Church Source 12

[warmskies]

Claude smiles against Dimitri's lips; Dimitri will feel the curve of it. Then he kisses him. Soft, chaste, gentle in a way that's more like Dimitri than Claude - there's a tender earnestness to it that Claude rarely shows, rarely allows himself. Such emotional vulnerability is much harder for him to show than Dimitri...but for his lover(they've finally got a better word for what they are), he's willing to wear his heart on his sleeve for a little while.

It's not just one kiss; Claude kisses Dimitri again, and again, each one a reassurance that this is fine, this is right, nothing that feels the way the two of them do right now could ever possibly be wrong.

--

It's a good thing Claude is kissing him over and over; Dimitri was already well on that track himself. That anxious excited energy keeps him ducking down again to meet the other every time. Between kisses- sometimes one after the other, sometimes with considerable gaps- he murmurs those two words again. "Love you." As though he can't ever get enough of them, get enough of Claude.

At some point, the kisses begin to stray, following the curve of Claude's jaw, down to this throat. He's always wanted to touch more of Claude, adore him like Dimitri feels he deserves, but now he feels particularly encouraged, that it's all in reach.

--

"I love you, too," Claude manages to fit in between the kisses. It's easier once the kisses aren't necessarily landing on his lips. His hands rake up Dimitri's back, fingers running through that soft fur. An idle thought - that he doesn't have to worry about scratching up Dimitri's back - occurs and is discarded as not being appropriate for the mood right now.

--

He still can't get enough of Claude touching him, and that's especially true now, with those fingers raking softly against his back. His spine arches up against them, a low purr rumbling from the bottom of his chest. It pauses for only a second as he reaches the curve of his neck, and finds some obstacles in his way. One hand goes down to feel along Claude's leather armor, and his forehead nudges into his shoulder as he looks downwards.

"I'd... like to take it off." He glances up at Claude. "...I have no idea how."

--

Claude laughs, low in his throat, eyes sparkling up at Dimitri. "Here." And the next minute or so involves him guiding Dimitri's hands to the straps to undo, and shifting so that the armor can be pulled off of him. Once he's down to that light shirt he wears, he's sure Dimitri won't need any direction in how to get that off him.

--

Oh, the shirt is far more easy to understand, and there's a certain amount of relief at simply getting to push it up as a matter of course when his hands begin to slide up Claude's sides. "Will it always be so difficult to undress you?" he murmurs, already ducking down to nose along the man's newly bared skin.

He'd been tormented, more than a few times in his cage, by curious thoughts on just what it would feel like to touch the finely tuned body that had so easily wielded a bow and with such skill too. Last night had answered some of those thoughts, but he'd been so tired that there'd been no ability to properly appreciate it. Now... He more than intends to make up for that, fingers slowly grazing along what skin isn't being claimed by soft kisses.

--

"If it means you'll undress me more often, I'll get clothes that practically fall off me," Claude says teasingly, a hand moving to the back of Dimitri's head to slide fingers into his hair. That mouth on his skin feels incredible, and he doesn't particularly want Dimitri pulling it away anytime soon.

A thought occurs to him, with his hand being where it is, and he finally asks a question he's been tempted to a few times before. "Can I touch your ears?"

--

Such nice fingers in the best place ensure he's not going anywhere, and that low purring begins to start up again. It was already nice, to explore all the different parts of Claude's body- the softness, the muscles inbetween, every little twitch he manages to make come about.

Claude's voice rises over the sound of his purring, and Dimitri can't help sounding a little amused. "You've touched far more than that before... I have no reason to deny you now. Especially now." He nuzzles against Claude's chest for emphasis. "Your touch is far better than all I've had before... I always want more of it."

--

Claude chuckles. "I don't know what's off limits or extra sensitive for Intseh, so I just want to be sure..." He trails a finger lightly up along the edge of one of those beautiful ears. "But your ears are amazing. Not everyone can listen and speak with the same body part, you know..."

--

"I can only speak for myself." Claude might honestly have a better idea than he does, if Dimitri were honest. The worry that might otherwise come with those thoughts doesn't have time to take hold, and he sighs a little bit at such a soft touch to such delicate areas, the air fluttering along the skin beneath him. "Am I so obvious?"

--

"Usually. But you're so honest that it'd be obvious even without the body language. You don't hide how you feel." Claude nuzzles Dimitri's hair. "I hardly know how not to, sometimes, so I admire that."

--

Soon enough, he'll be nuzzled Dimitri's forehead as he looks upwards, leaning into those touches. "But you love me," he says quietly, fingers curling into his palms where they are against Claude's body. Not because he's anxious, or scared, but because the feeling in his chest is too much for him to just.... stay still.

--

"To an absolutely embarrassing degree, yeah." Claude grins at him. "Why is that a 'but', though?"

--

"So you found it important enough to be honest for that." And he leans in for another proper kiss, his lips to Claude's.

--

"This is important enough if anything is," Claude agrees, once the kiss eventually ends and he's actually able to speak again. "But also...I trust you more than anyone else. I don't feel like anything bad's going to happen if I'm honest with you."

--

That earns another kiss, deeper this time, and he presses his entire body against Claude's. He doesn't know when it happened, but he fits perfectly down against him, inbetween his legs, and it's a little hard to deny the, well. hardness growing. When he breaks the kiss, he goes to press his mouth against the curve of Claude's collarbone.

"I'll always work to deserve that feeling.... I promise."

--

"You already do deserve it," Claude purrs. "That's why you've already got it."

The soft romance of all of this certainly is wonderful and pleasurable in its own way, but at the same time it hasn't numbed either of them to more physical pleasures, either. Claude had been wondering when things would turn in this direction, and was indeed hoping they would, and the undercurrent of desire he's been feeling spikes the moment he feels Dimitri's cock making itself known through their clothing. He immediately shifts slightly, rocking his hips a bit to create some friction, and he's too focused on that and how good it feels to even consider that Dimitri's probably never experienced the sensation of someone grinding against him before.

Not that it would give Claude any kind of pause to realize that, of course, but he might be more teasing about it if he was paying attention. Make it more of a production.

--

There's a lot he could say there- Claude has definitely learned by now that Dimitri always has so much to say, and it's hard to say if isolation or Intseh heritage is to blame there- but the good news is that it's cut off before it can start. The better news is that it cuts off the second those hips grind up against his. It's a... very different feeling than when Claude had touched him, skin to skin, or even the closest equivalent he knows with his own hand.

The pressure, two bodies slotted together so perfectly, the soft firmness of Claude's arousal against his. The heat, his love burning beneath him in a way he'd never match on his own.

Dimitri can't help the way his purring shifts into a sudden soft growl right against Claude's skin, and his claws prick against his sides. Not enough to draw blood, but.... certainly enough to be felt. More then enough.

--

Claude shivers, laughing breathlessly. "Oh, gods, that shouldn't get me as hot as it does," he breathes. He doesn't need to hide how Dimitri affects him anymore. He doesn't need to hide what he wants Dimitri to do to him anymore. That's wonderfully freeing, all on its own. And Dimitri will get to feel Claude getting harder against him, quite intimately.

