Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started with an awkward conversation.

Most conversations with Keyleth were awkward to begin with.  She had an air of awkward that radiated out and saturated everything around her.

But this conversation was more awkward than usual.

“Percy, have you ever had sex?”

He coughed and glanced around the camp to see if anyone else was awake.  He and Keyleth had this watch and they were standing alone, isolated, on the outskirts of the camp.

He thought about waving the question away and moving on, but then he looked at Keyleth.  Everything she said was blunt and open.  She wasn’t born smooth, she was all edges all the time.  But this question was more open than usual.  She was blushing and looking at him from behind her hair.

He staggered around his answer, shaping it in his mind.  Then he met her eyes and decided to just answer in the simplest terms possible. “Yes.”

She seemed to chew that over for a moment, then, “What was it like?”

That he needed to form in his head before he answered.  He hesitated, drawing in a large breath.

“It wasn’t entirely ... pursued ... on my part.”

Keyleth considered his phrasing and her hand shot to her mouth, her eyes filled with horror. “You were—” She realized she was shouting and lowered her voice to a whisper. “You were raped?”

Percy sighed and, gesturing, walked deeper into the forest.

Keyleth followed, waving her hands in agitation. “I’m sorry, Percy.  I—I didn’t know.  Forget I said anything.  Are you okay?”

Percy smiled at the flightiness her speech. “I promise you, I’m fine.”

“A lot of times fine isn’t really fine, it means bad.”

“It means fine this time.”

Keyleth looked at her feet. “Okay.”  Eyes up again. “Sorry.”

Percy sighed. “I really mean that I’m fine.  It was a moment in my life and I haven’t really thought about it since.”

“Okay.” It was a squeak.

They stood in silence for a while, each searching the darkness of the night.  But Percy’s own mind was grinding through the previous conversation.  It was a problem to work on.  He’d inadvertently shut down whatever Keyleth was looking for and from her look it occurred to him that it must have been a very serious question.

He regarded her in the dark.  Tall and lithe, her skin was a deep sun-kissed brown that made her vanish into the night.  It was a marked contrast to the shine of red hair that stretched down her back in a stream of braids.  It was also a marked contrast to his paleness that shone out like a lantern in the night.  He smiled quietly to himself.

“Have you every had sex, Keyleth?”

She startled at the question, perhaps thinking he wouldn’t want to talk for the rest of the night.

“I, um, that’s.  Yes.”  She settled back, “Yes, we Ashari aren’t dissuaded from it.  We think it’s better to see what’s out there before we settle into more permanent relationships.”  She laughed. “And we’re really good at birth control, so ....”  She waved the comment away, “I’ve had sex a couple of times.”

And right there was the contradiction of Keyleth.  She seemed so ignorant of large portions of human interaction, but in something Percy thought of as complex and messy, she revealed herself to be better versed than him.

“So, what was it like?”

Keyleth blinked. “It was ... fine.”

Percy weighed his options, but finally decided that he had to go with the obvious response. “A lot of times fine isn’t really fine.  It means bad.”

“Ah.  Yes.  Yes, that’s what I meant.”  She seemed especially embarrassed at admitting this. “I—I don’t really understand the appeal.”

“I have to admit to not understanding it completely myself.  I mean—” Here he paused. “I understand the physical appeal.” He hoped the warm flush he felt in his cheeks wasn’t visible in the dark. “But . . . I haven’t had a strong desire to broach the subject with another person since I was younger.”

Keyleth was nodding along with his words. “I’ve never felt much desire for it.  I knew this one girl, Soora, and I swear all she did was have sex.  And then when she wasn’t having sex, she wanted to talk about it!  She made me feel like I was missing something, but then when I did it, it didn’t seem like much.  I tried once with a boy and once with a girl and—” She shrugged. “I just don’t get it.”

Percy stared at the stream of words coming out of Keyleth.  He’d never been quite so open.  Even admitting to his ... history ... had been more than he usually let out.  But Keyleth was a friend, the closest friend he had.  If he was going to share anything, now was the time.

“I only have the one time.  I was working on the fishing ship and got injured—a head injury.  I had to stay ashore for a few days while I pulled through the fever.” Percy considered and then plowed ahead. “The crew was good to me.  They didn’t want to just dump me at the tavern where I was staying, so I was left at one of the men’s houses, with his wife to look after me.

“I don’t remember a lot.  I was in and out of consciousness.  But I remember waking up in the middle of the night to a warm, pleasurable feeling ... and she was leaning over me, her mouth ... on me.  I didn’t have the strength to object and when I was ... ready ... she straddled me.”  He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I think she said something about needing me or something, but by the morning I thought it was just a fever dream.  It wasn’t until later that I realized it must have been real.”

Keyleth took Percy’s hand.  He couldn’t see her well in the dark, but he could feel the care in that gesture.  He told himself that he didn’t need it, but he didn’t pull away, and when she rested her head on his shoulder he leaned his head against hers.  The smell of her—something resembling clover and rain—made his body relax.  Keyleth was comfort.  She loved warmly and without discrimination and for all that she was his opposite there was something in her that made him feel safe in her presence.

He nudged her with his shoulder. “Why all this interest in sexual history?”

She curled into him, squeezing him tight for a moment. “I was just curious.”

“An awfully random thing to be curious about.”

“It—it seems important.  I’m out here to learn about people and society, but I’m missing this whole aspect of ... life.”

Percy paused at that. “I’m not sure it’s all that critical.”

He thought he could feel her smile. “As a druid, I can tell you it’s critical for at least one reason.”

“You’re being overly pedantic.”  These were the kinds of conversations that he both loved and hated having with Keyleth.

But she didn’t push back in her usual way.  Instead, she almost whispered, “We’re friends, right?”

Percy’s mind pivoted to the vulnerability in her voice and this time he squeezed her hand. “Of course.”

“I’ve been thinking recently that I should, you know, get more ... practice with it.”  She squeezed his hand back.

Percy thought about those uncomfortable times when he had woken from a particularly vivid dream or had wandered past Vex as she was bathing—since she insisted on not worrying about privacy—and had spent an uncomfortable night fighting off overwhelming desires.

“I sometimes wish I had more practice, as well,” he said, distracted by the directions his mind had wandered.

“Well, that’s what I was thinking about.  I want to ... better understand why someone would want sex.  And you, I mean, it’s not like you’ve really had sex—that doesn’t count, right?”  Keyleth was wandering in her own way.

“I mean, no, I don’t count it.  I think my true first time will be more my own doing.”

“That’s it, right?  You need to practice and it would be a lot better if you had memories other than, well, that and I need to practice and, well, couldn’t we practice together?”

Percy realized that he was going to have to think about this answer for a while.

Chapter Text

Percy said yes.  It took thirty minutes for him to get to that word, with plenty of thoughtful pauses, but he said yes.

Afterward, Keyleth had kissed him, not on the cheek like she’d done in the past, but on the lips.  It had been hesitate, so light that he wasn’t even sure that it was happening, but when she pulled away there was a lingering heat that hadn’t been there before.  They talked then, made tentative plans, rolled the complications over in their heads.

They decided they weren’t going to tell the others.  This was something that needed to be private and secret.  It needed to feel safe.  None of the others—except maybe Pike—would accept it with grace.  Tiberius would bluster out an incoherent expression of surprise.  Scanlan and Grog would make dirty jokes at every opportunity.  And the twins would just look at each other and smirk.  If Keyleth and Percy were going to do this, they both had to recognize the vulnerability they would be showing to each other.  They didn’t need anyone else to share in that.

***

Four weeks later, they stopped back in Westruun to go shopping.  Keyleth and Percy headed off on their own to look for some components for one of Percy’s projects.  It only took an extra five minutes to get Tiberius to abandon the idea of coming with them.

Ten minutes later, they were in a small, sparse room, with a small, spartan bed and little else.  It smelled of stale beer and pipe smoke, but the sheets didn’t have any stains and the door had a lock.  Keyleth was laughing.

“Now is when we have to face how awkward this is going to be.”

Percy was glowering at the door. “I could have done without the salacious comments by the proprietor.”

“Yeah, sure, but you didn’t have to pay for an extra room.  Did you think you were showing him?  We’re staying a couple hours.  There’s not much else we could be doing.”

Percy let out a long sigh and walked over to the bed.  Keyleth, already sitting, pulled him down next to her.  She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Percy?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Are you sure that you want to do this?”

Percy sighed again and lifted her head from his shoulder. “I’ve had plenty of time to reconsider.  I haven’t thought of backing out once.  We, well, we trust each other, I suppose as far as I can trust anyone, and—” he paused here, considering whether he should let the words in his mind come out his mouth and deciding that this moment demanded honesty, “—and you are incredibly attractive, Keyleth.  I don’t think the teasing would ever stop from the rest of the group if they found out I turned you down.”

“You idiot,” said Keyleth, smacking Percy on the side of his arm, “As if I’m not aware of how good looking you are.  All the girls have noticed your arms.  I believe I’ve also heard Vex refer to your ‘noble chin and refined ass.’”  She paused. “Which, as with most things she says, is somehow both a compliment and an insult.”

Keyleth giggled and bounced towards her bag, retrieving her notebook.  She flipped through the pages before stopping, finger alighted on a page.  “Alright, I’ve been making notes of what we should try.  I admit I don’t know all there is to know, but I know we should be trying a few things.”

“Ah, yes, well.”  Percy pulled a book with a worn black cover out of his own bag, “I picked up a book the last time we ran through here because I thought we might need a little guidance.”  His face went warm as he handed it to Keyleth. “It’s very exhaustive.  I’ve looked it over a few times.”

Keyleth opened to the middle of the book and her russet brown skin tinted even redder.  She scanned through the book, occasionally pausing, eyes wide, to take a closer look at details.  It was several minutes before she said anything, handing the book back to Percy.

“Holy shit, Percy.  I had no idea there were so many ways to fuck!”

Percy adjusted his glasses and turned the book over in his hands, “Yes, it was quite ... enlightening.”

Keyleth inspected her list, pen poised above the page. “I have vaginal intercourse, various positions; oral stimulation, both giving and receiving; and manual stimulation, both giving and receiving.  That covers the broad categories, I think.” She found her eyes drifting to the black cover in Percy’s hands, then up to his face. “Although there’s plenty of ... variety and variation.  Does anything sound like it’s missing for you?”

Percy exhaled long and slow, “Ah, well, I thought—” he sighed again, “I thought, maybe, anal.”

“Oh, right,” Keyleth scribbled in her notebook, her writing quickly slowing to a stop until the pen hovered above the page.  She glanced sideways at Percy. “For me or you?”

His hands tightened on the book, “Ah, for ... me.”

Keyleth rebounded, “Oh, oh!  Okay, of course!”  She made a quick note and then threw the notebook aside, bringing her hands out to rest on Percy’s hands as they gripped the book. “This is what this is about, right?  Trying things?”  She burst upward, pecking Percy on the lips.

He set the book on the bed and turned to her.  Keyleth could tell that his mind was burning away at the thoughts in his head, trying to destroy the bad words and let only the best out.  He could sit like this for hours and then spill out words that made just as much impact as if he had spoken without thinking.

“This is harder than I thought it would be.”

Keyleth took his hand and kissed it. “Maybe we’re making it harder than it needs to be.  What do you think we should do right now?”

“Ah.”  That’s all he said, letting it hang in the air as he disappeared into his own head again.  Keyleth simply waited, kissing his calloused palms and placing one of his hands against her cheek.  “I suppose the logical first step is to see each other naked.  We’ll have to become familiar with each other’s body to be effective in ... stimulating ... each other.”

Keyleth pulled Percy up and began undoing the straps and buckles of her clothing. “Okay.”  It took her a minute to undo every fastening, but, when she did, she slipped the robes and armor down to the floor.  When she turned back, Percy was folding his shirt deliberately, his jacket already draped over the footboard of the bed.

Keyleth considered how much she still thought of him as a scholar, and all the things that implied physically, and how much his body was actually hardened by the world.  Of course, she realized, the same was true of her, wasn’t it?  She’d have kept her head buried in her notebook if she had the choice, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on her body at this point.  Her Aramente had refined her body to a core of strength.  Keyleth wondered if the same had happened to Percy.  Had he been a gangly boy when he left home for the first time—wherever that was—and the road had shaped his body while it also shaped his mind?  Or had he always looked like this?  Regardless, there was no debating that he was attractive.

He stood in front of her and adjusted his glasses. “Well ... here we are.”

As Percy’s eyes passed over her body, she felt a wave of embarrassment pass over at the same time.  Keyleth knew she was attractive, knew that just the natural color of her hair—the color of fire—was supposed to indicate a passionate ... demeanor when it came to things like this.  The reality was that she didn’t have any passion towards others in that way.  She was happy to please herself, but she’d never felt comfortable using others for that pleasure.  That lack of passion, contrasted with the flames that so many saw in her appearance, had earned her a reputation as cold, icy, among the younger Ashari when she rejected their advances.  She’d struggled to contain her own outward warmth towards others when she felt that they might expect something more.

And here was Percy.

She had opened up this possibility.  She had convinced him it was a good idea for both of them.

She trusted him, even though she had no reason to do so.  After all, he, of all of their group, talked the least about his past.  But she trusted him.

