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st_abbyContinued from the relationship talk here.
He reached to tuck her hair back behind her ear, then tried skimming two fingers around the curve, looking into her eyes. "...Anything? Or is it just me after all?"
Sometimes, he said things that struck her as so 'her world', not his. "And chill," for example. She almost said something about it before he touched her ear and...oh, yeah, that was super different when someone else did it. She shivered, the feeling darting through her whole body deliciously. "Not just you. I mean, I know ears are, what's the word..." They'd talked about it in her human sexuality class. "Erogenous zones." She could think of a few others as well.
"Are you certain?" He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the drop of her earlobe, seeing if there was another lovely shiver to be had. "You're not just humoring me, are you?" He fit his lips delicately at the shell of Steph's ear, giving it a barely-there suck.
Steph gasped and giggled at the same time as his kiss both tickled and sent another shot of pleasure through her. She tilted her head instinctively, lashes fluttering. "I didn't say they weren't sensitive, you know. I just said yours were more sensitive." She wet her lips and refused to squirm. "I could have been wrong."
He drew back in time to see Steph wet her lips and stubbornly not-squirm, her delighted little sounds and the flit of her lashes having a surprisingly deep effect on him he'd be hard-put to explain. She warmed him without even touching him, in his heart and lower places, all at once.
"I don't mind if you're right," came the slightly delayed response. "Any parts you'd rather have nibbled..."
The soft suggestion in his ridiculously hot accent gave her all kinds of ideas. She turned her head, and leaned in, close enough that her cheek brushed his before her lips grazed his ear. "Actually, I was thinking of asking you the same thing." There was still so much of him she hadn't yet put her mouth on.
Bloody hell. That was hot. She was hot. He inhaled slowly to steady himself, tipping back his face to brush her lips with his before he melted into a useless puddle. "Want me to show you how the armor comes off?"
She smiled, fast and bright and eager, and nipped at his mouth. "I've been trying to figure it out since I got here." Whether she meant in the room today or at the inn months ago was unclear. "Is it trapped? Mine can be trapped."
"It isn't trapped, exactly," Vax explained, pushing away the memories of the sunken tomb where the armor had been found and what it had cost. "But it is magic." And bound up with a death goddess. He'd never seen it harm anyone though, the box it came in notwithstanding, so he didn't think she needed warnings to go with.
He took both of Steph's hands and guided them to the shoulders of his feathery cloak, setting her thumbs and fingers to show her how the strong clasps released.
She pressed them open and lifted the cloak off his shoulders, letting it fall behind him. It had a heavy sound, the way her cape sounded when she thought about it, weightier than it appeared. "What kind of magic? I know about the wings." She leaned back a little, to get a better look at the tunic, seeking ...not a zipper? Laces? Buttons?
It was hard to tell at a glance where to begin - the polished leather of the Deathwalker's Ward armor was inscribed all over with artful runes, layers of ridges and straps and buckles all of the same almost uncanny blackness. It was beautifully crafted, but there was something distinctly primal to that beauty, once it was paid attention to. Like the quiet of the deep woods in the night during winter, where your unconscious mind insisted something watched and waited for you to enter.
"The death-magic makes me a bit harder to kill, for one. It also can better protect me from different kinds of harm - fire, cold, acid, whathaveyou." Vax lead Steph's hands to show her by touch where she would find the matched black straps and buckles that held one shoulder of his breastplate tight, also lacing with the hard cup that protected his shoulder. This... Was clearly going to take a few minutes.
"That's useful." When he pointed out the first of the straps, it became easier to find the next. They were secured tight, but nothing she couldn't handle. There was something delightfully intimate about this, something that made it worth taking her time about. It meant learning about him as much as the armor. "How does it do against bullets or...I guess you said only Percy has those?" The Kevlar in her Robin and Batgirl uniforms had saved her from more hits than she could count over the years. The Spoiler costume hadn't had anything like it.
"It's good, sturdy armor against whatever wants to wail on me, for the most part - but no supernatural buffer against your usual weapons and injuries," he admitted, watching Steph unwrap and unravel. Once loosened enough, the armor broke away into smaller pieces, with more lacings and hinges and straps and buckles to keep them in place. Breastplate, shoulder, arm, bracer, pieces fitted for thighs and knees and calves. There were also more black fabric layers to unpeel beneath. Padded shirt, leggings, stockings. And a very nice set of accessories besides - boots, gloves, the three daggers in their sheaths, a belt, the raven skull, and the single black feather woven into one of his braids. With all of the black-on-black, most eyes would never make out all their secrets, even if they looked. "I mean, you hit any armor hard enough, someone is going to take damage."
The layers of it were the most fascinating for Steph. For all that her uniforms were complicated, they didn't have much to them. The cape and cowl, the pieces of armor, the belt, the boots and gloves, then below that, simple underthings. With Vax's armor, it was a much deeper process, with dozens of interesting pieces to take note of. She shifted to her knees and sat on her heels, making it easier to set each piece aside as she worked. "I won't argue with that. I've broken my arm and my leg in uniform. The best armor in the world won't stop a bad fall. Gotham's got a lot of guns. Not a lot of death-magic." She worked open his belt and pulled it away from him, coiling it up before she set it aside. She worked her hands under his padded shirt and lifted it over his head.
Vax was sure this was really very significant, though he couldn't put his finger to the exact way in which it was. Being undressed by a beautiful new girlfriend was, yes, rather intimate and pretty hot in this context. It was something only Keyleth had ever really done for him before. And there was something to her helping him put aside the mantle of the obligations looming over him always. It was all of those things, but more than just the sum, he guessed.
