Nobody But You - 8. Chapter 8

It was one of the hardest things Tatsuo ever had to do, even more so than mastering human form, to pretend cold indifference while all he wanted was to feel Etienne’s skin against his palms once more. The look on the wolf’s face as he’d run away in shame and fear haunted his memories. He’d give anything to never see that look ever again.

Even with the warmth of Tatsuya at his back, he’d lain awake for most of the night, questioning if he really heard the sad howls in the distance or if it was only his wants taunting him from within. Every time he crept anywhere near sleeping, stricken eyes and the slamming of a door broke something inside him all over again. In the dark hours before dawn, Tatsuya’s arms wrapped tightly around him.

“You’re going to destroy yourself like this. It can’t go on this way.” Stroking his fingers through his hair, Tatsuya had held him close.

For two hours now, Tatsuo had held up this charade of disinterest, even as Etienne all but stared them down for the entirety of the second period. The dragon screamed inside him, roaring that he claim what was his.

‘Patience. He is worth the wait, and we do not want him to feel so overwhelmed again. Wait and see, my twin. It is the right thing to do.’ Tatsuya cooed soothingly through their bond.

Time passed excruciatingly slow for Tatsuo, dragging on so slowly that the bell ending class nearly made him jump out of his skin. His long sleepless night was quickly becoming an endlessly on edge day. Tatsuya continued to hold him together, grabbing his hand and leading him towards the door. In an involuntary act his gaze sought out Etienne as they passed him, naked want clouding his eyes. Just like in first period, their eyes met, an ocean of feelings crashing through him like waves upon the shore.

For the barest of moments he thought Etienne was going to stop them, the want shone on his face, and yet he stayed frozen to the spot, unmoving as Tatsuya drug him through the doorframe. ‘There is a want in his eyes, Brother.’

‘I know, I can feel it too.’

It was then that he felt the tightness of Tatsuya’s grip and the racing of his pulse against his skin. He was far from unaffected and it made Tatsuo question who was actually leading who.

‘Tatsu..’

‘Just give me a moment.’

The rumblings of possession and wanting reverberated through them both. Where yesterday it had seemed like a curse, today it was more of a blessing that for the next two periods they were seperated from Etienne. Third period was tension fraught, desks scraping awkwardly over tiled floors in an effort to move away from them. Barely in control, the twins eyes had become mirrored purple slits and control on their dragons tenuous at best. It took all of the hour and quiet reciting of some their grandfather’s magic to rein themselves in. Another hour more before they were able to bring their appearance back under control.

‘Are we really just going to keep ducking and dodging him? I know we’re not supposed to rush him, but this seems a bit ludicrous.’ Tatsuo cast his twin a sidelong glance.

‘It seemed like the best solution at the time.’ Scanning the hallway in both directions before pulling Tatsuo out behind him, he made a beeline for the closest exit. The crowds began to thicken as lunch break began, but the quad outside had thankfully yet to fill.

‘Tatsuya!’ Tatsuo dug in his heels, stopping his twin in his tracks. Grabbing him by his stubborn chin, he forced Tatsuya to meet his eyes, their faces a breaths span away. ‘We are running away blindly. We are Hiei, we are Mystara, we do NOT run. Read the situation and stop this.’

‘About time you got yourself together. Want the lead back now?’ He asked petulantly. ‘By all means, please tell me what to do because at the moment I am sure of nothing.’

Tatsuo squeezed the back of his twin’s neck, ‘We turn the odds back in our favor. He may be a wolf, but WE are the dragons.’

‘We hunt.’ Tatsuo let the tension that had been building within him slough away like a snake shedding its skin, the curves of ebony horns parted his hair, sweeping back from his temples.

‘Let’s find what is ours.’ Tatsuya’s own horns grew to mirror his twins.

-Etienne-

As the lunch bell finally rang above their heads, he wasted no time in gathering his things together and heading for the door. After two hours apart, Etienne had no clue what class they’d be leaving to go to lunch.

Find them.

‘I’m trying, just shut up already.’ A pair of bunny girls stared at him as they passed, pausing a minute before going on their way.

Etienne was forced to acknowledge this monumental change within himself, where only twenty four hours earlier if he’d been faced with such a reaction, he’d have sunk into the floor with embarrassment. There was no time for that now, but he would definitely have to be more careful of answering himself out loud.

Scent.

Relying upon his sensitive sense of smell, Etienne took a deep breath, dissecting the air around him for clues of their presence. Books, perfume, sweat and dust, but not a hint of the spicy aroma he sought so desperately.

He knew damn well that this was all his own fault, and he couldn’t blame them at all for thinking him a couillon. Tatsuo had been correct last night, he’d spent so long behind his walls that he’d really believed he’d remain behind them alone forever. But what good had his walls done when faced with the Hiei twins?

“Do you hate this? Just say so, say anything at all and I’ll stop.”