But she also couldn’t bring herself to use him.

“Percy ...” She was speaking before she even thought the words. “I think ... for today ... we should just ... enjoy our own bodies.”  Why, she asked herself, was she speaking in euphemisms when a minute ago she had been so forthright?

Percy was nodding, his face relaxed. “Yes, that makes sense.  We should be comfortable with just being with each other before we go any further.”

“Yes, yes!” Keyleth’s arms swung wide and a smile erupted on her face. “That’s exactly it.  What’s comfortable for you?  Should we lay down on the bed?”

“Perhaps sitting.”  Percy gestured. “Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll take up the space that’s left.”

Keyleth slid onto the bed.  The sheets were cold and rough against her bare skin, but she propped herself up slightly, draping one leg off the side to leave room for Percy.  He sat on the other side, his back turned to her.  Even like this, she could feel the slight heat of his skin.  It was a very small bed.

Percy looked at her over his shoulder. “How do we start?”

“I think we just do what we would do if we were alone.  Right?  That’s easiest.”

“Yes, easiest ...”

There was something in his tone that made Keyleth pause.  She rolled over and rested a hand on Percy’s back, “Do you want to watch or stay like this?”

There was a long sigh. “Perhaps we should do it like this.  There was a fair amount of silence and ... shame surrounding any of this in my family.”

Keyleth rubbed his back. “You can stop this at any time, Percy.  Thank you for coming this far.”

“No, I want to do this.  I’ve—” Percy stopped and reexamined his words. “I’ve realized the different attitudes that can be taken towards this and I think I should push past some of my upbringing.”

Percy gave Keyleth a thin smile over his shoulder.

“Well,” said Keyleth with a laugh, “I guess there’s nothing to do but start touching ourselves.”

The best thing to do, she thought, was to ignore Percy.  He would be more comfortable and, well, she would be too.

Keyleth closed her eyes and ran a hand down her stomach, pushing through the rough crinkle of her pubic hair until her fingers delicately played at her folds.  She was dry, not even slightly aroused, but, she knew how to take care of that.  She gave her fingers a wet suck and reached back down, lightly massaging.  In the darkness behind her eyes, she felt the warmth of Percy’s body moving near her and she reached up and wet her fingers again.

As her fingers circled, she felt a pleasant heat building in her pelvis.  She stoked that heat, her other hand playing lazily along her thigh, increasing the pressure of the fingers and wetting them again and again until she slid a finger firmly along her slit and felt a hot burst of wetness.  Her fingers were slick now and she pulled that wetness to her clit.  She winced for a second, but then drove a finger deep into her cunt, pressing her palm against her clit.   Keyleth grunted between closed lips, moving her hips to maximize the soft, wet rhythm of her hand.

Next to her, Percy was pumping at his cock, she could feel the steady movement, the tension of his muscles, as his hand worked away.  Keyleth was grinding into her hand now and braced her other hand on top to double the pressure.  She couldn’t take direct prodding, but she loved the feel of her clit pushed into the hot wet flesh of her hand, her finger crooked inside her as she moved in slow circles.  She was burning up inside and could feel her thigh muscles starting to twitch, jerking her up harder into her hand.  She fought the natural jerk of her body, keeping her hands steady in their motion and position.  Then, suddenly, the heat burned through her body, her stomach tensing and curling her towards her cunt, her folds fluttering around her finger, her thighs pushing her wider with a shudder.  Her mouth cracked open and she sighed into the overwhelming joy of the heat.  As her body fell back, her hands continued the circles causing tiny, weaker ripples to pass through her body.

A laugh spilled out of Keyelth as she pulled her hand away and she let herself sink into the damp sheets.  There was a wonderful peace right after.  Her body humming with energy, but too relaxed to use it.  She let the feeling of satisfaction wash over her.

Keyleth looked over at Percy and, without thinking, rubbed a hand on Percy’s back.  It took her a moment to realize that she had just wiped her wetness on him.  She blushed and jumped up to a kneeling position behind him to apologize.  But she stopped herself when she realized that he wasn’t paying attention.  His eyes were closed and he was gripping the base of his cock with one hand and steadily rubbing the head with the other.  As she knelt behind him, she could feel his breathing becoming erratic and she wrapped her arms around his chest.

With her touch, Percy leaned back in a long groan, his back hot against her breasts.  Thrusting, come spurted up, dripping thickly down Percy’s cock and hand.  Keyleth held him tight as he thrust again and again, each thrust a little smaller than the last, a little less messy, until he relaxed into her arms.

Keyleth kissed his neck. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”

Between deep breaths, Percy said, “Ah, well, it’s always messier than I’d like.”  He pushed up from her and grabbed a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and began mopping up his hand and drooping cock.

Keyleth giggled. “We’re going to have to work on your relationship to nature.”

Percy folded up the sticky handkerchief and dropped it on the floor. “Nature is functional, but it can be improved on.”

“That’s ... probably wrong, but I don’t want to have an argument right now.” She laid back on the bed and pulled Percy down next to her.  He dropped his head on her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her.  Keyleth continued, “I meant, that wasn’t too bad together.”

He thought about it for too long, but then, “Yes, I suppose it wasn’t too bad.”

“Well, we should talk about it more.  Maybe take some notes.  Did anything change with me around?”

Keyleth stretched for her notebook on the floor and Percy’s head dropped to the bed.

Chapter Text

It was all heat.  Her lips.  Her breath.  Her body, pressed against him.  Her fingers grazing his cheeks.  He could feel the rough brush of her pubic hair against his cock, her legs hot on either side of him.  His hands gripped her waist reflexively and pulled her to him.

Percy surged upward, propelled to take as deep a kiss as he could—to swallow her warmth, to feel her swallow him.  His world reduced to the burning wetness of Keyleth’s mouth.

Their teeth clacked together and they both fell back.  Keyleth sprawled on the bed, legs spread, and laughed.

“See?  This is why we need kissing practice,” she said, grinning from ear-to-ear.  She bit at her bottom lip.  “That was pretty good.  Like, enjoyable.”

Percy massaged one of his front teeth.  “Yes.  But I don’t know what was different about that time.  Why was it so good?”

Keyleth sat up, braids swinging behind her.  “Let’s figure it out.”

She shuffled up next to him and kissed him again.

It was soft at first.  Their lips, moist from the last kiss, slid smoothly.  Keyleth ran a hand through Percy’s hair and pulled him to her, sucking his bottom lip, then gliding her tongue along the seam of his mouth.  He started to open to her and she pulled back.  Percy’s mouth trailed after her.

“How was that?”

“That was ... good.”

“Good like before?  Or good different.”

Even without her notebook—he had suggested that maybe they should make notes afterward, not during—Keyleth had her notebook in her mind.

“It was different.  I—I think that last time it wasn’t just the kiss.”  Percy couldn’t help his eyes running down her body, taking in the toned abs, the sculpted thighs, the eruption of orange between her legs.  For a moment, he pictured himself on top of her, inside her, her arms clutching him to her, her legs trapping him against her.  The all-consuming heat of her body, burning him up.

He was called back to the world by the brush of Keyleth’s hand on his cheek.  “What do you see?”

Percy burned red.

It was idiotic.  They were in this room to have sex.  To touch each other.  To please each other.  To learn every inch of each other’s body.  But he was embarrassed to admit that he wanted her.  They were friends and, even now, even after what they had already done together, it seemed wrong to want her physically.

“I saw myself ... on top of you.”

Keyleth leaned in and kissed him again.  “Is that what you want?”

Percy sighed, long and heavy.  Damn it, this wasn’t the weight of the world!  It was Keyleth.  She wanted to know.  And she should know.

“I—Yes, I do want it, but it’s not something we need to do.  We only need—”

Keyleth was putting a finger over his lips.  “Remember, I started this.”

She leaned in and kissed him again, full and flushed.  Percy couldn’t help leaning into it, feeling her breath him in.  His hands jerked to her body again and he pulled towards her.  She balanced herself on his chest, flexing her fingers in his chest hair.  Then she pushed back, letting her hands rest against him.

“What does it feel like?”

“What does what feel like?”

Keyleth sat back, cross-legged, and considered her words.  “What is it like to ... want someone?  To be drawn to someone ... physically?”  She was blushing now. “I really don’t—I really don’t feel it that way.”

He touched his lip, felt the heat left behind, the rush of blood to the surface.  “It’s like—” He heaved a sigh, eyes lowered “—It’s like your touch charges me and fills me up and when you pull away I want nothing more than for the space between us to vanish.  My body wants your body to always be against mine—to feel the charge you gave me forever.”

When he looked up, Keyleth was searching his face.  She reached out and pulled his head to hers.

It was deep, deeper than before, her tongue filling his mouth, her lips pressing hard, almost bruising, against his lips and teeth.  She shifted to kneeling and brought her other hand to the side of Percy’s head, pulling him even closer.  Percy’s hands slid from the bed to her thighs to her hips to her waist.  He pulled himself to kneeling too and then drew Keyleth in, their mouths never leaving each other.  She kneaded at his mouth, lips burning red from the friction.  Percy groaned, soft, but she kept up the hard press.

Finally, Keyleth pulled back, breathing heavily, and rested her forehead against his.  Between breathes, she said, “When I touch myself, it’s like I’m lighting a fire.  In the beginning, I have to work and work—adding more fuel, keeping up just the right movements—until the first small flames start to catch.  Then I care for those flames, shielding them, making sure that they can grow.  Sometimes it’s more work than others.  Sometimes those flames take longer to come.  Sometimes they have to be nurtured and protected.”  She hugged Percy, her deep russet arms encircling his pale torso.  “But if I do that, there is always a point where the flames burn without me.  The point where they don’t need to be cared for because they will burn up everything they touch.”

Percy felt her take a deep breath, her arms pulling tighter around him, her body closer against him.  She rested her head on his shoulder.

“Percy?”

“Yes?”

“Is it like that for you?”  She was whispering and her breath was a warm breeze against his ear. “Do you feel that way just from my touching you?”

I—Yes, I think that what you said is a fairly accurate description of what its like, but ...”  He hesitated.  “Instead of it being inside you, it’s all about the other person.  To use your words, it’s like the other person is the flame and you want to throw yourself into it.”

Keyleth rested her head on Percy’s shoulder and he could feel her nodding slightly.  “So you want to be ... consumed by the other person?”

It was a lingering question.  One that Percy couldn’t answer immediately.  He stared out into the room, feeling the press of Keyleth, most of all the press of her cheek against his shoulder.

“I think ... I think maybe that’s right.  It feels right, but I don’t really know.  I don’t know what it’s like after with ... another person.  Not in a way that matters.”

Keyleth lifted her head, grazing his lips with hers.  “Do you want to find out now?”

Such a simple question and he knew that she meant it, knew that, maybe, that vision in his mind could become a reality—their bodies intertwined.  But his stomach twisted and he felt his heart speed up.  He wanted it, but he was also scared.  Keyleth, hand back resting on his chest, seemed to feel the change.

She smiled.  “We don’t have to right now.  We can wait as long as we both need to be comfortable.”

“Yes, I—” He took a long breath. “I would prefer that.”

Keyleth sat back and guided Percy down to the bed as well.  She was watching him, looking him up and down.  “I’d like to try something more.  Would you be okay with me giving you oral stimulation?” She smiled.  "That way you just lay back and enjoy it.”

Percy smiled wryly.   He remembered overhearing Mother telling Vesper that she would just need to learn to lay still and bear the experience of intercourse—when the time came.  His face flickered at that memory.  It had been a long time since he had thought of his family without their faces being twisted in horror.  And to do it now.  It was disgraceful.

Percy felt a squeeze.   He looked down and Keyleth was holding his hand, watching with concern.  “That was a bit of a rollercoaster ride of emotion there.  You okay?”

“Yes, but perhaps—maybe I could provide the stimulation for you?  Would that be agreeable?”

Keyleth played with one of her braids, twisting it between her fingers.  “Yeah.  Yeah, we can do that.  I—Just know that I’m really nervous about, well, using someone else to—to . . .”  She laughed.  “To get off!”

Percy nodded.  “I think we’re in the same place.  Are you truly okay with me starting?  I feel like I’m being a bit selfish.”

“No.  If you need time, I’m happy to give it to you.  And if I’m doing this to learn, then I might as well start with my biggest fear.  Although ...”  She looked around the bed.  “I don’t even know how to start doing this.”

Percy, distracted now, by the chance to take initiative, ran a hand through his hair.  “I think that your comfort is paramount.  Perhaps lay down, slightly propped up?”

“Hm, but you need to be comfortable too.”  She was laughing again.  Percy was often thrown off by how funny she found sex.  “I don’t think I ever thought about how complicated this might be.”

He had to smile at that.  “Well, that book seems to treat the coupling of two people as a delicately balanced mechanism.”

“Does it offer any suggestions for this situation?”

“Ah, yes, I believe so.”  Percy slid off the bed and grabbed the black book.  He sat back down and paged through until he came to a series of vivid illustrations.  Keyleth peered over his shoulder.

She pointed at a series of pictures that depicted female genitals and arrows, appearing to indicate movements.  “Is that what you’re supposed to do to me?”

Percy was flushing red.  “Ah, yes, I believe so.”  He quickly flicked to the next page.  “Well, there’s no chair here and I don’t really see the supports to get that swing contraption up and running, so ...”  He tapped an illustration.  “I think that you should lay down like that.”

Keyleth leaned further and looked at the rough wood floor.  “Will your knees be alright?”

Percy grabbed his jacket from the end of the bed.  “I’ll kneel on this.”  He stood up.

Keyleth scooted up on the bed, until her ass hung just off the edge, her feet planted on the floor.  Percy waited until she was settled and then positioned the folded jacket at her feet.

“Do you want to lay back or remain sitting?”

“Um ... I’ll lay back.”  He could see the indecision flit across her face, as she folded back.

Then he kneeled.

Keyleth’s legs were spread wide and Percy rested a hand on each knee.  He had thought of doing this.  At first to women he had made up in his mind.  Then to women he passed on the street and recalled later in the dark.  Then to Vex.  And, finally, to Keyleth, when they had started on this adventure.  Percy had studied the black book carefully, memorizing the movements that the diagrams laid out and, he had to admit, practicing on the air in the darkness of the deep night when everyone else was asleep.  And now it was real.

He ran his hands up her thighs.  Her skin was mostly smooth—broken by the occasional scar from battles past--and so warm.  As he shifted on his knees, he brushed his fingers through her large splash of orange hair.  It was kinky and rough to the touch.  It was just like his pubic hair, but different because it was someone else’s.  He hesitated and then brushed a thumb across Keyleth’s cunt.  She squirmed a little.

Finally, he reached under her and, grasping her legs, leaned in, kissing up her inner thigh.  The book had said that you needed to work your way to the most sensitive areas, that—

Keyleth let out a single squeal of laughter and smacked Percy in the head with her leg.  “Sorry!  Sorry!” she said, propping herself up slightly on her elbows and looking across at him.  “That really tickled.”

Percy rubbed his head.  “I have to admit that I hadn’t considered the matter of ticklishness.”

Keyleth waved her hand and laid back.  “Don’t worry about it.  Keep going.”

Percy took a deep breath and then started again.  Perhaps a direct approach would be better.  He shifted his weight on his jacket until he was comfortably situated between Keyleth’s legs.  His hands gripped the outside of her thighs and his face was only an inch away from her cunt.  He could smell her.  He’d never thought about it before—what a woman might smell like this close.  He had been raised to think of women as constantly coated in the smells of roses, lilacs, and other flowers.  Once in the real world, not protected by the niceties of riches, he had learned how artificial that was, but, somehow, it had never translated to this.  Keyleth smelled, quite rightly, Percy thought, like warm meat—a savory smell that radiated out and filled his nostrils.  His mouth watered and he felt his cock go hard.  His head swam.  He hadn’t realized how much he wanted to taste her until this moment.

His hands slipped under Keyleth’s ass for a firmer grasp and he leaned forward with a hearty lick across her cunt.  Nose buried in her orange hair, he could smell her even stronger.  And the taste was the smell magnified, mixed with the heat of her wetness and the roughness of her hair.  Percy felt his head go light as her lapped greedily at her.  All his worries had blanked out of his mind.  He became focused wholly on the taste of Keyleth, on the salty wash of hotness against his tongue.

Keyleth heaved a gasp above him and her fingers tangled in his hair, shifting him slightly as he worked his tongue sloppily across her.  Her pubic hair was already wet with his saliva.  He felt it smearing across his chin as the hair scratched him red, and that only encouraged him to eat more deeply.

Percy didn’t know how long he kneeled between her legs.  He settled into a rhythm: tongue sometimes exploring inward, curling; other times lavishing attention on her folds and lips.  Keyleth guided him with her hands, tentatively at first, then more forcefully.  He learned that a light tug at his hair meant that he should lighten his touch, a pull that he should shift his position.  He didn’t need to interpret the hard press of her hand against the back of his head—he just pushed deeper.  That was when she would let out a closed-lipped moan.  Percy was quickly learning to love those sounds, love Keyleth’s reactions to his touch.

Once he tried to play with her clit—the book had told him that was the key to giving a woman pleasure—but she quickly pulled him away with a squeak and a shudder.  “Too much” was the only thing she said and Percy went right back to what he had been doing.

Finally, his jaw feeling worn, his tongue almost numb, Keyleth tapped Percy on the head and pulled him up next to her.  She smiled at him warmly and hugged him.  “That was nice.   Like, really nice.”  She looked down and Percy realized that his cock was still rock hard and poking into her leg.  She looked back up at him.  “Percy?  Can I?”

Percy was out of breath, his face raw and his chest blotchy.  He could feel the draw to Keyleth.  It had been so good to taste her and smell her and touch her.  And the more he thought about the sounds she had made and the way she had touched him, the more he wanted her to keep touching him.  He whispered, “Yes.”

He didn’t even see her move, but he felt her hand grasp his cock.  He gasped.

He was on his back and she was leaning on her side next to him.  She pumped with one arm, but her eyes flitted back and forth between his face and his cock.  She started out too hard.  It was slightly painful, like she was trying to tug his cock off, but he was so close to the edge already, he was so intoxicated with her, that he didn’t care what this was like, so long as it happened.  But he must have grimaced once or twice because she slowed down suddenly and kissed him on the cheek.  “Is this right?”

He nodded.  He could feel the pressure building and he didn’t trust his voice not to break.  He reached over and pulled Keyleth to him and kissed her deeply.  Her tongue pushed into his mouth and the warmth of her kiss and the steady jerk of her hand pushed him too far.  He bucked up into Keyleth’s hand, moaning into her exploring mouth, then dropped back to the bed.  Keyleth looked down at him, a slight smile on her face, her hand still working his cock gently.  Percy simply breathed.

Eventually, Keyleth sat up and pulled her hand away.  It was dripping with come.  She looked at it curiously and then sniffed and wrinkled her nose.  “What do you think it tastes like?”

“Um, I can honestly say I have no idea.”

Before Percy realized what was happening, Keyleth had dipped a finger in the white mess and stuck it in her mouth.  She immediately stuck out her tongue and scrunched her eyes up.  “It tastes like ... salty ... paste.”  She looked around for something to wipe her hand on and finally settled for the sheets.  “I thought that was something people did.”

“I really don’t know,” said Percy, still sprawled exhausted on the bed, “That’s why we’re here.”

Keyleth lay down next to him.  He felt so relaxed with her there against him—in a way he hadn’t thought possible.

“Okay,” she said, as she pulled him close, “So we talk ... and then we get our notebooks out for a full analysis.”

Chapter Text

Weeks later, another room above an inn, Percy and Keyleth sat naked on the bed: Percy hunched against the headboard; Keyleth on the edge, the black book balanced on a thigh.  She flipped back and forth from one page to another, laughing, her cheeks flushed.

“Okay, um, I mean, it seems straightforward.  Although there’s a lot of ... nuance.  I thought you just stuck it in your mouth and sucked.”  She turned to Percy.  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Percy sighed and straightened up.  “Frankly, no.  But I think I need to just push past it and do it.”

It was Keyleth’s turn to give the patented “Percy sigh.”  She felt the tightness in her chest when the worry came.  “Percy ... I don’t want to hurt you in anyway.  I’ve noticed that this is ... difficult.  M—maybe we should wait.”

Percy was already shaking his head.  “No.  This is right.  I’ve been preparing myself for the last few weeks and we’ll be more comfortable if we get this over with.”

“I’m not sure how much I like being something for you to ‘get over.’”  Keyleth dropped the book on the floor and crawled over, cuddling up to him.  “I want you to enjoy this.”

She could see him blushing, his glasses fogging up with the heat.  “I—I want to enjoy this.”  He sighed again.  “I can’t promise that I will, but I’d like to try.”

Keyleth leaned over and gave Percy a quick peck on the cheek and then straddled him.  As she settled on his lap, she took off his glasses.   She knew that he could see fairly well without them, but he always had this faraway look, like his gray-blue eyes were staring past you at something.  He blinked a few times as she leaned over and set them on the side table.

When she straightened up he took one of her hands and stared at her intently.  “I promise you that I want this.  I may not want it wholeheartedly, but it is a necessary component of our project.”

“Okay.”  It was a whisper cut short by a soft kiss on his lips, then a deeper, probing kiss.  Keyleth draped her arms around Percy’s shoulders and leaned into him.  His chest hair tickled her breasts and his stubble scoured her face, but she leaned in further, squeezing their bodies together.  Her arms slipped up until she was cradling his head.  On her hips, his hands kneaded at her flesh, almost clutching her desperately close, wanting to pin her against him.

Keyleth let go, gasping for breath, and rested her head against Percy’s.  These deep kisses that lingered had become a favorite of hers.  They seemed to build a . . . connection that she couldn’t quite name.  It was a frozen moment of shared breath.  Every time she and Percy embraced like this she felt closer to him.  Before this, she had never thought of the intimacy that pure physicality could bring.

She kissed him lightly, hot lips against hot lips.  “Are you ready?”

Percy ran a hand lightly along her braids, his eyes drifting into the distance, then, abruptly, he nodded.

Keyleth gave him a last kiss and slid down his body, moving her legs back until she was kneeling between the spread of his legs.  Percy’s cock was directly in front of her.  Partially erect, it lolled across his groin, dark hair (not white) clustered around the base.  She rested her hands on either side and leaned down.

Her hair immediately spilled across her face.  She sat back, laughing.  “Okay, logistics first.”  She twisted her braids up into a knot and, with a few words, thin vines wound through the hair securing it in a loose net.  She smiled at Percy and leaned down again.

She’d never looked at a penis this closely before.  She’d seen plenty of different shapes and sizes on many different creatures, but she’d never considered the detail—the fleshy shaft ending in a knob in a sheath of flesh at the top, the useless hair that sprouted at the base, on top of the wrinkly sac.  Keyleth ran a finger along the shaft and watched it jump, listened to Percy exhale.  It was a beautifully organic thing.  If people had designed it, a penis would have been smooth and sleek, but nature didn’t look for perfection.  It looked for good enough.  And good enough was a slight curve to the side and strange folds stretched along the length and random, useless, hair follicles.

She only became aware that Percy was holding his breath when he let it out slowly.  “Not that I’m looking to hurry this along, but at least warn me when you’re going to start.”

“Oh, shit.”  Keyleth grinned broadly.  “Sorry, I was just seeing how nature put it together.  I’d never considered it before.”

“I’ll admit I haven’t either.  However, maybe another time?”  Beneath her hands, Keyleth could feel how rigid his body was.  She knew this was a sore spot for him, going back to his history.  But they had agreed together to try it.

“Okay, I’m going to start.”

She looked to him for the nod and then gripped the shaft of his cock.  Percy tensed further, his hands knotted into fists, his elbows locking.  His eyes were closed, his head tilted to the ceiling.  She was certain he had stared holding his breath again.

Keyleth let go and shifted, sidling over his thigh to kneel next to him.  She rested a hand on one of his fists and his eyes flicked open.  “Percy, I want you to rest your hand on my back.  Feel my skin, okay?”

He seemed to understand and the warmth of his palm settled on her back.  She saw the other fist relax a little, felt the slight rub he gave her back.  Keyleth was happy to see that this simple acknowledgement, this more familiar touch seemed to be enough to relax his body—maybe not entirely, but enough.

“You can touch my head.  You can tell me what you want, just like I did for you.”  She watched for the nod of acknowledgement and then turned back to Percy’s cock.  “I’m going to start.  Just my tongue to start.”  She reached back and squeeze his hand.  For a moment, she smiled calmly at him.  Then she turned her attention to the task at hand.

Keyleth grabbed the shaft again, pulling it upright, and leaned down.  This close she could smell the slight scent of sweat, but it mostly smelled just like Percy did—soap, with a hint of something chemically.  She didn’t think too hard about that.  Instead, she gave the tip a quick lick.  The shaft pulsed in her hand and she looked up to him.   “Was that okay?”

Percy gave another quick nod.  “I—I actually couldn’t feel it that much.  Just ... a slight sensation.”

Keyleth gave a bigger lick and then another, just letting her tongue lap at the head of his cock, over the foreskin, feeling the tip, glancing at Percy as she went.  It was pretty much like licking any skin—an arm, a hand, a leg—but warmer and a bit softer (for all the rigidness in her hand).  Most of all, it was surprisingly tasteless—a hint of salt, but little else.  She pushed down and ran her lips across the top, bringing it a little into her mouth and giving it a kiss.  Percy’s hand tensed, flat against her, and he whimpered between clenched teeth.  Keyleth pulled back a little and worked her tongue under the foreskin.  Percy moaned, his cock going completely rigid in her hand.  She darted her tongue in and out and began to pump with her hand.

With each jerk of her hand, the sheath rolled back from the head and then back up.  The book had told her this felt good and the way Percy’s wriggled under her touch, well—.  She lifted her head, keeping her hand working.  “Is this good?”

She could see that he was struggling to get the words out.  His eyes were closed and with each pump of her hand a cross between a wince and bliss flickered on his face.  “Ah—ah, yes, yes it is.”

“Is there anything you want me to do?”

Percy shook his head.  She could feel his hand pushing firmly against her back.  “What-whatever you want.” 

For Keyleth, it was an interesting request.  She didn’t really want any of this—not in the way Percy meant—but she did want to understand it, so she let go of his cock and leaned down, running her tongue from the base of the shaft to the head, watching it twitch, listening to Percy groan.  The book had suggested playing with the balls, so, as she ran her tongue up and down, she cupped them in one palm and moved them carefully in her fingers, supporting the shaft with her other hand.  Every time her mouth lingered on the tip, Percy whimpered and his hand twitched.  Every time his hand slid higher up his back.

Percy’s movements grew even more erratic, his cock bright flushed.  Keyleth wondered for a moment if an erection could be painful.  Grasping her hand fully around him, she pulled him closer.  It was tighter now, harder to move and to the touch, and Percy thrusted, hand finally on her head, lightly fingering her hair, holding her close.  Keyleth tried to balance working his shaft in one hand, his balls with another, and letting her tongue keep up a steady stimulation.

Frankly, it was dizzyingly complex.

Keyleth sat back (Percy’s hand falling away) and let go of his cock.  Percy’s chest was blotchy and rose in a heavy rhythm.  His eyes were slits, his head tilted back, his mouth slightly open.  He rolled his head to look at her.  “Gods, Keyleth.”

Keyleth rubbed her neck (and stuck out her tongue a little to clear the lingering taste).  Truthfully, she hadn’t thought about the position either and she could feel a strain in her back and a tight burn in her thighs.  There was no way she could keep this up.  She crawled up next to him and ran her fingers through his chest hair.  His skin was radiating heat.  She giggled and plopped on her back, then undid the vines in her hair and plopped down again.

“So that was good?”

He simply nodded, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Sorry I didn’t go all the way.  It’s just—how do you keep that up for any extended period of time?”  Keyleth thought about it for a moment and settled in next to Percy, watching his breathing settle.  “There has to be a more comfortable position.”

Percy pulled himself out of his haze, face and body still flushed.  “Presumably.”

Keyleth started counting off the possibilities on her fingers.  “So, I could be on my knees, but you’d have to stand, which seems tiring for you.”  She scrunched her face in thought. “Also, easy to lose your balance.  Although I guess you could sit and I would be on the floor?  You could straddle me, but ... that would be a strain on the neck too, right?”  She lingered on the third finger.  “I supposed I could lay down on my belly while you lay on your back.  Propping up on my elbows would probably work.”

Percy’s breathing had settled and he rolled onto his side to watch Keyleth as she continued.

“And, of course, there’s the position of mutual oral stimulation.”

“It is certainly a technical problem.”

Keyleth rolled to face him and smiled, brushing his face with her hand.  “Are you still worried?  Or did that help?”

Percy sighed and rolled onto his back.  Keyleth watched the wheels turning.  “Yes, it reassures me,” he said with deliberation, “But ... but I’m also not sure how comfortable I am with you doing this.”

“Percy.” There was a hint of exasperation. “We’ve talked about this again and again.”

He turned his unfocused eyes on her.  “No.  I—I’m not being entirely clear.  Let me see ...”  He furrowed his brow.  “You have shown me that I am capable of enjoying—” He waved his hand towards his crotch.  “—that.  And I was truly worried that I was not after my experiences.   It’s just that—” He sighed.  “I’m not sure I’m ... satisfied with you doing it.”

Keyleth giggled.  “Okay, are you trying to politely tell me that I need practice.  Because, I hate to break it to you, I know.”  She pushed him lightly and then nuzzled into him, letting her arm drape across his torso.

“Ah, no.  Not exactly that.  In fact, it was, um, surprisingly good.”

“Well, don’t be too shocked.  I did do my homework.”

Percy cleared his throat.  “Yes, well.  That wasn’t what I meant.”

Keyleth brushed her fingers through his chest hair, pausing to roll a few strands between her thumb and forefinger.  “So ...?”  She let the question hang there, watching Percy’s chest, but not his face.

His chest rose beneath her hand, taking in a deep breath, and then fell gently with a deliberate exhale.  “Yes, I suppose I should be more ... precise.”  Keyleth waited again as the words organized themselves in his head.  “You are capable of physical arousal, correct?”

Keyleth dropped the hairs and, propping herself up on one elbow, looked at Percy quizzically.  “I’d hoped you had figured that one out already.”  When Percy just stared back, she said.  “Yes, I can be ‘physically aroused.’  I assume you mean sexually, given the context.”  She laughed again.

Percy had disappeared behind his eyes, looking over every word before it spilled out.  “But are you capable of . . . mental arousal?”

“I’m not even sure I know what that means.”

There was another long sigh.  “I—I’m trying to get this right because I’m so afraid that I’m about to say something hurtful or ... well, hurtful, or possibly just idiotic.”  He reached up and brushed Keyleth’s cheek.  “Do you get sexually aroused seeing other people aroused or imagining other people in a state of arousal?  Does that make sense?”

“I—” It was something Keyleth hadn’t considered before.  She was aware of pornography (Scanlan was less than discrete) and Grog had taken her to a strip club once (it was his idea of a fun bonding experience after he discovered she could turn into a giant cat—it was a strange leap of logic, but there it was).  But none of it had seemed particularly interesting.  It occurred to her now that even the pictures in Percy’s black book were meant to be ... titillating, but until this point she had viewed it as purely an instruction manual.  “If I understand the idea, you’re asking whether I get sexually aroused by other people enjoying sex?”

“Or just sexually ... appealing images, but yes.  I suppose that’s a good enough way to phrase what I was thinking.  If you saw a picture of ...”  Percy thought carefully.  “... a man and woman having enjoyable sex, would you be turned on too?  Or even if you read a description of something sexually appealing.  Would you be turned on?  Would you want to have sex or masturbate?”

“That’s a whole lot of question,” said Keyleth, as she rolled on to her back, hands clasped across her belly.  She pretended to consider the answer because it felt so important, but she already knew what it was.  Finally, she just said it.  “No, I’ve never even thought of things like that as arousing.  Honestly, I always wondered what the fuss was.”  She found herself shrugging into the pillow.  Saying that to Percy, now, felt hollow and foreign in some way.

Percy kept his eyes on the ceiling.  “So when I’m turned on by what you’re doing are you turned on too?”

“Are you—”  Keyleth stopped herself.  “No.  I guess I could make extra certain I understand what you are asking, but the answer is no.  I’m glad that you’re enjoying it.  That makes me happy.  But I don’t feel anything—I don’t get turned on.  No.”

Percy was nodding along with her answer.  “And do you—well, when—when I’m ... in your mouth, do you enjoy it?”

Keyleth burst out laughing, but it was tight and high.  She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest and she clasped and unclasp her hands. “Do I like having your penis in my mouth?  I think we can say that word.”  She shook her head, but still didn’t look over at Percy.  “No.  I guess it makes sense that some people might find that ... good, but I don’t see the appeal.”

“I think that’s my point.”  Percy drew in a deep breath and rolled over to face Keyleth.  “You’ve taught me that I am uncomfortable if my partner is not aroused by what we are doing.  Does that make sense?”

Keyleth didn’t like the twist the conversation was causing in her chest.  “I guess it does.  The—the way that I am makes this less satisfying to you.”

Percy’s face scrunched into his serious look.  “I think that’s a highly uncharitable way to put it.  I’m absolutely certain that if you had kept that up, I would have come.”

“But that’s not what we’re talking about.”  Keyleth sat up, heart racing in her ears, her breathing going shallow. “We’re talking about comfort.  And I can’t make you comfortable because—because I don’t really want this the same way you do.”

Percy’s hand was suddenly on her back and when she looked over, he was sitting next to her.

“Gods,” said Keyleth, “I don’t know why this hurts so much.”  Her fingers were clutched together so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Percy’s face was at its most serious. If she hadn’t been feeling miserable, Keyleth would have poked him for his stony gaze.  “This is something I was afraid of.  We’ve been exploring the physical side of things, but there’s this whole mental and emotional aspect to things.”

Keyleth hugged her arms around herself.  She hated the way she felt right now, the shaking that filled her core, that clutched at her throat.  Everything had gone from, well, if not comfortable ... academic, safe.  She looked over at Percy and her eyes were warm with tears.  Her braids hung over her face.  “Was this a mistake?  I—I didn’t think about whatever this is.  I thought it would just be mechanical.”

Percy’s sigh felt like a weight on Keyleth’s lungs.  “I knew that we would need to deal with this, but I didn’t even think to talk to you about it.  It seemed like such a fundamental part of what we were doing.”  He reached around and placed a hand on one of Keyleth’s hands.  “I didn’t think about the disconnect.  I suppose the reality is that I had never considered physical arousal without the ... mental component.”  He pulled her into a hug, her body staying tightly wound.  “When I—well, when I masturbate, to be perfectly honest, I think of other people and I think about what I would do to them and how they would react and what their bodies would look like reacting to me.  And it’s those reactions that turn me on, not just the physical touch.”

He kissed the top of Keyleth’s head and her arms unwound, finding a new place around his shoulders.  She squeezed him close, pressing her whole being into him.

Which promptly caused him to lose his balance and collapse backwards on the bed.

After a brief shifting of limbs, Percy wrapped his arms around Keyleth too and they lay, intertwined, in silence, Keyleth's face buried in his side.  She focused on his body.  The rise and fall beneath her, warm and firm and steady in her grip.  The sound of his heart beat, filling her ears, drowning out her own.  She let Percy fill her senses.  Percy held her close, squeezing her occasionally and craning to kiss her forehead.

Finally, Keyleth sighed lightly into Percy and let go, Percy releasing her at the same time.  She rolled over, sniffling, face determined.

"This isn't my fault."

Percy took her hand and gave it a squeeze.  "Of course not.  We're different.  We knew that.  The fact that I feel this way is my problem, not yours."

Keyleth squeezed back.  "This isn't your problem either.  It's just ... something to figure out."

They lapsed back into silence, the only sound in the room their breathing and the creak of the bed frame.  The room felt bigger than it had before, like a massive fissure had opened and filled the space.  The air was thin and heady, but Keyleth was suddenly acutely aware of its coldness against her skin.  Percy’s hand was warm and comfortable in hers, but she felt an itch growing in her palm.  Keyleth pulled her hand away, scratching absently at her palm, and propped herself up on her side.

“Okay, so—” She chewed on her lip.  “You are aroused, if I am aroused.”

 “Gods, yes.” The answer came without a filter, so uncharacteristically Percy.

She leaned forward, kissing his bottom lip, pulling on it, massaging it with her own lips.  “Does that turn you on?”

He followed her lips as they pulled away and drew her in again, taking a full taste of her mouth.  When he finally pulled back, he said, “I hope that answers your question.”

Keyleth laughed.  “It must be so distracting!  How do you think about anything else?  If life was like when I’m masturbating all the time, I’d just collapse from the strain.”

The look Percy gave her was almost one of offense.  “Well, it’s not as if I’m orgasming all the time.  You just have an—an urge.  It’s a low level, background thing.”  He waved the idea away.

“But, like, you want sex.  Like—” Keyleth giggled away.  “What do you do when Vex goes off to wash up?  All curves and tits and ass?”  She poked Percy in the belly.  The tension was draining out of her body.  “How much do you want her?  Just from seeing her?”

Percy let out an irritated “harrumph.”  “Just because I’m sexual doesn’t mean I’m ruled by my—by my penis.”

“It doesn’t just pull you behind it like a divining rod?”  Keyleth threw her hand over her mouth to stifle the laugh.  Her body shook.

Percy went red, rolling on to his back, arms tightly crossed.

The laughter dying away, Keyleth leaned over and pecked him on the cheek, throwing an arm across his stiff body and pulling him in.  “I’m sorry,” she said, “That was unfair.”

Percy sighed and relaxed his arms.  “No, it’s perfectly okay.  I don’t know why that got to me anyway.”  He worked his arm under her head and squeezed her close.  “I do notice that it seems to have relaxed you significantly.”

Keyleth smiled.  “I guess that’s true.  How healthy is it that I love picking on you?”

“Probably as healthy as how much I love arguing with you.”

They smiled, wrapped up in each other’s arms.  They laid there, simply enjoying the peace of being with one other, until their minds wandered back to what they called “The Project” when they were around the others.

After all, there were other things they were more comfortable with that they could keep practicing.

So they did.

Chapter Text

They’d been practicing for months, stopping in towns when they got the opportunity, renting a room, and just experimenting.  They’d become used to each other, to each other’s touch, to each other’s taste.  To the movement of their bodies, alone and together.  Percy knew that Keyleth’s hands liked to wander.  Her fingers would graze, drawing soft pictures on his skin as they lay together.  It was unconscious, she never seemed aware of it.  He also knew that the same touches on her skin would cause her to erupt into fits of laugher, her body flailing in every direction with a screech.  There was something comforting about knowing little things like that.

They’d practiced kissing until it was just something they did, when doors were closed and they wanted the closeness.  Percy knew that Keyleth didn’t want sex, didn’t want his touches in the same way that he wanted hers.  But when they kissed—hot and slick and devouring—it almost felt like she did.  She had told him that she liked the closeness it gave them and Percy sometimes had to remind himself that those kisses were something very different to each of them.

He’d practiced with his fingers and tongue, listening to Keyleth’s voice and watching Keyleth’s body.  The shift of her body as she helped him find the right angle, the right spot.  The touch of her hands on his head and shoulders, guiding and willing him on.  The ragged breathing, as he worked her closer.  The pulsing through her abdomen.  The twitching in her thighs.  The quick exhale, collapse, and then laugh that always followed her orgasm.  It was a free, easy laugh that made Percy smile.  After, he would kiss his way up her body, enjoying the glistening moisture he had created.

Keyleth had practiced with her hands and mouth.   He’d tried to communicate more.  After the first time, she’d started gripping his cock and fixing him in the eyes, always asking if it felt good.  Percy almost wished that the gaze alone didn’t excite him so much.  Then she would pump and caress.  Always kissing at the same time.  Her mouth would massage him in time with the strokes until Percy was stoked to the bursting point and then, just as he thrust upward, groaning and squirming under her touch, she would plunge her tongue deep into his mouth, muffling, filling, until he was spent.  Then she would give him a tiny peck on the lips and clean off her hand.

That was how they had practiced.  It was familiar, almost comfortable.

Now, they were approaching Emon.  It was a few days away.  And it felt like everything would change.  Like they were on the threshold of something new.  Like those few days journey would transform their little group.  Perhaps that was what pushed them over the edge.

It was in the last small town before Emon, where there was only a single inn, with limited space.  They would never have thought of doing anything here, but then, for some reason, they each asked for their own room.  The twins shared looks and gave both Percy and Keyleth the side eye, like they were measuring them up.  Scanlan made a joke about Percy throwing a party for the local whores.  Even Pike seemed disappointed that Keyleth and Vex and her wouldn’t be having a girls’ night together after weeks on the road.  But they’d both done it anyway.

Keyleth hadn’t seemed surprised when Percy knocked quietly on her door that night, his eyes darting up and down the hall.  And Percy hadn’t been surprised when Keyleth was already mostly undressed, wrapped in just a sheet.  An oil lamp cast the room in a flickering white shade.  They talked for a few minutes, but they had talked so much in the past, planned so much in the past, that there wasn’t much more to say.  Keyleth helped Percy undress and they stood in the middle of the room, kissing, trading soft touches, until they both agreed it was time.

Keyleth laid down on the bed, taking a moment to get the pillows in place, her legs situated.  Percy sat beside her and they traded tiny kisses until she was ready.  He was long past ready, but he knew that Keyleth’s body would need some coaxing.  It wouldn’t be like it was for him.  Just seeing her could cause the heat to rise, his heart beat to race, his cock to swell.  She needed more and Percy was happy to provide it.  He gripped her ass and lowered his mouth to her cunt.

It was so different from the first time.  Then, she had laid back, not wanting to see what he did.  Now, Percy could feel her gaze on the top of his head, as he lapped at her heat, nuzzling and teasing.  He would look up and she’d be watching him.  Her eyelids half closed.  Her tongue working at her lips.  She would smile lightly and nod, encouraging him on.

Today, Keyleth was nervous.  Percy could tell.  She didn’t relax into his touch the way she had begun to over the last few months.  Often, she wouldn’t touch his head, she would just shift her pelvis, guiding him with her movements.  Today, she didn’t move except for an occasional sharp intake of breath as Percy lavished attention on a new area.  Now, her breathing went ragged as his tongue stroked broadly across her cunt.  She was nervous, but still enjoying herself.

Percy pulled back for a moment and shifted the angle of Keyleth’s pelvis, opening her up, so that her ruddy wetness blossomed beneath his mouth.  With loose, massaging laps, Percy worked at Keyleth’s clit, not giving too much attention, but letting his tongue enfold and caress.  She burned hot in his mouth, a salty sweetness that filled his every sense.  Glancing up, Percy saw Keyleth’s head leaning back, her mouth yawning open, her lips trembling, her breathing shallow.  As he gulped deep, his tongue a rippling wave across her cunt, Keyleth gasped for air and sighed, an almost whimper.  She collapsed back on the bed and a laugh spilled out through smiling lips.

“Fuck, Percy,” said Keyleth, ‘You’re going to make some woman very happy one day.”

“I thought I was making a woman happy right now.”

Percy teased at her cunt and she squealed, smacking him away.  He climbed up next to her.

She kissed him softly.  “You know what I mean.”  She worried her lip and took a deep breath.  Her body had a warm glow to it and a sheen of sweat glittered on her skin.  “We—we should probably keep going.”  She painted his face with her eyes, looking for his reaction.  “You know?”

Percy nodded and pushed up.  “Of course.  You’re absolutely correct.  That was the whole point of tonight, wasn’t it.  Are you certain you’re comfortable enough with this?”  He lingered at her side.

Keyleth gave him a disappointed look and then her face relaxed.  “I’m never going to be completely comfortable with this.  That’s not the point.  I—I want to do this, so ...”  She let her voice trail away, watching Percy.

He nodded.  “Absolutely.”

He started to move down, but Keyleth caught his arm.  “And you’re alright too?”

Percy smiled, slim and tight.  “Yes.  We’ve done more enough. I can assure you that I am quite ready for this now.”

He shifted to between Keyleth’s legs (she spread wide, her legs bent, feet firm on the bed) and leaned back, working his cock with one hand as the two of them got in position.

He locked eyes with Keyleth.  “Ready?”

She nodded and he sidled up closer, bring his cock in line with Keyleth’s cunt.

His first attempt slipped to the side and Keyleth reached down, gripping him firmly.

“Let me,” she said.

He was inside before he could say any more.

A grunt pushed through Percy’s lips as Keyleth’s slick hotness overtook his cock.  He didn’t really remember what the ... last time ... had been like.  But this?  Suddenly his entire mind was focused on the feel of her cunt along his cock.  It was a throbbing ache that he had to soothe.  He wanted to push deeper and deeper.  Let her envelope him completely.  Let that hot ache become everything.

Percy leaned over Keyleth and she took all of him.  There was a sharp intake of breath and then Keyleth whimpered between almost closed lips.  One of her hands rested on his side, the other in his hair.  He held himself up over her flushed body.  “Is that good?”

Keyleth nodded and breathed out a shaky breath.  “There’s something nice about being filled up.  I—I didn’t remember that.”

His cock twitched.  The feel of Keyleth was a strange wet-rough-smoothness.  A slick massage.  He let out a slow, steady breath.  “Do you want me to stay like this?”

She shook her head this time.  “No.”  Then he felt her hands pulling him down.  “Can you come closer, so I can kiss you?  You’re too far away.”

Percy lowered himself and felt the warm flush of Keyleth’s body against his.  Her soft breasts squeezed beneath him, the rest of her body firm, but just as hot.  They kissed and it was deep, their tongues sliding against one another, their mouths gulping and hungry.  Keyleth wrapped him tight in her arms, pressing him close.  Percy’s fingers played in her hair and he started to thrust, small and controlled.  The feeling was delicious, like he could feel the pulse of his cock in his lips and his chest, everywhere he and Keyleth touched.  It was intoxicating and the more he moved inside her, the more he wanted to move, until his thrusts were faster and harder, pounding out a staccato rhythm.

Keyleth grabbed his hair with both hands and broke away from the kiss, resting her forehead against his, gasping for breath.  With each beat, a tiny whimper broke through her lips, like he was pushing the breath from her lungs.  She locked him in place, locked their eyes together as he thrust, the wet slap of their bodies filling their ears.  She gave him tiny pecks on the lips, never letting her eyes break from his, and, as his thrusts became more erratic, she whispered, “You can come inside me.”

Percy’s body was barely his.  Pinned against Keyleth, his hips bucking wildly, his mind was focused only on the pressure building in his cock.  Every time he buried himself inside her, inside the burning wetness that consumed him entirely, he could feel that pressure grow just a little more, steam building and building, inside, ready to burst free.  He thrust once, twice, three times, and then completely lost control.  He moaned loud and long as his cocked pulsed inside Keyleth.  He was coming—a smack of pressure and pleasure involuntarily spilling out of him.  Keyleth pulled him into a kiss, their sounds mingling as vibrations in their lips and their throats.

Finally, their mouths parted and Percy slumped down, holding his weight up on his forearms.  He was still twitching, tiny involuntary thrusts.  He took a breath and kissed Keyleth lightly, brushing a drip of sweat from his forehead.  He pushed up, pulling out, and collapsed next to her.  “Oh gods,” he said.  His voice was distant—his mind not quite his own yet.

They laid for a minute, side by side, chests rising and falling, skin flushed and glistening.  Then Keyleth rolled over, laughing.

“What is it?” asked Percy.

Keyleth nuzzled into Percy’s shoulder and waved a hand dismissively.  “Oh, I’m just laughing at nature.  My body really wants to go to sleep now because it thinks it will help your sperm fertilize my egg.  But jokes on my body because I’m not ovulating right now!  Plus, you know, birth control.”

Percy sighed—a feat impressive given the still heaving breaths he was taking.  “I am almost incapable of rational thought at this moment and you are finding humor in fooling the natural impulses of your body.”

Keyleth squeezed him tight and smiled.  “I guess it was good?”

“Are you really asking that?”

“Well, it seemed like you were enjoying it.”

“And did you enjoy it?  Was it good for you?” asked Percy.

Keyleth took a moment, like she was deep in thought.  “Yes, it was good.  It was—it felt good.”  She giggled.  “I’m not saying I don’t need to, um, get used to it.  But it was certainly better than I expected.”

“That assessment got progressively worse as you went along.”

Keyleth squeezed him again, still laughing.  “It was good.  It’s just a lot to process.”

Percy nodded, staring blankly at the ceiling.  “Yes.”

“Also, all that semen is going to be a mess coming out.”

“I—I hadn’t thought about that.”

Keyleth gave him a peck on the cheek.  “It’s all part of the natural process of things.  No worries.  So any thoughts?”

Their breathing had slowed at this point, the color fading slightly from their skin.

“Ah, well, that is—” Percy stumbled over his words.  He was suddenly self-conscious at how much he had just lost himself in the moment.  Finally, he settled on “It was much better than I thought it would be.  I, ah, I thought it might be ... very bad the first time.  But it was exceptional.”

“Exceptional!”  Keyleth giggled again.  “I’m glad my vagina earned a gold star!”

“It’s not just—it’s not just that,” said Percy, flustered, “It was a lot of th—”

Keyleth stroked a hand down his cheek.  “I know.  I—I’m just kidding.  I’m still a little nervous.  This was a big deal.”  She wrapped an arm fully around Percy and pulled him close.  “We just had, like, full on sexual intercourse.”

When she lapsed into silence, Percy said, “It is indeed a big deal.”

“Right now, it just feels a little easier to focus on the biological details than to think about what happened.”

Percy joined in the silence this time, rolling that idea around in his head.  “If it would make it easier, I could—I could share my perspective.”

He felt her head nod against his shoulder and she said, “Okay.”

Percy took a moment to compose his thoughts and then said, “I was afraid because of ... my past experience that I would be—I supposed repulsed would be the right word.  That I would react, without thinking, to what was going on and it would be, well, a negative experience.”

Keyleth shifted next to him, pushing herself up on her elbow.  She ran a finger down his jawline, drawing his eyes up to hers.  She smiled, small and reassuring.

“I am not exaggerating when I say this was an amazing experience,” said Percy, “That first time it was something I was removed and distant from.  This time is was so intense and visceral, but also so intimate.”  Percy propped himself up to a reclining position and matched Keyleth’s gaze.  “I’ve never felt that close to anyone before.  The—the way our bodies moved, the way you touched me.”  Percy paused as if he had lost his vocabulary.  He seemed genuinely excited, like sex with Keyleth had been an epiphany.  “Obviously, I’ve been sexually attracted to other people, but I’ve never satisfied that attraction.  I think it will take some time to find the appropriate words.”

Keyleth had pulled herself to sitting and now turned to face Percy.  She tugged her braids up into a bun, binding them together with vines winding from her fingers.  Her smile gleamed.  “Maybe my vagina is exceptional.”

She looked down and ran a finger along her cunt and brought it up dripping with a thin white substance.  She tapped two fingers against each other, testing the tackiness of the substance.  “See?  A little drip already.  Left over semen.  I’d say based on your orgasm, I’ll have a lot more coming down in a few hours.”  She wiped her hand on the sheets.

Percy shook his head and sighed deeply.  “Keyleth, how do you know so much about this without having done it more than a time or two?”

Keyleth shrugged.  “I suppose animals. Many mammals function in very similar ways to humans and half-elves.  And then Ashari are just more open about sex than most culture.  You told me that it was something you never talked about in your family, right?”

Percy nodded.

“I grew up around open conversations about it all the time.  We all knew who was having good sex and who was bored.  I knew when my best friends were ovulating or on their period.  We learned a lot about, just, the way our fertility cycle works.  For example, Percy did you know you can determine peak periods of fertility by measuring the consistency of vaginal mucus?”

Percy collapsed to the bed and rubbed his eyes.  “I’m absolutely astonished it didn’t come up in my very formal education.”

“Sorry.  I just find all of this super interesting.”

“And I’m sure it is,” said Percy, “and under the right circumstances, I’m sure I’d be enraptured, but ... Keyleth, are you purposefully avoiding talking about what your experience was like?”