He obliged as needed, helping to get the shirt off, long hair tumbling back down his shoulders in a splash once he'd got that done. The cool air on his skin after being wrapped up in the armor all day was always refreshing. But doing it with someone... Was also refreshing, he thought.
"...Do you think I'm crazy? What with all the talk about death magic and goddesses I can't much prove."
She paused in her undressing of him to enjoy the view. He was astonishingly...beautiful, was the right word, even though she wouldn't usually use it for a guy. But it worked for Vax. Lean and graceful, pale skin with splashes of dark ink. He made her mouth go dry just looking at him. "Do you think I am because I come from a place without magic? You're from somewhere I don't understand. But I don't have any reason to think you're not right about it. Boots off, please."
"There's magic here, though. It's falling out all over the place, where you can see it." He reached to tug off his boots, one following the other as he dropped them lightly to the floor and pushed them aside with a foot.
Stephanie watched the boots hit the floor. "Here at the Inn? Sure, but whatever this place is, it's not exactly the same as my world." She leaned forward, brushed a kiss over his shoulder, while her fingers swiftly unlaced the front of his pants then gestured for him to stand, so she could help him out of them. "So many of the things you tell me about magic...we can do them in my world, but we use technology instead. Your earrings, they're like the comm in my suit. Your armor and my armor protect us in different ways. But others? The healing stuff especially. That's what seems the most miraculous to me."
To be perfectly honest, he was only half-listening to what she was saying about magic. That was as much as Vax could focus on her words, with her hands at work over his groin and the butterfly glance of her lips at his shoulder. He knew he should attend the chit-chat, he knew she enjoyed a good banter, but really... He stood at her urging, though he caught one of her hands before it could go about its intended business. Vax pressed the cup of her palm over the swell in his lap through the black cloth, eyes straying to her mouth. "The part of that I heard was how lovely your lips are. How soft and pink and kissable. And you're totally, completely right. How do you even have conversations without distracting everybody from what you're saying?"
Her mouth curved into a slow smile, as she looked up at him through her lashes. She pressed forward lightly with the heel of her palm, then slipped from the bed to the floor, sinking to her knees. "I can usually get their attention when I really need it." Freeing her hand from his, she peeled the flap open and leaned forward, tracing the cut of his hip with a slow, trailing kiss. "Remember that question about other places to nibble?"
Part of him certainly did, thickening with want. Keyleth being cock-shy... How long had it even been, his body wanted to know, since he'd been sucked?
"You have my entire attention," Vax told her, watching her move down him intently. "I want to feel your lips on me, Steph," his voice went a touch lower, huskier, a hand reaching to brush her golden hair.
Before he'd made her mouth go dry, now it watered, tongue curling in anticipation of the taste of him. It had been a long damn time since she'd gotten to do this, which was a shame because she loved it. She loved looking up and seeing that look in his eyes, hearing his voice go rough with want, feeling his hand on her hair - restrained for the moment but how long would that last? There was something powerful about this, being on her knees but still having control.
She worked the tight leather down his thighs, amusing herself by chasing the reveal with her mouth and ignoring the insistent rise of his cock just brushing her cheek. She made her leisurely way back up and captured the hard length of him in her hand. "Let me know what you like," she murmured, close enough that she knew her breath had to be felt on the sensitive head just beyond her lips. Enough teasing, she thought and opened her lips around him, tasting the heavy musky richness of his cock. Her eyes closed on a moan.
He adored that she teased him, but didn't draw things out into some over-wrought game when they were both already ripe and eager to get on with it. But 'adored' wasn't the right word, when she descended on him with wet warmth and her own pleasure so pure his cock jerked responsively in her hold, in her mouth. His hand at her hair had curled into all grasping fingers without his telling them to, and the handful of her hair was another kind of soft, another sort of pleasure to go with the others. "Slowly," he made out, somewhere between his own dry gape and swallow. "And - with your hands. I want your hands to know my dick, my balls, my thighs..."
She hardly needed encouragement to touch and taste, to savor instead of rushing. Part of it was simply that it had been a long time and she needed to remember how to do this. The rest was just enjoyment of the experience. She kept her eyes closed and let her other senses do the exploration. Her hands roamed, over his cock, down over the soft soft skin of his balls, along the smooth length of his thighs and around to the firm muscles of his ass. Her mouth learned just as greedily, with the blunt head of his dick on her tongue and lips, the sharp taste of pre-come, the slick salt of his skin. She brought a hand back and wrapped it around him, so she could glide her lips down the length of his shaft and taste his sac where her hands had so recently touched. Mostly she ignored his grip on her hair, unless he seemed to need her somewhere else.
The build of it was headier, more deliberately intense and complete, for her willingness to take her time with him. He could appreciate her all the more, the patterns of her hands on his body, the bob of her face over his length, and the simple awareness that Steph was here, with him, that they could have this all in their own time. That's what the hand in her hair was for - not to force or control, but to have and hold, to keep himself actively touching her instead of all the other way around.
Vax did catch one of her hands, though, guiding it back to where she'd squeezed his tight ass. He placed her smaller fingers with purpose at the tight clench between his cheeks, gasping for a breath to speak. "There, Steph. Tease me there while I'm in your mouth."
That was a surprise, and new for her. Not in concept, but the request. Still, she didn't have to ask if he meant it. There was nothing faked or forced about his desire. And frankly, it was crazy hot. With a lingering swipe of her tongue along the underside of his cock, she moved back to take him into her mouth again. At the same time, she worked her fingers into the hot crevice of his ass, fingers seeking the tight pucker there. As her finger brushed over it for the first time, she hummed inquisitively. This was what he wanted?
The slide and fit of her mouth along with the first stroke of her finger over his asshole put a sweet, sharp shiver up Vax's spine, hips hitching instinctively for more of her. "Gods, yes," he told the thrum of a question mark punctuated on his prick. "I want it. I want you."
