of this existence. Part and parcel of intimacy, in fact. Constant reminders that his anatomy doesn’t align with what’s expected. He doesn’t think he’d change it if he could, even now when it’s tearing him apart. He’s given it enough thought to know he’s not entirely unsatisfied with the hand he’s been biologically dealt. To know that, in spite of all that could be, he genuinely enjoys being trans. Can’t win ‘em all is the go-to attitude. And it works almost all of the time.

This feels different, though. This revelation about the use of quintessence has opened a can of worms hitherto unknown. New possibilities, new limitations. And, as with all limitations, the first real brush is excruciating.

“I wish I could give you more.” Aeon’s voice is quiet, shaky.

“Oh, Aeon, love,” Rain’s voice is gentle. The tenderness only makes Aeon’s chest ache more. He tries to bite back another sob but it pushes through his throat regardless.

“I’m sorry,” he finds himself repeating. He burrows further into Rain’s embrace while simultaneously feeling less and less deserving of it.

“Baby,” Rain cuts him off, softly. It isn’t enough to cut through the shakes wracking Aeon’s body. “Baby, hey,” he repeats more forcefully. He cradles Aeon’s cheek in one hand, gently lifts his face off the pillow. Aeon doesn’t have the willpower to fight him. He meets Rain’s gaze, blinking to see through the tears. Rain’s eyes are misty now, too, he notices. His own hurt echoed back at him in a vicious feedback loop that keeps getting louder, more distorted. He wants to scream until his throat goes numb.

“You are so much more than enough. So much more.”

“Don’t feel like it,” Aeon mumbles, and Rain lets out a shallow sigh.

“I know,” he says, and he sounds so sad. He pulls Aeon into his chest, and Aeon wraps his arms around him. “But you are.” Aeon takes a breath and tries to believe. Rain rubs his back, smooth and loving. Soothing, not overbearing. He holds him close as he comes back to himself, piece by piece.

“Do you wanna shower?” Rain asks, after an indeterminate amount of time. Aeon does not. He nods anyway. “Okay,” Rain’s voice is soft. “You wanna be alone or…?”

“No,” Aeon says quickly. It comes out like a croak and he has to clear his throat. “No,” he repeats with a shake of his head. “Would, uh- would you come with me?”

“Of course.” 

Rain follows Aeon as he clambers up off the bed. Aeon fumbles in his suitcase for his bag of toiletries, and he gets a head rush as he stands up. Crying will take it out of you, he supposes. He struggles not to stumble on the way to the bathroom, doesn’t want Rain to see him as even more pathetic than he has to be. He does stumble, though, and Rain’s arm is around his waist before he can catch himself.

“You alright?” Rain sounds even more concerned now and Aeon wants to scream. 

Yes, I am. Of course I’m not. Please don’t worry about me. Please worry enough to take care of me. Please don’t feel bad for me. Please understand it’s hard.

“Just got dizzy,” is his answer. 

Rain is quick to grab his water bottle off the dresser. He offers it and Aeon takes it with a sigh and a tired smile.

“Thanks.”

The water is cold and crisp. Aeon suspects Rain cooled it while handing it over. He takes several long gulps, sighing in tired satisfaction as he finishes. He didn’t realize how thirsty he was. He sets it down on the dresser and continues padding over to the bathroom. The door opens with a creak and they both set their bags down on the counter. Aeon glances at himself in the mirror and instantly cringes. His hair is messy, eyes sunken in his face, puffy and red. Rain stands behind him, wraps his arms around him. He meets his gaze through the mirror.

“I’m sorry, Rainy.”

“Don’t be,” Rain insists. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He turns him around by the shoulders, kisses his forehead. “Let me wash your hair, hm?”

“Okay,” Aeon nods.

They take their time in the shower. Rain seems compelled to plant a kiss somewhere on Aeon’s body every ten seconds, and Aeon lets him. With each one, a little piece of him comes back alive. A little worthiness returns to him. They watch a video before bed- on Rain’s phone, which has the larger screen. Some lighthearted podcast episode that goes by in a blur and makes them both laugh. Rain holds him the whole time. The sound of his laughter- soft, bright, musical- is the last real memory Aeon has before he falls asleep.

