Title-- A Night Without Stars
Approx. Wordcount: 1,900
Aile/Rea Sex, as per Lora's request ^_~
The night was wet like drowning, and warm. Rea leaned on the marble column and watched the heavy rain streak the night with white lines as it fell through the circles of lamps. Eir uniform stuck to eir skin like plucking fingers, and eir hair straggled down the sides of eir neck and was likely hopelessly tangled, though ey had bound it with care before ey came to relieve Thay. Thay was a good friend, so good a friend, in fact, that Rea agreed to take this watch for em, despite the high likelihood of a certain a hazel-eyed archivist in eir bedchambers. Sleeping, by now, curled up warm beneath a light linen sheet, pink lines in eir face from the bedclothes. But Thay was in love, again, and was fervent to go see the veiled merchant who'd caught eir fancy last week.
So Rea watched the rain fall. This was one of the palace's herb-gardens; the door behind Rea led to the soup-kitchen where soups and sauces for the Rohma's table were prepared. The smells of damp earth and wet stone and living herbs were rich in the air, and the overcast sky had a friendly closeness. There weren't any stars. Rea hadn't seen a soul since eir shift had started, though ey sharpened at the first hint of movement from the side when Sylos came to take eir place. Sylos favoured Rea with one of eir slow smiles, eir heavy yellow hair already turning sand-coloured in the brassy light of the glass-covered lamps. Ey waved as Rea passed em with a nod and picked eir way across the damp earth, water trickling down eir skin, heading along the covered walkway that would lead, eventually, to the barracks-entrance. The night was rolling slowly on to midnight.
Pity about not getting to see Aile when ey was still awake, though. Eir little love never slept enough, forever smudged with ink and rubbing tired eyes from work, work, work. Rea worked hard; eir body was sword and spear and shield to the Rohma and Eir family, but somehow it never seemed as taxing as Aile's scrolls and parchments and books, the long hours of lessons with the Princara. All Rea had to do was be big and keep fit, and wave sharp things around sometimes. Rea was still preening about Aile's latest, approving murmurs about the breadth of Rea's shoulders, the sturdy depth to eir ribcage.
In through the barracks-entrance, careless of the dribbles of water that ran down eir boots to pool on the wooden floor. Someone would clean it in the morning. Rea's room was on the third floor, and its single broad window faced the field and the salle, and on moonlit nights the field was like a silver lake. Rea was continually bemused by Aile's fondness for eir cramped little barracks-room. It was often untidy and Rea forgot mugs of half-drunk tea or ale on the windowsill and seldom remembered to tidy eir bed, but Aile kept abandoning eir own crisp-tidy suite high in the palace proper, for this. For Rea. Far be it from this guard to question eir luck!
Rea snuck in quietly, in case Aile was there, and asleep. The lamps in the hallway spilled orange light onto the floor, and Rea hovered by the door to toe eir sandals off while waiitng for eir eyes to adjust.
"Hrmzuh," came a sleepy murmur.
Rea smiled in the general direction of the bed. "Aile!" Eir eyes were beginning to adjust, and the bed was a pale rectangle in the gloom. Rea hauled eir outer-tunic over eir head without bothering with the buttons, and slung it over the clothes-horse by the door. Ey felt grubby; the night was so warm that the rain on eir skin felt like sweat, though ey had hardly been running around. The smell of rain clung to eir skin.
"Mmph," came the command, and Rea felt something warm and tremulous bubble in eir chest at the thought of Aile, sleep-mussed and sprawled in eir bed and wanting Rea there too.
Rea hauled eir tunic off, then fumbled with the drawstring of eir trousers and dumped both sopping articles of clothing on top of eir outer-tunic. Aile would grumble in the morning about Rea not hanging them to dry, but that would be for morning. For now there was a sleepy Aile to snuggle, once Rea got emself dried off. "In a moment, lovelet. I've got to dry off."
