Original - Knox/Taverus - Slimy, Disgusting Things - PG
TITLE: Slimy, Disgusting Things
AUTHOR: FoxyPope
FANDOM: Original Fantasy
PAIRING: Knox/Taverus
GENRE: Slash
LETTER: C for Coy - Table #1
SUMMARY: Knox finds a boat ride through a swamp quite romantic. Taverus very much does not.
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1879
WARNINGS: A little bit of innuendo--nothing horribly offensive.
DISCLAIMER: As far as intellectual property is concerned, I own these characters and the world they reside in.
Knox knew it wasn't very nice of him to pretend that Taverus was simply coy; he was actually well aware that Taverus' usual plea for modesty was more a matter of him being extremely high-strung. Yet that knowledge probably only encouraged Knox to push him until Taverus was teetering over the edge of irritation or degradation. He couldn't help that Taverus had the sensibilities of an old prudish matron, or that it was incredibly amusing to test him time and time again. Yet oddly enough, the one time he was honestly trying to get the poor man to relax was also one of the many instances that he had seen Taverus fall over that edge he teetered over so often.
Somehow the atmosphere of their ride on the bog had put the two men in the exact opposite moods; for Knox, the swamp's humidity made him feel heady--not quite hot and bothered, but still very much in the mood for at least some cuddling. It was twilight, and yet it was pitch black in the bog, and so their only lighting came from the lanterns and candles on the large rowing boat. The candles were to ward off bugs, a special powder lighting the flames in a vast array of colors--orange, blue and purple especially. As soon as he boarded, Knox immediately sank into the large cushions provided. This was all meant to be quite relaxing; it was obvious their hosts wanted very much to treat them well.
While Knox sank and breathed in the sweet vapors of the candle flames, Taverus hesitated, standing at the dock and completely rigid.
"Come on," Knox smirked, eyebrow raising, "I won't bite, I promise."
"It's not you," Taverus said.
"Then what?" Knox looked around, befuddled for a moment. Then he spotted what may be some of Taverus' mounting concerns. At the stern, bow and both sides of the boat stood four undead, their forms made from the bodies of corpses, mud and wood. The colored flames cast a glow on their brown, dried up bodies. Knox looked back at Taverus, "The undead?"
Taverus looked at him incredulously, wide-eyed, "Aren't you so damn casual about it."
"They're just servants." Knox nudged a nearby one with his foot; it merely swayed in response. "They're not conscious. Look, they don't even make noise. Don't worry about it. They're just here to drive our boat." He smiled crookedly, then patted the cushion next to him, "Come on!"
Taverus, his face pulled down to a look of disgust, came forward at last, sitting down stiffly. When two undead came up to take down the bridge between the dock and boat--on the side most near to Taverus--he jumped, landing much closer to Knox and grasping the other man's cloak. Knox snorted, putting down his arm to hold Taverus around the shoulder while Taverus stared at the bodies. "What horrid things."
Knox shrugged, "I suppose."
"'You suppose'?'" Taverus wheeled around to face Knox, "Don't suppose you would mind at all if you were used as a slave in your afterlife."
Knox rolled his eyes, "They're not sentient beings. They can't feel. If I pushed one of these things into the bog they would just sink. They'll only do what they've been told to do," after a moment of watching Taverus bite his bottom lip, he rubbed the other man's shoulder, "Just relax."
He felt Taverus shudder, "That will hardly be happening. This whole place has me unsettled." Leaves rustled some feet away from their boat, causing Taverus to stiffen and look all around. Darkness blanketed around their boat, with only a dim outline of trees easing through. "I can't see a damn thing that's not in this boat."
"You'll be fine." Knox frowned a bit as Taverus shrugged his hand off his shoulder.
He watched him jump again as two undead set up a canopy to cover their seating overhead. Taverus didn't relax even as the boat began to move, grasping his arms and tapping his foot nervously. Knox followed Taverus' line of vision, realizing that he had been staring at the undead at the bow, lit by a yellow lantern posted above it. It rowed with a natural pace--if one didn't take in its brown, decaying skin or its missing body parts replaced by mud and wood, one may mistake it as a person.
