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The first time Damen wakes up, a bandage wrapped tight around his torso, the first thing he sees is Laurent. Laurent sitting by his bedside, giving decisive orders, still dressed in the bloodstained chiton from before. Damen dozes again before he can find the strength to reach out to him, but each time he wakes up a little bit more, he finds Laurent beside him.
The next day at sundown, Damen finally rouses enough to be more aware of his surroundings and low and behold, Laurent beside him.
“Damen?” Laurent looks down at him with the biggest eyes Damen’s ever seen on him.
“Hi.” Damen smiles, attempting to sit up, but Laurent is quick to press him down before he gets too far.
“Don’t move. How are you feeling?” Laurent asks, his voice dripping with concern as he presses a hand to Damen’s forehead, lifts the sheet, so he can see if the bandages need changing.
“It hurts, but I’m fine.” Damen says, reaching out to slide his hand up Laurent’s thigh. They’re alone in the King’s bedroom. “How long have you been wearing that?”
“Don’t remind me.” Laurent sighs. “There was just… There was a lot happening. I didn’t want to leave and have you wake up confused.”
“Laurent, Prince of Vere, spent three days in a bloodstained, dirt stained, torn chiton just to be by my side?” Damen grins. “I must be one lucky guy.”
“A lucky guy with a hole in his abdomen.” Laurent rolls his eyes and stands up to shed the chiton, undoing the clasp and letting it fall at his ankles. “You picked a good time to wake up, this is the first time we’ve been alone.” He stretches out his limbs, rolling soreness and tension out of his shoulders before picking up the sheet and sliding into bed next to Damen.
Damen blushes as Laurent easily presses himself into his unwounded side, tucking himself under Damen’s arm and leaning up to give him a kiss. It’s softer and sweeter than any kiss they’ve shared before. It feels kind.
“Laurent.” Damen whispers against Laurent’s lips, his desire clear from the tone of his voice alone.
“Not now.” Laurent says, giving him another chaste kiss on the mouth. “Just rest. I’ll be right here.”
Warmth blooms in his chest at the sentiment, watching as the exhausted man in his arms melts into his touch and shuts his eyes. It does occur to him that with what the Regent had said at the Kingsmeet and all Laurent had been through as well in the past several days, he might need… a little space from sex right now. Damen will give it to him. Laurent will let him know when he’s ready to have sex again and well… Damen isn’t exactly in the condition to perform anyways.
So instead he settles for hugging his naked lover against him and kissing the top of his golden head.
It’s good enough that they’re both alive. For now, he doesn’t need a thing more than that.
The next two weeks after their one peaceful night of sleep together are hell on Damen. He’s going stir crazy being bed ridden, although every time he gets up, Laurent appears like a bolt from the blue to set him back down. Every morning Pascal rubs an ointment over the area that feels like fire at first, but does help the pain for the rest of the day. He’s so out of his mind bored. There’s a new kingdom to run and even though Laurent has transmitted his every order, it’s not the same as actually ruling.
To top it off, he’s dying to be touched. Him and Laurent are finally free, finally open with their love completely and without inhibition. Even if he can’t properly make love yet, he longs to run his hands over Laurent’s body, feel the beautiful sensation of Laurent’s touch. Experimentally, he tries a few times to lure Laurent into fooling around, but each time, Laurent brushes him off. It hurts at first, but Damen reminds himself that Laurent must need space still. He can’t expect him to be ready to jump into bed again after the man who tortured him announced his sexual traumas out loud.
He’s comforted by the fact that Laurent deems the bedroom to be the Kings’ bedroom from now on, belonging to both of them, so they can always share a bed. It doesn’t hurt either that Laurent is so attentive to him during the day and that he’s still funny and warm and wickedly smart every time they talk in bed together. Still, he can’t help the small twinge in his chest when Laurent turns his affections away. It’s been almost a month and Damen just… he misses him. He misses that part of their intimacy, the vulnerability it brings out in Laurent and in himself.
He’ll have to just be patient.
The more he heals, the more he’s allowed out of bed. Finally, three weeks after his injury, he’s back on his feet. He can’t train yet, but he can move of his own free will.
He’s been well controlled. He hasn’t tried to initiate anything sexual with Laurent, but it’s getting harder every day not to be insecure about why Laurent still hasn’t tried anything with him. He wants to respect his space, but after three weeks… he just feels like Laurent would talk to him if he was still struggling.
“Do you think I did something to upset him?” Damen asks Nikandros, taking his daily walk around the courtyard. He hasn’t seen Laurent since the morning.
“Something always seems to be upsetting him.” Nikandros shrugs. “He doesn’t seem any different. Is he nice when you’re alone?”
“He’s been really sweet, but he just hasn’t… he hasn’t made any kind of move at all and I’m healed enough to have sex by now.” Damen sighs and looks over as three figures stroll through the courtyard.
It’s Laurent — flanked by Lord Torves and Erasmus, but it looks like he’s almost… flirting? He’s laughing hard at something said by Lord Torves, even giving him a nudge in the side like he’s teasing him.
Damen’s chest aches. Sure Laurent has been attentive to him lately, but Damen hasn’t made him laugh like that in some time… What has he done to push him away after they went through war and more to be with one another?
“I didn’t think you were the jealous type.”
“I’m not.” Damen mumbles, turning away to continue walking with Nikandros. He tries to suppress his agitation, but he’s almost angry at what he saw. After how close they’ve become, how Laurent waited by his bedside every single night, why is he pulling away from him? Why is Lord Torves making him laugh like that?
The rest of the day, he tries to distract himself, but it’s not easy. He’s still too injured to train properly. The best he can do is walk around, give a few orders, and make a few boring decisions that need his directions. The day just feels like killing time without Laurent, but he’s too confused and frankly pissed off to seek him out. He can’t for the life of him figure out what he’s done wrong.
Damen goes to bed early that night, still tense and annoyed even when he hears Laurent come in.
“Damen?” Laurent asks, his voice soft so as not to wake him if he’s asleep. Usually Damen would be thrilled to greet his lover after a long day, but today he isn’t having it.
“Yes?”
“Could you help me out of this?” Laurent asks, his shirt sleeves already untied, but the laces down his back are out of reach.
Damen mumbles a yes and sits up, sliding to the edge of the bed to haphazardly undo Laurent’s lacing enough for him to slide out of the garment. Stupid Veretian clothing. He lays down again when he’s done, facing away from Laurent.
“Bad day?” Laurent asks, a strange tone to his voice, an unfamiliar softness, but Damen’s in too much of a mood to read all the subtleties of Laurent he’d usually pick up on.
“You could say that.” Damen sighs. “Goodnight.”
“Oh.” Laurent sounds surprised, maybe even a little sad, but Damen isn’t going to take the energy to analyze him. “Goodnight.”
Damen falls asleep without another word, the first night in over a month he’s done so without Laurent in his arms. So be it. He almost hopes the chills from the window make Laurent miss his warmth.
Damen doesn’t want to admit how much he misses Laurent’s.
*****
Damen feels guilty when he walks up alone in the morning, Laurent already out and dressed for the day. The bed is cold without him and he kicks himself as he slides out of it to get dressed. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so cold last night… He might’ve been able to get Laurent to talk to him, but he’s still just so confused about what’s going on between them.
Maybe today will be a return to normal. Damen’s been deemed healthy enough to ride and they’re having a boar hunt alongside Lord Torves, Lord Berrenger, and a few other visitors. If there’s anything him and Damen love, it’s competing against one another. Today should be fun. Maybe even fun enough to open the door to intimacy again.
After dressing and a quick meal prepared by the servants, he’s off to meet the others in the field before the woodlands. His side aches a bit, riding a horse for the first time in a while, but once he sidles up next to the others and gets a spear in his hand, any discomfort is worth it. He hasn’t hunted in ages.
He looks over at Laurent, expecting his competitive smirk, or a teasing glint in his eye, but Laurent isn’t looking his way at all. He’s looking forward, cold and expressionless, unreadable.
Damen’s chest tightens. This seals it, Laurent has to be furious with him over something. His behavior last night must not have helped, but what on Earth has he done to cause this? He wants to see Laurent smile for him again.
Once the boar has been released and given its head start, Erasmus is the one to give the countdown, dressed skimpily in a short chiton, making eyes at Lord Torves as he struts out in front of the horses.
