Chapter 6

CHAPTER6

Fucking Callan. Of course he couldn’t simply return the memory as easily as he’d stolen it. He’d had to make it painful, to let Elric believe that retrieving memories might not be worth it. Athan stripped his shirt and pants off, not caring where they landed, and pulled Elric into his arms again.

Elric was frighteningly cold.

The memory that Callan had returned was covered in darkness, dripping and oozing and spreading itself through Elric’s body, trying to fill the empty spots. If Athan didn’t burn the darkness away, Elric would end up worse off than he had been without the memory.

“I’d give you a choice,” Athan said, his voice pained, “but I have to do this. All right? Tell me you understand.” He reached for the buttons on Elric’s shirt, accidentally burning some of the thread in his haste.

“What?” Elric asked, his voice a bit strange. Dull, like metal that had been used too many times. “I don’t… I don’t. Understand, that is…” But he wasn’t protesting as Athan started to strip him down, simply looking at him with an unfamiliar bewildered look. “What are you doing?”

Athan ignored the question and pressed their lips together, darting his tongue inside and sending as much warmth as he dared. Elric shuddered, like the warmth was worse than the cold, but he opened up to it. His lips parted, and he whimpered—something so unlike Elric that it made Athan seethe with anger all over again at Callan.

He continued to pull at Elric’s clothes, frustration tempting him to burn them up completely. In the end he managed to get the shirt off with only a few singes, Elric only half cooperating.

Athan broke the kiss and sat back. “I’ll need your help to get your pants off, Elric. Please don’t fight me.”

Elric’s eyes looked glazed even in the darkness, and there was so much pain written across his features. It seemed to take him a moment to understand, then he fumbled with his trousers to pull them off. “Why?” he asked, even as he obeyed, his pants catching on his boots. “I don’t…”

Athan tugged on the boots to get them off, then helped Elric divest himself entirely of the trousers. “Elric, I need to fill you. I need to burn out the rot Callan poured into you.”

“I’m not… I’m not rotting,” Elric mumbled. “I’m just cold.” He blinked up at Athan. “I thought it was rust. Or darkness.” He let out a harsh laugh. “Or something.”

At least there was still enough of Elric in there to mock Athan’s crypticness. “It doesn’t matter what it is,” Athan said, lying down almost completely on top of Elric. “What matters is that you need my heat.”

He went in for another kiss, torn between wanting to flush out the rot as quickly as possible and making sure he didn’t end up harming Elric in the process. Humans were so fragile, and they couldn’t handle the heat or the cold. Athan needed to be so, so careful when he touched them.

Elric didn’t seem in any condition to argue, but he cringed beneath the heat. He didn’t pull away, instead pressing in for a more attentive kiss. He was trying. At the heart of it, Elric was trying, too, which gave Athan hope. The prince might not have known what he was doing, but he was fighting against those shadows.

Athan ran his tongue all over the insides of Elric’s mouth, coating it with his own heat. Every time Elric swallowed, Athan saw his own magic travel through him, seeking out the sticky darkness.

It wasn’t enough though.

Athan rolled his hips, dragging his cock along Elric’s thigh. “I have to get oil,” Athan murmured. “I’m only going to let go for a few seconds, all right?”

Elric grabbed hold of Athan, though his grasp was weak. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t let go of me. I need…” He frowned, looking puzzled. “What you’re doing. I need it.”

“I know,” Athan murmured. He pressed a hot kiss to Elric’s forehead. “Just a few seconds.” With extreme reluctance, Athan pulled away from Elric.

Elric cried out and clung to Athan’s hand.

That was all right. Athan squeezed his hand in return and fumbled for his pack in the dark. He didn’t have particularly good night vision, but there was enough of his own magic in the pack that he found the strap and pulled it closer.

“Good thing I always travel prepared,” Athan joked, although it wasn’t funny. He found the jar of oil and breathed on it to warm it up. “Spread your legs for me, please. I’m going to prepare you as best I can, but we don’t have much time.”

Elric looked blankly up at Athan for a moment, not seeming to understand for a moment. But he finally spread his legs. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Sex? Is sex going to help?”

“Yes,” Athan agreed, pressing a few kisses to his cheek. “I’ll warm you up, inside and out. We’ll get you fixed up. And no complaining about it later, okay?”

