[It's hard not to watch him- often is, when they're together, but in this specific moment even more so, while he waits to see how Choso reacts. And there, the first hint of a smile that warms him, starting in his chest and spilling over, overflowing with affection and fond satisfaction. Palamedes likes all of Choso's different smiles, and this one is no exception; the cat that got the cream, pleased with himself, and Palamedes is pleased with himself in turn for being the one to put it there.
He huffs, amused, human hand raised to splay fingers over the back of Choso's neck as he leans in closer. A firm hand on his waist, when is it overwhelming, oh, he's got moves, has he.]
Yes, absolutely. [Wry, but not untrue; Palamedes doesn't lie, after all. He inches toward Choso, letting their legs bump and overlap a bit, the tentacles that have since claimed his other hand giving it a squeeze, for the teasing.] Definitely worth trying again.
[And he leans in to be overwhelmed, kissing him once, twice as swift, short things, no less fond. They've got a bit going, and he can't refuse a bit, so after the second kiss he hums, not pulling away.]
Interesting, [he says, in the 'my hypothesis was not in error' voice that all studious necromancers possess. Not that this makes him terribly smooth, because the next thing he says is an earnest,] My pulse is going haywire. Good thing.
( these aren't the kind of kisses that can go anywhere, but rather, the kind of kisses that he finds himself chasing, even after they've been dotted like punctuation; one, at first, and then another, succinct, soft, the sort that makes him lean in again, their noses touching briefly with the lack of space. with his eyes closed, he can still feel palamedes there: can feel his warm breath, lured into the space between them, can smell the distant scent of soap and shampoo, cursory human things, pretty human things. the word interesting falls between them, in a voice that tells him what palamedes must sound like back home: enough that he feels the urge to laugh, tinged on his breath, trapped in the back of his throat. it's charming, in a way, and reminds him entirely of someone else, all the same; it's pleasurable, enjoyable.
not quite as enjoyable as the pause that seems to indicate there's more kissing to be had. twisting around on manmade monkey bars and wooden bridges created for children aren't the only kinds of play to be had; this is some kind of teasing act, and he's willing to step up into the part.
it doesn't mean he's any less reluctant to lean back, slightly, just enough to get a glimpse of palamedes' face. )
Good thing. ( he agrees, in a low, thoughtful hum. ) But dangerous thing. The safest thing to do here, I think, would be to lay you down.
( one arm lifts, tethered by tentacles, but he uses it to his advantage: bending his arm back, creasing it at the elbow, means that he can pull palamedes up along with him like the strings of a puppet, their 'hands' intertwined. makes it easier to readjust him, guide him down flat to the mattress, as his own weight shifts to roll against him; a little ridiculous, since they're on the bed the wrong way, but if their legs hang over the side, he doesn't care. it's more about edging his shoulders down, hovering over palamedes chest to chest; it's more about the feeling he gets, with palamedes beneath him, the way he has to half-straddle one of his thighs to get the angle right.
a considering tilt of his head, like a bird looking for seed, teasing, as he settles there: ) You have to tell me if you're light-headed. That's the most dangerous, I think.
[Truly, Palamedes just loves a good bit. So too does he enjoy Choso's willingness to humor him with it, playing along as easily as anything. Wanting him includes his sense of humor, so- lucky, that Choso will pick up what he's putting down. It makes him chuckle, going in for another kiss just as Choso moves him; that kiss winds up pressed next to his nose.
Once he's down on the bed he winds the rest of his tentacles around Choso's back, both up by his shoulder blades and down around his waist. So convenient, again, leaving his human hand free to get his fingers back into Choso's hair, all with the satisfaction of a job well done. He has to war with himself for a moment- part of him wants them pressed close like they were before when they hugged, no hovering, all contact; but the rest of him wants to look him in the face for longer, to do a few teasing things with his eyebrows, that part for the bit.
Wrapping all around him is a compromise Palamedes is willing to make, tilting his chin up to press a kiss against Choso's jaw, then towards the corner of his mouth.]
You'll be the first to know. [ha; a longer kiss then, more wanting, more willing to be so openly wanting, with the feeling out there. A moment's respite from The Bit, lips parting as he shifts experimentally, invitation and desire both.
But he also does have a question, one that can wait until that languid kiss comes to its natural end, murmured,] When is it overwhelming for you?
( it--tickles a little, in the worst kind of way, where palamedes' lips brush against his jaw and his shoulders want to duck, where his stomach tangles itself into overheated knots, and he can tell that his face flushes, just a little, the blood mark across the bridge of his nose trembling slightly with effort, like a puddle that's just been disturbed by someone walking through it. getting to this point is easy enough, following his own internal cues: he wants to be close there, wants to watch palamedes' face do all the things it does, beneath him, flat to the mattress--but beyond that, he's not sure where he's allowed to go.
away is definitely not allowed, given the strong wrap of all six tentacles, curled around him, braced at his back, up by his shoulder, down by his waist; but then again, he's not planning to go away, anyway, so that's not much of a problem--or a decision.
his head seems to fall with ease into the kiss, thoughts immediately tumbling out and into nothing; he's starting to understand it, a little better, the things he had been concerned about, the things he had been judgmental of, when it comes to this kind of intimacy. gojou satoru can make his chocolate and candy metaphors all he wants, but actually melting into the feeling gives him an entirely new perspective--the way he feels a little like his thoughts are consumed with nothing but this moment here, like he's gone a little dumb, wrapped up in affection and anticipation.
an honest answer, then, when the kiss breaks, natural and languid: ) It's all overwhelming.
( but it's said with a hint of amusement, a little playful reluctance; his lips curl, slightly, but he's practically talking in against palamedes' mouth, and lifts himself just slightly so he can be better understood. )
But that doesn't mean I don't want it. That's okay, isn't it? I'm not worried.
( not about this, anyway: just perhaps a little more clumsy, at times, than he would like, as he learns. fighting is fluid, and easy, and natural, but kissing, touching, expressing this kind of affection is new, and novel; and it's not like he's ever seen much of it to begin with.)
[Honest answers are the best ones. Palamedes' tentacle-grip tightens just that much more when Choso pulls back- just to speak, which makes him breathe out a laugh at himself, relaxing again. No, of course Choso wouldn't suddenly get up and leave him here, that's not even a possibility; just an errant thought his clingy new arms ran away with before he could think about it.
They can both fumble through it. Palamedes is a thinker, a words person; this kind of intimacy is a learning curve for him, too. He says,]
It's perfect. [Because it's honest,] Overwhelming isn't bad, it's... I don't know, normal. There's nothing to worry about. Talking is still allowed.
[By which he means if something gets too overwhelming, but at the same time, also because he's such a chatterbox. Mostly the first thing.
He grips Choso with his many arms again, this time to use him as a brace to shift his shoulders under him, then his hips, just an inch or two to get himself properly under Choso. Then a press of his inner thigh against Choso's, encouraging; get on over here, press him like a dried flower in an old book, and other such less-than-gentlemanly suggestions only an inner thigh can suggest.
He pulls himself up for another kiss, tender and taking his time again; his new arms don't seem troubled by the physical weakness that plagues the rest of him, adept-build, and it's tempting to stay coiled around like this, pressed up tightly against Choso. They've kissed before and yet this still feels brand new, electric and mesmerizing enough that he could get lost in it for hours.
One tentacle down by Choso's waist gropes for the hem of his sweatshirt, layers underneath if there are any, tugging up and dipping back down to seek warm skin, the base of his spine. Gentlemanly, Palamedes hums a questioning noise against Choso's mouth; May I?]
( he can't imagine a situation where talking wouldn't be allowed, when it comes to palamedes--he's used to being quiet, used to fading out into the background, observant, silent, letting those with the tongue for talking expend their energy as much as they like. with palamedes, though, there's comfort that he finds, in the sound of his voice: like he wouldn't much mind it if they just laid out on his bed for hours, listening to him explain the intricacies of whatever scientific marvel might have enticed him, here, because that seems like the kind of person he is; constantly curious, constantly pursuing, constantly learning. in such a short amount of time, he's come to appreciate it, even admire it, in him: something like what he wants to be, a person that's always looking for new things to try, to learn, to internalize.
but the thought of talking, during something like this--that only seems to worsen the flicker of heat in his face, a prickle of red that looks stark against his pale skin; he likes listening to palamedes' voice, and can only imagine the sort of wreck he would become if he paused their kissing, their touching, for something melted off his tongue, intimate and quiet.
it makes the distraction of touch both willing and welcome--it gives him something to focus on, besides the warm tingle of palamedes' mouth on his, besides the way that his hips slide as though to smother palamedes fully beneath him on the mattress; the silent question builds into a silent request, on his end, and gently, reluctantly, he draws himself back so that he can dig an elbow into the mattress and, one-handed, start to pull the sweatshirt off with his grip at the collar. that's what he wanted, right? a little proud of himself, he adjusts his weight again to get the thing off and flung towards the pillows on the bed; then it's his hips, his bare chest, pushing palamedes into the bed, laying out on him like he'll keep any part of him from view.
it doesn't bother him, like this: he's had his clothes torn apart in battle more than once, and his pale skin, knitted and healed over by technique, remembers little of its past scars; it's a smooth surface, raised only by muscle--and he realizes, too late, that in his attraction-blown insistency, he's forgotten entirely about the patterned vines on his skin, marked up to his shoulders. too late to grab the sweatshirt again, so he simply presses his mouth to palamedes' mouth, hoping that kissing will be more of a distraction; it's certainly more of a distraction for him, deciding to keep one arm bent on the mattress so that the other can dip between them, squeezing and groping for palamedes' waist in earnest. )
[Palamedes would be happy to talk for hours uninterrupted; honestly it would be a dream come true. He's liable to talk through this if he's not distracted enough, if Choso's mouth isn't on his, if he isn't rendered otherwise unable to get a coherent word out. The only saving grace is he would stay on topic instead of going on about one of his books.
