#i also desperately tried not to input worship here

[tsukiyohanayome]

Kinktober 2022, my own prompt list and it's a secret, will be revealed as I post, hopefully everyday.

day 1 Size Difference Kink

First day already feels like a failure because my notepad closed on its own and I lost my thing without it being saved, the pain T-T Ive tried to rewrite it but changed my mind with some stuff and here we are.

tumblr now allows to mark stuff as mature so I'm doing it, but obviously, minors DNI.

You've never felt truly small compared to anyone. That was until you met him. 

From the very first second you saw him, you felt impossibly small and that stirred new emotions, you'd never expect to feel towards someone that held you a prisoner. 

You swear you could watch him for hours, when he was sitting on his enormous throne, his arms resting on his lap, while one was supporting his head. It didn't help that he had four arms. Large, veiny, with perfect, godlike sculpted muscles. You could almost picture what his hands would feel like around your throat when he was ripping his prey apart with his extremely sharp, long nails. His one hand could wrap around your throat with ease. 

His figure dwarfed you whenever you were standing next to him. He was twice your size, at least. It wasn't hard to imagine your self kissing down his chest to his stomach and that perfect V line that was presented to your eyes nearly all the time, since he liked to wear his kimono down. 

He was so big. You got claimed as his "personal" helper, you got to keep him well fed, helped to keep his body clean and from time to time you could catch a glimpse of what was hiding below his waistline. They were bigger than anything you'd ever seen. You always wondered what he'd think if only he knew. What would he do if he knew that you fantasized about him daily. 

You swear that sometimes you caught him looking at you as you were doing your work and the thought of him watching you was even more arousing and made it harder to keep your little secret. 

But he knew. He knew it from the very beginning but left you oblivious for quite a good time.

Sukuna also was obsessed with how small you were. The fact that he could practically grab you like nothing with just one of his hands made him feral. You were so small and he could break you, he could ruin you, oh how he wanted to... But he was patient. He wanted to see when and who was going to break first. Who will make the first move? He was waiting... Of course it was you.

Now, your knees are burning and you're choking on one of his cocks, barely able to take half of it on your first time. It was euphoric to Sukuna how quickly you became addicted to him, to his touch. How quickly you began to beg for him. How cute you looked now, between his thighs, struggling to fit him in your mouth. He couldn't wait to see how well you're going to take him when he bends you over.

Two of his hands knead your breasts, one wrapped around your neck, squeezing lightly and one at the back of your head, setting a pace to your ministrations. Your hands wrapped around the shafts of his cocks, helping where your mouth couldn't reach. 

He grabbed you by your waist, lifting you up and placing in his lap, your pussy "accidentally" brushing the tips of his leaking cocks. Sukuna slowly drags his sharp nail from your bottom lip, through your neck, chest, stomach, stopping right before your pleasure bud. "Tell me how much you want it" he whispers to your ear, as his finger starts circling slowly on your clit.

@tsukiyohanayome 2022

[theggning]

I'd you've discussed it before, I missed it. So no pressure if you don't want to rehash, but ... Can I get your general thoughts on Elder Maxson? Your opinion of him/headcanons you might have?

He's such a complex character imo, and lately he's been living rent free in my head.

Yeah, absolutely! I’ve previously given him a lot of shit and I make fun of him often (we all know What He Did) but he is actually a really complex and fascinating character. 

I actually feel really sorry for Arthur Maxson. The poor kid never had a chance to be well-adjusted or have a normal life. Arthur is the last living descendant of the man who founded the Brotherhood of Steel, and he comes along at a time when the Brotherhood is heavily struggling for relevance. In the west, they’re strictly and dogmatically isolationist, and you end up with groups like the Mojave chapter fading into obscurity in a bunker. In the east, you’ve got Owyn Lyons, who makes a stand for what he believes in (altruism), gets his entire chapter disowned, and loses half of his soldiers because they disagree (the Outcasts from FO3.) 

Meanwhile, Arthur carries the blood and the name of the one person EVERYONE in the Brotherhood believes in. When we meet him in FO3, Squire Arthur Maxson is a smart, shy, gentle 10-year-old boy who’s been sent eastward away from his parents both to protect him and to “make him stronger” (his parents die while he’s away.) He had no friends his own age and no friends at all, actually (except for Liberty Prime-- a journal entry mentions a scribe chasing Arthur out of the lab and scolding him for trying to befriend a machine.) He hero-worships Sentinel Sarah Lyons, but he’s too young and clumsy to follow her out into the field. Everybody treats him like a small soldier or a messiah, no matter how he tries to downplay his lineage and claim to be a normal boy. This literal child spends his entire life being told he’s special and mighty with a “soul forged from eternal steel.”

The pressure and the expectations eventually start to push him into embracing his “destiny.” By 12, he’s improved his combat skills enough to kill two raiders on patrol. By 13, he single-handedly kills a deathclaw (and earns his face scar.) By 15 he’s taking out important super mutant leaders. And by 16, he’s so hardcore that the West Coast BoS gets back in touch with the East and names Arthur Elder. At the age normal teenage boys are socializing with peers or having friends or letting their brains finish developing, Arthur Maxson is the goddamn supreme commander of a military force. And the East Coast BoS actually thrives under him, becoming more powerful and relevant than they’ve ever been. And this is how we go from the shy, quiet squire to the charismatic, highly-beloved (MOTHERFUCKING 20-YEARS-OLD) Elder Arthur Maxson in FO4. 

I wouldn’t say that FO4!Arthur buys into his own hype. Despite how he’s been treated his whole life, he doesn’t believe that he is a god or a messiah. But he does believe literally every single word of the BoS codex. He does believe that they are saving humanity and doing what’s best for the future. He has been living as the legend people expected of him for years now, and is determined to continue down that path. 

I think in his own twisted way, Arthur actually does care about the people of the Commonwealth, as he claims to. But it’s in the same way that a king cares about his subjects. He knows what’s best for them and doesn’t really care to seek their input before doing what he likes. Though he genuinely does believe the Institute is evil and he genuinely wants to protect the world from their menace, he also comes to the Commonwealth because he wants to lead his own glorious war of liberation, the way Owyn Lyons did in the Capital. 

Also, for all people claim the BoS were “ruined” by Arthur in FO4, keep in mind that  

A. Lyons’ BoS and their charity and altruism were actually outliers- most of the BoS are a bunch of isolationist asswipes (see: the entire West Coast branch) B. The BoS hating non-human races is the norm, not the exception C. Arthur has actually fairly smoothly integrated BoS traditions with Lyons’ more fair and altruistic beliefs (which he grew up with.) He clearly maintains a lot of respect for the Lyons family (even if the current BoS party line is to denigrate them in favor of praising Arthur.) 

Here are some things that Arthur has commanded of his BoS that make them the kinder, gentler version of the faction, and also just some general nice things he’s done as Elder: 

Civilians are ordered to be treated fairly. BoS soldiers are not permitted to harm them (except in self defense) and any and all tech they possess is to be traded for fairly with food and medicine. If they refuse to trade, they are left alone. 

BoS soldiers are to defend civilians and initiate proactive strikes on super mutants, feral ghouls, Institute synths, and other threats. BoS vertibird crews are to protect caravans from above. 

BoS soldiers are to be monitored for mental health concerns as well as physical. Arthur explicitly orders Cade to treat all mental conditions the same way he would treat an injury. 

He shows deep personal concern for his staff and crew. This is notable in the terminal entries re: Ingram, where Arthur is apologetic for denying her field duty-- and when she disobeys him and goes to Mass Fusion anyway, all he does for punishment is to write her a sternly worded letter. 

Arthur Maxson is a cold, brutal, unflinching military dictator with a god complex. He is a lonely, frightened child carrying the weight of the world and desperately trying to prove himself. He’s a compassionate, charismatic leader. He’s a terrifying enemy. He’s an idealistic liberator who wants to protect humanity. He’s a dogmatic bigot who thinks evolving his views is showing weakness. He’s all of these at the same time. He could only get the wide and varied fandom reception he does by having this many facets of his personality, and by being one of the most complicated characters in the game. 

And okay, I’ll say it: his beard and his jacket are pretty sexy. 

[its-sixxers]

For the soft OC asks: 🌼🌾🍄

🍄 answered here! 🌾 I have another ask for so I’ll link to that once it’s done to kind of space out how THICC these posts are lol. This one is VERY LONG I am so sorry

🌼 Who are this characters friends and found family? How did they meet, how long have they been friends for, could they ever be something more than just friends? What do they look for in a friend or a romantic partner?

Tin Lizzy

Lizzy’s really fond of the people of Megaton - Moira, Gob, Nova, and Walter are the people she’s closest to and will make a point of visiting whenever she’s in town. They were the first people she came across once she was out of the Vault, and their kindness really helped her get it together and go out into the wild unknown in search of her father. In terms of very close friends, though, Butch and Charon are her ride or dies. Butch she’s been friends with since childhood (though they had a rough period of time where Butch was an exceptional asshole), and despite him being one of the best looking guys in the Wastes he’s firmly in ‘brother’ territory for her. Any time someone suggests they date the two usually look vaguely nauseous at the concept. Charon is someone she ends up crushing on once the man’s comfortable enough speaking normally around her, but given the nature of his contract it’s not something she acts on. until later Lizzy’s also convinced there’s no way Charon could be into her given that she’s a lot younger than him and feels generally useless unless there’s a terminal to be cracked, a book to be read, or a wound to be stitched.

Lizzy’s not picky about her friends at all - age, whether they’re a ghoul or not, their vocation or social status - none of that bothers her, which gets her some side-eyes. If a person is kind and good at heart, and someone who is willing to talk with her, that’s all she needs. When it comes to romantic partners - the girl has zero experience and doesn’t even know what she needs. It’s not something she actively seeks (though Butch tries to wingman for her). What romance she ends up in is something that happens pretty organically and usually by accident.

Carmen

She’s got a crew of fuck ups, and she loves them dearly. In her own Carmen way. In order of meeting them: Boone, Cass, Veronica, and Arcade are the people she’s closest to - though she’s had other traveling companions. All of them are screw ups or outcasts, and they all have a shared bond because of it. After getting shot by Benny, it’s only about three years before she ends up leaving the Mojave - but in those three years she loves a lifetime’s worth with the gang. She never forgets them.

Arcade and Veronica are the voices of reason - Arcade’s a little more rigid and idealistic, while Veronica is flexible and pragmatic. Arcade isn’t into women, while Carmen got the picture pretty quickly that Veronica’s pretty hung up on Christine. Carmen wouldn’t really pursue anything romantic with either of them if it was an option, as in the long-term her personality would clash - Carmen’s on the chaotic spectrum while the two of them are pretty orderly. That, and she treasures their input as friends - she can rely on them to tell it to her like it is and to be willing to disagree, they don’t have any reservations romance could give.

Cass and Boone are the ‘this is a bad decision and I support you in it’ gang. All three of them are pretty hotheaded and it’s a recipe for disaster if Arcade and Veronica don’t manage to get everyone to CHILL OUT. Cass is 100% Carmen’s type (competent, opinionated, but also able to share a comfortable silence), but she’s given Carmen the impression of not being into women and any desire on Carmen’s part to pine ended pretty quickly thanks to fuckn’ Boone. Carmen’s relationship with Boone is a disaster in that she’s quite desperate to be more than friends but respectful of his trauma, while he’s constantly toeing the line and continually almost going too far. until he does

Carmen’s attracted to people who don’t follow the norm. Whether that’s telling authority to fuck off, being isolated from civilization from one reason or another - people who stand out and are their own people are people she wants to be around. Passion is another big draw. When it comes to romantic partners - she wants someone she can depend on, and someone who doesn’t freak out when they see her at her darkest.

Eleanora

Her friends are her rock and what keeps her sane. Outside of the Railroad (who are the epitome of her found family - Deacon king of them all), Nick, Piper, and Preston are people who she thinks of as her new family. Arguments and all. They’ve helped her acclimate to a life post-War, and they’ve all been the reason for her mindset slowly shifting to realize that the Commonwealth is actually a much better place than it was before the war when it comes to the people in it. Way more people are genuine and care a lot about their fellow human beings (if they haven’t become raiders or worse).