Chapter Text

Aeon’s found it difficult to stray too far from Rain’s side after last night. They woke up together in the hotel bed, Rain tucked in behind him, arm slung over his waist. Aeon’s awful blaring alarm had startled him awake, as intended, and he laughed to himself as Rain barely budged. He’d groaned, burrowed his face into Aeon’s neck, stubbornly held him tighter. Begged him to snooze it, a request for just a few minutes that ultimately stretched upward of an hour. Aeon couldn’t complain, though. He never has anything to complain about when Rain’s holding him.

They showered together again, taking turns washing each other’s hair. The scent of Rain’s shampoo, eucalyptus and mint, permeated Aeon’s sinuses. It lingered there as they dressed, strolled into the hotel lobby in search of the breakfast buffet. Through packing, moving, bus rides, sound checks, and dressing room preparations, they stayed largely side by side. Easy, natural, comforting.

It isn’t that Rain pities him, he knows. If that were the case, he’d be repelled. He squirms under that kind of posturing; it crawls under his skin, even when offered by his dearest of companions. There’s nothing worthy of pity about him. Just a lingering vulnerability. A fresh wound that’s not really a wound at all.

Rain isn’t always one for PDA. But he holds Aeon’s hand as they sit backstage and talk. He kisses him good luck in the green room in front of everyone. Love undisguised on his face, even through the mask.

It bleeds into the ritual, too. In front of the screaming crowd, with heightened adrenaline and atmosphere, it takes on a decidedly different flavor. Rain struts toward him, a lanky shadow in Aeon’s peripheral vision. Aeon bends over backward, catching Rain’s eye as his neck angles back. Even through his upside-down vision he can see Rain’s chin tilt up, his lips pursing together behind his balaclava. Aeon grins, suggestively slams his fist harder onto the strings. He can almost hear Rain’s growl over the roar of the crowd.

The ride to the hotel takes an eternity. Thankfully it is a hotel tonight, though. Aeon wouldn’t say no to cockwarming Rain in his bunk, of course, but this is much more gratifying. Once they get into their room, it doesn’t take more than thirty seconds for Rain to get him up against the door, kissing him hard. Aeon’s eyes roll back at the first press of Rain’s lips, like a sip of water after a long day in the sun.

“Touch me,” Aeon urges, but Rain’s already there. He slips his hand between Aeon’s thighs, groping enthusiastically. “Fuck,” Aeon gasps, forehead coming to rest on Rain’s shoulder. The pressure on his cunt is heavenly and he can’t help but buck into Rain’s hand.

“Wanted you all day,” Rain breathes. Aeon giggles.

“Really?” he teases. “Couldn’t tell.” He gasps when Rain finds his clit through his sweatpants, traps it between two fingers.

“How do you want it?” Rain’s voice is low, promising. Aeon’s stomach twists.

“Could we… just, uh, do this for today?”

“Baby, I’m never gonna complain about being inside you,” Rain says with a laugh. Aeon laughs with him, lets his shoulders drop with an exhale. “You have any idea how good that pretty cunt of yours feels?”

Aeon does, in fact, have an idea, albeit faint. He still remembers the reverberations of Rain’s pleasure, the glimpse of sensation he was afforded by his quintessence. That does nothing to soften the impact of Rain’s words, however. Rain catches his eye, an amused smirk painted across his lips. He knows it, too.

“Not fair,” Aeon protests. It really isn’t, he thinks. It’s not fair how Rain can ensnare him so quickly and easily. How he can get him halfway to subspace with just a few sentences.

“No?” Rain smiles, cocking his head to the side. “How can I be fair to you, baby boy?” He extends an arm and trails his fingertips up the inside of Aeon’s thigh. Slowly, lightly. His bright blue eyes are filled with hunger, craving. Being devoured whole suddenly doesn’t seem so bad.

“Need you to- hnn-“ Aeon groans low in his throat as Rain’s hand draws nearer to the apex of his thighs, “-fuck me.”

“C’mere,” Rain murmurs. He lays back, extending a graceful finger in a come-hither motion. Aeon follows, straddling Rain’s hips and planting his hands on either side of Rain’s shoulders. He cards a hand through his hair, licks his lips. Rain grins up at him, shakes his head, all affection. He reaches up, hooks two fingers under the collar of Aeon’s shirt.

“Get down here,” he hisses, and pulls. Then their lips are pressed together and Aeon is making a surprised little mmph! into the kiss. Rain chuckles, reaches a strong hand around to grasp Aeon’s ass. 

“Ha-aah,” Aeon whines airily. Rain growls hungrily, squeezes harder. “Rainy,” he gasps, “need- oh-“ 

There’s far too much clothing between them. Aeon groans as he grinds down, aching to feel Rain’s cock sliding against his cunt, inside. He feels a rush of wetness, wasted on his cumbersome boxers. 

“Please- ahh- need you,” he gasps. 

“Let me take care of you,” Rain whispers, breath light against Aeon’s neck. Aeon can’t argue with that.

“Okay,” Aeon murmurs. He rolls over, lays back on the bed. Rain is on top of him in an instant, attaching their lips again. He slides a palm underneath Aeon’s shirt, grazing over his stomach. Aeon takes the hint and wiggles out of it, pulling it over his head in a series of less-than-graceful movements. Rain’s already tugging Aeon’s sweatpants down, shucking his own shirt off.

“Let me taste,” Rain urges, and Aeon spreads his legs with a giggle. It dissolves into a moan as Rain presses a kiss on his stomach.

“Rainy,” he gasps. Rain grins, gives him another. He slips his wide palms over Aeon’s hipbones, teasing his thumbs around his vulva. Aeon whines in his throat, squirms under Rain’s touch.

“Gorgeous,” Rain purrs. He peels Aeon’s lips apart with broad thumbs, exposing his aching core. Aeon shivers. 

“O-Oh, fuck,” he gasps when Rain finally kisses between his folds. Rain hums, swirls his tongue. Aeon moans wantonly, sinks his fang into his lower lip. “Rainy, ahh, s-so good.”

Rain dives in like he’s starving for it, lips and tongue on overdrive. They move against Aeon’s cunt with an urgency, lapping at his core like it’s the last time he’ll get to taste it. Rain groans, grips his thighs harder. He noses up against Aeon’s clit while his tongue slips inside, twisting, tasting. Aeon knows he’s being loud, whines and gasps breaking through his throat, but he doesn’t mind when it only seems to spur Rain on. 

Rain laps at the underside of Aeon’s clit and he cries out. He can feel Rain chuckle, a puff of air against his folds, a spurt of vibration against his clit. He keeps going, expertly peeling back the hood and flicking his tongue around the head. Aeon has to dig his fingertips in the mattress to avert an orgasm when Rain gives his clit a proper suck. Rain bobs his head, almost, a slight tilt of the chin, and Aeon’s right on the edge.

“Oh, fu-ahhh, wait,” he gasps, tugging at Rain’s hair. Rain pulls off with a noise of confusion. “Wanna cum on your cock.”

“Yeah,” Rain nods.

He slips a finger into Aeon’s cunt, rising up on his knees. Aeon glances at the bulge in Rain’s pants and worries his lower lip between his teeth. He can feel his cunt flex around Rain’s finger, craving made manifest. Rain’s eyebrows furrow.

“Fuck, Rainy,” he whines. Rain groans in response, flicks his tongue over Aeon’s collarbone before planting a kiss there. He adds another finger, curls them into his sweet spot. Aeon cries out again, grasps for Rain’s forearm.

“So wet,” Rain croons. 

“Uh-huh,” Aeon nods dumbly, “wet for you.” He pulls his knees up, spreading his legs wider. Rain presses harder, kisses Aeon’s neck deeper.

“Please,” he breathes.

“What is it, love?”

