Fallen Pride - 16. Chapter 16

“This is heaven.” Atoki tipped his head back against his mate’s shoulder and smiled dreamily.

“I’m still sure this is hell,” Vruuaska replied with a smile. The big fire demon ran his hands down Atoki’s chest under the frothy water, and felt the boy press back against him suggestively. “But it is a good bath.”

“If I’d known Nassau could give us a hot tub with a massage setting, I’d have been bugging Kiorl years ago!” the boy replied.

He ground his hips against his lover again, and Vruuaska gave into temptation, kissing a line down the boy’s exposed neck as he used his hands to part the firm mounds of his delightful arse. Atoki’s moan of pleasure was overtaken by the door slamming back on it’s hinges. It took the boy a moment to remember no one could actually tell he was currently being reamed by his lover under the foam of the bath, but that didn’t mean he liked being interrupted.

“There are two bathrooms now y’know. Use the other one.” Atoki frowned at Jeremiah’s back, which was all he could see. The young man had slammed the door again as quickly as he’d come through, and now stood facing it. Everything about his posture told Atoki things were not well. “Jem?”

“Kiorl is crying in his room.”

“What?” Vruuaska asked with half a snarl. He hadn’t stopped the long, slow motion of his hips, and he didn’t intend to. They’d been walked in on far too many times in the previous decade to bother much about privacy. “How do you know?”

Jeremiah flashed a glare over his shoulder.

“Because my room is next door to his, and these walls aren’t always as thick as they should be.”

“Where’s Kiaza?” Atoki managed between pants. Jeremiah’s snake-skinned lover was Kiorl’s best friend, and the only one anything like qualified enough to deal with the idea that their major demon might be in his room in tears.

“He went Upstairs with Shindae first thing this morning. Apparently there’s been an issue with some salamanders.” Jeremiah arched an eyebrow at Vruuaska, unperturbed by the fact that two of his house mates were fucking during their conversation. “I’m surprised they didn’t send you too.”

“Ngh….” Was all the response the horned demon could manage.

“Everyone else is out. We’re the only three home.”

“At least... Inai… isn’t here,” Atoki panted.

“I swear if he buts his coils into another situation he isn’t powerful enough to handle, I will throw him out of this house myself,” Jeremiah scowled. “Uppity shit. Just because he’s ten feet tall he thinks he owns the place.”

“Ah… ahhh!”

“Will you two get a move on?” Jeremiah sighed with obvious frustration. “We are in the middle of a crisis.”

“Where’s… Lahja?” Atoki asked. In the next breath, he lost control of his ability to form coherent words, because the heat and thrust of Vruuaska was too much to bear. He reached over his head and grabbed each of the demon’s recurved horns as he came.

Jeremiah glanced away out of polite reflex; he didn’t really share, and neither did Atoki, so it seemed presumptuous to watch the other young man’s orgasm.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in the house. He’s not in his room. I checked.”

Vruuaska came with a wordless snarl and, panting, extracted himself from his lover but not the pool before he spoke.

“The roof?”

“Oh shit….”

“Stay here babe.”

Atoki kissed the man he loved, who even in his upright form was still a long way from being a man, and hauled himself out of the bath. As much as he’d have liked to laze around in the warm afterglow of the flames they had stoked inside each other, there didn’t seem to be anyone else who could deal with whatever situation was unfolding in their house. Atoki dried himself on the big fluffy towel Jeremiah handed him, and dressed in blue jeans and a dark red sweater. Whatever was going on had been brewing for months, and it was faintly irritating that everything should come to an unavoidable head now, when everyone else was mysteriously unavailable. They left Vruuaska to make the water in the bath boil and bubble, and headed up the back stairs.

Atoki paused in the doorway. The angel was slumped over the red chaise-lounge and though from the distance Atoki couldn’t tell if he was crying, he was certainly unhappy. However, in whatever mood, the fallen angel was going to be far easier to deal with than Kiorl.

“One of us is going to have to speak to Kiorl.”

“Do we have to?”