But this is close enough to what he wanted, yes, and he loosens his tentacles' grip enough to let Choso's sweatshirt slide past them, eagerly sticking back down to his skin as soon as they're able. Not literally sticking— the suckers on these things have teeth, he would at least ask first— but snug and appreciative of warm skin to explore. Even if he can't see with all of Choso sticking him to the mattress- a place he has no complaints about, to be sure- he can rove all over with curious 'fingers,' mapping out the topography of muscle and curve and spine.
All this and the suddenness of another kiss, drawing a breathy laugh out of Palamedes straight into Choso's mouth, sinking back into it almost at once. He'd like to see Choso undressed, beyond a second's glimpse, and surely there will be time- kissing him splits his attention for now. Palamedes' human hand slides up to Choso's cheek, thin fingers gripping his jaw to keep him there in that kiss, without diversions to kissing other parts of him or shifting around again; he kisses with a renewed vigor, with something close to gratitude - thanks, in the absence of actually saying it out loud (like a dweeb), for taking the sweatshirt off.
It's not only about the sweatshirt. Of course not, just the same as it's not really a thank you, it's wanting and being wanted, cherishing and being cherished, a wellspring of emotions he could get lost in if he isn't careful. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst place to be lost, either.
(It is also, a nonzero amount, about compressing him like a .pdf into the mattress, which he's enjoying very much.)
To wit, it takes a great deal of his focus not to stop kissing and start talking again when Choso's hand gropes down to his waist; he looses a tentacle from around Choso's shoulders instead, to slither between them and tug the front of his own shirt up, exposing a few inches of his waist and stomach and not even a single muscle cell, comparatively. Was this the goal? That tentacle glides back up to Choso's shoulder, but not before stopping to stroke affectionately at his hand and wrist first.]
( an unusual warmth, drawn up where each of those little suckers patter over his bare skin, and there's that ticklish feeling again, that heat that seems to build to an uncomfortable degree in the pit of his stomach. new feelings, strange feelings, things he hasn't considered, things that haven't seemed to matter, until now--until coming to this place, until being forced, skidded face to face with them. affection isn't something new to him, and doting on his brothers, no matter which one, isn't new, either; wanting to touch them, to comfort them, to be around them, to stick close to them. but this sort of affection, where he wants to feel palamedes' breath against his, where he wants to feel the way his body melts underneath his, trapped to the mattress--it's a new thing, something that feels oddly too good, or too human, to be true. how can he even express what it feels like: to be wanted just as he is, and to be allowed to want in return?
he doesn't get the chance. he's not as capable as palamedes, weaving his words into something warm, like a continuous story that he wants to listen to for hours--so he's grateful, trapped into the kiss, grateful that he isn't allowed to deviate, grateful that he can part his lips against his and taste the heat between them.
that wandering hand gets silent permission, and honestly, the tentacled reach that palamedes has now is incredibly helpful: he doesn't have to do much of anything, with that shirt pulled up for him, a strong palm and firm fingers that grope and climb up between them, feeling over the side of his stomach, up along his chest, hidden there beneath the fabric. he can content himself with memorizing the feeling of palamedes' skin, rather than trying to politely move his shirt out of the way; he can content himself with feeling what he can without shifting too much, wanting to keep as much of them smothered together as possible.
when the kiss breaks, it isn't a sudden departure; his mouth just slips, a hot breath pattered between them, and without thinking about it, without even considering, his tongue maps over the shape of palamedes' lower lip, like he can sear the taste of his mouth into his memory with it. )
Do you want it off? ( soft, quiet, almost gentlemanly without trying--his lips slope up into a near-bashful smile, as his hand flexes up against the part of the shirt that it's underneath in indication, like it's his heart beating out of the confines of his chest. ) I want it off.
( honest, as always, even if his rimmed gaze is distracted looking at palamedes face so close to his. )
[The steady climb of Choso's hand is searing, dragging over Palamedes' skin in a way he's never been touched there, never been touched in some of those places at all unless he was sick, or injured. Warm desire builds and pulses through him, making him almost antsy with the urge to touch and be touched. His tentacles on shirt duty linger between them, easily capable of sliding into spaces where a whole human arm might not fit, questing over Choso's chest and down to his stomach.
There's a question and a request there, both of which flip his stomach over, a tug of anticipation making itself at home below his ribs, but they both fizzle out of focus in the wake of their kiss, the dart of Choso's tongue against his lip. He looks so lovely up close like this, Palamedes thinks, and does not quip about being glad he kept his glasses on this time. The sentiment is there.
His shirt. Of course. He tips his head back and mumbles,] Yes, in a moment, [and kisses him once more, open-mouthed and wanting, sucking at Choso's lower lip to deepen the kiss and pull him back in closer.
He can multitask, though, as he withdraws each of his tentacles one by one a moment later, to wriggle out the bottom of his shirt and slide right back to where they were, roving over his skin with wanton curiosity.
Inevitably his mouth slides off Choso's to kiss his jaw, back towards his neck; wherever he can still reach as he elbows himself up- on just the one elbow, a smidge crooked- enough that his shirt could be feasibly dragged the rest of the way off.]
Take it off me. [This, low, near Choso's ear, is not a question.]
( it's hard to explain what that reaction does to him--hard to explain the sudden feeling of cold that washes over only because it feels deceptively cooler, in comparison to those words, which hit him like a pot of boiling water; it's easy to have control over himself when the control comes with practiced precision, to move his human body in the ways that he's taught himself, but to succumb to his human whims is another thing entirely. his mouth falters with breath, like a part of him wants to take palamedes by the lip and roll him into another kiss, an echo of that open-mouthed wanting; a part of him wants to immediately rip off the material between them, neither of which are very stately, or gentlemanly, or polite in that longing sort of way that he feels like romance is perceived.
a short swallow, then, like it helps bury down the urge, like it helps that crawling feeling of longing, where palamedes had kissed his jaw.
there's something enticingly intimate about it, in his mind, and while he's undressed in front of others for less--communal bathing, for example--it feels entirely different to move his weight up enough so that he can use the hand under palamedes' shirt to start to guide it up, and over. not too much to get rid of, when it comes down to it, but once he's gently stretched the fabric past one shoulder, his head, and then the other, he can drag it away from palamedes' human arm and leave it somewhere along the bed beside them. doesn't matter. he won't need it back.
of course, that does leave his glasses a little askew: he considers them for a moment, as he's considering the rest of it, a half-bent arm to the mattress himself as though to keep himself lifted enough to get a good look at the bared skin. his tongue skates over his own lip; his breath forces itself to steady there. )
You want to see. ( he assumes, softly; his free hand lifts so that he can carefully adjust the bridge of his glasses on his nose, fingertips running down over the side of his face, under his jaw, tipping his head up slightly before he lets that arm drop so he can steady his weight between both of them, more comfortable. ) I'll be careful.
( this means a slow, stretch of his weight down, just enough of a shift that he can tuck his head near one shoulder, mouth now dedicated to mapping out newly discovered skin with the warm, weighted press of kisses, near to a collarbone, dipped lower towards his chest. there's something inspiring about keeping them pressed skin to skin, but in the end, his mouth is too eager: he wants to continue his research from the last time, continue kissing until he finds a spot that works palamedes up just as much as a simple request melted him away. )
[Palamedes kisses that spot on his jaw again in the interim, waiting until he feels Choso shift his hand under his shirt before he actually pulls away and lets it get lifted over his head. There's a thrill in it, even as it knocks his glasses around, even for an action as simple as getting his shirt over his head. It's a thrill that lives in his chest, a fluttering, hummingbird thing, quickened by the way Choso looks down at him with open desire.
That gaze and the quiet way Choso fusses over his glasses make Palamedes feel like he's pinned in place, different from how he's been physically pressed against the bed; held right here because Choso wants to be someone who takes care of him, because he'll be careful. Palamedes can only smile up at him, again briefly overwhelmed with affection to be cared for in these small ways, intimate and probably, to many people, pointless; but Choso adjusts his glasses for him and Palamedes wants to melt into him completely.