She hummed again, pleased. She lifted her eyes up to watch his face as she worked her mouth down over him, cheeks going hollow, and slowly but insistently, pressed a finger forward past the ring of muscle and into his ass. Her own hips rocked instinctively, thighs clenching. She was pretty sure that if she'd touched herself instead of him, she'd go off like a fucking pipe bomb.
He closed his eyes, and moaned, both breathy and ecstatically throaty and more than he'd let himself in... He didn't remember, and it didn't matter. His body resisted the push of her finger, for a moment, then eased to let the digit fill him. Everything was Stephanie, her giving mouth with those pretty pink lips that had started all of this, her finger fucking him, so kind, and it was fucking beauty to be penetrated while she sucked him. He wanted to come in her so badly now, without the uncomfortable constraints of a condom, and he began to ease himself carefully back and forth between her face and finger, shifting with need. He meant to say something, but he was too full of rightness and pleasure and Stephanie to do anything but move more urgently against her.
As he began to move, it was actually easier to hold still, relax her jaw and let him take what he needed. Watching his face was a revelation, the kind of abandon that made this one of her favorite things to do for a partner. And having her finger in him, knowing that it made it better for him - how did you find a prostate? Was it like the g-spot where you just had to hope? Human sexuality class had failed her there. Steph crooked her finger experimentally, seeking a reaction.
To be clear, Vax didn't need any encouragement to come. He'd mostly been trying to stay with this moment, this act, to drink it in deep, to keep something of it with him in body and memory for as long as he could. But Steph got to exploring him with her finger, and all at once she found. His hand at her hair clenched white-knuckle tight without meaning to, hips thrusting full, and he shook and groaned and his knees were all but water as he poured his release into her.
She swallowed. Of course, she swallowed. It wasn't that she liked it so much as she liked the response it got. She liked seeing the smug and wondering look when she licked the last drop of her lips, she liked tasting every last pulse and shake and making it her own. And right now, she liked that Vax was entirely hers. She stayed with him until he was done, and gently eased away, drawing her finger out at the same time. She lifted her face toward him, knowing her mouth was wet and red and used.
He unclenched his hands, let them fall to her shoulders for balance as much as comfort, and (not without some measure of grace) let himself stumble down onto his knees. It was good to look her in the eyes as he joined her on the floor, to communicate love and exuberance and the thing they'd just shared in a glance. Vax kissed her, because he had to, first gentle presses of his lips meant to soothe the bruised red mess he'd made of her mouth. Then he deepened the kiss, soft but sure, coaxing her used tongue with his only to taste what he'd given her in his own mouth. He hummed a faint note.
Stephanie moaned as he kissed her, her whole body still keyed up. She was flushed all over, as greedy for his kiss as he'd been for her mouth. And yet, at the moment, she was also as willing to let him lead as she'd been pleased to take control. Content to let her hands roam his bare skin as long as he'd allow it.
"You make me so happy," Vax told her once he eased the kiss apart. "I mean, not just doing that... But that, too." ...It had sounded better in his head.
He bowed his head to kiss her throat, a hand sliding slowly from her clothed knee up along her inner thigh. His hand came to rest there, either waiting or withholding. "How can I make you that happy, Stephanie?"
She licked her lips, which still tasted like him. There were a lot of answers to that question, from the urgent to the big picture (the urgent was more, you know, urgent). So she was surprised when what came out of her mouth was, "I love doing that. Giving blow jobs, I mean. The only problem is I really want you to fuck me and," her gaze skimmed down over him, "I don't think you're up for it yet."
"Not for a few minutes yet," he admitted. As in, ten minutes, maybe. All too long for Steph's interest to cool into disappointment. "And I'm all for it. But also, I don't want to wait when you're already so flushed and sensitive." He pushed his hand higher, brushing his fingers over the crotch of her pants. "We'll just have to go again later."
Her hips rocked forward, even as she laughed breathlessly. "I'm not going to say no to that." To any of it, really. He had long, clever, beautiful fingers and they were already so very close to her clit. She dropped her hands to the button of her jeans and flipped it open. "Maybe we can get off the floor?"
"I suddenly have fond memories of this floor." It wasn't contradiction though. Vax stood and brought her with him, grasping either side of her open jeans to hoist her up as far as getting her ass onto the mattress. Then he reached for her shirt, rather than the pants, tugging up the hem. "You're overdressed," he recalled something she'd said to him not so long ago.
"Whatever shall we do about that?" Steph laughed, lifting her arms to assist Vax's actions. Her clothes were much easier to shed than Vax's fancy black armor. A simple t-shirt, jeans, the usual bra and panties which did not match because she was not some kind of weird obsessive romance heroine. Her shoes were easily toed off without unlacing them. She'd been okay fully dressed while she'd been on her knees for him, but now, it felt staggeringly urgent to be as naked as he was.
They were still exotic, to him, Vax being much more used to women in homespun dresses or adventuring armor. He helped her out of the shirt, dropping it aside before turning his attention to the straps and fabric cups holding her chest. (The smallclothes were meant to match in color?) His hand pushed one of the straps down her shoulder, and he cupped the round of her breast clear of the bra without bothering to unlatch the back first. He kissed his way from shoulder to swell, to mouth her pink nipple gently.
"We'll have to strip you," Vax suggested against the soft wet he'd made at her tender skin.
Steph arched her back, eagerly offering her breasts up to his mouth. Not that she needed any more encouragement to be practically begging for whatever he was willing to give. "No arguments from me." She thought about opening her bra herself - it would only take a flick of her fingers - but she was kind of interested to see how Vax handled it. Other than ignoring it entirely. Which was already proving to be an excellent solution. "What happens after that?" She could listen to his voice forever.