The swamp hiccuped, coughed and creaked all around, the humidity feeling thick. Knox could only enjoy the atmosphere for a moment; Taverus was so tense that he was beginning to feel his own stomach begin to coil up. He sighed, and Taverus glanced over, frowning, "What?"
"Hm?"
"You're staring." Although Taverus' expression leaned towards nauseation and intense discomfort, Knox couldn't help but note how the blue flame hit Taverus' features that moment. He could not help thinking that he managed to look regal even when he was in a piss-poor mood. Knox smiled, which only intensified Taverus' already present frown. "Don't give me that look."
"Am I giving you a look?" Knox raised his eyebrows, thinking he was referring to a different look entirely.
"Yes," Taverus said with a wary tone, "Don't think I don't know what it means by now."
"Oh," Knox increased his smile. He slid closer to Taverus, who crossed his arms in response.
"Don't."
Knox stopped, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he batted his eyelashes, "Why? You don't feel the atmosphere is terribly romantic?" He tugged at the fabric of Taverus' tunic sleeve, "The warm air, the colorful candle light..."
Taverus' mouth was set at a grim line. "You can't be serious." When Knox only chuckled, Taverus unraveled his own arms and gestured around him, "We're in a slimy disgusting swamp surrounded by corpses!"
"So you're saying you don't like slimy and corpse-like things?" at Taverus' raised eyebrow he smirked, "But you like me, don't you?" He smiled widely when a snort bubbled out of Taverus, who quickly tried to hide his smile. He feigned a pained look, "I don't see you protesting the comparison."
Taverus bit his lip, failing to hide his smirk, "It was you who suggested it."
"Only because I expected you to answer, 'No, Knox. You have a roguish charm about you--just oh so dark and mysterious,'" as he said it he slid nearer and nearer to Taverus until he had him caught in a corner. When Taverus tried and failed at pushing him away, Knox grabbed one of his hands, "Is my hair not unlike a raven's? Does my alabaster skin not glow with intensity under light?"
Taverus laughed out loud for a moment, settling back into giggles he tried hard to resist, "Only because you're as pale as a slug."
Knox pounced. He dug his face into Taverus' neck and clung around his waist while the other resisted, kicking and laughing.
Taverus jolted for a minute, letting out a little yelp, "Oh! Please, stop, I'm ticklish."
"Shouldn't have told me that."
Taverus outright yelled as Knox began to tickle his ribs. As Taverus resisted more, Knox relented, but stayed on top of Taverus, both now horizontal on the cushions.
Taverus stared up at him, red in the face, panting as he recovered his breath. Knox hummed a bit, "That's a familiar face you have."
It took Taverus a moment to register the innuendo, then promptly frowned as he did, "You're terrible."
Knox bent down, "Yes, why ever do you put up with an ugly, mean thing like me?" he kissed under Taverus' ear as he said it.
Taverus let out a strained sigh, pushing a hand against his chest. "Don't."
Knox came back up to face him. "You do so love to play coy."
Taverus shook his head, turning away from him, "This is hardly the time or place."
"I agree--then again I would also say that it's never a good time to play coy," he put Taverus' hair behind his ear, tipping his head when Taverus looked back with a small frown.
"Really. Don't." He pushed Knox's hands away and sat up. Knox sighed loudly but finally relented. They both readjusted so they could sit properly on the cushions, though Knox did not move too far away. Taverus resumed his previous rigid position, crossing his arms--though his shoulders were far more lax than before. "I don't know how you can think of such things in all places."
Knox pouted, "I just wanted a cuddle." Taverus raised an eyebrow, to which Knox shrugged, "Maybe a bit more than that, but..." he tried for a bigger pout.
Taverus grimaced, "You look dreadfully pathetic. And insincere."
The pout was wiped off his face in an instant, "Really, though. We're alone for once where we're not in any real danger of being disturbed."
"In a nasty scummy swamp," Taverus' face scrunched up.
"Come now," Knox smirked, scooting closer once more, "Forget about it," at Taverus' still hesitant face he nudged him, "I'm not asking you to rut about in the mud."
Taverus went red-faced, "Really."
"Truly." He reached around to grasp his shoulder. Knox tried to kiss his lips but only got his cheek as Taverus turned his head. Knox pulled away, then suddenly took note of the canopy above them. He turned back to Taverus, "Is it still the undead bothering you?"
Taverus shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "Forgive me for being modest."
Knox resisted the temptation of asking just what part of not-sentient Taverus didn't get, and instead grabbed the privacy veil on the canopy and swung it to the front. He watched Taverus' mildly surprised reaction with a large grin. "Problem solved." Taverus' pursed his lips, but nonetheless did the same for the privacy veil on his own side. Knox prodded his shoulder, "Don't be a sore loser, now."
"I'm not," Taverus replied icily, but nonetheless laid back on the cushion at last and closed his eyes.
Knox moved in closer and pulled Taverus to him once more. Taverus did not resist, and in fact reached his own arm around to comb his fingers through Knox's hair as he began to kiss Taverus' neck. Knox smiled into his kisses when he felt a shiver go through the other man's body.
Consumed with this for a moment, only Taverus noticed when a sickly plop sounded from the canopy above them. He stared up for a moment, only to flutter his eyes back shut when Knox began to graze him a bit with his teeth and it was quickly forgotten.
Eventually Taverus leaned his head back towards Knox and they kissed. As Taverus let out a large sigh, he sucked back in all of the air he had let out with a gasp. He broke off from the kiss and looked down.
Taverus let out an erratic wail.
A large centipede, roughly the width of a sausage and the length of a gardener snake had took to climbing up his leg.
Taverus was deathly afraid of bugs.
Taverus kicked out his leg, wailing as he did until the centipede was flung off. As it landed on the boat deck, Knox promptly stomped it with his boot. It crunched in half, a thick goo pouring out of it for a moment.
Looking back, Taverus was gray in the face, his arms and legs coiled up to his body, his hand over his mouth. Knox frowned, "You all right?"
Taverus promptly got up, stood next to the side of the boat and threw up.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence, although Knox's consolation was that Taverus felt abashed enough to accept comfort--which with his pride he wasn't often liable to do. Taverus clung to Knox, though kept his eyes peeled for any more unwanted bog creatures should they appear again.
AUTHOR: FoxyPope
FANDOM: Original Fantasy
PAIRING: Knox/Taverus
GENRE: Slash
LETTER: C for Coy - Table #1
SUMMARY: Knox finds a boat ride through a swamp quite romantic. Taverus very much does not.
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1879
WARNINGS: A little bit of innuendo--nothing horribly offensive.
DISCLAIMER: As far as intellectual property is concerned, I own these characters and the world they reside in.
Knox knew it wasn't very nice of him to pretend that Taverus was simply coy; he was actually well aware that Taverus' usual plea for modesty was more a matter of him being extremely high-strung. Yet that knowledge probably only encouraged Knox to push him until Taverus was teetering over the edge of irritation or degradation. He couldn't help that Taverus had the sensibilities of an old prudish matron, or that it was incredibly amusing to test him time and time again. Yet oddly enough, the one time he was honestly trying to get the poor man to relax was also one of the many instances that he had seen Taverus fall over that edge he teetered over so often.
Somehow the atmosphere of their ride on the bog had put the two men in the exact opposite moods; for Knox, the swamp's humidity made him feel heady--not quite hot and bothered, but still very much in the mood for at least some cuddling. It was twilight, and yet it was pitch black in the bog, and so their only lighting came from the lanterns and candles on the large rowing boat. The candles were to ward off bugs, a special powder lighting the flames in a vast array of colors--orange, blue and purple especially. As soon as he boarded, Knox immediately sank into the large cushions provided. This was all meant to be quite relaxing; it was obvious their hosts wanted very much to treat them well.
While Knox sank and breathed in the sweet vapors of the candle flames, Taverus hesitated, standing at the dock and completely rigid.
"Come on," Knox smirked, eyebrow raising, "I won't bite, I promise."
"It's not you," Taverus said.
"Then what?" Knox looked around, befuddled for a moment. Then he spotted what may be some of Taverus' mounting concerns. At the stern, bow and both sides of the boat stood four undead, their forms made from the bodies of corpses, mud and wood. The colored flames cast a glow on their brown, dried up bodies. Knox looked back at Taverus, "The undead?"
