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swallow my doubts away - Sunjata - 10-18-2020
It’s a stormy night, pitch black outside if it weren’t for the lanterns that hang in the streets, the candles and lanterns both lit indoors. It would be a fine night, one that would remind Sunjata so much of Korofi he might have enjoyed the nostalgia if it weren’t for the other memories that trudge up with each lightning strike. He can’t help but to flinch away from the repaired window with each illuminating crack that echoes in the alleys of Haulani. He can’t help but to stretch and clench the fist scarred with lightning each time either.
So he tries to sleep, to block it out. Nate had things to do that kept him away for now, but all was fine. They were cured, Nate would be back, he didn’t worry. Haai lays against his side on the bed, offering warmth and companionship while Sunjata’s sleep is quite fitful, shoulders tense, tossing and turning with each strike of lightning and rumbling of rain. Perhaps sleep had been a bad idea, combining his strike with the horrors of his home, but he’s too far into it now, too much into the darkness and spiraling of his unconscious that he doesn’t know what happens around him.
Whatever it is that’s entrapped him has landed him in a very deep sleep, one that has both he and Haai passed out on the bed, half covered with blankets, one of Haai’s paws outstretched over a crescent shark bite scar on his stomach, the other pressed rather hard against his cheek.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Nate - 10-18-2020
Honestly, it isn't until he's on his way back to the Slagveld, wandering through the pouring curtains of rain and the alleyways illuminated by cracks of lightning, that Nate realizes leaving may have been a poor choice. It's the first real storm they've weathered since the events with the sea panther; since Sunjata almost hadn't made it home. The only thing that soothes him, that keeps him from feeling terrible, is what he's gained.
Coming out tonight had been more than worth it. He's restored, as much as he can be. The scar spread over his face untouched, but the eye that had been little more than scar and wound for almost a year back.
Somehow, Nate manages to contain his excitement, manages to keep himself calm enough that he doesn't slam into the boxing ring and run up the stairs. No, he slips in quietly, closing and locking the doors behind him, and steps quietly up the stairs. Pemota follows him, roused from her watch over the main floor and lightning his way upstairs.
His arrival into the bedroom is heralded by his companions soft staticy starlight, Nate rushing across the room, all attempts at being quiet forgotten now. He sits on the bed, one hand moving to cup Sunjata's face, the other moving to run through Haai's fur, trying to keep the pair calm, soothed, instead of scaring them. [say]"Darling,"[/say] He sing songs between peals of thunder, voice loud, warm, [say]"Sunny, wake up. I have a... a surprise."[/say] And what a surprise it would be, when the attuned opens his eyes to be greeted with Nate's full gaze, bright blue and steel focused on the attuned.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Sunjata - 10-18-2020
As deep of a sleep as he’s in, he doesn’t notice when Nate comes into the room, doesn’t notice when the sounds don’t quite match up to typical settling of the structure. He doesn’t even notice when the weight feels different on the bed, too exhausted to really notice it right away. Haai does, though, retracting her paws and legs from the Attuned, a whined yawn leaving her maw in a puff of smoke as she peers up at Nate with her emerald gaze.
There’s half of a paw print etched into Sunjata’s face, his unconscious having him nuzzle his cheek into Nate’s hand, an unclenching of his jaw that nearly hurt with how tight it had been while he slept. The singsong tone does start to rouse him though, as does the gentle thump of Haai’s tail against the bed, Sunjata’s eyes squeezing shut for a moment tighter if only to hold off on waking up just yet. “[say]A surprise…?[/say]” He mumbles half asleep, working his jaw a moment before his head tilts away from Nate’s hand toward his husband’s voice.
“[say]Is it a surprise for me?[/say]” He asks, a half sleepy smile crossing his face before one eye peeks open, steel with a slit pupil to see in the dark better, spending a few moments scanning Nate before his vision clears the bluriness of sleep.
And then he sees it. And both eyes open, jolted a bit further awake, moving to sit up braced on his elbows, his amused smile shifting to something more bewildered, more… Surprised. His left hand reaches up to cup Nate’s own cheek, his thumb brushing over the scar, pausing before the eye as he simply stares in his shock. “[say]Nate… Gods.[/say]” He breathes, the grin forming along his face is relieved and awed. “[say]Is it grey?[/say]”
RE: swallow my doubts away - Nate - 10-19-2020
Nate feels almost bad to be waking Sunjata up, to be disturbing his sleep, but he can’t contain himself, won’t be able to wait until morning, not without blowing a gasket. At least this si the gentlest way he can manage, his thumb running gently over the attuned’s cheekbone. [say]”Dankie Haai.”[/say] He mumbled as the griffin shifts, yawns. Pemota settles above, radiating calm below, albeit a little belatedly.
[say]”Not for you, but I think you’ll like it.”[/say] Nate hums after a moment of consideration. Some part of him is more excited to see Sunjata’s reaction than he is to be healed. His fingers twist run through Haai’s fur, a soft huff of a laugh leaving him when her tail thumps.
It doesn’t seem possible, but the wide grin spread over Nate’s face grows even wider as Sunjata surges up, forced sleepiness away. He can be patient, can give his husband as much time as he needs to take everything in. Fighting his instinct to blink, despite not really needing it, Nate cocks his head a little tilting in Sunjatas grip. [say]”Is it grey?”[/say] He echoes, his own hand rising, as if being able to touch it would show him. [say]”Thats... more thoughtful than I expected.”[/say] A light laugh leaves him, before his arms wrap around the other. [say]”You like it?”[/say]
RE: swallow my doubts away - Sunjata - 10-19-2020
The surprise isn’t for him, but he absolutely does like it when he sees it. Somehow, caught up in not realizing Nate had left because it had been a stormy night rather than just the items he needed to secure. But all the fear and anxieties wash away as soon as his husband’s hand strokes his cheek, as soon as Sunjata realizes what the surprise is and can’t help but to run his thumb along Nate’s own cheek.
The question makes him sit up a bit more, the grin along his face remaining, thumb stroking a bit more once he’s settled in and can lean over toward the Ascended, to let his own steel gaze peer at the difference between the two. “[say]It’s certainly not as blue as your other one.[/say]” He murmurs a bit, invading Nate’s space as he focuses on the difference between the two. But he doesn’t get much time to inspect it fully, though he’s not complaining, not as Nate’s arms wrap around him tightly.
His own arms shift, resting along Nate’s shoulders as he wraps his arms around his husband too. “[say]I love it.[/say]” He hums quietly, softly, shoulders loosening with that problem lifted as well. All was right, all was fixed. But he leans forward, if only to peer at the eye again before a breathy laugh leaves him. “[say]More importantly, what do you think?[/say]” He asks with a tilt of his head, mentally sending Haai off the bed to grab a hand held mirror left in a box that she can dig into, returning to the side of a bed where she plops it down on the edge, beside Sunjata’s leg.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Nate - 10-22-2020
Theres something almost poetic about the fact that Sunjata is seeing his newly whole face even before he does. Something about it that Nate wouldn’t change, that only drives him further into the warmth of his husbands arms. He shimmies until he’s straddling the attuned, suddenly craving even more contact.
Nate has to actually pause to sort through his emotions, a tangled jumble of giddy excitement sent through their personal bond. [say]”I feel... better than I thought I would.”[/say] Not that he underestimated his own relief, more that he’d let himself grow resigned to what he’d had, believed it permanent and done everything he could to shove it away from his mind. The mirror is snatched up almost as soon as it’s dropped, Nate drawing back in the same motion to look at himself. Some part of him is surprised he even has a reflection, and some other, deeper part of him is surprised by how he looks.
Both reactions are drowned out by the giddy laughter that springs to Nate’s lips. [say]”Look at this!”[/say] He presses his face to Sunjata, the mirror held just far enough that the two halves of their faces almost make one, with an almost matching pair of eyes in it. Nate wonders for a moment if they will match, once the newness of his eye wears off.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Sunjata - 10-22-2020
They’re close, nearly as close as can be and Sunjata nearly swoons with the reaction from Nate, the excitement that seems to rebound through him, pairing with the relief and everything else – breaking through the storm clouds of his sleep, nightmares, and anxiety just prior. Now he focuses on Nate in his entirety, settled there with his arms around his husband, a mirror that dips the bed as Haai drops it and hops back onto the bed to curl around the duo.
Sunjata remains quiet, simply letting his hand and fingertips run through the wild ends of Nate’s curls, letting his gaze focus on that, stealing glances at the Ascended’s face here and there for the reaction, but ultimately leaving it a far more personal viewing. That is – until Nate’s turning a bit, the laughter a bit of surprise that has another grin forming along Sunjata’s face, brows raising slightly before cheeks are pressed together and the mirror thrust before them – both halves. Of course, he scans Nate’s face within it, the edge of a scar that has a certain close irony to the one that slides down Sunjata’s neck.
