hiding in plain sight

// as long as there's bread and as long as there's an appetite //

Rolling his eyes to the comment of the pants, Danta isn’t entirely wrong. “I imagine that since I assisted you with getting into them, it’s only fair I help you out of them, mm?” It’s his turn to offer a flash of sharp teeth in a broad and playful grin, one that doesn’t last as he downs the shot of rum and his face twists a little, nose scrunching up.

It’s a face that doesn’t last as Danta squeezes his shoulder and whispers in his ear, tail waving contently for the moment as he hums a sound of acceptance, readying to move shortly after the Maverick’s departure.

Only to pause immediately and glare suspiciously over toward the vanishing blonde that he assumes has tugged on his tail — because who else would’ve dared?

Standing after a moment of collecting his thoughts, Astaroth stands and straightens out his shirt, his tail winding around his leg to prevent any other potential snags, before he picks a path through the crowds of people toward his familiar door, opening it after a heartbeat of a second.

Astaroth

// as long as everyone you need is stepping in line, you are camouflaged //

// you knew who I was //

"I'm glad you think so," Danta purrs over his shoulder as a parting quip, "because there's no way I'm getting them off on my own." It isn't even humour - he really might struggle - but of course Asta will have to find that out for himself very shortly.

Having his own key to the butcher's room (and all others within the Dusklight, naturally), by the time Asta opens the door Danta has already drawn the fire up into a merry blaze and kissed sconces to life around them for other points of light and warmth. He glances across at the other man as he enters, blue eyes reflecting the flames in the hearth, and manages to keep himself to himself at least until the door clicks shut behind him.

"And here I thought you'd be all tired out after your argument," he purrs, closing the distance between them in a way that, in truth, is probably far more comfortable than it ought to be. The same might be said of the ease with which Danta leans in to gently press his lips against Asta's, but of course the Maverick isn't thinking about that in the moment.

He isn't thinking of much more than the touch of the other man's hands and where they might press against his body, in fact.

Dantalion

// with every step that I ran to you //

// as long as there's bread and as long as there's an appetite //

The door opens and he’s immediately greeted with warmth of a higher degree, loosening any tension remaining in his shoulders. A sharp toothed grin spreads on his face, twisting into a smirk as he steps in and closes the door behind him without looking, simply observing the way the fire bounces the highlights of Danta’s golden hair, the way it seems to reflect and both brighten the Maverick’s blue eyes — eyes that are focused intently on him.

“I am tired, but—” He trails off in favor for the comfortable closure of space, the smooth and sweet kiss pressed to his lips that he pushes back into, arms winding around the other man as he makes an attempt to guide him backwards, closer to the heat of the fire and away from the door. “I am also pent up.” His tone is a touch husky, hands pressing against Danta’s hips as he continues to guide him back, misjudging the space to his bed with his focus wholly on the blonde, to end up pressing him back against the post of his bed.

Smirking to himself and into the next kiss he all but demands, those hands drift up underneath the gifted gold shirt, calloused fingertips heavy as they make a path up his stomach and sides.

Astaroth

// as long as everyone you need is stepping in line, you are camouflaged //

// you knew who I was //

"Mm, that's funny. Usually I'm the reason you're pent up, not the relief for it," Danta manages with a catlike smirk, before his lips meet Asta's and the room blurs into heat vague colour that is soon overwhelmed by the touch of the other man's hands. The Maverick's back meets the bedpost and he nips at Asta's lower lip for his clumsiness, not that he has much to complain about with their current positioning.

Shifting to let the butcher's rough hands roam where they please, Danta hooks a leg around his hips, drawing them flush together and igniting a needy moan in the back of his throat, one that's soon swallowed up in the kiss stolen from his lips. Left panting for breath by the time they eventually part, the Maverick drapes an arm around Asta's shoulders and offers him a somewhat wicked look.

"Sit down," he hisses.

Dantalion

// with every step that I ran to you //

// as long as there's bread and as long as there's an appetite //

Unable to answer with how his lips meet the Maverick’s in a kiss warm enough to rival the fire the blonde has stoked to a perfect level, a chuckle slips from his chest in a quiet shake, because he knows that’s how it usually goes — but the tables have effectively turned, and now much to his surprise, he finds comfort in everything the Maverick can offer.

The nip to his bottom lip is met with a rumble, hands growing more possessive beneath the gilded shirt, pulling away and panting equally as hard, a lock of his dark hair has fallen from being wrapped behind his horn, brushing against Danta’s forehead as he lets his dark gaze meet the blonde’s bright blues.