Keyleth blushed.  “Oh.  Um.  Well—I—I suppose maybe a little.”

“And I assume you’re going to be doing a full breakdown in your notebook afterwards anyway, correct?”

Keyleth threw herself down on the bed next to him, resting her chin in the palms of her hands.  Even now, Percy couldn’t help taking in the toned curves of her back and ass stretching down the bed.  She was casually kicking her legs in the air.

“It was good.  Really.  I—I didn’t know what to expect, but I was afraid I would be uncomfortable and you would be uncomfortable and—well, I thought we might end up not even getting—not finishing.”  She held her head up with one hand and pointed at Percy.  “But we did!  And you came and there was this feeling of closeness and—”  She laughed.  “—there was this nice warm glow that pumped through my body, just from you being inside me.  I don’t even know how to describe it.”  She thought for a moment.  “I guess it’s just that full feeling.  I liked that and I’d never really had it before.  The first time I had—”  She waved the idea away.  “—I suspect my first time with a man—a boy—may have just been crap.”

“So you like sex?”

Keyleth screwed up her face.  After a moment, she rolled onto her back, hugging herself.  “I—I like sex.  That wasn’t up for debate.”  She shook her head.  “No, I guess it was, wasn’t it.”

“I—”  Percy sighed.  “I had understood you to be saying that you, perhaps, didn’t want to experience, well, sexual pleasure with another person.”

Keyleth nodded.  “That’s true.  I mean, I enjoy touching myself, but, after those first two times, I guess I figured I didn’t want sex with anyone else.”

“And now?”  Percy rolled on his side to be closer to Keyleth.  “And be honest.  I promise you that my ego is not wrapped up in your answer.  You are my best friend regardless of ... whatever this is.”

Keyleth seemed to be composing the words in her head before she spoke—something Percy thought was more his domain.  Finally, she said, “I can enjoy sex with another person and I can see the pleasure to be gained from it—what is different from the pleasure you can get from yourself.  But I still don’t have the desire to have sex with another person.”  She stopped, considering her next words carefully.  “I like the physical sensation or—or certain physical sensations and I really like the emotional connection.  I’m fairly certain I couldn’t have sex with someone I didn’t feel close to.  But—”  She waved her arms in the air wildly.  “I don’t know!  It’s complicated!”

Keyleth rolled over and wrapped herself around Percy.  Her body was hot and sticky with sweat.  Percy squeezed her close.

Keyleth continued, “It’s like, well—You know how—”  She stopped again.  When she restarted it was slower and more deliberate.  “So some people like women, right?  And some people like men?  And—well, all the combinations.  Anyway, the point is ... you like women.  But you can look at another man and understand that he’s attractive.  You don’t have the same attraction as you do to a woman, but you, well, understand why he’s attractive.”

Percy could feel the burning flush in his cheeks before Keyleth had even finished the sentence.

She continued, “I can think people are attractive or pretty or gorgeous—I mean look at Vex!—without having any desire to have sex with them.  So the way you look at men is the way I look at, well, everyone!”

Keyleth laughed and looked over at Percy.  He knew his face was flushed a bright red and he felt her eyes lingering, questioning.  There was a long silence.

Keyleth sat up with a jolt.  “Shit!  Percy!  You—you didn’t tell me—”

Percy let out a heavy sigh and tried to will his skin back to its normal color.  “I hadn’t really thought about it much before we started ... this.  And, afterwards, I admit that I primarily focused my attentions on you.  It didn’t really feel necessary to focus on that aspect of things nor did it seem important to our project.”

Keyleth was watching him intently.  “But that means that I can only help you get used to, like half the things you might want to do!”

Percy believed she was honestly frustrated at that thought and the humor of that helped him chase the embarrassment of his own revelation from his mind.  He sat up.

“First, you can help me with some of it. Or had you forgotten some of our more advanced requests?”

“Oh, right.”  Keyleth slumped back, coming down from her surprise.

“Second, I think you’re forgetting that I can only help you with half of what you might get involved with.  I know that you are at least capable of romantic feelings for women.  Or have I misjudged some of your flirtations with Vex?”

Now it was Keyleth’s turn to blush, a red that blossomed on her face and down to the top of her chest.  “I—I don’t flirt with Vex.”

Percy cocked an eyebrow.  “Perhaps you don’t, but she flirts with you and you enjoy it.”

The blush was developing very nicely now.  It was in blotches across Keyleth’s arms and bosom, peaking out around freckles.  “Vex is just very very friendly and I like having ... friends.”  It was as if Keyleth realized how flat what she was saying sounded.  “I—I just like her!” she squeaked, then she rallied.  “Anyway, what about you and Vax?”

“What about me and Vax?” Percy asked with an indignant sniff.

Keyleth stood up on her knees and pointed her finger at Percy like a dagger.  “I knew you paid too much attention to him when he was working.  You were looking at his ass!”

“I was doing nothing of the sort!”  Percy sat up and Keyleth’s finger hovered in his face.  “I am interested in the mechanical element of his skills.  Lockpicking and the defusing of traps is a highly specialized, well ... skill!”

Keyleth’s finger continued to hang inches from Percy’s nose.  Their eyes were locked together.  Keyleth had an accusing smile on her face and Percy’s eyes were wide with indignation.

Suddenly, Keyleth sat back and exploded into laughter.  She clapped her hands over her mouth.  “Oh my gods, Percy.  Percy!  Could you imagine—”  Her shoulders shook with laughter.  “—could you imagine if we invited the twins to join in?”

Percy’s face twisted into a mixture of horror and disbelief.  I—I can’t even—that’s—” stuttered Percy, “—that’s an incredibly bad idea—I don’t even—”

Keyleth rested a hand on his shoulder, laughter still spilling from her lips.  “I’m just joking, Percy.  This—this is special and we need to keep it private.”  She wrapped him in a hug.

After a moment, Percy hugged her back and they took a moment to savor the quiet of the night.

Finally, after they had both settled into the hug, Percy spoke.  “What were you trying to say?”

He felt her giggle in her chest.  It was a light vibration against his skin.  “Well, I was trying to explain how I felt about people and sex, but now I don’t know how to explain it to you!”  She rested her head on his shoulder.  “Have you ever known someone was attractive, but had absolutely no desire to have sex with them?”

For some reason, Percy thought of Vesper.  She had always been obsessed with beauty and the latest fashion and he had known that she was attractive in that intellectual way that you can understand attraction when you have absolutely no interest in the person in anyway but friendship.

“Yes, I suppose I can understand that.”

Keyleth lifted her head and shrugged.  “That’s everyone to me.  I can enjoy sex, but I don’t want people in that way.  I guess that’s the simplest way to understand it?”  She shrugged again.  “As I said, it’s complicated.”

Percy nodded.

The two of them laid back on the bed, Keyleth shimmying down a bit so she could rest her head on Percy’s side.  Her legs dangled part way off the bed.  One hand dangled back and brushed Percy’s chest hair back and forth.  Percy toyed absently with the tips of one of her braids.

“Would you like to try something else?” Percy asked.  It was almost an afterthought, a natural extension of thinking back over what they had just done.

He felt Keyleth go still.  A moment later she giggled.  “You can do that again this soon?”

Percy flushed.  “Well, I—that is—I don’t know.  Maybe.”  He tried to keep his eyes from exploring Keyleth’s body.

Keyleth shook her head.  “No, I’m too sensitive for another round.  Luckily—”  And she sat up in one smooth motion and leaned over the edge of the bed.  “—I kept my notebook handy!”

Chapter Text

Keyleth sat in her room at the inn and regarded her surprise for Percy.  It was made of glass, with a slight curve, and a broad base (“for use with the harness, dear,” the woman in the shop had said).  It was completely smooth, with no decoration to make it look ... more lifelike.  It was small and not too long (“just the right size for starting,” the other woman had said).  It was a dildo.  Buying it had been one of the more embarrassing times in Keyleth’s life.

She had entered the store—hidden in a corner of the Promenade under a sign that read “Melora’s Garden”—with head down, trying to give the impression that she wasn’t there.  The jingle of bells above as she entered had not helped that impression.  The greeting from the desk hadn’t helped either.

“Hello, dear!”  It was a woman’s voice, warm and enfolding.  Glancing up, peering through her hair, the heat spreading across her face, Keyleth saw a woman of about sixty, gray and white hair cropped close to her head.  She was smiling directly in Keyleth’s direction.  Next to her was a woman who looked about the same age.  Keyleth could just make out the pronounced elven point to her ears, peeking out from beneath the long black hair.

“Um, hi.”  It came out a squeak.  She glanced around, but the shop—open and bright and welcoming, with a sweet lavender scent hanging in the air—was empty.

The white-haired woman’s smile was soft.  “Don’t worry, dear, you can tell us.”

The black-haired woman’s smile was sharper, but not unkind.  “We see that look all the time.”

Keyleth walked tentatively towards the counter.  There were a few low shelves, displaying books and . . . oddments.  The shapes generally gave away their use.  A few, however, were a mystery.  They must be sexual (they were in this shop!), but Keyleth couldn’t figure out the use, even with what she had seen in the black book.  What could be sexual about a string of beads?

She bumped into the counter.  “Um, hi.”

“Yes, so you said.”  It was the black-haired elven woman.

The white-haired woman patted the hand of the other woman and said, “Ignore Elignor, dear, we’re here to help.”

“Of course, we’re here to help,” Elignor snapped.

“I’m Devan.  What can we do for you?”

Keyleth realized she’d been clenching and unclenching her hands in front of her and she quickly flung them to her side.  She couldn’t quite look the women in the eyes.  “Um, I was looking for something.”

“Of course, dear.  Do you know what it is?” asked Devan.

“Well, my, um, friend, he—I think—he wants to try, well ... anal sex and so I wanted to surprise him with, um, everything to do . . . it.”  Keyleth finally breathed.

“Mmhmm,” said Elignor, “And do you want to take it ‘from behind’ from this ‘friend’ of yours?”  She aggressively punctuated her words with air quotes.

“Eli.  Dear.  Customer first.”  Devan turned back to Keyleth.  “But it is very important that you’re comfortable.  It can be a very bad experience if you don’t really want it.”

Keyleth knew her skin had gone a vibrant red.  She could feel the white-hot burning in her cheeks.  “Oh!  Oh, no—I—that is—not for me.  For him.  He wants me to do ... that.”

Elignor waved her hand.  “Oh, pegging.  That’s a different story.”  She laughed as she walked around the counter.

“Your comfort is still important though, dear.”  Devan leaned forward, that reassuring smile still painting her face.  Her skin crinkled around her eyes like dry parchment.  “Do you want to do this?”

Keyleth gave a sharp nod, her eyes darting up to Devon’s.  “Yes.”

“Well, then.  Eli!”  Devan started walking to one side of the shop.  She looked back at Keyleth.  “Come along, dear.”

Elignor was staring at a shelf, finger tapping on her sharp chin.  She looked up as Devan and Keyleth approached.  “I’m thinking a set of butt plugs first to help with size.  That’s what most beginners fail to account for.”

Keyleth stared, wide-eyed, at the display in front of her.  It was the most phallic collection of objects she had ever seen in one tiny space.  She looked at Devan and pointed at one in particular.  “Do people really use that?”

Devan patted her on the shoulder.  “My dear ...”

“The history of the human race is what they can fit in their body,” Elignor said archly.

“Oh, yes, dear and you’re so above it all.  If I remember correctly, there was a time when you—” 

Elignor cut her off with a sharp cock of her head.

Devan laughed and gave Keyleth an “elves, right?” look.  She rested a hand on Keyleth’s back and guided her down the row.  “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but you look like more of a cuddler.  Would you say I’m right?”

“Assumptions, assumptions,” said Elignor from behind them, “Never presume from appearances alone.”

Keyleth found her hands tangled in front of her again, but she nodded and said, “Um, yes?  That is—I like, um, contact more than . . . other things.”

Devan smiled knowingly.  “What’s your man like?”

“Oh!”  Keyleth felt the chaotic energy of fluster bubbling up inside.  “He’s not my man.  We’re just friends.  We—”

Elignor held up her hand.  “If he wants you to do this to him, he’s your man.”

“Not important, Eli dear!” sang Devan.  Then she patted Keyleth’s shoulder.  “Does he listen to you?  Does he try to please you?”

When Keyleth didn’t answer immediately, Elignor cut in. “Does he make you come?”

Keyleth felt the flush in her chest now.  But after a moment of studying the floor, she nodded, short and quick.

“And does he prefer his cock or his head between your legs?”

“Eli!

Keyleth her a smack noise behind her, but she was more focused on the intense heat radiating through her body.  She was starting to sweat.

Devan spoke softly.  “Eli’s blunt, but she means well.  She’s trying to get a sense of your friend’s nature.  I assume he’s kind and gentle?”

The corners of Keyleth’s mouth tugged upward a little when she thought about Percy.  “Oh, yes.”

“That’s all she’s really asking, in her way.”

Devan and Elignor exchanged looks behind Keyleth’s back and nodded together.

“Hm.  Well then.”  Elignor ran her eyes along the shelf.  “For your ... man ... friend’s sake, I suggest starting small.”  She pointed at a small dildo on the middle shelf, about five inches long and an inch wide.