When the flag is waved, Damen is off along with everyone else, galloping easily into the woods with his spear in search of the target. Laurent takes a different path, putting distance between them as they lead their horses through winding paths of trees.
He hardly notices the other men riding with them, watching Laurent more than he searches for the boar. He knows how Laurent hunts and watching him now… he isn’t even trying. His face doesn’t change, no sign of determination, of fun. It makes his stomach turn with worry.
The hunt loses much of its charm after that. He can’t get his mind off of this. Laurent had put his walls down and let Damen in, let Damen closer than anyone had ever been before. Now those walls are back up and he feels like he’s on the outside of them.
He does win the hunt, spearing the boar in a clean hit, but it doesn’t feel like a victory without being able to taunt Laurent over it.
For the sake of manners and diplomacy, he puts on a smile and Laurent is polite, but his heart aches as they all ride back and go their separate ways to handle the various duties of the day.
Damen makes a promise to himself to talk to Laurent tonight. He won’t be jealous, or aggravated, he just wants to know what’s going on. Have Laurent’s feelings about him… changed?
The thought of that makes tears prickle at his eyes, just barely. To lose Laurent’s love… He can’t think of anything that would hurt him more. He has to fix this.
Only Laurent doesn’t come to bed that night.
Damen waits up for him a while, asks the guards if they know if he’s held up anywhere, then waits some more.
He has a glass of wine, waits. He tries to read some of the book Laurent’s been poking at, waits some more. He waits until the pull of sleep is too strong to withstand and he falls deep asleep in an empty bed only to wake up in it all the same.
He covers himself quickly in a chiton and hurries out of the chambers, looking everywhere for Laurent until he finds a squire.
“His excellency has gone riding for the day. Someone was just about to come fetch you, he said you would handle the group of Veretian merchants today. They want to know where their permissions stand in newly unified Aikelon territory.”
“For the whole day?” Damen frowns. “Where is he going?”
“He didn’t specify, only that he’ll be nearby enough that a herald can summon him if need be.”
“Alright.” Damen sighs, scrubbing a tired hand over his face. “I’ll see to the merchants. Alert me when he returns, will you?”
“Yes, Exalted.”
Damen has a horrible anxious feeling in his gut when he turns to leave, but he swallows it down. He’ll find Laurent when he comes back.
*****
The meeting with the merchants is exhausting to say the least. Everyone has their own turf and now there’s new territory for merchants to sell their wares in - each one of them wanting first dibs on every new area they’re allowed into.
It’s far more complicated than just dealing with Charls, who is easy and kept happy with all of the new palace’s fabric needs.
It goes on for hours, followed by a banquet with all of their visitors. Laurent is still not returned, but he at least flanks himself with Erasmus and Nikandros, managing to have at least an okay time with all of Erasmus’s stories from Patras and Nikandros’s incessant teasing.
After he’s dragged the event out past dark to keep his mind off things, with still no signal of Laurent’s return, he dismisses his guests and goes to retire to his chambers with a heavy heart. If Laurent doesn’t come back tonight, he doesn’t know what he’ll do. His absence for even a day and his coldness throughout the week almost hurts too much to bear by now.
Perhaps this is what Laurent meant when he said he was so afraid of what was happening between them, that their love could lead to pain. Damen doesn’t want Laurent to feel anymore pain. Not after everything that’s happened.
He passes the guards and enters the bedroom, defeated as he quickly unties and kicks off his sandals in the dim light.
“Damen?”
Damen’s head shoots up to find the sight of Laurent sitting on the side of their bed. He’s dressed in… God, he’s dressed in something Damen’s never even seen before. Tight silken underwear is woven around his hips, cupping the bulge of his dick, accentuating the sleekness of Laurent’s figure. The fabric is dark blue, like much of Laurent’s wardrobe, and he’s wrapped another piece of fabric over his shoulders, a sheer linen shawl, also blue. He looks beautiful…
“Laurent.” Damen breathes a sigh of relief. “You’re home.”
“I…” Laurent hiccups. “I wanted to surprise you.”
Oh. Damen realizes as Laurent stands up and walks over to him, wobbling slightly until he can put his hands on Damen’s shoulders and Damen can catch his waist. Laurent is drunk. He’s not completely wasted, but his tolerance is low and he’s definitely had one too many.
