[ P ] Not the first night, not the last

Alcohol had wrapped him in a warm, cozy blanket that weighed him down and muddied his senses. It also tripped him up when several pairs of paws—belonging to who, he couldn't say—herded him and Xandria out of Eleanor Square, up several flights of stairs, and into a room within the Tiamat manse. Bel, not present enough to know what path they had followed, tumbled to the ground in a pile of brown and russet fur (for he accidentally took Xandria with him). It was there that he found the stony ground had been padded with petals and soft grasses.

Through half-lidded eyes, Belfast laughed, reaching forward to tug Xandria closer. "Sorry," he murmured. "I must have had a bit much, your mom kept pulling out more cups and saying: 'oh, I bet you've never tried this one, have you?'" Even recounting the story brought a small smile to his lips. Not just because it was funny but... he could finally tell Xandria a story about someone in her world—because he was, at last, a real part of it. Bel was no longer a secret, not that Xandria had wanted him to be. He had forced most of that once they'd reached adulthood. But, for whatever the reason, he had stepped out of the darkness and into the light.

Of course, with that had come its own hurdles, the biggest being Xandria's mother. Bel still didn't know where he stood with her, but he presumed he was growing on her. Although, how Nassar drank so much without wobbling truly baffled him. From daughter to son, the matriarch had wandered, dragging them into bear hugs and tempting them with the joys of Xandria's and Belfast's wedding. Then she'd round on Khepri and Sif—Xandria's newlywed uncle and aunt—and make jokes about how a full Tiamat wedding was better (and how she expected pups promptly). At a distance, Belfast had come to realize why Xandria was the way that she was: because she had been raised with love.

It made him want to recreate it all.

But of course, the evening had had its lows. Nassar drunkenly finding out about Xandria sneaking him in at night as children had made him fear for his life for more than several seconds. Ah, and they hadn't been able to make the fire burn for long, at least at the start! Belfast had never cared much for fire but by god, he had wanted that one to risk burning down the square. Only when he'd gone to mope over it had, miraculously, the flame reached higher. There were other things too: he'd failed to make conversation with Cairo, had had an awkward talk about lost memories with Ahkoris, lost a foolish wrestling contest with Sethos, and stepped on Lyra's toes in a dance. But, through all the little failures, he'd laughed with them all (except Cairo, she had... perhaps smiled).

This evening had been one of love and, for the first time in his life, he felt like he had a family.

"Are you tired?" Bel asked then, squeezing his wife (she really was his wife, it was surreal) just a bit tighter.

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@Xandria

It was the best day of her life, even better than the day she’d been promoted to lieutenant and that had been her best day so far. Xandria blossomed in marital bliss. The glow in her golden eyes was positively glowing with joy and affection for her new husband. She had laughed and yelled moooom when Nassar made a speech and told embarrassing stories from Xandria’s puppyhood. There was no stopping the Matriarch when she was drunk and jolly. She bounced around like a wolf who was barely tipsy, but Xandria could tell by the glint in her eyes and the loudness of her words.

Seeing her family celebrating her and Belfast was something she would never forget. It reminded her that even though she’d gone through some traumatic times there would always be laughter and love within the Tiamat family. ”At least she didn’t ramble on about how you were the most precious puppy and how I used to trail off after Ahkoris and Cairo like a little duckling,” she laughed now, but she was still a little bit embarrassed.

”No… I’m still too excited.. I don’t want today to end,” she admitted, leaning against him. It was their first day together as a married couple and she didn’t want to waste a moment sleeping.


@Belfast

code: clae + manip:torriyi

"But you were the most precious puppy," Belfast mused, mussing up some of Xandria's fur. "All fluff and ferocity, I don't know how I survived." Especially after stealing her first kiss. Had he truly been so precocious? He felt so different now, so much more subdued compared to who he'd been as a child. Then again, laying with Xandria there upon the ground, he felt as if he was reconnecting with who he'd been before years of trauma and self-doubt had warped him.

He smiled lazily as she seemed to vibrate with excitement, her golden eyes alive with energy. While he felt the fog of wine calling him to bed, he too didn't quite want to end the evening either. Especially not when she was looking at him as if he was her entire world.

"Well, let's look and see the rest of this room, hmm?" Bel mused, dragging himself up and tugging Xandria along with him.

Once he was no longer parallel with the floor, he saw that little expense had been spared. This room had an ajoining bath to the side, the water warm and steaming (probably thanks to the pyromancers her family employed). Petals floated above its surface, just as they adorned the floor. To the corner, a comfortable nest had been made.

"Shall we swim, m'lady?" He asked, bowing low as if a lord come to ask for her hand.

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@Xandria

Xandria might have been delighted with her husband's compliments if he had not messed up her perfectly groomed fur. It had taken her mother a painstaking amount of time to groom it into perfection. She gave him the stink eye, lifting her chin with a small hmph like the mercurial Tiamat that she was. "So you finally admit that it was fluff then?" she questioned him with a satisfied smile touching her lips. The lifelong debate, fat or fluff was ever ongoing with them. Xandria would never admit that she'd ever been a chunky puppy and couldn't remember anyway. "You survived because I am a merciful goddess. Do not wrong me mortal husband or face my wrath," she gave a haughty laugh, and gave him an affectionate and boisterous nudge.

He invited her to explore the rest of the room with him and she did, walking leisurely at his side while he tugged her along like an excitable pup. He was so happy. It warmed her heart to see him so full of life. "A swim sounds good," she agreed, examining the pool with an approving eye while sneakily reaching around Belfast with a forepaw to give him a push into the pool. "That is for messing up my fur," she laughed, wearing a mischievous grin. Belfast wasn't the only one feeling a little giddy from the alcohol and celebrations.

@Belfast

code: clae + manip:torriyi

"Did I say fluff? Hmmm, I don't think I did," Belfast teased, leaning forward to press a pesky kiss against Xandria's cheek. That debate was one that neither was willing to let go of, nor did he want to. It was a silly, sweet echo from the past, a reminder of the children they had once been. Of course, he would have to be careful. His goddess of a wife was keeping him alive out of her mercy. "Oh yes, your majesty," he mused, although his fake reverential attitude was broken by a hiccup.

As she agreed to the swim, Belfast stumbled to his paws and toddled toward the edge. It didn't even occur to him that Xandria would push him in. With a sharp little yelp, he was tossed in. Water rushed up his nose, causing his sinuses to burn as he resurfaced, sputtering. Droplets streamed from his fur as he turned his gaze on her, blue eyes narrowing competitively.

Bolting back to the edge, he aimed to snag her paw in his jaws, and tug her in with him. The moment she hit the water, he'd release and try to swim as far away as possible. "I'm terribly sorry, is your fur fixed now?" Belfast called over the residual waves slapping the edge of the pool.

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@Xandria

She clicked her tongue in disapproval when he refused to give ground on their childish spat from all those years ago. It was one that she regarded fondly l, remembering the angrily little girl with puffed out cheeks who insisted it was fluff while a roguish waif she'd never met before dared to call her fat. A playful growl vibrated through her throat when he snuck a kiss. Did he think he could charm her so easily and she would forget his transgressions? "You'd better pray for forgiveness," she warned him, narrowing her eyes at him in a threatening manner. Nothing much had changed between them since their dramatic confessions. There were more affection and lovey-dovey moments that a younger Xandria wouldn't have tolerated, but there was a strong and steady friendship between them that was the foundation of their love.

Once he was dunked into the pool he looked so pitiful with his fur clinging to his skin that she chortled at him, nostrils letting out very unladylike snorts. She was taken by surprise and let out an undignified yelp when she was suddenly dragged into the pool. Soaked to the skin she glared at him and swam at him like a wolf shaped shark. Petals stuck to her forehead and one in her cheek from her mother's painstaking preparations for a romantic mood for their wedding night. With a war cry she pounced on him, grappling him with her forearms and nipping lightly at his ears. "You are such a brat. I can't believe I fell for that again," she grumbled, recalling the first time she'd lured Belfast to the baths. She'd been insistent that he was the one who smelled and needed a bath, but he'd dragged her in anyway and they'd had a splash battle. Xandria's ears were still ringing from the lecture her mother gave her for flooding the floor.


@Belfast

code: clae + manip:torriyi

As her weight settled upon his shoulders, he was briefly dunked below the water. Thanks to the shallowness of the pool, he pressed against the pebbled floor with his hindpaws and surfaced again, this time more gracefully than before. At least he had been expecting this shark attack. The first one had been far less elegant as he hadn't quite expected his wife to shove him into the water. Some things, however, never seemed to change. When he was little, she'd shoved him in before. Today, they were just rehearsing that moment again, albeit with more water on the ground from their bigger splashes.