“[say]Hmmm...[/say]” He hums, extending it out, as if he’s debating – though Nate would be able to tell it’s all a front. “[say]Copycat.[/say]” He teases, flashing a wink to Nate in the mirror before tearing his head away from being pressed against Nate’s cheek to press a kiss there instead, a brief sneak attack as it were, a low hum of a chuckle leaving his throat.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Nate - 10-25-2020
Having both of their faces in the mirror throws their differences into perspective, but the thing Nate focuses on most are the similarities. The crisscrossing of scars, the hardness of their faces, sharp lines and dangerous pasts. Despite all of it though, there’s a softness in his new steel eye, one reserved only for his husband, for the private moments they spend together. The mirror drops, just in time to catch Sunjata’s facade.
[say]”What is it they say, huh?”[/say] Nate makes his own show of thinking, his head tilting, pressing against the attuned more firmly. [say]”Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?”[/say] Theres a scandalized gasp as Sunjata pulls away just far enough to replace their closeness with a kiss.
It’s an act of war that can’t be ignored, can’t be left unanswered. One that Nate knows exactly how to rise to, his hands lifting, first dragging down along Sunjata’s sides, then scrambling back up, tickling fingers moving along scars, along inked lines. As he begins his assault, Nate lets his legs tighten around his husband, just enough to make him difficult to throw off.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Sunjata - 10-25-2020
“[say]Hm?[/say]” He questions before he attacks, his façade made all the more sweet by the way that Nate finishes the comment, right as the mirror drops, a playful attack given to the Ascended that has a laughter bubbling out of him. But it isn’t until the war begins, a sudden smooth sensation of Nate’s hand down slightly sweaty sides, before he’s tickling and Sunjata gasps, positively, in protest. [say]This is absolutely uncalled for.[/say] He whines through the bond to Nate.
Hands move, running along Nate’s chest to his own sides, aiming to distract and snatch onto arms and hands to prevent him from continuing the assault, his hips shifting to try and throw Nate off. It’s unsuccessful and there’s a bark of laughter that leaves him as he thrashes beneath his husband, any and all attempts to get Nate to stop if only so he might catch his breath. [say]How dare you.[/say] Comes the accusation. It's playful, edged in protest, with nothing but love flooding the very core of him.
He makes a final stand, stilling not for more than a second before he throws all of his weight into trying to flip the two of them so that Sunjata might be able to pin Nate’s arms down to the bed.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Nate - 10-25-2020
[say]Uncalled for my ass.[/say] It's an accusation of his own, in the same way that it's a love confession that he will never stop making. Fingers are backed up for by lips fluttering along Sunjata's throat, not biting, not kissing, not really, but blowing obnoxious raspberries, wherever the ascended manages to press in for long enough, wherever his snorting laughter doesn't get in his own way.
Distraction is not something Nate is susceptible to, not at the moment. Not when he's so focused on holding onto his upper hand. [say]How dare I?[/say] It is an understatement to say the words are teasing, a half-second of respite given while Nate pauses, considering. [say]Pretty easily, actually.[/say] With no breath to keep track of, the ascended doesn't worry about the laugh slipping from him, mirroring the more helpless sounds of his husband.
In the end though, he doesn't prevail. They flip, Nate pinned to the bed, looking entirely nonplussed by this newest development. A grin that is as smug as it is glittering spreads over his face, showing off fangs, a cocking eyebrow, and the barest shadow of a flush. [say]So,[/say] A rough purr, or maybe a very gentle growl, [say]you've got me. What now, Sunny?[/say] A sudden intensity enters his unblinking gaze, heat, and a challenge thats shows equally as clearly in the way his chin tips up.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Sunjata - 10-25-2020
Another bark of laughter leaves him with Nate’s own accusation, fidgeting and flailing beneath Nate’s lips to his throat, the hands that continue to flutter along his sides in a terribly tingly way. His recovery is made minimal, stilling as Sunjata accuses his husband, hearing the tones returned through the bond, the laugh that erupts outside of it. He pauses, throwing his last attempt in and succeeding – a spinning sort of feeling as they flip and Sunjata has the Ascended pinned.
There’s almost a part of him that edges in disappointment, spying the smug look on Nate’s face, wondering if the Ascended had let him, but it’s quickly wiped away by Nate’s voice – electrifying his mind, paired with the intensity to his gaze. And now that Sunjata’s got the upper hand, hands on Nate’s wrist, he has a moment to think about what it is he will do.
He readjusts them a bit, keeping Nate there, ensuring that he’s straddled well enough, keeping his gaze locked on Nate’s full view, the blue and the steel meeting his own. His lips quirk in a small half smirk, wings unfurling from his back, the edges of them lowering to apply pressure to Nate’s wrists in lieu of Sunjata’s hands, if only so he might focus them elsewhere.
