Okay so I was originally going to put these in their own posts but ahahahah yeah no. It’s kind of a character study?
UNIVERSE: Modern AU
MORNING ROUTINE
Terry stood at the cupboard, having rummaged through it multiple times over the course of the past five minutes. O'Brien was trying (and failing) to hide a smirk behind said mug, his back pressed to the counter. "Oh, this one is yours?"
Kyle gasped loudly from the table.
"You know that's my mug."
O'Brien turned it over in his hands mockingly, then quirked a brow, "I don't see your name anywhere?"
Terry's voice was low, but playful; "Is that so?"
Kyle, briefly transfixed, watched Terry take a step towards O’Brien and sprung into action. He dramatically flung his spoon, and wriggled out of his slightly-too-high chair. Both parents cringed at the sound of his spoon clanging to the floor. They would argue over who got to mop up the milk later.
"Stop. Stop." Kyle shoved himself between them. "Sofa. Sofa give Terry cup."
Why O'Brien had thought trying to teach 'Sufayan' to a toddler was a good idea when the regular baristas couldn't even pronounce it was beyond him.
"Yeah Sofa. Give me my mug."
Kyle patted O'Brien's leg, trying to look between both dads to make sure nothing bad was about to happen. "But I like this mug. It's my favourite colour..."
The little boy sighed. "...Okay. You can cup. But no more after, okay? Promise."
"But why? I let him use my mugs all the time, Kyle."
"Hm." Kyle pursed his lips, furrowed his brows, and pressed his fists under his chin. Both adults averted their gaze from the other to avoid laughing.
"Hey. You share with Sofa, okay Terre?
Terry crossed his arms. "I don't know if I want to share with him."
Kyle gasped again. Then, in a low voice, whispered; "Because..." He proceeded to make kissing sounds, followed by nodding at his dad and waving his hands in the very encouraging manner Ms. Busink.
"Hm. I guess I do love him..."
Terry imitated one of Kyle's dramatic sighs. The boy was oblivious.
"Okay good." The boy spun to face his other father. "Sofa don't take without ask, okay?" Kyle shook his head wildly, "Is not nice."
O’Brien smirked. "I won't do it again."
"Okay good!" Kyle proceeded to race from the room as a familiar tune began playing from the livingroom's television.
"Hey, don't forget your breakfast!"
O'Brien stared at the doorway a moment longer, then moved over to his husband, still smirking. "Hey," He bumped his hip against him.
Terry smiled softly. "Hey yourself."
O'Brien pressed up onto his toes, his lips touching gently to Terry’s. He tasted minty-fresh and not at all good with morning tea.
"I really am upset you took my mug." Terry stroked his lips across his husband's. "Now I have to wash it before I can use it."
O'Brien pulled away, confused and amused all at once. His voice was low, "You've swallowed a lot worse than my spit."
"Yes, but not in my coffee."
O'Brien snorted, slipping an arm around the back of Terry's neck and pulling him in for a deeper kiss.
"Do you want to give the bears some marshmallows?"
"...Are bears supposed to eat marshmallows?"
"Ah... well, I... mean, I guess? They wouldn't sell them if they were bad for them."
"But how come I can't eat them then?"
"Well for one, you can, just not at every meal."
"You never let me eat them," The boy muttered, crossing his arms.
"Secondly," O'Brien stressed, "You aren't a bear."
Kyle made a convincing argument via roaring and stretching his arms out, shuffling menacingly as his father laughed.
"No, they don't like that. You can feed them, though. Here," O'Brien offered his styrofoam cup down to Kyle's small hand.
Kyle swirled the pellets around in it, then looked up; "Dad?"
Kyle turned to his father with wide, watery eyes. "Why don't they like me?"
O'Brien looked from his son to the herd of elephants meandering at the opposite end of their enclosure. Little hands tugged at his pant leg to regain his attention.
"They're elephants." O'Brien said flatly. "I don't think..."
Kyle's lip started trembling.