Taverus looked at him incredulously, wide-eyed, "Aren't you so damn casual about it."
"They're just servants." Knox nudged a nearby one with his foot; it merely swayed in response. "They're not conscious. Look, they don't even make noise. Don't worry about it. They're just here to drive our boat." He smiled crookedly, then patted the cushion next to him, "Come on!"
Taverus, his face pulled down to a look of disgust, came forward at last, sitting down stiffly. When two undead came up to take down the bridge between the dock and boat--on the side most near to Taverus--he jumped, landing much closer to Knox and grasping the other man's cloak. Knox snorted, putting down his arm to hold Taverus around the shoulder while Taverus stared at the bodies. "What horrid things."
Knox shrugged, "I suppose."
"'You suppose'?'" Taverus wheeled around to face Knox, "Don't suppose you would mind at all if you were used as a slave in your afterlife."
Knox rolled his eyes, "They're not sentient beings. They can't feel. If I pushed one of these things into the bog they would just sink. They'll only do what they've been told to do," after a moment of watching Taverus bite his bottom lip, he rubbed the other man's shoulder, "Just relax."
He felt Taverus shudder, "That will hardly be happening. This whole place has me unsettled." Leaves rustled some feet away from their boat, causing Taverus to stiffen and look all around. Darkness blanketed around their boat, with only a dim outline of trees easing through. "I can't see a damn thing that's not in this boat."
"You'll be fine." Knox frowned a bit as Taverus shrugged his hand off his shoulder.
He watched him jump again as two undead set up a canopy to cover their seating overhead. Taverus didn't relax even as the boat began to move, grasping his arms and tapping his foot nervously. Knox followed Taverus' line of vision, realizing that he had been staring at the undead at the bow, lit by a yellow lantern posted above it. It rowed with a natural pace--if one didn't take in its brown, decaying skin or its missing body parts replaced by mud and wood, one may mistake it as a person.
The swamp hiccuped, coughed and creaked all around, the humidity feeling thick. Knox could only enjoy the atmosphere for a moment; Taverus was so tense that he was beginning to feel his own stomach begin to coil up. He sighed, and Taverus glanced over, frowning, "What?"
"Hm?"
"You're staring." Although Taverus' expression leaned towards nauseation and intense discomfort, Knox couldn't help but note how the blue flame hit Taverus' features that moment. He could not help thinking that he managed to look regal even when he was in a piss-poor mood. Knox smiled, which only intensified Taverus' already present frown. "Don't give me that look."
"Am I giving you a look?" Knox raised his eyebrows, thinking he was referring to a different look entirely.
"Yes," Taverus said with a wary tone, "Don't think I don't know what it means by now."
"Oh," Knox increased his smile. He slid closer to Taverus, who crossed his arms in response.
"Don't."
Knox stopped, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he batted his eyelashes, "Why? You don't feel the atmosphere is terribly romantic?" He tugged at the fabric of Taverus' tunic sleeve, "The warm air, the colorful candle light..."
Taverus' mouth was set at a grim line. "You can't be serious." When Knox only chuckled, Taverus unraveled his own arms and gestured around him, "We're in a slimy disgusting swamp surrounded by corpses!"
"So you're saying you don't like slimy and corpse-like things?" at Taverus' raised eyebrow he smirked, "But you like me, don't you?" He smiled widely when a snort bubbled out of Taverus, who quickly tried to hide his smile. He feigned a pained look, "I don't see you protesting the comparison."
Taverus bit his lip, failing to hide his smirk, "It was you who suggested it."
"Only because I expected you to answer, 'No, Knox. You have a roguish charm about you--just oh so dark and mysterious,'" as he said it he slid nearer and nearer to Taverus until he had him caught in a corner. When Taverus tried and failed at pushing him away, Knox grabbed one of his hands, "Is my hair not unlike a raven's? Does my alabaster skin not glow with intensity under light?"
Taverus laughed out loud for a moment, settling back into giggles he tried hard to resist, "Only because you're as pale as a slug."
Knox pounced. He dug his face into Taverus' neck and clung around his waist while the other resisted, kicking and laughing.