And elsewhere he does, hands sliding up Nate’s arms toward his chest, the Attuned’s index finger sharpening into a claw that he drags up along Nate’s throat, he leans in a bit closer. [say]There’s a great number of things I could do.[/say] He hums back, scanning Nate’s face as the claw drags further up to beneath his chin, the rest of his fingers and his other hand moving to cup Nate’s jaw. He leans in, pressing a kiss beneath his ear in the space Sunjata often keeps reserved for Nate’s marks.
His throat glimmers with a bit of a blue glow, the kiss lingering though Sunjata knows full well he can’t leave as dark of marks on Nate as the Ascended can leave on the Attuned, but he tries anyway – sucking a shimmering mark in the space beneath his ear, pairing it with a small zap of electricity.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Nate - 10-26-2020
Throughout every little shift Sunjata makes, Nate doesn’t fight, endlessly patient, endlessly curious about where things will go from here. He’d almost say eager, if he wasn’t still trying to play up an unaffected look. The wings do cause a ripple of surprise to cross his face, Nate’s hands clenching and releasing, testing these new bonds casually.
It’s not until they’re moving on him that Nate realizes his husbands hands are once again free, and it isn’t until there claws dragging up his throat that he groans lowly. His gaze hasn’t wavered, but all at once it seems to catch alight, a smouldering desire slowly edging through the attuned bond as well. [say]Oh darling, I like this.[/say]
When it isn’t possible to hold the attuned’s gaze anymore, Nate lets his eyes slip closed, enjoying the close warmth of Sunjata. Enjoying the pressure of the kisses, of the mark being sucked into the most sensitive spot on his numbed out body. Another low rumble leaves him, until the jolt of electricity has Nate sucking it back in, has his hands fighting to move, has his hips bucking up. [say]Just like that.[/say]
RE: swallow my doubts away - Sunjata - 10-26-2020
It might take some time while Sunjata tests out the thought that filters through his mind. But he gets there in the end – wings unfurled, pressing down against his husband’s wrists, hands now free to roam along Nate’s skin, a fingertip edged with the sharpness of a claw that both threatens and doesn’t as it drags along pale skin. He’s acutely attuned to the sound that leaves Nate – all the worries and nightmares pushed away for the moment, of the news that needed to be celebrated and reveled in, in the man that Sunjata can pour every ounce of his focus in and not regret it later.
[say]Good, me too.[/say] Comes the quiet mental agreement, spying the flame within Nate’s dual-toned gaze. It ignites the fire in Sunjata as well – the washing of emotions flooding over him as he leans in, cupping Nate’s head, tilting it slightly as he kisses and sucks a mark, paired with a spout of electricity. And it’s a reaction he’s far too overjoyed to receive, a huff of breath leaving him as Nate writhes beneath him.
He’s not usually in this position, at least with Nate, but it’s one that while it lasts has Sunjata clinging to every second – wings pressing down, hands drifting deeper into Nate’s hair, curling fingers into the raven tresses there, pulling his head back to trail kisses up Nate’s jaw until he pulls away – that blue glow still illuminating the dark space Sunjata’s made for them with his wings. [say]Just like that, huh?[/say] He purrs back, leaning in again to press a kiss against the corner of Nate’s mouth, something softer but still edged with another spark, pressing his body and hips against the Ascended's with more weight than before. [say]What about this?[/say]
It may or may not be the attuned’s way of asking how far Nate’s willing to let him go with it.
RE: swallow my doubts away - Nate - 10-27-2020
He doesn’t need it, but it still makes Nate feel more complete to release a ragged breath, once the touch of lightning has run its course through him, once his husband is all smirks and intent eyes, and Gods, is this what it looks like when he does this? A moment of giddy vanity flits through Nate, before his attention is dragged back to Sunjata by hands in his hair and kisses along his jaw.
Never before has Nate so regretted his ascension, never before has he cursed his lack of feeling so vehemently. It’s a thought he’s had a dozen times before. It’s a thought he’ll have a dozen times again.
The spark at least rocks through him, even if the pressure of the attuned’s hips don’t. It’s claws dragging inside of him, tapping at every inch of his spine, crawling on the inside of his skull. [say]You’re perfect.[/say] The words are accompanied by a rush of want, by a solar flare of utter adoration. It’s too much to contain, too much to not press through his lips as well, breathed against Sunjata’s skin. [say]”So fucking perfect.”[/say]
It’s permission, given easily, the reins in Sunjata’s hands, Nate content to simply be along for the ride for once. It’s so much more than that, feeing that don’t quite have words voiced with something else.