Terry swept in, hefting his boy up against his chest so the kid could at least see the animals from above the fence line. "Why don't you think they like you, sport?"
"They won't come see me. They always go and see Ella."
Kyle's recitation of the theme song was particularly spirited for someone on the verge of tears.
"It's a cartoon," O'Brien explained to his bewildered husband.
UNIVERSE: Canon Demonverse
He'd have to teach Kai the importance of not calling him that in public some day. But for now, he was happy to bask in the endearing term. "Yes?"
Also something inappropriate for the public to know about.
Fortunately, keeping it quiet was someone else's job.
"Alright," The emerald tail sunk to the floor -- the kit wasted no time in clambering on, wrapping his legs around the appendage and latching claws between the rows of scales. "Where to, goose?" The tail lifted off the floor like a wave, hiking the kit a few feet from the ground.
Kai was ecstatic. What he lacked in vocabulary he made up for with enthusiasm. He pumped a fist upwards, nearly slipping from his father's tail. "Food!"
Oboro turned slowly, sure he had imagined the voice.
But no, there at the door was his tiny little son, tinier even than he was at the same age. The kit wandered towards him, raking his claws through the tuft of hair at the end of his tail over and over.
"There's... the shadows..." Kai sniffled. "They're in my room again."
"No, she's left for the night." A week in fact, but Tela had informed him not to worry Kai by saying as much. Tela was off on a mission in some small city, dignifying their cries for attention. The trees hadn't bloomed on time, an omen of the Plaguebeast, and widespread hysteria had broken out as a result. Many residents were in the process of moving, and nearby cities were closing trade routes. Children were being painted to protect them. Unless his wife planned to drag the giant's skull to them he imagined the visit a wasted effort on her part. Kind, though.
Oboro knelt down to his son's height as their gap closed.
"Can I... she lets me sleep with her... when they're there."
"Does she?" The amused tone was wasted on the boy, who only twisted his tail a little more anxiously. He was well aware of his son's fears and frequent trips to Tela's bed -- the entire inner circle of the court was. One stern promise of punishment for any who spoke ill of his son had at least scattered their chatter to the edges of the palace. The rumor of Kai not being his own blood was more pressing a matter.
One he would not admit frequent contemplation of.
"Can I sleep with you?" Kai stared up past a curtain of bangs, into his father's eyes
No, was the immediate response that came to mind, not out of cruelty but practicality. Oboro slept standing, after all -- had been, when his son entered. Holding him carried with it the risk of dropping him, which was unacceptable.
But Kai didn't want to sleep with him, he wanted to sleep in his bed. That was easily arranged. "Yes," He said softly, and lifted the tiny creature off the floor.
The bed had never been slept in, and after being tucked in the boy flopped about uncomfortably. He snatched Oboro's wrist just as his father began to leave; "W-wait. Don't... you aren't... going to stay with me?"
He fell quiet. Kai's tail thrashed under the blankets, tiny body tense. With a dramatic sigh Oboro waved his free hand at his son; "Move over."
Kai curled up against his father, tiny hands clutching his chest in an ancient, familiar display.
Maybe he really was his son after all.
Chubel, a sturdy warrior of the Earth and one the dearest advisors to Akoemy, set down her cage and bowed deeply before obeying. Of all the demons in the court, she was easily the most loyal -- and, rare as it was, Akoemy felt some drifting sense of trust towards the woman.
From the cage came a shrill shriek; the trapped feli spun in circles trying to find a way out, its head bobbing rapidly. It had apparently maimed the trapper who caught it; he was paid handsomely for his sacrifice.
Chubel heaved the metal dial to the left, hand over hand, over and over, huffing and flushing with the exertion. She reminded Akoemy of an ox in labour.
Behind the pair, a mechanism more ancient than the palace itself groaned, rolling a stone orb into place. Akoemy's torch became the only light in what suddenly seemed an endless void; Chubel would not admit her anxiety, but the air turned foul with the scent. Akoemy should have thought her little fighter more accustomed, their ritual onto it's third week now.