“I missed you.” Laurent admits, his words always coming easier when he’s intoxicated. He nuzzles his warm cheek against Damen’s shoulder and kisses the side of his neck. “Come make love to me.”
“Laurent, I…” Damen winces. He’s nearly dizzy with desire at the sight of Laurent dressed this way, along with the month long dry spell without sex, but Laurent is drunk. He can’t break his trust by taking advantage of him now. “Laurent, Love, you’re drunk.”
“Mm, not that drunk.” Laurent mumbles with a few more kisses. “Fuck me.”
“I can’t.”
Laurent tenses in his arms, lifting his head and staring at Damen with eyes that almost look… hurt? “Why?” He nearly whispers.
“Because you’re too drunk. I promised you I would never take advantage of you like this, even if you’re asking me to.”
Laurent looks away from him and lets out a strange breath, blinking his eyes quickly. “You don’t want me.”
“Laurent, of course I want you.”
“Bullshit.”
“Laurent…”
“What did I do wrong?” Laurent asks, his voice almost quivering as he takes his hands away and looks up at Damen. He’s glaring, but his eyes are so big, he looks like he may be on the verge of tears. Alcohol brings out such honesty in Laurent, that it breaks Damen’s heart to see how hurt he truly feels. “I don’t know how to do this. N-No one’s ever…” He hiccups. “No one’s ever courted me. I don’t know what I did wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Laurent, I thought-”
“Then why won’t you touch me?” Laurent’s breath hitches before he presses his hand to his mouth, suppressing any more noises that can escape his throat before he speaks again. “You haven’t held me in weeks. You were…” He stops and swallows hard, wobbling on his feet a little without Damen’s support. “You were so cold the other night. I hadn’t seen you all day and when I came to bed, you...” Laurent just trails off and swallows hard.
Damen feels his heart ache as he watches Laurent’s mouth wobble. He’s unsteady on his feet, his face completely flushed with drunkenness, but the expression on his face is pained and genuine. Laurent’s voice is a whisper when he speaks again, his words shaky and eyes glued to the floor.
“Do you not love me anymore?”
“What?” Damen feels the pain in his chest stab straight through his heart as he looks at Laurent. How could Laurent think he doesn’t love him? Is that how he’s been acting? “Laurent, I would move heaven and Earth just to show you how much I love you. I love you more than words can say.”
Laurent just shrugs his shoulders and keeps looking down, still blinking quickly enough to notice.
“Laurent… I’ve never loved anyone before like I love you.” Damen takes a cautious step forward then pulls Laurent against him and hugs tight, wishing desperately that the feelings of love that live so deeply in his heart could simply seep into Laurent’s skin through their embrace. How did he do this to him? Laurent who doesn’t cry when he’s sentenced to death, when his uncle exposes his deepest trauma to his lover, when the man who tortured him for so many years is beheaded. Now here he is, loosened by liquor, but still… He’s fighting tears. Damen can feel the tremors as he holds him
“I love you.” Damen murmurs, shutting his eyes and squeezing tight, repeating the phrase like a prayer. “I love you so much.”
A small whimper escapes Laurent’s lips as he hugs Damen back, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. It’s so uncharacteristic that it hurts even more to witness. Damen feels guilty seeing Laurent in such an emotional state when he knows without the alcohol, Laurent would never act this way. At the same time, he’s thankful that he knows Laurent’s true feelings, confusing as they may be.
“Come talk to me.” Damen says, pressing a kiss to Laurent’s warm forehead. He bends down and picks Laurent up with ease, smiling a little at his protests as he carries him bridal style to bed and sets him down, sliding in afterwards to sit next to him. “Why would you think I stopped loving you?” He asks, reaching over to tuck a lock of golden hair behind Laurent’s ear.
“You haven’t touched me.” Laurent says quietly, eyes still cast down. “At first, I… I-I knew it was because you were hurt, but you’ve been healed enough to fuck for over a week and you still didn’t…” He stops speaking and shuts his eyes, trying to gather his jumbled thoughts into coherency. “You didn’t want to be with me that way.”
“What?” Damen raises his eyebrows. “Laurent, I thought you needed space after the trial and everything that happened at the Kingsmeet. I was just trying not to rush you, I thought you were avoiding me in bed.”