"And then I kiss you, is what," Vax explained very intimately to her nipple. "I kiss you as warmly as you kissed me, until I learn what it is you like." He spared one more kiss for her lips, then moved lower, both hands working together to tug and shift at her jeans, to help wriggle her butt and legs out of them and slide them clear of her feet.
If she was going to be honest, which she usually was at least in her own head, she'd like to learn that too. So far, what she'd learned is that she liked everything he did. Stephanie helped him shed her jeans, then leaned back on her elbows to watch him. Her whole body was flushed and warm, every graze of his skin against hers was like little electric shocks. "I should warn you, this might not take that much kissing."
"Is that so?" He looked up the length of her body from where he'd knelt between her legs, taking a moment to rest his cheek against one of her thighs and stroke a hand up her opposite knee, admiring the view. "Don't hold off on my account," he told her, his voice gone as warm as he was sure. "I want you to have your pleasure. More than you know what to do with."
As if to prove it, Vax set his hands to pin either leg just above her knees in case she squirmed, holding her fast to the mattress. Then he lowered his face to the tender inside of one thigh, playing his lips higher, mouthing small, flirting shapes as if picking berries from a vine.
Steph shivered and bit her lip, using the sharp pain to stay focused. Under his hands and mouth, the muscles in her thighs jumped and trembled, but she didn't test his hold the way she had when he'd held her hair. It took too much effort to simply stay on her elbows and watch as he teased and tasted her skin like she was some kind of dessert. The higher his mouth got, the more rapid her breath became, harsh and wanting to whimper in anticipation.
He didn't tease any more than he'd done already, not when Steph was all but trembling. That would seem cruel. Vax rather crossed the way between thigh and crotch, pressing firm, slow kisses from the line of her underthings until he felt the shape of her sex beneath his lips. He lifted one hand, tips of his fingers curling to pull aside the thin cloth from where it cupped her heat. The fingers spread, sought, until he could align the first two of them together and gently push them inside her body.
She was so wet and ready, that it hardly took any pressure at all before he was in her. The breath caught in her throat and she forcibly swallowed a moan, automatically quieting herself in case someone heard. Her fingers dug into the duvet cover beneath her. It really shouldn't have been better that he'd just pushed aside her underwear instead of taking it off, but it was. Her body clenched around his fingers, grasping for more. As he'd done to her, she lifted one hand and pushed it into his hand, not guiding, just holding.
He looked again up the length of her, stealing a glance to see her expression, then lowered his face once more. His lips parted for her clit, and true to his word, he kissed her, gentle and sweet. Taking notice that her hand wasn't making to stop his, he slid his fingers as deep as he could fit them, drew them mostly back, and went for more. He began to set a pace for it, to ease in and away with rhythm. To fuck her, between mouth and hand, with indulgent earnestness.
He put his mouth on her and this time, she couldn't stop the cry that tore from her throat. Her entire body shuddered. As he moved his hand, she dragged her fingers up his cheek and into his hair, then aside to her own thigh, where she dug her short nails into her skin. She'd warned him that it wouldn't take much, not when putting her mouth on him had been like a drug. Soft pleas fell from her mouth, for more, faster. She was so close in an instant and still frustratingly far.
Vax groaned softly against her skin, forgetting what it was his mouth was doing for a moment at the needy, erotic babble she made. It was too soon yet for him to harden again, but he felt the clench and throb of arousal all the same.
She wanted more, faster, and he didn't know if Steph could get to where she wanted while she still supervised from her elbows, holding onto that bit of self-control. Keyleth had never been able to come when she was feeling too self-conscious, which happened often. And the best he'd been able to learn was to surprise her a little, to give her a change she wasn't expecting, to help her forget what it was she had been holding onto.
So he took his fingers away from Steph even for how much she clearly enjoyed them, needing both hands, both arms to sit up and drag her legs closer, to break the brace of her elbows. He lifted and pushed, to rest one knee and then the other over either of his shoulders, to bury his face all the deeper into the seat of her lap at a steeper angle. He used the whole of his mouth to kiss her this time, lips and tongue, and they made to supply the more, faster with all the urgent vigor of his fingers.
Her shoulders hit the mattress and the last shred of her control vanished. At the same moment, he closed his mouth on her, gave her his fingers and Stephanie shattered, willingly giving up to the demand he made. Her orgasm tore through her, her body shaking. Thoughts were washed away, all she could do was feel and need.
He knew by the jerk and tremor of her that she'd given way, and his touches gentled over the next minutes as she calmed. He took a deep breath when he eased clear, sinking to the mattress in a pleasant jumble. Vax shifted up along her body until he could rest his cheek on her shoulder, arm wrapping around her middle, a dreamy smile ghosting his lips wet as hers had been. He seemed well content to say nothing, do nothing, but be there with her.
This was what he needed, more than anything. Not the sex, but the closeness, the intimacy. There had been so few people in his life he'd been able to trust, to feel safe sharing himself with. He felt that, with Stephanie.
Steph felt boneless, just a puddle of goo right here in the middle of his bed. Lifting her hand to cover his arm was a slow process, her fingers skating from the back of his hand, along his wrist and arm until she was holding onto him as he held onto her. Steph knew better than to mistake the afterglow for something more real, but right now, in this moment, she couldn't help imagining that this could be forever - him and her, in this quiet satisfaction. She tipped her head, brushed her lips over his hair and closed her eyes, at peace.
His heart thudded harder in his chest for her slow, lazy gestures, the tip of her face against his hair, but he didn't dare move a muscle. It might break the spell, make her think he wanted her to move, or remind her that she might want to get up again.
"Good talk," he whispered softly, when he thought she might've dozed off.