"Thank you," She purred, and heard the woman hasten to walk closer behind her. The feli's eyes glowed within the cage.
At the far end of the hall, set on the right, was a single large room. It's original purpose had been lost long ago -- long before her time, even, but its purpose now was doubtless an insult.
Her dear husband, in his infinite wisdom, had thought to cage his feral heir within. Some incident in his harem was at fault, apparently, where a girl he was fond of (and a few kits said to belong to him) had been maimed in attempting to restrain the marauding terror that was Azuelcok's only son. Locking him below was the only solution, he'd said, and it simply had to be here because if he escaped the room the stone would definitely hold him.
An extreme response to a child. Akoemy frankly thought his whore-story a convenient excuse to cover his much more pressing reason for doing this; shame. It was difficult to rule a people who whispered of the monster heir. Chubel had expressed the same beliefs, and in such cunning (and bravery -- betraying Azuelcok to his wife??) proved herself worthy of Akoemy's trust.
The door opened slowly at Akoemy's command, just enough for Chubel to set the caged feli between the wall and door. Chubel crouched, then eased the opposite side of the cage open to free it.
The previously spitting beast was now pressed to the back of its cage, silent and still. The whiskers might have been twitching, but it was difficult to tell by the torch's light.
"Ugh, not again. Come on, off. Go." She clanged the back of the cage. "Don't you want to be free? Come on..." She jabbed her claws in, trying to shove the animal out.
Across the room came a familiar rattle, followed by hissing. Azuelcok's disgrace stalked slowly into the light of the torch, teeth bared. Its eyes were liquid nightmare; impossible to follow. Chubel rose slowly, and kicked the cage once more.
That got the feli going. It howled and launched out of the cage, darting to the side to avoid the predator that barreled towards it. Chubel pulled the cage away from the door slowly, trying to be quiet and spot the racing pair. Across the room glowing eyes were visible briefly, then vanished. Both beasts were snarling, almost certainly entangled at this point.
A sudden wailing, followed by the sound of bones crunching, spoke of the feli's fate.
"He's catching them faster by the day, S--"
The bottom of the torch sunk cleanly through Chubel's skull; far more easily than Akoemy had anticipated. She pried it free with a twist of her wrist, and shoved the corpse forward. The girl collapsed to her knees, and then her face, blood pooling from her head. The body didn't land as far into the room as Akoemy had hoped; alone now, she was free to roll her eyes.
She peeled the clothing from her body like a snake shedding skin, oscillating between disdain and disregard. In three hundred years these cloths still felt excessive. They would never hold back a blade, so why constrict herself in such a way?
The room echoed with her son's vulgar chewing, his needle teeth not quite effective at shearing meat and his jaw unable to chew. Nude, she dragged Chubel into the room with a single hand, and held her bloodied torch in the other. It was a pity to have to dispose of the woman, but Akoemy had valued her too much, leaving herself too vulnerable as a result. Best to sever the attachment before her affection clouded her judgement.
At the center of the room she dropped both body and light.
The monster glanced up from a few feet away, scales twinkling amber and maroon. Hissing, it dropped the feli, its tail quivering and expelling air.
The display was amusing for its futility. If Akoemy wanted his head she could have it, in this form or any other. A child was no more a threat for wearing scales.
But lucky for him, that was not what she wanted. She shed her flesh as her robes before, growling only mildly for the pain it brought on. Her body steamed and then ripped in half, bones and organs launching free and then slithering back within, twisting as their host did. Her spine elongated, her flesh peeled and then dripped, her face melting until only bone remained. All of this horror she was aware of, felt, cherished for what it granted.
Where Akoemy, wife of Azuelcok had once stood was now a massive reptilian beast, longer than two men laid head to tail. Her scales were bright, varied colours of gold, orange, violet and indigo. Her build was more sleek than her son's but no less impressive, dressed with spikes, horns, and frills and various dizzying patterns.