--

It's a good thing Claude speaks when he does, because it takes Dimitri a second to realize what his hands are doing and longer to remember what the proper reaction should be. He doesn't want to hurt Claude, never, and yet at the same time, there's such an urge to dig his claws and fangs in so that he can never escape. Fortunately.... Well. He remembers that look on Claude's face, when he'd had his claws twisted in his hair. He can feel the way that arousal is becoming all the more noticeable against his own.

Ah... Right.

Pulling away enough to look down at Claude, Dimitri licks his fangs. "What does?" he asks, voice wavering between soft and hoarse. One hand pries itself away from Claude's side, leaving light pinpricks where his claws were, so that he can slide it inbetween them and gently grip. "Tell me, Claude."

--

"Everything about you, really." Claude laughs again, a sound that's both self-conscious and exhilarated. "Your fur on my skin, the pads of your - " Claude debates mentally for a split second on saying 'paws', them decides against it. " - hands, your growl, the feel of your claws, your fangs, your tail...your knot." He licks his lips, heated gaze on Dimitri. "The church would call me a degenerate at best, but I love all of it."

--

"I believe that is the least of the things the church would call you." Yet Dimitri has no doubts on who he prefers. He ducks down once more, teeth lightly grazing along his neck again. This feels as though they're on the borderline of something, and he's still not sure which way they're going to tip first.

"...But I meant right in that moment, Claude."

--

"It was more than one thing in the moment, too." Claude shivers, still grinning. "But specifically...the claws, and the growl. And the way you're looming over me."

---

Dimitri's tail is slowly swaying back and forth, satisfied with what he's hearing... Although that last one makes him pause, blinking. "I'm looming?" That is indeed genuine surprise. He's never really considered it, after all.

--

"You're huge, you're practically in a permanent state of loom." Claude laughs. "I like it. I like feeling pinned by you..."

--

"So you would have always been attracted to me..." This time it's Dimitri's turn to sound equal parts amused and pleased. Now that he has Claude's attention- or at least now that he's aware of it- he never wants to let it go. He adjusts himself, stopping himself from marking Claude's skin like he'd wanted to, and straightens a bit as his hands ghost down to where his legs are. He digs his claws into those soft thighs, even hidden as they still might be behind clothing, raising them up around his own body.

It certainly makes it easier to press downwards, awkwardly return that initial grind. Now that he really knows how Claude feels.... Dimitri doesn't hold back his low growl, eye fluttering at the feeling.

--

"Oh, fuck," Claude breathes. Dimitri guiding his legs up and around him, positioning himself between Claude's legs, is already insanely erotic and suggestive on its own. Coupling it with grinding against him, and Claude has no problems getting fully hard very quickly.

He reaches out for Dimitri; the man's straightening up means Claude doesn't have the freedom to touch him or grab him the way he very much wants to right now. But it's quite possible that Dimitri enjoys having all the control in this situation.

--

It's almost a surprise how much he likes being this way, frankly. Almost. Dimitri doesn't dwell on it much. He just enjoys the sight of Claude like this- Claude like he was in the first sex dream Dimitri had of him, in fact, right down to the way his hair splayed out frames his face so perfectly. That hard arousal pressing down into his is good as well, heating him up from the inside.

He doesn't lean down just yet, however. Instead, he gives another rut into Claude, this time a little slower, more experimental. "What do you want, Claude?" he asks, leaning into his breathless growl now. "You have to tell me."

--

Claude gives Dimitri a grin that Dimitri's never seen before - something wild and wicked and eager, full of daring and exuberance and anything but calculated restraint. This side of Claude only comes out occasionally - most often in heated challenges, or when riding Wyvern, or now in the bedroom - but it's the parts of his personality still shaped by his fierce, adventurous Almyran side; the parts too deep for the church to ever touch, much less tame.

It's the smirk of a man who sees a razor's edge, and whose first instinct is to dance.

"I want your knot." The words are a rough, hungry purr. He's not even pretending that this isn't a deliberate splash of alcohol to the fire of Dimitri's libido. "I've wanted it ever since I first saw it."

--

One day, he'll adjust to Claude's provocations. One day, he'll be able to resist the fascination that pulses in him with every new or rare expression of Claude's. He'll be able to have enough self control to resist those teasing words to be more in control of the situation, to see Claude thrash beneath him.

Today.... isn't that day.

Those words, the idea that's been rattling around in his head ever since they first groped each other through the bars of his cage- they set something off in him. Higher thought function has been something he's been struggling to keep a hold of this entire time... but now he practically tosses that aside, only a split second of stillness overtaking all of him as those words are taken in before he surges forward. His teeth latch onto the tender skin of Claude's shoulder, harder this time than the quiet scolding manner he'd done last night in response to such teasing. Meanwhile, his claws trust Claude to hold onto him with his legs, or not at all. It doesn't really matter. What matters is reaching up towards his pants, tugging them off with very littler care for where his claws might catch or tear through cloth. If he hadn't become familiar with how to remove them the first time, it's honestly highly possible he'd just rip them clean off, frankly.

--

Claude's own hands hurriedly help get his pants off; he doesn't want them destroyed, after all, and after that particular bit of provocation it's kind of on him to make sure they survive. He groans at the bite to his shoulder; it hurts, but it feels good at the same time. It helps that he's so turned on, and he rocks himself against Dimitri as the Intseh leans over him.

"We're gonna need oil for this," he gasps, vaguely aware that Dimitri probably doesn't know how to do this in clear terms and that he needs to offer not just basic instruction, but take some steps for his own self-preservation. "In my pouch - "

--

Claude's groan right into his ear is a jolt throughout his entire body, straight down to his cock. If not for those hands right between them, removing the pants much neater and quicker than he could ever hope to, he'd rut right into Claude again. Instead, he anchors his teeth in a little more, barely avoiding bloodshed.

With the way he's growling right into Claude's body, it's a miracle he hears him at all, and he unlatches his teeth to pull away. "Oil?" he asks roughly, a little out of it even as he reaches down to brush his hand against the now bare erection Claude is sporting.

--

"Mm," Claude agrees, shuddering a little at that soft touch to his cock. "To make things slicker...it's going to be a tight squeeze." He grins up at Dimitri. "I've been thinking about this for awhile...and practicing for it, too...but my body's still not built for this, exactly. It'll hurt without it - me more than you, but it wouldn't be comfortable for you either without it."

Claude is a man who plans for every eventuality. And honestly, even if he'd never believed he'd get a chance to have sex with Dimitri like this...he'd still have fantasized about it.

--

The knowledge that Claude has been practicing for this- that the thoughts in his head were no substitute for actually being ready to truly do it- Dimitri has no idea how he doesn't shove forward right then and there, pants and oil be damned. For a heartbeat, he has to force himself to be perfectly still to enforce some self control.

If anything helps at all, it's the mental image that Claude has provided, and which serves as a good method to divert his eagerness. Dimitri has to look around to remember where the pouch and pants have even gone at this point. If not for some clever batting of his tail to move it a little bit, he'd have to detach far more from Claude when retrieving it, and he clumsily opens the pouch. There's indeed a bottle he can only assume is the oil. When he hands it over to Claude, he makes sure to meet those eyes again. "Show me how you practice," he says hoarsely.