“Jem...” Atoki looked sideways at the other former human. He knew the world’s they come from were similar enough to share geography. “Did you have Rock, Paper, Scissors where you came from?”

“Yup. You sure you want play for it?”

“Sure.”

As he knocked on Kiorl’s door, the black wood decorated with the demon’s name in letters so old and worn they were practically indistinguishable from the grain, Atoki wished he’d paid better attention to Jeremiah whenever the man played games. He had to have a tell, because no one could be that lucky. There was no answer from the room, and Atoki couldn’t hear the sounds of Kiorl’s sadness. For a small, selfish moment, he hoped the panther had gone out just so he wouldn’t need to deal with this problem. Vruuaska was almost certainly curled up in bed, and Atoki knew it would take very little persuasion to get his mate to stretch out on the mattress and open up for him. He knocked again, just for show.

There was an answering snarl from the other side of the door, and the sound of something shredding.

“Oh fun….” Atoki rolled his shoulders, and opened the door. “Kiorl?”

The big cat snarled at him. Atoki blinked, shocked, because he had never seen Kiorl look so… feral. The usually silken panther was nude, his hair loose and messy, his fur bristling with power and anger. All his claws were extended, and he gouged scars into the stone floor as he paced, his spine hunched. His fingers tore at whatever was in reach. Atoki shut the door behind him very carefully.

“Kiorl?”

“GET OUT!”

Atoki sighed. For all that everyone he lived with, apart from Jeremiah, was eons older than himself, they could all act like immature children. Kiorl was no exception, but Atoki had more patience for sulking than he did for sheer naked rage.

“No.”

Kiorl slashed at him, grabbed his shoulder, and Atoki clenched his teeth. Kiorl was strong, his grip powerful, but in his anger he’d forgotten the gift Nassau had given Atoki along with immortality. Atoki held Kiorl’s gaze as the panther began to feel the heat radiating from him, and simply ground his molars as the big demon fell back from the burning pain.

“It’ll be worse next time,” Atoki warned evenly.

Kiorl spat like the feline he was, and resumed his pacing. Atoki took a seat on the only item of furniture which seemed to still be completely intact.

“You do realise this display has no effect on me whatsoever?” He waved a hand dismissively at Kiorl’s appearance, as though it wasn’t the first time he’d seen the major demon completely out of control. “I am mated to a Son of Ifrit, remember? If you want to talk about feral….” Atoki left the sentence unfinished, and he saw Kiorl pause in his pacing. “Jem heard you crying. He was worried. Though I see you got over that and moved into the realm of destroying things. Going to redecorate again?”

Kiorl snarled once more, but he stopped his ceaseless movement.

“Jem heard me?”

“Yeah. Lucky me, I get to come talk to you, he’s with Lahja. Talking,” he clarified. “What happened?”

“Why do you care?” Kiorl shot back.

“Because if you two get any more dramatic, we’re all going to have to start looking for alternative housing!” Atoki snapped. “Fuck but you’re a selfish son of a bitch. If anyone else was this awkward, you’d have bullied them into submission weeks ago! But no, we’ve all tiptoed around your issues, waiting for the pair of you to sort it out, and you’re fucking it up.”

“I’m fucking it up?” Kiorl’s tone reflected his more usual, haughty anger. “What would you know about it? You had it easy, a mate for life practically delivered on a plate.”

Atoki gritted his teeth, and slapped the big panther as hard as he could.

“Easy? You arrogant fuck! I was tortured and beaten by a guy who… fuck it, it might have been you who recruited him, he was that twisted. I walked into a fire trying to kill myself, and you have the nerve to call that easy?” Atoki huffed, and sat back down. “Nassau found you the perfect guy, roomed him in this house on purpose, and you think I’ve got it easy?”

To his surprise, Kiorl stilled, tension fleeing and leaving his posture slack.

“What?”

“Kiorl, seriously? Did it really not occur to you that Nassau gave him the same eyes as you for a reason? He knows you better than anyone, but everyone can see you’re lonely. That boy has been hand crafted for you, and you’re too busy holding onto your pride to see it.”

The panther gaped at him, and Atoki wondered if he’d gone too far. Just because it was obvious to him that Lahja and Kiorl liked each other, didn’t necessarily mean the other demon was ready to hear it. Atoki watched as the major demon of his house, whom he had spent a long time being slightly scared of, pulled himself together. Magic was a strange thing. Within a moment, Kiorl was dressed, his fur smooth, his demeanour civilised. The panther began to twist and braid a section of his hair.

“Nami? What would you do?”

“I don’t have such a good track record with guys,” Atoki admitted quickly. Now Kiorl was looking much more his usual self, Atoki didn’t much feel like offering his advice.

“But you and Vruu have been together for…?”

“Twelve glorious years,” Atoki inserted quickly.

“Indeed. So, what would you do?”

Atoki took a deep breath, and looked levelly at the bigger, stronger, older demon standing before him. It seemed like such a long time ago since he had been uncertain how to treat his lover. Vruuaska and the fallen angel weren’t so different. The Son of Ifrit had also worn a new and unfamiliar body, and Atoki had done a lot worse than just kiss him unexpectedly. He smiled.

“Talk to him. Tell him you need him. He likes you Kiorl, but he’s scared.”

“Hmmm….”

“And no more going feral and breaking things. People will notice.”

“You’re giving me orders now?” Kiorl scoffed.

“It comes hand in hand with the advice. I’m going back to the new bathroom now, and I don’t want to be disturbed.”

“Kiaza will be back at some point,” Kiorl indicated.

“Well he can join us then,” Atoki huffed. “Bye Kiorl.”

Atoki wandered back to the bathroom, to find his mate standing under the waterfall shower on all fours, the water steaming around him, and boiling in the puddles around his big paws. Atoki grinned. Vruuaska’s heart was on fire, as easy to see as his enormous horns, and the boy felt the familiar heat reflected in his chest and his loins. Vruuaska swished his tail invitingly, and Atoki abandoned his clothes to go and bring pleasure to the demon he adored.

*

Kiorl raised his hand to rap on the pale wooden door, when it opened, and he just about caught himself before his knuckles would have hit Lahja in the chest. Kiorl blinked, and gave the boy his best warm smile.

“Hey.”

“Do you want to come in?” the angel asked.

“Yes please.”

Kiorl had never actually let himself look at Lahja’s room closely when he’d gone in to wake the boy from his hangover, but it was easy to see Nassau’s influence in the décor. The colours were pale and pastel soft, which was fitting somehow, and the big square bed with the long drapes reminded him of how Nassau’s apartments had looked when Mattias had been alive. Lahja didn’t have a single spare object lying around on any surface, and Kiorl wondered if Lahja was minimalist, or whether he would start collecting pretty and quirky things from his trips Upstairs.

One day he won’t need you to hold his hand, Kiorl reminded himself.

Better make this count then, his inner voice replied.

“Lahja?”

“Yes?” The angel stood there, smiling softly. Kiorl felt an overwhelming urge to simply cross the room and kiss him again, just to break the rising tightness in his chest.

“I like you.” He exhaled sharply. “I like your company, and I like holding your hand when we travel through the portal. I want….” Kiorl paused with a scowl. He’d never had to spend any time explaining what he wanted, or why. He was used to just taking what he needed.

Time’s change Ki. Nassau in his head made him take another breath before he continued.

“I want to spend more time with you. I want to be with you.”

“OK.”

Kiorl’s chin snapped up to meet a pair of eyes exactly like his own. It was an expression he recognised; easy confidence. Kiorl’s ears flicked forwards in excited surprise.

“What?” he uttered in disbelief.

“OK. I like you too, though I don’t know what that means exactly.” Lahja shrugged, the motion enhanced by the shimmering air behind him. “We’ll try.”

The angel reached out and took Kiorl’s hand in his own. The panther shivered right along his spine to the tip of his tail as Lahja began to rub smooth circles in the centre of his palm. He purred, reached out, and ran his short claws through Lahja’s silky blond hair.

“Mmmm….”