From the wall her son ceased hissing, and crept towards the beast. At her maw he stopped, reaching a curious paw towards her. She allowed him, a primitive instinct pinged. She'd birthed many throughout the years, all of them disappointments -- none of them had been Ur, lacking the longevity and subterfuge necessary to join their mother in her schemes.
Oh, it would be wondrous to have a partner, finally -- one utterly devoted and loyal, and in an excellent position of power no less. She could train him to far surpass the handful of shifters that yet remained in these lands.
She inhaled the scent of her child deeply, and resisted grooming him for the rumbling pangs of hunger picking at her guts. She turned to the dead Chubel and began tearing her apart.
Pawing at her arm initially drew a territorial growl, but when her child insisted she turned to him, golden maw soaked red.
He was offering the feli up towards her, one clawed hand braced on her arm to keep from toppling. Her face contorted into a grizzly smile.
By the time she finished Chubel, the boy at her side had fallen asleep, full on his meal and calmed in his mother's presence. Her tail coiled around the small Ur; she could linger a short while longer.
"Here beastie, beastie..." Sundaza crept into the room with shields strapped to either arm. Her father had expressly forbade her from visiting her feral brother, which was precisely why she had to do it. She'd always been excellent with subduing animals, particularly mad ones, and this could only serve to hone her senses further; training had become dull since Chubel's disappearance. Fire-breathing, poison-drenched and able to reduce a man to stone with a single bite? Perfect!
Besides, everyone around the palace knew the beast was invincible. Abraxis -- Azuelcok, she mentally corrected herself -- had tried drowning the little terror at birth, and then tossing it in flame its first year, battered it with a hammer its second, and so on. He denied it, which naturally made it all the more true. Nothing she did would actually kill it, so the only risk was to herself.
The monster launched at her from the ceiling. She struck it in the gut before it could make contact, bouncing the thing across the room. It hissed, recovering quickly and flipping back onto its belly, then skittered up the wall. She moved further into the room, turning to try and keep the monster in 'sight'. She couldn't see it in this darkness, but it made more than enough noise to give itself away.
It lunged again, from the floor, and she slammed her shield downwards. It crunched down on the reptilian skull, slamming it to the floor, but the creature was fast enough to dart away before her second strike landed. She stared into the dark, clenching the straps of her shields a little tighter. The monster was quieter now, only the wood giving away where it lurked. She turned, slowly, trying to decide where the faint sound of claws hooking in wood was coming from.
She hefted her shield and ducked simultaneously; the shield's edge hit up into the thing's armpit. It was caught, briefly, but before advantage could be made it had clawed its hind feet against the shield and squirmed off of it. She slammed her shield down towards its head as it fell, but caught its tail instead.
Said tail squealed, releasing a rank stench, and for the first time she was grateful for the darkness as she gagged to the tune of peeling flesh. Sundaza backed off to try and keep her lunch; the monster slithered off once more.
Then the room was silent. No claws on wood, no hissing, no rattling tail. It wouldn't take much more to defeat it; not with how it had slowed. If she could lure it in the midst of its recuperation she would dominate it. Imagine how the court's awe when she lead it in on a rope!
She clapped the sides of her shields together, trying to provoke it a final time. The sound was like clanging bells -- excruciating, but effective. The beast came snarling forth, galloping without finesse, and lunged straight for one of the shields. It raked its claws against it, unwittingly dragging the sound on and frenzying even more as a result. Sundaza pulled her other arm back and then slammed it downwards.
Then she lifted it and slammed it again, just to be sure, pinning the monster to the floor. It thrashed and hissed, trying to wedge itself free.
"Why don't you try blowing fire?" She taunted.
Only now did she question that particular rumor. They wouldn't hold him in a wooden room, dummy.
The twisting was accompanied by an unpleasant crackling.
Sundaza smirked. "Nice try. I'm not gonna fall for that."
"Listen, I know you can't die. Do you wanna admit I won?"
Still nothing. Saliva was leaking from beneath the shield, and she thought she could see the pink of a tongue. She shifted uneasily. Prey had played dead before, but that sound...