Before he can, though, before he's left to dissolve into the mattress in earnest, Choso dips down to distract him anew with the trail of his mouth. His human hand follows the movement to wrap against the back of Choso's neck, an encouraging movement to accompany the way the rest of his body reacts.
Then he has double cause to melt, and more than enough opportunity to do it, as Choso's mouth trails lower. Palamedes sighs out his pleasure, content, even languid with the sensation of Choso's mouth against his skin, each sweet press leaving him curving up from the mattress more than the last. It's the slow buildup of that heat in his stomach that undoes him more than any one spot, and it feels like he's nearly taken by surprise, like his skin goes more sensitive all at once and makes his breath stutter, body hot under the attention.
His fingers find their way into Choso's hair again, already a habit. Now when Choso brushes his lips against a sensitive spot- soon to be all of him, if this keeps up- he grips tighter in his hair, curving up to meet him there, hyper-aware of all the places their bodies meet and briefly spiraling into other thoughts of more and more.]
Do you, [he says, and then stops, wet his lips with his tongue, starts again,] Won't you let me kiss you, too?
[All over, specifically, but his mouth is feeling perilously un-kissed up here, the neglect of a handful of minutes.]
( a thought he hadn't spared, really, and maybe that's selfishness in its own right: that he's so determined to find palamedes' skin with his lips, with the soft press of his tongue, like each kiss leaves a mark that only they can see, something delicate and decided only for them--that he hadn't even considered it going the other way around. it's not that he doesn't want it; the thought, by itself, is something that would cause all of his other thoughts to shrivel up and disappear, to make thinking itself something dumb and warmed over by the heat flooded into the pit of his stomach. but there's a little shiver of possessiveness, there, that if he kisses palamedes here, and there, if he finds those tender spots, if he makes his breath pass in that pretty way--that maybe he'll be allowed to do it again, later, and again, tomorrow, and again, days in the future.
still, he's soft-hearted at best, the kind of person that would likely fold against a well-aimed pout, or the soft hush of pleading, and palamedes' voice, with its rush, with its breath intersected for the lick of his lips, draws his gaze up, a warm, wanting sort of look, considering. he can't just leave him there: which means he's stretching his weight up again, abandoning his pursuit around palamedes' navel to move back to his mouth.
a reassuring kiss, there, without prompting: soft, needy, parting palamedes' lips just with the slow shift of his own, for a tongue that wants to taste him, even briefly, to claim that part of him back. )
You can kiss me. ( he says, hushed into the small space he allows, between their lips. ) You can do anything.
( but it does beg the question of anywhere, which is why he smiles, faint and well-kissed, and tilts his head to one side; they're still a little crooked on the bed, and if he wants to go further--lower--then he'll end up sliding off the mattress entirely. his legs bend, a little, a thigh pressed to the mattress, helping slide them a little more properly, a little more straight. )
Roll me over. ( soft, less of a command that it is a suggestion--his mouth dips, a brief kiss, reassuring. ) You can get on top.
[A reprieve in that kiss, from the overwhelming thrum of wanting in Palamedes' whole body, even as meeting Choso's lips and tongue with his own tug that thread even tighter. Re-centering from the dizzying hypotheticals of Choso's mouth elsewhere, wanting too many things all at once, and yet Palamedes knows he would simply unravel, kissed this way enough times.
Something to look forward to. He murmurs something quiet and nonsensical between them as Choso shifts, a quip about doing anything far less important than kissing Choso again on the end of it. Briefly he turns his head a fraction, to judge the space between the two of them and the wall, considering the last time.]
You'll have to indulge me in the illusion that I can roll you over, [he says, giving Choso's shoulder a barely-there nudge, for emphasis on how he is not exactly built for it.] So, let's indulge.
[That's all the persuasion it should take, in his opinion, in this moment. He has the new benefit of six extra arms' worth of strength, he quickly finds, the tentacles already wrapped around Choso making him eat his words near instantly with how much easier it is to turn them over like that. Somewhere in the middle he pauses for a beat, set upon involuntarily by the need to scientifically chart how in hell the rest of his body can power these arms, making a face, but he gets past it with a slight shake of his head and pulling himself up to look down at Choso.
Indulgent, just to hover close an extra couple seconds, to appreciate the heat of their mingled breath. Even more so to settle over Choso in stages, dipping to kiss him long and languid, then skin against skin once more, chest to chest; a careful shift of his hips and his thigh slotted between Choso's. The kiss doesn't break so much as slide into something else, as Palamedes angles kisses down to Choso's jawline and neck, soft and slow and affectionate. Warm, and practically adoring as he presses his lips over a fluttering pulse point and trails lower down the line of Choso's throat, attentive to Choso's responses from his breath all the way to his heart rate.
Necromancer perk.]
You're gorgeous, you know, [he says, barely above a whisper, near the dip of a collarbone.] Is there anywhere that's off limits?
[Just let him know; in the meantime he slides lower, hand drifting down to grip Choso's hip and work its way up instead.]
( an honest smile, one that spreads across his lips like he should be ashamed of it--like it's too warm, too struck with pleasure, and a little funny, all the same; he hadn't thought of that, really, hadn't imagined that palamedes would have any trouble precisely because he would move and help him all the same. but he's willing to indulge him in pretty much anything, really, given that he can't think of anything he would hesitate to do: so he shifts, a little, like he's poised to help, but in the end those tentacles have far more strength than even he had imagined, and it takes very little pursuit on his end to push and tilt and roll onto his back.
his eyes round, fluttered, surprised, amused, wanting: it's a different angle entirely when he's the one on his back and palamedes is above him, and one of his hands lifts, in those few, quiet seconds where they hover together--his fingers push, gently guiding some of palamedes' hair away from his cheek, curving it helplessly around an ear. given the angle, it'll just fall back out again. doesn't matter.
every inch of them coming together again slots some kind of pressure, inside of him: a strange feeling, an embarrassing feeling, like his breath is windswept and patchy, like for all the control that he has over his body, he has no control at all when palamedes' lips come into play. down his jaw, along his neck, further still to where it feels like his pulse is pounding itself free from his skin; it takes a rough swallow to even think to focus on the words. to find bashfulness in them, an embarrassed sound that might have been, originally, some kind of polite disagreement, but comes out more wanting than that: it's not wrong to want palamedes to find him attractive, is it? that feels direly important. )
No limits. ( he says, quiet in his throat; his skin jumps a little, hips tightening, thighs threatening to squeeze together--it's ticklish in that strange way, again, where palamedes' hand drifts down and comes back up again. )
You can do anything. ( repeating, for gentle emphasis--not because he thinks palamedes needs to hear it, but because he wants him to know he means it. ) I like it.
( --like you, he thinks to say, then presses his lips against it, closes it into a sigh of breath instead. )
[The look of Choso beneath him like this is sweet in a way that makes Palamedes' heart nearly ache. Not that he isn't always sweet, or that it was less sweet to be adored while his own back was on the mattress, but there's an endearing vulnerability to Choso like this that Palamedes wants to cradle in his hands- well, appendages, he supposes- and never let go. This moment deserves to be preserved in amber, the soft intensity of it, the look on Choso's face.
Palamedes has a good memory; he'll remember. So too will he remember the uneven sound of Choso's breathing and the heat that radiates off his skin, under the affections of his mouth. He's acutely aware, this close, of the way the tension coils through Choso, and with blanket permission to do anything— he wants to feel Choso react more, to memorize the way his muscles move and his hips shift, possessed of the heady desire for more and more and more. To draw these things out of Choso himself, to run his hand up Choso's side and over his chest and back down again, thumb pressing into the dip of his hip while his kisses trail over the taut expanse of his stomach.
I like it, he says, simple as anything; Palamedes hums against his skin, reaches up blindly with his tentacles to patter affectionately against Choso's cheek and neck.]
You know just what to say, [he says, with a hint of a tease; not entirely, because Choso's little reassurances are absolutely doing it for him, but still with that affectionate tease. He presses a kiss open-mouthed next to Choso's navel, relishing the spot with an experimental flick of his tongue, his own breath going ragged and hot against Choso's skin. He's meandered this far and now he lingers, each kiss overlapping the last, dipping lower at a glacial pace. He's gone far enough that his legs are hanging off the bed again, even after all the effort to move, and that matters not at all compared to where he's got his hand and mouth.
The waistband of Choso's pants isn't a deterrent, he kisses that too, and continues his path lower with no change other than pressing his mouth against the fabric. He's not less affectionate, almost reverent in his ministrations, but pausing before he's full-on mouthing against Choso's groin through his pants. Anything is cute, but it's worth it to check in; he leans his cheek against Choso's hip, opposite his hand.]