Laurent looks over to meet his eyes and shakes his head, blue eyes watery. “I was waiting on you.” His breath hitches again. “I didn’t want to fuck before you felt healed enough to do it, but you never tried.”
“Laurent, I’m so sorry… I… I really thought that you would come to me and I didn’t want to push it.” Damen thinks back to the other night and curses himself. Turning so cold on Laurent like that had to have hurt him far more than Damen ever intended. “Then um…” Damen blushes as he speaks. “I saw you laughing with Torves and Erasmus in the courtyard and I just got… kind of jealous. I really missed you and I wanted to be the one making you laugh like that. That’s why I was so cold a few nights ago.”
“You were jealous?” Laurent gives a weak smile. No tears have escaped, but his eyes are still blurry with the ones he’s held back. It breaks Damen’s heart to see. “This whole time I thought my worst fear was true.” His words slur a little, but the sentiment is saddening even with the dark laugh Laurent lets out afterwards.
“Worst fear?”
“Don’t you know?” Laurent shifts and lays down, placing his head on Damen’s lap and closing his eyes to focus on his words. “I thought after what you found out about my uncle… what he did to me, that you’d… be disgusted. I thought you might never want to touch me again.”
Damen feels sick. That’s what had been going through Laurent’s head all this time? Laurent thought that he’d been disgusted by him because he was raped as a child? Damen honestly can’t believe himself. He’s never misread Laurent so incredibly wrong since they first met. All this time, he thought he was giving Laurent space, then he thought he was being avoided and ignored. The whole time, Laurent had been wondering if Damen didn’t love him anymore, if Damen was repulsed by him.
“Laurent.” Damen breathes, lifting him up and gathering him in his arms again, closing his eyes just to feel him a little bit more. “Laurent, I could never, ever feel that way about you. Nothing he did to you is your fault. You’re not any less beautiful or incredible for what you’ve been through.”
Laurent doesn’t speak, but he does tremble a little. Damen holds him close and lets him think, stroking his back and pressing kisses into his hair, whispering more affirmations of ‘I love you’ over and over again, determined to make Laurent believe him. He waits for Laurent’s breathing to calm, for the subtle trembles to stop until Laurent is relaxed and pliant in his arms like he usually is.
“So I didn’t do something?” Laurent asks eventually.
“No.” Damen promises.
Laurent takes a deep breath in and looks up at Damen, the stars from outside their window reflecting in his eyes which have dried considerably from a minute ago. “I thought I was losing you.”
“You can never lose me.”
“Then can we… Can we please…” Laurent trails off with an annoyed groan and glances towards the side of the bed. On their nightstand lies a small glass bottle of light pink liquid. It’s not the scented oil they use for preparation, but it is something familiar… Damen’s cheeks darken at the realization.
“Where did you get that?”
“Charls helped me bring it in. He helped with the clothes too.” Laurent sits up a little bit and holds Damen’s shoulder to steady himself.. “I thought you might want me more if I took some.”
“Laurent, you don’t have to do that for me to-”
“I wanted to.” Laurent shrugs. “A little bit. I don’t like not being in control, but I was told just a tiny bit will increase my um…” He flutters his hand around in the air to search for the word. “Endurance for the night.”
Damen bites his lip as he looks at the bottle. It is pretty… tempting to see Laurent on an aphrodisiac without resisting its effects. Damen has slowly unlocked him piece by piece, but he knows Laurent still struggles to let himself completely go when they make love.
“I’m told it can be quite sobering.” Laurent smiles, turning his head to give Damen a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Wanna know a secret?”
Damen cocks an eyebrow.
“I was waiting to fuck again for you to heal properly because I thought…” Laurent laughs a little. “I thought I’d be so eager, I might reopen the wound.”
“That’s probably a fair assumption.” Damen laughs too, circling his arms around Laurent’s waist and laying him on his back. “Just a tiny little bit. To sober you up.”
“Yes, just to sober me up.” Laurent teases, reaching up to run clumsy fingers through the curls of Damen’s hair. “I went years and years without sex, but a month without you fucking me felt like the end of the world.”
“Let me make it all up to you tonight.” Damen says, reaching to take the bottle in his hand as he leans down and kisses Laurent, soft and warm, letting Laurent melt right into his touch. “Open your mouth.”
Laurent obeys much quicker than he would if he was sober, but opens his mouth for Damen without a snide remark, letting him put just a few drops of the elixir onto his tongue. He swallows eagerly, propping himself up on his elbows to give Damen a kiss. “So you missed me too?”
“You have no idea.” Damen sighs. “I thought you were mad at me.”
“And I thought you were mad at me.” Laurent rolls his eyes at the stupidity of it all, falling back against the pillows again. In this light and against the white sheets, Damen can see how adorably pink his face is. “This is the only area where all the intellect in the world seems to… fail me.”
“I can be a bit dumb in love too.” Damen assures, stroking a hand up Laurent’s side as he lies next to him and pulls him into a kiss. He’s going to make this night good for Laurent. He’ll make him come as many times as he can take, however he pleases. “Kiss me until you feel it kicking in.” He whispers against Laurent’s lips before he’s pulled down against him to get reacquainted with Laurent’s tongue.
God, he’d missed this. Just having Laurent lick into his mouth makes him groan, his cock stirring under the fabric of his chiton. He makes a mental note to talk to his lover before assuming he needs space again. The ache in his chest remains, knowing that for weeks, he had made Laurent feel unloved. Right now is his chance to prove how much he really feels for him.
Damen moans against Laurent’s lips and brings a hand up to cup his jaw, holding Laurent’s face in his hand as he kisses him deeply. He can taste a trace of the elixir on his tongue, like rosewater. It’s sweet and pleasant and he’s already losing his mind just feeling the soft silk wrapped around Laurent’s hips. He’ll need to remember to thank Charls tomorrow.
Damen breaks the kiss only to turn his head and kiss slowly down Laurent’s neck, relishing in the sweet sigh that escapes him. “You look so incredible tonight.” He murmurs, nibbling a little on Laurent’s ear as he brings one hand up to brush over one of his nipples. Laurent hasn’t ever said so outloud, but Damen knows how sensitive he is there. He keeps his mouth occupied on Laurent’s neck while he massages the soft pink bud, playing with it when it hardens and rubbing it in soft circles until Laurent starts to whine.
“I think…” Laurent pants, his cock now obviously hard inside the silk. “I-I think I’m feeling a lot less drunk now.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, so take my fucking clothes off.”
“Not yet.” Damen smiles, nuzzling their noses together as he reaches down between Laurent’s legs to palm over him, feeling his erection through the fabric and touching it slowly how Laurent likes.
“Playing dirty already.” Laurent whines, his hips canting up into Damen’s touch. “Fuck, this stuff makes me so… Don’t you ever tell anyone I took it.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” Damen assures him as he watches a small damp spot bloom on the silk. The effects of the aphrodisiac already have him captivated. He feels the heat radiating from Laurent’s cock, already sees his abs tensing and untensing. His breathing is shallow. “Are you… close already?” He blinks up at Laurent.
“Shut up, I don’t know how this stuff affects me yet.” Laurent squirms, desperately trying to rub himself up against Damen’s hand. “Yes.” He huffs. “Maybe.”
“Does Charls have more where this fabric came from?”
Laurent gives a desperate nod, fisting the sheets in his hands.
“Then ruin them for me.” Damen grins, leaning down and mouthing over the outline of Laurent’s cock through the underwear. Laurent’s legs give a spasm and Damen hears him gasp as he comes easily for the first time of the night, breathing hard as pleasure rolls through him and he releases enough to soak through the fabric.
Laurent is blushing all the way down to his chest, twitching with aftershocks as he watches Damen unwind the soiled fabric from around his hips, pulling it out from underneath him.
“Feeling good?” Damen asks, using the undone underwear to wipe Laurent off a fair bit before tossing it to the side.
“I’ve never…” Laurent takes a deep breath and presses the heels of his palms against his eyes for the moment. “I’ve never had this without resisting it before.”
“Do you like it?” Damen smiles, knowing the answer as Laurent’s pink cock is already starting to perk up again.
“Yes.” Laurent shivers. “Can you… please.” He breathes, pushing a hand into Damen’s curls. “I can’t control what’s come over me, I want you.”
Damen’s cock gives a twitch of its own at Laurent’s words. It’s so rare for his lover to speak what he wants out loud. “You want me to suck your cock?” He asks just to watch Laurent’s face flush red.
Damen won’t make him endure the embarrassment of saying yes, so he simply ducks down and begins lick at and play with Laurent’s most sensitive organ. He can still hear Laurent’s shallow breathing, the subtle trembles in his thighs as Damen licks, suckles, and kisses him back to full hardness. If Laurent is comfortable with it, maybe they should use aphrodisiacs more often.
When he leans in closer to lick all the way up the underside of Laurent’s length, he’s hit by the smell of roses — Laurent’s favorite scent of oil for their preparations.
“Open your legs a little more for me.” Damen says softly, so it doesn’t come out like a command. Telling Laurent what to do too sternly, only makes him tense, but kindly instructing him leads to trusting obedience.
Laurent parts his legs further, allowing Damen to lift his balls and see.
“You already prepared yourself for me?”
“I haven’t been fucked in over a month.” Laurent huffs. “I didn’t want to waste any more time.”
“Oh, Laurent.” Damen sighs, sliding a thick finger inside of him just as he takes his cock in his mouth.
The noise that escapes Laurent is heavenly, a surprised sound of pleasure ripped from his throat before Laurent had a chance to stop it.
As Damen bobs his head, taking Laurent’s full length again and again with practiced ease, all while he crooks his finger inside of his lover. Damen could find the spot with a glove on if he had too, massaging that sweet sensitive spot inside of Laurent that makes his legs shake and Veretian curse words fall from his mouth.
“Damen.” Laurent nearly sobs in pleasure as his hips push uncontrollably upward, always chasing the warmth of Damen’s mouth, the pleasure of his tongue.
Damen only hums around him in response, resulting in two strong thighs pressing against his cheeks as Laurent’s muscles go taut.
Damen pulls away just then, planning on teasing Laurent a little further before making him come again, but it’s too late.
As soon as Damen lifts his head, Laurent is coming untouched, gasping and whimpering helplessly as he shoots ribbons over his stomach, eyes squeezed shut and cheeks burning red.
“I-I can’t help it.” Laurent pants, one hand still fisting the bed sheets. “It’s all too much, it’s all…”
“Do you need to slow down?” Damen asks in awe. He’s made Laurent come from minimal stimulation before. He’s made him come just with kissing and a little friction, just a hand over clothes, or a mouth on his neck, but watching Laurent just absolutely lose himself for a moment is intoxicating.
“It’s all so good.” Laurent groans, well aware of Damen’s finger still inside of him as he throws an arm over his eyes. “If you don’t fuck me right now, I’m banishing you from the kingdom.”
“You know I would have the power to just banish you right back. Then there’d be no kingdom.”
“Just fuck me.” Laurent whines, spreading his legs further apart as an invitation.
Damen grins and crawls over Laurent, stretching to retrieve a vial of oil from their nightstand drawer, so he can slick himself up. It draws a sigh out of him to finally stroke his neglected cock, but the sight of Laurent squirming in anticipation rushes him to get the job done.
“I know I usually like it slow, but…” Laurent almost cringes as he wraps his legs around Damen’s hips, his face burning with embarrassment as he hides it in the crook of Damen’s neck. “I want you to fuck me hard right now. I can’t think with this stuff, I just… I need it.” Laurent swallows hard as his arms lock around Damen’s shoulders. “Can you fuck me hard without… hurting me?”
“Laurent.” Damen breathes, turning his head to plant a kiss on his warm cheek. “I’ll never hurt you.” He presses a few kisses down his neck, nibbling on his collar bone. “And I’m still going to fuck you so hard, the guards will come running.”
Laurent lets out a moan just at the words and Damen takes mercy on him. He lines himself up with Laurent’s already prepared entrance and slides inside with one long push, biting his lip to keep himself from becoming too overwhelmed by the sensations of Laurent around him. He can never tire of this feeling, of this man beneath him letting him inside.
Laurent makes a pleading sound into Damen’s shoulder and digs his heels into the dimples of his lower back. “Please, Damen.”
With that tone of voice, Damen would do anything for him. “Would it bother you if I did this?” Damen asks, heart thumping as he takes Laurent’s wrist and gently pins it to the pillows above his head. The position will give him better leverage, but he doesn’t want Laurent to feel genuinely constrained.