When it comes to more than friends - she’s aware that Preston had a brief crush on her. She never went for it because of the age difference - she’s a lot older than he is - and because she had a pretty good inkling that the crush was more hero worship than genuine. Piper and Nick have always been pretty friendzoned. Unfortunately for the people in the Railroad, Nora met Deacon at the same time she met them and that’s all she wrote. She will admit Drummer Boy is far too pretty for his own good, and Desdemona definitely had her reconsidering if she was really that hetero.

As someone with a melancholic personality, Nora is drawn to high energy or optimistic people. Friends who can haul her out of her shell and get her excited about life are a godsend. Romantically, people who are passionate, driven, and able to understand her are who she chases.

Soft OC Asks

[rwbyremnants]

THIS CHAPTER: WhiteRose: lap-sitting, light Dom/sub, striptease, foot worship, body worship, cock worship, anal fingering, anal sex/pegging, touch-free orgasm

=Chapter 20

Although the new three way arrangement worked well with Weiss, Yang and Blake, one member of the team was affected in a particularly negative way. Their leader. Ruby. It wasn't particularly the sex she was after, or even, dare she say it, romance. It was just the company of her partner.

"What do they have that I don't?" she thought to herself, laying back on her bed as she waited patiently. "Sure, Yang has the experience, and Blake's pretty… but is it just sex? Am I really not that important?"

It was a question she had kept torturing herself with the past two weeks, which was the amount of time that had passed since last they embraced. And it had been only ten days since they last kissed. As time went on, Ruby was beginning to doubt Weiss would be interested in more.

Unless she had a particular something this time around. 

She'd put it to the test, taking a vial of the Dust and using it on herself. After a personal inspection, she came to the conclusion that she was of average size; but what would Weiss think? Perhaps if they tried that out, she'd know.

Which was when an extremely dizzy Weiss stumbled into the room, sweeping a hand through her bangs. Every last bit of her clothing was completely dishevelled, and her ponytail was hanging more loosely from her head than usual. Much more telling was the large red mark on her neck.

"Whew!" the heiress remarked upon seeing Ruby in her bunk. "Not that you'll want to hear the details, but Yang ambushed me after class, and, well... anyway, I'm exhausted." Flopping back onto her bed, she then asked, "How are you?"

Heart dropping at the words, whatever hope the smaller girl had of just getting intimate with her partner had just vanished. Seemed today wasn't going to be the day. Again. At first she didn't answer, simply thinking to herself once again, laying her head back against the pillows of her bed as she struggled to keep it together. But so there was no awkward silence, she took a deep breath in, replying as happily as she could.

"O-oh I'm... Good. Just working on… more… stuff."

"Stuff like what? You have seemed awfully busy lately." There was a dual clop-clop as Weiss's boots fell to the floor. "Didn't you design an entirely new weapon last week? Some kind of gun that's also a trampoline?"

‘I'VE been busy?’ She desperately wanted to say that. And something else that sarcastic as well. But there would be no point in taking things out on her. It would just push her away.

"...What?" she asked instead, realising she hadn't been listening.

"A gun that's a trampoline," Weiss repeated. "I saw the specs all over your books, and even asked you about it... but you didn't seem to want to talk so I figured you were too deep in your work and I left it alone."

"You did? O-oh... I um…" No getting out of that one. Admittedly Ruby had begun distancing herself from the girl intentionally the week, with the intention of seeing if she would show an interest in her. Seems all this time she had, after all. But still not wanting to admit the truth she just nodded. "Yeah, that's right. The legs like collapse into each other."

"Splendid, yes." There came the sound of shifting from below them as Weiss changed out of her messy clothes and into her nightie. "You've always really had a knack for that type of thing, of course. Bravo."

"Th-" A lump in her throat then appeared. More than enough to stop her from speaking. And before she knew it, she was trying to swallow tears and shame. She couldn't even explain why.

"What's that?" Weiss asked as she finished getting ready. When there was no reply, she paced over and stood on the edge of her own bed, poking her head up and over Ruby's. It only took a half-second for her expression to turn to shock. "Hey, are you alright?"

Before any answer could come, she immediately rolled the other way, facing toward the wall. She wasn't going to admit to Weiss how upset she really was.

"F-fine."

Weiss's head tilted slightly. "Ruby... hey, what's the matter? Don't shut me out; that’s my job." She hoped the joke at her own expense would help. There was only a sniff as she tried to hold back her tears again, but that would make things obvious. She really was upset. Instantly, Weiss was clambering up to kneel beside Ruby's back, a hand pressing into her shoulder.

"Hey... I'm sorry, did I come back at a bad time? I could go to the library for a while if you want to be alone..."

"N-no!" Before she knew it, the girl rolled over again, burrowing her face against one of Weiss's legs, body curling around her form. As she pressed her face right against her, the tears already began to fall. But she managed to speak hoarsely .

"I don't want to be alone again..."

"What do you mean?" Frowning, her pale fingers began to thread through Ruby's dark locks, voice becoming more soothing even though the worry persisted. "Was this because I took too long? Oh Ruby, I'm sorry... I should have pinged you with my scroll when I knew I'd be late."

"I-it's not that." Swallowing again, she continued, “It's been two weeks since you and I slept together. Ten days since we last kissed. I-I know, I'm not super into sex, but the company... I m-miss you, Weiss."

Weiss felt her heart sinking with every word. Had she really been so unavailable for Ruby? Not that she could recall... but it was true, they had not been intimate in all that time.

"Hey, I haven't been doing it with Yang every night, either," Weiss protested. "It's only been one or twice. Mostly, we were busy with homework, and I ran that errand for my father's company, remember?"

"I-I know that... That's why I didn't say anything. B-but most nights you've hung out with the others, you three together. T-they've been able to have you. I just feel…" Could she even finish that sentence? She'd have to if Weiss was to know how she was truly feeling. Why back up?

"I just feel like, even though sex isn't my thing; if I can't sexually satisfy you… you don't want me."

"What?!" The outburst was a lot louder than the heiress intended, and she felt her fingers clench in the hair. "You... of course not, don't be stupid! That wasn't intentional!" Shifting nervously, she finished with a quiet, "But you seemed like you were focused lately, shutting me out, I... maybe I should have asked about it."

There was a slight screech in pain when her hair was grasped so tightly, one of her hands shooting up to grab hers. It was true, Ruby had been quiet the past couple of weeks...

"But what could I say? Y-you were tired every time I saw you, o-or busy. It would have been dumb of me to suggest anything!"

"And it was dumb for you not to suggest anything, wasn't it?" Weiss snapped, though there was no true bite in her words. "Look how things ended up! Please... I didn't mean to ignore you, and I'm sorry. But you have to say something or I’m not going to know!"

The smaller girl looked down again toward Weiss's knees, curling around her form more firmly. "I... Just want to be enough... For you."

Which brought Weiss up short. "Enough? What do you mean? You've always been good enough. Where is all of this coming from?" Then she grumbled, "Have you been talking to Jaune or something?"

"No, no I haven’t. I-I meant like... Oh, forget it." That wasn't something she was going to force on Weiss. Not now. She needed time before she confessed such a thing to her. For now, all she wanted was her closeby. "C-can you stay with me tonight?"

Though her heart felt as if it were breaking, she couldn't bring herself to elucidate that to Ruby. It was too personal, and Weiss wasn't the type to share her feelings that readily.

"Ruby... of course I can. All you have to do is ask, alright?" Maybe she did need to take a leap for once. "Because you're important to me. Really important. So if that's what you need, speak up. Please."

"Yeah... It is." She squeezed the hand she was holding, closing her eyes contently. With another sniff, she forced herself to finally look up. "I'm sorry for being so… weird and needy about this."

"Don't worry about it." It wasn't easy from her vantage point, but she managed to lean down and kiss Ruby's crown gently. "You're fine. Um... do you wanna show me those designs you've been working on lately? We could do that. Or we could just cuddle. Whatever you want!"

"I... I guess." Propping herself back up again, she wiped her eyes, looking back down to the designs on the desk. "Actually... I could use your input. I wasn't sure if it would work storing Dust for propulsion, as well."

Beaming back at her team leader with what was probably too much enthusiasm, she bubbled, "Oh, of course! I'm much better at that than knowing how to interact with people!"

"W-What? You asked!" She immediately responded, shuffling over to the edge of the bed as she hurled herself off and by her desk, pulling out a chair.

"No, th-that wasn't sarcasm!" Weiss protested as she followed Ruby, landing lightly on the floorboards with the grace of a gazelle. "I’m just bad with people. Look at today; clearly something has been bothering you for a while, and I was totally oblivious."

"I... It's just me being selfish. Don't worry about it," she insisted. It was what she truly believed. She wanted Weiss to herself, all to herself. But it wasn't right to ask for such a thing, was it?

But changing the subject right away, she sat herself down, shuffling through her papers. "Ah! Here it is. The Bounce Blaster."

Leaning down over Ruby's shoulder, she more closely inspected the plans. The layout was pretty self-evident, but she did feel the need to ask a couple of questions. "What's this here, the apparatus leading from the legs?" Her index finger brushed over one of the pages.

"That's what I'm not sure on yet, whether or not to load that part with Dust, the ammo, or gun powder. But there's also this one as well..."

Reaching for another piece of paper at the far side of the desk, she pulled forward yet another design, this time some kind of skateboard. But it was nowhere near finished. But when feeling Weiss was leaning over her, she looked over to her. "Do you… want a seat?"

Weiss looked around. There was another desk chair a few feet away, but not within ready reach. Therefore, she cheekily slid her thin frame past Ruby's and landed herself in her partner's lap.

"Thank you. Now, is this a conventional skateboard, or is it also a gun? I have a feeling that miscreant Sun would really appreciate it either way."

Feeling the warm form of her partner against her body, Ruby smiled softly, opening the plans properly again in front of her. "Also a close-range shotgun, AND splits into short, dual blades. Good for close combat."

"Oh, I like that," Weiss purred like some sort of sex bunny, purposefully laying it on thick. Not that she really knew what that was like. Then in a more normal voice, she asked, "Now, how do you eliminate the problem of accidental deployment? Nobody would want to be riding a skateboard that suddenly splits in two."

"Simple! It only activates when the release button is pushed, which is between the wheels over here…" She pointed at the small button that appeared between the front wheels, placed away from where it could make contact with any surfaces.

But there was something about Ruby's lap that was different this time around. Not that it would be too noticeable to anyone who had never sat there before, but Weiss would be able to tell. She would no doubt be able to feel the slight bump of extra flesh. Seemed Ruby had taken one of the vials.

However, Weiss had yet to comment on it. Either she wasn't seated at the right angle to feel such a thing, or she simply was being polite and refraining from mentioning Ruby's situation. After all, this was the leader's first time taking the formula. "That's wise; accessible at any given moment, yet almost impossible to activate by accident. How do you re-join the halves? Do they snap together automatically?"

"Electro-magnets. And the wheels charge up the batteries for them, and they activate when pushed on. Once they pair together, they're locked in place mechanically."

She really had thought of everything, but not jotted things down for this design. When she reached over for the trampoline design again, she could feel the extra flesh brushing against the heiress, making her sigh.

"That's actually quite... um..." She had been about to comment on the ingenuity of Ruby's design, but now found herself distracted. Was that what she thought it was? No, it couldn't possibly be. Ruby would never up and take the formula, would she? "Quite inspired. Limitless potential."

"Yeah exactly. I can picture Sun or Neptune liking it... The trampoline though? Well, it's kinda nuts." Holding out the design against the desk again, she couldn't help but shuffle again beneath her to get comfortable, but that made the length all the more noticeable. She had to have noticed!

"Nuts, but it still can't be denied that you did your homework." Gulping, Weiss tried to pretend she wasn't sitting on what she was sitting on. For the time being, at any rate. "This... has more of an application for home defense than as a field weapon, of course."

"Exactly what I was thinking. Handy to get up to Nevermores, but you'd need a weapon as well as that to get the full potential." This really was Ruby's passion, apart from actually fighting the creatures. But then again, from looking at Crescent Rose, anyone could guess that. Crescent Rose was very advanced for someone her age to forge.

"Have I ever told you how much I like hearing you talk about weaponry?" One of Weiss's hands smoothed over the page, tracing around the contours of Ruby's painstakingly-drawn lines, underneath words denoting the many features she had planned. "Even before the Dust accident, on the days when I found you the most... insufferable, just listening to you go on about artillery, servos... interlocking parts..."

Maybe she didn't mean for those last two words to be an innuendo, but nevertheless they coincided with her rubbing her backside a little more against the semi-soft length in Ruby's lap. And as she did so, the smaller girl suddenly gasped. That felt good… far too good for her to admit. Was that how it felt for her around the time of the Dust incident? When she rubbed it?

"Even before that?" she asked, attempting to change the subject.

"It's not a secret we weren't on very good terms," Weiss admitted, still not drawing attention to Ruby's shame. Maybe her partner didn't want to admit that she had used the Dust yet, and pointing it out wouldn't be kind. "But... the past two weeks aside, I'd like to think that we are now."

"Yeah... I think so." Looking down again as she thought in things once more, she found herself having to adjust her position. Did the heiress have to be so bony on her legs?! Her trim frame really didn’t have much fat on it anywhere, so the pressure was mostly from dense muscle and bone. But with each shuffle, her ‘new friend’ was starting to harden. It seemed to be very sensitive down there!

However, even while Weiss was thinking about their growing "situation", she was also replaying what Ruby had said about her spending a lot of time with Yang and Blake. It wasn't entirely true, but it was true that she had spent less time with Ruby herself. Entirely unintentional, but nevertheless a reality.

"Maybe you and I could work on one of these together," she went on as she held up the skateboard design. "I did assist with Myrtenaster's construction. That is..." She glanced over her shoulder. "If you don't mind me helping. Feel free to ask me to butt out." Just for fun, she punctuated the word "butt" by flexing her cheeks against Ruby's lap.

"Ahaha… I um…" If was so difficult to distract herself from the cheeks right against her new length, especially as she squeezed it with them. How she wished she could slide in between them there and then...

Shaking her head to bring herself back to her senses, she smiled. "I'd love to. Definitely!"

"Great!" Weiss said earnestly. It was fun teasing Ruby's body, but she was also hoping they really would follow through on the plan to work together on a project. "So when do you want to sit down together and work on it?"

"Well… tomorrow night, maybe? If you're not busy, I don't wanna intrude."

Smiling warmly, Weiss grasped Ruby's hands and brought them forward to press into her stomach. "Not busy in the slightest. In fact, there's nothing more I want than to work on this with you."

Keeping the heiress still on her lap, she instinctively began to rub her stomach gently, leaning her head forward onto her back as she nuzzled into it.

"Thank you, Weiss. So much."

"You don't need to thank me. I want to." The rubbing was making her feel warm inside. Ruby really wanted to spend time with her that desperately? Why didn't she notice before tonight? Lowering her voice to make it softer, she went on, "So then... it's not quite time to turn in. What should we do tonight?"

"I… um... I dunno." Of course, she did know. She'd prepared this as a surprise, to suddenly take Weiss and dominate her when she got back thanks to the new found sex. But from their previous discussion, she didn't know if it was off the cards or not.

"Nothing can you think of at all?" Crossing her legs daintily, mostly as an excuse to shift around some more, she tapped her chin with one finger. "We could go down into Vale for some gelato. It's a bit late, but still doable."

"Hnnn..." She growled under her breath, eyes half closed as she found herself focusing on Weiss's rump. She really wasn't coping well with her closeness at all, that much was obvious the next time she shifted. It felt nearly fully aroused.

"We could go over our homework," Weiss said more and more softly. Now it was only a matter of waiting for Ruby to admit what was happening. Again, she shifted slightly as she said, "You're usually a little… behind ."

"Mmmm!!!" She tried once more to contain herself. But this was all too much! Her arousal was by now fully erect below her, ready to take her. "How… how did you know?"

"How did I know what?" Voice full of false innocence , she now began to grind very slowly and deliberately. It was beginning to awaken her own carnal hunger, feeling Ruby this excited to be with her. "That you're behind in your schoolwork? Or... something else?"

"G-guh... Y-you know... exactly what... ah!" She found her hands gripping onto the silk of her nightie quite tightly, trying to suppress the moans she so desperately wanted to release. It had been far too long since their last embrace.

"Perhaps I do... but I wanted to hear you tell me. It's not my place to make ass umptions."

Heavy emphasis was placed on the first syllable of that last words as Weiss leaned back against Ruby's front. Biting her lip, she looked up toward the heiress, cheeks as red as her weapon. Toes also curling, she was very much struggling to contain such pleasure. It was impossible with Weiss Schnee grinding her rear against her.

"I-is this how it felt for you? S-so sensitive?"

"Yeah, exactly," Weiss panted, now making no move to hide the heaviness of her breathing. “I don’t know why, but… I didn’t think it would be sensitive like that.” This was really doing a number on her. For some reason, even though the idea of Ruby with a cock would have made her laugh the day before, now that it was here and most certainly real, she couldn't deny how good it felt against her through the fabric.

"I w-wanted to... Surprise you…" Now this time, she attempted to grind herself back against her, finding herself moaning each time she brushed firmly against her sex. Although another grind later, she made a discovery down there as she pet down along her stomach. The same lump was present on her lover. She had also taken a vial!

"Y-you, too?!"

Blushing, Weiss's thighs twitched together in a vain attempt to hide her own growing hardness. Yes, she had taken it again to satisfy Yang. Now that she had tried both types of sex, she felt it would be the wisest plan to switch back and forth a few times, get a truly well-rounded sense of what it was like to engage in these acts with both sets of equipment. She had been considering taking the antidote before going to bed, in point of fact.

But now Ruby knew where her grinding would lead them. She knew there weren't many options. Holding rather still, Weiss asked her partner, "Is... that okay?"

That meant Weiss had taken Yang with said hardness. That it had been inside her, pumping away. The image that appeared in her mind repulsed her. But then… another image appeared in her mind. What if she could use that? As a form of punishment? What if whilst on her lap, Ruby was to trap her, and do whatever she pleased with her?

With that thought in mind, she held her partner tightly against her with one hand, the other sliding up her nightie.

"It is… but I'll have no need for that thing. It's this pretty little rear I want."

Both of Weiss's eyes nearly rolled out of her head. Ruby said she would have no need of it - which meant Weiss was going to receive no pleasure. Not that variety of pleasure, at any rate. Was this the younger girl's way of exacting her revenge for Weiss not realising she was lonely? It both excited and saddened her, but she would play her part.

"Really? You... want my pretty rear, eh? And what precisely do you intend to do with it?"

Pushing up her nightie even further, she continued to grind her length against it, finding herself rocking back and forth on the chair to do so. "Well," she began, then grasping the undersides of her knees, holding them up to press her bulge right up into her. "I'm going to take it for my own..."

Unable to help it, Weiss let out a breathy giggle. The sheer audacity and boldness was enough to make her light-headed with lust. "If anyone could lay claim to my rear, it's you, Ruby."

It seemed the leader wanted to own her, to exert power over her if only for tonight. So Weiss surrendered more of her own: she whipped the nightgown up and over her head, tossing it to one side. Now, save for the one pair of lacy underwear that did nothing to hide her arousal at all, she was completely at the redhead's mercy.

However, from how Ruby was now acting, getting the arousal out of said underwear would not be required, not as she only continued to stroke her hands over her legs, settling her into place right against her hardness.

"So... I'm in charge tonight." Ruby informed her, pulling her in closer again. But then she realised they couldn’t start right away. "Oh! First thing’s first... You better get the jar."

"Of course, Your Majesty." One of the most difficult things Weiss had ever done was to suppress a tone of sarcasm as she said that phrase, to leave it genuine.

Rising gently from Ruby's lap, she tried not to glance down at the stiffened cock as she scampered to the nightstand where they all had agreed the lubricant should live. A huge amount in there for all of them, and very rarely did any two pairs need it at the same time, so there was no sense getting more than one. As she opened the drawer, she had another idea; one that she decided would not only make things easier, but also potentially add a bit of fun.

"What are you going to do to this pretty rear again?" Weiss asked as she reached Ruby's side. Immediately afterward, she turned away and began to slide her panties down to her thighs very slowly, revealing said flesh.

"Take it for my... Own…" Right away, Ruby's attention was to said rear that was slowly being revealed to her. Even if she had seen it before, many times, it being revealed in this way made Ruby's sex push against her underwear, quite obviously, in fact.

As the heiress stepped out of the pool of fabric and she turned, her eyes did return to the bulge nestled in the center of Ruby's lap. It called to her own body. Would this feel any different with a real phallus versus the artificial one that Yang and Ruby had both used on her there?

When she realised she was unconsciously stroking herself, she dropped the hand to the side. "Wh-whatever Your Majesty wants. Her wish is my command."

Ruby had been watching that with great interest. What did she want? Apart from Weiss's undying attention. Or... was that exactly it? "Your hands... are to only touch me for the rest of this session," she insisted, parting her legs as she slid her own underwear downward beneath her skirt. "You're not allowed to touch yourself, unless I say so."

Wait, Ruby really was giving orders to her now. That was crazy! And yet it brought heat to her core, having her partner command her not to relieve her own sexual frustrations. Maybe that would be too hard for her to accomplish... or maybe it would only make their evening that much more enjoyable.

"Then may I touch you?" Weiss asked, sinking to her knees beside the chair. "Just... just to get a good look at you?"

Weiss had taken the news well, it seemed. A part of her was fearful that she would instantly refuse. But it seemed that wasn't the case. This could indeed be the perfect way to have revenge, and enjoy it.

"You may." And throwing her underwear to one side, she placed her hands on her knees. "And you may get me ready."

Nodding very slightly, Weiss set the jar on the desk as she edged around Ruby's shin, her own knee brushing toes as she narrowly avoided kneeling on them. Then she was crouched in front of a lap and rolling up a skirt to reveal...

The only way to describe Ruby's new cock was "cute". It was very symmetrical, and about an inch shorter than her own - which throbbed in response to the vision before her. The desire to play with it as one might with a kitten or a toy possessed her, but she shrugged it off. Now was not the time.

"Her Majesty is so big," Weiss cooed, caressing it very lightly with one finger. She didn't really want to jump right in with teasing her body, didn't want to rush things. "And so beautiful."

"I... I am?" At the faint contact, she sighed contently, pushing herself forward in the chair to encourage more contact. The compliments were certainly appreciated, since this was the first time Ruby had tried Dust. She wanted to make sure it was pleasing for her partner.

"You are." Leaning inward, her lips grazed the head as she whispered, "And you always are, not just right now. Her Majesty is the most beautiful in all the lands."

The words were enough to bring a tear to her eye. Even though she thought she was being ignored, this wasn't the case. Weiss thought she was beautiful. But she had a role to play. This role wouldn't take such distraction.

"T-Then continue.” Unable to help exposing what she truly wanted, she whispered, “Show me how beautiful you think I am."

Weiss had been expecting – almost dreading that Ruby would command her to take the length into her mouth, but that particular phrasing didn't quite convey that meaning. ‘Show me how beautiful you think I am.’ How was she to do that exactly? Going down on her wasn’t exactly the same as that. How could she prove that she thought every bit of Ruby was beyond compare?

Reaching down, she raised one of Ruby's legs up as she began to scoot backward. Maintaining eye contact, she pressed her lips against her partner's toes without any hesitation.

Eyes drawing closed, Ruby sighed contently as her lips made contact with her foot, trailed down to her heel and back up. This was an act that was definitely considered a form of worship, and the little leader always thought it would be her performing acts like that on someone else. She was never particularly ‘dominant’ and liked to make her friends feel good. To have such an act done to her instead, and by the Schnee heiress, was something magical. It did just the job of making her feel beautiful, special.

Not quite done, Weiss then turned the foot over and kissed the top of it. Then her ankle, then calf, then knee. Then her soft, milky thigh. "Does Her Majesty feel beautiful yet?"

"Hmmm..." she sighed with a nod, leaning back a little more against the chair. No sense in trying to deny it. The soft lips against each part of her felt so good! How could something so romantic make her feel more aroused?