We don't have to go any further than you want to. This is already perfect. [Earnest; he could keep kissing Choso like this endlessly, he's certain of it.] But if you want to, just say the word.
[And another kiss gets pressed just inside his hip, for reassurance.]
( it's funny, really, to look at it objectively--to try to look at it objectively, when most of his thoughts have lost their strength, dwindled down to just his own intent tracing of palamedes' path down his body. there had been no shame, no embarrassment, no worry when it had been his own mouth in the same places, kissing along slender collarbones, down past narrow ribs, mapping out the skin with his tongue--but when it's his own body, when it's his own reactions, when it's his own breath trembling past parted lips, his own hand passing down to try to catch a bit of palamedes' hair between his fingertips--it feels like he should apologize, like he should be embarrassed, like he's taking more than he's giving, like he's soaking up more than he should. hard to put that feeling into words, too, when words fail him--when his tongue is less interested in speaking, and more interested in letting the soft sounds of interest crawl up from his throat, spared into the space between them.
he's barely even recognized where palamedes has ended up, down near his hips--all the tangled heat makes it hard to know what's just his own thoughts, fueling the stiff press of an erection through his sweatpants, and what's the touch of those lips, the pass of hot breath, the tangible sound of his voice that feels like it goes right through his bones.
embarrassing, really. his eyes squint open, hazy, rimmed with their usual exhaustion--but to see palamedes down there, pressed between his thighs, earns a rough swallow, like he can't quite articulate himself with the sight of it there. his face feels hot; his stomach feels hotter. )
If you go there, do I get to go there, too? ( less important then the permission--already given, in his mind, to the limits of whatever palamedes might want with him--is the promise of being able to touch him, like this, being able to press his mouth up between his thighs and learn what he sounds like when he's there. )
If I want it... ( he starts, stops--one of his hands lifts, pushing a bit of his own hair away from his face; his eyes close, trying to find the words. ) ...Can I want it? I don't want--
( it really is so hard to form the words when palamedes is there, pressed up against his hip, and even glancing down at him, faintly, has his lips twisting up into a bashful smile; he forces himself to let out a breath, his hand coming up to rub down over his face. he's not being very charming, in his mind: he's not being the kind of gallant, handsome, gentlemanly person that he thinks palamedes deserves.
so he tries again, once his hand smooths off his face, after he lets out a breathy, wry sort of chuckle: ) I want you. I'll still want you if you don't want to go any further.
[Maybe Choso is embarrassed of his body, of the sounds he makes, but Palamedes adores every moment Choso comes undone that much more. There's the expected pulse of base heat through him, an intimate kind of pride that he's been able to put Choso in this state, and also- he's adorable, half-started sentences and all. He doesn't mind waiting while Choso sorts through his thoughts, comfortable and content where he is, if a little-- buzzy with anticipation.
Choso's first question asked like that makes Palamedes want to squirm all the way back up, hip to hip, and let his body answer it for him. He settles for slipping his hand down to Choso's inner thigh and flattening his palm there, following the shape of muscle through the fabric.
It helps him think, which is to say, he doesn't need to think at all before he answers,] Yes. You can go anywhere.
[He can't help but quirk a little smile alongside that, watching Choso. The urge to reach up and push his hair back for him, to kiss him until all the words he can't get out are pushed from Choso's mouth straight into Palamedes' without the need for pesky words, is a strong one. There is a charm to this, rough and bumbling, and Palamedes enjoys it thoroughly, just as he'll enjoy the inevitability, when Choso doesn't have to ask things like Can I want it? anymore.
Little steps. He says,] Oh, you've already gotten me going. I want you, and you can want as much as you can imagine.
[Another blanket permission to shake off the weight of that Can I?— Palamedes takes his hand up Choso's thigh to slide over his clothed erection, feeling over the shape of him with a gentle pressure, then again with his mouth, dipping his head to lay open-mouthed kisses across fabric.
With two fingers hooking over Choso's waistband, he hums, briefly looking up.]
Shall we both finish undressing together? Now? [a tug,] Lift your hips for me. Then you can get mine.
( why is it embarrassing? it shouldn't be embarrassing, when palamedes says i want you so plainly, so easily, as though that's all it should take; it shouldn't make his whole body tense, saying that he's gotten him going, to imagine that he's done all this and more, reflected back, under palamedes' skin. to know that palamedes maybe feels that same boneless pleasure, that same urgency, that same heat pooling and building with impatient desire that he only forces himself to feel in small, slow trickles, like an iv drip of arousal--it's embarrassing and it's prideful, it's a brand new, almost smug shiver of happiness, something that feels keenly good, and keenly his, something shared just between the two of them, here. he likes it.
likes the way that palamedes' hand moves up over the shape of him, likes the fact that his breath pants out, despite better judgment, when that hand is followed by an open-mouthed kiss--his hand catches some of palamedes' hair, trying not to pull, letting it slip with affection through the curl of his fingers.
maybe embarrassing has never been the right word for it. he's never been bashful about being undressed, but something about being stripped down here, under palamedes' watch, makes him nervous--like maybe he won't like what he sees, in the end, but that's less because he doubts palamedes and more because he doubts himself. so his hips lift, only because there's the promise of getting palamedes stripped down, too, and he wants to look at him: wants to touch him, like he's being touched, and he uses both hands to gently help getting the rise of his waistband down, where palamedes can strip him the rest of the way.
it's different, letting someone else take care of him. he's usually the one looking out for everyone else, and now he's on his back, on a bed that's not his own, left at the mercy of someone who has tugged at his heartstrings a little more than he thinks is probably normal; he's almost painfully attracted, stupidly, and if that isn't human, then he's not sure what is.
with a stubborn breath, not trying to hide anything, he lifts a hand to push some of his own hair aside, raking it back again so that he can then reach with both hands, expectant, out in front of him. )
Your turn. ( and just in case it's necessary, a little petulant hum in his deep voice: ) You said.
[The hand in his hair is a welcome feeling, almost too brief in the middle of what his current goal is. It's grounding in the way that the sound of Choso's breath and the tension in his hips, under Palamedes' patient fingers are the opposite, doing everything in their power to make Palamedes' own arousal more and more urgent. Even the slightest press of his two knuckles into the skin beneath Choso's waistband, the dip inwards from his hip, is all but searing.
But Palamedes is patient- gentlemanly, even- and true to his word, waiting for Choso to shift his hips before tugging his sweatpants the rest of the way off a little unevenly and nudges them to the floor, a task left to his human hand while his tentacles slide and grope over Choso's exposed thighs. The curve of muscle and bare skin there feels like a secret thing, privileged territory, just as worthy of his undivided attention as Choso's arousal.
Palamedes traces a reverential path there along the junction of thigh and groin, first with human fingers and then with his mouth, shifting his hand to palm over Choso's cock again as his mouth moves higher. Were he less of a gentleman he would ignore Choso reaching for him completely and keep at it, stealing another few seconds of intent focus before he huffs out an amused breath and pushes himself up. Yes, alright - of course. He did say.]
I did. Thank God I have you to keep me honest.
[One of Choso's hands he catches as he sits up further, tilting his head to kiss his palm. He's not entirely sure where to put his legs, settling for a kneeling straddle over one of Choso's thighs. His own arousal is especially evident through his slacks, like this, and he makes an only slightly sheepish face as if to say, see, he wouldn't lie about Choso getting him going, ha ha.
He fiddles one-handed with the button at his waist, an herculean task.]
This was easier with two hands.
[Could he manage it with the tentacles? Sure. Will he be letting go of Choso's thigh? No.]
( there's a bashful part of him that wants to close his eyes, or rather, wants to let his eyes settle up on the ceiling above him, like he might find solace there, or like he might find a way to understand how each little brush and touch of palamedes' tentacles, slithered over his skin, seems to lock up all his muscles into appreciative tension. tensing himself up before a battle is typical; tensing himself up before training is typical. letting himself submit to the physical whims of his own body, aroused and interested, is not something that he's learned how to do, not something he has experience in, not something that he finds he understands. it's the way that his stomach plummets when a human hand brushes up between his thighs, and then a mouth, damp lips, warm breath--his own lips part, like there's a breath caught there, or a word of encouragement, or something else entirely. his hand could slip down between them, clench its fingers into palamedes' hair, and--well, he can't let himself think that thought, because it feels dangerous.
dangerous in a good way. dangerous in a way that will get his blood pumping too fast, and he's already keenly aware of where it's all settled, inside of him. too much imagination, paired with all that touching--
the breath he lets out sounds like relief, but it's disappointment, too, some combination of it all; he has to remind himself that the point is to get his hands all over palamedes too, and that reminder earns a quick shift of his gaze, letting it slide, pertinent and pointed, over palamedes as he settles upward. it's a sight that he'll probably remember, later, nights alone in his room: the shift of palamedes' knees, the obvious strain of fabric, that sheepish sort of look that he wants to kiss away.
with a faint smile, just edged on the corner of his lips, he gently bends both of his elbows down, sinking them into the mattress only so that he can push himself to sit up. )
I have two hands. ( low and quiet, matter-of-fact as always: and he doesn't hesitate, warm hands reaching to brush and shoo palamedes' hand away just so that he can get his own there, working open the button, carefully shedding the zipper. the fabric slips a little; his hands round to either hip, thumbs digging in there to peel it all down a little--but with the way he's sitting, with the way palamedes is straddling his thigh, there's not much space for it to do anything but pool around palamedes' thighs.
that's good enough for him. good enough for his chin to tip in, to tilt and tuck his face in near palamedes' neck, lips attached to skin almost immediately--good enough for one arm to wrap around his middle, the other pressing, slipping his hand down near blindly to feel for the length of him, a warm palm and eager, strong fingers that stroke from base to tip without thinking of much of anything except to explore what he can, unpracticed and careful, while he has the almost sneaky chance. )
[That sheepishness only lasts for a moment, in the end, chased away by the way Choso looks at him, kept at bay by how immediately he reaches for him. With a faint chuckle Palamedes says, murmured,] Oh, do you, [like it's a little joke between them, and not about his arm. Like Choso's desire to get his hands on him, and Palamedes' matching desire to feel it, were not obvious guarantees here.
Brushed away, Palamedes' hand finds its way into Choso's hair, a loose grip curling into it that somehow doesn't betray the tension in the rest of his body, watching Choso undress him— more or less. Undressed in the way that matters, at least, which is enough. It's the rest of him that feels that tension, a string pulled taut that makes the whole of him twitch slightly in electric surprise when Choso closes in on him. The quiet tenderness of it all remains, but oh!— so much skin against skin, all at once.
He says,] Hey, now, [because he was busy down there, as it were, but it's not even a convincing faux-objection, too warm and fond. He curls his fingers tighter into Choso's hair, hips pressing into the movement of his fingers. He's no more experienced than Choso beyond with his own hands, so even this much- Choso's hands on him, his mouth, the gravitational pull of his eager affection- is enough to dazzle Palamedes. He wants and wants and he's never known how to want holding still, to be, hm, provided for, so he slides one of his tentacle limbs, then another, up from Choso's thigh to brush over the length of him, just barely circling his tip.
It's just that it doesn't hurt to ask, right, even if Choso has been pretty readily accepting of his new limbs so far, so,] Is that alright?
It's cheating. ( he says, in an immediate breath, a breath that's tinged with a little bit of humor--or maybe it's just the hot, heated sigh from the way that, nearly embarrassed, his cock flinches, twitches beneath the touch, as though not fully expecting it and yet greedy for it all the same. ) My arms aren't that long...
( --which is to say that he doesn't mind, could never mind, because that arm is a part of palamedes now, and he's already swept himself under the firm belief that any part of palamedes should not only be accepted, but welcomed, warmly, by him. it doesn't bother him, just another touch that he wants, a touch that has his mouth lifting off the side of palamedes' neck to kiss, gently, over the spot where his teeth nearly worried the skin into a red little mark. not that he really minds it, leaving behind that kind of souvenir, but it feels a little presumptuous to assume that it would be wanted without asking.
he doesn't ask. instead, his mouth dedicates itself to climbing up along the side of palamedes' neck, kissing at his jaw, nudging in there with another little mouthed sigh of pleasure; his hand tightens, a firm grip as though to say they'll both have to contend with each other, or find some mutual harmony in the touch, because he doesn't want to let go. wants to feel the way his skin slicks beneath his fingers, the way he learns the length of him by tactile greed alone, and his head nudges back, slowly, brushing them nearly nose to nose. )
Is this alright? ( a gentle echo, as though just to confirm--and to tease, a little, as he lets his wrist find a slow, easy sort of rhythm, paired only with the anticipation of further touch from palamedes' sticky new arm. ) You can just let me help you.
( translated to mean, you can just let me take care of you. )
[It's a tease enough to get him to chuckle, breathed out against Choso's cheek as his he tilts in closer to him, pulled in by this low, simmering hunger. To touch and be touched, to press into the movement of Choso's hand with unabashed craving; he's not overly concerned with the details, not when he's already being spoiled with affectionate mouth and dutiful fingers.
And besides, shush, it's gentlemanly to ask. He presses a kiss to Choso's cheek and says,] It's sublime.
[Do not make fun of him (too much) for this. He doesn't answer the other part, sliding one-two-three tentacles down between them to wrap around the length of him instead, in response. Letting Choso take care of him has an appeal, a novelty for someone like himself, who so consistently refuses to put himself first in any number of contexts, but it's an appeal he can put a pin in for another time. Not now, when he's so selfish-greedy-impatient to touch Choso, and maybe he doesn't say any of that directly because he knows how silly it sounds, to call his desire to give pleasure selfish.
So he doesn't say any of that; more than anything he wants to feel Choso beneath him, to learn the ways his body reacts and commit each one to perfect, crystalline memory. Those details he's very intent on, as well as the many new ways he can use his tentacle arm to coax more soft sounds and heated breaths out of Choso like this alone. The tentacles curl around him in their own rhythm, a firm pressure that coils from base to tip and detaches one at a time to start over.
Tilting his head again, he kisses the corner of Choso's mouth, unable to help grinning.]
This one is cheating, [he'll concede, a tease of his own; he's not had the arm long, but it's been long enough to come up with myriad ideas that need thorough testing.]
no subject
He huffs, amused, human hand raised to splay fingers over the back of Choso's neck as he leans in closer. A firm hand on his waist, when is it overwhelming, oh, he's got moves, has he.]
Yes, absolutely. [Wry, but not untrue; Palamedes doesn't lie, after all. He inches toward Choso, letting their legs bump and overlap a bit, the tentacles that have since claimed his other hand giving it a squeeze, for the teasing.] Definitely worth trying again.
[And he leans in to be overwhelmed, kissing him once, twice as swift, short things, no less fond. They've got a bit going, and he can't refuse a bit, so after the second kiss he hums, not pulling away.]
Interesting, [he says, in the 'my hypothesis was not in error' voice that all studious necromancers possess. Not that this makes him terribly smooth, because the next thing he says is an earnest,] My pulse is going haywire. Good thing.
no subject
not quite as enjoyable as the pause that seems to indicate there's more kissing to be had. twisting around on manmade monkey bars and wooden bridges created for children aren't the only kinds of play to be had; this is some kind of teasing act, and he's willing to step up into the part.
it doesn't mean he's any less reluctant to lean back, slightly, just enough to get a glimpse of palamedes' face. )
Good thing. ( he agrees, in a low, thoughtful hum. ) But dangerous thing. The safest thing to do here, I think, would be to lay you down.
( one arm lifts, tethered by tentacles, but he uses it to his advantage: bending his arm back, creasing it at the elbow, means that he can pull palamedes up along with him like the strings of a puppet, their 'hands' intertwined. makes it easier to readjust him, guide him down flat to the mattress, as his own weight shifts to roll against him; a little ridiculous, since they're on the bed the wrong way, but if their legs hang over the side, he doesn't care. it's more about edging his shoulders down, hovering over palamedes chest to chest; it's more about the feeling he gets, with palamedes beneath him, the way he has to half-straddle one of his thighs to get the angle right.
a considering tilt of his head, like a bird looking for seed, teasing, as he settles there: ) You have to tell me if you're light-headed. That's the most dangerous, I think.
no subject
Once he's down on the bed he winds the rest of his tentacles around Choso's back, both up by his shoulder blades and down around his waist. So convenient, again, leaving his human hand free to get his fingers back into Choso's hair, all with the satisfaction of a job well done. He has to war with himself for a moment- part of him wants them pressed close like they were before when they hugged, no hovering, all contact; but the rest of him wants to look him in the face for longer, to do a few teasing things with his eyebrows, that part for the bit.
Wrapping all around him is a compromise Palamedes is willing to make, tilting his chin up to press a kiss against Choso's jaw, then towards the corner of his mouth.]
You'll be the first to know. [ha; a longer kiss then, more wanting, more willing to be so openly wanting, with the feeling out there. A moment's respite from The Bit, lips parting as he shifts experimentally, invitation and desire both.
But he also does have a question, one that can wait until that languid kiss comes to its natural end, murmured,] When is it overwhelming for you?
no subject
away is definitely not allowed, given the strong wrap of all six tentacles, curled around him, braced at his back, up by his shoulder, down by his waist; but then again, he's not planning to go away, anyway, so that's not much of a problem--or a decision.
his head seems to fall with ease into the kiss, thoughts immediately tumbling out and into nothing; he's starting to understand it, a little better, the things he had been concerned about, the things he had been judgmental of, when it comes to this kind of intimacy. gojou satoru can make his chocolate and candy metaphors all he wants, but actually melting into the feeling gives him an entirely new perspective--the way he feels a little like his thoughts are consumed with nothing but this moment here, like he's gone a little dumb, wrapped up in affection and anticipation.
an honest answer, then, when the kiss breaks, natural and languid: ) It's all overwhelming.