She lifted the shield slowly. Light from the open door fell across the monster's outline.
It... definitely looked dead. Emerald arms were twisted the wrong way, and one of the legs had spun backwards in the joint. Its jaw was open, tongue split and stuck to the floor. She was reminded of a crushed insect.
"Shit... hey." She nudged the body with her foot. "What the fuck? Fuck." Fuck. She kicked the body harder. "Hey, get up!" She stomped on its tail. Grabbed an arm. Pinched an ear.
That roused the beast, tiny teeth latching onto her arm instead of throat only for reflexes granted by her father. "Fuck!" It shook its head like a dog and then let go, scampering off again into the dark.
She stared at her arm. So this was it. This was how she was going to die. Turned to stone by a tiny little stupid gecko. The skin was barely pierced but she could see the red of her blood, knew it was deep enough.
Grumbling became suddenly audible; or she had tuned back in. She looked around and realized the sound was coming from outside the room; it had escaped out into the hallway. She moved slowly from the room, trying to keep her breathing under control to stave off the poison as long as she could; if she was going to die, then she was at least going to try taking it with her. Putting it out of its misery now would be a kindness compared to whatever her father would do when he found it. If she could get it back to the room she might be able to spare someone else her fate...
She reached the door and was briefly blinded by the line of torches she'd lit. When her eyes adjusted she spotted the crouched monster by the stone orb, busy wringing its tail. Its leg and arms were both positioned as they should be, now that the thing wasn't playing dead. Her eyes narrowed.
Ignoring her, apparently. She stalked towards it slowly, shields clutched. Blood trailed down her forearm but didn't drip. The pain was minimal, no worse than a feli might inflict. She stopped directly in front of the monster.
...Her arm was fine. Mildly sore, but not poisoned, and definitely not stone. Were any of the stories true?
Looking at the beast's eyes was like staring into empty sockets. They rolled up, marked by rings of yellow only visible in this heavy light, then away.
Then it loosed the most pitiful, wretched whine she'd ever heard.
Frightened was the last thing she'd expected of an invincible monster sent as punishment by the Gods. Wincing, she crouched closer to the beast's height. It hissed, loudly, then moved its tail in front of its body and looked away.
Well. "Hey," She touched its ear. It hissed, again, throwing its head up and down, its neck expanding in an impressive display reminiscent of a cobra.
Then it trailed off into a quiet whine.
It huffed, neck deflating. He huffed.
She reached towards his muzzle and smirked. "I guess that means I win, huh?"
~
UNIVERSE: Modern AU
Note: Set well before Morning Routine+A Day At The Zoo
O'Brien leaned across the dining table, voice low, "Want me to blow you in the bathroom?"
If Vik was caught off guard, he certainly didn't show it. Behind his glasses his eyes were still on the menu; one whose prices seemed predicated on how hard it was to pronounce the dish. "Are you intentionally being crude, or is boldness yet another concept too taxing for you to grasp?"
The student grinned, his stomach flaring with heat at the insult -- a dog drooling at the dinner bell. "That doesn't sound like a 'no.'" He slid his foot forward until it bumped the other's instep.
This time, Vik did look up. O'Brien's heart thumped at his expression.
"It wasn't 'yes,' either."
Gagged, blindfolded, and bound, only now did O'Brien question subjecting himself totally to the whims of a sadistic prick. A gag gift of handcuffs had seemed harmless, and he'd insulted more than Vik's (presumed) fetishes in the past, but never had he been so totally vulnerable as this.
Well, save the unfortunate incident with the chastity belt. His toes curled at the memory of it.
He was an idiot for agreeing to this so eagerly. At least if he'd protested the bastard wouldn't feel so smug about the whole thing, glowering over him like some vulture.
He... was glowering, wasn't he? O'Brien's chest got a little tighter. Where was Vik? Was he even in the room? Why couldn't he hear him? His forehead itched. His neck felt wet. Was he sweating?
Vik wouldn't just leave him like this, would he?
