Chapter 55: A Promise Kept

Joseph calmed down after a few minutes of holding Pan and Violet, the initial rush from reading her sign slowing enough for him to think properly. He wiped the bleary remains of his reaction from his eyes, the damp mist in the moonlight doing little to dry them.

“I’m home, sweetheart. I’m home.”

He noticed the raised eyebrows of the three of his pack that had come to greet him in his return, but figured that they knew why he would have had such a strong reaction to the message based on the more pointed curiosity on their faces. He was going to question why they were looking at him like that before remembering that they could easily distinguish the mark that Tel had left on him. Save for Jax, but Harrow seemed to have filled him in while the Human was having his moment.

The Grand Hunter shook his head with a grimace. “We’ll talk about it later. Some shit happened.”

They seemed doubtful, but Jax nudged Harrow with an air of victory. The female jabbed the male in the ribs in return with an expression of defiance. Looks like they placed a bet and needed him to confirm who won. It could wait.

Nalah looked behind him expectantly once she had accepted that he wasn’t going to mention the elephant in the room, her eyes searching for more beyond his arrival. He smiled when she looked to him.

“She’s with Tel arranging everyone. We have some new additions that need to be caught up on what to expect here.”

The planner eased, nodding softly despite the obvious dissatisfaction with the delay. Harrow spoke up next to Jax. “You missed a lot while you were gone.”

Joseph laughed, stroking Pan softly as her pawing grew weaker. “Yeah, a shitload happened on our end too. I think we should wait until tomorrow to talk though.”

“Why?”

He tilted his head to gesture to his mate, the latter’s breath slowing greatly as she lay relaxed in his arms. “I’m pretty sure she just fell asleep, and honestly, I’m not far from it myself. I’ve been sleeping on damn dirt most of the trip and i would really like to pass out in a bed again.”

Jax laughed, walking up to pat him on the shoulder. “Go rest, Grand Hunter. We will celebrate your arrival when you awake.”

He nodded, feeling the trip wear on him heavily now that he had reached his destination. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Tel and Sahari will help you guys sort out what we brought. Don’t worry about the details yet. It waited until now and it can wait an extra day.”

He stood up, noticing that Pan must have been in the bath when she heard of his arrival and hurried without getting dressed, a towel clinging to her form. He made sure to accommodate it when he picked her up, her body light and comfortable in his arms. He smiled at her sleeping face, a small chuckle given when he noticed her paws still attached to him as if to keep him close. He looked down to his adoptive daughter, the Atmo rocking side to side in excitement of his return.

“Come on, Vi, I think it’s a little too crappy for you to be out here and i need to sleep.”

Violet produced a tablet to display, though this one was written in the mind-numbing script of the Lilhuns. He chuckled and shook his head.

“Okay, I’m helping you with that. I can’t even look at Lilhun without my head hurting.”

Harrow patted his shoulder fondly as Jax and Nalah exited the gate to meet up with the caravan he left behind. “I’m glad you’re back, Joe.”

He smiled at his friend, appreciation for an affable face warming his expression. “Thanks, Harrow. It’s good to be back. I’ll head in now, maybe grab a bath before crashing. We’ll catch up tomorrow, alright?”

She gave him a nod and a light punch. “I’ll be waiting. Rest well.”

With a return of the phrase, he walked past all the work that the pack had put into the settlement, keeping his eyes focused on the sleeping Lilhun in his arms so as not to ruin the unveiling of what they had accomplished in his absence while Violet silently followed, her footsteps muted by the dirt. All he wanted to do at the moment was to wash off the grime and cuddle the hell out of his fluffy body-pillow of a girlfriend while ignoring the other things that would need to be discussed once everyone was more awake.

He felt guilty knowing that he would need to relay his and Tel’s current relationship. Or rather, the nebulous state that it remained in until him and Pan could discuss things. It itched at him to apologize and beg to be forgiven, but she seemed receptive enough and the society they functioned in made the arrangement a rather common one. The only outliers in the situation was his sensibilities and Tel’s personal beliefs that she was willing to bend to accommodate him.

He wished Violet goodnight as they neared their rooms, his arms occupied and unable to return the hug she imparted upon him, though she didn’t seem to mind and was just happy he had returned. He entered his room and found it pretty much the same as he had left it, minus a small collection of fabrics stacked onto his desk and a less orderly pile laid in the corner. It gave him a small smile that Pan seemed to have done some work for him while he was gone, but he wanted to wait and see her show them to him herself so that he could enjoy the process more.

He laid the cuddling female on the bed, the dampness of her fur causing him to frown. It probably wasn’t the best idea to leave her soaked through like this.

Deciding to grab a quick yet thorough shower and then return with a spare towel to help her dry off, he released her, failing to step away when her grip tightened enough to actually prick his skin through his armour. Her sleeping face was marred by distress when he tried to separate, her eyes hesitantly opening with fear when he worked her paws off of him.

“Don’t leave.”

His chest pained, a similar phrase having left his mouth when he worried that his pack would disperse before the whole ‘Grand Hunter’ arrangement they had settled into. He laid his hand to her cheek, softly stroking the damp fur. “I’m just going to get a shower and grab you a new towel. You’ll want to dry off before you sleep through the night.”

She reached out to grip his arm. “I’ll go too.”

“Uh...” He blinked, his cheeks turning slightly red. “You want to bathe with me?”

Her grasp tightened, a firm nod with steadfast eyes was given. He scratched at his neck, mentally shrugging. They had gotten pretty close to more than simply seeing each other naked, it was a little immature of him to give a shit about it by now. Not like Sahari and Mi’low didn’t get a damn eye-full on the trip. Not to mention Harrow getting a look a while back when she barged into his showering.

“You sure you’re okay to do that? You kind of passed out back there.”

She gave him a pleading look.

He sighed, a small smile forming under his tired eyes. “Alright. Do you want help doing your fur?”

“That has been done,” she replied with a shake of her head. She secured her towel as she worked her way to her feet with a little assistance from him, snaking her arm around his own like he would wander off if she didn’t keep contact. It was a cute display, one that she noticed his amusement over as she gave him such a warm and loving smile that he felt his heart skip as he returned his own.

They entered the baths after a quick check that it was unoccupied, himself quickly removing his armour and coat, hesitating when it came to the fairly worn out garbage he thought of as clothing.

Soft clicks of claws on the floor came from behind him, two paws resting on his sides. He glanced over his shoulder with a questioning look, but the fondness in her eyes wiped away any complaints he might have had with the situation. She lifted off his shirt, a little assistance being required due to the height disparity, and placed her paw to his back, her pads tracing over his spine with a gentle touch.

He turned around, his eyes wandering lower as he noticed the fur hugging her curvature without a towel to cover it and her returned subdued enthusiasm at soaking in his visage. She reached for his jeans, his belt snapping when she applied even the lightest pressure.

A moment of silence prevailed until his bursting laughter was mirrored by her, the two taking a second to muse the timing of the wardrobe failure. The subtle tension left them as they calmed back down, their eyes meeting with nothing other than pure affection. Her paw rested on his chest, him leaning down to oblige to the silent request.

The tender kiss was one sorely missed by him, it devoid of more than the desire to express themselves in a way beyond words. The slow separation and lingering look brought a smile firmly to his face, dispelling all but appreciation he felt for his mate.

His eyes shot open with surprise when he felt his pants drop with a snap in one motion, all while she sheepishly smirked at him without breaking eye contact, a single claw held up in explanation. He felt the flush return, but cycled a breath to huff in amusement.

Naked, and now somewhat self-conscious in light of the situation, he kicked away the clothing and quickly pulled Pan along to soak them both in the shower, the Lilhun giggling all the while.

“You have no idea how much i missed hot water,” he half-mumbled as he worked his fingers through his hair, trying his best to ignore his lack of coverage with Pan taking the opportunity to fetch him some body wash and shampoo.

“Did you have much opportunity to bathe on your trip?” She handed him the shampoo first, to which he stepped aside for a moment and lathered it into his scalp.

“Long story for a short answer. I’ll go over the details when we debrief everyone, but no, not really. A couple of crappy showers in the rain, but nothing that felt this nice.”

He felt Pan spread the body wash over his back, causing him to open an eye to watch her satisfied expression as she tended to her self-imposed task. “Then i will ensure you enjoy it all the more.”

His thoughts blanked as his mind jumped to the logical extreme, Pan pausing in response. Well, it was nice for a while to be able to pretend that he wasn’t getting turned on by something. That list seemed to be expanding more and more as he spent time with the Lilhuns, or more specifically, Harrow, Tel, and Pan. Sahari was more traditionally attractive to his instincts, so at least he wasn’t learning anything new from her.

His mate’s scrubbing grew more exploratory, the sensation of her claws lightly dragging over his skin a mix of exciting and soothing. She also got an odd itch in the process when he noticed it.

Perk of a bond, he supposed. Perfect back scratches.

He rinsed off the suds after getting most of his front, enjoying the sensation of cleanliness for the first time in quite a while. Pan rested against him, her wet fur feeling silky against his body. He wrapped his arms around her and lingered in the embrace until she lightly pushed off of him to walk over to the bath, her hips purposely swaying heavily along with her tail. He blinked away the daze the sight had pushed him into and finished up the hygienic routine.

Rinsing off the final lather, he turned to the bath to see her resting her chin on crossed arms as she scanned his form from the tub, a passing thought of embarrassment and inadequacy crossing his mind before he shook off the worry to join her.

The submerged ledge he sat on was a bit lower than Pan could comfortably use next to him, prompting her to choose his lap as a riser as opposed to simply soaking in the warmth as he expected her to do. The softness on his thighs when he shifted himself closer to the edge of the seat to allow a more cozy experience felt reassuring instead of uncomfortable, her weight too low to cause any particular discomfort due to his legs digging into the edge of the shelf or such.

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Her tail wrapped around his waist as she leaned against him, her head tucking easily under his chin. He placed his arms around her stomach, his fingers idly playing with her fur as her breath deepened with the ease in her expression.

They remained still for a while, the gentle rise and fall of the water pleasant to experience.

“I was worried that something happened,” Pan eventually confessed, her paws placing themselves on his hands. He gave her a squeeze.

“A lot happened, honestly. Right now though? Now, I’m acting as a chair for my girlfriend.” He lazily chuckled. “It’s surprisingly comfortable.”

She wiggled on his lap to adjust herself when he leaned back further, the pumping of his heart growing heavier in response. His touch grew light, his fingertips tracing upwards from the scar he could barely notice on her stomach. The weight of the same loss as him. Her breathing deepened, the encompassing hold around his waist from her tail tightening as his hand reached her chest.

Her paw forced his hand down onto her breast with a fair bit of force, the firm yet soft give familiar in his palm, but also foreign in nature. Her fur covered the difference from their peak to the base, her clothing pressing the disparity to a barely noticeable variation. The proportions he could enjoy the sensation of was far from the otherwise restrained presentation she seemed to naturally generate.

She wasn’t as buxom as Sahari, but the overall result was very much comparable given her considerably smaller frame. The way his fingers sunk into the springy flesh stoked the desire to discover more. To memorize and claim every inch of her. A drive that Pan seemed to instantly pick up on, the female reaching up to caress his neck when his other hand palmed the opposite breast with purpose.

She giggled, a deeper exhale given as her back arched in time with his testing compression, her rear grinding against his groin as a consequence.

The effect was mild, yet instantaneous. He felt his lust growing and concentrating to the new sensation below. The stimulation increasing with his excitement. Pan paused, her wide and sweeping movements centring along his length, her eyes losing focus as she tested how she affected him.

The somewhat predicted feel was proven incorrect, it being much closer to what he was used to than his hypothesized complications. Due to her fur and smaller form, he had never laid eyes on the current object of his desire, but the moment proved that there was less compatibility issues than he might have feared.

His brief exposure to Harrow’s intimacy when he had walked in on her mounting Jax reassured him that the act would theoretically work, the positioning and form of all the important bits was close enough that he wouldn’t have questioned it if it was a depiction of the more esoteric pairings that existed in Human media, but there was still some doubt and trepidation to commit, lest there be a critical incompatibility to sour the event.

His curiosity conquered all else, his hand wandering to her lowest to confirm his suspicions with his touch. A paw stopped his attempt at exploration, a drunken smile from Pan meeting his confusion.

“Dry off and wait for me in our room.”

He returned the smirk, himself barely holding to reason. “Have something in mind?”

She turned her head to kiss him, parting before it could proceed further as the flush overtook her and a bashful expression won out against her confidence. “I do.”

He released her with a faux annoyance to his expression, rising out of the water as she eyed him far more intensely now, herself following after a second. He grabbed a towel, tossing a spare to Pan as he worked off the moisture clinging to his skin. He finished off the last of it, leaning against the far wall for a second to wipe off his feet when he noticed Pan sneak up to him. A paw pressed him against him support, another gripping his manhood playfully, his heart thumping powerfully in response. His breath hitched as she gave it a couple slow strokes, her voice lacquered with desire. “I will be in shortly. Could i ask for you to close your eyes while you wait?”

He swallowed, the sensation on his lower novel and gentle, yet stoking his need all the same. “I can do that.”

She pulled him, their lips meeting as her hold on him tightened for a moment, each motion drawing his focus before she released him entirely. A gesture to be on his way was heeded, a towel was wrapped around his waist with a frown and a slight hope that no one would see the tent he was pitching on his way across the hall.

Sahari and Mi’low may have seen him nude, but they haven't seen... Well, it was cold and he was panicking. Given the lack of mocking look on either female, he could at least rest easy on that front, he supposed. Confusion was also mostly non-existent, so that helped his expectations of how the night would go.

He exited, a quick check of the hallway was followed by a swift transfer to his room with the door clicking softly behind him. He was excited in more ways than one, Pan’s insinuated surprise for him sparking his curiosity and her receptive reactions to his advances leaving him almost painfully ready.

He had spent the better part of three weeks riding the experience of a promised session with her, and Tel spending much of their trip going out of her way to ensure that he was thinking about releasing his tension as much as possible. Pair all of that with him struggling to get a moment alone and he was damn near ready to jump Pan when she so much as looked at him right. Every cell in his body demanded that he act on the urge she had reignited, but he repressed it in favour of seeing what Pan had in store.

He laid back on the bed, arms behind his head while he waited, taking in the softness of a large pelt that likely belonged to a mono-deer and the fabric sheet resting on top of it. He mused the difficulty of making such a large covering for the bed as he faintly heard the air-dryer in the baths activate. Pan must have wanted to speed up the process as much as she could, not that he was of any different mind about it.

It wasn’t a very long wait, and his imagination did the work of keeping himself raring to go, but the opening and closing of the door he had been waiting for couldn’t have come sooner. The entrance was accented by a somewhat self-conscious voice from his mate. “You can look now.”

He opened his eyes to see her in new attire. The shirt supporting her breasts with thin leathers that cupped them, emphasizing her size, and a lengthy secondary fabric draped from the lowest band below her bosom. It struck him as a pretty fashionable top back on Earth, and it did wonders for her usually unassuming appearance.

It was the pants that made him take a second look.

They were similar to Tel’s leggings, the waist disappearing under the loose fabric of the shirt and the rest continuing to her knee. The point that caught his interest was the missing crotch, though the legs were secured around like there was supposed to be a cover piece in the middle.

She sensed his approval, and quite possibly seen it given his current lack of modesty, but she stood straighter, doing a small spin to showcase the point where the leg of her pants rejoined under her rear. It framed everything perfectly, in his opinion. He knew that she had a great backside, the pure leg exercises she often did, mixed with her kick-focused fighting style, had toned every muscle from her core to her feet, but the partial exposure left nothing to the imagination and stifled her fur’s attempt to cover her assets.

He didn’t have much of a chance to pick his jaw off the floor when she bent over, her tail cheekily covering the important parts and showing exactly how accessible she would be while wearing them. The contrast burned his blood.

He stood with a smile, Pan righting herself and raising her arms to accept his embrace. He surprised her by lifting her up, letting himself grip her by her rear and drawing an amused yelp as his fingers embedded themselves into her plentiful flesh. Her gaze was wet and wanting, his own likely the same. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a light kiss upon his lips, it growing deeper and more lustful as time went on.

Emboldened, and more than a little curious, he turned to place her on the bed, the Lilhun accepting the parting with heavy breaths, her tail covering herself sheepishly as he backed up.

He smirked, his hand resting on her knee and slowly travelling to her centre. “Embarrassed?”

She flushed a deeper pink, averting her eyes and placing her paw over her muzzle with a nod. He laughed warmly, leaning in to nibble at her neck with teasing bites as he neared his goal. A muted mewling intensified as he passed his touch around her womanhood, noting that her fur shortened as it closed in on her sex, though maintained the rich and lavish texture. The slight mound easily gave way to his manipulations, the heat being generated warming his fingers without doing more than testing his assumptions.

Satisfied that the exterior met his expectations, he carefully pressed but one of his digits against her parting, it quickly accepting the intrusion with a slick welcome. Another box checked. Looks like those areas of worry were going to work just fine.

He felt along the satin skin, noting the structure while his instincts roared in approval. It was a bit different, with very little being dedicated to more than the act itself, but in a way it felt perfectly natural to him, the modest newness at his fingertips fuelling his desire to experience it fully. He pressed into her opening with no resistance, Pan’s gasp fuelling his desire to test everything he could think of.

He memorized her texture, feeling an oddity a short distance within that seemed to have a great effect on her once he played with it. A ring of muscle within, though it wouldn’t impede anything as far as he could tell. She started tensing as he intensified his attention, her paws pulling him into her as she shuddered, her moan muffled against his neck, her light bite tempting him to skip over the next thing he wanted to confirm.

She relaxed, her breath heavy and eyes begging, but he simply shook his head and started nibbling his way down, moving the light fabric of her shirt to caress her fur before pinching the skin underneath it with his teeth. Her fidgeting grew more intense as he bit from her thigh to her womanhood, a look of expectation from his bond was all the permission he needed to lick along her smaller slit, the experience on his tongue unique and surprisingly pleasant. He felt her thighs press to his head, a paw pressing him into the act as her breathy moaning starting carrying her voice, her ankles securing him from stopping.

Her claws extended against his scalp, though they barely even skimmed him, and her vocalizations switched to a slight whine as she bit into her free wrist to mute herself. He quickened his pace, alternating between surface coverage and penetrative exploration. The light acidic taste felt more than at home within his hopes for the night, the fluids increasing as he had to brace her leg with his hand to stop her from hurting him as she reached her peak.

He slowed down, helping her ride the experience out and more than a little relieved that his efforts weren’t just him forcing alien acts on his partner.

She looked at him with glazed eyes, slight twitching throughout her body suggesting that she was just barely hanging onto herself at the moment. He was going to say something cheeky, but she pulled him forward with her legs and stopped his voice with a ravenous kiss. That was fine. He probably would have said something stupid anyway.

He parted to breathe, her wanting osculation leaving him barely hanging to reason by a thread. Her tail wrapped around his thigh, her paws reaching down to part herself. He took all of three seconds to admire it before rationale was abandoned and he aligned himself, her lubrication in excess instilling nothing but confidence in him to continue.

He rested his member along the opening, a smug look given to the impatient female as he allowed his length to stroke her sex before teasing the tip against her entrance.

He forgot about her tail.

With a drunken expression of victory, she laid her appendage to his spine and pulled him into her, sheathing him in a single stroke as her legs wrapped around his waist, her voice hitching in her throat until it escaped with a long breath of satisfaction.

Several of his observations were correct. It wasn’t going to be a size issue for either of them, luckily. He wasn’t sure how his ego would take that hit. She was more than ready enough, and if the viscous lubricant followed his experience, it would never be an issue. Finally, the subtle ring he noticed was repeated within her at several points, each of the muscles teasing his glans and would continue to do so throughout the activity. The intense stimulation drew a hiss from him as he acclimated to the burning warmth within.

A quiet sob sounded into his ear, his worry quickly stilled by her loving touch upon his cheek. She answered his unspoken question. “You came back to me.”

He smiled softly, his more bestial pursuit replaced by a desire to simply enjoy the intimacy with the woman in front of him who stole his heart. Her initial suggestion to wait until he returned might have been her attempt at stopping fate from taking him, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he was one with her, and she was over the moon about it. He delivered a tender kiss as he pulled himself out slowly, internalizing every inch of her lower embrace.

Each ring sent a shock through his spine and, by the muffled moan from Pan that shuddered with every repetition of the experience, her as well. He paused as he was about to free himself, parting his lips from hers and moving her chin to the side to allow access to her neck. He plunged himself deeper as he teased across her throat, a hand slipping under her shirt to grip her breast and mould it as he proceeded.

The rhythmic percussion of their coupling caused waves through her, the grip along his shaft tightening and quickly pushing his pent-up endurance to its limit. Part of him wanted to slow his pace so as to enjoy the sensation for a much longer time, the foreign textures and heat passing his weak-points with pinpoint precision. Sensing his hesitation, Pan wrapped her arms around his back and her ankles locked around his waist, her tail ensuring his legs wouldn’t be of use in escaping as well.

The sudden depth surprised him, but the cessation would give him a chance to recover. Or it would, if her sex didn’t increase its otherwise subtle motions. He didn’t think much of it while he was the one doing most of the work, but the ridging within her had been slightly countering his stroking to intensify the pleasure imparted upon him. Now that she sensed his imminent completion, be it through the bond or other instinct, they tightened their grip and proceeded to work his length, focusing on his tip once a gasp was earned from their attention.

If anything, she seemed to get more and more pleasure as she internally brought him his, her breathing growing ragged and harsh in time with his own. He tried to pull back but was denied by her embrace. He gave into temptation and allowed her the prize she sought.

Rapid strokes and varying pressure assaulted him, each moment better than the last as she experimented with his member, her fidgeting increasing. He felt his climax approaching, pulling with a strong motion to drag himself to her limit then biting her neck as he forced himself to her deepest. The silent howl barely manifested as a choked squeak when her body locked around him, twitching all the while as she matched his timing, her sex feverishly resuming its assault to wring out as much of his essence as it could.

The waves of heat and pleasure abated with time, their connection maintained as she refused to release him, her quiet tears at odds with her nuzzling into him. He could still feel the subtle attentions below, though they also strayed from the determined pursuit of extracting all she could from him to a caring effort. Not that it stopped them from renewing his excitement, much to Pan’s amusement.

She denied when he tried to separate, instead pulling his knee with her tail to force him onto the bed next to her. A quick check and an affectionate smile confirmed that she felt no discomfort from having him lay on her leg while she maintained the encapsulation. If anything, she seemed rather pleased with the arrangement, tightening her hold around his waist and adding every spare bit into herself that she could manage.

He managed a heavy exhale as the connection began working at him again, though this time he had little option other than to allow it to. She rested a paw on his chest, her moans held at bay by only their kiss as it kept growing in volume, her lower resuming from where it left off. It was certainly something she had control over, though he couldn’t say if it was instinctual or conscious, but either way, it was starting by doing exactly what worked best before and was only getting more adept as it proceeded.

Her claws slowly dug into his back, her hips lightly rocking to add to the sensations and quickly driving him to his end yet again, though she was careful to prolong the copulation this time. Her touch diverged from a lustful and pursuing grasp, leaning towards a loving and caring caress, her pads lightly stroking his skin with affection as she worked. It was like every movement was a gentle attempt to memorize him as he was her, their sole task being to reach a closeness beyond what they had achieved previously.

The initial drive had died down, replaced by little more than satisfaction at having each other within their grasp and taking every moment to internalize it as they indulged in the other. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, his breath gaining a harsh edge as she refused to release him. Her teeth teased his shoulder, her quiet voice gaining with every light stroke of her hips, the soft oscillations paling in comparison to the effect it was having on his experience. She tensed yet again, her teeth biting into his flesh as a whimper accompanied her shuddering climax, though not breaking the skin. He wasn’t far behind, her peak drawing his own within seconds.

Minutes passed until her breathing calmed, his manhood being released naturally along with whatever wouldn’t be contained without the obstruction. She gazed at him, her moist eyes filled with rapture as she began drifting in and out of consciousness.

“My first,” she commented tiredly, a wetness to her voice that betrayed the emotions behind it. Joseph raised a brow, his addled mind failing to parse the logic asserted.

“This was your first time? At all?”

She nodded softly, a tear forming as she traced his chest with a paw. “I am defective and no longer able to bear. None would seek me.”

He stopped any further lamentations with his lips, stunning her for a moment. “Well, sorry to say, but you’re stuck with me now.”

She chuckled softly, whatever unease the passing thoughts caused fading as quickly as they arrived. “I suppose i shall relent to the plans of the Hunt Mother.”

A huffed laugh was returned, his retort dying in his throat at the fulfillment in her eyes. “I guess i should thank her too, then. She gave me you.”

Her gentle touch paired with her softly watching eyes, her attentions focused as if nothing else in the world mattered in this moment while fatigue wore at her consciousness.

He smiled, his own wakefulness failing him slowly. A rejected attempt to part from her to fetch his towel so as to attend to some modicum of cleanup before it ruined the fabric below them left him chuckling tiredly, her expression of bliss protesting his attempts at separation. He kissed her forehead as she tucked herself under his chin with no regard for their renewed need for cleanliness, deep breaths following soon after.

He idly rubbed her back as he soaked in her warmth, hazy considerations proving to be fleeting and intangible. He needed to talk to her about Tel. He wanted to show what he brought back. He had a million small things that crossed his mind in brief blinks, but none of them could win out over his desire to just hold the subject of his love.

He would worry about the rest tomorrow. For now?

Now he was holding Pan after connecting with her. Two people finding one another after the universe beat them within an inch of their lives and coming out stronger for it. Two people finding each other in circumstances that would never be possible, yet were, and gaining comfort.

That’s all that mattered.

Her ear flicked as his breath disturbed it. He whispered into it as he fell into a deep sleep with her.

“Good night, Pan. I love you.”