Things Jainan said, thought or did which made me physically ill:
- not noticing the constant nausea had passed until it came back
- scrutinising Kiem for his emotional cues and worrying that he couldn't tell when Kiem's annoyed or frustrated - even though Kiem never feels those things
- related to above; waiting for Kiem to blow up because Taam would have in the same situation
- realising that he was not able to think at all for the past few years (which he spends with Taam)
- asking Kiem's permission to speak with his sister
- glorying in the feeling of space when he sits in his and Kiem's shared living room with his clan's flag on the wall and documents out
- cutting Kiem off when he criticises Taam but apologising about everything he perceived as a mistake about himself
- not working in his field of research anymore and repeating that he isnt an expert anymore and doesnt know enough even though he is still incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about it
- not knowing what he likes in bed because he was never asked and it was never about him (even though Taam apparently only occassionally enjoying the sex)
- shocked not about Taam hitting him, but about hitting him in public
Read Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell and really enjoyed it :D
Wanted to draw Kiem and Jainan ✨🫶
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“You’ll be the best,” he said.
“You don’t know that,” Jainan said.
His eyes reflected the light from the hall; behind him, beyond the void, the stars burned in enduring points; far beyond them, a telescope could have seen the maelstrom of the link, and a million more stars beyond that; and this tiny station spinning around a tiny jeweled planet like the fulcrum of the universe.
No but truly Jainan is a better person than me. If I had to fight a fucking dinosaur looking 6 legged reptile monster thing WITH A STICK that people had the fucking nerve to call a BEAR I would have take up the shady offer of leaving the alliance from the space inquisition. Fuck the planet version of Australia and their fucked up wildlife.
These two guys are from Winter's orbit by Everina Maxwell, They were absolutely lovely to draw 💕 I'm especially in love with their cloth designs! 🥰 Thank you so much for working with me!
[ID: A digital drawing of Kiem and Jainan from the novel Winter's Orbit. Kiem and Jainan are standing on a balcony in front of an elaborate golden framed door that is overlooking the rest of the ship, a starry sky is visible in the background. Kiem is holding Jainan's face with his right hand and kissing his jaw, they are both grinning and holding onto the railing with their free hands. Kiem is a brown skinned man with black curly hair and brown eyes, he is wearing a blue waist coat with a dark blue swirly pattern on it. Jainan is a brown skinned man with dark brown hair held up with a golden pin and light brown eyes, he is wearing a dark green suit with a lighter green mini jacket that has a large collar. They are both wearing wedding bands that compliment each other. /End ID]
[image description: Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons crashes headfirst through a window as though thrown from a catapult. The caption reads "FLEDGE raiders returning Kiem after listening to him talk about sheep for two hours". End ID]
Research and Application: Jainan's Sexual Preferences
Jainan once admitted to Kiem, in a very cold, very close tent on the mountainside, that he didn't know what he liked in bed and needed to find out.
And now they can start their lives together, Kiem intends to find out.
Please consider leaving a comment over on Ao3 if you enjoyed this! My first fic for the Winter's Orbit fandom! Yay!
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If anyone had happened to be watching Count Jainan at that moment, they’d have seen him striding down the hallways of the College’s engineering department with his usual focused determination. They’d have seen him quickly check his wristband, a flash of a schedule, probably checking when his next class was or whose project he was consulting on next, likely making sure he was heading in the right direction. Which of course he would be, because he was Jainan.
But instead of continuing, they’d have seen him stop dead, give a sudden, unexpected, unfamiliar bark of laughter and quickly wipe the screen away.
Thankfully, no one happened to be watching. Jainan wasn’t sure how he’d live that down or even go about explaining it.
Especially seeing as the only meeting visible on the schedule was a bright, cheerfully blue boxed out session that ran from three in the afternoon- the moment Jainan’s day at the College transferring files ended- and on into the night. And the fact that it was loudly, proudly titled the way all of the lectures he gave would be, same font, same cadence.
But if anyone had happened to be watching at that moment, they’d have noticed it was titled ‘Research and Application: Jainan’s Sexual Preferences.” And that the location was simply scheduled for ‘Our Bedroom’ and the meeting lead was denoted as ‘Prince Kiem’.
So it was a damn good thing no one happened to be watching.
“I cannot believe you called it that.”
Kiem’s answering smile was smug and triumphant, somehow, despite the fact that he was also trying to wriggle out of his trousers at the same time. With Jainan’s arms around his shoulders.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he murmured, while kissing along his husband’s jawline. The man was an excellent multitasker.
“You do,” Jainan’s hands slid down Kiem’s hips, helping him to undress seeing as he was the one making it difficult, “What would have happened if I had been around the students when I checked my schedule?”
Kiem snorted with laughter, “Wolf whistles. Nudges. A lot of people being astounded at my good fortune…”
“Oh hush- oh,” Jainan breathed, his voice soaring up a few octaves as Kiem chose that moment to move down to his collar, kissing right where his pulse was hammering.
“Speaking of,” they’d reached the bedroom door and Kiem paused, pressing Jainan against it, “Let’s go over how this is going to work.”
Jainan nodded, breath coming in soft pants. You could hear the royalty in Kiem’s voice when he gave instructions like this and being the focus of it was igniting something inside his chest.
It was just a nameless, formless something right now, he was still getting used to a lot of these sensations. It was like trying to overcome a language barrier with his own mind and could so easily frustrate him but he wasn’t going to let it. Not now.
So he listened to Kiem instead.
“So…this is so we can work out what you enjoy in bed,” Kiem’s hands had gravitated to his hair, as Jainan was quickly realising they often did when given permission, “So there’s no such thing as a wrong answer. There’s no wondering if you’re doing enough for me or being selfish or demanding too much. Not possible. Not a thing. Okay?”
Jainan smiled as he felt those strong, sure fingers run through his hair in a soothing rhythm, “I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will,” Kiem stole another quick kiss, apparently just because he couldn’t help himself, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Jainan smiled, thinking that he was never going to tire of saying those words to this man, as his hand finally found the sensor for the door and he pulled Kiem into their bedroom.
This had been some time coming. Ever since Jainan’s confession in the mountains that he hadn’t even really made and the several he actually had afterwards, this had been coming. He’d expected it to come rather low on the list of priorities, what with the undeniable mess that came after nearly dying a handful of times, mental torture and narrowly avoiding the crumbling of a political system. But Kiem clearly thought this would be good for them, as they figured out what their lives would look like now.
And Jainan was honestly finding it hard to argue.
So as soon as they’d gotten home to Iskat, to the small, cosy rooms they could still hardly believe this had all begun in, Kiem had promised him this night, promising to find a space soon within Jainan finding his feet running the Kingfisher Operation and Kiem learning everything he could about Thea to prepare for his new role. And here they were, a scant day or so after that promise. Both men were perhaps a little eager for this. Sharing a bed but being too tired for any actual sex had been grating.
The bed in question was mercifully soft, given that he collapsed onto it with Kiem on top of him. His husband was all angles, burning off energy faster than he took it in, probably on personality alone. He seemed to be aware of this and quickly rolled off him until they were nose to nose, which only made Jainan wonder why they weren’t kissing.
“Another rule,” Kiem was so close, his voice was a vibration in Jainan’s ears, he felt him as much as he heard him, “You can ask for what you want but you can ask for what you don’t want too. I guess a lot of this will be new so if anything gives you even a vaguely ick feeling, all you have to do is speak up and I’ll stop. Instantly. I promise.”
And because Kiem’s promises meant something, Jainan nodded and smiled wryly, “Red to stop completely. Amber to stop and check in. Green to continue. I read the notes on the meeting you scheduled with me, Prince Kiem.”
“Of course you did,” he was clearly beside himself with glee at his joke, Jainan’s amusement somehow something beyond precious to him, “So. Do you have an…area you’d like me to start with?”
“A preliminary research point?” Jainan’s mouth twitched up at the corners, his equivalent of a smile, “I…I liked in the mountains when you used your hands first. I like your hands.”
He let the words leave him without second guessing, without filtering or hesitating. He spoke the way his husband did, freely. Because the man lying next to him, so close that the tips of their noses touched, he deserved all his words after everything they’d been through together.
“Oh? Do you?” Kiem was shifting, his voice pitching a few notes lower though somehow no less sweet. Even when he tried, he couldn’t shake that when he talked to his husband.
Jainan just nodded, words became difficult to catch hold of when he was like this. Like he didn’t want to spare the attention to think and form sentences, he wanted it all for Kiem. It didn’t matter, his prince was getting very good at reading him, at taking cues from his eyes and his soft sighs and the way he moved.