“Bite me,” Aeon begs. Rain chuckles, nuzzles his nose into the space behind Aeon’s ear. Aeon shivers, arches into his touch.

“How hard?” he whispers, as he crooks his fingers just so.

“Hard as you want,” Aeon offers, baring his neck. “Want marks.”

Rain groans and sinks his teeth in. 

“Fuck, yes,” Aeon moans, threads his fingers through Rain’s hair. Rain sucks harder, groans at the little whimpers Aeon gives him for it. 

“Can I have you?” Rain breathes. He grinds against Aeon’s thigh, rock hard through his pants. “Fuck- ah- need you.”

“Then take me,” Aeon whispers. A phrase he might otherwise cringe at, but it slides off the tongue before he knows it. Rain slides off the bed, slips his pants off, and Aeon can’t help but ogle. Broad shoulders framing his soft dark hair, prince-like. His long, lean torso leading down to a v-line that frankly shouldn’t be legal. Cock hard and dripping with that characteristic-water-ghoul excess of pre. Rain catches him staring, throws him an overly conspicuous wink.

Aeon laughs. “Get over here and fuck me already.” Rain clambers onto the bed and settles on his knees. 

“Ready?”

Aeon nods, and then Rain is lining himself up and sliding in slowly. Aeon gives an airy, blissed-out whine as he does. He digs his fingertips into the muscles of Rain’s back, throws his head back against the pillow. Rain leans over and plants a trail of soft kisses- over his collarbone, up the side of his neck, toward his jawline. A kiss for every inch he pushes in. They both moan as he finally bottoms out.

“I love you,” Rain whispers. His lips graze over the patch of skin just below Aeon’s earlobe. No matter how often Aeon gets to hear him say it, he gets butterflies in his chest every time.

“I love you, too,” Aeon whispers back. The affection in Rain’s beautiful deep blue gaze, the reverence with which Rain holds him- it’s almost too much to bear. So he draws Rain into a kiss, two pairs of lips pressing hungrily against each other, synchronous. Like they’re trying to drink each other in. 

Rain gives a gentle thrust, slow and deliberate. The drag against Aeon’s walls has his eyes rolling back, a ragged moan escaping his lips. He grasps for Rain’s shoulder with one hand, while the other sneaks between them to massage his own swollen clit. 

“Rainy,” he whines, digging his fingertips into wiry muscles. Rain answers with a kiss to Aeon’s neck, wet and passionate. He starts thrusting in earnest, and his lips curl into a smile against Aeon’s skin at the resulting moans he gives him. 

“Spread those legs for me, baby boy,” he urges, and Aeon obeys, hiking his hips up to get him deeper inside. “Fuck,” Rain gasps brokenly. His neck goes slack, forehead falling against Aeon’s collarbone. “Takin’ me so well.”

Aeon whines at the praise, worries his lower lip between his teeth. Rain grips his jaw, softly, and pulls him into a kiss. It’s slow, hungry, deep. He angles his thrusts just so, giving a gratified smile when Aeon cries out. Then he slides his hand downward, over Aeon’s shoulder. Aeon braces himself to be pinned to the mattress by his wrists- a favorite move of Rain’s- but Rain laces their fingers together instead. 

As much as Aeon loves being on the receiving end of Rain’s meaner side, there’s something special about the times when he gets like this. Sincere, desperate. Urgent but slow. Lowering himself onto Aeon, barely inches apart at any point. Enveloping but not smothering. Wide hands roaming over Aeon’s body, grasping, squeezing. Like he needs to touch as much of his surface area as possible. Moaning praise for him, unfiltered. That gentle baritone low in his ear, shaky with undisguised pleasure.

Rain reaches a hand between them, strokes Aeon’s clit, slow and solid in time with his thrusts. Aeon whines, another wave of pleasure cresting as he clenches around Rain’s dick.

“Fuck, baby,” Rain gasps, “you’re- oh- squeezin’ me, fuck.” Aeon’s response to the maneuver isn’t anything new, but Rain still speaks with the same air of awe as he did the first time.