“Oh, yes, yes,” said Devan, “That’s perfect for your needs!  Excellent choice, Elignor.”  She picked up the dildo and held it in front of Keyleth. “Am I right in assuming that you’ve never done anything like this before?”

She had been right and Keyleth had got a crash course in what they called “pegging” and anal stimulation in general.  Elignor had been especially pointed on taking your time and using lots of lube.  Keyleth had left the store with a bag stuffed with all the necessary accessories and a mind stuffed with more information than she could hope to process.

Now, back in the room, Vex and Pike out shopping, Keyleth turned the dildo around in her hands, examining it from different angles.  She had used it a couple days before, just to see what it felt like.  She’d never orgasmed with ... anything that deep in her.  Her finger didn’t really count and she’d never gotten there with Percy inside her.  It had been different.  She liked the way it made her more aware of the fluttering inside her.  It had been ... nice? ... the way her body seemed to clutch at the dildo.

Of course, that had been after she learned that you needed to warm up the dildo before using it.  That was a shriek she never wanted to relive again.

Now, well, now she was curious again.  Not so much wanting to scratch an itch, but just to understand what Percy was interested in.  This—she stood the dildo up—in your anus.  It didn’t sound comfortable.  Devan and Elignor had warned her that motions had to be slow and careful with something this stiff.

Keyleth glanced at the door and then back at the dildo.  Vex and Pike should be gone for hours.  She was supposed to be going over some of the books she had bought on herbs and their medicinal uses.  That’s what she had told them.  But she and Percy were planning on finding time alone next week and she wanted to surprise him with everything then and she wanted to understand the feeling more before they did it together, so ...

Without her armor, it only took a moment to slide off her clothes.  Devan had explicitly said that this required a lot of lube and could get very messy.  She didn’t need to explain stains on her clothes.  And, with that thought, she threw back the top sheet on the bed.  She didn’t need to explain that either.  Then she pulled out the bottle of lube from her bag and closed her eyes and tried to remember what she had been told.  Relax.  That was important.  Small circles with the pad of the finger.  Take your time.  Don’t force anything.  Do what you would normally do to get aroused.

Five minutes later, Keyleth leaned into her hand, eyes closed, finger working inside her as her palm massaged her clit, slick and hot.  Her breath was already ragged and she didn’t want to stop, but she did, pulling her hand away and reaching for the lube and applying a dab to the tip of a couple fingers of her left hand, warming the lube between them.  With that done, her other hand went right back to her cunt, petting and caressing, keeping the flames alive, as she spread her legs wide.  She reached past and tentatively pressed at her asshole.

It didn’t feel like much, so she pressed a little harder, rolling her finger along the opening.  Her fingers, slick and hot from the lube, felt like a steady lapping, almost like the caress of a tongue, but ... firmer ... more insistent.  She twitched a little in time to the press of her finger and pushed up, teasing her asshole, moving a little at a time, deeper and deeper, as she worked at her cunt, little waves starting to ripple through her body, one hand rubbing at her clit, the other rolling and pushing until—she shuddered into her hand, her legs twitching in the air, her eyes closed, focused on the tiny point of pressure that was her finger tip.  There was a tight sting as her finger pushed inside—just a little—an opening up she’d never quite felt before.

Keyleth’s orgasms were pretty quick, so her mind was already focused on the sensation in her ass.  She could feel her finger inside.  It was bizarre and unusual and stung, just a little.  Even just this little penetration was a completely different feeling—her body fought the penetration, but there was some pleasure mixed with the distinct uncomfortableness.

She pulled out.

Leaning back, Keyleth looked at her fingers.  They were slick with a greasy, slightly discolored sheen.  Keyleth looked at the dildo, laying unused on the bed beside her, and reached over and warmed it between her hands.  It wasn’t that much bigger than her finger and there was something about the feeling ... there ... that made size seem like a good thing—like the pleasure was in being opened up.  It occurred to her that having Percy’s size inside her did feel good in a completely different way than her fingers.  Maybe anal sex was like that.

She regarded the dildo warily, but she couldn’t help curiosity from creeping in.  The rounded tip would probably be a better fit than her fingers.  She wouldn’t have to be careful of her nails for one.  It would also encourage a smoother entry.  That made sense.  By rolling it, she could better massage herself.  Still on her back (the sheets already wet with lube and her juices), Keyleth spread one of her cheeks and pressed her asshole with the dildo.

It was smoother, although ... unusual.  There was something comforting about her fingers that the dildo didn’t have.  She missed the softness.  On the other hand, tilting the dildo, working it in small circles, its slick head nuzzling and fondling her asshole, Keyleth could understand some of the appeal.  Her fingers casually started grazing the lips of her cunt.  She couldn’t go anywhere near her clit so soon after she came, but just a gentle touch along the lips gave a pleasant tingle through her groin.  Now, she pressed a little more as she rolled the dildo and her ass opened up a little bit, taking just the tip inside.

It was still uncomfortable.  She could understand the massaging around the rim of the opening.  There was something distinctly stimulating about that touch, but inside ... it felt simultaneously like she needed more and less—her body was fighting itself.  But, for the sake of discovery, she worked the dildo deeper.  She figured that with a little work, she could get all five inches inside and—

Nope.  No.  No.  Definitely not.

Keyleth tossed the dildo aside and rolled over, feeling at her ass and the sting that was radiating out.

She didn’t get it.  Why would Percy want this?

***

They finally found some time together a week later, going off alone to do some shopping for one of Percy’s projects and (as was their custom at this point) finding an out-of-the-way inn at which to rent a room.  They had decided after their first time in Emon, when they had done it in the same inn as the rest of the group, that it was just too much stress to sneak around in the night.  So they were back to afternoon practice sessions.

The last few times, they had tried different positions, with varying degrees of success.  Keyleth had hated doggystyle so much that they had had to stop part way through, so she could see and touch Percy.  A part of her understood the physical appeal of the position, but the rest of her hated the sense of separation it created.  If she was going to have sex, she wanted to be as close to Percy as possible.  Otherwise, what was the point?

But after her experiments, she had wanted to try something a little different.  Up until now, they had always started with Percy getting her off before they had sex.  It had been nice because it would get her sopping wet, which made Percy being inside her much more pleasant from the start.  And she had a hard time coming from just straight vaginal stimulation (When she first tried masturbating, Keyleth thought that you just moved your fingers inside you and you came.  Her first clitoral orgasm had been a revelation), so she figured her odds of orgasming from sex with Percy were close to zero.  This way she didn’t have to worry about it.  But after using the dildo and her hand, well ....

Which is why she was on top of Percy, braced against his chest with one hand, her other hand working at her clit, as he thrust into her in a steady, shallow rhythm.  She had been on the edge for minutes now and she could feel herself tipping, the heat almost burning between her legs, her fingers slick and slippery, Percy’s cock hard and pounding, the thud up and down in her body as the tingling spread out into her stomach—and then it was like she had pulled a ripcord and she was moaning and diving for Percy’s mouth, wrapping his head in her arms and devouring him as she shuddered into his thrusts, her insides pulsing and fluttering, her skin going all hot and tingly all the way up to her scalp.  And then Percy plunged deep inside her and their moans mixed together, crushed between their ravishing lips.

A minute later, Percy’s cock twitching inside her, Keyleth heaved a deep sigh and laughed, her face still buried in the bed next to Percy, her legs still draped around him.  She pushed herself up and looked at Percy.  They were both gleaming with sweat.  She laughed again, broad and open.

“Okay—” She took another breath, still finding her lungs singing for more air.  “That was really good.  Um, I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m okay with this.  I—I had no idea I could do that to my body.”

Percy took his own deep breath and then said, “I had no idea we could do that either.  That was quite the successful experiment.”

Keyleth giggled and lifted herself off Percy.  She fell haphazardly beside him and immediately hugged him close.  “Okay, so check that off as successful: clitoral and vaginal stimulation is a winning combination.”

“I—I have to agree completely.  That was, frankly, amazing.”

Keyleth kissed Percy on the cheek and nuzzled into his side.  “I’m glad we’re doing this together.  It feels so much easier than—than figuring it out later.”  Keyleth lapsed into silence, resting her chin on Percy’s shoulder.  She could see his chest rising and falling as they lay together.  “If this was with someone else, I’d have to learn trust all over again.  I’m not sure it’s possible to trust anyone as much as I trust you.  I don’t know that I’d want to.  You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

Even like this, with her head nestled into Percy, she could tell his mind was grinding through her words.  There was something about the way he held himself or the way the stress sat in his body when he thought.  Keyleth couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but the feel of it was like second nature to her now.

Finally, Percy said, “I’m glad we did this too.  I think—I think I was afraid of it at first.  I didn’t know what it would be like . . . for me.  I was not at all entirely certain that this was a good idea for our friendship.”  Percy pulled his arm from the awkward place stuck between their bodies and worked it under Keyleth’s head.  He pulled her closer and the pressure of his hand on Keyleth’s back was reassuring.  “But I must admit that it hasn’t hurt our friendship.  If anything, we are closer than we were before.”

Keyleth nodded into his side.  “I think so.”

“I—”  Percy feel back into thought and Keyleth just held him tight, enjoying the glow that radiated through their bodies, the shared rise and fall of their chests.

“When you asked me about sex that first night, so many months ago, I—I was afraid that I would never be able to have that connection with anyone.  It still seems improbable, but it no longer seems impossible.”

Keyleth held her breath, willing him to go on, but, after a minute, she realized that he wasn’t mulling over his words, he had simply stopped.  Which meant she would have to push.  It was a question that had weighed down her tongue many times: “Why do you always act like you don’t have a future?”  She opened her mouth.  Certain that this time she would ask.

But she found the words still too heavy to say.

Instead, she pulled him closer and buried her head in his neck.  She breathed his warmth in, reveling in the soft push of his body.  They simply laid together, comfortable with each other’s presence, not needing to say anymore.

Finally, the light beginning to reveal the movement of the day, Keyleth rolled over and sat up.  Percy leaned behind her and rubbed a hand gently across her back.

“Notebook time?” he asked.  Keyleth could feel the glimmer of his slightly smug smile on her back.

He couldn’t see her smile or the red tint coloring her cheeks.

“Oh, well, I thought maybe—that is, I thought we could—” She laughed nervously, a tight sound, not bad, just ... nervous.  She stretched off the bed and grabbed her bag.  “I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?”  She had come to know Percy so well that she could hear the skeptical look on his face.

She set her bag down, opened the flap, and took out the three items: a jar of lube, a harness, and the dildo.  She set each of them carefully on the bed so that they wouldn’t shift and then put the bag back on the floor.  Then she resettled herself so she could see Percy.

“What exactly is this?” he asked.

“Okay.”  Keyleth rested her hands on her thighs.  “So you haven’t mentioned it in a while, but I remember that you wanted, um, to do anal.”  She coughed.  “And the book told me some, but it seems more focused on, uh, men, um, giving it and that still told me a lot, but ...”  She took a deep breath.  “I wanted to know more so I went to a store in the Promenade and there was a lot—I mean a lot—of things I didn’t understand there but the owners were super nice and they helped me pick this out—” Her hand rushed across the items beside her.  “—and explained a lot of things about safety and first times and—”  She stopped, looking down at her hands that had leaped together at some point during her flurry of words and were now clenching and unclenching in her lap.  “I—I guess that’s it.”  Her eyes flickered to the items.

When she glanced back she could tell that Percy was slightly taken aback, but he quickly relaxed into his natural “serious” look.  “Ah, well—”  He paused and sighed.  “I appreciate that you went to all of this trouble.  But I hadn’t mentioned it because I had decided that there was no need to try it.  You’re not comfortable with it and I think that overall you shouldn’t need to bear any of ... the burden of helping me with it.”

“Percy.  There was only one thing—one thing!—that you added to my list when we were planning all of this.  And that was anal.”

“I admit to some degree of curiosity.  However, that doesn’t mean we need to do anything about that curiosity.  There is no need to force yourself to do anything that you are not comfortable with.”

“Percy, you’re—”  Keyleth took in a sharp breath and let out a calming breath.  When she spoke, her voice was even.  “Percy, I’m not truly comfortable with any of this.  Not in the way you are.  But I do this because it's important to understand that ... part of society and people.  And I want to do that.”

Percy shook his head.  “I don’t think this is an important part of that experience.  I am certain that you can get by without it.  It’s like with blowjobs.  I don’t really want it if you don’t get pleasure from it.”

“Damn it, Percy!  How will I know if I get pleasure from it if we don’t try it!”

Keyleth hadn’t meant to shout or push.  She was already regretting her tone, as she watched Percy’s cheeks go scarlet.  It was Percy’s body, even if his reasons felt patronizing.  It was not her decision.  But, of course, that was part of the problem.  She tried again.

“I’m not going to push you,” Keyleth said, “And I don’t really think it’s going to, uh, do anything for me.”  She picked up the dildo and gave Percy a sheepish smile.  “I, um, sort of tried to—”  She giggled.  “—um, put it up there to ... see what it felt like.  I don’t understand why you want to do it, but if you do I want to support that.  I—”

She reached out her hand, inviting Percy to take it.  After a moment, he did and she clutched that hand tight. She smiled, soft and tight.  “I care about you and I’d rather help you explore this now than never do it or wait and be surprised with someone you love or—I don’t know.  It’s—it’s just a way to take care of you.”  She shrugged.  “Maybe it will be a mistake.  Maybe it will be a disaster.  But if we’re doing it together than I’m comfortable knowing that we can handle that together.”