Said arousal was definitely showing, as it twitched slightly. As Weiss wrapped her hand around it delicately, her mind flashed back to their first encounter, just after she had woken to find it existed. Ruby tasted her, didn’t even seem at all ashamed of doing it; she just liked her so much that she wanted to please her. This reversal had been a long time in coming. Pressing down to draw back the skin and reveal the head more fully, she leaned inward and slid her tongue up the underside, lingering on the area where head met shaft.

Not expecting contact of her tongue so soon, the girl squeaked in surprise, hands reaching to grip the chair tightly as she tried to contain her pleasure once again. But her cock only throbbed in Weiss's hand. She needed more. But she didn't want to finish like this.

"You... You think it's that easy?" She played this into the game, opening her eyes again to look down at her. "Think I'll let you off the hook if you quickly take me with your mouth?"

It was very tempting for the heiress to snap at Ruby, to insist that she could do whatever she wanted - maybe even to start jerking her off roughly. But that would not fit the moment, would not suit her current role. Weiss dropped Ruby's flesh and scooted back a foot or two, bowing low to the ground with her hands on the floor.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. I live to serve. Shall I make you feel more beautiful?" Grasping at a concept quite foreign to her, she tried, "M-maybe you wish to make me feel less beautiful, or show me to be as inferior to you as I clearly am."

Make me feel less beautiful. The words made the red head's heart sink. That was the last thing she wanted. Even if the line played into their current roles perfectly, she couldn't bring herself to say such a thing. And why would she? The reason she had felt so lonely in the first place was because she wanted Weiss all to herself. To tell her how beautiful she was on a regular basis. To sleep with her at night, wake up to her face in the morning. Such an important part of her life could not be put down.

And so, seeming to drop the act entirely, her expression softened. And she barely whispered, "You can never be anything but beautiful to me."

A tiny smile pulled at the corner of Weiss's mouth as she continued to hold herself prostrate before her partner. It took her a moment to respond, because she was too busy feeling warm all over. Then she asked, "Are you sure you don't wish to step on me, to grind me into the dirt beneath you so you don’t have to be dirtied? I'd be happy to serve you in such a way if it means keeping Your Majesty as pristine as she is now."

This wasn't what she wanted. Yes, she wanted revenge for feeling so lonely, for feeling tossed aside like nothing. But not by doing the same thing deliberately to her partner. "D-don't..." The ruse had been dropped entirely now. "Don't say that. Please?"

Then Weiss sat back up, frowning at the almost frightened tone in Ruby's voice. "Hey, I'm sorry, I won't again. Just thought we were..." Then she shrugged and leaned in to kiss the knee she hadn't kissed earlier , hands petting both the calf and outside of the thigh. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I know we were playing. I just…" Why? Why couldn't she play along with that role? It was something that Yang would jump on, or something Blake would experiment with. If they were in a relationship rather than just casually sleeping with one another, Ruby would even consider it.

But that's when the reality hit hard – a reality that somehow had escaped her until that very moment, obvious as it was. 'Oh my god,' she thought. 'I'm in love with her.' How could she admit that to her? Certainly not now. This wasn't the right time. But perhaps, they could still play around. Still do things.

"Can we try again? But I don't… don't wanna put you down. You being all yes-your-majesty was fun, b-but the other part… I don’t know, it made me sad."

"That's fine!" Weiss told her immediately with a huge, nervous smile. Privately, she loved that Ruby was like that; even playing around, she couldn’t stand hearing her friends put down. One of the things she had come to love about her battle partner in the time since they had met. "It's just... I thought maybe that would help with the 'worshipping' game of ours, but I guess it was too far." Then she glanced down into Ruby's lap at the softening cock and sighed, "Oh no... you're losing your 'steam'. Ugh, I'm really sorry about this."

"Maybe we could just… be casual?" she asked, petting her knees to offer Weiss a seat again. Though with a mischievous grin. "I can still stop you touching yourself if you like that though."

"Naturally," Weiss said airily as she rose to standing, hands on her hips as she stood in front of her lover. Her own erection was a bit less awake than it was before their game came to a halt, as well, but still generally pointing in Ruby's direction. "Do you want me to face you or away from you?"

"Hmm..." That was the question! To face her would make their encounter all the more romantic, but to face away would make being more dominant easier. It was an experiment. "Away. Would be fun, and different. But do you wanna…" Teasingly, she swayed her hips, which made her sex sway. "Wake him up by getting him ready again?"

Facing away from Ruby? That was somehow... really exciting. Weiss would have absolutely no control over her partner; then again, she could also walk away at any time if their play came to be too much for her. Both of their positions held certain advantages, in truth, but there was something about this that excited her on her own end. What was it?

Then it occurred to her: she would be nothing more than Ruby's plaything from the minute she sat down until they were done, completely available for the leader to do whatever she wished to her helpless teammate. The most Weiss would be able to do would be to shift in her lap readily. That was why it enticed both of them, she had to guess.

"I'll get him ready," she said nervously at last as she sank to her knees again. First, to tease, then to go for the jar. Her hand began to stroke and squeeze the soft flesh, smiling as she remembered what it was like to have her own after it had first been "taken care of". Ruby was in for quite a ride.

It certainly did remind her of their first encounter. Of how she was fumbling with Weiss's sex to try and figure out how it worked, and figure out how to help. Now they were both in the know, it made their encounters all the more interesting. But she was grateful for it to be Weiss. "Hmm," she sighed contently, eyes starting to close again.

A few seconds later, she felt it growing firmer again, longer. Her lips pressed against the head as she stroked, and then she opened them, taking the head inside. It wasn't how she imagined it would feel, but she couldn't say she hated it too much. Smooth and soft, and warm. The flavour was alright, but nothing she would have sought after outside of this situation.

"Oh!" She squeaked yet again, suddenly finding herself tensing up again at the sudden burst of pleasure. That was more than enough to get her back to full hardness again, but as she stroked all the more the girl laid back in her seat grinning. “Oooh, yeah..."

Weiss felt the compulsion to giggle - and let herself, right against Ruby's length as her hand wandered down to gently fondle the smooth, loose skin hanging beneath her length. Experience told her just how fragile that area was and precisely how to handle the small stones inside.

Each of the gentle touches was driving Ruby wild! Her toes began to curl against the ground and her hands continuously grasped the chair, attempting to keep herself grounded. But if Weiss continued, she would finish far too early!

"You're... You're too good!"

The tone in Ruby's voice told the white-haired girl exactly that: she wouldn't last if she didn't dial it back. Therefore, she pulled her hand back and withdrew her mouth, holding the girth between her fingers.

"Thank you," she replied politely as her free hand drifted back for the jar. "Now... shall I prepare both of us for me to... take my seat?"

There was a sense of relief when she was let go by her mouth, the fully hardened length twitching lightly in her hand. "Yeah. Do that." As much as she wanted to be taken by Weiss's mouth one day, tonight wasn't the night for that. Tonight was going to be a lot more exhausting.

"Then..." Setting it on the ground, she dipped her fingers into the jar and brought them back up, generously coated when they joined the first hand in rubbing smoothly up and down, without the pressure she would have used if genuinely trying to bring her off. It was somehow even more fun to touch when covered in slickness!

Had this been any firmer, it would have most definitely done the job. The added wetness seemed to enlighten her senses, and make her sensitive to the air temperature around her. Once her sex was completely coated, she looked past the mop of silvery hair toward Weiss's rear end again. There was something she wanted to do, despite being treated by the heiress.

"Can... Can I get you ready?" Right after saying it, she flushed, feeling a little embarrassed at wanting to play with that area.

Dipping into the persona from before, Weiss fluttered her eyelashes and said, "It's really no trouble, Your Majesty; I can do it if you wish. But if you’d prefer to do it, I wouldn’t dream of stopping you."

Heart racing, Ruby relaxed back into the chair again. If Weiss wanted to continue this persona, now without the part she was uncomfortable with, Ruby would play along. "Okay, you go ahead. Just remember... You're not allowed to touch your sex."

"Of course, Majesty." Then an idea came to her. It might be stupid, or it might be enticing for her partner. There was only one way to find out. "I won't touch my sex."

Then she climbed up onto the desk, fingers still coated, kneeling with most of her shins and feet hanging over the edge. One hand keeping her steady, she aimed her behind directly at Ruby and reached back with the damp one, using her wrist to edge one of her cheeks aside and grant the team leader a fantastic view.

"O-ooooh…" This was probably the first time she had looked at Weiss's behind properly. It was just touching, glancing , never truly viewing. Was it wrong for her to consider such a thing cute? How did the heiress manage to keep such a tight ship down there when she enjoyed things going inside that much? "I-it's wonderful."

As Ruby looked on, Weiss began to slowly drag her moistened fingers around the tight ring of muscle, exaggerating her moans very slightly. They actually came quite naturally; touching herself this way did feel much better than she expected. Having it pounded by Yang or Ruby was different, but it seemed to have heightened her sensitivity there somehow. As she continued to tease, she waggled her hips back and forth to cause her length to shift and swing, hoping that would add to the "show" she was putting on.

"Weiss…" Already Ruby’s breath was beginning to speed up as she eagerly awaited the heiress to take her seat. Even unconscious to her knowledge, she was already stroking her length because she wanted more so badly – and when she noticed, she let go. That simply wouldn't do. "Let me take you..."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Right away." Weiss's hips shifted as she lowered one leg to the floor. However, she never let the other foot touch down; she eased herself backward into Ruby's lap, sitting higher on her stomach for the moment until they decided it was time for her to be entered. Already she felt her stomach fluttering, her heart pounding. Her anal muscles puckering. It was involuntary; she knew once it was inside, she would enjoy herself, but the anticipation made her feel all flustered and anxious.

One hand right away tucked itself back under one of Weiss’s knees, holding it up to keep her firmly on her lap. The other went to her wet phallus, holding it upright to get it into position. As she pushed her head against the entrance softly, that hand immediately held her other knee in place, keeping her legs up high.

"Don't worry. I got you," she whispered, slowly lowering her into her sex as the head began to push inside.

"Oh- OH GOD!" she burst out involuntarily. She had thought of Ruby as being smaller, but that was not the same thing as "small"; it was still quite a lot to take into there! She wanted to reach down and help spread herself, but that would result in touching her own sex more likely than not. Therefore, she simply braced her hands against her own knees and helped raise her legs away. This was really opening her up to Ruby's advance, and she had never felt so vulnerable.

Gradually she lowered Weiss even more, managing to push her head in even further, until it eventually it slipped inside completely. Such a strange feeling this was! It was as if she had someone around her, embracing her all over. It was far different to what she normally felt, but no less pleasurable.

"You're so warm..." Ruby couldn't help but sigh, letting out a small moan as she lowered the heiress further.

A high, quavering moan was the heiress's only response as she felt herself being completely entered already. Was her dark little opening so used to this treatment now that it accepted it with little to no resistance ? Experimentally, she clenched the muscles back there around the thickness, feeling it push back against her, flexing the very small amount that Ruby's flesh allowed for. It was glorious.

"S-so are you," Weiss told her throatily as she raised her legs even more, edging them apart. "So warm ins- inside me!"

"I-is this... How it feels? W-when you take me? Or... Or Yang?"

Although the thought made her queasy, Ruby included her sister in order to have give Weiss more to compare, knowing the heiress had taken them both in a similar fashion. But unable to wait for the answer, she continued to lower the heiress even more, until eventually, she felt her cheeks make contact with her thighs. She was inside. Fully.

Guiltily, Weiss felt her arousal twitch when Ruby mentioned Yang. It obviously bothered her, even though it had been Ruby's idea for them all to share this situation in the first place. Perhaps they should have a repeat of that afternoon when they were all three engaged, if only to make absolutely sure they were still okay with things as they were... or to establish who was and who wasn't okay.

"Yes, Ruby," she panted as she shifted her hips back and forth slightly. "It's- HNNGH! It's exactly like this! Do you... is it good for you? Being inside me?"

It was a whirlwind of emotions. It was more than good. She could feel the muscles clamping against her length, especially so when Weiss forced herself backwards against it even more. She really was begging for it!

