bsumone | ❝ Earth is strung with lovers’ pearls ❞

Su-jin, who hasn't really eaten food in centuries, had a bowl of mixed fruit: some slices of apple, strawberries, actual berries. He spooned out a little of everything so Silvio could have a variety flavors in his bowl.

When he looked back up from the task he saw the tears and alarm lanced through him. But the words his lover uttered gave them context. He scooted a little closer to him and cupped Silvio's face in both hands. He thumbed the tears away and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips.

"Of course I am," he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We're mates, remember?"

"I never thought I'd have one again." But he'd bonded himself to Su-jin without even realizing it. This man was his pack now and it didn't matter if he was a wolf or not. Laughing softly, Silvio gave him a little kiss back then smiled at him. He loved him so damn much.

"I'm really glad you're here."

"I'm really glad you agreed to come here with me." His thumbs brushed over Silvio's cheeks a couple of times before he pulled back to let the wolf finish his breakfast. "Eat up, now. You need your strength."

Nodding, he finished up the meal that he'd been giving, making sure to eat every single bite. Once the bowl was taken away, he rested against the wall again. For a moment, he was quiet. Then he rolled his head to face Su-jin.

"I love you. You're my light in these shadows."

It's still a little startling how open Silvio is with those affectionate words to him. It's not something Su-jin's accustomed to, but he definitely liked the way it made him feel warm inside and left little birds fluttering in his stomach.

He reached over to take one of Silvio's hands in his, threading their fingers together. "I plan to be for a very, very long time."

Bringing that hand up to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of Su-jin's hand. "I know that I have to share you with your partner. I know we've talked about him before. But I want you to truly know that I won't ever make you pick between us. I'm happy to share you and to treasure the time we have."

It was important that Su-jin know that. That Silvio respected that he had two partners who were incompatible with each other but who shared him. Because above all else he just wanted Su-jin to be happy.

While Su-jin was enchanted by that sentiment, he couldn't help laughing quietly.

"You should have seen the fit he threw before I told him it was you." In retrospect, it's actually quite comical.

Silvio laughed a bit, only wincing a little. The burns weren't as bad as usual but they were still there. And there was no denying how bad his eyes were hurting at the moment. But, he was glad to have Su-jin's sense of humor here with him now.

"Yeah? He was only okay with it because it's me?"

Su-jin noticed that wince and reached for the cool cloth he brought for his lover's eyes. He pressed it into Silvio's free hand, keeping the other in his grip.

"Prom and I don't talk about feelings. It's never been necessary between us. I think... It upset him to hear I loved someone enough to want a relationship. But once he realized it was you, his temper defused completely. He even chided me for not beginning with that."

He chuckled softly, shaking his head at the memory.

"That said, you are someone I treasure, Silvio. It might take a little time, but I'm working on finding a rhythm that will work for all of us. I don't want either of you to feel like an afterthought."

Grateful for the cloth, he thought about just tilting his head back and then... No. What would be better was if he laid down. More than that, he knew Su-jin would be okay with him doing this. So, he carefully turned to lay down with his head on his mate's lap before resting the cloth over his eyes.

Sighing, he relaxed and went back to holding Su-jin's hand.

He did laugh softly at what he was told about the partner. He'd heard some things over the years and he seemed like quite the character who deeply cared about Su-jin. "So he would have stayed angry if it was anyone but me? I feel special and I've never met him."

Su-jin only moved his arms out of the way if necessary for Silvio to get comfortable. Once he was settled, he happily took Silvio's hand again, his free one moved to thread his fingers through the wolf's hair.

"I suppose it makes sense. It's easier to understand falling for a dear friend of many years than some stranger he'd never heard of. I'm surprised you weren't his first thought, if I'm honest. Now that you're so close, it won't be hard to figure out how to divide my time. I've already made some adjustments so I can be here with you during the full moon."

"You guys don't talk about feelings a lot right? It's more action over words? That could have been it. You expressing feelings for someone else was what he heard first so his mind couldn't process who it was until you told him."

He didn't know the guy but that made sense to him. Especially for someone as strongly emotional as that incubus seemed to be from Su-jin's descriptions. They'd probably never meet but it was always something he noted when he heard stories about him.

