Rory's hand could be covered in the most unimaginable filth and still Jigano would lean into that touch, ear flickering contentedly beneath the caress as a soft sigh escaped. Blue eyes fluttered briefly closed, lips curving in a gentle smile until the playful tug brought a rumbling chuckle to his throat. "Mmm. More, please. And I would never. Not unless you asked nicely," he added slyly, teasing his mate with the ease of long familiarity.
Had he ever thought he would trust himself so completely to another? His heart was full of autumn sunlight, threatening to spill over in the slow pulse of the lazy afternoon, and the anticipation of the crisp evening air that would encourage them to hold each other close in the dark was a future to be savored as slowly as any cider.
Beyond it, so distant as to be a lifetime away, the promise of walking the world with his partner at his side?
Could he ever regret whatever twist of fate had brought him here and given him this gift?
Ella received a kiss as Jigano opened his eyes to see what had set his love to shifting, and he hummed fondly at the hound's eager loyalty, reaching forward at last, slow and easy, to curve long fingers around the edge of a canine jaw, working blunt nails into fur and the skin beneath to reach an itch that always seemed to need scratching.
"I'm beginning to think you don't want to be alone with me," the fox teased gently, voice warm as he lifted his head to stretch in a lithe uncoiling of limber muscles before settling back down, shifting his cheek to a different spot on Rory's thigh, ears relaxed but canted pleadingly for more attention. "Just the two of us, no one else to take care of except each other..." A little wistfulness, a little joy at the thought, though he smiled reassuringly at Ella. "At least until we come home again at season's end."
Had he ever thought he would trust himself so completely to another? His heart was full of autumn sunlight, threatening to spill over in the slow pulse of the lazy afternoon, and the anticipation of the crisp evening air that would encourage them to hold each other close in the dark was a future to be savored as slowly as any cider.
Beyond it, so distant as to be a lifetime away, the promise of walking the world with his partner at his side?
Could he ever regret whatever twist of fate had brought him here and given him this gift?
Ella received a kiss as Jigano opened his eyes to see what had set his love to shifting, and he hummed fondly at the hound's eager loyalty, reaching forward at last, slow and easy, to curve long fingers around the edge of a canine jaw, working blunt nails into fur and the skin beneath to reach an itch that always seemed to need scratching.
"I'm beginning to think you don't want to be alone with me," the fox teased gently, voice warm as he lifted his head to stretch in a lithe uncoiling of limber muscles before settling back down, shifting his cheek to a different spot on Rory's thigh, ears relaxed but canted pleadingly for more attention. "Just the two of us, no one else to take care of except each other..." A little wistfulness, a little joy at the thought, though he smiled reassuringly at Ella. "At least until we come home again at season's end."