Elric didn’t look like the commanding, regal prince he tried to be. He looked… lost. Distant. Like there was something invading his mind, and there was. Athan was furious that Callan had chosen to give a memory back like this. He hadn’t needed to taint the rest of Elric’s mind in the meantime.

But then, a shade was a shade, and it wasn’t surprising.

“All right,” Elric agreed.

Relief washed over Athan. He would have gone ahead anyway, would have dealt with it if Elric resented him later, but he preferred his partners to want him, too.

He would settle for Elric tolerating the experience just to get warm.

Athan sat back, draping Elric’s legs over his thighs to ensure there was skin contact between them, and poured the oil on Elric’s exposed hole. Elric flinched and made a small sound but didn’t react much beyond that.

“Is it too hot?” Athan asked as he circled the sensitive flesh with his fingers.

“It’s… good,” Elric said after a moment, looking up at Athan with that pained expression on his face. “Hot, but good.” He shivered. “I don’t understand what’s happening.” At least beneath Athan’s heat, he was starting to sound more coherent.

“You got the memory back. It’s a good memory, right? A happy one?” Athan pushed one finger in slowly, trying to hide his wince at how cold Elric was. “There’s nothing sticky about it.”

“It’s… There’s something wrong with it. It should be pleasant, but it’s sad,” Elric said, tears starting to leak from his eyes even as his body shuddered from the touch. “I miss him,” he mumbled, and from the look on his face, he hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

This was why Athan hadn’t simply ignored Elric when he’d first turned up. The rust, the dirt, the holes, the arrogant attitude… They had all been covering up a broken man.

Athan leaned down to kiss the spot just underneath Elric’s heart, where the darkness was pulsing and spreading.

“It’s okay to hurt sometimes,” Athan said quietly. He slowly added another finger, the oil making it easy. “It’s okay not to be strong.”

“No,” Elric said, his voice going from weak to harsh. “It isn’t. I don’t have time for feelings. I don’t have time to be weak. That’s… my foolish little brother.”

Oh. Athan met Elric’s eyes in the dark and saw now that what he’d thought was all Callan had already been etched into Elric’s core. It wasn’t a sudden corrosion. Elric’s soul had been eroding for years and years, and Callan had found an easy target to drip himself into.

Athan removed his fingers so he could bend forward and kiss Elric again, more gently this time. He wanted to give Elric so many assurances, but he knew this wasn’t the right time for it. Anything he said to Elric now would be dismissed easily.

“Are you ready?” Athan asked, running his tongue over Elric’s lips. “I’m going to fill you now.”

Elric shuddered. “Yes,” he said, lifting his ass and making a quiet keening sound. “Please.”

Whether it was for the warmth, the sex… the knowledge deep inside that Athan could somehow help, it didn’t matter. Athan had to do what he could, and this was the best step forward he could take.

Athan gave his cock a few quick strokes, surprised at how hard he already was, before lining himself up. He pushed in slowly, wanting to give Elric time to adjust… and wanting to watch Elric’s expression the entire time.

It was too dark to see. Athan cursed and sent out a spark to the firepit. Most of the wood had burned up in his display earlier, so he had to use magic to keep it going. But it was worth it just to watch Elric’s face flush red and see the way his chest rose and fell with his heavy breathing.

Athan kept going until he was fully seated. He dropped his hand down to Elric’s cock, which was still mostly soft, and began to stroke it. Even if this was just to warm Elric up, to drive out the darkness and burn up every last drop of Callan, he couldn’t stand the idea of Elric not enjoying himself.

Elric gazed up at him. His eyes were still a little distant, but he was coming back to Athan, bit by bit. The heat and the pleasure were doing what they were supposed to do, at least, and Elric started to moan as Athan’s hand stroked him. He squirmed a little, relaxing for Athan and letting him move just a bit as he started to get hard. He closed his eyes, not looking up at Athan.

“No,” Athan said, squeezing Elric’s cock a little harder. “Look at me. Don’t run away.” He rolled his hips for good measure, groaning when Elric tightened up around him.

Elric opened his eyes again, his eyes unfocused where they met Athan’s gaze. He was still trapped somewhere inside, that oozing darkness threatening to take more of him. Damn it. What had Callan done? He’d sabotaged even the return of the memory.

But his gaze was finding Athan’s, and that meant there was something.

“Good,” Athan said, turning his touch on Elric’s cock gentle. “It’s all right. You can let go. I’ll take care of you.”