He reached to tuck her hair back behind her ear, then tried skimming two fingers around the curve, looking into her eyes. "...Anything? Or is it just me after all?"
Sometimes, he said things that struck her as so 'her world', not his. "And chill," for example. She almost said something about it before he touched her ear and...oh, yeah, that was super different when someone else did it. She shivered, the feeling darting through her whole body deliciously. "Not just you. I mean, I know ears are, what's the word..." They'd talked about it in her human sexuality class. "Erogenous zones." She could think of a few others as well.
"Are you certain?" He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the drop of her earlobe, seeing if there was another lovely shiver to be had. "You're not just humoring me, are you?" He fit his lips delicately at the shell of Steph's ear, giving it a barely-there suck.
Steph gasped and giggled at the same time as his kiss both tickled and sent another shot of pleasure through her. She tilted her head instinctively, lashes fluttering. "I didn't say they weren't sensitive, you know. I just said yours were more sensitive." She wet her lips and refused to squirm. "I could have been wrong."
He drew back in time to see Steph wet her lips and stubbornly not-squirm, her delighted little sounds and the flit of her lashes having a surprisingly deep effect on him he'd be hard-put to explain. She warmed him without even touching him, in his heart and lower places, all at once.
"I don't mind if you're right," came the slightly delayed response. "Any parts you'd rather have nibbled..."
The soft suggestion in his ridiculously hot accent gave her all kinds of ideas. She turned her head, and leaned in, close enough that her cheek brushed his before her lips grazed his ear. "Actually, I was thinking of asking you the same thing." There was still so much of him she hadn't yet put her mouth on.
Bloody hell. That was hot. She was hot. He inhaled slowly to steady himself, tipping back his face to brush her lips with his before he melted into a useless puddle. "Want me to show you how the armor comes off?"
She smiled, fast and bright and eager, and nipped at his mouth. "I've been trying to figure it out since I got here." Whether she meant in the room today or at the inn months ago was unclear. "Is it trapped? Mine can be trapped."
"It isn't trapped, exactly," Vax explained, pushing away the memories of the sunken tomb where the armor had been found and what it had cost. "But it is magic." And bound up with a death goddess. He'd never seen it harm anyone though, the box it came in notwithstanding, so he didn't think she needed warnings to go with.
He took both of Steph's hands and guided them to the shoulders of his feathery cloak, setting her thumbs and fingers to show her how the strong clasps released.
She pressed them open and lifted the cloak off his shoulders, letting it fall behind him. It had a heavy sound, the way her cape sounded when she thought about it, weightier than it appeared. "What kind of magic? I know about the wings." She leaned back a little, to get a better look at the tunic, seeking ...not a zipper? Laces? Buttons?
It was hard to tell at a glance where to begin - the polished leather of the Deathwalker's Ward armor was inscribed all over with artful runes, layers of ridges and straps and buckles all of the same almost uncanny blackness. It was beautifully crafted, but there was something distinctly primal to that beauty, once it was paid attention to. Like the quiet of the deep woods in the night during winter, where your unconscious mind insisted something watched and waited for you to enter.
"The death-magic makes me a bit harder to kill, for one. It also can better protect me from different kinds of harm - fire, cold, acid, whathaveyou." Vax lead Steph's hands to show her by touch where she would find the matched black straps and buckles that held one shoulder of his breastplate tight, also lacing with the hard cup that protected his shoulder. This... Was clearly going to take a few minutes.
"That's useful." When he pointed out the first of the straps, it became easier to find the next. They were secured tight, but nothing she couldn't handle. There was something delightfully intimate about this, something that made it worth taking her time about. It meant learning about him as much as the armor. "How does it do against bullets or...I guess you said only Percy has those?" The Kevlar in her Robin and Batgirl uniforms had saved her from more hits than she could count over the years. The Spoiler costume hadn't had anything like it.
"It's good, sturdy armor against whatever wants to wail on me, for the most part - but no supernatural buffer against your usual weapons and injuries," he admitted, watching Steph unwrap and unravel. Once loosened enough, the armor broke away into smaller pieces, with more lacings and hinges and straps and buckles to keep them in place. Breastplate, shoulder, arm, bracer, pieces fitted for thighs and knees and calves. There were also more black fabric layers to unpeel beneath. Padded shirt, leggings, stockings. And a very nice set of accessories besides - boots, gloves, the three daggers in their sheaths, a belt, the raven skull, and the single black feather woven into one of his braids. With all of the black-on-black, most eyes would never make out all their secrets, even if they looked. "I mean, you hit any armor hard enough, someone is going to take damage."
The layers of it were the most fascinating for Steph. For all that her uniforms were complicated, they didn't have much to them. The cape and cowl, the pieces of armor, the belt, the boots and gloves, then below that, simple underthings. With Vax's armor, it was a much deeper process, with dozens of interesting pieces to take note of. She shifted to her knees and sat on her heels, making it easier to set each piece aside as she worked. "I won't argue with that. I've broken my arm and my leg in uniform. The best armor in the world won't stop a bad fall. Gotham's got a lot of guns. Not a lot of death-magic." She worked open his belt and pulled it away from him, coiling it up before she set it aside. She worked her hands under his padded shirt and lifted it over his head.
Vax was sure this was really very significant, though he couldn't put his finger to the exact way in which it was. Being undressed by a beautiful new girlfriend was, yes, rather intimate and pretty hot in this context. It was something only Keyleth had ever really done for him before. And there was something to her helping him put aside the mantle of the obligations looming over him always. It was all of those things, but more than just the sum, he guessed.
He obliged as needed, helping to get the shirt off, long hair tumbling back down his shoulders in a splash once he'd got that done. The cool air on his skin after being wrapped up in the armor all day was always refreshing. But doing it with someone... Was also refreshing, he thought.