--

Claude laughs at that - a shaky, hungry sound. "For that, I need something else from the pouch, too..." Gods know he'd never leave it anywhere.

He shifts and rears up a bit to grab the pouch himself, and if that causes some interesting friction between himself and Dimitri then he's absolutely not going to complain. What he pulls out of the pouch...to call it suggestive would be an understatement. While Dimitri may not know this, humans have made sex toys for untold centuries, and Intseh are no different. But Intsehli sex toys definitely include some aspects of their anatomy that human sex toys don't feature.

The knot on this particular toy is - hilariously, from Claude's perspective - not as big as Dimitri's actual knot. But it's close enough to definitely count as practice for the real thing.

"Are you sure you want to see me use this on myself?" he asks, shooting Dimitri a wicked look. "Or do you want to use it on me?"

Internally, he's pretty sure the answer is still going to be the former. He doubts any amount of lust will keep Dimitri from being worried about hurting him, for one thing - but on top of that, he also suspects that Dimitri, if he wants to see Claude take any knot at all, will opt for his own.

--

This may be the first time Dimitri has ever seen a sex toy, but it doesn't take any kind of genius to immediately understand just what it's for. The reaction is a crash of conflicting emotions in his head- disappointment that his won't be the first in Claude for all that his opposition is just a fake, further arousal that Claude went so far for him, a disastrous clash of jealousy and arousal and some vague affection buried in the wreck. Ears flicked back, all he does is stare for a moment...

...before he shoves his face down into Claude's chest with a growl that's more childishly frustrated than low and domineering. Now that he's here, he just wants it to be him.... but on the other hand... His eye peeks out beneath messy hair and Claude's much darker skin. "Which is safer?" he grumbles, because Claude is right. Now, his care is always going to be one of the highest priorities Dimitri has.

--

Claude watches those conflicting emotions on Dimitri's face, and finds himself growing impossibly fonder of Dimitri than he already was. "Don't worry," he murmurs, grinning. "I've never slept with an Intseh before. The first real knot inside of me is going to be yours."

He might be hoping the quiet implication there goes unnoticed, in the midst of everything else. If Dimitri's jealous of a toy, then...he's probably going to be even more jealous of the humans Claude's slept with. (Claude doesn't want to lie to Dimitri about this, though, which might be why he's hoping it'll slide by for the moment on careful omission to possibly be discussed later.)

"As for which is safer...technically both should be safe, especially since I've been getting myself accustomed to the toy. But either way, we're going to have to work our way up to me taking a knot. And since yours is bigger, it'll need a bit more lead-up."

--

Something about that phrasing is off.... Just a little bit, enough for his mind to pay attention to it a little more than Claude's warm body beneath him. It stays there in a corner of his mind to be chewed on and rolled about.... but only a corner, with the rest of him much more focused on the present.

His thumb brushes along Claude's side as he goes over his options, claw lightly digging in absently. More than anything, he wants to be involved as much as possible... But... Another low and impatient huff of frustration, and he ducks his head down to nip at Claude's skin as if in protest. "I want to see how you do it," he finally answers. He'll watch, see how it's done properly... and then never forget for the future. The immediate future, even.

--

Claude smirks at him. "Unfortunately, that means you need to sit back..." That's going to be the hardest part. Dimitri not able to be between his legs, not being able to touch him, not feeling his warmth. And that's just the hardest part for Claude.

--

Another low growl, another bite- this time a little bit lower, a little bit harder. After that, however, he slowly begins to slide off of him, feet rocking back so that they can fully touch the floor instead of only the tips there to push him forward. One hand drags his claws slowly down along Claude's hips, leaving light scratch marks there. Seeing proof that that he was there, that he'll come back, makes him feel a little better.

Only a little, and his tail flicks impatiently as his gaze goes up to Claude expectantly.

--

Claude makes another low noise of hunger, of approval, at that bite and those claws. He's always liked sex to be on the rough side, and Dimitri scratches that itch perfectly.

That said, he's not going to hesitate much now that he's got the chance. For one thing, he's extremely turned on, and the thought of Dimitri watching him use his toy on himself only makes him hotter. But more than that - more than anything else - there's the awareness that the quicker he prepares himself, the sooner Dimitri will be inside him, and that's more than enough reason for haste. He's been fantasizing about this for weeks now, after all; the allure of the real thing being so tantalizingly close is palpable.

He pours some oil onto his hand, then begins slicking up the toy. He can't resist holding Dimitri's gaze a little while he does it; the movements are unavoidably suggestive of his jerking Dimitri off in his cage.

--

While Claude prepares his toy, his show, Dimitri in the meanwhile begins to slowly lower himself down along the side of the bed. His arms cross over the sheets, chin resting along them. It'd be a casual relaxed gesture from anyone else. With Dimitri, right now, in this moment.... There's something a lot more predatory to it: the positioning of his feet even partially slumped, the slow sway of his tail, the complete and utter intensity in the way his eye doesn't leave Claude at all.

It's the air of a predator just waiting for the perfect moment, not missing a single second.

--

Claude loves it. There's nothing threatening in Dimitri's body language, at least not to him; he trusts his partner pretty much implicitly at this point. All the intent there reads as sexual to him, as a result, and it just turns up the heat inside him.

After slicking up the toy, Claude keeps his eyes on Dimitri as his hand lowers down between his legs, past his cock, idly circling fingers around his hole. And he doesn't break eye contact even as he works one inside him, although Dimitri will hear the intake of breath that accompanies it.

--

Sure enough, there's that slight flick of his ears, and his tail stills for a moment. How he's supposed to stay put for something like this.... He's regretting it already. "You're teasing." Another low growl.

--

"Less than you'd think," Claude replies with a huff of breath that's almost a laugh. "There's only so much you can rush this kind of thing..." He works that single digit inside him for only a moment before adding a second. He really has been practicing, and he can escalate faster than most as a result. Given Dimitri's impatience, it's lucky he can. He's really wondering if Dimitri's going to hold out long enough for him to use the toy at all.

--

Dimitri's eye narrows just a fraction. "Less than I'd think.... still means you're teasing a great deal." That's one language slip that he manages to catch onto, at least. His claws begin to quietly knead into the sheets.

--

"I think it'd be impossible to do this at all without it driving you crazy," Claude murmurs, eyes half-lidded as he works those two fingers inside himself. In only a few moments, he's up to three. That's going to be enough to start using the toy to stretch himself even further...and then, from there, it'll be Dimitri he has to accommodate. But with that much prep work ahead of time, he thinks he'll be able to.

--

"You're still not denying it." Dimitri isn't denying that himself, either. He loves Claude so much, wants Claude so much, that he wants to vibrate out of his fur from it all. This is what they both truly wanted, when all they could do was touch each other past the bars. Now that it's so close, so within reach....

One arm finally pulls away from where he's folded it against himself, stretching out until he can trace the very tip of his claw up along Claude's leg. He can't deny himself completely.

--

"I might be denying it's on purpose..." Which is a very sneaky way of wording it, still. He might be denying that, but that's not to say he actually is. Because some of it - like gazing into Dimitri's eye while he does these things to himself - is very definitely purposeful teasing.