“Feels so good, Rainy,” Aeon groans. He arches his back, unable to keep still under the barrage of sensation. “How d’you feel so f-fuckin’ good?”

Rain just chuckles, breathless. He presses his thumb against Aeon’s clit more insistently and Aeon chokes on a particularly high-pitched moan. He crosses his forearms behind Rain’s neck, aching for him to be closer despite the impossibility of it. There’s only one way he can think of. 

“Knot me?” he implores. Rain whines in his throat, eyebrows knitting together in an expression of need.

“Yeah, darling? You want it?”

“Please,” Aeon nods, lacing his fingers through Rain’s hair. “Need to be yours.”

“Oh, you are mine,” Rain croons. Aeon whimpers as he feels the beginning of its swelling at the base of Rain’s cock, pressing against his slick, puffy lips. “My good boy,” he continues, and Aeon keens at the possession coating his words. “My good— ha-ah, shit— my good fuckin’ boy.” 

“Gonna- gonna- oh,” Aeon chokes out. He can’t stop himself from bucking into Rain, tilting his hips to ensure those decadent thrusts angle right for his g-spot. “Let me cum on it, oh, fuck,” he sobs, “please let me cum on it.”

“Uh-huh,” Rain gasps. “C’mon, love.”

He goes silent as it starts to take over him, his orgasm unfurling slowly like a delicate fern. Rain thrusts his knot inside with a groan. The sudden stretch, and the immediate fullness that follows, returns Aeon’s voice to him. There’s ecstasy in the completion, the feeling that some missing part of himself has been returned. He can hear himself babbling, cries of Rainy and fuck punctuated by little hitching moans.

The comedown is one of Aeon’s favorite things about taking a knot. Rain’s sensitive still, panting, gasping with each flutter of Aeon’s cunt. His voice is soft, broken, beautiful. Aeon gets to watch his orgasm as though in slow motion, prolonged. He gets to pull Rain’s hair, whisper in his ear, urge him on. If Aeon flexes his pelvic floor just to hear his voice crack as he whines, he’ll never tell.

“Aeon,” Rain groans. They’re joined now, Rain’s knot lodged solidly inside, but he’s still rocking against him.

“You still going?” Aeon asks, awed. Rain nods, allowing his movements to answer for him. “Yeah, fill me up, just like that.” Rain gives a broken whimper at his words. “Want all of it,” Aeon continues, knot-drunk and unfiltered.

“Yes- ohh,” Rain gasps, rhythm turning erratic as his twitching dick gives its final spurts. “Got s-so much for you.” 

Aeon moans, tilting his head back so Rain can get a view of the hickey he left there. Rain groans at the sight, dives down to kiss it again.

“Mine,” he growls. He grinds his knot in harder as he does and Aeon gives him an airy cry.

“Yes,” he sobs. He digs his blunt nails into Rain’s back, arches up against him. His cunt twitches with the overstimulation but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Rain takes a shuddering breath.

“Oh, baby,” he sighs. A goofy smile graces his face, and Aeon can’t resist nuzzling up against his cheek.

“Love you,” he murmurs. Rain kisses him, unexpected and passionate. Aeon’s heart might beat out of his chest.

“Love you, too,” he breathes. “So much.”

Aeon smiles with the feeling of a weight being lifted from his shoulders. He’d keep Rain inside him forever if he could. There’s something in him, a rabid kind of scratching, that quiets down when they’re joined like this.

“Wanna keep you inside forever,” Aeon mumbles, silently cursing the way a knot in his cunt renders him incapable of subtlety. Rain gives him a sound between a whine and a chuckle.

“You tryin’ to get me hard again already?”

“Depends,” Aeon muses, pressing a feather-light kiss to Rain’s jaw. “Will you fuck another load into me if I do?”

Chapter Text

“I want you to mark me,” Rain says, breathy. He tilts his chin up, exposing the long expanse of his slender neck. Aeon’s mouth waters at the sight. 

“There?” His voice is hushed. Rain’s never let him leave marks there. In fact, Aeon’s never seen his smooth skin tarnished by any bite marks or bruises left over from his escapades. Rain’s always been pristine, unblemished. Seemingly above any petty indication of ownership or possession. Which is why Aeon’s heart is beating in his throat as he ponders it. 

“Yeah,” Rain nods. “If you want to.”

“I do.” Aeon nods in return. He steps closer, tucking his head into the crook of Rain’s neck. He presses his lips to the skin, softly at first, just like he already knows Rain likes. Rain sighs, threads his fingers through Aeon’s hair. Aeon flicks his tongue over the edges of Rain’s gills and Rain rewards him with a gasp. 

“Baby,” he whines. Aeon, emboldened, runs the tip of his tongue over the length of one of his slits, from front to back. “Oh- Satan, Aeon, fuck.” 

“Good?” Aeon hums. Rain shudders from the puff of air against the wet stripe on his skin. 

“Yeah,” he groans. Aeon presses a kiss a little higher, between his uppermost gill slit and his jawline. He sucks a bit of the skin between his teeth, pressing his lips together over it, pulling harder. Rain’s grip on his hair tightens, his head tips back against the wall behind him. He gives the most gorgeous whimper, right against Aeon’s ear, and Aeon can’t help but groan against Rain’s flushed skin. He pushes forward, places a leg in between Rain’s, and smirks to himself when he feels Rain’s hardness press back against his thigh. 

“Fuck,” Rain chokes out, starting a helpless, stuttering grind against Aeon’s leg. Aeon directs his attention to the other side of Rain’s neck, this time below his gills. He alternates between sucking and laving his tongue over the gills, reveling in the different timbres of the moans Rain gives him as he does so. Reedy and throaty, then high-pitched and airy, and back again. Aeon swipes his tongue across Rain’s gills again, harder this time, daring to poke slightly under the ridge of it. He laughs softly as Rain’s knees go weak, more of his weight sinking into him. 

Aeon leans back and admires his work: two dark purple marks against the pale blue-grey of Rain’s skin. Rain gazes at him, pupils totally blown out, lips parted, panting. Aeon grins and dives back in for more. He presses further into Rain, allowing him to rut harder against him. 

“Do you want me to fuck you?” He murmurs, in between deep kisses to Rain’s skin. The words feel clumsy in his mouth, foreign, but Rain groans needily all the same. 

“Please,” is the answer, quiet and broken at the end where it curls up into a whine. Something inside Aeon snaps. 

“Clothes off. On the bed.” It comes out colder and more commanding than he intended. He hesitates for a moment- only as long as it takes for Rain to quickly obey, unfazed. He shakes himself, stripping himself of his own garments and clambering onto the bed as well. 

Rain pulls him closer, kisses him hard. He grasps Aeon’s hips, swipes his thumbs over Aeon’s hipbones. Aeon moans, hips involuntarily bucking towards Rain. He doesn’t ask Rain to touch him, though, because if Rain puts his hot mouth or dextrous hands on Aeon’s cunt, he isn’t sure he’ll get the chance to give him what he wants.

He considers, for a moment, the strategy. Tying a tendril of quintessence between his legs sounds unappealing at the current juncture, given the recent debacle. He looks at Rain, writhing on the sheets below him, the image of sin and beauty. He decides not to think too hard about it. 

Aeon pulls a strand of quintessence away from the well of energy within him. It separates easily, eager and willing. He lets it float, declining to concentrate on its tether point. Letting it go where it will. Focusing instead on the beautiful form of his lover in front of him. He leans forward and takes the tip of Rain’s flushed cock in his mouth. Rain moans- nearly a yelp- and his back forms a perfect little arch. 

“Fuck, fuckfuckfuck,” he gasps as Aeon works his way down the shaft, swirling his tongue around the underside. Aeon curls the tendril of quintessence around Rain’s thigh, spiraling towards his hole. 