Fuck. Athan wasn’t supposed to promise things like that. He couldn’t guarantee anything; there were plenty of humans who rejected his help and kept destroying themselves. Elric seemed like he’d be one of those humans.

But there was that hope sparking inside his own chest. He wanted this. He wanted Elric. He wanted to see who Elric would have been if he hadn’t been forced to chip away at himself and shape himself into something foreign and wrong.

Elric shuddered beneath him, and something in him relaxed. Slowly, but surely, he started to give in. Not easily, not completely, but there was something there, nonetheless. His cock was hard, and his body was loose. He was accepting what Athan had to offer.

Athan pulled out almost all the way and thrust in again, faster this time as he let his heat pour into Elric, let Elric feel just how good things could be.

“You’re doing well,” Athan murmured as he rocked in and out of Elric. “I can see the darkness burning away. You’re bright underneath, I can tell.” He chuckled to himself and bent forward, kissing at Elric’s chest.

Elric shuddered, and his eyes started to drift closed for a moment before they opened again. “I’m not bright,” Elric mumbled. “I’m realistic. Not a fool.”

The darkness inside Elric pulsed and tried to spread out again, but Athan thrust forward a little harder, and the added heat left Elric moaning—and the darkness shriveled up, just a little bit.

“Does it feel good?” Athan asked, running his hands along Elric’s sides. “Do you want me to get you off?”

“Just… Just keep…” Elric bit down on his fist to cover a groan.

Athan didn’t want Elric to hide his noises. He gripped Elric’s wrist and pulled his hand away… then placed it over Elric’s own cock. “Touch yourself,” Athan said. “I want to see how you do it. Show me what you like.”

For a moment, Athan was sure Elric was going to refuse. He was still impaled on Athan’s cock, only Elric’s erection showing that he was enjoying himself at all. But he was losing Elric, little by little, even though he wanted only to draw him closer.

Finally, Elric gave a slight nod and reached down to touch his own cock, closing his eyes as he slowly stroked himself. The movements were rote, and if this was how Elric touched himself, it was no wonder he hadn’t had steady lovers.

Athan couldn’t have that. He covered Elric’s hand with his own and rubbed his thumb over the exposed portions of his cock. He let a single spark land on the head, and Elric startled, jerking his hips.

“Too hot,” Elric complained, but his own hand started picking up speed.

“Not hot enough,” Athan answered, starting up his movements again. He made sure to keep his hand on Elric though, guiding him, spreading warmth everywhere he could.

The soul-rending cold was slowly receding, and Elric’s expression melted into something soft, something beautiful.

Athan’s heart thumped loudly in his ears.

Fuck. Athan bent forward to kiss Elric’s lips, and the new angle had his cock lengthening and dragging along that pleasurable spot inside Elric. Elric cried out, and Athan eagerly drank up that sound.

His own pleasure was building now, too. He wasn’t just fixing Elric. He wanted to feel Elric tighten around him. He wanted to see Elric’s face open up in the throes of orgasm.

He wanted Elric to want him.

Stupid. Everybody wanted Athan, but they wanted his feathers. They wanted the power he could give them.

Elric was no different.

But maybe, if Elric’s scuffs were smoothed over, if Elric’s holes were filled, if the rust was polished away… Maybe Elric would see Athan properly.

Elric wrapped his legs around Athan, pulling him in closer, driving him in more deeply. He moaned against Athan’s lips, the sound muffled but so intoxicating all the same. “More,” Elric whispered. “Harder.”

Athan obliged, driving himself in all the way and drawing out more beautiful moans from Elric.

He could feel his orgasm building, and it would be so easy to let go—he had to, he needed to suffuse Elric with heat—but he didn’t want it to end, either.

“How does it feel?” Athan asked, kissing whatever bit of skin he could reach. Elric’s sweat-soaked collar, his flushed-red chest, his hard nipples…

That pulsing rot underneath his heart.

Elric seemed oblivious to anything but his pleasure now, even though Athan couldn’t understand how Elric couldn’t feel that taint. He groaned and arched his back and dug his nails into Athan’s back. “Good,” he managed to get out. “So good. I’ve never… until you…” He shuddered, and Athan remembered that he’d been the first to take Elric’s ass.

He took Elric harder, faster, until he felt Elric’s pleasure as much as he heard it. Only then, when Elric’s seed painted his stomach, did Athan allow himself to find blissful release. He kissed Elric’s lips again, and he felt some of the rust recede.

It would take time, but he could fix Elric.

He was sure of it.