( but it's said with a hint of amusement, a little playful reluctance; his lips curl, slightly, but he's practically talking in against palamedes' mouth, and lifts himself just slightly so he can be better understood. )
But that doesn't mean I don't want it. That's okay, isn't it? I'm not worried.
( not about this, anyway: just perhaps a little more clumsy, at times, than he would like, as he learns. fighting is fluid, and easy, and natural, but kissing, touching, expressing this kind of affection is new, and novel; and it's not like he's ever seen much of it to begin with.)
no subject
They can both fumble through it. Palamedes is a thinker, a words person; this kind of intimacy is a learning curve for him, too. He says,]
It's perfect. [Because it's honest,] Overwhelming isn't bad, it's... I don't know, normal. There's nothing to worry about. Talking is still allowed.
[By which he means if something gets too overwhelming, but at the same time, also because he's such a chatterbox. Mostly the first thing.
He grips Choso with his many arms again, this time to use him as a brace to shift his shoulders under him, then his hips, just an inch or two to get himself properly under Choso. Then a press of his inner thigh against Choso's, encouraging; get on over here, press him like a dried flower in an old book, and other such less-than-gentlemanly suggestions only an inner thigh can suggest.
He pulls himself up for another kiss, tender and taking his time again; his new arms don't seem troubled by the physical weakness that plagues the rest of him, adept-build, and it's tempting to stay coiled around like this, pressed up tightly against Choso. They've kissed before and yet this still feels brand new, electric and mesmerizing enough that he could get lost in it for hours.
One tentacle down by Choso's waist gropes for the hem of his sweatshirt, layers underneath if there are any, tugging up and dipping back down to seek warm skin, the base of his spine. Gentlemanly, Palamedes hums a questioning noise against Choso's mouth; May I?]
no subject
but the thought of talking, during something like this--that only seems to worsen the flicker of heat in his face, a prickle of red that looks stark against his pale skin; he likes listening to palamedes' voice, and can only imagine the sort of wreck he would become if he paused their kissing, their touching, for something melted off his tongue, intimate and quiet.
it makes the distraction of touch both willing and welcome--it gives him something to focus on, besides the warm tingle of palamedes' mouth on his, besides the way that his hips slide as though to smother palamedes fully beneath him on the mattress; the silent question builds into a silent request, on his end, and gently, reluctantly, he draws himself back so that he can dig an elbow into the mattress and, one-handed, start to pull the sweatshirt off with his grip at the collar. that's what he wanted, right? a little proud of himself, he adjusts his weight again to get the thing off and flung towards the pillows on the bed; then it's his hips, his bare chest, pushing palamedes into the bed, laying out on him like he'll keep any part of him from view.
it doesn't bother him, like this: he's had his clothes torn apart in battle more than once, and his pale skin, knitted and healed over by technique, remembers little of its past scars; it's a smooth surface, raised only by muscle--and he realizes, too late, that in his attraction-blown insistency, he's forgotten entirely about the patterned vines on his skin, marked up to his shoulders. too late to grab the sweatshirt again, so he simply presses his mouth to palamedes' mouth, hoping that kissing will be more of a distraction; it's certainly more of a distraction for him, deciding to keep one arm bent on the mattress so that the other can dip between them, squeezing and groping for palamedes' waist in earnest. )
no subject
But this is close enough to what he wanted, yes, and he loosens his tentacles' grip enough to let Choso's sweatshirt slide past them, eagerly sticking back down to his skin as soon as they're able. Not literally sticking— the suckers on these things have teeth, he would at least ask first— but snug and appreciative of warm skin to explore. Even if he can't see with all of Choso sticking him to the mattress- a place he has no complaints about, to be sure- he can rove all over with curious 'fingers,' mapping out the topography of muscle and curve and spine.
All this and the suddenness of another kiss, drawing a breathy laugh out of Palamedes straight into Choso's mouth, sinking back into it almost at once. He'd like to see Choso undressed, beyond a second's glimpse, and surely there will be time- kissing him splits his attention for now. Palamedes' human hand slides up to Choso's cheek, thin fingers gripping his jaw to keep him there in that kiss, without diversions to kissing other parts of him or shifting around again; he kisses with a renewed vigor, with something close to gratitude - thanks, in the absence of actually saying it out loud (like a dweeb), for taking the sweatshirt off.
It's not only about the sweatshirt. Of course not, just the same as it's not really a thank you, it's wanting and being wanted, cherishing and being cherished, a wellspring of emotions he could get lost in if he isn't careful. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst place to be lost, either.
(It is also, a nonzero amount, about compressing him like a .pdf into the mattress, which he's enjoying very much.)
To wit, it takes a great deal of his focus not to stop kissing and start talking again when Choso's hand gropes down to his waist; he looses a tentacle from around Choso's shoulders instead, to slither between them and tug the front of his own shirt up, exposing a few inches of his waist and stomach and not even a single muscle cell, comparatively. Was this the goal? That tentacle glides back up to Choso's shoulder, but not before stopping to stroke affectionately at his hand and wrist first.]
no subject
he doesn't get the chance. he's not as capable as palamedes, weaving his words into something warm, like a continuous story that he wants to listen to for hours--so he's grateful, trapped into the kiss, grateful that he isn't allowed to deviate, grateful that he can part his lips against his and taste the heat between them.
that wandering hand gets silent permission, and honestly, the tentacled reach that palamedes has now is incredibly helpful: he doesn't have to do much of anything, with that shirt pulled up for him, a strong palm and firm fingers that grope and climb up between them, feeling over the side of his stomach, up along his chest, hidden there beneath the fabric. he can content himself with memorizing the feeling of palamedes' skin, rather than trying to politely move his shirt out of the way; he can content himself with feeling what he can without shifting too much, wanting to keep as much of them smothered together as possible.
when the kiss breaks, it isn't a sudden departure; his mouth just slips, a hot breath pattered between them, and without thinking about it, without even considering, his tongue maps over the shape of palamedes' lower lip, like he can sear the taste of his mouth into his memory with it. )
Do you want it off? ( soft, quiet, almost gentlemanly without trying--his lips slope up into a near-bashful smile, as his hand flexes up against the part of the shirt that it's underneath in indication, like it's his heart beating out of the confines of his chest. ) I want it off.
( honest, as always, even if his rimmed gaze is distracted looking at palamedes face so close to his. )
no subject
There's a question and a request there, both of which flip his stomach over, a tug of anticipation making itself at home below his ribs, but they both fizzle out of focus in the wake of their kiss, the dart of Choso's tongue against his lip. He looks so lovely up close like this, Palamedes thinks, and does not quip about being glad he kept his glasses on this time. The sentiment is there.
His shirt. Of course. He tips his head back and mumbles,] Yes, in a moment, [and kisses him once more, open-mouthed and wanting, sucking at Choso's lower lip to deepen the kiss and pull him back in closer.
He can multitask, though, as he withdraws each of his tentacles one by one a moment later, to wriggle out the bottom of his shirt and slide right back to where they were, roving over his skin with wanton curiosity.
Inevitably his mouth slides off Choso's to kiss his jaw, back towards his neck; wherever he can still reach as he elbows himself up- on just the one elbow, a smidge crooked- enough that his shirt could be feasibly dragged the rest of the way off.]
Take it off me. [This, low, near Choso's ear, is not a question.]
no subject
a short swallow, then, like it helps bury down the urge, like it helps that crawling feeling of longing, where palamedes had kissed his jaw.
there's something enticingly intimate about it, in his mind, and while he's undressed in front of others for less--communal bathing, for example--it feels entirely different to move his weight up enough so that he can use the hand under palamedes' shirt to start to guide it up, and over. not too much to get rid of, when it comes down to it, but once he's gently stretched the fabric past one shoulder, his head, and then the other, he can drag it away from palamedes' human arm and leave it somewhere along the bed beside them. doesn't matter. he won't need it back.
of course, that does leave his glasses a little askew: he considers them for a moment, as he's considering the rest of it, a half-bent arm to the mattress himself as though to keep himself lifted enough to get a good look at the bared skin. his tongue skates over his own lip; his breath forces itself to steady there. )
You want to see. ( he assumes, softly; his free hand lifts so that he can carefully adjust the bridge of his glasses on his nose, fingertips running down over the side of his face, under his jaw, tipping his head up slightly before he lets that arm drop so he can steady his weight between both of them, more comfortable. ) I'll be careful.