Taverus jolted for a minute, letting out a little yelp, "Oh! Please, stop, I'm ticklish."
"Shouldn't have told me that."
Taverus outright yelled as Knox began to tickle his ribs. As Taverus resisted more, Knox relented, but stayed on top of Taverus, both now horizontal on the cushions.
Taverus stared up at him, red in the face, panting as he recovered his breath. Knox hummed a bit, "That's a familiar face you have."
It took Taverus a moment to register the innuendo, then promptly frowned as he did, "You're terrible."
Knox bent down, "Yes, why ever do you put up with an ugly, mean thing like me?" he kissed under Taverus' ear as he said it.
Taverus let out a strained sigh, pushing a hand against his chest. "Don't."
Knox came back up to face him. "You do so love to play coy."
Taverus shook his head, turning away from him, "This is hardly the time or place."
"I agree--then again I would also say that it's never a good time to play coy," he put Taverus' hair behind his ear, tipping his head when Taverus looked back with a small frown.
"Really. Don't." He pushed Knox's hands away and sat up. Knox sighed loudly but finally relented. They both readjusted so they could sit properly on the cushions, though Knox did not move too far away. Taverus resumed his previous rigid position, crossing his arms--though his shoulders were far more lax than before. "I don't know how you can think of such things in all places."
Knox pouted, "I just wanted a cuddle." Taverus raised an eyebrow, to which Knox shrugged, "Maybe a bit more than that, but..." he tried for a bigger pout.
Taverus grimaced, "You look dreadfully pathetic. And insincere."
The pout was wiped off his face in an instant, "Really, though. We're alone for once where we're not in any real danger of being disturbed."
"In a nasty scummy swamp," Taverus' face scrunched up.
"Come now," Knox smirked, scooting closer once more, "Forget about it," at Taverus' still hesitant face he nudged him, "I'm not asking you to rut about in the mud."
Taverus went red-faced, "Really."
"Truly." He reached around to grasp his shoulder. Knox tried to kiss his lips but only got his cheek as Taverus turned his head. Knox pulled away, then suddenly took note of the canopy above them. He turned back to Taverus, "Is it still the undead bothering you?"
Taverus shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "Forgive me for being modest."
Knox resisted the temptation of asking just what part of not-sentient Taverus didn't get, and instead grabbed the privacy veil on the canopy and swung it to the front. He watched Taverus' mildly surprised reaction with a large grin. "Problem solved." Taverus' pursed his lips, but nonetheless did the same for the privacy veil on his own side. Knox prodded his shoulder, "Don't be a sore loser, now."
"I'm not," Taverus replied icily, but nonetheless laid back on the cushion at last and closed his eyes.
Knox moved in closer and pulled Taverus to him once more. Taverus did not resist, and in fact reached his own arm around to comb his fingers through Knox's hair as he began to kiss Taverus' neck. Knox smiled into his kisses when he felt a shiver go through the other man's body.
Consumed with this for a moment, only Taverus noticed when a sickly plop sounded from the canopy above them. He stared up for a moment, only to flutter his eyes back shut when Knox began to graze him a bit with his teeth and it was quickly forgotten.
Eventually Taverus leaned his head back towards Knox and they kissed. As Taverus let out a large sigh, he sucked back in all of the air he had let out with a gasp. He broke off from the kiss and looked down.
Taverus let out an erratic wail.
A large centipede, roughly the width of a sausage and the length of a gardener snake had took to climbing up his leg.
Taverus was deathly afraid of bugs.
Taverus kicked out his leg, wailing as he did until the centipede was flung off. As it landed on the boat deck, Knox promptly stomped it with his boot. It crunched in half, a thick goo pouring out of it for a moment.
Looking back, Taverus was gray in the face, his arms and legs coiled up to his body, his hand over his mouth. Knox frowned, "You all right?"
Taverus promptly got up, stood next to the side of the boat and threw up.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence, although Knox's consolation was that Taverus felt abashed enough to accept comfort--which with his pride he wasn't often liable to do. Taverus clung to Knox, though kept his eyes peeled for any more unwanted bog creatures should they appear again.