"Yes." Ruby reassured, beginning to lift Weiss back off her again, feeling her sex slowly coming back out of her rear end. "You're so tight... So perfect. You feel amazing!"

"OoooOOoohh!" Weiss moaned out as she was exited, leaning back even more as her head lolled back, eyes closing. How could Ruby be this incredible, only having owned a cock for a few scant hours?! Again, she felt the desire to touch, but much more compelling was her yearning to simply let Ruby take control of her and of the entire situation.

It was something that worried her. Could Weiss finish this way? Without her sex being stimulated and through anal penetration alone? Perhaps. Upon reading up on the subject, it seemed some had managed it under rare circumstances, but it varied depending on who it was and where inside they were being stimulated.

Either way, she was about to find out, as she loosened her grip on the heiress's knees again, which forced her back down against the lap. Forced Ruby back inside. What was almost a genuine yelp fell from Weiss as the length went back in twice as fast as before. Desperation tugged at her, to reach down and spread herself wider or touch herself, or even just to touch Ruby while their bodies began to merge. But no, she would refrain; she would use her hands to hold her legs upward instead. She wanted Ruby to have free reign.

And Ruby lifted her again, she repeated the process. Lifting her up high, then forcing her back down against her length. And then again. And again… The inner walls she could feel around her length were so perfect. Wet, warm, tight. With each thrust, she couldn't help but let out a soft moan, which only encouraged her all the more to keep going. Her only hope was that Weiss felt this good, also.

The more Ruby thrust up and into her, the more Weiss's head began to feel lighter, sweat beginning to cling to her temples. Her calves were waving back and forth, and she could also feel her modest peaks beginning to bounce ever so slightly. Somehow, in that moment she both felt like a cherished lover and a piece of meat. Neither feeling was unwelcome.

"Oh, Ruby!" she groaned. "You... you're so big, you're splitting me open! Take me harder! Teach my ass your name!"

There was a low toned groan as Ruby gave into that demand. It was irresistible for her; such a tight little opening demanded more attention, after all. And so the next time she lifted her, she didn't let her come back down. But rather, she thrust upwards. Her own legs leaving her chair with each thrust upward into the woman above her.

"T-tell me!" she managed between moans, trying to growl again. "How… how badly do you want to touch yourself?"

"Really... reeeeally badly!" she confessed as her eyes flew open, staring up and unseeing at the ceiling. Her feet slapped down against the lip of the desk, and she clung to it with her toes for dear life, only using it to steady her legs and hold them up and apart rather than to push down against Ruby. For some reason, it seemed important that only she have control over their pacing and the force of her thrusts.

"I want... I wanna come so bad! But I want you to come more! I j-just want you to feel good, Ruby! Feel good inside my ass!"

It would take no time at all for that result. But what Ruby wanted was for them both to finish. At the same time if that were possible. Not knowing if that was a possibility or not, she pounded as hard as she possibly could into her, huffing and panting all the while.

"I-I'm so close, Weiss! Are... Do you want me to fill you inside?"

Looking down, Weiss goggled at the sight that greeted her. Two small breasts bouncing violently, and further down between them was a half-erect sex flopping up and down, almost as if a forgotten, useless implement. She couldn't see what Ruby was doing to her from that vantage point, but for whatever reason she desperately wished she could.

And as she watched... it began to grow harder, just the tiniest amount. Somehow, that caused it to bounce even more wildly, and every smack downward onto her own sack only made her feel more and more aroused. It had been impossible for her to remain erect while being invaded before without direct stimulation before, but this... this was so good that she couldn't help it.

"Yes, Ruby!" she grunted as her hips tried to slam down more, to welcome Ruby in with wider and wider thighs. "Just... hold on for a bit more! Just a bit more!"

Truth be told, her end would have been there and then. She was close enough, and was thrusting enough. But Weiss had begged her to keep going. And she wasn't the type to give up so easily.

Tightening her eyes shut, she used as much energy as she could to thrust continuously up and up into he woman, hands holding her legs rather tightly as she tried to hang on.

"Y... Yes! Weiss! WEISS!"

It was nearly miraculous the way it felt. How was it that when Yang and Ruby had used their false phalluses on her it hadn't been this way? Even without touching herself, Ruby thrusting hard into her, the friction and motion, the occasional brushing of the tight knot of nerves deep inside of herself... they were going to cause her to climax without actual contact with her sex. It was simply not possible, and yet it was happening! The motion from Ruby penetrating her was enough to stimulate it!

"RUBY!" she was panting, widening her legs so much that they began to burn, one pinky toe slipping below the lip of the desk as she struggled not to lose her grip on reality. "More, I- as crazy as this sounds, I'm close, too! Fuck my ass! Fill me up with you!"

There was the swearing again. So hot. And it was still unclear why Ruby liked such a thing! Especially when it wasn't something the heiress did a lot. But she was close now, and struggling to hold herself back any longer. Her personal aim was for Weiss to finish before she could, to see if it was actually possible. And to continue the revenge part of their play.

And so, biting her lip to suppress any moans, she moved her hands from under her knees once sure Weiss could support herself, she wrapped her arms around her stomach, anchoring her in place as she delivered faster , firm thrusts. One of her hands came up to squeeze Weiss’s breast, adding a flare of pleasure elsewhere that she hoped would help her along.

"C-come for me first! Then... Then I'll give you what you w-want!"

"AH! Ruby, you're- it's so hard, you're fucking me s-so hard, it's driving me crazy!" Once the embrace had circled her stomach, the one hand moving up to grope her, Weiss could feel her erection slapping against one of Ruby's arms over and over. It was fantastic to have her lover touching her there after so long of being denied any contact, even if it was only at the apex of each thrust. Between that and the relentless punishment her entrance was taking, the occasional teasing of that sensitive gland deep within herself, the climax was imminent.

And then it was suddenly happening; even though right up until that moment she didn't truly believe it could, she felt her body tighten, felt the length spasm and spray whiteness out onto the desk, and up to spatter lightly over Ruby's arms and her own thighs. Onto her chest. One droplet landed on her right foot. The thrusting made it impossible to tell where it could go, but she found it awfully hard to care in the moment.

At last, her screams of pleasure dwindled to pants, but she was still being thrust into, still a sleeve for her lover's throbbing cock. "You... did you like that? Did you see? I f-finished for you! All over!"

The moans coming from the smaller girl only began to increase in volume with each thrust. She could feel that Weiss had gotten tighter, which made for yet more pleasure. Unable to hold back anymore, she let out a loud scream, and one final thrust into her lover. When deep inside of her, she felt her sex throb, as it released the white seed inside her, beyond her control.

This was a sensation completely unique to the heiress; she wasn't just being filled, she was being filled . An oddly strangled moan loosed from her as her thighs tried to twitch together, but could not. She was completely at the mercy of her lover's ongoing orgasm.

When Ruby finally fell limp, Weiss stretched backward across her friend's body, breathing ragged and heavy. She wanted to roll off and expire, but she also wanted to lay there forever, holding a piece of her partner inside her own body with arms wrapping around her. It was paradise.

The leader had to wait. Had to wait for a long time before she could regain her energy enough to let go. Holding off her climax for that amount of time had really done a number on her. And yet... How did her lover feel? She'd pushed her father then they ever had before. She'd refused all contact with her cock and managed to finish her with anal penetration alone. Was that healthy?

"Y-you… okay?"

"I th-think so," she panted weakly, still unable to do much more than pant and lie there. For whatever reason, climaxing when she was in possession of male equipment took more energy out of her, and all the bouncing had drained her even more. "Are you?"

"Y-yeah... Just... Exhausted." Slowly releasing her grip from Weiss's stomach, she moved her grip to Weiss's legs again. "A-are you ready... For me to get out?"

“No,” she said with a chuckle. Part of herself really loved them being united in this way, but staying that way much longer wasn’t reasonable. “Alright, alright. Ready when... you are," Weiss panted. While it felt nice to have Ruby inside of her, it might start to feel a bit uncomfortable for both of them if they left it overlong.

"Okay... Brace yourself." And holding into her legs rather firmly, she began to lift her up again, and slowly lower her hips to draw her sex back out again. Doing so forced a wince out of the smaller girl, as there was a new feeling coming to her new sex. It was very sore.

The next sound to come from Weiss was more groan than moan, but then it was over and she was dropping back onto Ruby's lap again. Surely they should clean themselves up, but she couldn't be bothered just yet.

"So that... was pretty fun, I suppose."

Once leaning right back against the chair, she wrapped her arms back around her lover once again, rubbing her head against her back affectionately as she continued to regain her breath. How could she put this into words?

"I didn't hurt you... Did I? Cause I'm feeling a little sore..."

"Not at all," Weiss reassured her. "I felt a slight... discomfort when you first pushed the head through, but everything after that was..." Her cheeks were flaming red as she continued. "Well, y-you probably felt it landing on you."

"I felt all of you landing on me. The rest was kinda... Kinda like I zoned out." But nuzzling into her again, she left a soft kiss on her spine. In comparison to how roughly she had just handled her, it was a gentle touch. "That was pretty intense."

A coy smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, it was. Isn't that what you wanted, though? The way you were ordering me around... it seemed like you did."

"I... I don't know." It was the honest truth. Now that she had come to terms with how she felt about Weiss, how deep the feelings really went; she could no longer justify treating her in such a rough manner. Even if it felt brilliant for them both, she still felt awful for doing such things.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be so… so possessive, if that's how I sounded."

"No, no, it's okay," she tried to reassure her partner, turning just enough so she could look at her sideways and slip an arm around her back. "That was kind of... erotic, if that's the word for it. Strange, but not exactly a bad thing. I'm just sorry I took the game too far on my end."

Instead, Ruby nuzzled against the side of her chest, adjusting her grip on the heiress to hold her side saddle. It seemed she was either too exhausted to say anymore, or too deep in thought to come up with a response.

Sensing that she wasn't up to much more, Weiss whispered to Ruby, "Would you perhaps like to sleep in my bunk tonight? So you don't have to climb up to yours, I mean."

Sleep sounded good. After that exhausting battle between them both, it sounded like the best possible remedy. But another was company. And what better company then the heiress whom she had these feelings for.

"...Can you stay with me?"

Genuinely touched, Weiss leaned in and kissed Ruby's cheek. "Of course I can. And I would love to. Come on, let's go."

With that, she stood shakily and helped blot at her with her own underwear to remove the remnants of the climax. Then she pulled her own gown over her head to cover any remaining shame; they could shower in the morning. Smiling, she led Ruby slowly and gently over to her bed.

Once the most obvious parts of climax were cleaned up, or at least hidden until the morning, Ruby climbed into the heiress's bunk. Tugging the blankets open, she settled to the far side of her bed, leaving plenty of room for the heiress if she so wished to be alone. That was her call.

But Weiss held no such desire. Immediately, she cuddled up to Ruby's soft back, grateful for the closeness and no longer shy about having to share her personal space. This was very unlike the Weiss of a few short weeks ago, before the change had happened. This was a brand new woman who wanted, even craved, the presence of a friend's warm company.

When nuzzled against the pillows, and feeling, ironically, the warmth of the Ice Queen's body against her back, already Ruby found her eyes beginning to flutter closed. Not that she would admit it to Weiss. She wanted to stay awake.

"I'm sorry I was so grumpy earlier."

"No, you had every reason." Shifting slightly, Weiss held her closer, hand petting her stomach. "Maybe... I knew I should have asked you what was wrong before now. I just didn't know if I could, or if you wanted me to. So… so I'm sorry for not asking."

The words barely registered in Ruby's ears. She was completely and utterly exhausted, to the point she didn't even realise what she was saying. But when Weiss was done, she added, "And I'm sorry... I couldn't keep going with the game. I kinda wanted to… but I couldn't. I c-couldn't call you those things."

"That... makes me happy, in a weird way. It means you really care about me." Very quietly, she added, "Though I have no idea why after the way I used to treat you when we first met."

"Because you mean so much to me..." That was more of a whisper, and already the smaller girl's eyes were sliding shut as she faded in and out of consciousness. But just before she faded out completely, she added one final dozy comment. One that would change everything.

"Because I'm… In love with you."