"...Do you think I'm crazy? What with all the talk about death magic and goddesses I can't much prove."
She paused in her undressing of him to enjoy the view. He was astonishingly...beautiful, was the right word, even though she wouldn't usually use it for a guy. But it worked for Vax. Lean and graceful, pale skin with splashes of dark ink. He made her mouth go dry just looking at him. "Do you think I am because I come from a place without magic? You're from somewhere I don't understand. But I don't have any reason to think you're not right about it. Boots off, please."
"There's magic here, though. It's falling out all over the place, where you can see it." He reached to tug off his boots, one following the other as he dropped them lightly to the floor and pushed them aside with a foot.
Stephanie watched the boots hit the floor. "Here at the Inn? Sure, but whatever this place is, it's not exactly the same as my world." She leaned forward, brushed a kiss over his shoulder, while her fingers swiftly unlaced the front of his pants then gestured for him to stand, so she could help him out of them. "So many of the things you tell me about magic...we can do them in my world, but we use technology instead. Your earrings, they're like the comm in my suit. Your armor and my armor protect us in different ways. But others? The healing stuff especially. That's what seems the most miraculous to me."
To be perfectly honest, he was only half-listening to what she was saying about magic. That was as much as Vax could focus on her words, with her hands at work over his groin and the butterfly glance of her lips at his shoulder. He knew he should attend the chit-chat, he knew she enjoyed a good banter, but really... He stood at her urging, though he caught one of her hands before it could go about its intended business. Vax pressed the cup of her palm over the swell in his lap through the black cloth, eyes straying to her mouth. "The part of that I heard was how lovely your lips are. How soft and pink and kissable. And you're totally, completely right. How do you even have conversations without distracting everybody from what you're saying?"
Her mouth curved into a slow smile, as she looked up at him through her lashes. She pressed forward lightly with the heel of her palm, then slipped from the bed to the floor, sinking to her knees. "I can usually get their attention when I really need it." Freeing her hand from his, she peeled the flap open and leaned forward, tracing the cut of his hip with a slow, trailing kiss. "Remember that question about other places to nibble?"
Part of him certainly did, thickening with want. Keyleth being cock-shy... How long had it even been, his body wanted to know, since he'd been sucked?
"You have my entire attention," Vax told her, watching her move down him intently. "I want to feel your lips on me, Steph," his voice went a touch lower, huskier, a hand reaching to brush her golden hair.
Before he'd made her mouth go dry, now it watered, tongue curling in anticipation of the taste of him. It had been a long damn time since she'd gotten to do this, which was a shame because she loved it. She loved looking up and seeing that look in his eyes, hearing his voice go rough with want, feeling his hand on her hair - restrained for the moment but how long would that last? There was something powerful about this, being on her knees but still having control.
She worked the tight leather down his thighs, amusing herself by chasing the reveal with her mouth and ignoring the insistent rise of his cock just brushing her cheek. She made her leisurely way back up and captured the hard length of him in her hand. "Let me know what you like," she murmured, close enough that she knew her breath had to be felt on the sensitive head just beyond her lips. Enough teasing, she thought and opened her lips around him, tasting the heavy musky richness of his cock. Her eyes closed on a moan.
He adored that she teased him, but didn't draw things out into some over-wrought game when they were both already ripe and eager to get on with it. But 'adored' wasn't the right word, when she descended on him with wet warmth and her own pleasure so pure his cock jerked responsively in her hold, in her mouth. His hand at her hair had curled into all grasping fingers without his telling them to, and the handful of her hair was another kind of soft, another sort of pleasure to go with the others. "Slowly," he made out, somewhere between his own dry gape and swallow. "And - with your hands. I want your hands to know my dick, my balls, my thighs..."
She hardly needed encouragement to touch and taste, to savor instead of rushing. Part of it was simply that it had been a long time and she needed to remember how to do this. The rest was just enjoyment of the experience. She kept her eyes closed and let her other senses do the exploration. Her hands roamed, over his cock, down over the soft soft skin of his balls, along the smooth length of his thighs and around to the firm muscles of his ass. Her mouth learned just as greedily, with the blunt head of his dick on her tongue and lips, the sharp taste of pre-come, the slick salt of his skin. She brought a hand back and wrapped it around him, so she could glide her lips down the length of his shaft and taste his sac where her hands had so recently touched. Mostly she ignored his grip on her hair, unless he seemed to need her somewhere else.
The build of it was headier, more deliberately intense and complete, for her willingness to take her time with him. He could appreciate her all the more, the patterns of her hands on his body, the bob of her face over his length, and the simple awareness that Steph was here, with him, that they could have this all in their own time. That's what the hand in her hair was for - not to force or control, but to have and hold, to keep himself actively touching her instead of all the other way around.
Vax did catch one of her hands, though, guiding it back to where she'd squeezed his tight ass. He placed her smaller fingers with purpose at the tight clench between his cheeks, gasping for a breath to speak. "There, Steph. Tease me there while I'm in your mouth."
That was a surprise, and new for her. Not in concept, but the request. Still, she didn't have to ask if he meant it. There was nothing faked or forced about his desire. And frankly, it was crazy hot. With a lingering swipe of her tongue along the underside of his cock, she moved back to take him into her mouth again. At the same time, she worked her fingers into the hot crevice of his ass, fingers seeking the tight pucker there. As her finger brushed over it for the first time, she hummed inquisitively. This was what he wanted?
The slide and fit of her mouth along with the first stroke of her finger over his asshole put a sweet, sharp shiver up Vax's spine, hips hitching instinctively for more of her. "Gods, yes," he told the thrum of a question mark punctuated on his prick. "I want it. I want you."