Lahja’s pleasure echoed in his own chest, and Kiorl closed the final distance between them to place his muzzle against Lahja’s lips. To his surprise, the angel opened for him, and Kiorl caught himself thinking that his experience with Jahke had obviously been rather good to have made the angel so eager.

There was warmth, light, and a half heartbeat of warning before Kiorl felt himself picked up and thrown across the room. He clenched his eyes against the brightness which seared his corneas, and wrapped his tail and arms around himself as he was knocked against the stone wall.

“Fuck,” the panther snarled. He glanced up at Lahja, and the angel stood with his arms wrapped around himself, looking abjectly miserable. “Lahja?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kiorl hauled himself up, and paced back over to the pale skinned boy with his tousled hair and worried eyes. Lahja took his hand again instantly, and Kiorl smiled.

“Slow is good,” he said. He must’ve believed himself enough not the make the angel react, but Kiorl didn’t think he’d ever waited for anything, not really. The time between kissing and getting naked was not normally measured in more than heartbeats. When Lahja met his gaze again, Kiorl wondered if he’d totally underestimated the boy.

“I want to look at you.”

“Sorry?” Kiorl twitched his tail.

“You’re not allowed to be nervous.” Lahja gave him a disbelieving glance. “You’ve been naked in front of… probably everyone.”

“Probably.”

“I want to look at you,” Lahja repeated. Kiorl recognised that tone, the same one he used when he ordered lesser demons around. No one had ever refused it.

“Now?”

The boy you fancy wants you to get naked, Kiorl’s inner voice snapped. Why the fuck are you hesitating?

Kiorl’s gaze snapped back to Lahja, and the fallen angel was watching him closely. He was drawing soft circles in Kiorl’s palm again. The repetitive motion made him shiver involuntarily. Having Lahja look at him like he was, and touching him, even as little as he was, was having a predictable reaction in his crotch.

He could have just made a gesture and banished his clothes with a thought, but he had the distinct feeling that would be much less interesting than stripping manually. Kiorl used his free hand to begin unbuttoning his long silk brocade coat, and shrugged out of it without a word. Lahja had to let him go in order to work the buckles of the many belts securing his long formal loin cloth, and Kiorl paused.

In the heartbeat which followed, there was not a single sound other than their breathing. Kiorl could hear Lahja’s pulse quickening, watched the slight widening of his pupils, the rise and fall of his chest, the soft pink blush to his cheeks. He let the last of his belts and the cloth fall away, and smiled at the boy.

“I hope you enjoy the view,” he purred in the least cocky tone he could manage.

To his surprise, Lahja stepped closer, and began to move around him. Kiorl could feel the angel’s gaze like a physical trail as the boy took him in. His short velveteen fur had always accentuated, rather than disguised his features. Kiorl was proud of his tightly corded muscles, strong thighs, and the way the length of his tail did nothing to hide the shape of his rear. As Lahja circled him, Kiorl turned to keep the boy in view, flicking his conical ears to listen to the shuddering of Lahja’s breathing. When the pale demon reached out for his hand again, Kiorl’s erection jerked noticeably.

“We look different.” Lahja said without glancing down at Kiorl’s obvious hardness. “I think you’re beautiful.”

Kiorl didn’t know what to say, so he chose just to smile, reach out a hand and run bold fingers down the front of Lahja’s shirt. The pale demon shivered. Kiorl flicked a pearl button with one claw, feeling the heat of Lahja’s breath on his neck as the boy watched his motion.

“Now you.”

“No… I can’t.” Lahja’s voice shook, and the boy shivered almost uncontrollably. His eyes took on that tell-tale slightly glazed look Kiorl had already come to associate with the pain of Heaven’s light. Kiorl didn’t dare touch his bare skin again without warning. He ran his hands down Lahja’s arms, and the angel snatched his hands instantly. His grip would have been hard enough to leave bruises if Kiorl’s skin hadn’t already been black under his fur. “I’m not ready.”

“Hey, calm down.” Kiorl shook their joined hands quickly, and Lahja looked at him. “You’re OK, don’t panic. Just breathe.”