“Baby, please,” Rain whimpers. Aeon brushes against the puckered rim, groaning around Rain’s cock as the sensation rockets directly towards his core. He pushes in slowly, keeping the strand thin, fucks it in and out of him gently. Rain keens, whines his name so sweetly. Aeon can’t help but squeeze his thighs together, rut against the bed beneath him. 

“Thicker,” Rain urges, and Aeon obliges. They both moan at the stretch, the sense of filling. “Fuck, yes,” Rain groans. Aeon hollows his cheeks around Rain’s dripping cock, dutifully bobbing his head, and Rain gives a blissed-out whine. “I’m gonna- oh- gonna cum so fast if you keep that up,” he laughs sheepishly. 

“Me too,” Aeon admits. The feeling of his own mouth lapping at Rain’s dick reverberates through his own system. It pulls at his clit, rubs at something deep in his core. He sits up on his knees and leans over Rain, who grabs him by the back of his head and pulls him in for a desperate kiss. 

“Feels so good,” Rain gasps as soon as their lips part. “Satanas, baby, you feel so fucking perfect.” 

“So do you,” Aeon groans. He renews his focus on keeping the rhythm of the energy, thrusting steadily. He wraps his hand around Rain’s cock, and they both whine at the contact. Rain’s hips buck upward as it spurts another burst of pre over Aeon’s knuckles. Aeon leans in and plants a kiss to one of the marks he left on Rain’s neck, smiling as Rain whimpers into his ear. 

“Aeon, oh- sh-shit, fuck, baby,” he moans when Aeon strokes him more insistently. 

“Gonna cum for me?” Aeon purrs. He already knows the answer, can sense the buildup of momentum in Rain’s gut. He can’t help it- he reaches in with more quintessence, pressing harder on that spot he knows makes Rain see stars. 

“Yes,” Rain whimpers. “Yes, can I- oh, fuck- c-can you-“ he cuts himself off with a frustrated whine. Aeon briefly considers easing off the quintessence to help him spit the sentence out, but Rain just feels so good. He suddenly understands the origin of jokes about the difficulty of pulling out.

Rain takes a deep breath, determined. “Want you to cum with me,” he pleads. 

“I will,” Aeon chuckles, breathy. He’s sure of it- there’s no way the shockwaves from Rain’s orgasm won’t send him over the edge. His eyes are drawn over and over to Rain’s neck, the blossoms he’s left there. Physical marks, he thinks. Something tangible. Finally. He shouldn’t press him, he thinks, shouldn’t dwell too much on something he still can’t fully believe Rain allowed him to do. Yet. 

“You look so pretty with my marks on you, Rainy,” he blurts. Rain smiles weakly, even though it quickly morphs into an expression of submission with a few thrusts. 

“Yeah?” Rain eggs him on, whether he means to or not.

“Yeah,” Aeon nods vigorously. “Fuck, babe, everyone’s gonna fuckin’ see.” He groans at the thought, possession and greed and need flowing through his veins, uncontrollable. “Everyone’s gonna know you’re- ahh- mine.” He fucks him harder, whimpering under his breath as Rain clenches around him. 

“Uh-huh,” Rain gasps between desperate moans. He nods, in agreement, mouth agape. “Yours, I’m- fuck, Aeon- oh, fuck-“ He cries, and then he’s cumming, spurting over Aeon’s fingers, onto both of their stomachs. He moans his name, throws his head back as his legs twitch on the mattress.

It takes only a split second before Aeon follows, overwhelmed by the combined pleasure of being inside Rain and feeling Rain’s own sensations echoed back at him. He sinks his teeth into the side of Rain’s neck as he cums. Below the gills, near the point where his neck meets his shoulder. Rain gives a strangled cry, grasps Aeon’s forearm like a lifeline.

Aeon doesn’t let go just yet. He rides the momentum of their shared orgasm, dragging Rain along with him under wave after wave. Rain’s cries ring out in his ears, heavenly and perfect. 

He brings them out slowly, letting the aftershocks crash against them as they swell up. Rain clings to him, drawing him tighter with each shudder. Aeon senses another gigantic wave swelling under the surface of their shared sensation and he can’t resist the temptation to ride it.