“Demanding tonight, aren’t we?” Comes the deep accented rumble, pausing for a moment simply to be stubborn, before he obliges and twists enough to sit on the side of the bed, hands already aiming to pull Danta over between his legs.

Astaroth

// as long as everyone you need is stepping in line, you are camouflaged //

// you knew who I was //

"I have my moments," Danta purrs - demanding is the least of things he can be on a bad day, let's be honest. Nevertheless, he can assure the other man that complying is absolutely for his own good, and as Asta finally does turn to sit, the Maverick is coaxed easily to stand between his knees. "You've had a hard couple of days. It feels rude to make you do all the work." He smirks, the words dripping with saccharine amusement, though he more than means the sentiment behind them.

And so, reaching out to tilt up Asta's chin, Danta leans in for another kiss stoked by the heat of their bodies and the flames at their backs, deft fingers smoothing across the other man's shoulders and chest so he might start to unbutton his shirt, careful not to crease or wrinkle the fabric unnecessarily.

Of course, eventually the trajectory of his hands means he's forced to kneel (oh no) between the butcher's thighs, Danta tugging Asta's shirt open and promptly beginning to unbuckle his belt while he's at it.

Dantalion

// with every step that I ran to you //

// as long as there's bread and as long as there's an appetite //

Forced to look up at him as he sits, Astaroth’s lips quirk into a sharp smirk, watching as his question is answered. “Ah, so it’s for my benefit.” He hums, fully believing it as his hands smooth along Danta’s hips over the tight leather pants, drifting slowly even as his dark gaze brightens with the reflection of the flame and the anticipation of the Maverick’s hands smoothing over his shoulders.

His chin is tilted up more, greedily pleased to have the kiss that greets him, pressing up into it with a soft sigh of relief, especially as Danta’s fingertips dip to start unbuttoning his shirt. He dives into the kiss a bit deeper, briefly as Danta starts to lower, and his hands slip up against the Maverick’s sides, drawing that gilded shirt up, bunching around his shoulders.

The butcher takes a deep breath when they part, dark eyes aglow in a hue of honey in the reflected firelight, leaning back slightly to give more room for him to unbuckle his pants while promptly removing Danta’s shirt in the process, his own shirt opening enough for him to shrug out of it and reveal all the scars still dark and deep, shadows casted from the dancing firelight. Asta’s legs spread a bit, as if offering more room to work with while one hand lifts to Danta’s blonde locks, thumb brushing along diamond hued, spiky horns. “Let’s see what you’ve planned, then.” He purrs.

Astaroth

// as long as everyone you need is stepping in line, you are camouflaged //

// you knew who I was //

Forced to pause in his ministrations to allow Asta to draw his shirt up and over his head, Danta's fingers are impatient as he tosses the other man's belt to the side and swiftly unbuttons his pants, leaning in for a moment to press his lips against his scarred chest. 

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you have a good idea what I have planned, given how pent up you are." He grins against his warm skin, glancing up at the other man for a moment or so before warm hands run along the tops of his thighs.

"And I know you're a control freak, but I promise it's in your best interests to just let me." Winking up at Asta, Danta gives him a gentle nudge as if to encourage him to lay back enough that he can tug his pants down, allowing his kisses to migrate lower along his torso and hips.

Dantalion

// with every step that I ran to you //

// as long as there's bread and as long as there's an appetite //

A shiver runs down his spine as Danta’s warm lips press against his bronze stomach, breathing a soft little sigh of content from his nose, grinning to the Maverick from where he’s nestled between his legs. “Oh, I am sure I do. But I am more than happy to see how it aligns.” Lips quirk a touch into that sharp smirk again, legs relaxing under the warm touch.

Groaning with playful annoyance, Astaroth rolls his eyes and does indeed lean back, sinking back onto his elbows and helping to lift his hips just enough for Danta to slip his pants off. The Maverick’s lips pave a path along his torso and drift further down and Astaroth watches with a sultry gleam to his gaze, hands tightening in the blankets to prevent himself from taking control, as if he needs the grounding, while offering a nearly breathless purr. “Do your worst, darling.”

Each kiss further south sparks heat within him, made easier by the fact it had already been brimming in the back of his mind. A flush rises along his skin in patches broken up by the scar tissue, but weighs heavily on his bearded cheeks, the heat and attention helping to fill out his length more.

Astaroth

// as long as everyone you need is stepping in line, you are camouflaged //

// you knew who I was //

"I'm not so sure you can handle my worst," Danta murmurs, his warm voice muffled against the butcher's torso as he smiles a kiss against his bronzed skin. "Not unless you want this over in ten seconds." With mischief dancing in his gaze, he reaches out to tug down Asta's pants enough that he can settle comfortably between his legs on his knees, hands trailing whispers of fire as they glide across his thighs.