He groans softly at Dimitri's touch to his leg; he's never had an audience for this before, never had someone touch him while he's doing this before. (Okay, specifically, he's never had an audience to getting ready to use this toy before. He may have prepped himself in front of a human partner before, but that was a different experience.) Dimitri's interest and participation is enticing enough that he ends up pulling out his fingers; he could tease himself a bit, really put on a show for Dimitri, but he doesn't have the patience.

Instead, he reaches for the toy. Dimitri will still be getting a show, of course; it's just a different kind.

--

There is no describing the amount of self control Dimitri has to force over himself when Claude makes that sound. He has to stop completely, one claw still digging lightly into Claude's skin. He almost can't even breathe, just in case that's what breaks his restraint. He almost doesn't see the toy until Claude has brought it into view, and he exhales shakily.

"Claude..." That sound... He wants to hear more of it. He wants to be the cause of more of it, see his lover moaning beneath him exactly like in his dreams.

--

"Soon," Claude breathes. If Dimitri can take any comfort from all of this, it's that Claude sounds as ragged and needy right now as Dimitri feels...although that might be less comforting, and more added temptation.

Not that Dimitri needs any added temptation, when he has to watch Claude slowly pressing the toy into himself, inch by inch. He stops short of taking the knot, however, simply pumping the length before it in and out of himself to start with.

--

'Soon' is far too long, when he has to listen to the longing in Claude's voice that as sharp as ever nerve standing on end in Dimitri's body. He has to do something, anything to distract him, and he pulls his hands back to begin working on his own pants while he can still convince himself not to outright leap upon Claude. By that point, if he's still wearing his pants, they'll get torn right off.

Yet that's not enough. It's still not enough. How could it be, seeing Claude take in every little bit of a toy that should be him? Dimitri begins to crawl forward onto the bed again, leaning in close with a soft growl. "Claude.... I want to touch you."

--

"Oh, fuck." The words come out almost as a gasp as Claude hazily watches Dimitri, as his ears process how he sounds. The reality of Dimitri is far better than any fantasy...but at the same time, having him really there just makes it obvious how much the toy isn't him, and so the discomfort of being stretched is starting to become more pronounced than the pleasure. (The toy also can't reach deep enough to really stimulate Claude in the most pleasurable ways without getting the knot in, either, which doesn't help.) Ironically, the things turning Claude on the most right now all have to do with Dimitri, and have nothing to do with the toy...no matter what he's doing to himself with it.

"I want you to touch me, too...but I don't think either of us is gonna be able to control ourselves if you do." He gives Dimitri the brittle smile of someone holding onto restraint by their fingertips. "I'm almost ready, I swear." He just...has to take this knot, in preparation for the bigger one he knows he's going to be taking in a very small handful of minutes.

He tears his gaze away from Dimitri, finally, because he's finally gotten to the part where this requires his focus. He has to try to clear his mind, to relax as much as possible even when there's so much tension between them. He begins pressing the toy a little deeper each time, until the knot begins spreading him more and more with each thrust...until, almost before he expects it to, it goes past the halfway mark and slides fully into him.

If the visual of the knot pressing into Claude was the last straw that broke the camel's bacl, his body clenching down around it once it's in, then the heartfelt little groan Claude makes in his throat as it sinks into him is an entire cartload of bricks dropped immediately after it.

--

The joke here, truly, is that Dimitri isn't going to be able to control himself either way. All he does is growl again, low under his breath, and digs his claws a little deeper into the sheets beneath them for lack of anything else he can possibly do. It's only his care for Claude that's keeping him where he is, the desire to not hurt him while he's in the middle of this, but it's such a fragile state of being. All he can do is watch Claude's expression twist in focus and desire, his hand still working the toy deep into him. And then... And then...

Dimitri doesn't know what does it, not truly. What finally slices through his restraint and into his desire so neatly as if his self control had been nonexistent. The way Claude's body folds around the toy knot so eagerly, so sudden and smooth for all the build up, that it makes Dimitri's own throb? The flush that's overtaken his face, that appealing color he's seen on no one else and desires from no one else?

It may be the groan that has done it, in the end. That brief sound, yet so filled to bursting with such satisfied pleasure. Dimitri doesn't even think. There's only action as he surges froward, finally giving in. One set of claws doesn't need any direction whatsoever as he digs them into Claude's thick curls, forcing him forward as Dimitri swallows him up in a hot desperate kiss. His other hand goes the opposite way, holding onto his hip with such strength that there's no doubt he won't let Claude go this time. Distantly, he's aware of his own arousal- hot and aching, throbbing even before the movement of everything makes it brush up against Claude's erect cock.

--

It's a wonder that Claude doesn't come right there.

There's so much, suddenly, all at once - and the knot of the toy is a lot all by itself, as it is still - for the moment - the largest thing he's ever had inside him. But Dimitri's mouth sealing ravenously over his, the hand gripping his hair, the claws digging into his hip, the cock rubbing against his - it's so much added onto that at once, it feels like everything, and he positively whimpers into Dimitri's mouth.

He doesn't need any direction from there. He knows exactly what his job right now is - he'd spent so much time getting the toy into himself, and now he has to get it out as fast as possible. (Without injuring himself, of course. That would be massively counterproductive.) Fortunately, getting it out is easier than getting it in; slow, gentle pressure is all it takes for his body to, after a few moments, give it up. It's hard to focus on that, when the entire rest of his body is engulfed in the desperate, hungry heat of responding to Dimitri, but Claude's definitely pulled off more difficult things. Not many, but nonetheless.

The thud of Claude dropping the toy to the floor beside them is audible, and honestly it's probably like waving a red flag in front of a bull at this point. It's Dimitri's signal that there's nothing stopping him anymore.

--

Dimitri swallows that wanton sound with relish, fire burning through his body to turn every other thought to ash. He runs on pure instinct in the moment, biting little marks onto Claude's lower lip before going ever deeper into the kiss. If there's any good news for Claude's cock, it's that this is sufficient a distraction to keep Dimitri from pursuing further... At least for the time being. It only lasts as long as it takes for Claude to finally pull the toy out. When it hits the ground, Dimitri's ears couldn't snap up faster.

Dimitri doesn't exactly mean to be rough. He's simply still running on subconscious knowledge that Claude definitely likes that, that it's more than fine that he guides the hand on his hip and in his hair down to his chest to force him down against the bed. Only then does Dimitri pull away, chest heaving as he looks down at the site beneath him that he doesn't think anything could resist: Claude flushed with heat and desire, mouth wet from their hungry kisses, bite marks still livid on his skin where Dimitri's mouth has been. Something about the site makes him duck down again, marking another patch of untouched skin, again and again, all the way down from Claude's arched throat to his torso.

His hands stay busy as well, of course. By the time he's satisfied, he's gripped Claude by his thighs again to raise them up, and he straightens himself as he glances down between them. He could do this blind, still caught up in the rest of Claude... but he wants to see this. Not only to get it right, but to replace the image in his head of that toy sliding into him instead. With those legs braced against shoulders now, he finally spares one hand so he can reach down, slide it against Claude's ass and a little upwards. "I can go?" he asks hoarsely, turning his head just enough to nip at dark skin again. They're good now, aren't they? They have to be good to go, for him to slide into his lover now, for there to be no injury. If they aren't, he'll stop, of course. He'd die, but he'd stop. But judging by the way Claude looks at him... He doesn't think they're going to completely stop anytime soon.

