#act viii. [ time is violence but you’ve always been the same / your own pulse is a salve ]

[youngscion]

@oculare: cont. from x

“Trying to flatter me now, are you?” He can’t complain, he’s clearly enjoying the attention.

There’s a twinge of excitement in his chest. Not fear, no. Stefano doesn’t really have it in him to be afraid of Shuu. He breathes slowly, softly, dark eyelashes fluttering against his cheek as he closes his eye for a moment.

Perhaps this is what love is, he muses. Knowing you could have your throat ripped out, and reveling in the knowledge that it will never come to pass.

“I suppose I should be impressed with your sense of restraint. Or…do you want permission to go further?”

“Is that your way of telling me you’d give me permission?” is Shuu’s teasing mumble, lips moving against skin to almost muffle his own words. His hand rises to cup the opposite side of Stefano’s neck, and his thumb finds his pulse, just to feel it. He wants to continue to feel it as his mouth begins to wander—the kisses he presses are slow, warm things (parted lips, a brush of his tongue against his skin with every slow kiss) down the curve of his neck, lazy and deliberate.

There’s a hint of teeth then as he stops right where neck and shoulder meet. It’s just a playful warning, or even a type of tease; nothing about it is enough to even hurt, but just let it be known that there are still teeth behind soft lips. 

“You know,” he breathes, the words hot breaths, “I could bite here. Mark you as mine, non?” Shuu is smiling as he says it, but there’s also a growling aspect to his words—or maybe it’s an affectionate purr of sorts tucked into the words. He follows up with a gentle nip at the skin there.

The alcohol may have his mind and body moving slow, but there’s also something about this moment that makes him feel hyper-aware of everything—every breath Stefano takes, the feeling of his pulse right beneath his thumb, the warmth shared even through fabric where they’re pressed against each other on this couch. His own heart feels so light in his chest (which is a new feeling, brought on by Stefano’s presence, but it’s certainly one he’s come to adore).