She hummed again, pleased. She lifted her eyes up to watch his face as she worked her mouth down over him, cheeks going hollow, and slowly but insistently, pressed a finger forward past the ring of muscle and into his ass. Her own hips rocked instinctively, thighs clenching. She was pretty sure that if she'd touched herself instead of him, she'd go off like a fucking pipe bomb.
He closed his eyes, and moaned, both breathy and ecstatically throaty and more than he'd let himself in... He didn't remember, and it didn't matter. His body resisted the push of her finger, for a moment, then eased to let the digit fill him. Everything was Stephanie, her giving mouth with those pretty pink lips that had started all of this, her finger fucking him, so kind, and it was fucking beauty to be penetrated while she sucked him. He wanted to come in her so badly now, without the uncomfortable constraints of a condom, and he began to ease himself carefully back and forth between her face and finger, shifting with need. He meant to say something, but he was too full of rightness and pleasure and Stephanie to do anything but move more urgently against her.
As he began to move, it was actually easier to hold still, relax her jaw and let him take what he needed. Watching his face was a revelation, the kind of abandon that made this one of her favorite things to do for a partner. And having her finger in him, knowing that it made it better for him - how did you find a prostate? Was it like the g-spot where you just had to hope? Human sexuality class had failed her there. Steph crooked her finger experimentally, seeking a reaction.
To be clear, Vax didn't need any encouragement to come. He'd mostly been trying to stay with this moment, this act, to drink it in deep, to keep something of it with him in body and memory for as long as he could. But Steph got to exploring him with her finger, and all at once she found. His hand at her hair clenched white-knuckle tight without meaning to, hips thrusting full, and he shook and groaned and his knees were all but water as he poured his release into her.
She swallowed. Of course, she swallowed. It wasn't that she liked it so much as she liked the response it got. She liked seeing the smug and wondering look when she licked the last drop of her lips, she liked tasting every last pulse and shake and making it her own. And right now, she liked that Vax was entirely hers. She stayed with him until he was done, and gently eased away, drawing her finger out at the same time. She lifted her face toward him, knowing her mouth was wet and red and used.
He unclenched his hands, let them fall to her shoulders for balance as much as comfort, and (not without some measure of grace) let himself stumble down onto his knees. It was good to look her in the eyes as he joined her on the floor, to communicate love and exuberance and the thing they'd just shared in a glance. Vax kissed her, because he had to, first gentle presses of his lips meant to soothe the bruised red mess he'd made of her mouth. Then he deepened the kiss, soft but sure, coaxing her used tongue with his only to taste what he'd given her in his own mouth. He hummed a faint note.
Stephanie moaned as he kissed her, her whole body still keyed up. She was flushed all over, as greedy for his kiss as he'd been for her mouth. And yet, at the moment, she was also as willing to let him lead as she'd been pleased to take control. Content to let her hands roam his bare skin as long as he'd allow it.
"You make me so happy," Vax told her once he eased the kiss apart. "I mean, not just doing that... But that, too." ...It had sounded better in his head.
He bowed his head to kiss her throat, a hand sliding slowly from her clothed knee up along her inner thigh. His hand came to rest there, either waiting or withholding. "How can I make you that happy, Stephanie?"
She licked her lips, which still tasted like him. There were a lot of answers to that question, from the urgent to the big picture (the urgent was more, you know, urgent). So she was surprised when what came out of her mouth was, "I love doing that. Giving blow jobs, I mean. The only problem is I really want you to fuck me and," her gaze skimmed down over him, "I don't think you're up for it yet."
"Not for a few minutes yet," he admitted. As in, ten minutes, maybe. All too long for Steph's interest to cool into disappointment. "And I'm all for it. But also, I don't want to wait when you're already so flushed and sensitive." He pushed his hand higher, brushing his fingers over the crotch of her pants. "We'll just have to go again later."
Her hips rocked forward, even as she laughed breathlessly. "I'm not going to say no to that." To any of it, really. He had long, clever, beautiful fingers and they were already so very close to her clit. She dropped her hands to the button of her jeans and flipped it open. "Maybe we can get off the floor?"
"I suddenly have fond memories of this floor." It wasn't contradiction though. Vax stood and brought her with him, grasping either side of her open jeans to hoist her up as far as getting her ass onto the mattress. Then he reached for her shirt, rather than the pants, tugging up the hem. "You're overdressed," he recalled something she'd said to him not so long ago.
"Whatever shall we do about that?" Steph laughed, lifting her arms to assist Vax's actions. Her clothes were much easier to shed than Vax's fancy black armor. A simple t-shirt, jeans, the usual bra and panties which did not match because she was not some kind of weird obsessive romance heroine. Her shoes were easily toed off without unlacing them. She'd been okay fully dressed while she'd been on her knees for him, but now, it felt staggeringly urgent to be as naked as he was.
They were still exotic, to him, Vax being much more used to women in homespun dresses or adventuring armor. He helped her out of the shirt, dropping it aside before turning his attention to the straps and fabric cups holding her chest. (The smallclothes were meant to match in color?) His hand pushed one of the straps down her shoulder, and he cupped the round of her breast clear of the bra without bothering to unlatch the back first. He kissed his way from shoulder to swell, to mouth her pink nipple gently.
"We'll have to strip you," Vax suggested against the soft wet he'd made at her tender skin.
Steph arched her back, eagerly offering her breasts up to his mouth. Not that she needed any more encouragement to be practically begging for whatever he was willing to give. "No arguments from me." She thought about opening her bra herself - it would only take a flick of her fingers - but she was kind of interested to see how Vax handled it. Other than ignoring it entirely. Which was already proving to be an excellent solution. "What happens after that?" She could listen to his voice forever.