A moment filled with the drumming of rain. Rea fumbled for the towel ey'd left on the ottoman, and began scrubbing the water-drops from eir skin. Ey laughed softly when a questioning noise floated across the dark space between the bed and the doorway. Rea said, "I got rained on."
Aile grumbled incoherently. Rea thought the little archivist was more endearing by accident than half a hundred kittens. "Coming, coming," Rea soothed. Ey was dry enough. Ey tossed the towel onto the floor (earning another round of scoldings in the morning, ey knew), and fumbled over to the bed. Ey patted around on the cool sheets and perched carefully, creeping onto the bed to avoid squishing Aile. A rustle of movement, and Aile wound eir arms around Rea's neck and yanked.
"Oof!"
Rea quickly slid eir forearms flat on the bed and tried to keep eir weight off of Aile, who didn't let up. "Mmph. You're too far 'way," ey said, and squirmed. Eir face was a pale oval in the darkness, eir eyes darker shadows in the shadows of eir face. Rea laughed, surprised and delighted. "You should be asleep!"
Aile tucked eir face into Rea's neck and bit down. Rea started, eir heartrate lurching. Aile wasn't usually so forward. Aile let up and nuzzled, still trying to haul Rea down. Ey abrubtly changed eir mind and pushed Rea's shoulders, hauling at the thin sheet that seperated them. Rea laughed, tried to smother it, and the sound came out as a snort. "Aile!"
"Sheets," Aile mumbled indistinctly, wrenching at the linen. Rea backed off, soothing Aile's complaint with murmured endearments, and got the sheet shoved out of the way and on the floor where they belonged. Rea sucked in a breath when ey snuggled Aile, though. The archivist wasn't wearing a stitch. Rea knew better than to offer a light. Aile's skin was warm, soft as breath.
"Oh," Rea said stupidly. Aile's hum had a smug tone to it. Slim fingers skimmed up Rea's arms, closing for a brief, appreciative moment over eir bicepts, then sliding over eir shoulders, eir neck, fluttering over eir face. Rea realized that eir eyes had fallen shut just as Aile drew eir face down and kissed em. Aile had a thousand kinds of kisses, shy brushes and quick happy smacks and people-are-watching butterfly touches and long slow kisses guarenteed to drive Rea to idiocy in minutes, but these were Rea's very favourite kind, the kind of kiss that stormed the battlefield and had no interest whatever in prisoners. Rea found eirself gaping stupidly when Aile pulled away and dragged Rea's body more insistently against eir own. "You're fierce tonight," Rea said. Eir mouth felt different, more sensitive now.
"Come closer," Aile insisted. Ey rubbed eir cheek against Rea's shoulder, hooked one leg around Rea's hip and arched strongly. "Made me wait, what were you doing?"
"Watching the rain," Rea mumbled indistinctly. Ey nuzzled Aile's neck, breathed in the smells of rain and bitter ink and the warm smell that lingered at Aile's skin, under eir hair. Rea leaned eir weight on one arm and used the other to smooth over Aile's throat, tracing the hard wing of eir collarbone and the fragile divot at the base of eir throat where the pulse beat strongly. Moving slowly, not to tease but to savour, Rea drew eir palm over Aile's skin, lingering in all the places ey knew the archivist liked best, using the callused texture of eir palm and firm sweeps of eir thumb. Aile's breath shook, caught in eir throat, then came stronger. Ey tightened eir hands on Rea's back.
"Tell me what you'd like," Rea said, eir voice mostly air. Aile was starting to sweat. Rea hitched closer, leaned in to nuzzle at Aile's neck again. Aile's hair was a tickle along eir forehead. Something in Rea's gut tensed and flipped over when Aile moaned, breathless and quiet and almost lost in the sounds of the rain.
Rea settled closer still, pressed full-length against eir lover, and said, "You didn't answer." Ey dragged eir hand down Aile's side, firmly to avoid tickling. Ey's too thin and Rea's fingers fit against eir ribs, and Aile's sweat-damp now and ey's getting impatient. Aile's hands got more involved then. Rea bit eir lip and slid eir palm down Aile's belly. "Oh? Think you've got the advantage?"