The other girl froze completely. Love? Love?! It would have bowled her over even if Ruby simply said she loved her, that was more than she expected, but she was in love with her? Really and truly?

The heiress had no reaction for those words. Nobody had ever been in love with her before, not in her entire life, and she had also not felt those types of feelings for anyone else. Or if she had, she was completely unaware of them because she didn't know how they would present without any former experience.

If she were to guess, she would say she definitely loved Ruby, Yang, and Blake; they were so close to her now, and not purely because of their "extracurricular activities." She couldn't imagine life without any of them - even Blake, with whom she was the least close. But here was Ruby using phrases like "in love" that she didn't fully comprehend. What would that mean for the both of them?

"Are... you sure?" Weiss finally whispered back without even knowing she had said it.

"Yes…" As she nuzzled into the pillows that bit more and adjusted her position, it was fairly obvious she wasn't in a conscious enough state to be lying. This really was the truth. "Completely..."

This made Weiss feel smaller and more inadequate than anything ever had before... even as she felt a tiny glow in the pit of her stomach. No matter how scared she was of what it might mean, the fact remained that Ruby cared so much about her that she considered it to be a romantic attachment. It was hard to ignore or downplay that.

"Th-thank you," she whispered back. "And... I do love you." It was as close as she could get to admitting anything; whether or not she was in love would take some contemplation.

But it seemed such a confession fell on deaf ears. The leader was asleep, softly breathing and laying in the warmth of her lover. Perhaps she wouldn't remember making such a confession in the morning. But either way, they would have to think about this another time.

[flintfiction]

Somewhere in Savannah

 2k word count. Post season 4 James/Thomas bliss :))) Beginning and ending with lofty ideals on paper but a lot of loving in-between. NSFW. Sorry I haven’t been writing for this blog as much lately; my other one keeps me plenty busy. But I am writing a nice long post-show reunion fic on AO3 so if you haven’t checked it out yet you should! And without further ado…

——–

James leaned in close over his shoulder.

“Another treatise? What’s this one?”

Grateful for the interruption, he placed his quill back into the nearly empty pot of ink and leaned back in the chair, close enough that James’s ruddy beard tickled his ear.

“Actually I am basing it on piracy,” he replied with smile.

“Oh?”

James came around and picked up the topmost parchment and skimmed it.

“It is a call for democracy,” he said proudly. “The very same ideals you have told me about in detail, except of course I am not using the term ‘piracy’ anywhere.”

James put down the paper and raised his eyebrows.

“So this is why you’ve kept hounding me about my knowledge about the inner workings of pirates these last weeks.”

Thomas rose out of the chair—he frowned at his knees creaking slightly—and finished off his glass of wine.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” he said with fake regret, eyes shining.

“I am focusing on the notion,” he continued, “that men can not only work together and share ideas as they do now but can also create policies and pass laws as a majority and that the absolute ruling of a king or king-like system is not needed.”

“Not needed,” James repeated. “Instead of all those other, more colorful words I’ve heard you use.” His eyes flashed to Thomas’s in approval. He gave a lop-sided grin. “Clever.”

The approval thrilled Thomas more than James’s usual, low-key doting. He subtly bit his lower lip.

“Thank you. Feel free to give more input.”

James chuckled. It always came out as a low rumbling sound to Thomas and reminded him of the thunder during a spring storm. Powerful but pleasant.

James plucked the wine glass from him and sat it down on his writing desk.

“I don’t see how you have the stamina to write all day long and never look tired.”

Thomas scoffed. “It’s a deception. Just now as I rose from the chair my knees creaked. Also there’s a crick here, right in the middle of my spine. And this morning my fingers felt achy getting out of bed.”

James was smiling again. He adored it. James smiled more now than he had all those years ago, during what he had thought was the peak of their happiness. Now that peak was threatened to be eclipsed.

James turned him around and muttered something about the lord never leaving the man as he massaged Thomas’s shoulders and upper back.

Thomas hummed his appreciation and let his head lull to one side, then the other. James was a very practiced massager (did that occupation have a proper name? ‘Hands-on apothecary’ perhaps?) and could easily send Thomas to the Sandman in a matter of minutes if they were in bed when James chose to put his skill to practice. Such thoughts quickly led Thomas to one idea.

“It’s been three weeks,” he said, hoping James would know without asking.

“Mmm,” was his reply. He kept making circular patterns on Thomas’s back. Thomas was about to say more when the circles ceased and James turned him around for a kiss. Thomas hummed again, lips moving over his lover’s with a hard-won ease that Time had tried hard to destroy not so long ago but, in the end, had failed.

James pulled back licking his lips and gazed at him. It was after dark and there were only three candles lit in the room. The illumination made James’s eyes appear dark gray around the pupils. The depths behind them, Thomas knew, were as exhilarating to discover as they were beautiful—and more melancholy than he would have cared for. Sometimes even frightening.

The lingering ghost of a man Thomas could only ever catch glimpses of and had never known.

Three weeks was the longest they’d gone without sex. Recently they’d both been kept busy and were too tired by the end of the day (although content). Now, however, Thomas found a renewed energy take hold as they took off their clothes. It was usually shirts first. Both of them liked to tease, and Thomas found James incredibly attractive when he wore only his tightest-fitting trousers and no shirt, all pale skin and orange hair and brown freckles.

Tonight their teasing was short-lived. James was rutting up against him. Thomas could feel James’s growing erection against his own as James pinned him between the writing desk. James lavished kisses over his neck and chest. They were fast kisses, and he was letting himself be quite breathy about it which meant he was feeling aggressive.

Thomas took no issue with that. He encouraged him, gripping James’s red hair—long enough again to hang behind his ears—and running his other hand over his broad back. He bent forward to bite at the heaviest concentration of freckles on the tops of his shoulders.

James’s hand eventually wound its way inside Thomas’s pants, squeezing and rubbing until he was hard. He kept it up until Thomas could take no more. He shuffled off the desk; batting James away so he could remove his pants. James barely waited long enough. His lips clashed into Thomas’s before he had flung the second pant-leg off from his foot. He breathed out a laugh into James’s mouth. James moaned. It was an aching moan, the kind that made Thomas grow hot all over.

James was whisking him back to the desk. His hands gripped his thighs as Thomas sat his bare ass on it. James kicked the chair out of the way, harder than was needed but it made Thomas’s mouth go dry. James still wore his boots and pants. Thomas grabbed at his ass and squeezed, loving the way James’s figure filled it out.

James began kissing him fervently all over. He left a cooling wet trail behind on Thomas’s skin, all over his stomach and to his thighs. He began sucking harder, which always made Thomas vocal. Thomas tried pawing at James’s fly when he came up for a proper kiss but James batted it away.

“Fuck,” said Thomas in a breathy whisper. Now it was his lover’s turn to grin at him. Thomas still to this day did not use much profanity. He could recall only a handful of times when he’d cursed out loud around James. Most of them involved spilled ink and wrong words.

Now however James could draw the words out of his mouth by using his own, plied in the correct way with the right pressure over the right area. He also achieved several low moans from Thomas when he refused to give in to Thomas’s wanting touches.

Thomas let James worship every inch of his body as he saw fit. James’s fingers joined in when Thomas guided them between his legs. James slicked himself in his mouth first, then worked Thomas open. Thomas could hold off from moaning two fingers deep, but when James hooked his fingers and wiggled them inside Thomas let out a whimper.

He worked Thomas for minutes on end until Thomas grew impatient. James knew it too. He had that teasing gleam in his eye, even as his own breathing came heavy. Yet it was only when Thomas finally started jerking his own cock in mild desperation that James unfastened his fly.

Thomas sighed out his relief and watched him. He bit his lower lip hard. He felt his eyelids heavy and hooded, matching his lover’s. James’s jaw was set and he looked dead serious in his lust. Only Thomas knew that look and how truly overcome James was.

James teased his hole mercilessly. He tapped his cock against Thomas’s inner thigh as he forced his tongue inside Thomas’s mouth with a greed that Thomas loved to struggle to match. Thomas pushed back against him. He hooked his hand behind James’s neck and dug his fingertips into his scalp. James rubbed his cock head against Thomas’s hole over and over. Thomas wiggled over the desk. He spread his legs out further. James teased his entrance. His cock pushed against the walls of his hole and Thomas whined desperately in the back of his throat. He rested his forehead against James’s. They both had the luxury of being able to see everything when they looked down. Thomas leaned back on a palm.

“Please, darling,” Thomas panted out at last.

James had opened him wide. He thrust his cock almost completely inside Thomas the first time. They both moaned loudly, faces contorted. Thomas clung to him.

James always fucked him carefully and tenderly to begin with no matter how open and ready Thomas was for him. Thomas made certain to let him know that he loved him for it, too. Sometimes even lovers were too rough by mistake.

James had never been so without his approval.

But now he gave his approval, rocking his hips over the desktop. James rolled his hips in response. His cock was thick and hard and Thomas bit his lip again.

James fucked him hard after that. He straightened his hips and pounded into Thomas. Thomas gripped his leg to keep himself spread. He watched as James’s cock surged in and out of him, his balls slapping against him. James let his head roll back, eyes doing the same. His chest shined with sweat, his face red. All of his muscles strained with his effort. Jesus Christ. Thomas stared at him and wondered if he were a god created just for him but disguised as a mortal, fooling all but himself.

James pulled his cock all the way out. The dearth it left behind made Thomas throb in want. But it was only for a second and James pushed himself back in again. He repeated the motion several times, filling Thomas to the brim and then leaving him completely, until Thomas was aching for release. James fucked him anew. This time they both grunted with each thrust, closer and closer to the edge.

Thomas jerked his cock in rhythm with the motion of their bodies, now moving like a finely-tuned instrument as they pressed towards the climax of their song.

And every so often James still broke during these moments of intensity. The pain of their separation would never, Thomas had decided, leave either of them completely, nor would what they had been through. They were grateful for every moment together, whether it be mundane or marvelous. And sometimes James could simply not contain It All.

Now he keened and shuddered as he came. Thomas grabbed his ass and pushed James into him as far as he could go. James hid his face into the crook of Thomas’s neck, letting out a second, more broken sound as his seed spilled deep in Thomas’s belly. Thomas rubbed his thumb over his cockhead, once, twice, three times and was coming between their bodies. He moaned as all the tension seemed to leave his very bones, until he was a wrecked mess on the writing desk, supporting himself and James. James rolled his hips slowly, still hard. He lifted his head and kissed the side of Thomas’s neck, over his pulse. Thomas whimpered. Unable to hold his legs up anymore he let them dangle over the edge.

James pulled out of him. When he lifted his head fully and met Thomas’s gaze Thomas gave him a toothy smile, still breathing hard.

“I love you,” said James.

Thomas brushed his thumb over James’s lip.

“My truest love,” Thomas mumbled back, his speech slurred with his euphoria and his drowsiness.

James insisted that Thomas read him at least a page from his treatise before they went to sleep. So after climbing into bed he did so, deciding to read not what he had just written that day but rather from the previous day’s work. In it he spoke about the equality of the middle class and how, in a democratic environment, men and women could not only create policies and laws but could also live equally, if given the opportunity. He also spoke—albeit briefly—about the possibilities this could open for Love in all its forms. He had not gone into further detail with that. But it was a start. And James smiled at him.

“Clever,” he said again sleepily.

Thomas kissed the top of his nose.

“Thank you,” he said.

***

[ellenembee]

The Revelation of All Things - 46. In which confidence looks good on her

Read the full fic on AO3.

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Evana spent her first two nights in the Exalted Plains with a Dalish clan she'd found near the area where Solas left her. She had no idea whether he'd known of the clan before he departed, but she was grateful to have found the other elves, nonetheless. Even as skilled a mage as she was, no good could come from being alone in a hostile region. Thanks to her vallaslin and her place as First of another clan, the elves accepted her without question, and she spent hours at a time speaking with their Keeper, Hawen, and learning about the region, their customs and anything else he might tell her. She felt herself on the verge of homesickness - even this Dalish clan so far removed from her own had many similar rituals and beliefs.