So Kiem moved to cover Jainan’s body with his own, though keeping his weight propped up on his knees and one elbow this time so he wasn’t smothering him. He kissed Jainan, lingering more this time, while his free hand went wandering along his body like he was memorising it. Like he was mapping, charting, the same way people formed constellations, finding points of light and tracing between them. The hollow of Jainan’s throat to his navel to the valley of his legs, along the twin scars across his chest that were invisible unless seen from this close up, all the way down to the inside of an ankle. Quite what Kiem saw between these points, what picture he was painting in his own mind, Jainan had no idea but it felt damn good.
“Kiem…” Jainan tried to pour everything he was feeling into the way he said his husband’s name, knowing there were no other words.
“Ready?” Kiem guessed correctly, the dim lights in the room making him glow, turning the freckles that dusted his shoulders to stars and his eyes to suns.
“Please,” Jainan gasped and that was all he had to say, finally getting the touch where he needed it most.
He melted instantly, Kiem having to slide an arm under his shoulders so they could keep kissing, holding them both up now. Jainan’s own arms locked around his shoulders, holding on for dear life as Kiem’s fingers touched down between his legs, lightly at first, admiring. But at a needy growl from Jainan, one he’d be mildly embarrassed about later but Kiem clearly loved, he pushed deeper. He stroked up and down first, the way someone might play an instrument, gathering Jainan’s slick on his fingers.
No one had ever paid him that kind of careful, loving attention, spent so long simply exploring his body. Jainan was helpless under it, whimpering and gasping in tune with Kiem’s fingers. When he finally slipped a finger inside him, he almost screamed.
Kiem’s smile was in his voice, Jainan’s eyes were screwed shut and couldn’t see it as much as he wanted to, his muscles weren’t entirely under his own control, “So…this is going on the list then?”
“Yes,” Jainan’s voice trembles, his whole body buzzing with energy and need, “Oh, yes.”
Kiem hummed contentedly, burying his face in Jainan’s hair and pushing deeper, stroking a knot of nerves inside him that he seemed to have known about but Jainan didn’t. It dragged a wild, high cry from him and his legs kicked out involuntarily. Kiem even gave a soft little laugh as his husband’s foot connected with his shin.
“Okay,” he chuckled, no worse for wear, “Definitely on the list…shall I change it up? Try something else?”
The idea of not having Kiem there and touching him there was unthinkable for a split second but Jainan trusted him and nodded, “Green.”
Kiem pulled himself up, giving Jainan a last, almost fond little pat between the legs to make him squeak. He seemed to consider where he wanted to go next and, for a very odd moment, he looked so strategic that Jainan thought he might actually have made quite a decent military man.
“Oh,” he finally grins, voice so low he was now almost purring, “I think you’ll like this.”
He moved between Jainan’s legs, sinking down onto his front with a grace he never believed he actually had. But clearly everyone had a setting where they felt comfortable, where the best of them shone. For Jainan it was in front of a screen full of velocity equations and schematics or with a quarterstaff in his hand. For Kiem it was here, with intimacy and closeness with someone he loved.
And by some wild, insane cosmic luck, that person was Jainan. And he was going to hold on so tight.
“A lot of people have joked that this is the only way to shut me up so I’ve had a lot of practice…” Kiem hummed, half to himself as he bent between Jainan’s legs before pressing a soft kiss to the inside of one thigh, “Does this sound okay, me using my mouth on you? Want me to keep going?”
Jainan swallowed, “I really, really do. And, for the record, I’ll miss the sound of your voice while you do.”
Kiem’s cheeks darkened and he gave a soft, happy noise, kissing the inside of his thighs again. This night was clearly about Jainan- it was his name on it after all- but that didn’t mean he wasn’t learning things about Kiem too. How obviously he responded to praise, how he loved to touch, how closeness was so clearly important to him. All of it was being carefully catalogued by Jainan’s attentive mind and stored safely for the thousand other nights they’d have together. That noise was lovingly heard, tagged and stowed away too.
Just like with his hands, Kiem began by testing the waters, a light kiss to the spot at the top of Jainan’s genitals where all the tightness and need and want seemed to be centred, a broad stroke of his tongue, a teasing taste, a circle around the opening still twitching from his fingers before. Again, it was Jainan who had to urge him on, with a shuddery moan and one hand moving quickly to take a gentle handful of tight curls.