Aile's breathing was loud in the darkness. "I'm...very firmly in an-- advantageous position, because-- mm."
Rea stroked with eir fingers, lightly at first, then more strongly. Sometimes Aile was restless, twisting against Rea until ey had to sling one leg over Aile's thighs to keep em still. Tonight ey was quieter, as if lulled by the rain and the nap ey'd had before Rea brought emself and half a barrel of rain home. Some days all Rea wanted was to use eir mouth on Aile, strip all that reserve away, all those big words. For now it was enough for Rea to crowd close to Aile, to feel eir fast breaths ruffle over eir face. Aile began to squirm, to strain eir knees apart, hands clenched now over the big muscles of Rea's shoulders.
Rea rested eir forehead against Aile's cheek and let eir hand keep to it's rhythm, patient and firm. Ey pulled away slightly when Aile muttered and began to turn eir head against the bedclothes. "That's it," Rea said. Eir voice had gone hoarse. Ey increased the intensity of eir motions and Aile groaned as if the wind had been knocked out of em. Later Aile will return the favour, will do things that make Rea shift and murmur. For now, there is the quick, high sound of Aile's breathing, and then it catches suddenly, stills. For a long moment the room is filled only with the drumming of rain and the shudders that have seized Aile, and then eir breathing resumes; damp, irregular gusts over Rea's cheek. Rea has to close eir eyes tightly and swallow hard, seeking patience against the cramp of wanting ey feels. Ey knows this; the hot throb of blood and clutch of desperate hands. And ey knows the way Aile's face goes tight, how would have crumpled, unrecognizeable, when ey came.
END
Two things. One, gender-neutral porn is hard because sometimes position gives away more about biology and who's doing what to whom than the gender-neutral thing allows and TWO this thing switched into present-tense halfway through and I had to swear rather luridly to make it behave and be consistent in past :P
Aile/Rea Sex, as per Lora's request ^_~
The night was wet like drowning, and warm. Rea leaned on the marble column and watched the heavy rain streak the night with white lines as it fell through the circles of lamps. Eir uniform stuck to eir skin like plucking fingers, and eir hair straggled down the sides of eir neck and was likely hopelessly tangled, though ey had bound it with care before ey came to relieve Thay. Thay was a good friend, so good a friend, in fact, that Rea agreed to take this watch for em, despite the high likelihood of a certain a hazel-eyed archivist in eir bedchambers. Sleeping, by now, curled up warm beneath a light linen sheet, pink lines in eir face from the bedclothes. But Thay was in love, again, and was fervent to go see the veiled merchant who'd caught eir fancy last week.
So Rea watched the rain fall. This was one of the palace's herb-gardens; the door behind Rea led to the soup-kitchen where soups and sauces for the Rohma's table were prepared. The smells of damp earth and wet stone and living herbs were rich in the air, and the overcast sky had a friendly closeness. There weren't any stars. Rea hadn't seen a soul since eir shift had started, though ey sharpened at the first hint of movement from the side when Sylos came to take eir place. Sylos favoured Rea with one of eir slow smiles, eir heavy yellow hair already turning sand-coloured in the brassy light of the glass-covered lamps. Ey waved as Rea passed em with a nod and picked eir way across the damp earth, water trickling down eir skin, heading along the covered walkway that would lead, eventually, to the barracks-entrance. The night was rolling slowly on to midnight.
Pity about not getting to see Aile when ey was still awake, though. Eir little love never slept enough, forever smudged with ink and rubbing tired eyes from work, work, work. Rea worked hard; eir body was sword and spear and shield to the Rohma and Eir family, but somehow it never seemed as taxing as Aile's scrolls and parchments and books, the long hours of lessons with the Princara. All Rea had to do was be big and keep fit, and wave sharp things around sometimes. Rea was still preening about Aile's latest, approving murmurs about the breadth of Rea's shoulders, the sturdy depth to eir ribcage.