...Why the fuck was he getting harder?
~
UNIVERSE: Modern AU AU, kind of a sideways universe to ZoA?
"Ah, you... needed something?" Sufayan rehearsed it again and again as he wandered down the hallway, cringing at how it progressively sounded more and more stupid. How he did. "You needed some t-thing?" Fuck, why couldn't he just get a grip already? It was one night, and over a week ago at that. He was a grown adult, and he was better than this. "You needed... ah... you needed..." His gaze drifted towards the ceiling; what was it again?
"Something." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to slow his breathing. One, two, three, breathe out, two, three...
Dr. Ansari-White was a lot of things. Brilliant, foremost, kind of a jerk, secondly, though most of the science people were. They were the jocks of the facility, the elite, the ones who could make your life miserable or wonderful but, most times, failed to notice anyone but each other. It wasn't fair to say the doctor had been any more mean than others he'd encountered, though he suspected there had been some insults a little too sophisticated for him to notice at the time. Dignified, clinical, cold...
With the hottest mouth he'd ever kissed.
He cursed, catching the movement of his fingers towards his lips just in time to stop. His hands went slack to his sides; he shook them for good measure.
"You needed something. You needed something. You needed something. You needed something. You... ah," He shook his head, trying to focus on anything but how he'd felt, how he'd moved. Sufayan's legs had stayed trembling long after the smell of the doctor had vanished from his bed.
He'd had one night stands with other members of the facility before, and woken up no worse for wear after. Passed them in the hall, the cafeteria, and thought nothing of it. Felt nothing after.
Why, out of all of them, did this have to be the one to trip him up? The one who could actually take his job -- and would, without a thought, because who the hell would keep paying an engineer that couldn't keep his mind on his work? An engineer in his forties no less. Nevermind the transfer they’d humiliated him with before, he'd be sent home with a fat cheque and a, 'good luck not being torn apart by hellspawn!' That or taken out back and shot for ‘knowing too much.’
He rubbed the back of his neck, and stopped in front of the Doctor's door. 'DR. V. ANSARI-WHITE' it proclaimed, and his mind stumbled on the V. Victor? Vincent? He seemed kinda like a Vincent...
Fuck, there he was going off track again! This was ridiculous. Irritation flushed his system, and he pulled the door open a little harder than necessary.
At least he could rely on the other to be professional. He just had to ride the wave and all of this would blow over. His voice was level, charming even, though he barely heard it over his thudding pulse; "Did you need something, Doctor?"
~
UNIVERSE: -THROWS HANDS IN AIR!- (Watcher AU)
They laid side by side, entwined as fatigued predators.
They were at an impasse.
To linger too long implied intimacy beyond a quick round of sex; to leave was to show fear, surrendering the territory by default to the one who endured. Both knew not to trust the other, and both knew they would lose this portion of the game if they revealed their mistrust. Vanik, Azuelcok imagined, was suffering more than he. Azuelcok was used to languishing in a bed for hours so some woman could drape herself over him, pretending she owned some piece of him through virtue of proximity.
Vanik did not seem the type to subject himself to such political demands. He was a Watcher, virtually a free agent when it came to lust.
He was also the more attractive of the pair -- Azuelcok was likely low on the list of accomplished fucks (did being a shifter raise him a few tiers?), whereas Vanik topped his own roll. It was hard to imagine anyone being quite so satisfying on such a carnal level.
"You can cease pretending. I know you don’t sleep with your eyes closed.”
His eyes opened, an amused smirk tugging at the ruler's mouth. The thrill of what edged on threat knotted his nerves. Vanik really had done his homework, hadn't he? "Nor are you," He replied flatly, lest he sound too fond. A clutched hand at chest relaxed, his claws teasing slow loops across the planes of the Watcher's abdomen, narrowly avoiding nipple and cock. "Would you rather we entertain ourselves with something else? I have been told that Fieri libido is..." His hand fell lower on the elder's pelvis; a large hand draped over his, halting the caress.
"Impressive," He purred emphatically.
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