Kiorl watched Lahja closely as the boy focussed on his breathing. Lahja’s hands weren’t hot, not like touching Jeremiah, or Atoki when the boy got worked up and angry. Kiorl could feel the power there, raw and untamed. He knew, all too well, exactly how much Lahja’s power hurt, and Kiorl fought his sense of self-preservation not to slip free of Lahja’s grip. As the angel exhaled, Kiorl felt the power slack off and slip away until all he could hear was Lahja’s pulse and nothing more.

“You’re getting better at that.”

“Thank you.” Lahja dropped his hand and placed his fingers over the white marks on Kiorl’s face, covering them exactly. “I’m sorry I hit you.”

“Nassau says scars are sexy,” Kiorl replied with a smirk.

“He’s right,” Lahja agreed.

“Thanks.” Kiorl glanced down at the narrow space between their bodies to be greeted by the waving tip of his aching cock. As much as he wanted relief, he knew that wasn’t an option. “It’s late. I should go.”

“But….” Lahja started. He glanced at his white draped bed, his brow furrowed.

“It’s not really an option for us right now,” Kiorl said softly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Are we going Upstairs?”

“If you want.” Kiorl shrugged. “We can talk about it over breakfast.”

Kiorl didn’t bother to dress before he left, nor did he take his clothes with him. He did not cross the passageway to his room, but walked three doors along to where Sitka and Jahke lived. Neither demon was there, but they also never locked their door. Kiorl found what he needed in a little alcove right by the bed. He swiped the bottle of lube, and shut himself away.

Kiorl didn’t think he had ever, ever, taken himself in hand all the way to completion. Stroking off whilst watching others didn’t count, because joining in was even more fun than voyeurism, and Kiorl always liked to have fun.

He lay back in his deep dish shaped bed, piled high with furs and thick raw wool blankets, and slathered his erection with the stolen lube. Like his shape suggested, Kiorl had a cock ridged with barbs, and the keratin spines were sharp enough to rake his palm as he stroked until it felt like he had been trying to rub away his fur with sandpaper. Kiorl tipped his head back into the furs and inhaled deeply. The scent of the angel had followed him. He continued stroking his cock, working over and over the smooth pointed tip as he imagined the other boy in his own room, scooping up the clothes he’d abandoned. The idea of Lahja inhaling his scent and missing him made the fur up Kiorl’s spine stand on end, and he snarled, clenched his jaw, and lashed his tail around his wrist before he lost control completely. It was never nice to be smacked in the face with the damn thing in the middle of an orgasm.

He’d never seen Lahja anything other than fully dressed, and Kiorl stroked himself. He felt a hot tightness rise up under his abdomen as he pictured Lahja stripping out of his shirt, the long lines of his body, the fine musculature under smooth pale skin. Oh how Kiorl looked forward to lapping his tongue down the furrow of his spine, peeling back fabric to reveal what he already knew would be a fantastic arse, having Lahja writhe in pleasure under his tongue and moan his name. Kiorl wondered if his future bed mate liked to cuddle, or hogged all the covers, and just as he was picturing waking up with the boy nestled in his arms, inhaling the clean scent of his silken hair, Kiorl came unexpectedly. He snarled, gasping for breath, his heart hammering under his ribs too fast to be comfortable, his emissions painting his fur.

He lay on his back, panting, and felt the familiar texture of Nassau slip into his mind.

So, is progress being made? The Prince asked in the unfocussed afterglow of Kiorl’s mind.

I jerked off in my room thinking about him, Kiorl offered. Is that progress?

Ki, you’re vile.

You should learn not to interrupt people mid-coitus.

I waited until you finished, didn’t I? The Prince replied defensively.

You dirty fucker! Kiorl laughed aloud. That means you were looking in on me during the event too! Did you get a good view?

The inside of your head is very interesting.

Good. Now fuck off Nassau. Kiorl rolled onto his side, as if it would make any difference to Nassau’s ability to invade his privacy.

Nassau was silent for so long, Kiorl though he had gone, but the Prince left him with a parting thought.

Cuddling? I never knew you were such a house pet Kiorl….

The panther snarled, but Nassau was far too far away to be bothered with. Instead, he went to sleep.