Laurent shakes his head and looks at him with dark eyes. He says nothing, but Damen reads his expression well enough. He likes it.
“Just hold on to me, baby.” Damen murmurs, using the rarely spoken pet name saved only for their most private intimate moments as he wrangles Laurent into a deep kiss and begins the steady back and forth of his hips.
“Don’t-” Laurent gasps. “Hurt yourself.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Damen says with another kiss. His side is a bit sore, but this is the most physical activity he’s had in a month. He’d let himself get stabbed again right about now before he’d stop fucking the beautiful man underneath him.
“Damianos.” Laurent says in a breathy moan, the full name making Damen shudder over him as they move together.
“How’s this?” Damen pants into Laurent’s ear as he picks up the pace just a little bit more, pushing into Laurent hard and keeping his thrusts deep to keep hitting that special spot inside him. Laurent’s body pushes up and down with the power of Damen’s motions, his mouth hung open in a silent wail of pleasure. That’s a mannerism much more typical of the man he knows and it’s somehow even sexier than Laurent begging him. Just seeing his face flushed with his eyes shut, completely overwhelmed with pleasure. Damen loves that expression.
“I… I-I’m gonna…” Laurent whimpers, but Damen reaches a hand between them and cuts him off, wrapping his hand around the middle of Laurent’s cock to prevent him from coming. “Damen.”
“Hold on just a little longer.” Damen instructs, showing no mercy as he continues fucking into him, his other hand holding Laurent’s wrist down.
Laurent lets out a needy whine, the fingernails of his free hand digging into Damen’s shoulder.
Damen feels his own climax fast approaching looking at the desperation on Laurent’s face and decides to let him go if only to be able to watch him come before his own orgasm distracts him.
Laurent comes with a sob of pleasure louder than any sound he’s ever released in bed before. He releases over Damen’s hand and his own stomach, babbling in Veretian curses as Damen fucks him through the full length of the orgasm, only allowing himself to come once Laurent was finished.
Damen finishes inside of him, staking his claim on his lover as he rides out the pleasure, feeling Laurent’s hand come up into his hair to stroke it until he’s done.
“God.” Damen pants, letting go of Laurent’s wrist and collapsing by his side. His face feels like it’s on fire, both of them soaked in sweat as he tucks his head into Laurent’s neck and wraps an arm around him to catch his breath. “I’ve never loved anyone like you, Laurent. Never think I’d make love like that to anyone else.”
“If you made love to someone else at this point, I’d probably have to kill them.” Laurent sighs, stroking a lazy hand up and down Damen’s back. “I think it’s all out of my system now… Mostly.”
“Satisfied?” Damen smiles, peeking up at him to see Laurent roll his eyes and tell him yes. Just as he leans up to pull Laurent into a proper kiss, a knock on the door interrupts them.
“Come in.” Laurent yawns.
“Laurent.”
“Is everything alright in here?” A guard opens the door to ask only to freeze and blush quickly. “My apologies Exalted, your Highness. We got word it sounded like someone was uh… injured. I’ll leave you to your privacy.”
Damen just sits and watches, mortified until the door shuts and Laurent’s chest rumbles against him with laughter.
“You should see how you look right now.” Laurent smiles, running his hand through Damen’s damp hair.
“We are covered in-”
“Most of it’s mine, what have you to be embarrassed about?” Laurent dismisses the thought with a hand gesture and rolls, so that he’s lying against Damen’s side instead, still laughing a little. “Injured.”
“He’s talking about you, you know.”
“Yes, but your cock is the one he saw when he walked in, so I’ll call it a victory.” Laurent lets out another yawn and nuzzles his cheek against Damen’s chest, a sweet gesture for someone with a tongue like Laurent’s. “I should never have gotten drunk to do this.”
“Well, no but… It was nice to see you sensitive and honest. You’re very sweet when you drink. Most of the time.”
“Mm, guess that’s why it’s for special occasions only.” Laurent says as his eyes fall shut. “I’ve got my… faculties about me, but I am still a little bit… dizzy.”
“I’ll clean you up.” Damen says with a kiss to the top of Laurent’s head, wrapping both arms securely around him to hold him close. “Just lay with me a little while longer.”