However, relations became decidedly icy after the Inquisition scouts - outsiders - arrived to find her. She went through the motions to regain the favor of the clan, of course, but the veil had been lifted. Evana could not feel the same about them again. The nostalgia and longing for clan life dissipated as if it had never been.

In the days since then, she'd methodically fought through the glut of undead roaming the Dirthavaren - or the Exalted Plains as the humans now called it. Once she found her companions, Bull and Blackwall and Cole had been indispensable in cutting through the hordes. Together, they reclaimed the Orlesian army's eastern and western ramparts from the undead. A little immolation spell took care of the pits from which they were rising. The warring Orlesian troops that had scattered at the sight of the undead soon returned to hold the ramparts. Some grumbled at the news she brought that Celene held the undisputed position as Empress of Orlais, but none challenged her.

Now, sitting around the Inquisition campfire, she stretched out her aching limbs and tried to master a different kind of homesickness. The weeks of traveling and fighting off wave after wave of undead had left her feeling rather frazzled. A hot bath, a warm bed and the strong - and hopefully welcoming - arms of a certain military commander filled her thoughts more often than not.

"Here's our latest map of all the rifts we can find, Your Worship."

Evana looked up to find Scout Harding holding out a piece of parchment. Evana took it automatically and stared at it for a moment before she registered the dwarf's words. And now I get to go do the job I came here for in the first place, close all the rifts. The marks were scattered all over the map. It would take days to travel to them all.

"Oh. Thank you, Lace."

"And here's the latest correspondence from Skyhold."

Evana received the additional pile of papers with trepidation. "A letter from Leliana scolding me for rushing to the Exalted Plains before she was ready for me, no doubt?"

"No, I think that thinly veiled, angry message I passed on when we first arrived was all she planned... until your return, that is." Lace gave Evana a wink and then sobered. "But I think you might find the top letter to be of interest. By the writing, I'd say it's from the Commander, and it looks urgent."

Evana's heart jumped into her throat. He'd written to her? She felt a pang of guilt that she had yet to send him a letter. She'd attempt one several times already but always got stuck within the first few sentences. If only Varric were here.

But he wasn't. And she'd barely been able to get through her daily reports, let alone a letter to someone she wasn't sure wanted to hear from her.

She held the letter in her hands and simply stared at it for a few moments. As always, she admired his heavy letter forms flowing boldly across the page, even if it only said, "For the Inquisitor: to be delivered as soon as possible."

"They are right. She needs to hear it from me. He knows it will hurt you. But it will help, too."

Cole's voice whispered to her from her left. She stared at the letter another moment and then looked up at the boy.

"What will hurt me?"

"It's in the letter. He speaks it in his own words - like you wanted. Or really, the words Varric helped him get out."

Cullen had gone to Varric for help? He must have been desperate indeed to request help from the sarcastic dwarf. Her panic ratcheted up another notch.

"No, no," came Cole's distressed voice. "Not what you think. Not that. Open the letter!"

Cole wanted to help so badly, but he'd clearly been holding back the entire trip. She was impressed that he'd remembered their conversation about privacy at all. His eyes begged her, so despite her fear, she ripped open the seal and unfolded the letter. The salutation calmed her immediately, even if the rest of the letter caused her heart to drop to her stomach.

Dearest Evana,

It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that your clan is once again in danger. We received a note from Leliana's agent Jester, who has been watching the situation in Wycome. Clan Lavellan is currently safe, but they are being blamed for a "plague" affecting only the human population in Wycome. We are unsure of the truth - Jester is collecting more information - but neither my nor Leliana's agents can move without fear of triggering a swift retribution against your clan.

Josephine has sent an ambassador to get close to Duke Antoine of Wycome and find out what is happening inside the city. We apologize for making this decision without your input, but we thought it best to move quickly, especially considering diplomacy seems to be our only real option at this time. We expect to hear from Josephine's ambassador, a Lady Guinevere Volant, in the next few weeks.

I wish there were more I could do, but the tenuous situation has my hands tied. We will simply have to wait. Know that our thoughts - my thoughts - are with you during this uneasy time. Not much can be done from Skyhold at this time, so you may wish to remain where you are and finish your work in the Exalted Plains. However, your advisors would also welcome your immediate return should you so choose. I hope you will be able to return and assist in the decisions relating to your clan in the very near future.

On a separate but somewhat related matter, the laborers you requested to rebuild the destroyed section of the bridge across the Enavuris River have been dispatched and should be arriving within the week.

And on a personal note... Would you come find me as soon as is convenient for you after your arrival at Skyhold? Thanks and apologies are due.

Your ever faithful Commander,

C.

PS - Varric assisted in the writing of this letter, so I cannot take credit for any of the more... descriptive language. The sentiment, however, is very much my own.

Cole's voice was calm, and he smiled at her for what seemed like the first time since they'd left Skyhold. "The letter helped more than hurt. That's good."

Evana knew she should be more upset. Her clan faced danger again. And she truly did feel a clutching at her heart that Keeper Deshanna, Vash'an, her mother, and all the others were in real and mortal danger. But Cullen's greeting, final paragraph and especially his closing lifted a weight from her shoulders and made her feel as though everything would turn out alright in the end. Although she was unsure what thanks and apologies he thought were due to her, he clearly felt better, and her advisors seemed to have things well in hand. She stood up suddenly and crossed over to where Lace sat with Blackwall and Bull.

"Lace, I need parchment for a reply letter."

"Of course, Your Worship." The dwarf stood and retrieved a piece of parchment from the supply tent. When she returned, her voice reflected her concern. "Is everything alright?"

Evana sighed. "No, I'm afraid not. My clan appears to be in grave danger yet again from the nobles in Wycome. I need to respond to the Commander's letter as soon as possible. Do we have a raven?"

"Yes, Inquisitor. I thought you might need to make a reply, so I held off on sending your report."

Evana smiled at her. "That's why you're the best. What would I do without you, Lace?"

Lace smirked. "Probably get yourself killed."

Bull laughed and smacked the red-headed dwarf on the back. "Likely. Very likely."

Evana smiled faintly and walked back to her blanket on the ground. Where before she struggled for words, her pen now flew easily across the page to express her thanks to her advisors for their swift action as well as assure one advisor in particular that she would come see him as soon as she could when she returned. When she'd finished the letter, she folded it and took it back to Scout Harding.

"So, we leavin' tomorrow, boss?"

Evana took a deep breath and shook her head as she sat down next to the Qunari. As much as she wanted to run back to Skyhold, back to Cullen, she couldn't justify it.

"No. There is nothing more I could do at Skyhold, and the people here need us to finish what we started. We stay."

 **

 The laborers arrived four days later along with a full contingent of soldiers to fortify and hold the Inquisition camps she'd established throughout the region. Evana spent her days closing rifts and seeking out additional lost shards, so she wasn't able to check up on their progress for several days.

It took nearly a week, but the laborers eventually erected a somewhat dubious-looking wooden addition to the partially destroyed stone bridge. It served its purpose, however, and the next morning, her party crossed the river, killed the horde of undead waiting for them and reclaimed the fortress beyond. The Orlesian soldiers trapped there were overjoyed to see her. As she and her companions crossed back over the bridge, Evana looked over at Bull.

"We've done all we can here... I think it's time to get back to Skyhold. What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me, boss. We've got another dragon killing to celebrate."

She smirked and raised an imaginary glass to him. "To dragons!"

"Yeaah! You aren't going to wimp out on me just because I got you a little drunk the last time, are you? You're gonna drink with me, right?"

"Absolutely. Actually, I'd like to get to know your Chargers a bit better, too. Perhaps we can all share a drink?"

Often, she found the Iron Bull hard to read. Ben-Hassrath training made it impossible to tell what he really thought about things. But in this case, the satisfied grin that spread across his face at her suggestion was undeniable.

"That would be a helluva thing, boss. Just let me know when you're ready to get shit-faced with the Chargers."

"Will do. I'm sure my advisors will keep me busy, but I can certainly spare an evening for the finest mercenary group in Thedas."

"Damn straight." Bull paused but then added in a more serious tone, "If you don't mind me saying so, you seem to have a new sort of confidence about you lately."

Evana blushed slightly. "I do? Uh, I mean, thank you, Bull. I'm just doing my job, though."

"Well, maybe you're just more used to being the boss, but you look more comfortable in your own boots than I think I've ever seen you. So whatever you're doing to pep talk yourself or give yourself a kick in the pants, keep it up. It looks damn good on you."

She didn't really know what to say, so she just nodded and smiled at him. The last few weeks had been hard, but she had noticed that things seemed to be falling into place more often. And maybe that did have something to do with confidence. The more she believed in herself as Inquisitor, the more likely others were to believe in her as well. The peace talks had gone better than she'd ever dreamed they would, and both Celene and Briala had credited her with that. She'd thought she would be faking it the entire time, but her interactions with Florianne had left her reeling at her own successes. She'd beaten the Grand Duchess at her own game. Maybe she wasn't faking. Maybe she was truly, actually, really getting good at this Inquisitor business. It was a thought she pondered the entire trip back to Skyhold.

The companions rode into Skyhold in the late afternoon more than a full month after departing. Even having missed the entire month of Wintermarch, the cold of the mountain winter cut to the quick. Despite the shining sun and cloudless sky, the wind bit at her cheeks and made her ears turn red. She pulled out a new hat and gloves and brought the soft wool up to rub at her cold nose. With a sudden pang of regret, she realized that the ones the nice woman made for her in Haven were gone - burned or buried along with everything else in decimated town. She wondered briefly, guiltily, if the woman herself had made it out. She'd never bothered to check.

As they rode in, she'd seen Cullen on the battlements and was relieved when he waved to them. With more than a little impatience, she handed off the reins to the stable hand, collected her saddlebags and took the back stairs up to the great hall. She almost took the other stairs and went directly to Cullen, but one look down at the sweat and dirt covering her body convinced her otherwise. Dragon blood, demon gore and undead entrails weren't the most romantic sights and smells with which to greet your lover. She might have also been a little nervous about what he had to say. Maybe.

She made the small jog from the middle door to her own in the great hall and took the stairs two at a time. When she opened the door to her quarters, a soft, floral aroma wafted down the stairwell. She topped the stairs to see a bath and more new clothes laid out for her. Maker bless you, Josephine.

She froze. She'd often jokingly used the Andrastian curses and phrases, especially with Varric, but this was the first time she'd done it without thinking... in her internal dialogue.

"Damn Andrastians rubbing off on me," she grumbled under her breath, but in the next moment, she laughed aloud. "When with the Chantry folk, blaspheme like the Chantry folk, I suppose."

Dropping her bags and quickly stripping down, she dipped her hand into the water and heated it. It took a few moments, but soon steam rolled enticingly from the water. She slid down into the tub and let out a giant sigh. After nearly a month of nothing but quick clean-ups in streams and rivers, the hot water felt like a balm to her weary soul. A knock on her door roused her from her thoughts.

"Who is it?" she called out. "I'm... uh... currently indisposed."

She heard the lock click and the door creak on its hinges. Evana tensed for a moment before Josephine's accented tones floated up the stairwell.

"I heard you had arrived, Inqui- that is... Evana. Is everything to your liking?"

"Oh, absolutely, Josie. Come on up, if you like. Otherwise, I can find you later."

"If you're sure it won't be a bother..."

"Nonsense, Josie. We Dalish don't have your Andrastian hang-ups about nudity. Besides, I'm always happy to talk with you."

The soft swish of silk filled the quiet room as Josie ascended the staircase. Soon, the Antivan's black braids emerged followed by the rest of her diplomatic advisor. Evana smiled at the other woman as she reached for the scented soap on the table next to her.

"I hope things have been going smoothly here since I've been away?"

"Yes, for the most part. There are many details we - your advisors - need to speak with you about, but overall, things are running smoothly. Cullen has..." Josie stopped a few feet away from the tub and looked at Evana with a strange mixture of hesitancy and nervousness. Before Evana could formulate a question, however, Josie began again. "Cullen has been moving forward with the assault plans, but things are taking longer than we'd hoped. It will likely be another few weeks before we are ready to move on Adamant. He can explain further when we next meet."

Josie's pause made Evana nervous, but she also felt a great wave of relief that she wouldn't have to run right back out into the field just yet. But the ambassador still hadn't mentioned the topic she most wanted to hear about.

"Have we... have you heard from your ambassador to Wycome, yet?"

"Yes. A letter arrived two days ago. You were already on your way back, or we'd have notified you sooner."

"Well?" Evana replied eagerly. "Don't keep me in suspense, Josie! What did it say? What's going on? Is my clan still in danger?"

Josie sighed. "Unfortunately, it seems things are coming to a head in Wycome. Lady Volant discovered that the illness is actually being caused by red lyrium in the wells. She advises against direct force and instead suggests we bring your clan inside the city walls for protection. Cullen is... well, the red lyrium is worrisome for him, and he'd like to send troops anyway. Whatever we do, it must be soon."

Evana stared at the soap still in her hands, the mild but heady scent trying its best to calm her even as her heart beat wildly with anxiety. Red lyrium? That likely meant the Venatori were mixed up in this somehow as well. Things just keep getting better and better.

"May I read your diplomat's letter?" she finally inquired after a long pause, looking up at Josie with a worried expression.

"Of course. We can arrange to meet and discuss the options further as soon as you're done here if you like."

Evana sat in silence for a moment more before starting to lather a cloth. "Let's meet in an hour. There's... something I need to do first."

Josie nodded. "I'll arrange it. If you need more time than that, let me know."

"I will. And thank you, Josie. For everything. Before you leave, what is this soap? The scent is lovely."

Josie let out her first real smile since coming up the stairs and began backing away. "Essence of Crystal Grace. I once heard our Commander say it was a favorite scent of his."

Evana's cheeks flamed. "Oh! You sneak!"

Josie laughed as Evana tried to splash a bit of water at her, but the ambassador had already backed out of range. Their illustrious diplomat giggled like a schoolgirl and skipped lightly down the stairs, leaving Evana holding a bar of soap and grinning like a mad woman.

Eventually, she shook herself out of her foolish thoughts, worry for her clan and for the upcoming conversation with Cullen overriding everything else. She finished washing and then dressed in the new clothes Josie had set out for her - wool leggings and a long, heavy wrap dress. Tying one flap to the inside of the dress, she pulled the outside flap snugly across her torso and fastened the ornate, silverite clasps. The v-neck made by the two sides was a bit low for her taste, but as she looked at herself in the glass, she couldn't fault Josie. The cut and charcoal color complimented her pale skin and hair.

She then braided her damp hair and pulled a few wisps out to frame her unadorned face. There. As good as it's going to get.

The walk to Cullen's tower felt interminable. Every person she met wished to greet her and welcome her back to Skyhold. Some had questions. Most were just new to Skyhold and wanted a chance to speak with her.  Usually, she was more than happy to speak with and reassure residents and visitors alike, but right now, she desperately wished she could just run directly to Cullen's tower.

She passed though Solas' empty office on the way. She assumed he was still away, mourning the death of his friend. Part of her wondered if he would come back at all. After their time together in the Fade, she'd felt closer to him than ever before. Even still, the pang of regret she felt at the idea of him not returning to Skyhold surprised her. There was so much more she could learn from him. And as much as she tried to ignore it, she was drawn to him. Or rather, her magic seemed to reach out for his. She couldn't explain it further and didn't think she wanted to.

She hurried out of the room, leaving the puzzling thoughts and feelings behind her. Once she made it across the breezeway, she paused outside Cullen's door.

This is it. There's nothing to be afraid of. Where's that new-found confidence when you need it?

She took a deep breath and opened the door. The room was dark compared to the late afternoon light, and it took her a few moments to adjust. A voice called out on her left. "The Commander isn't here, Inquisitor. I believe he went for a walk on the battlements."

Her eyes finally adjusted to see Malia, Cullen's messenger, sorting through missives next to his desk. Evana worked to keep the blush from her cheeks as she responded.

"Oh, yes... thank you. I'll just... see if I can find him, then."

She quickly exited his office, headed to the abandoned tower - their tower - and took the stairs to the top. He faced away from her, looking out toward the mountains, so she approached slowly, giving him time to hear her coming. He began speaking before he even turned around.

"I wanted to thank you..."

She felt a small thrill as he turned and his hazel eyes fell on her. He looked so much healthier, so strong...

"... when you came to see me... if there's anything..."

And he was nervous. He raised a hand to the back of his neck, looked away from her, exhaled in a breathy laugh and then dropped his hand to his side.

"This sounded much better in my head."

She gave him an encouraging smile. "I trust you're feeling better."

Her voice sounded loud in her ears. He glanced at her and then turned his head to the side again as he answered.

"I... yes."

"Is it always... that bad?"

He glanced in her direction. The butterflies that had been building in her stomach seemed to expand and fill her whole body as he spoke.

"The pain comes and goes, but sometimes... I feel as if I'm back there..." He turned away yet again, as if he couldn't bear to meet her gaze for more than a few seconds at a time, and looked off to his left. "I should not have pushed myself so far that day."

She took a step toward him. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"I am."

His half smile reassured her, but then he turned back to the battlements, facing away from her completely. What was this? This was the thanks, clearly. According to his letter, he still had an apology to go. But his body language shut her out. She tried to shove down the panic and instead joined him at the wall to look out at the breath-taking vista. The mountain valley, bathed in the golden light of the afternoon, stretched out for miles before them and boasted row after row of tents proclaiming the extent of their forces. His forces.

She looked over and saw him swallow. Finally, he gave her a sidelong glance before facing the mountains again. "I've never told anyone what truly happened to me at Ferelden's Circle. I was... not myself after that. I was angry. For years, that anger blinded me. I'm not proud of the man that made me. The way I saw mages... I'm not sure I would have cared about you, and the thought of that sickens me." He glanced at her again. "Now I can put some distance between myself and everything that happened. It's a start."

He'd.... never told anyone before? She was the first person he'd told about the horrible things that happened to him? An elven apostate mage? It was humbling and terrifying. The hesitancy in his voice as he spoke tore at her heart. Did he think she would no longer care for him because of the person he'd been in the past?

"For what it's worth, I like who you are now."

Slowly, he turned his whole body toward her, a hopeful kind of unbelief now written all over his face. "Even after...?"

She exhaled sharply and closed the distance between them in two steps. Gripping his upper arms, she looked directly into his eyes.

"Cullen, I care about you. You've done nothing - said nothing - to change that, ma vhenan."

Reaching up, she pulled his head down and stood on her toes to gently press a kiss to his lips. She felt him smile against her mouth as his arms snaked around her. He lightly kissed her back before pulling away to rest his forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry I missed seeing you off," he whispered.

Ah, finally. Here's the apology. "I would rather you get the sleep you need than have you wake up early to wave me off on a trip. I did miss you... but then, I always miss you when you're not around."

He breathed in tremulously. "And I you."

A short pause followed in which she thrilled at being in his arms again, and then he moved to kiss her cheek. His lips moved slowly over her face, pressing light kisses against her skin, and when he reached her neck, he inhaled deeply several times. After the third inhale, he let out a soft, pleased hum.

"You smell amazing."

Caught up in the feel of his lips on her skin, Evana let out a small, breathy laugh. "Thank you. Josie got me some new soap."

"I'll have to remember to thank her, then."

Evana let out her own hum of approval as he shifted to wrap more of himself around her. She let her arms slide down to rest against his breastplate, and he rested his cheek lightly against her temple. After a few moments, however, he pulled back to look at her.

"What about you? You have troubles of your own. How are you holding up?"

She smiled up at him wryly. "With my clan in danger and Corypheus breathing down my neck, I sometimes feel like everything is slipping through my fingers. But I've met good people here. Knowing they have my back... it helps."

Cullen smirked, his scar tilting upward and his eyes glowing molten honey in the late afternoon sun. Evana's heart soared even as her pulse quickened. Creators, he was just so beautiful.

"You certainly keep interesting company," he said playfully. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he chuckled before adding, "I suppose I do as well."

"They are a diverse group of companions," she allowed, "but they each have their special talents. It makes the Inquisition stronger as a whole."

Cullen pulled her against him again and hummed his agreement. After another short pause, he added tentatively, "Did- did the trip go alright? I mean, I read your reports, but did you feel... entirely yourself?"

Evana tried to understand his meaning. Was he asking about her physical state? Or something else?

"I suppose I felt alright most of the time. It's always tiring, but I had a job to do. So, I mostly focused on getting it done. I didn't have much time to think about anything else. Bull did say that he thought I looked more confident during this trip. So I guess that's something." She gave a small, forced laugh. When Cullen didn't respond immediately, she continued. "Seeing Solas was unexpected, but the journey gave us time to get to know each other better. We walked the Fade that night, and he taught me how to safely engage memories. There's so much I could learn from him... but then he left me alone in the Exalted Plains." She laughed into Cullen's shoulder. "I sort of wanted to punch him for that, but only for a couple of days. Bull might still feel inclined, though. He was livid when they found me alone days later. Well, not really alone, but you know what I mean. For his own sake, it's probably good that Solas wasn't here when we got back."

"Yes."

Evana was a little surprised at the low growl in Cullen's voice and looked up at him tentatively. "I take it you have a problem with his actions as well?"

"I certainly wouldn't leave a companion to fend for themselves in a hostile region simply because I was broken up about the loss of another friend. That seems like the best way to lose two friends instead of just the one."

She hadn't really thought of it that way, but it made sense. "I guess he figured I was skilled enough to make it a day or two until I found my companions or the Inquisition soldiers. Luckily, the Dalish clan was nearby."

Cullen hummed, this time clearly in disapproval, and pulled her closer. Even after months proving herself as the dangerous, capable and all-important Herald of Andraste, it still amused her how protective some of her companions could be. Cullen had double the reason, she supposed.

"How did you... feel, being among the Dalish once more?"

His question seemed innocent, but she could sense the deeper meaning behind it. She carefully formed her words to be as reassuring as possible.

"It was nice at first. They were welcoming, and I enjoyed being among them again. But when the Inquisition scouts arrived, I was reminded of all the reasons I never felt truly at home with my clan. It certainly made me appreciate all the friends I've made here."

His voice came soft and hesitant as his lips rested against her temple. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged as she leaned against him. "I don't know. I understand why the Dalish are that way - I suppose I used to be that way, too - but almost from the beginning, I've felt freer, more at home with the Inquisition than I ever did with my clan. Do you remember back in those first days at Haven when you found me in the tree?"

"Yes. I remember," Cullen affirmed quietly.

"I was up in that tree, pretending to get away, but even then I felt it - the freedom to learn and grow as I'd never been able to with my clan." She shrugged again. "I suppose the Inquisition has become a home for me. If we win this... I mean, when we defeat Corypheus... I don't know what I'll do. My clan is in danger, which makes things more difficult, but even if we all make it through this and they would allow me to return - which is doubtful - I don't really want to."

Cullen pulled back, so she looked up at him. His brow furrowed in concentration, and his eyes searched hers. For what, she couldn't tell, but the intensity of his gaze disconcerted her. They had only been together a short time now, and she knew he wanted to take things slowly - try to get this right. But did that mean for good... or only for as long as the Inquisition kept them together? She gave an awkward laugh and glanced away before looking at him again.

"Sorry. That sounds strange. We have a lot to deal with before that happens, don't we? Speaking of which, your messenger is in your office to let you know I've called for a war council meeting in a few minutes."

He smiled, pulled her close and sighed into her hair. "Then we'll go in a few minutes."

"No arguments here."

Creators, she had missed this. Enjoying his company. Being in his arms. She felt valued and safe here with him. And there was a kindredship, too. He was a little broken, just like her. He was trying to be a better person, just like her.

Suddenly, Evana felt something pelt her in the back of the head. Then a riotous giggle. She and Cullen flew apart, and Evana turned to find Sera's head popping out from the stairway to launch something else at them. Cullen reached out and caught whatever it was right before it hit her in the face. His look of confusion mirrored her own as he opened his hand to find it contained a tiny, shriveled fruit.

Raisins.

Cullen jerked a little and his eyes snapped shut as another raisin hit him on the cheek. He opened them again and gave Evana a long-suffering look.

"Cully and Inky sitting in a tree, f-u-c-"

"Sera!"