And of course that was what Kiem had been waiting for. He began eating Jainan out in earnest, sliding his tongue in and out now, making sure his nose nudged just where it needed to. Jainan seized up, that electricity taking hold of him again, with a low roar he might have actually made. His thighs locked around Kiem’s head, his grip on his hair becoming less gentle, too gripped to make the same noises he had before. The pleasure tasted different, it did different things to him but it was still so good.
Especially when Kiem slid a hand between Jainan’s legs to keep him spread open, his thumb taking over for his nose so he could press harder, more intensely. That and the low, constant rhythm of pressure from Kiem’s tongue, Jainan knew he wouldn’t be lasting long.
“Kiem,” he gasped out, voice raw and strained, “Please, I can’t…I’m going to…oh fuck.”
Maybe it was drawing a curse from his usually measured husband or maybe this was getting to him as much as it was getting to Jainan but Kiem gave a shuddering gasp, forcing himself to draw back so he could gasp, “Jai, I wanna make you come. Tell me how.”
“Like in the mountains,” Jainan begged, “Inside me, where your tongue was. Please.”
Kiem didn’t wait any longer, moving to his knees and throwing Jainan’s legs over his shoulders, taking him by the hips so he could steady his body and slide into him. It was easy, given his previous attentions, their bodies fit together with an effortless feeling of rightness. Jainan moaned, tipping his head back, giving Kiem the opportunity to bend forward, press kisses along his neck. That pushed him so far up inside Jainan that he cried out, bucking his hips, as Kiem’s cock hit that sweet spot inside him directly. Fortunately, he managed to turn his shout into the word green.
So Kiem rolled his hips, the same rhythm as before but with his whole body now, more power, more contact, more of everything. And so Jainan gave more, rocking up to meet Kiem’s thrusts, an active participant in his own pleasure and feeling such a sense of power from that. It wasn’t his and it wasn’t Kiem’s, it was theirs.
Eventually he whimpered, finding some semblance of a voice, “Close. So close…coming…”
Kiem nodded, murmuring into his neck, “Let go. I’m right there with you, Jai.”
Before he’d even finished the sentence, it all came together so perfectly and Jainan finally came, with a low moan of relief, the sense of relief and reward washing over him. He felt Kiem come too, from the rush of heat deep inside him and the shudder that ran through his shoulders, under Jainan’s palms. He gasped too, high and sweet, almost in shock. He’d clearly been paying too much attention to Jainan and hadn’t noticed his own need.
Some things were familiar, of course. But so much wasn’t and what was most unfamiliar was the hollowness left in the wake of his orgasm suddenly being filled with simple, sweet bliss. Like a favourite childhood candy, uncomplicated and pure. Jainan could have cried, if he wasn’t too busy smiling.
Kiem was clearly right there with him, his voice muddy and indistinct because he stubbornly wouldn’t pull his face away from Jainan’s shoulder, “Oh my god. Oh my god.”
“Three for the list,” Jainan joked, voice rough, letting Kiem pull free and making a comfortable space for him to rest against him, “A very successful research endeavour.”
“Night’s still young,” Kiem mumbled, “We’ll expand it after a refuel. Bel said she’d bring take out to the door if I promised to put on trousers to go collect it.”
Jainan felt a rush of warmth in his face at the thought of Bel knowing what they were doing, in broad strokes if not the details. Though if he was as loud as he thought he’d been, half of the residential wing must know. He found something to like about the embarrassment he felt.
“Thank you,” he murmured, kissing the top of Kiem’s head, “I’m not allowed to say sorry but I can say thank you.”
Kiem stroked a finger down his husband’s chest, “Well then I can say it back. Thank you.”
Jainan wrapped his arms tighter around his husband, “I suppose…wait. Did you call me Jai back there?”
He felt Kiem stiffen and imagined his eyes had snapped open, “Um…did I? Don’t remember…doesn’t sound like me…”
Jainan shook with laughter, bringing Kiem’s head up to smile bashfully at him.
“I’m sorry, it was a spur of the moment ‘fuck my husband is so incredibly hot’ stupid decision…”
“Don’t apologise!” Jainan put his hand on Kiem’s cheek, “I like it! I’ve not had a nickname before…maybe just from you, though.”
“Oh I’m using it in speeches, I’m using it in press quotes,” Kiem laughed, eyes shining with mischief, “I’m using it in front of Gairad.”
“You will do no such thing!” Jainan yelped in horror, only making his husband laugh louder.
In moments the two were wrestling, laughing and teasing and kissing, Kiem soon helplessly pinned under Jainan though neither seemed to mind.