--

"Oil on yourself," Claude breathes. He doesn't want even this brief moment of delay, but he's acutely aware that Dimitri is big, and anything that can make this easier is an investment not only in their current pleasure but in Claude's immediate future. He clings to that, because telling Dimitri to do anything except fuck him right now is the hardest thing he's ever done. Being this manhandled by him, wantonly spread for him...Claude's as close to self-conscious as he's ever been, but more than that, he's never been more turned on in his life. After all the prep he feels empty, and he knows Dimitri will fix that for him and then some. "But then..."

The implication is that all that stands between Dimitri and fucking Claude is a quick coating of oil. Thankfully, the vial is right on the bed next to them from where Claude last set it down.

--

That makes two of them, then, because Dimitri marks in another bite to Claude's leg with a low growl rumbling out of him. Still, beyond that, there's no hesitation as he grabs the vial. How much is in there seems to be enough for another coating, even if its target is larger than what Claude just used it for. The sensation of it is a little strange as he pours oil on himself, and even worse on the bits of fur available on his palm when he reaches down to make sure to coat his cock thoroughly. Complaints will come later, after.

Not now. Not when Claude is so close.

With his dry hand, he makes sure Claude is still spread open for him. The other he uses to guide his cock towards Claude's hole, the pointed head grinding into it as he makes sure he's in the perfect position. This is it. As Claude said, the first real knot that's going to claim him-

And that's around the time his brain, thanks to a little repetition, realizes just what was off with a sentence said a good few minutes ago.

Claude is going to have to deal with being teased with that hot cock grinding against him for just a second longer, because Dimitri turns his head to look down at him fully. "First real knot?" he murmurs, voice hoarse but carefully controlled for this split second. "But the first time you've slept with someone?"

--

Of all the times that could choose to catch up with Dimitri's brain, Claude reflects, this is by far the worst.

Claude's own brain needs a second to reboot, when Dimitri asks him that out of nowhere; he gives the other man a blank look, genuinely unsure how Dimitri is thinking anything at all because Claude certainly wasn't until this demanded it of him. The last neurons he had to fire burned themselves out on his urging Dimitri to use the oil, feeling secure in the belief that he wouldn't need any of them again for at least a half hour. And those had only kicked on in self-preservation.

And now this. Claude's brain scrambles to come up with a response, which isn't easy since it was pretty thoroughly scrambled to begin with.

"That's..." He gasps out a laugh. "You really want to talk about this now?" It's more incredulousness at the timing than a desire to hedge; Claude isn't necessarily reluctant to talk to Dimitri about this, so much as he thinks right this second is a bad moment for it. But it's perhaps not the most skillful response, either. It gives Dimitri's imagination a little more time to run wild by not addressing what he asked.

--

It probably is the worst timing... but that doesn't really matter to a lot of Dimitri's brain right now. Instead, it pounces at the first thing available to it and, unfortunately, that's Claude's answer. One that isn't really an answer, one that shows that trademark ability to sidestep honesty, no matter how shot it might be right now. (Or even how that's not really the intent at all, even.)

Growling under his breath again, Dimitri leans forward and rocks his hips against Claude's in the process in such a way that his cock slides up against the base of his. He's mostly been biting one side of Claude's neck throughout all of this simply because that's what's happened, but he digs his teeth into the other side- another bit of possessive marking, because he needs it to speak properly. "So you did," he says, growling right into Claude's skin. He doesn't know what to do about the feeling curling in his chest besides this.

--

Claude gasps at that bite, at that friction between their cocks; it's not at all unpleasant, and it's making it hard to focus on the aspects of this conversation that very much could be unpleasant, if handled wrong. Unfortunately, his diplomacy skills require careful calculation that he's really not up to being able to do right now. He tries his best, but...mostly it's just honest. He can't think straight enough to manage anything else.

"I've slept with some people before," he murmurs, arms winding around Dimitri to dig fingers into his fur. "Humans. Not that many." But, evidently, in excess of one. "None since I found you again, though..." He manages a short laugh. "Until then, I didn't know there was anything to hold out for..."

--

On one hand, that Claude has slept with others, with multiple people, that there's the idea he'd ever want anything besides Dimitri.... It still burns at him a little, enough to dig his teeth into Claude's shoulder once more. (That he only knew Dimitri was alive until recently is irrelevant, in the heat of the moment.) On the other hand...

For all that Claude otherwise worries about diplomacy and persuasion, Dimitri himself doesn't require much. Hearing that Claude has never wanted anyone else after seeing him again soothes that burn almost as soon as it exists, enough for him to concentrate on what's happening lower down their bodies again. He doesn't look, just relies on what he knows he's seen as he guides his cock once again. "And now?" he asks, snarling straight into Claude's ear as he plunges his cock straight into him. Not all the way to his knot- he apparently still has some part of his brain not wanting not straight up murder Claude with his dick- but definitely a little faster than the careful way Claude had stretched himself out.

--

Claude actually cries out when Dimitri thrusts into him. It's nothing like pain, he's prepped himself too thoroughly for that; it's pure ecstasy. Probably any sound in that vein would be music to Dimitri's ears, but that it's a harsh moan of "Dimitri" no doubt makes it all the sweeter. His fingers grip at Dimitri's back hard enough that the Intseh will feel Claude's nails even through his fur.

"I don't want anything else," he gasps, trying to rock his hips slightly toward Dimitri, a blind and ultimately futile effort to push him deeper. He's not deep enough for what Claude wants, needs to feel right now...but also, he's not going to get deep enough until he pushes that knot into Claude, which isn't something that's going to happen right this second. Some part of Claude knows this, appreciates the difference between human and Intseh cocks after weeks of using an Intsehli sex toy...but it's definitely not the part of him running his body and chasing his orgasm right now. "I don't want anyone else."

--

All of his growls and snarls begin to, with some roughness, smooth out into more satisfied purring. It's not from the way Claude is trying to rut further onto him, although that feels good, too- those jerky desperate movements trying to eek out another inch from him. No, it's all those words, soothing the sharp jealousy in his veins. Nudging his head, he lightly nips at Claude's ear and drags both set of claws down Claude's side with whatever straight lines that might otherwise exist sent wildly off course whenever the other man jerks or shudders in his grasp.

"Mine," he says, breath hot as his claws latch onto Claude's hips to keep him firmly in place. Slowly, testingly, he begins to roll his hips against Claude's, figuring out the best way to move into him. He's never done this before, obviously.... So that means he has so much to learn in order to keep those fingers digging into his back exactly as they are. It feels almost like a proof, evidence, that no one will take Claude from him. Not ever. Because- "You're mine. You... don't need anything else."

--

"Yeah," Claude breathes. It is in fact an answer to what Dimitri is saying, although under the circumstances it could easily just be a meaningless encouragement for Dimitri to keep doing what he's doing, too. It's doing some double duty in that department, really.

Claude's lost all ability to be patient, and as far as he's aware they don't have any reason to hold back anymore. So he doesn't hold himself back from arching up against Dimitri, putting his lips near one of those sensitive ears. "Fuck me, Dimitri," he hisses. "I want your knot."