Purposely avoiding the other man's growing erection in lieu of anywhere else at all, Asta will nonetheless be treated to generous and massaging touches, to hot fingertips and a hotter tongue lavishing him with attention aimed both to tease and relax. Only once he's satisfied with a job well done does Danta's fingers finally encircle the base of the taller Ancient's cock, squeezing firmly at the same time as he takes him into his mouth completely.

Dantalion

// with every step that I ran to you //

// as long as there's bread and as long as there's an appetite //

He could lie and play the game and know that Danta is quite unfortunately right about it being over in ten minutes, but he acquiesces and huffs a soft breathy laugh, rolling his eyes with a soft and affectionate “fuck you.” The butcher remains in that quite prone position, hands clutching at the blankets as the whisper of fire caresses along his thighs, loosening and lingering chill and dread of the stress that’s bloomed within him since yesterday.

Honey eyes focus on Danta in the space he sinks down to, watching as he focuses — quite frustratingly — everywhere else but where he wants him to, but it does the job. His muscles relax, his breathing picks up a tick, tension floods from him. His head has sunk back just a fraction with the movements and ministrations, until a gratefully too hot hand and mouth finally attend to his now strained, hard cock. And the sight of the Maverick taking him in one full swoop has his stomach muscles tightening, a growled groan escaping him with a “gods, Danta” both in relief and a small amount in part of awe.

Watching with heavy lids and eyes swallowing up by his pupils at the sight, his muscles clench as he reminds himself to remain, to let Danta take the lead in this. Already, the butcher finds it very much worth his time.

Astaroth

// as long as everyone you need is stepping in line, you are camouflaged //

// you knew who I was //

Danta would fuck him, if he thought that was really what Asta wanted or needed this evening, but for all of the other man's restraint, he knows better than to push his need for control beyond a certain point. Instead, moaning his approval around the taller Ancient's cock, Danta's fire warmed hands squeeze and stroke and press against anywhere his tongue and lips can't properly attend. Only when his lungs burn for air does he draw back, panting, his fingers still idly stroking against the other man's length.

"I know you said you'd help, but I think I can manage this." Winking at Asta, Danta rises smoothly to his feet to unbutton his own pants, shifting (not without difficulty, but that's more because of his arousal than the skin tight leather) to take them off before descending upon the other man properly, blanketing his body with his own. His lips find the butcher's in a kiss as devouring as it is gentle, purposely so, as if he's not quite finished teasing him yet.

Dantalion

// with every step that I ran to you //

// as long as there's bread and as long as there's an appetite //

Let it not be said that Danta wasn’t smart, because that’s exactly what the butcher seeks. Enough to play around, but at the end of the day he wants to be the one to leave the bruising marks, the bites left behind, the scratches and soreness in days time.

Another groan escapes him to feel the vibration of Danta’s own around his cock, the butcher’s tail waving slightly as it sneaks around to stroke along the blonde Ancient’s back, at least however briefly it lasts as Danta draws back from his length to stand, to slip out of those tight leather pants that truly don’t leave much of anything to the imagination (certainly not the strain of them from the other man’s own arousal), and he catches his breath as he goes to sit up a bit more as if to help regardless of what the Maverick has said.

But it’s done with surprisingly quick work, and before Asta can clear his mind enough to actually move, he’s pushed back down against the bed with the way Danta blankets him. It’s both a sweet and serene movement with the brimming chaos beneath of greed and hunger that their lips meet, Asta’s sharp teeth nipping at Danta’s lower lip, hands immediately finding the blonde’s hair, dragging his fingertips through it, snagging on pricks of his rainbow hued horns, before drifting lower and pressing possessive touches all over his back and along his spine.

He doesn’t move just yet beyond that, though, as if allowing the Maverick to tease and taunt him further.

Astaroth

// as long as everyone you need is stepping in line, you are camouflaged //

// you knew who I was //

Smiling against Asta's lips to feel greedy hands map the expanse of his back and shoulders, Danta positions himself closely enough to spark friction between their bodies, drawing back from their kiss just enough for the other man to nip at his lower lip, leaving a bead of blood that wells in its wake. Shifting back abruptly as if to stall Asta from chasing the drop of crimson, it's with a catlike smile and his tail curling with anticipation that Danta reaches for the other man's cock, fully intending to ride him like this.

At least until the butcher demands control of the situation for himself, of course, but the Maverick is curious as to just how far he can push Asta. And so it's through hooded eyes that he sinks down against the other man's length, lips parted in a soft moan of pleasure, one hand braced against his chest for leverage.

Dantalion

// with every step that I ran to you //