( this means a slow, stretch of his weight down, just enough of a shift that he can tuck his head near one shoulder, mouth now dedicated to mapping out newly discovered skin with the warm, weighted press of kisses, near to a collarbone, dipped lower towards his chest. there's something inspiring about keeping them pressed skin to skin, but in the end, his mouth is too eager: he wants to continue his research from the last time, continue kissing until he finds a spot that works palamedes up just as much as a simple request melted him away. )
no subject
That gaze and the quiet way Choso fusses over his glasses make Palamedes feel like he's pinned in place, different from how he's been physically pressed against the bed; held right here because Choso wants to be someone who takes care of him, because he'll be careful. Palamedes can only smile up at him, again briefly overwhelmed with affection to be cared for in these small ways, intimate and probably, to many people, pointless; but Choso adjusts his glasses for him and Palamedes wants to melt into him completely.
Before he can, though, before he's left to dissolve into the mattress in earnest, Choso dips down to distract him anew with the trail of his mouth. His human hand follows the movement to wrap against the back of Choso's neck, an encouraging movement to accompany the way the rest of his body reacts.
Then he has double cause to melt, and more than enough opportunity to do it, as Choso's mouth trails lower. Palamedes sighs out his pleasure, content, even languid with the sensation of Choso's mouth against his skin, each sweet press leaving him curving up from the mattress more than the last. It's the slow buildup of that heat in his stomach that undoes him more than any one spot, and it feels like he's nearly taken by surprise, like his skin goes more sensitive all at once and makes his breath stutter, body hot under the attention.
His fingers find their way into Choso's hair again, already a habit. Now when Choso brushes his lips against a sensitive spot- soon to be all of him, if this keeps up- he grips tighter in his hair, curving up to meet him there, hyper-aware of all the places their bodies meet and briefly spiraling into other thoughts of more and more.]
Do you, [he says, and then stops, wet his lips with his tongue, starts again,] Won't you let me kiss you, too?
[All over, specifically, but his mouth is feeling perilously un-kissed up here, the neglect of a handful of minutes.]
no subject
still, he's soft-hearted at best, the kind of person that would likely fold against a well-aimed pout, or the soft hush of pleading, and palamedes' voice, with its rush, with its breath intersected for the lick of his lips, draws his gaze up, a warm, wanting sort of look, considering. he can't just leave him there: which means he's stretching his weight up again, abandoning his pursuit around palamedes' navel to move back to his mouth.
a reassuring kiss, there, without prompting: soft, needy, parting palamedes' lips just with the slow shift of his own, for a tongue that wants to taste him, even briefly, to claim that part of him back. )
You can kiss me. ( he says, hushed into the small space he allows, between their lips. ) You can do anything.
( but it does beg the question of anywhere, which is why he smiles, faint and well-kissed, and tilts his head to one side; they're still a little crooked on the bed, and if he wants to go further--lower--then he'll end up sliding off the mattress entirely. his legs bend, a little, a thigh pressed to the mattress, helping slide them a little more properly, a little more straight. )
Roll me over. ( soft, less of a command that it is a suggestion--his mouth dips, a brief kiss, reassuring. ) You can get on top.
no subject
Something to look forward to. He murmurs something quiet and nonsensical between them as Choso shifts, a quip about doing anything far less important than kissing Choso again on the end of it. Briefly he turns his head a fraction, to judge the space between the two of them and the wall, considering the last time.]
You'll have to indulge me in the illusion that I can roll you over, [he says, giving Choso's shoulder a barely-there nudge, for emphasis on how he is not exactly built for it.] So, let's indulge.
[That's all the persuasion it should take, in his opinion, in this moment. He has the new benefit of six extra arms' worth of strength, he quickly finds, the tentacles already wrapped around Choso making him eat his words near instantly with how much easier it is to turn them over like that. Somewhere in the middle he pauses for a beat, set upon involuntarily by the need to scientifically chart how in hell the rest of his body can power these arms, making a face, but he gets past it with a slight shake of his head and pulling himself up to look down at Choso.
Indulgent, just to hover close an extra couple seconds, to appreciate the heat of their mingled breath. Even more so to settle over Choso in stages, dipping to kiss him long and languid, then skin against skin once more, chest to chest; a careful shift of his hips and his thigh slotted between Choso's. The kiss doesn't break so much as slide into something else, as Palamedes angles kisses down to Choso's jawline and neck, soft and slow and affectionate. Warm, and practically adoring as he presses his lips over a fluttering pulse point and trails lower down the line of Choso's throat, attentive to Choso's responses from his breath all the way to his heart rate.
Necromancer perk.]
You're gorgeous, you know, [he says, barely above a whisper, near the dip of a collarbone.] Is there anywhere that's off limits?
[Just let him know; in the meantime he slides lower, hand drifting down to grip Choso's hip and work its way up instead.]
no subject
his eyes round, fluttered, surprised, amused, wanting: it's a different angle entirely when he's the one on his back and palamedes is above him, and one of his hands lifts, in those few, quiet seconds where they hover together--his fingers push, gently guiding some of palamedes' hair away from his cheek, curving it helplessly around an ear. given the angle, it'll just fall back out again. doesn't matter.
every inch of them coming together again slots some kind of pressure, inside of him: a strange feeling, an embarrassing feeling, like his breath is windswept and patchy, like for all the control that he has over his body, he has no control at all when palamedes' lips come into play. down his jaw, along his neck, further still to where it feels like his pulse is pounding itself free from his skin; it takes a rough swallow to even think to focus on the words. to find bashfulness in them, an embarrassed sound that might have been, originally, some kind of polite disagreement, but comes out more wanting than that: it's not wrong to want palamedes to find him attractive, is it? that feels direly important. )
No limits. ( he says, quiet in his throat; his skin jumps a little, hips tightening, thighs threatening to squeeze together--it's ticklish in that strange way, again, where palamedes' hand drifts down and comes back up again. )
You can do anything. ( repeating, for gentle emphasis--not because he thinks palamedes needs to hear it, but because he wants him to know he means it. ) I like it.
( --like you, he thinks to say, then presses his lips against it, closes it into a sigh of breath instead. )
no subject
Palamedes has a good memory; he'll remember. So too will he remember the uneven sound of Choso's breathing and the heat that radiates off his skin, under the affections of his mouth. He's acutely aware, this close, of the way the tension coils through Choso, and with blanket permission to do anything— he wants to feel Choso react more, to memorize the way his muscles move and his hips shift, possessed of the heady desire for more and more and more. To draw these things out of Choso himself, to run his hand up Choso's side and over his chest and back down again, thumb pressing into the dip of his hip while his kisses trail over the taut expanse of his stomach.
I like it, he says, simple as anything; Palamedes hums against his skin, reaches up blindly with his tentacles to patter affectionately against Choso's cheek and neck.]
You know just what to say, [he says, with a hint of a tease; not entirely, because Choso's little reassurances are absolutely doing it for him, but still with that affectionate tease. He presses a kiss open-mouthed next to Choso's navel, relishing the spot with an experimental flick of his tongue, his own breath going ragged and hot against Choso's skin. He's meandered this far and now he lingers, each kiss overlapping the last, dipping lower at a glacial pace. He's gone far enough that his legs are hanging off the bed again, even after all the effort to move, and that matters not at all compared to where he's got his hand and mouth.
The waistband of Choso's pants isn't a deterrent, he kisses that too, and continues his path lower with no change other than pressing his mouth against the fabric. He's not less affectionate, almost reverent in his ministrations, but pausing before he's full-on mouthing against Choso's groin through his pants. Anything is cute, but it's worth it to check in; he leans his cheek against Choso's hip, opposite his hand.]
We don't have to go any further than you want to. This is already perfect. [Earnest; he could keep kissing Choso like this endlessly, he's certain of it.] But if you want to, just say the word.
[And another kiss gets pressed just inside his hip, for reassurance.]
no subject
he's barely even recognized where palamedes has ended up, down near his hips--all the tangled heat makes it hard to know what's just his own thoughts, fueling the stiff press of an erection through his sweatpants, and what's the touch of those lips, the pass of hot breath, the tangible sound of his voice that feels like it goes right through his bones.
embarrassing, really. his eyes squint open, hazy, rimmed with their usual exhaustion--but to see palamedes down there, pressed between his thighs, earns a rough swallow, like he can't quite articulate himself with the sight of it there. his face feels hot; his stomach feels hotter. )
If you go there, do I get to go there, too? ( less important then the permission--already given, in his mind, to the limits of whatever palamedes might want with him--is the promise of being able to touch him, like this, being able to press his mouth up between his thighs and learn what he sounds like when he's there. )
If I want it... ( he starts, stops--one of his hands lifts, pushing a bit of his own hair away from his face; his eyes close, trying to find the words. ) ...Can I want it? I don't want--
( it really is so hard to form the words when palamedes is there, pressed up against his hip, and even glancing down at him, faintly, has his lips twisting up into a bashful smile; he forces himself to let out a breath, his hand coming up to rub down over his face. he's not being very charming, in his mind: he's not being the kind of gallant, handsome, gentlemanly person that he thinks palamedes deserves.
so he tries again, once his hand smooths off his face, after he lets out a breathy, wry sort of chuckle: ) I want you. I'll still want you if you don't want to go any further.
no subject
Choso's first question asked like that makes Palamedes want to squirm all the way back up, hip to hip, and let his body answer it for him. He settles for slipping his hand down to Choso's inner thigh and flattening his palm there, following the shape of muscle through the fabric.