“One more,” he breathes, feeling he’d be remiss not to offer a warning.

“Wha- oh, Aeon,” Rain chokes out as it starts to crest. Aeon laughs weakly before giving a broken moan of his own.

“Ahh, shit, Rainy, fuck,” he cries. His cunt offers another gush of wetness, Rain arches off the bed. Rain whimpers, legs shaking beneath him, mattress quaking.

“Fuck,” he gasps, sounding near the verge of tears, “oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fu-uck.” 

“O-okay, that’s it,” Aeon relents in a rushed whisper. He fully lifts them out, finally pinching off that delicious feedback loop. 

He wonders how long he could ride it for, how long he could make the both of them cum for if he tried. He’s hit with the sudden image of Rain begging him to let him stop cumming. He gasps an expletive under his breath, his overstimulated cunt aching at the thought.

They’re both panting, chests heaving in unison. Aeon’s legs give out and he collapses on top of Rain, who gives a wheeze, then a laugh. He’s staring at the ceiling, eyes unfocused, mouth agape. 

“That was… that was… wow.” Rain begins, winded. “Holy fuck.”

Aeon laughs, just as winded. “Uh-huh.” He slides off Rain, tucking himself into his side. Rain grunts, turns over. Aeon slings a leg over Rain’s hip, slides an arm around his waist. Rain slings his arm over Aeon’s shoulder. A comfortable tangle of limbs.

“You’re incredible,” Rain slurs. Aeon hums, pleased, presses a kiss to Rain’s neck. “My perfect… my… oh, Satan,” he cuts himself off with a distant laugh. “Ya got me so fucked up.”

Aeon giggles. “That good, huh?”

Rain nods gravely. “Fuckin’ crazy.” He pulls Aeon closer, and Aeon shifts accordingly, until their bodies are pressed flush together. Rain tucks his head into the crook of Aeon’s neck, hooks his elbows around his back. Aeon gives a contented sigh, cradles Rain’s head in his arms.

They stay like that for a while, grounding each other gradually back to reality. The rhythms of their breathing align somewhere along the way, bodies rising and falling as though pulled by some invisible tide. It’s easy to float atop it here, two pieces of interlocking driftwood carved from the same log. Aeon pets Rain’s hair absentmindedly, the dark strands sifting through his bony fingers. Rain hums contentedly as he does, pressing his lips to Aeon’s collarbone.

“Thank you,” Rain mumbles, slurred into Aeon’s skin. “Love you.”

“I love you, too,” Aeon hums. He pulls Rain closer. “So much.”

He glances at the clock. They have time. Time to rest, time to shower, time to go another round, time to cuddle, time to talk about nothing and everything. There’s a hum as the air conditioner kicks on. Aeon squirms as the cold air begins to bite at his back, gives a melodramatic whine. Rain, ever indifferent to the cold, gives a little laugh.

“Chilly, baby?” Aeon nods, doing his best to imitate a kicked puppy. “Aww,” Rain coos, matching his drama with glee. “How do you propose we warm you up?”

Aeon thinks for a moment, then rolls Rain onto his back. Rain shoots him a look of confusion before he flops on top of him, draping himself over his chest, and pulls the blankets over behind him. Rain laughs, beautiful.

“Like this?” Aeon asks. Rain responds with a kiss, wrapping his arms around Aeon’s torso. He shifts, spreading his legs around Rain’s hips in a frog-like pose, easy to maintain. In doing so, though, he inadvertently grazes Rain’s dick with his hipbone. Rain gasps, his grip tightening. 

“Oops,” Aeon whispers. 

“Careful,” Rain hisses, although there’s no real severity in it. Aeon shivers- whether at the cold air or Rain’s tone, he couldn’t say.

“What if I don’t wanna be?”

Rain chuckles, lowers his grip to Aeon’s hips. “What am I supposed to do with you?” He scolds insincerely.

“Whatever you want,” Aeon says, and he means it. Whatever it is, he hopes it involves keeping him close.