Huh. He wondered what Tiras thought about him in turn. Obviously something good if he had no problem with Su-jin seeing another as long as it was him.

"That was a huge risk you took coming down here while I was feral. I could have really hurt you..."

A quiet hum answered Silvio's comments about Tiras. That made sense, in a way. Su-jin rarely confided details of his friendships with Tiras either, but he's heard much about Silvio. Perhaps that's why he accepted that it was him. Well, whatever was going through Tiras' head and heart might remain mysterious, but Su-jin was just glad that everything was working out smoothly.

"I trust you."

And, well, he was pretty sure he could heal fast enough to avoid being eviscerated by a lone wolf. Maybe.

Okay, sure, it was risky.

"It's important to me that you know you can trust me, too, when you're not thinking clearly. I had to try."

And if he'd failed? He told Tiras he'd be gone for a week. If he didn't come back, he's positive Tiras would do something about that.

"You're insane..."

But he meant that with the greatest admiration. It was completely insane to have done what Su-jin did and yet he had. He was here with him after a night of the full moon with his lap holding Silvio's head.

Tears fell past the cloth as the emotions overwhelmed him. He was in complete awe of his mate and what a big heart he had.

He threaded his fingers through Silvio's hair, just another physical reminder that Su-jin was there, that he wasn't going anywhere.

"I don't want you to be alone if you don't have to be. So, no chains tonight, okay? I'll be here with you."

"Yeah. No more chains."

He let out a laugh and then a shaky breath. Fuck, he felt better than he had...in a long time. Even with his eyes on fire and needing to recover from the silver chains. "But um...since I'm going to recognize you as my mate if you don't want to...you know...I get it. You can shove me off."

While he was a wolf he meant. If he didn't want to fuck while he was a wolf.

For a few seconds, Su-jin was perplexed by what Silvio meant. But once the understanding settled in his face went hot. He'd never considered that before and... Well, it's certainly something he's never tried before. The logistics of it began to roll around in his head. Would he need to make sure he was prepared beforehand? Probably. And it would probably be clear when Silvio wanted him.

Su-jin's throat felt tight when he answered. "I don't mind." It's something he's never done, so he's not about to shoot the idea down without experiencing it first. If it turned out it wasn't for him, they could address that going forward.

He would have blinked if it weren't for the wet towel over his eyes. But he did tilt his head toward where he knew Su-jin's head to be. For a moment, he was quiet. And then he let out a happy but also teasing laugh.

"I should remember you're kinkier than you act because you've been with an incubus for centuries."

Definitely blushing at being teased.

"I'm really not... It's just... I'm open-minded."

"Open-minded implies you don't mind hearing about it. Kinky means you're down to do it. Just to let you know."

Silvio laughed and gave a poke to his side. In pain or not, he was always going to love teasing Su-jin.

So rude! Su-jin just huffed at the teasing -- maybe enjoying it just a little.

"Is that something you've done before... with a person while you're a wolf?"

"No. I have with a packmate when we were both wolves though. It's a very different experience but it feels good."

Silvio wasn't about to shy away from admitting these things to Su-jin. Even though he was much quieter about his preferences, he wasn't shy about them. He knew what he liked and he knew that when he was with someone he cared about that he was ready to do those things and even experiment.

"I'll like trying it with you. Even if it'll be the animal me."

"It's still you. That's all that matters to me." Su-jin was willing to try this because he cared so deeply for Silvio. His dear wolf. His fingers combed gently through Silvio's hair and he gave a gentle smile. "I'll make sure I'm ready for you tonight."

"Now I know I'm going to jump you with you smelling like that." He laughed a bit but seriously that meant a lot to him that Su-jin not only didn't mind but that he wanted to. That as long as it was him he wanted to give it a go. It was amazing really. The perfect kind of mate for him.

"I love when you smile," he said then, hearing the movements of his face and knowing what it meant. Still, he lifted his hand to trace the man's features so he could paint what that looked like in his head.

"Do you?" That only made the smile grow. "Can you imagine my face?"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject