Work Text:
“I can’t believe he did that.”
Aoi’s sour mood is palpable. Her emerald eyes glow in the night, her white tail lashing behind her as she sits before the fire. Alisaie and Alphinaud sit across from her, Wuk Lamat at her side. Erenville sat in the corner, head down and focused on a thick, dusty tome. Lamaty’i’s ears flickered, head tilting to the side as she attempted to analyze the anger rolling off her companion in waves.
“Why the long face? It’s a competition! Friend or sibling, of course they won’t simply hand us the win.” A warm paw claps Aoi’s back, unbothered by her icy cold skin. Her warm laughter echoes in the evening air, and normally the sound would fill her compatriots’ hearts with that same joy, that same warm humor. For once she’s met with sympathetic stares, further fueling her curiosity.
“It’s not that simple, Wuk Lamat,” Alphinaud begins, mulling over his words carefully. “Aoi and Thancred…” You’d think that acting as the Scions’ diplomatic front man would have prepared the young Elezen for situations such as these, but for once he was truly at a loss for words.
“The two are to be wed in the near future,” Alisaie finished in her brother’s stead, moving to sit beside the Au Ra, offering a reassuring shoulder. “It’s not too late to call off the wedding, I must add.” Her hackles were on end, much to Wuk and Alphinaud’s amusement. Ever the guardian of the Warrior of Light’s heart, she couldn’t find a single good reason for Thancred to act the way he did today, competitive spirit or no.
Caught off guard by the revelation, Wuk sat back and stared at the sky above. Kozama’uka’s night sky was clear, littered with sparkling stars overhead. A cool breeze rustled the leaves overhead, and when they settled, she let out a soft laugh.
“I’m sorry for not noticing earlier, friend. I understand your frustrations a bit more now.” She smiles, fangs glimmering in the firelight. “Perhaps we should pay him and my brother a visit?”
Alphinaud shoots forward, stepping between the trio of plotting women and raises his hands. Exasperation permeates him to the very core as he lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.
“I think we should continue with the trials as planned.” It’s as if he’s telling them what to do. When in reality he’s pleading with the troublemakers of the group to behave. The Elezen even casts a pleading look Erenville’s way, to which the Viera merely shrugs and returns his attention to his tome. Aoi can’t help but smile then, leaning back on her hands and relishing in the moment.
How long had it been since she could just exist? Push Alphinaud’s buttons, plot with Alisaie, and truly enjoy the night sky with no lingering star-ending calamity eating away at her? She laughs, the sound catching everyone’s attention.
“You’re right Alphinaud. Although you really ought to lighten up lest you get wrinkles. You already have white hair; you don’t want to become your father’s spitting image already, do you?” The Elezen stumbles over his words, cheeks as red as the tips of the Au Ra’s hair. The other two laugh, loud and boisterous, as the earlier tension disappears with the oncoming breeze.
For another hour, the group continues to share stories across the fire. The twins speak of Sharlayan, their family, their past. Wuk Lamat speaks of her people, her aspirations. And Aoi simply listens, emerald eyes sparkling as she takes it all in.
“We best be getting to bed,” Alphinaud stretches his arms above his head, nodding to the tents on the outskirts of the campsite. “We’ll have another long day ahead of us.”
“I’ll be staying awake a while longer. I’d like to take a walk under the stars,” Aoi says, brushing the dust off her skirt and nodding towards the surrounding forest. “I won’t be long. Although I imagine you’ll be snoring loud enough to wake any nearby slumbering beasts. I’ll keep an eye out for those while I walk.”
Alisaie’s laughter fades as she leaves the illuminated circle around the fire, the temperature dropping slightly as the cold night air embraces her. The Au Ra is silent as she walks, no particular destination in mind. That is, at least, until she senses a familiar warmth not far away. A smile tugs at her lips as she gets low, stalking closer to her love. Perhaps she had been subconsciously hunting him down since their earlier encounter, her subtle irritation her guiding key.
Taking a steadying breath, she tiptoes towards flickering firelight a few yalms away. Thancred, Urianger, and Koana sit around the smoking wood, mugs in their hands or at their sides. The older men are bantering, and it almost seems as if they’re teasing the younger Miqo’te as laughter floats through the night air. It warms Aoi’s heart, but she shakes her head, reminding herself yet again that she is mad at her fiancé.
And now is the perfect time to take revenge.
There are two tents set up not far away. Lucky for her, they are opposite the fire and the conversation, and she’s able to sneak amongst the shrubbery and plants to the canvas tents with ease. It doesn’t take much to figure out where Thancred is staying, what with the subtle tug coming from everything that is his. Just as she slips inside, she hears her fiancé splutter and the Au Ra goes stock still.
“You’re engaged to the Warrior of Light? And you sent a barrage of rocks down upon her head?” Koana’s disbelief is palpable, and Aoi can’t help the smug feeling that overtakes her. “I asked you both to accompany me because you’re smart, not because you’re a reckless fool!”
The Miqo’te groans, and the black-haired woman can practically picture him putting his head in his hands. She bites back a laugh, instead beginning to pick through her lover’s belongings in search of what she came for. Deftly digging through his pack, a surge of triumph washes over her as she finds the small satchel of aether-enhanced bullets tucked in the depths of the leather bag. The exact bullets she had personally enhanced for her. So they’re practically hers as well, right?
“Thou worry too much.” Urianger’s voice is reassuring, but there’s a hint of amusement lacing his every word. “Thancred is intimately familiar with the Warrior of Light. I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything to harm their relationship.”
Even without seeing him Aoi knew the tips of Thancred’s ears were tinged pink. It was a charm point of his, his weakness to Urianger’s prodding and teasing. And it was so cute. But she would not be swayed, not by his puppy dog eyes, or his soft lips, or the sound of his laugh. No. Aoi was mad, and she would stay mad until he offered her a proper apology. And perhaps a while after as well.
Tucking the small satchel into one of the many pouches hanging from her belts, she slipped back out of the tent and back into the dark forest. Pausing at the edge of the clearing, she glances at the trio, heart skipping a beat and eyes widening. The moonlight illuminated Thancred’s jaw, his eyes warm and glowing in the firelight. Kami did she love him but preserve his idiocy. Turning her back, she moves to walk away when he opens his mouth to speak.
“Aye, I know her well. But I’m never afraid to admit I’m a fool.” Aoi rests her hand atop the pouch that holds his bullets. “She means everything to me, and I’d be a fool to chase her off with this silly contest.” The Hyur looks skyward, gaze softening as he takes in the countless stars above.
“But I know that somewhere, we’re both looking up at the same sky. Thinking of one another and longing to see each other.” He directs that smile at his companions.
An inkling of doubt blossoms in Aoi’s chest. If she were to take these bullets, it would put him at a great disadvantage, and a higher risk of being harmed. The Au Ra hesitates, ready to bolt back to her fiancé’s tent before he should notice his bullets missing.
“I’m quite the poet, aren’t I?”
Any sense of doubt and regret evaporates at the sound of his booming laughter.
“You’re ridiculous. And just when I thought you two were capable of masterful advice…” Koana groans, rising from his seat. “It’s best we get some rest.”
Aoi is gone before they douse the fire, sneaking back to her allies, heart racing. The rest are all asleep, thankfully, and she’s able to ease into her own tent and fall into a deep slumber with no issue. Her sleep was dreamless, a warm darkness enveloping her as the night came and went. It felt as if only a few moments had passed before Alisaie stumbled into Aoi’s tent bleary-eyed to wake her up.
“What are those?” The younger woman asked, squinting at the leather satchel laying beside Aoi’s head with confused familiarity, as if squinting just a little harder would grant a sudden epiphany.
“I went and borrowed them from Thancred last night.” Aoi’s voice is smooth, and she barely manages to bite back a grin as she meets wide blue eyes. The two giggle amongst themselves, Alphinaud stepping out of his tent just before the Au Ra can hide the satchel in her own pack. He sighs.
“You ought to return those to him, Aoi. He needs them for combat.” Alphinaud’s voice is laced with concern, eyes flickering between the Warrior of Light and the satchel of aether-laced cartridges at her side.
“I simply want something to remind me of my fiancé, that’s all!”
“A maiden is allowed these things, brother. It’s just a way of showing how much she loves him! Surely you do not wish for her to spend all this time apart from him with nothing to keep her company.” Alisaie’s eyes glint with mischief as she smiles up at the black-haired Au Ra beside her.
Alphinaud sighs, eyes zeroing in on the diamond ring glinting in the sunlight. It would be pointless to argue with these two, especially when they were in one of their ‘yes and’ moods. Of that he was painfully aware.
“Good morning!” Wuk Lamat’s voice cuts through the playful air, her voice charged with energy. “We’ve got another long day of exploring ahead of us. Are we ready to set out?”
The next few days passed in a blur. Wuk Lamat overcame each trial, slowly but surely bringing her closer to the throne of the Dawn Servant. Along the way, they had run into Koana, Thancred, and Urianger again and again. Yet they never spent enough time together where she could properly air her frustrations with her fiancé. And he seemed content to send apologetic glances her way whenever he could, never toeing the line to give a proper verbal apology. Alisaie swore the man had no brains inside his head, and Erenville and Alphinaud could only offer sympathetic smiles of their own. But the next trial would not wait, no matter the tempestuous feelings swirling within Aoi, and so they continued on.
The destination of their next trial was Yak Y’el. The sun had just reached its peak as they stepped into the city center, spirits high and ready for whatever challenge awaited them. It turns out that they were well overdue for a round of cooperation with some of their competitors, and much to Aoi’s delight, Wuk Lamat and Koana would be teaming up this time around. The mission? To recreate the local dish known as Xibruq Pibil. They split to question the townsfolk, all of them eager yet unable to fully explain how to make the dish. Aoi couldn’t help but smile as she went from person to person, their willingness to assist Lamaty’i despite their obvious inhibitors bringing a smile to her face.
Yet a rather troublesome shadow seemed to be pursuing her as she maneuvered throughout the city. Eyes sparkling, she rounded the corner towards what she could only assume was a dead end, crossing her arms as she awaited those familiar footsteps.
“I thought we were gathering information, dove?”
“And I did, if you didn’t notice.” The Au Ra saunters closer, draping her arms around her fiancé’s neck, teeth glinting in the low light. “Are your eyes failing you? Or perhaps your ears?”
Thancred smiles against her lips, unable to hold himself back. His hands loosely gripping her hips and pulling her close. Kami, what she wouldn’t give to feel his skin against her own, to feel so full and content. The allure of having him bend her over here and now was not lost on either of them, evident by the growing hardness grinding against her exposed thigh. It had been an eternity, it seemed, since they last were together like this. The feel of his lips, soft and all-encompassing and nowhere near enough, nearly causes the irritation that had been bubbling up the last few days slowly eating away at her, to fade to the back of her mind. But as his hands roam, moving to squeeze her ass beneath her skirt, Aoi pulls back with a frown.
“I’m still mad at you.” The Au Ra says it as if he’s supposed to know what he did wrong (and he should), and she is met with a blank look in his silver eyes. Huffing, she shimmies out of his grasp and saunters towards the open end of the alley. Stunned and speechless, Thancred merely watches as she disappears into the city to gather more information.
“We’ve been looking for hours, Aoi. I’m sure someone else has found some banana leaf by now.” Thancred leans against a nearby tree, wiping the sweat from his brow. “We should head back and regroup.”
“Eager to rid yourself of me that soon? I’m hurt, love.”
Thancred sighs, pushing off the rough tree trunk, wrapping his arms around her waist. She grunts, the sticky feeling of his sweat and grim covered fingers sending a shudder down her spine. Calloused fingers tease at the tease of exposed flesh beneath her corset. A breathy sigh escapes the Au Ra’s lips as she leans into his touch, her tail winding around his thigh and pulling him closer.
“You know that’s not the case,” Thancred urges, but it’s difficult to take him seriously when he’s grinding against her leg like an animal in heat. “They, ah, might send a search party if we take much longer.”
Aoi’s responding grin is feral and her emerald eyes are practically glowing beneath the dense foliage overhead. The Hyur’s heart skips a beat, his palms sweaty from where they grip at her ass.
“Alisaie will make sure we’re left undisturbed for as long as necessary. She insisted I…what was it again? Make sure you learn your lesson.” Her teeth graze along the length of his neck, never quite giving him the pressure, the feeling he longed for. A shudder runs down his back.
“Twelve be good.” It’s nothing more than a breathy moan, the two of them tumbling towards a nearby tree. Yet before he could cage her against the wooden confines of the trunk Aoi slips out from his grasp, humming to herself as she points towards a nearby clearing.
“I don’t think we’ve looked over there yet.”
She’s practically skipping, his eyes zeroing in on the comically, incredibly alluring, terribly distracting skirt that leaves little to the imagination. His cock throbs from the confines of his pants, an irritated growl building in his throat. Then he remembers the real reason why he asked to be alone with her and bites his tongue. Shaking his head, he gently grabs hold of her wrist and anchors her in place.
“My cartridges,” he beings, voice a low rumble in his chest, “I know you have them.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Aoi’s response is sing-song, eyes glittering with mirth. “And here I thought you just wanted to spend some time with me. Some fiancé you are.” And she pouts, lips jutting out, so inviting and tantalizing that Thancred has to remind himself to be serious.
“Aoi, you know that’s-“
“You really know how to hit a girl where it hurts.” She shrugs, clasping her hands behind her back and kicking at the grassy floor below.
Hunched over like that, she looks so small, so sad. That is, until she pulls the small satchel of cartridges from one of the many pouches on her belts, smirking as she holds them above her head.
“Come and get them, love.”
On instinct he lunges forward. Being so much taller than the Au Ra you’d think he would have the advantage, but her lithe form easily slips away. In a flash she sprints away, laughing back at him.
“You’ll have to catch me if you want them!”
Upon seeing her smile and the flashes of her legs beneath her skirt as she sprints, his cock jolts. Thancred groans, dragging a calloused hand down the length of his face as he gives chase.
The two run. And run. And run.
It was a game of tag where Aoi would always be the winner. Thancred’s breath leaves him in pants as he gives chase, his lover not far ahead of him. Laughter, bright and clear and happier than he’d heard from her in moons, echoed through the forest. He couldn’t help but laugh along with her as he closed in.
“You’re mine!”
He pounces, bringing them both to the ground. A hand braces behind black and red hair, cushioning her fall as he straddles her waist. The two lay there for a moment, panting and dripping sweat. Simply looking one another in the eye.
“That took you longer than I thought it would.”
“Aye, you’re just too swift for me, dove.”
Triumph surges through Thancred. Eager to claim his prize, he reaches for the hand splayed at her side only to freeze. Her skirt hiked up, exposing her scales and thighs to the cool air. Her panties, lacey and red (his favorite pair), practically waved up at him, beckoning him. Urging him to take her, to give her what she deserved.
“Is this for me?” His voice is husky, one hand moving to hold her wrists above her head while the other slides down her thigh. Calloused fingers trace the inside of her thigh, relishing Aoi’s breathy sigh. She lifts her hips, silently begging him for more, to touch her exactly where she needed him.
“Good girls use their words.” Aoi laughs. Leaning up to press a kiss to the center of his throat.
“I thought we agreed I was a bad girl?”
“You’ll need to be punished then.” Her eyes practically lit up at that, teeth grazing her bottom lip.
Making quick work of removing her panties, Thancred slides his fingers between her folds, clicking his tongue as he feels just how wet she is. He presses gentle kisses along the scales on her neck.
“You’re so wet, dove. Were you waiting for this? To be pinned to the forest floor and fucked silly?” Aoi merely whimpers, bucking her hips. Tail wrapping around his torso in an attempt to pull him closer. More, she needs more, wants more.
“Thancred, I—” A moan cuts her off as one of Thancred’s thick fingers slide home, gently pumping in and out. Her hips move in rhythm, her moans accentuating every thrust. He smirks.
“There you go,” he coos, nuzzling against her neck. Her slick coated his hand, soaking through the fabric of her skirt. Every moan was perfect, her pink lips flushed and parted open to expose her fangs. “Look at you, so obedient when there’s something you want.”
Aoi wants to bite back, to argue that she was still mad at him and that he needed to apologize. But his fingers curved just right and hit that spot within her, stars exploding behind her eyes. She came then and there, panting as her back arched off the forest floor. Her nails dug into the dirt, Thancred having released her to lean back on his haunches, drinking in her flushed and pleasure drunk face.
“You’re gorgeous.” There’s a click as he removes his belt, pulling his pants and underwear down just far enough for his cock to spring free. Precum leaked from the tip, the head red and angry as he took it in hand. “Tell me, good girl, do you want my cock? Do you want me to fuck you?”
“Thancred please,” exasperation drips from her every word, her nails digging into the fabric of his coat as her tail pulls him impossibly closer. “I need you inside me now.”
“Ask and you shall receive.” He’s smirking, dragging the head of his cock along her folds, tapping it against her clit once, twice, for good measure. Her frustrated moan sends a jolt through his body, and he slides inside in one clean thrust. Aoi’s chest brushes against his own, her walls clamping around him.
Thancred laughs, brushing her hair from her face. “Did you come already? You missed me that much, hm?”
“Fuck me,” she manages between pants, her hips already rolling against his own. Always happy to please his love, Thancred does as instructed.
The lewd sound of skin on skin, of their pants and moans, float through the forest. Anyone and everyone could tell what they were up to if they were to hear it, and the thought nearly brought the Au Ra over the edge yet again.
Thancred’s hand slips beneath her silky black hair, cupping the back of her head and pulling her in for a kiss. His teeth nip and suck at her bottom lip, Aoi laughing as she opens her mouth for him. The Hyur’s free hand slips beneath her back, lifting her up so that she was instead straddling his waist. The new position caused his cock to hit deeper, every thrust hitting that spongy spot right beneath her clit.
“Thancred, I’m—”
“Come for me, dove.” His voice cracks, sweat dripping down his temple as he pistons his hips up into her. Aoi’s voice is like a symphony as she comes undone, the feeling of her walls clamping down around him brings him to the edge as well. Hot and sticky cum explodes within her, painting her walls as he stills within her.
Thancred presses gentle kisses to her temple, her cheeks, her nose, his breathing uneven as he takes in her disheveled form.
“You’re beautiful.” Aoi laughs, leaning into him.
“You said that already.”
“It doesn’t make it any less true, hm?” Another kiss and he’s gently hoisting her off of him, pressing a teasing kiss to her inner thigh before rising. He makes quick work of fixing his clothes, contemplating the cum dripping down Aoi’s thighs. She grimaces at the feeling, putting her own small clothes back in place and shifting on her feet.
“As payback for stealing these,” he says, hoisting the satchel of cartridges above her head, “you’ll have something else to remember me by. Is that a fair trade?”
“I can always steal them back.” Teeth flash, emerald eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Aye. I’ll hold you to that, dove. Let’s rejoin the others now, shall we? Too bad we’ll get back empty handed.”
The Au Ra walks ahead of him, glancing back over her shoulder. Her smile was as radiant as the sun, her earlier frustration seemingly gone with the wind.
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Alphinaud lingers at the edge of the forest, hand hovering over her linkpearl. He glances back at the group, all the necessary ingredients gathered and prepped, and bites his lip. Would it be wise to call them now?
“I wouldn’t if I were you.” Erenville, of all people, stepped to his side, ears flicking towards the shaded forest beyond. “They seem, ah, preoccupied, you might say.”
“Oh.”