Swimming her up against the bath's edge, Belfast turned so that they were facing one another. His paws braced against her waist as he leaned in closer to her petal-strewn face. Little did he know, he had one clinging to his left ear. "Did you mean that you fell for me again?" Bel teased, a smirk on his lips as he regarded her. A playful light danced within his turquoise eyes, but it lingered with something more mischievous as well.

In truth, he'd never flirted with her before, not really. Not since he'd stolen that fateful first kiss as a punk kid.

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@Xandria

It was such a cheesy line that it brought a grin to her face. He had succeeded in making her heart flutter by drawing her close, but she wasn't going to let him win so easily. Her competitive spirit rose up. A challenge of seduction burning in her golden eyes. She was going to make him swoon before her and claim her prize with a stolen kiss. "Not yet. I'm going to make you fall for me again first," she leaned closer to whisper in his ear and softly kissed the petal that had found a place on his ear.

She purposely snuggled closer, resting her chin in the crook of his neck and nuzzling her cheek into his. It was the most intimate embrace she had ever shared with anyone. She was new at this, at flirting, but she was determined to win the contest. "You smell really good," she murmured approvingly, the scents and oils from their wedding day still clung to their fur and it made Belfast all the more attractive. "So… am I making your heart race?" she whispered in his ear again, pressing light kisses against the soft shell and down until she peppered a trail to his cheek.

@Belfast

code: clae + manip:torriyi

Rather than stuttering and blinking, a competitive fire flared within her golden gaze. Belfast canted his head to the side, already somewhat wary of the game that she had concocted. Would she challenge him to see who could hold their breath longer? Or demand a race back to the nest? The haze of alcohol made both sound daunting, but he'd do them for her.

"I'm going to make you fall for me again first."

Oh? Belfast almost laughed if not for the fact that she had whispered it into his ear, her breath warm against his skin. Xandria snuggled closer then, the warmth of her even greater when her wet skin pressed against his own. At her compliment, Belfast chuckled.

Then, she began to plant small kisses along the base of his ear that trailed down to his cheek. They warmed him, as did the closeness of her. It didn't matter whether her compliments were sweet rather than seductive, or that the cadence of her kisses was too quick to be sultry. Because it was her fawning over him, his heart could not help but pound within his chest. No better trained seductress could ever hope to compete.

"Okay, okay," Belfast breathed, shaking his head and moving to put his paws on the bath's edge so that he could lift himself up and look down at her. The longer she stayed tucked against him, the more a fire seemed to burn within his stomach. This subtle but necessary bit of space was supposed to bring more clarity—yet seeing her beneath him, even at an angle like this, seemed to stoke that fire again. "You win."

He wanted to just lower his muzzle down and kiss her again, as he had on the altar, and yet he wasn't sure he'd want to stop if he did. From the way her fur cling to her skin and the way she was looking at him, one kiss—even a deep one—didn't seem like it'd be enough.

"But now you've made me want to have you, all of you," was his husky admission. Without the alcohol, he might have self-consciously diffused the situation. Instead, the liquid courage helped him plow ahead. Still, he had his doubts that she would want to go this far so soon—and if she didn't, he'd accept without a single question.

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@Xandria

Xandria enjoyed the sound of his laughter and the way his voice vibrated through his chest as she snuggled close. She could feel the beat of his heart and the heat of his body. They were so close. She’d never been this close to another wolf before, except when her mother embraced her, but this was not an innocent familial hug. This was a lover’s embrace. She could feel tickly excitement bubbling in her stomach and twitchy nervousness that tried to convince her to back down. Okay, okay, he relented and shifted away from her. You win. Victory felt good, but it had also left her wanting. Xandria never knew it was possible for her to crave someone’s touch, not when it normally made her uncomfortable.

The boldness of his words made the fierce warrior blush and she nodded her ascent, tongue feeling much too heavy to speak at the moment. Clearing her throat she finally managed to say. ”T-Then I’ll claim you as my prize,” she answered, pulling herself up so that she was level with him and drawing close again. He had triggered something passionate and feisty within his newlywed wife, a desire for him that could not be contained.

Her best friend, her lover, her husband. She gave all of herself and took what she wanted in return.

Fade to black


@Belfast

code: clae + manip:torriyi