This morning I woke up first and I woke up horny as fuck. I took a couple hits off my bong to heighten sensation. He was on his side away from me. I rolled over and started gently pulling his hair. His sweet, dreamy moans got me wet immediately. I began alternating between biting his earlobe and sucking his nipple. He slowly woke up and when he realized what was happening he rolled onto his back and told me to climb onto him.
On top of him I rubbed and rubbed my wetness along his head. The weed was doing its job. The surface nerves in my skin were singing. I was so close.
“Please,” I begged, lost in my rutting.
“You started this,” he moaned. “You don’t need my permission.”
The orgasm that followed almost knocked me off his lap, and he slipped inside me as I came. He gripped my hips, holding me in place and he railed me. One of his hands let go only so he could massage my clit with his thumb. The weed was definitely doing its job then. It felt so good I couldn’t hold myself up. His other hand let go of my hip to hold me up, while his hand and his cock continued their methodical work. I came so hard I shot his cock right out of me, my muscles clenched so tight. He kept going with his thumb. It was all I could do to stay on top of him. He rubbed his shaft along my pussy while his thumb kept going. I couldn’t stop cumming.
I leaned down to kiss him and he responded eagerly. He sucked and bit my lips, which only made me cum harder.
He exploded all over my wet pussy.
“Cum with me,” he said, still working my clit. I didn’t need to be told twice.
Now I’m writing this while my legs are still shaking and his cum is still leaking out of me.
But… I still want more. Should I use my vibe once he’s gone to work?
Warnings: aphrodisiac, dubcon related to the unintentional consumption of an aphrodisiac, no penetration
You and Lucien had been traveling and working near non-stop for the past two weeks, never sleeping in the same place twice, and moving all over Skyrim. And you’re still not done with the giant laundry list of quests you seem to have accumulated. Thankfully, you have a few days rest ahead of you, once you get back to Lakeview manner, at least. You and Lucien had spent the day in Riften- you let him relax in The Bee and Barb while you bustled around the town and surrounding area, taking care of business others wouldn’t, or couldn’t.
At one point, your to-do list led you to the Riften market stalls. You were both selling off the junk you had accumulated, and looking for a gift for Lucien, to thank him for being such a good sport, seeing as the last two weeks certainly had not been easy. There was a new individual set up in the usually-vacant stall that Brynjolf would sometimes make use of. Intrigued, you make your way over to them. They were selling a wide array of trinkets and oddities they claimed to have gathered from all across Tamriel.
“Anything from Cyrodiil? I have a friend with me from the Imperial City who I’d imagine is feeling pretty homesick right about now.”
The vendor smiles, “Oh, I have plenty, plenty from the Imperial City! Take a look!”
They spread out a section of their stock- not very many things catch your eye, there’s a few weapons, of which you and Lucien already have plenty. Besides, he’s coming to prefer his magic more than weapons anyway. There’s a trinket or two as well, but they seem more for children. Just when you’re about to take a look at the other stock, a small pile of small vibrant spheres catch your eye. They’re all marbled in pattern, each a different, but equally vibrant hue.
“What are these?” You ask, pointing to the balls.
The vendor’s grin stretches wider, you swear you see something glint in their eye, choosing to brush it off, “Oh, so your friend has a sweet tooth?” You look up at them inquisitively, “These, my dear, are candy! And not just any candy either- these are highly sought after.”
“What makes them such a commodity?”
“Well you’ll just have to see for yourself, hmm?”
You roll your eyes, but inquire about the price anyway. For claiming them to be so sought out, the price was reasonable. You end up getting ten, five for Lucien, and five for yourself.
The market was your last chore for the day, so you head back to the inn to grab Lucien and be on your way. The sun was already partway down the horizon by the time the two of you left Riften, and you knew you wouldn’t get back to Lakeview manner in the same night. You make it partway past the Dwemer ruins of Avanchnzel by the time the sun is about to set. Normally you wouldn’t set camp until it’s fully sunk below the horizon, but you didn’t want to get stuck in the snowy mountains between Riften and Falkreath at night, and figured you and Lucien could use the extra time to relax a bit by the campfire before bed.