They’d laid the choice before him and Etienne hadn’t been able to hide anymore.

Mi Tiefal.

The words may have been foreign to his ears but the feelings behind them were impossible to mistake. Losing control had scared the shit out of him, and yeah he’d run away scared. But as he’d run free beneath the moonlight, the fear had faded and the want remained. They’d done this to him, and they were going to take responsibility, one way or another. He just had to find them.

It was obvious that they weren’t to be found upstairs where he was, so he hurried towards the steps to descend lower. Inside him the wolf growled to be released,but he was having none of that right now. While the twins had seen him become what he tried so hard to hide away, they hadn’t been the ones to shy away. He was in no way ready to just let himself go for all the world to see, they were the ones who made him want these impossible things to be true.

Masses pushed in around him, surrounding him on all sides and interfering with his sense of smell. He’d never be able to track them down this way, so forcing the crowds to part before his towering frame, Etienne exited the school through a side door. The bench and hedges from the previous day helped orient him as to just where he was. Taking in deep gulps of air he finally found it the sultry heavy scent of cinnamon, following its trail around the side of the building it grew stronger.

Mine.

Mine.

A breeze ruffled his hair, scattering the scent and making its direction harder to pinpoint. It was moving away from him, but where?

The world grew quieter as the spice of cinnamon grew ever stronger, and Etienne barely noticed that he was wandering further away from the main grounds of the school, so intent on following his nose like some hound. Not far away was an ivy covered gazebo, and it was from the spaces of the whitewashed wood that the scent emanated, pulling him closer and closer.

“I can tell you’re here.” Etienne called out as he neared the ivy laden arch, “Can we talk please?”

An elegant long fingered hand snaked out from the shadows, grasping Etienne’s wrist and dragging him within. The air was knocked out of him as Tatsuo pushed him to the curving wood bench. It was a moment before his eyes adjusted to the semi darkness and the dominating aura of Left Twin towering over him while blocking off any possible avenue of escape.

His eyes glowed from within with violet fire, curving ebony horns swept back from his temples. “We’re going to have a little ‘Tete a Tete’ as you cajuns like to say.” Sharp fangs pressed into Tatsuo’s full lips as he murmured the words.

“About last night…” Etienne could barely hear his own words, forcing each one to enunciate as he drug it up from the very depths of his soul.

“Yes, about last night,” the rough pad of his thumb stroked Etienne’s cheek, “I think we all have a few things that need clarification.”

“Why have y'all avoided me all day?”

“Why did you turn tail and run when we saw the true you?”

Etienne expected it, but still couldn’t help flinching back as the question cut into him.

“You don’t understand. How could you possibly…”

Tatsuo cut him off, “At any point did we give off the impression that we would be so cruel?”

“No…”

In less than the blink of an eye, his back was pushed back against the wood and ivy, leaves crushed under his weight as Tatsuo straddled him, seating himself atop Etienne’s lap. Fangs nipped against his neck with each word.

“Are you afraid of me right now?”

He was anything but scared, and this time there would be no more running away. “No, I’m not.”

Tatsuo ground the hard length of his erection against Etienne’s taut stomach, biting the wolf’s soft lower lip as he spoke, “Mi Tiefal, if you are not afraid of me as I am now, what makes you think I could ever possibly be repulsed by you for being you?”

There were those strange words once again, “What does that mean? Mi Tiefal? Tatsuya called me that...last night.”

“Mi Tiefal, My Heart, Our One.”

Each was spoken with such reverence and longing, Etienne’s own hard arousal pressed itself into the twins stomach, a wet spot forming on the loup garou’s shirt.

Tatsuo groaned before burying those long fingers into his dark hair, and crushing his lips against the wolf’s mouth. His tongue was hot and needy as it pushed its way inside past Etienne’s surprised gasp to wrap itself around his own.

Yes.

The wolf felt the tufted tips of his ears rising from his skull, and fangs of his own grazing over the twin’s soft tongue. Mimicking Tatsuo’s actions, Etienne rested his hands on the twins hips, pulling him closer as he ground himself against Tatsuo’s stomach.

The twins long fingers furrowed up through the strands of his hair to stroke his ears gently even as his kisses intensified with savage need. Etienne moaned helplessly, sucking against his lips. It was the first time anyone had ever touched his ears and the wave of pleasure it induced made him shake.

The ringing of the bell that signaled the end of lunch might as well have been a bomb going off, Etienne jumped, his breathing ragged against the hot skin of Tatsuo’s neck.

“I’m glad we could talk about this like men.” Tatsuo kissed him again, this time slow and savoring, “We’ll be late if we stay. Let’s go meet Tatsuya and head to class.” Unfolding his long frame to stand before the wolf, he reached down to take Etienne’s hand, helping him up.

“Hopefully now you understand.” Tatsuo’s palm slid down to stroke Etienne’s aching erection still straining against the confines of his uniform.