It helps him think, which is to say, he doesn't need to think at all before he answers,] Yes. You can go anywhere.
[He can't help but quirk a little smile alongside that, watching Choso. The urge to reach up and push his hair back for him, to kiss him until all the words he can't get out are pushed from Choso's mouth straight into Palamedes' without the need for pesky words, is a strong one. There is a charm to this, rough and bumbling, and Palamedes enjoys it thoroughly, just as he'll enjoy the inevitability, when Choso doesn't have to ask things like Can I want it? anymore.
Little steps. He says,] Oh, you've already gotten me going. I want you, and you can want as much as you can imagine.
[Another blanket permission to shake off the weight of that Can I?— Palamedes takes his hand up Choso's thigh to slide over his clothed erection, feeling over the shape of him with a gentle pressure, then again with his mouth, dipping his head to lay open-mouthed kisses across fabric.
With two fingers hooking over Choso's waistband, he hums, briefly looking up.]
Shall we both finish undressing together? Now? [a tug,] Lift your hips for me. Then you can get mine.
no subject
likes the way that palamedes' hand moves up over the shape of him, likes the fact that his breath pants out, despite better judgment, when that hand is followed by an open-mouthed kiss--his hand catches some of palamedes' hair, trying not to pull, letting it slip with affection through the curl of his fingers.
maybe embarrassing has never been the right word for it. he's never been bashful about being undressed, but something about being stripped down here, under palamedes' watch, makes him nervous--like maybe he won't like what he sees, in the end, but that's less because he doubts palamedes and more because he doubts himself. so his hips lift, only because there's the promise of getting palamedes stripped down, too, and he wants to look at him: wants to touch him, like he's being touched, and he uses both hands to gently help getting the rise of his waistband down, where palamedes can strip him the rest of the way.
it's different, letting someone else take care of him. he's usually the one looking out for everyone else, and now he's on his back, on a bed that's not his own, left at the mercy of someone who has tugged at his heartstrings a little more than he thinks is probably normal; he's almost painfully attracted, stupidly, and if that isn't human, then he's not sure what is.
with a stubborn breath, not trying to hide anything, he lifts a hand to push some of his own hair aside, raking it back again so that he can then reach with both hands, expectant, out in front of him. )
Your turn. ( and just in case it's necessary, a little petulant hum in his deep voice: ) You said.
no subject
But Palamedes is patient- gentlemanly, even- and true to his word, waiting for Choso to shift his hips before tugging his sweatpants the rest of the way off a little unevenly and nudges them to the floor, a task left to his human hand while his tentacles slide and grope over Choso's exposed thighs. The curve of muscle and bare skin there feels like a secret thing, privileged territory, just as worthy of his undivided attention as Choso's arousal.
Palamedes traces a reverential path there along the junction of thigh and groin, first with human fingers and then with his mouth, shifting his hand to palm over Choso's cock again as his mouth moves higher. Were he less of a gentleman he would ignore Choso reaching for him completely and keep at it, stealing another few seconds of intent focus before he huffs out an amused breath and pushes himself up. Yes, alright - of course. He did say.]
I did. Thank God I have you to keep me honest.
[One of Choso's hands he catches as he sits up further, tilting his head to kiss his palm. He's not entirely sure where to put his legs, settling for a kneeling straddle over one of Choso's thighs. His own arousal is especially evident through his slacks, like this, and he makes an only slightly sheepish face as if to say, see, he wouldn't lie about Choso getting him going, ha ha.
He fiddles one-handed with the button at his waist, an herculean task.]
This was easier with two hands.
[Could he manage it with the tentacles? Sure. Will he be letting go of Choso's thigh? No.]
no subject
dangerous in a good way. dangerous in a way that will get his blood pumping too fast, and he's already keenly aware of where it's all settled, inside of him. too much imagination, paired with all that touching--
the breath he lets out sounds like relief, but it's disappointment, too, some combination of it all; he has to remind himself that the point is to get his hands all over palamedes too, and that reminder earns a quick shift of his gaze, letting it slide, pertinent and pointed, over palamedes as he settles upward. it's a sight that he'll probably remember, later, nights alone in his room: the shift of palamedes' knees, the obvious strain of fabric, that sheepish sort of look that he wants to kiss away.
with a faint smile, just edged on the corner of his lips, he gently bends both of his elbows down, sinking them into the mattress only so that he can push himself to sit up. )
I have two hands. ( low and quiet, matter-of-fact as always: and he doesn't hesitate, warm hands reaching to brush and shoo palamedes' hand away just so that he can get his own there, working open the button, carefully shedding the zipper. the fabric slips a little; his hands round to either hip, thumbs digging in there to peel it all down a little--but with the way he's sitting, with the way palamedes is straddling his thigh, there's not much space for it to do anything but pool around palamedes' thighs.
that's good enough for him. good enough for his chin to tip in, to tilt and tuck his face in near palamedes' neck, lips attached to skin almost immediately--good enough for one arm to wrap around his middle, the other pressing, slipping his hand down near blindly to feel for the length of him, a warm palm and eager, strong fingers that stroke from base to tip without thinking of much of anything except to explore what he can, unpracticed and careful, while he has the almost sneaky chance. )
no subject
Brushed away, Palamedes' hand finds its way into Choso's hair, a loose grip curling into it that somehow doesn't betray the tension in the rest of his body, watching Choso undress him— more or less. Undressed in the way that matters, at least, which is enough. It's the rest of him that feels that tension, a string pulled taut that makes the whole of him twitch slightly in electric surprise when Choso closes in on him. The quiet tenderness of it all remains, but oh!— so much skin against skin, all at once.
He says,] Hey, now, [because he was busy down there, as it were, but it's not even a convincing faux-objection, too warm and fond. He curls his fingers tighter into Choso's hair, hips pressing into the movement of his fingers. He's no more experienced than Choso beyond with his own hands, so even this much- Choso's hands on him, his mouth, the gravitational pull of his eager affection- is enough to dazzle Palamedes. He wants and wants and he's never known how to want holding still, to be, hm, provided for, so he slides one of his tentacle limbs, then another, up from Choso's thigh to brush over the length of him, just barely circling his tip.
It's just that it doesn't hurt to ask, right, even if Choso has been pretty readily accepting of his new limbs so far, so,] Is that alright?
no subject
( --which is to say that he doesn't mind, could never mind, because that arm is a part of palamedes now, and he's already swept himself under the firm belief that any part of palamedes should not only be accepted, but welcomed, warmly, by him. it doesn't bother him, just another touch that he wants, a touch that has his mouth lifting off the side of palamedes' neck to kiss, gently, over the spot where his teeth nearly worried the skin into a red little mark. not that he really minds it, leaving behind that kind of souvenir, but it feels a little presumptuous to assume that it would be wanted without asking.
he doesn't ask. instead, his mouth dedicates itself to climbing up along the side of palamedes' neck, kissing at his jaw, nudging in there with another little mouthed sigh of pleasure; his hand tightens, a firm grip as though to say they'll both have to contend with each other, or find some mutual harmony in the touch, because he doesn't want to let go. wants to feel the way his skin slicks beneath his fingers, the way he learns the length of him by tactile greed alone, and his head nudges back, slowly, brushing them nearly nose to nose. )
Is this alright? ( a gentle echo, as though just to confirm--and to tease, a little, as he lets his wrist find a slow, easy sort of rhythm, paired only with the anticipation of further touch from palamedes' sticky new arm. ) You can just let me help you.
( translated to mean, you can just let me take care of you. )
no subject
And besides, shush, it's gentlemanly to ask. He presses a kiss to Choso's cheek and says,] It's sublime.
[Do not make fun of him (too much) for this. He doesn't answer the other part, sliding one-two-three tentacles down between them to wrap around the length of him instead, in response. Letting Choso take care of him has an appeal, a novelty for someone like himself, who so consistently refuses to put himself first in any number of contexts, but it's an appeal he can put a pin in for another time. Not now, when he's so selfish-greedy-impatient to touch Choso, and maybe he doesn't say any of that directly because he knows how silly it sounds, to call his desire to give pleasure selfish.
So he doesn't say any of that; more than anything he wants to feel Choso beneath him, to learn the ways his body reacts and commit each one to perfect, crystalline memory. Those details he's very intent on, as well as the many new ways he can use his tentacle arm to coax more soft sounds and heated breaths out of Choso like this alone. The tentacles curl around him in their own rhythm, a firm pressure that coils from base to tip and detaches one at a time to start over.
Tilting his head again, he kisses the corner of Choso's mouth, unable to help grinning.]
This one is cheating, [he'll concede, a tease of his own; he's not had the arm long, but it's been long enough to come up with myriad ideas that need thorough testing.]