He can finally say the hot, filthy things he was feeling and thinking when they touched each other through Dimitri's cage, and frankly it's a little dangerous that he's allowed that degree of freedom now.

--

Only a few words, and it feels as though Claude has set every bit of hair along his spine on ends. It's almost enough to make him slam right in, push past all the resistance he can feel pushing back at him, and force out all those whimpers and cries and moans that he's going to hoard all to himself now. There's nothing stopping either of them, nothing holding him back. He could do it so easily.

Dimitri doesn't. Instead, he slides one hand up Claude's chest until his fingers are splayed out along near his collarbone, one finger pressing up against his neck... and shoves his lover down, pinned to the bed while using even just one hand so that he can pull back to admire the view beneath him. Now Claude is really immobile, a hadn on his hip and a hand on his chest. That may be exactly as Dimitri likes it, his eye roaming along the flushed and scratched up state of Claude's body. "Do you remember what I said I wanted to do to you?" he growls, mouth curving into a slight smirk that has just enough sharpness at its edges.

Claude has mostly seen Dimitri caged, or overwhelmed... but this? This, he's finding his confidence at, nestled neatly along his possessiveness.

--

Claude looks up at Dimitri with hungry eyes that barely have a flicker of thought behind them. This is Claude at his most wanton, his least clever and scheming; he's absolutely wrecked, in a beautiful way. That Dimitri is asking him to remember something specific is honestly kind of laughable, and Claude does laugh at it, a bit helplessly.

"Specifically...?" he murmurs, even as he tries to arch up into Dimitri despite being held down by a strength he could never hope to match. The movements aren't dictated by anything as mundane as thought.

You may have to remind him here, Dimitri.

-

Honestly, it was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. Dimitri is more than well aware of how completely lost Claude is, just looking down on him, and there's something.... so deeply satisfying about somehow being capable of staying more clear headed, alongside so much more in this situation. Ever since they met one another again in their adult lives, Claude has always seemed more intelligent than him. (Part of that may be true, but no small part of it is also years of indoctrination from the church on that he was nothing more than stupid violent animal.) To have the upper hand, to reduce him to this writhing and hazy eyed person beneath him....

Dimitri couldn't say how he can manage to have a more clear head himself. Maybe it's just a lifetime of having to deal with physical sensations. Maybe it's the sharpness of jealousy slicing through the haze of pleasure. He's not really thinking about the answer to that particular question. He's much more interested in watching Claude's muscles tense underneath his hands as his love desperately tries to push against his own hands, body a stark image where he is. This way, body fighting against him, the bite marks only seem to stand out all the more, and his cock throbs achingly in its place deep within Claude.

"You asked what I wanted to do to you," he growls, grinding a little more against him. His knot is still only slightly swollen, meaning that Claude won't die if he shoves it in... but Dimitri still restrains himself enough to not go fully in, instead the bulge dipping just slightly in enough to begin stretching Claude out before his rhythm takes him out again. "And I said... I wanted to enjoy every bit of you.... like I'd never been allowed to before." His hand against Claude's chest adjusts, one claw sliding against one of the many bite marks that Dimitri has left behind.

"No one can stop me now. No one can take you away from me, or interrupt us." And there's the idea helping keep his senses, fueled by his jealousy. Claude is all his. Always his, now. He just has to make sure it's imprinted on his body in such a way that there's never any doubt. A part of him wants to bend down again, continue the trail of marks he's already left on that expanse of skin, but Dimitri can't help but adore this image before him: Claude frazzled and wanting, all of his usual control and cool tossed aside as he squirms underneath Dimitri's claws. He keeps him there like that when he suddenly speeds up his thrusts, the tantalizing thickness of his knot threatening to slip inside Claude each time.

--

Claude doesn't respond; at this point coherency seems like too much effort for not enough payoff. He loves this. He loves the way Dimitri's holding him down, those pointed thrusts into him, the growl of his voice, the fur against his skin, the possessiveness of him. He didn't know he could be this turned on and still have it not be enough. He didn't know he could have this many things he was so painfully into in one sexual encounter. And he definitely had no idea he could be this dizzyingly in love with someone period, much less could be this in love and also be fucked this incredibly into the bargain. Maybe Claude's just jaded - probably he's just jaded - but he hadn't believed things could be this good.

He wonders if, perhaps, no one can understand how wonderful this sort of thing can be until they find it for themselves. (Or, rather, he'll wonder that later, when he can take the time to think. When he can think, period.)

"More," he says hoarsely; it's only a few pleading notes shy of actively begging. He lifts his hands to curl them around Dimitri's arms, really all he can touch while he's pinned down like this. It's the only word he can manage; there are the other occasional sounds, too, but not articulate ones. They get decidedly more pronounced once Dimitri's thrusts pick up speed.

--

One day, when he's more used to sex, Dimitri will be able to have a little more patience, a little more endurance. He'll properly know how to drive Claude to the utter brink only to tug him back so that he can hear him beg. If Claude thinks this is so good now, then Dimitri with a pointed plan and fully leaning into his dominance might outright put him in a coma. As it is, even with his clarity, he's chasing after the first new bits of pleasure that he experiences as he experiences them, with only a little bit of thinking ahead.... and he can't last as long as he'd want, either, especially hearing those helplessly aroused sounds that make him want to see Claude at his most wrecked. Already, precum is slicking up Claude's insides alongside the oil, and Dimitri can tell that his knot is starting to swell more and more. Too much and, soon, he won't be able to get inside.

And he is getting his knot inside Claude. There's no question about it.

It takes a little bit of doing, a little more dragging up dredges of his self control to shore up the gaps, but soon Dimitri finds a steady rhythm that's a little slower if only to try and keep Claude focused on him. "Claude," he rasps, a snarl tearing at the edges of that single name. "Tell me what you want more of, Claude. Tell me." He'll slow down if he has to, just to get Claude to try and fumble together any kind of answer....

...Before slamming his entire cock inside, forcing his knot into the hole that he's only been teasing at this entire time.

Claude's fingers, that night, had been so good that it had sent Dimitri spilling over in a matter of minutes. To feel his entire body squeezing down on him, so damn tight even prepared- it's very much the same effect, and Dimitri digs his claws in all the more as he rocks through his orgasm, keeping Claude locked in place as he fills him.

-

"You," Claude manages to get out, and it's a fortunate thing it's only one syllable because anything longer would have gotten lost or turned into some really embarrassing sound when Dimitri's knot finally drives into him. When Claude cries out this time, it's the loudest yet - it's not quite a scream, but it's definitely too loud to be called a moan. There's some discomfort, but it's so lost in the pleasure Claude's feeling that it almost seems to add to it rather than detract - and Dimitri's pressing that deep, and the fact that pretty much all available space inside Claude is filled, finally gets Claude the stimulation he's been waiting for. That's really all he needs to come himself, hard, and he actually rocks a little into Dimitri through it as he tries to chase that pressure against his prostate even more...at least until the sensation becomes too overwhelming, and he subsides.

Then, finally, he comes down. It feels like ages later, but it's probably only thirty seconds or so. And when he does...it's to the growing awareness of Dimitri very much still swollen and locked inside him, and the steady pulse of heat inside him.

It occurs to him, a bit belatedly, that he may have practiced for taking Dimitri's knot, but he never practiced taking how much Dimitri comes. Not that he's really sure how he could have reasonably practiced that. He...hopes that's not going to be a problem.

He blinks dazedly up at Dimitri, wondering just how out of it Dimitri stays for the entire prolonged length of his orgasm. He was too busy working him through it the last time to pay attention to Dimitri's level of coherence.

--

Fortunately, by the time Claude comes out of it himself, he doesn't have to crane his neck too far up to look at Dimitri. Something about the orgasm is... soothing, almost. Or maybe it's not the orgasm himself, but finally being locked inside Claude. It feels like a culmination of all his welcomed jealousy, the reciprocation of his claim to Claude. Sated of his more possessive feelings, Dimitri slumps down into Claude again until he can almost lay down against his chest torso once more.

He's absolutely out of it, but at least he's vaguely aware of what a good orgasm feels like now... so that's something. Enough for him to ride the sensation instead of being wholly swept up by it, and he begins to nuzzle absentmindedly against Claude's skin again. To be exact, he begins to softly kiss and lick along every possessive mark he'd left in his wake only minutes before. "Mmm... Claude... Love you... Love you." Just a murmured repetition of the same three words. Although... how those words are said might be of note.

What was once a demanding growl has eased back almost naturally so into a purr... and Dimitri's purr seems to go throughout his whole body. His whole body. Even where he's swollen, locked and grinding back up into some rather sensitive nerves near the start of Claude's hole.

--

"Oh, gods..." Claude writhes a little at that purring. When he's still so sensitized, those vibrations feel like too much - in a way that's not quite unpleasant, but somehow comes close. It's not like he can come again...

Then he notices his cock is still more than half hard.

Almost without thinking about it, he drops a hand to begin stroking himself, coupling it with those vibrations from Dimitri. If Dimitri wants to get in on the action himself, he'll have to move quickly; between the dual sensations, it doesn't take more than ten seconds or so before Claude groans and spills over his hand, slumping back on the bed after shuddering through a second orgasm in as many minutes as though the latter one killed him.

Claude hadn't known that prostate orgasms were different from - and don't necessarily preclude - the other kind. Not before today, anyway. No one's ever wrecked him to this degree before.

On the plus side, he muzzily thinks, if Dimitri does just somehow rupture something internally in him with how much he comes, Claude is now officially too blissed out to care.

--

With his own brain in such a content state of knotting daze, Dimitri isn't in too much of a hurry himself. His own hand folds over Claude's, but more than a few seconds late, and seemingly really more just to touch him than assist in this second orgasm. With all this, the skin along Claude's stomach and torso is absolutely covered in sweat and cum. Fortunately, Dimitri is more than willing to lick it up alongside just his.... general overall tending as he lavishes affection to his lover's body with tongue and mouth.

By the time he's done, that seems to have been long enough for his knot to soften enough to be pulled out to some degree. Not that... Dimitri does pull out, not entirely. He stays connected to Claude as he lays down properly against him, nuzzling to rest his face along his neck. At least he's pulled out a bit more, so that the pressure should be slightly alleviated. "I didn't know humans could do that twice," Dimitri sighs into Claude's throat, thoroughly content.

--

"Neither did I," Claude chuckles shakily. He feels positively boneless, and Dimitri's gentle, shameless worship of his body isn't helping with that whatsoever. But a new thought occurs, almost as soon as Dimitri starts to pull out.

"Fuck, we're gonna soak the sheets...I should go wash this off before it all gushes everywhere." Which is...when Claude makes the mistake of trying to get up and move. His inability, and the inadvisability, of his doing so is obvious enough in the way his muscles shake as he even tries to sit up, but the expression on his face makes it even more apparent.

"...damn, I don't know if I can walk."

--

....Oh. Wait. Fuck.

That's enough to wake Dimitri up, and he jolts up with his ears pressed back. "Claude?" he asks, voice verging on the edge of a concerned whine and oh, oh no, that's.... definitely not the posture of someone who can even sit up. Carefully but hastily pulling out completely- and yeah there's definitely going to be some leakage now- Dimitri scrambles off of the bed to crouch down in front of Claude.

"Are you hurt?" Did he hurt his lover? He hurt his lover oh gods he's fucked up

--

Claude laughs breathlessly, even as he reaches down to try to...stop things gushing everywhere. Because holy shit, it's definitely trying to. On one level, it definitely feels a little hot and kinky; on another level, the level of not particularly wanting to lie in a pool of come, it feels pretty gross. "This was always gonna make me sore, Dimitri, it's fine." Sore is, perhaps, a generous word, but Dimitri looks so distressed. "But, uh...can you carry me to the shower?"

Once he's cleaned off, then he can not move for hours. Hopefully...that's all it takes to recover. He's already recalculating the viability of going fishing later.

--

"Was it always going to make you not able to walk?" Dimitri appreciates Claude caring about his feelings, but also, his lover cannot currently walk. Still, if this is his fault, then it's his responsibility. A good thing that they've already practiced carrying Claude earlier today, because Dimitri takes even more care than when they'd been hauling a bucket of water as he tenderly scoops him up into his arms. The sweat really is making them stick to each other and... Hm. That sure is semen dripping down to the floor.

....Dimitri resolves to immediately clean everything up while Claude is taking a shower.

Heading to the washroom, he fusses in the way he just... outright lays Claude on the ground, since sitting is apparently a trial all unto its own. "Do you want me to start up the fire for the bath?" That Dimitri has no idea how to start up a fire is irrelevant. He's destroyed his lover's ability to walk. He'll learn.

--

"Maybe later, once the stiffness sets in. We've got hours before evening yet." Claude leans against Dimitri, content despite any discomfort. "As for whether it was always going to make me not able to walk...yeah, probably. Using the toy was pretty rough at first in itself...I couldn't ride afterwards, the first few days I did it. Had to walk the horses." He laughs a little. "And you're bigger than that..."

He nuzzles at the curve of Dimitri's jaw before he's set down. "Worth it, though."

--

"Claude, you can't walk." Dimitri swears to so many gods. Is there a god of accidentally destroying your boyfriend? He feels like there must be. Tenderly, he brushes some of Claude's hair away from his face, keeping it from sticking to the sweat cooling there. There's... soap, right, and he reaches up for the waxy substance.

"Do you want me to be here while you clean?"

--

"Yeah...at least prop me up so I can stand. Easier to do it that way." Claude wraps an arm around Dimitri's shoulders to brace himself. "Once I'm clean and dried off, we can go back to bed." He gives Dimitri an amused look. "Why, are you feeling modest now?"

That Dimitri might want to go clean things up for him hasn't occurred to him just yet, although he'll feel endlessly fond once he does realize it. Dimitri is, instinctively, good at aftercare.

--

Dimitri takes to propping Claude up with the utmost care, razor focused on making sure that he doesn't see any worse discomfort than can be avoided. He even makes sure to pull the string to pull the water down.

"It's nothing like that..." He glances away slightly. "But... you said that the sheets needed to be cleaned..."

--

Claude blinks, then smiles. "You're really sweet, you know that?" he murmurs, kissing Dimitri gently. He's turned toward Dimitri, letting the water wash the back of him (by far the messiest part of him right now) clean, although the cold after the intense heat of sex makes him shiver. He washes off the hand he'd made messy using as, well...a plug...before reaching down with it to assist in the cleaning. And oh boy, yeah, is he sore down there. "Hopefully it's not too bad...nothing some scrubbing with a wet cloth won't fix. But we can do that before we lay down again."

Claude, why are you even pretending with that 'we'. Even if you could, Dimitri isn't going to let you.

-

"You can't walk." Dimitri isn't sure what's sweet about that, and feels that Claude really needs the reminder. Is it because of the sex they just had? Did he break Claude's brain? Oh gods. Still, he'll accept the kiss, and gently rub a thumb along Claude's undoubtedly sore muscles as if that little bit of movement might be able to help somehow.

...And he's definitely broken Claude's brain, because he gives a soft huff. "I'll do it."

--

Claude laughs quietly, leaning into Dimitri. "You don't have to feel so guilty about it, you know. I knew I was going to be sore as hell going into this. Maybe I didn't realize exactly how sore, but I definitely signed up for this." He gives Dimitri a sly glance from beneath his bangs. "Like I said, it was worth it. I would've done it even if I did know exactly how sore I'd be."

--

"This is because you have less self preservation than would put me at ease," Dimitri informs him quietly, even as he presses a kiss to Claude's eyebrow. This is the person he's fallen in love with, and he can't regret that himself. "But you're still not cleaning anything, regardless of any guilt. I don't think you can. And you said it should be easy."

--

"All right, all right," Claude concedes, pressing closer to Dimitri. He's cold now. "Help me turn around?" Dimitri did a decent job cleaning Claude's front...with his tongue...but Claude is perhaps less catlike than an Intseh, and tongue-cleaning doesn't quite feel like being genuinely clean to him.

--

Listen... the worst of it is gone, they can both say that confidently enough.

Dimitri obediently turns Claude around, taking even more care than before so that it's mostly Claude's back that's pressed up against him and not the aspect of him that's just taken the most hits, literally. This can't be comfortable, considering that some of the water is making his own fur wet (although not nearly as much with Claude mostly in the way), but it should get the job done.

"I can lay you down in my cloak and the quilt... That should keep you comfortable, I think. Until I can finish the sheets."

--

"Mm." The sound is a lazy one; despite the chill of the water, exhaustion is catching up with Claude. "That cloak of yours is practically a quilt in itself."

-

A quiet twitch of his ears says that, oh, Dimitri heard that. Already, he's planning out the rest of the day and how to best take care of Claude. It's going to be difficult, considering he's... Well. But he'll manage. For now, he carefully runs one hand down Claude's front. "Then it should be fine. Is this clean enough, Claude...?"

--

"Should be, yeah." Claude shivers again; whether it's from the cold still or Dimitri's touch, or both, is up in the air. "Just need a towel..."

--

Can they use towels from the night before? Dimitri is going to assume so, even as he makes sure the water won't run any longer before he gently drags Claude to where they put the towels before. It take some manhandling to get Claude wrapped up.... and then placed down on the towel that Dimitri used, there on the floor. That should be comfortable enough. With that wall near, that should keep him propped up as well.

"Dry yourself," he instructs his lover patiently. He has sheets to remove, and a cloak to fetch.

--

Claude grins at him, sleepiness notwithstanding. "You're cute when you're fussing, you know." But he's happy enough to start drying himself off - especially when he's robbed of Dimitri's warmth to counteract the chill.

--

Frankly, the cute thing in the room is how Claude looks when he's completely exhausted but giving him that kind of helpless smile, and Dimitri presses another kiss to his forehead. "Do not take this as reason to continue being reckless." But with that, he quickly takes his leave.

Cleaning sheets- cleaning anything- is yet one more new experience on top of everything else, but at least it doesn't seem to be hard. The worst part is really making sure what semen that managed to spill out of Claude doesn't drip onto the floor, and Dimitri carefully moves it off of the bed. Getting water from the stores outside also isn't that hard, and getting things off is... Well, the worst part is finding a cloth that will do. Claude will no doubt hear him throughout all of this, from tugging the sheets off to rummaging about the cabin.

He's not sure how long the actual cleaning will take, so it's only after he's gathered everythign and got the sheets set out of sight behind the cabin that he returns. This should be enough time for Claude to have dried himself... So, cloak in hand, he wraps it around him.

Get ready to be a recently fucked little burrito, Claude.

--

The one issue with Dimitri taking so long is that Claude has plenty of time to get cold, even if he's relatively dry. He's curled up to what degree his aching muscles will let him by the time Dimitri gets back, shivering; it's hard to tell if he didn't call Dimitri's attention to this because he didn't want him to feel guilty, because he knows his cold tolerance is nil and he's trying not to be a spoiled brat about it, because he's been fucked completely exhausted and brainless and the thought simply didn't occur to him, or all of them together. But he's immensely grateful for the cloak, burrowing into its softness immediately and closing his eyes.

--

Well they're both learning a lot today. Dimitri practically panics when he sees the state Claude is in, so at least he doesn't have to worry about being wrapped up slowly. He's in the warm toasty confines of the cloak immediately and, to add to that, pressed up against Dimitri's own much warmer body while the Intseh fusses over him.

"You should have called me..." Even a little sound, he would have heard. As they get to the bed, Dimitri lays him down gently. Time for more manhandling, Claude.... This time with the addition of a quilt as Dimitri rolls him onto his side and starts to nudge some folds of it inbetween his legs.

--

"You were busy," Claude murmurs, without opening his eyes. If he were more awake, or bothering to think at all - a luxury he can kind of afford right now, with Dimitri so solicitous - he'd realize Dimitri would probably stop breathing if Claude asked him to, never mind cleaning...but in Claude's sluggish thoughts, letting Dimitri clean faster meant getting to be warm faster once he finished.

At the quilt being nudged between his legs, Claude laughs a little. "What are you doing?"

--

When Claude is more awake, Dimitri will have to remember to remind him that he's busy for him. Anything else can be put to the side if it means tending to him. But later. Pausing now that he's addressed with apparently a little more focus, Dimitri blinks at him.

"...It's to help make you feel a little better."

--

Claude smiles, opening his eyes finally to gaze at Dimitri. "I love you," he murmurs. And if Dimitri liked hearing it before, then hearing it now - when Claude is soft and sleepy and relaxed - is perhaps even sweeter.

--

Claude couldn't get him any further than if he'd slid a knife inbetween his ribs and straight to his heart. Dimitri feels breathless from the sweet look on his face, all tender and dazed gentleness. He's not able to stop himself from leaning in closer, and he doesn't want to. "I love you too," he whispers back, lightly kissing him. "Go to sleep now, Claude."

--

Claude had in fact passed out so quickly that he didn't get to object to Dimitri's disappearing; he'd expected the other man to climb into bed with him, to curl up with him, and if he'd been remotely conscious enough to process that this didn't happen he would have pouted about it. As it is, he doesn't get a chance to even notice it, much less register a complaint, until hours later.