So, the two of you set camp, you build the fire while he collects wood, then the two of you work together to put up the shared tent. You wait until the two of you are sitting comfortably next to the fire to pull the small pouch of candy from your pocket. You nudge Lucien to get his attention, and he turns to look at you.
“Give me your hand.”
He looks confused, but obeys nonetheless, and you open the pouch and place one of the candies in his hand, before handing him the rest of the pouch.
“What’s this?”
“A small gift for you. You’ve been very patient with all our traveling these past few weeks, I figured it was deserving of some kind of reward.”
Lucien beams at you, “Thanks boss!” He rolls the candy between his fingers, “What exactly is it though?”
“It’s candy, there was a traveling vendor in Riften’s market today, they said it was candy from the Imperial City.”
Lucien hums in thought, “That’s interesting, I’ve never seen these before.” He offers the pouch back to you, “Do you want some also?”
You shake your head, “That’s alright, I actually got myself some as well. I’ll try them later. You can tell me if they’re any good.”
“Ohh so I’m just the test dummy, I see how it is.” He grins at you and pops the candy in his mouth.
The candy is certainly too hard to chew, so he’s left sucking on it for a while while he reads and while you go through journaling your events and completed tasks from the day.
The two of you get lost in your own worlds, and you’re vaguely aware that Lucien has consumed at least three of the candies now.
You look up from your journal, “Are they good?”
Lucien looks up at you, confused, likely too lost in thought to actually hear the words that came from your mouth.
“The candy- is it good?”
“Oh- Yes!” He nods eagerly, “The first one was very sweet- oddly enough it did quite taste like home to me. This one here is the fourth,” he pauses, “it’s odd, the first one didn’t do it, but now it’s almost as if the candy is warming me up inside out- almost like mead.”
It’s then you notice that Lucien has shed a number of his layers. You both had taken off your armor once you finished making camp, and you had even taken off your thickest layer at the fire, but even warm Skyrim nights were usually too cold for much more than that. Especially to an Imperial. But Lucien seemed perfectly comfortable in just his simple linens. You simply brush it off. Maybe the candy was imbued with resist frost ingredients.
Some more time passes by quietly next to the fire, and it’s only when you both stand to retire to the tent that you notice something off about Lucien.
He stumbles, woozy on his feet as he stands, and you have to reach out to stabilize him to prevent him from toppling over entirely.
“Woah- thanks boss. Not sure what that was about.”
“You okay Lucien?”
“Yes, I-” He pauses a moment, “Well now that I think of it, I feel a little faint, and- and much hotter than before.”
You frown, “Let’s get you in the tent, yeah?”
In the time it takes you to get him settled into your bedroll (it’s closer to your things), his condition has worsened to a full blown fever. Your mind instantly goes to the candy, to the vendor. The progression was too sudden and too directly attached to Lucien’s consumption of the candy to be from just a simple bug or natural sickness. An allergic reaction was also highly unlikely, as it would’ve set in hours ago when he had the first candy. You think the vendor must’ve given you some kind of poison. Unfortunately, you’re now hours away from Riften, and even if you get there, there’s no guarantee the vendor would still be there, and no guarantee that they would know of any cure. And as angry as you are, you know you can’t leave Lucien alone like this, when he can’t even stand properly, and you certainly can’t move him to get him to a town or city. Ivarstead isn’t very far, but there’s not much a town that small would be able to do for Lucien.
Guilt gnaws at you- you had wanted to reward your friend for being so good to you, and instead you poisoned him. Great going, Dragonborn. You figure the best you can do now is care for him and keep him comfortable. The dual moons are now high in the sky, and the air has cooled significantly, but Lucien remains as hot as dragon’s breath.
You force Lucien to keep at least one blanket on him, one of the thinnest you have. He’s burning up to the touch, and unlike a fever, he says he feels very hot- as opposed feeling cold internally, shivering whilst being hot to the touch. Even still, Skyrim is cold, and you don’t want him catching something else- not that many things could survive the temperature his body is currently scorching at, but still- you make him keep the blanket on.
Beyond the fever- he’s nearly vibrating with the way his body is trembling- though he swears up and down he doesn’t feel cold at all. It also doesn’t appear as the normal shaking you’d get with the cold or with a fever. The movement appears more anxious.
You feel terrible, the poor man is completely miserable, simply because you tried to gift him some candy.
You place a cool, damp rag on his forehead, hoping to get some of his temperature down. He makes a small sound in the back of his throat when you do.
“Lucien, I need you to tell me what you’re feeling right now.”
His voice is warbling in his reply, and it takes him a moment to find it, “other than the feeling I am the Sun itself- my skin- it feels sensitive. The blanket feels like it’s scraping and scratching against it.”
“Does it hurt?”
“A little.” He’s clearly lying- in far more agony than he’s leading on to. You’re also concerned- the blanket you gave him isn’t the softest to exist, but it’s by no means rough or scratchy.
“Did it hurt when I put the rag on your forehead?” you ask, gently brushing the back of your hand against his cheek. He leans into it.
He nearly gasps out an answer, “No, it- it felt good. It feels better when you touch me.” and then quieter, as though he’s embarrassed by himself, but cannot stop himself from speaking, “Will you lay with me? Please?”
As if you could ever say no to him, especially with his big blue puppy dog eyes pleading up at you.
You shed a few layers, until you’re down to simple linens like him- knowing that the second you lay with him, you’re going to become five times warmer.
You were right, as soon as you slide into the bedroll with him, under the blanket, it’s instantly warm- near uncomfortably hot. You can only imagine how miserable Lucien must be, as the source of all the heat. When you roll to your side to face him, he does something you would’ve never in a million years expected him to do, as he rolls to his side to face you as well, and immediately wraps himself around you, pulling you flush against him, and interlocking his legs with yours.
His trembling worsens, and he stuffs his face into your neck. As he pulls himself even closer, his hips push against yours, and you come to a very sudden realization.
You gently cup his face in your hands, carefully pulling him from where he was hiding in your neck, and making him look you in the eyes. Your heart breaks a little further, seeing how glassy his eyes are, some tears streaking his cheeks, which you rub away.
“Lucien, are you.. Are you hard?”
He squeezes his eyes closed, trying to duck his head back into your neck, you don’t let him.
“Lucien, I need you to be honest. I’m not mad, or upset, and you have nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s the candy doing this, it’s not your fault, you have no control over it. Do you hear me?”
He nods, his eyes still closed.
“Lucien, I need you to look at me. Give me a verbal answer. Do you understand? It’s not your fault.”
He opens his eyes, fresh tears leaking out, and speaks, his voice raspy, “Yes, I- I understand.”
You nod back at him, “Okay.” You take a deep breath, “Luci, I know what those candies were.”
He furrows his brow at you, confused.
“I didn’t know before, but with your new.. symptom, I think I know now. They’re an aphrodisiac.” You were about to ask if he knew what that meant, but with the way his eyes widened, you could tell.
“I- I thought those didn’t actually exist.”
“Me as well.” You pause a moment, thinking. “Do you have any idea as to how to cure yourself?”
“Not really. From the few things I’ve heard about aphrodisiacs, they’re hard or impossible to cure- waiting it out is the only way to get rid of the effects.”
You sigh, breaking eye contact for a moment, before looking back up at him, “I… might have an idea. You probably won’t like it- but it could get you better faster than just waiting for it to go away.”
Lucien looks nervous, likely due to reading your apprehension, “..what is it boss?”
You steel yourself, wincing as you speak, knowing how the blond would likely react, “You’d have to.. Touch yourself.”
He blinks doe-eyed at you, “You mean like…?”
“Masturbation, Lucien.”
Now he winces, though his hips involuntarily buck a little at the thought of some relief. He groans low in his throat as they grind against you. He immediately buries his face in your neck again, clearly embarrassed.
He speaks quietly into you, “How do you know it will work?”
You sigh, one hand cradling the back of his neck, the other stroking his hair, “I don’t, not really. But it’s that or sit here and suffer through it without doing anything. Or-” you cut yourself off, not sure how he’d feel about you even speaking that thought into existence.
His curiosity and hope for a better alternative pulls him from your neck, searching your eyes, “Or what?”
“Or I help you.”
His eyes widen, and somehow, the red hue that’s painted his face for the past two hours deepens, “You can’t mean…you shouldn’t- you couldn’t-!”
You see his rising panic, “Lucien, Lucien, it’s okay- I promise I won’t do a single thing without your permission. I’m just saying, if you don’t get better on your own,” you brush a hand down his arm, eliciting another full body shiver from him, “I’m always here to help you, in any way you need.”
It seems his conflict is internal now, fighting his body, his reaction to the drug, “I can-t – can’t make you do that.”
“Then start slow, try to take care of yourself first. I’ll be outside the tent if you need me or change your mind.” you move to rise from the bedroll, not wanting to push him, when Lucien snatches your wrist, eyes squeezed shut, clearly fighting himself.
“-Wait!” he takes a deep breath, and opens his eyes, looking up at you, pleading, “please- stay.”
You nod slowly, “Okay. Okay Luci, I’ll stay.”
His hand falls from your arm, and you make him sit up, positioning yourself behind him, his back pressed to your chest. He seems confused at the position, but is too worked up to question it. You help him slide his shirt off, making him shudder and whine when your hands brush against his bare back. You finally pull the blanket off of him, not that it made much of a difference to the temperature. At this point it felt like the whole tent had been superheated by his body- or maybe it was because yours was heating up now too.
You couldn’t shake the feeling that you were taking advantage of him- he did ask you to stay, but it was your fault that any of this happened in the first place. Unfortunately, there was no going back now, and all you could do was help your friend pull through this as best you could, and repair whatever may remain of your friendship with him in the morning.
He hesitates to pull his pants off, you egg him on with a soft kiss to his temple, “It’s okay Lucien, I’m here, I’ve got you.”
You’re not sure that the words themselves helped him at all, but you’re fairly certain that simply being spoken to helped him through his mental block, as at any rate, he’s lifting his hips and sliding his pants down his legs, until his cock springs free.
Maybe it’s the aphrodisiac having an extra effect, or maybe that’s just how it naturally is for him, but he’s… big. Big and pretty. His tip is the largest part of it all, emerging from his foreskin with a deep red and leaking like a sieve, creating a small pool of his fluids against his stomach as his length twitches.
Now that his pants are off, and he’s fully naked, it seems as though most of his previous inhibitions are gone, he reaches for his cock and a sob wracks through his body, making him jerk against you as his hand finally wraps around his length. His hand immediately starts sliding up and down his dick, making him tremble every time it rubs over the head, collecting the slick that just doesn’t stop flowing. You’re certain that that has to be an effect of the candy- there’s just so much of it. Your mouth involuntarily waters at the sight, and you’re suddenly stricken by the intense desire to take him into your mouth.
As much as it feels like a violation to be watching your dear friend like this, you simply can’t pull your eyes away from the debauchery in front of you. He looks divine. Strands of his hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks, which you gently push back for him. You find that the flush that painted his cheeks spread down his neck, through his sharp collarbones and down to his bare chest. His pale skin is shining with sweat under the warm glow of the lanterns inside the tent, his stomach and thighs glistening with his own slick. Your eyes reach the hand not wrapped around himself- where he’s clinging onto your leg for dear life, likely leaving a mark that will become a bruise by morning- not that you mind. You can see the strain through his arm, the veins in his forearm much more pronounced than usual. It becomes clear to you that the strain in his arm is present throughout the rest of his body as well. His breathing sounds faster than it should, his chest heaves with effort, and there’s desperation in the speed at which he’s stroking himself, almost being rough.
You kiss just behind his ear and whisper, “Relax, Lucien.” you smooth your hands over his body, your left grazing over his chest, and your right moving over his arm, forcing him to slow his movements.
“I know you want this to be over with quickly, but you’re going to hurt yourself at this rate.” you carefully wrap your hand around his, guiding it slowly over his length. His movements had stuttered to a halt with you whispering to him, still incredibly responsive, even in his hazy mind.
You take advantage of how pliant he is to you in this moment, how willing he is to listen, and guide him. “Going faster won’t undo what’s already happened, so slow down,” You rub your thumb over his tip, collecting slick, making him keen, “and try to enjoy it.” You kiss down his neck, gently sucking and nipping at him, keeping your eyes locked onto where your hand still guides his, and keeping him pressed against you with a firm hand to his chest.
He moans your name, head thrown back against your shoulder, his eyes shut and a blissed out expression on his face. Significantly more relaxed now that you’ve taken over.
“Just needed someone to take care of you, hmm? Tell you how to make yourself feel good?”
“You” he gasps out, so quiet and broken you almost don’t make the word out. It still doesn’t quite make sense in response to what you said though.
“What’s that sweetheart?”
He opens his eyes, locking them with yours, “Need you to take care of me, boss,” he whimpers.
That does something to you. You groan and duck your head to bite his shoulder, hard enough to leave a mark. His hips jerk in your joined hands in response. You have enough, and pull his hand away from him- to which he whines, needy. You quietly shush him, and replace it with yours again, this time with nothing between you and his throbbing dick. You slowly start working it over his length again, rubbing your palm over his tip, forcing a broken moan from him. Your other hand, still against his chest, pinches one of his nipples, making him gasp.
“Please.”
“Please what, baby?”
“More please.”
“You want more as in faster, or more of me?”
He looks conflicted, like he knows what he wants to ask for, but can’t quite bring himself to ask for it. “I-...”
Your hand completely stills against him and he whines. “More of what Lucien?”
“-You!” He gasps out, bucking his hips into your hand. “Want more of you, please. Please please please-” he breaks off into a moan of your name as you resume your movements.
“Good boy.” You whisper into his ear. You collect some of the slick off of his belly, and stroke him faster. Your left hand raises from his chest and reaches his neck, using it to turn his head towards you, and you gently press your lips against his, finally, finally kissing him. He moans out low and desperate, and you take the chance to slip your tongue in his mouth. He tastes sweet from the candy. You put some pressure against the sides of his neck, squeezing it gently, and he whines higher. He breaks away from you, moaning unabashedly as your hand speeds up around him, targeting his tip and circling over it again and again, intentionally overstimulating him.
He moans some syllables that sound like your name, and then- “I’m gonna- I’m mm– fuck-! C-umming!”
His spend shoots out, coating your hand, his stomach, his chest, and slows to a constant leaking around your fist and himself, dripping down to his thighs. You release his cock, letting it continue twitching against his stomach. Lucien opens his eyes as you bring your soiled hand up to your mouth, licking it clean of his cum, which is oddly sweet, likely another effect of the aphrodisiac. He groans at the sight and closes his eyes again. You laugh quietly at him.
“Feeling any better?”
His pretty blue eyes look up at you again, giving you a faux scowl, “Well I was feeling less like losing my mind, but I think you just made me five times more horny.”
“Well then I suppose I’ll just have to help you take care of that then, hm?”
His eyes widen, “Again? But I just finished?”
You lightly brush your fingers across his length- which has already hardened again, not that it ever fully softened, Lucien gasps and his dick jumps at your touch. “And is this what it normally feels like to you after you finish?”
“..No..”
“Unfortunately, I think it’s going to take a few times to fully clear the aphrodisiac from your system. Besides, you did ask for more of me, not just faster- and I intend to deliver.”
His brow furrows, eyes searching yours, “Do you mean..?”
You bring your hand up to his face, caressing his cheek, but also not allowing him to look away.
“Let me fuck you, Lucien,” You’re instantly glad you prevented him from pulling his head away, because the surprised blush that spreads across his cheeks is adorable.
“Unless, of course, you’d rather take care of it on your own.”
The idea of you leaving shocks his system back into starting, gripping your legs harder, “Nonononono- please,” he squirms, instantly knowing you’re going to make him put his wants and needs into words, “Please- please fuck me.”
You smile at him, and lean down to place a gentle kiss on his lips.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari | Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alan/Franzis (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari)
Characters: Franzis (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari), Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari)
Additional Tags: Mentioned Jane Olsen - Freeform, Mentioned Cesare, World War I, Delusions, Metaphors, well gang I think I’ve gotten way too pretentious with this one, based on a theory my dad and i had while watching the ending
Summary:
Alan was killed by a somnambulist, with a blade in his hand and black shadows beneath his eyes.
It has been five whole months since the whole Hamato family got back together again, and it was great!
Everyone had their own problems, sure, but they all helped each other with them.
Reni still gets a bit upset if Leo doesn't hang out with her at least once a day, but honestly, no one really minds it. It made sense that Reni would feel that way because, after all, Leo was her only sibling, and all of a sudden, three more random strangers showed up and started hanging out with him more.
And on top of that, Reni has attachment issues. Whether it was from something that happened in the past or if it was from something recently, they soon realized that that was why Reni was so worried about Leo leaving her.
Donnie still overworks himself quite a bit but gets dragged out of his room by Raph if he's in it for more than two days.
Raph hardly ever sleeps and is usually seen keeping watch in different areas of the lair. Sometimes he can even be seen outside of the lair or even the sewers in general, making sure there is no danger.
Mikey is definitely doing much better than before, although he still talks to himself once in a while as if he's talking to another person. He also really doesn't like physical touch, except if you tell him you're going to touch him. Yeah, he's a bit messed up.
Leo can usually be found in his room, trying to find ways to keep everyone happy. Splinter doesn't hang out with his children that much and make them happy, so Leo thinks it's his job. But on top of everyone wanting to hang out with him in different ways and Reni straight up crying if he doesn't hang out with her at all, it's been taking quite the toll on Leo.
Overall, though, it's actually been pretty good in the Hamato family. Sure, they all have a few problems, but they can all be dealt with decently well. As long as they all stay together. Which they do!
There hasn't been a single time when Leo has forgotten to hang out with Reni. A single time when someone has forgotten about how Mikey doesn't like touch. A single time that Raph hasn't forced Donnie out of his lab after he's been in it for days. A single time where Donnie hasn't made Raph sleep. A single time that Reni hasn't comforted her older brothers. (Or younger brother)
It's all good in the Hamato family. Sure, Splinter doesn't hang out with his family that much, but that's okay! As he said before, he was a movie star before he got mutated. That can't be fun. At least he hangs out with them at all.
happy holidays, @supershrimp15 !! I’m here to deliver some Max/Ray with a healthy side dish of Max&Kyle.
+ read on ao3
Max wasn't often one for venturing too far outside the town. He much preferred to spend time in Alvarna, with his friends and family. But when Kyle had approached him, asking if he’d like to join the earthmate on a small expedition through the woods, and Rosalind had encouraged it, asking if he’d be able to grab something for her, he hadn’t been able to say no. Why she wasn’t able to buy it or just ask Kyle to grab it, Max didn’t question.
Of course, he was now somewhat regretting that decision as he sat on the examining table of the Alvarna clinic. Max didn’t think he really needed this much, but after he’d slipped on a patch of ice and caught himself hard, Kyle had insisted on turning right back around. At the very least, he’d get to see the object of his affections while there.
Silver linings, and all that.
He could see Kyle sitting in a chair just outside the examination area, no doubt wanting to make sure that Max wasn’t going to do something stupid like leave before Ray or Natalie were able to see him, and a mixture of warmth and slight annoyance shot through the man at the thought. Max was fine, the pain in his wrist already mostly faded away. Nothing a little rest couldn’t fix.
It was at that moment, Ray stepped into view, fully obscuring Kyle from Max’s vision. Max couldn't smother the smile that flitted across his face in time, and he definitely couldn’t stop the smile from growing when Ray returned the same expression.
“Well, Mr de Sainte-Coquille,” Ray began, that soft smile still on his face, “what seems to be the problem?” Nothing but professional, not that Max was expecting anything less of his boyfriend when he’s at work.
“I’m fine, really,” Max responds, holding up his so-called injured wrist. It wasn’t bruised and was barely swollen. “Kyle just thinks I broke it, and won’t let me leave.” His voice raised as he spoke, wanting to make sure Kyle would be able to hear him.
“I do it because I care,” came the loud response, and Max had to stifle a laugh at the sight of Ray fondly rolling his eyes.
“Just because it doesn’t look broken doesn’t mean it’s fine,” Ray said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” His voice was quiet, not carrying enough for Kyle to hear. “Let me just,” he trailed off, reaching for Max’s hand, which Max gave easily.
The following examination went quickly and with minimal amounts of pain, Ray having Max move and bend his wrist in different ways, and applying light pressure to certain areas. At the end of it, Ray announced, “Just sprained. Take it easy, put some ice on it, and you’ll be fine.”
“Hear that, Kyle? I’m fine,” Max called, unable (and uncaring) to keep the grin from seeping into his voice. Just as he was unable to resist giving Ray a brief kiss as he stood up. “We’re still on for tonight?” he asked, his voice low.
“Of course,” Ray replied, “We’ll just have to be sure to avoid all the ice.” Humor was evident in his brown eyes, and Max couldn’t stop himself from giving the other man another quick kiss.
“I’ll bring my ice skates,” Max said with a laugh, walking with Ray to the front where Kyle was waiting. “I’ll see you at six.”
“Six o’ clock,” came Ray’s returned promise with a smile, then Max and Kyle were out the clinic’s door.
Once they were a few steps away from the clinic, Kyle turned to Max with a light in his eyes and said, “Sounds like someone’s got a date tonight.”
One of Max’s eyebrows raised slightly before he laughed. “Yes?” he responded, unsure of where Kyle was going with this. It wasn’t as if him and Ray dating was a secret. Sure, they hadn’t shouted and shared the news from the rooftops, but Kyle had to know. Except…. Max couldn’t recall specifically telling him. Or telling anyone for that matter.
“Oh, oh no,” Max started laughing as he opened the door to the de Sainte-Coquille Manor. “Ray and I have been - We’ve been together for over a season.”
“What?!” came the loud exclamation from none other than Max’s sister herself, just coming down the stairs.
“Hi, Rosalind,” Kyle and Max greeted her in unison before Kyle pointed a somewhat accusatory finger at Max.
“What do you mean you’ve been together for over a season?” Kyle demanded while Rosalind nodded vigorously in agreement.
“What do you mean, ‘what do you mean’? He asked me on a date and I said yes. That was at the beginning of Fall, and now it’s nearly the end of Winter.” Max sheepishly grinned at his sister and best friend. “I thought you knew but I guess we forgot to say something.”
- x -
Six rolled around, and Max was waiting just outside the clinic for Ray. Nervousness and excitement were battling each other in the pit of Max’s stomach, and it felt oddly reminiscent of the first time he’d waited like this for Ray, though this was a completely different kind of nervous.
After the news had been shared - news that Max felt bad had even had to be shared like it had been - Rosalind had demanded they tell Herman about Max and Ray’s relationship, knowing their father wouldn’t care that Max was with another man, and that Max invite Ray over for dinner with the family - that night, in place of their usual plan of a late night picnic.
Max was pacing, nervous energy not letting him calm down, but he stopped the second he heard the sound of the clinic’s door.
“Hi,” Ray called softly through the quiet of the night.
“Hi,” came Max’s just as quiet answer as he drew up to Ray. He spared not a second to draw Ray in for a kiss, longer than the ones they’d shared earlier. Once they broke apart Max took a few moments to just look at Ray before speaking. “There’s been a change of plans. Rosalind and my father, they want you to come over for dinner. I guess I never told them about us, and they want to, ah, welcome you to the family.”
Ray laughed, the sound loud and bright in the dark, dropping his head so it rested on Max’s shoulder for a few moments. When he pulled away, his face still held a smile, so soft and sweet and yet so blinding, and he slipped his hand into Max’s.
Max tried to smother the small grimace of pain that came from his wrist being jostled slightly, but Ray, ever perceptive, immediately withdrew his hand. “Sorry,” he murmured before taking the other, uninjured hand in his own. “Good thing you have two hands.”