"And then I kiss you, is what," Vax explained very intimately to her nipple. "I kiss you as warmly as you kissed me, until I learn what it is you like." He spared one more kiss for her lips, then moved lower, both hands working together to tug and shift at her jeans, to help wriggle her butt and legs out of them and slide them clear of her feet.
If she was going to be honest, which she usually was at least in her own head, she'd like to learn that too. So far, what she'd learned is that she liked everything he did. Stephanie helped him shed her jeans, then leaned back on her elbows to watch him. Her whole body was flushed and warm, every graze of his skin against hers was like little electric shocks. "I should warn you, this might not take that much kissing."
"Is that so?" He looked up the length of her body from where he'd knelt between her legs, taking a moment to rest his cheek against one of her thighs and stroke a hand up her opposite knee, admiring the view. "Don't hold off on my account," he told her, his voice gone as warm as he was sure. "I want you to have your pleasure. More than you know what to do with."
As if to prove it, Vax set his hands to pin either leg just above her knees in case she squirmed, holding her fast to the mattress. Then he lowered his face to the tender inside of one thigh, playing his lips higher, mouthing small, flirting shapes as if picking berries from a vine.
Steph shivered and bit her lip, using the sharp pain to stay focused. Under his hands and mouth, the muscles in her thighs jumped and trembled, but she didn't test his hold the way she had when he'd held her hair. It took too much effort to simply stay on her elbows and watch as he teased and tasted her skin like she was some kind of dessert. The higher his mouth got, the more rapid her breath became, harsh and wanting to whimper in anticipation.
He didn't tease any more than he'd done already, not when Steph was all but trembling. That would seem cruel. Vax rather crossed the way between thigh and crotch, pressing firm, slow kisses from the line of her underthings until he felt the shape of her sex beneath his lips. He lifted one hand, tips of his fingers curling to pull aside the thin cloth from where it cupped her heat. The fingers spread, sought, until he could align the first two of them together and gently push them inside her body.
She was so wet and ready, that it hardly took any pressure at all before he was in her. The breath caught in her throat and she forcibly swallowed a moan, automatically quieting herself in case someone heard. Her fingers dug into the duvet cover beneath her. It really shouldn't have been better that he'd just pushed aside her underwear instead of taking it off, but it was. Her body clenched around his fingers, grasping for more. As he'd done to her, she lifted one hand and pushed it into his hand, not guiding, just holding.
He looked again up the length of her, stealing a glance to see her expression, then lowered his face once more. His lips parted for her clit, and true to his word, he kissed her, gentle and sweet. Taking notice that her hand wasn't making to stop his, he slid his fingers as deep as he could fit them, drew them mostly back, and went for more. He began to set a pace for it, to ease in and away with rhythm. To fuck her, between mouth and hand, with indulgent earnestness.
He put his mouth on her and this time, she couldn't stop the cry that tore from her throat. Her entire body shuddered. As he moved his hand, she dragged her fingers up his cheek and into his hair, then aside to her own thigh, where she dug her short nails into her skin. She'd warned him that it wouldn't take much, not when putting her mouth on him had been like a drug. Soft pleas fell from her mouth, for more, faster. She was so close in an instant and still frustratingly far.
Vax groaned softly against her skin, forgetting what it was his mouth was doing for a moment at the needy, erotic babble she made. It was too soon yet for him to harden again, but he felt the clench and throb of arousal all the same.
She wanted more, faster, and he didn't know if Steph could get to where she wanted while she still supervised from her elbows, holding onto that bit of self-control. Keyleth had never been able to come when she was feeling too self-conscious, which happened often. And the best he'd been able to learn was to surprise her a little, to give her a change she wasn't expecting, to help her forget what it was she had been holding onto.
So he took his fingers away from Steph even for how much she clearly enjoyed them, needing both hands, both arms to sit up and drag her legs closer, to break the brace of her elbows. He lifted and pushed, to rest one knee and then the other over either of his shoulders, to bury his face all the deeper into the seat of her lap at a steeper angle. He used the whole of his mouth to kiss her this time, lips and tongue, and they made to supply the more, faster with all the urgent vigor of his fingers.
Her shoulders hit the mattress and the last shred of her control vanished. At the same moment, he closed his mouth on her, gave her his fingers and Stephanie shattered, willingly giving up to the demand he made. Her orgasm tore through her, her body shaking. Thoughts were washed away, all she could do was feel and need.
He knew by the jerk and tremor of her that she'd given way, and his touches gentled over the next minutes as she calmed. He took a deep breath when he eased clear, sinking to the mattress in a pleasant jumble. Vax shifted up along her body until he could rest his cheek on her shoulder, arm wrapping around her middle, a dreamy smile ghosting his lips wet as hers had been. He seemed well content to say nothing, do nothing, but be there with her.
This was what he needed, more than anything. Not the sex, but the closeness, the intimacy. There had been so few people in his life he'd been able to trust, to feel safe sharing himself with. He felt that, with Stephanie.
Steph felt boneless, just a puddle of goo right here in the middle of his bed. Lifting her hand to cover his arm was a slow process, her fingers skating from the back of his hand, along his wrist and arm until she was holding onto him as he held onto her. Steph knew better than to mistake the afterglow for something more real, but right now, in this moment, she couldn't help imagining that this could be forever - him and her, in this quiet satisfaction. She tipped her head, brushed her lips over his hair and closed her eyes, at peace.
His heart thudded harder in his chest for her slow, lazy gestures, the tip of her face against his hair, but he didn't dare move a muscle. It might break the spell, make her think he wanted her to move, or remind her that she might want to get up again.
"Good talk," he whispered softly, when he thought she might've dozed off.