In through the barracks-entrance, careless of the dribbles of water that ran down eir boots to pool on the wooden floor. Someone would clean it in the morning. Rea's room was on the third floor, and its single broad window faced the field and the salle, and on moonlit nights the field was like a silver lake. Rea was continually bemused by Aile's fondness for eir cramped little barracks-room. It was often untidy and Rea forgot mugs of half-drunk tea or ale on the windowsill and seldom remembered to tidy eir bed, but Aile kept abandoning eir own crisp-tidy suite high in the palace proper, for this. For Rea. Far be it from this guard to question eir luck!
Rea snuck in quietly, in case Aile was there, and asleep. The lamps in the hallway spilled orange light onto the floor, and Rea hovered by the door to toe eir sandals off while waiitng for eir eyes to adjust.
"Hrmzuh," came a sleepy murmur.
Rea smiled in the general direction of the bed. "Aile!" Eir eyes were beginning to adjust, and the bed was a pale rectangle in the gloom. Rea hauled eir outer-tunic over eir head without bothering with the buttons, and slung it over the clothes-horse by the door. Ey felt grubby; the night was so warm that the rain on eir skin felt like sweat, though ey had hardly been running around. The smell of rain clung to eir skin.
"Mmph," came the command, and Rea felt something warm and tremulous bubble in eir chest at the thought of Aile, sleep-mussed and sprawled in eir bed and wanting Rea there too.
Rea hauled eir tunic off, then fumbled with the drawstring of eir trousers and dumped both sopping articles of clothing on top of eir outer-tunic. Aile would grumble in the morning about Rea not hanging them to dry, but that would be for morning. For now there was a sleepy Aile to snuggle, once Rea got emself dried off. "In a moment, lovelet. I've got to dry off."
A moment filled with the drumming of rain. Rea fumbled for the towel ey'd left on the ottoman, and began scrubbing the water-drops from eir skin. Ey laughed softly when a questioning noise floated across the dark space between the bed and the doorway. Rea said, "I got rained on."
Aile grumbled incoherently. Rea thought the little archivist was more endearing by accident than half a hundred kittens. "Coming, coming," Rea soothed. Ey was dry enough. Ey tossed the towel onto the floor (earning another round of scoldings in the morning, ey knew), and fumbled over to the bed. Ey patted around on the cool sheets and perched carefully, creeping onto the bed to avoid squishing Aile. A rustle of movement, and Aile wound eir arms around Rea's neck and yanked.
"Oof!"
Rea quickly slid eir forearms flat on the bed and tried to keep eir weight off of Aile, who didn't let up. "Mmph. You're too far 'way," ey said, and squirmed. Eir face was a pale oval in the darkness, eir eyes darker shadows in the shadows of eir face. Rea laughed, surprised and delighted. "You should be asleep!"
Aile tucked eir face into Rea's neck and bit down. Rea started, eir heartrate lurching. Aile wasn't usually so forward. Aile let up and nuzzled, still trying to haul Rea down. Ey abrubtly changed eir mind and pushed Rea's shoulders, hauling at the thin sheet that seperated them. Rea laughed, tried to smother it, and the sound came out as a snort. "Aile!"
"Sheets," Aile mumbled indistinctly, wrenching at the linen. Rea backed off, soothing Aile's complaint with murmured endearments, and got the sheet shoved out of the way and on the floor where they belonged. Rea sucked in a breath when ey snuggled Aile, though. The archivist wasn't wearing a stitch. Rea knew better than to offer a light. Aile's skin was warm, soft as breath.
"Oh," Rea said stupidly. Aile's hum had a smug tone to it. Slim fingers skimmed up Rea's arms, closing for a brief, appreciative moment over eir bicepts, then sliding over eir shoulders, eir neck, fluttering over eir face. Rea realized that eir eyes had fallen shut just as Aile drew eir face down and kissed em. Aile had a thousand kinds of kisses, shy brushes and quick happy smacks and people-are-watching butterfly touches and long slow kisses guarenteed to drive Rea to idiocy in minutes, but these were Rea's very favourite kind, the kind of kiss that stormed the battlefield and had no interest whatever in prisoners. Rea found eirself gaping stupidly when Aile pulled away and dragged Rea's body more insistently against eir own. "You're fierce tonight," Rea said. Eir mouth felt different, more sensitive now.
"Come closer," Aile insisted. Ey rubbed eir cheek against Rea's shoulder, hooked one leg around Rea's hip and arched strongly. "Made me wait, what were you doing?"
"Watching the rain," Rea mumbled indistinctly. Ey nuzzled Aile's neck, breathed in the smells of rain and bitter ink and the warm smell that lingered at Aile's skin, under eir hair. Rea leaned eir weight on one arm and used the other to smooth over Aile's throat, tracing the hard wing of eir collarbone and the fragile divot at the base of eir throat where the pulse beat strongly. Moving slowly, not to tease but to savour, Rea drew eir palm over Aile's skin, lingering in all the places ey knew the archivist liked best, using the callused texture of eir palm and firm sweeps of eir thumb. Aile's breath shook, caught in eir throat, then came stronger. Ey tightened eir hands on Rea's back.
"Tell me what you'd like," Rea said, eir voice mostly air. Aile was starting to sweat. Rea hitched closer, leaned in to nuzzle at Aile's neck again. Aile's hair was a tickle along eir forehead. Something in Rea's gut tensed and flipped over when Aile moaned, breathless and quiet and almost lost in the sounds of the rain.
Rea settled closer still, pressed full-length against eir lover, and said, "You didn't answer." Ey dragged eir hand down Aile's side, firmly to avoid tickling. Ey's too thin and Rea's fingers fit against eir ribs, and Aile's sweat-damp now and ey's getting impatient. Aile's hands got more involved then. Rea bit eir lip and slid eir palm down Aile's belly. "Oh? Think you've got the advantage?"
Aile's breathing was loud in the darkness. "I'm...very firmly in an-- advantageous position, because-- mm."
Rea stroked with eir fingers, lightly at first, then more strongly. Sometimes Aile was restless, twisting against Rea until ey had to sling one leg over Aile's thighs to keep em still. Tonight ey was quieter, as if lulled by the rain and the nap ey'd had before Rea brought emself and half a barrel of rain home. Some days all Rea wanted was to use eir mouth on Aile, strip all that reserve away, all those big words. For now it was enough for Rea to crowd close to Aile, to feel eir fast breaths ruffle over eir face. Aile began to squirm, to strain eir knees apart, hands clenched now over the big muscles of Rea's shoulders.
Rea rested eir forehead against Aile's cheek and let eir hand keep to it's rhythm, patient and firm. Ey pulled away slightly when Aile muttered and began to turn eir head against the bedclothes. "That's it," Rea said. Eir voice had gone hoarse. Ey increased the intensity of eir motions and Aile groaned as if the wind had been knocked out of em. Later Aile will return the favour, will do things that make Rea shift and murmur. For now, there is the quick, high sound of Aile's breathing, and then it catches suddenly, stills. For a long moment the room is filled only with the drumming of rain and the shudders that have seized Aile, and then eir breathing resumes; damp, irregular gusts over Rea's cheek. Rea has to close eir eyes tightly and swallow hard, seeking patience against the cramp of wanting ey feels. Ey knows this; the hot throb of blood and clutch of desperate hands. And ey knows the way Aile's face goes tight, how would have crumpled, unrecognizeable, when ey came.
END
Two things. One, gender-neutral porn is hard because sometimes position gives away more about biology and who's doing what to whom than the gender-neutral thing allows and TWO this thing switched into present-tense halfway through and I had to swear rather luridly to make it behave and be consistent in past :P