Percy’s eyes never left her face.  His own face had become a mask, but his eyes swept across her until he said, “I understand.”  He sighed and then continued.  “I do want to try it and I appreciate how much you help.  I—I worry about pushing you into something you don’t want to do—”

“If I want to stop, I’ll tell you, just like I expect you to tell me if you want to stop.”  She dropped his hand and threw her arms around his shoulders.  “That’s trust.”

Keyleth felt the motion of Percy’s chin in her shoulder, nodding out his agreement.  She pulled back.

“Okay.” She grabbed the dildo and the harness and dangled them in front of Percy.  “I’ve learned a lot, so let me talk you through this.”

Chapter Text

Percy splashed his face with the water and wiped it dry, not looking up at the makeshift piece of mirror that had been set up in the inn’s communal washroom.  He breathed a long sigh and then straightened up, wrapping the towel around his waist.  He’d been washing up a little before his and Keyleth’s next … session and his heart was pounding in his chest.  He shook his head.  It didn’t make sense.

They’d been practicing for this for weeks.  They’d decided that the most comfortable thing was for Percy to use the dildo on himself.  Keyleth would help get him in the right frame of mind and make sure there was enough lube and urge him on, but he would be entirely in control of the actual experience.  He would hold the dildo.  He would let it play against his asshole.  He would decide when to push it a little further.  He would decide how to angle it.

And it had been good.  Very good.  For all that he knew he wanted to try it, Percy had been scared to actually do it.  If Keyleth hadn’t pushed, he probably would have just forgotten about the whole idea.  After all, he didn’t really expect to need these skills.  That wasn’t his path.

But the teasing touch of the slick dildo at his asshole had been … nice?  That seemed the right word.  Once he’d gotten the basic mechanics, the slight awkwardness of positioning, the overthinking of angling—once Keyleth had helped distract him (lips wet against his, fingers playing along his chest)—he’d been able to start listening to his body.  And his body had wanted what he was doing.  The press and roll outside had been soft and soothing, massaging him open, making him want to bear down on the dildo and take it completely inside.

Of course, that hadn’t been that easy, especially the first few times.  He’d pushed a little early and everything had tightened up.  He’d push a little hard and the tightness of his asshole would sting—and then pulling the dildo out felt uncomfortable.  Finally, however, he’d learned to take his time, enjoy the warm press of the dildo against him and let his body relax into it.  It had taken time to really push inside, to feel it filling him up (and that first inch, when it just played around the inside was … uncomfortable), but when he finally slid the dildo deeper, felt it stretch and slide—Percy had moaned into the feeling.  It was the stretch that did it, the ache of wanting to be opened wide and stuffed full at the same time.  It was something wholly new and exactly what he had hoped.  By the third time, he wondered how long he could lay there, just working the dildo slowly in and out, feeling it empty him and then stretch him wide, his ass clutch at the smooth wet surface—

During their discussion afterwards, Percy had had to admit that, if he was being honest, it felt exactly like the peak of a satisfying bowel movement but sustained for as long as you wanted.  It wasn’t exactly sexy, but it was, in away, accurate.

Percy inhaled and let out a deep sigh and headed for the room.  A few steps and he pushed the door open and quickly slid inside, shutting it behind him.  Keyleth was already naked and pulling the last strap of the harness tight across her hip.  She glanced over at him with a warm smile and then turned back to her business as Percy took off the towel and folded it carefully over the end of the bed.  With a wiggle of her hips, she watched the dildo waggle stiffly.  They had upgraded to a larger size after some practice and this was their first time using it.  Percy had told her he felt like he needed to be filled up more.  Keyleth had said that when she had gone back to the store where she’d gotten the rest of the things, the women there had just smiled and given each other knowing looks.

Keyleth turned.  “Are you ready?”

Percy walked towards her.  Despite the thud in his chest, the look of her naked body was enough to get his attention.  He smiled sheepishly and fiddled with his glasses.  “I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Keyleth met him halfway and took his hands.  Her head cocked to the side and she leaned down slightly to catch his eyes.  “We’ll do this together at whatever speed you need, in whatever way you need.”

Percy nodded and took off his glasses.  “I wish my comfort with you and my desire for this was enough to chase away my … hesitance.  But, try as I might, reason cannot entirely tamp down my emotions.”

“Percy, you dope!”  Keyleth sprung forward to envelop him in one of her lanky hugs, but, as her arms folded around him, there was a sharp poke in Percy’s pelvis and he leapt backwards.

“Dear lord!  What the—”

They both looked down at the gleaming dildo standing at full attention from where it was strapped at Keyleth’s crotch.

Keyleth burst into peals of laughter.  She gave Percy’s chest a hearty poke with her finger.  “Now you know how it feels!”  She turned her body to the side and pulled him into a hug.

Percy let himself grip her tightly and took a deep breath to steady himself.  “I guess I’ll know a little more about how things feel from your perspective.”

Their bodies pressed tight together, Percy felt the stifled chuckle.  Keyleth turned her head and kissed him softly by his ear.  “I don’t know about that.  Anal penetration is quite different from vaginal penetration.”

“I—I don’t quite mean that part of it.”  Percy considered the words in his head, examining what he wanted to say from every angle.  Finally, he sighed and said, “I suppose it’s the experience of someone else being inside you, someone else having the control over what you feel.  If I was just interested in the penetration, then what I did over the last few weeks would be enough.”

Keyleth pulled back and regarded him with a soft look.  “I don’t really understand why you want to do this, but I’m here to help.”  Her eyes twitched towards the bed and then back to Percy.  “Do you want to …?”  She let the question hang.

Percy nodded.  “The only way we get through things is by pushing on.”

They walked over to the bed and stood next to it, hesitating.  Keyleth chewed at her lip while Percy walked to the small table by the be and put down his glasses.

“So I’ve been thinking about this …” began Keyleth.

Percy eyed her as she absentmindedly ran her fingers along the length of the dildo.  His heart beat at the touch and his breath caught in his throat.

“… there are probably two best positions for doing this.  I, uh, don’t want to do doggystyle.  You’d feel too far away.”

“Fair enough.”

Percy sat down on the bed and Keyleth plopped down next to him.

She toyed with one of the straps across her thigh.  “This harness is not the most comfortable thing in the word.  I mean, the inside is pretty soft—they did a good job with the leather—but, well, I’m just not used to something putting pressure there.  I’m used to the straps of my armor.”  She looked over at Percy and flung her arms around him.  Her body was hot to the touch and Percy felt the blood rushing to his skin.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to get distracted.”

Percy shook his head.  “Please take your time.  This isn’t just my comfort we’re dealing with here.”

She squeezed him tight and kissed his shoulder.  “No, but—I’m okay.  I don’t want you to be worry about me.  I’m—” She laughed.  “We’ll I’m sure I’ll get my own round of confusion once we get started—I, uh, don’t know how this thing—” She gestured at the dildo, standing erect in its harness.  “—works in—that is—” She laughed again, but this time it was slightly higher pitched.  “I’ve never ‘given it!’” she finished with exaggerated air quotes.

“Ah, yes, well,” said Percy, “I’ve never ‘taken it,’ if we’re to continue with that vernacular, so we’re in similar boats.”  He glanced over at the dildo and began to reach out a hand, then stopped.  “Do you might if I touch it while it’s attached to you?”

Keyleth leaned back on the bed, giving Percy a full view of her body: a well-toned core, lean thighs.  Percy’s mind flashed the image of her, hands on his hips, those muscles pumping and grinding into him with a steady rhythm.  His cock twitched and he let out a slow breath.

“Feel free!” she said with a smile.

Percy cleared the gap and wrapped his hand around the dildo.  It had a firm, weighty feel and was already starting to warm from Keyleth’s touch.  He pulled at it a little and gave it a twist, watching it flex in the harness.  He let go.

“You were saying something about positions?”

“Oh, yes!”  Keyleth sat up with a start.  “Okay, so I think the two best positions are either you on top—that will give you a lot of control—or you on your back—that will give me a lot of control.  And we get to look at each other either way!”

Percy released the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.  “I—I suppose on top, at least to begin with.  I believe the control would make this easier.”

“Okay.”  Keyleth lay back on the bed (she absently adjusted the dildo in its harness).  “How do you want to do this?”

Percy stood up and considered the scenario.  “I guess I just … straddle you and …”  His voice faded away.

After a moment, Keyleth said, “Why don’t you straddle me and I’ll hold the dildo steady and you just do what feels good?”  She reached out a hand and took Percy’s.  “Take your time.  We have hours.”

“Alright.”  Percy nodded and took a breath.  “Perhaps a kiss to begin?”

“Of course!”  Keyleth propped herself up on her side and met Percy half way.  The kiss was deep and wet and the blood pounded through Percy’s body.  He wanted to grab Keyleth and pull her close.  He wanted every inch of their bodies to touch.  He wanted to feel every murmur and shudder of her body beneath him.  But instead, he pulled away, the memory of Keyleth’s lips lingering in his mouth, and climbed on the bed.

Percy straddled Keyleth chest.  She warm and unyielding between his thighs and her skin was soft.  He shifted back until his ass hit the dildo.  Keyleth reached between his legs and gripped the dildo, holding it firmly in place.

“Do whatever feels safest, when you’re ready,” she said.  She reached over with her free hand and grabbed the bottle of lube, handing it to Percy.  “Remember, just a little bit.  Otherwise, we get a mess like the first time.”

Percy tried to laugh, but he was too tense to really see the humor.  He opened the jar and took a fingertipful of lube and reached back.  After a moment of blind grappling, he glanced over his shoulder and his hand found the dildo.  He rubbed his finger across the tip, smearing the lube until the dildo glistened.  He breathed, calming and smooth and, Keyleth helping line up the dildo, lowered himself.

The head of the dildo was warm and slick.  Even after all the practice sessions, an involuntary gasp pushed past Percy’s lips as his asshole slid across the tip and he arched his back to bring the two more solidly together.  Keyleth held the dildo steady, letting him wiggle across it at his own speed.  He loved the slide, the smooth massage as the tip traced circles on his asshole.  But he also wanted to feel it inside, so he pushed down.  The dildo slid to the side.  Keyleth renewed her grip and Percy tried again.  This time the dildo stayed put, but he felt his muscles push back, fighting the penetration.

Percy looked down.  Keyleth was watching him closely, eyes flitting across his face.  He broke away and lowered himself to her lips, kissing her hard, almost too hard.  She didn’t flinch, but brought one hand to the back of his hand and pulled him closer.  When he pulled away, Keyleth let go of the dildo and brushed her fingers along the inside of his thigh.

“You’re really tense,” she said.

Percy frowned.  “I’m nervous.”

“So am I, but I have an idea.  Can I touch your penis?  I think some more arousal will help you relax.”

The thought of Keyleth’s hands working at his cock was enough to make him twitch.  He could feel his cock going hard as the idea worked its way into his mind.  “Ah, yes.  Let’s give it a try.”

Keyleth’s hand slid from his thigh to his testicles.  She cupped them gently for a moment, pulling a quiet moan out of a Percy with a little squeeze and then quickly moving on to the shaft, fingers feather touches.  Then, just as quickly, she wrapped her hand around his cock and began to caress the tip with her thumb, a heavy touch stroking him until he was almost painfully hard.  Percy sat back on Keyleth, feeling the dildo resting against his ass, Keyleth’s hand working in front of him.  He gripped Keyleth’s waist, holding tight as she began to pump, urging him on, until he just wanted to grind into her hand until he exploded.  Suddenly, Keyleth lightened her touch, her fingers merely grazing the length of his shaft.

“Ready?” she asked.

Percy nodded, already breathless, and shifted back.  Keyleth was steadying the dildo, but she also kept her hand playing on Percy’s cock.  As he brushed the dildo, he could already feel that he was more relax.  Instead of fighting, he felt an ache inside.  He worked his ass across the dildo, sighing into the press, working the tip with small movements of his hips.

“Can—“  Percy gasped as he rolled his ass across the tip.  “Can you—can you push inside?”

Keyleth let out her own calming breath and gave a tiny nod.  “Okay.”  She let go of his cock and gripped his thigh with one hand and Percy steadied himself.  It felt so good to feel her hold him and, as she slid to his ass and held him tight and lowered him down, the dildo warm and hard, he realized how good it felt to have her tell him what to do.  Keyleth took over and worked the dildo in small circles.  Percy closed his eyes and leaned back into the caress.  Slowly, deliberately, Keyleth pushed him onto the firm cock.  His breath shuddered as the tip entered him and he grasped at the stretch, the way it held him open, and made him want more.  He sighed to the ceiling.

“Key—Keyleth, I—I—deeper please.”

Her other hand squeezed his thigh.  “Percy.” It was almost a whisper.  “Can you look at me?”

Percy looked down into the softness of Keyleth’s face.  He groaned as she shifted slightly.

“How fast do you want me to go?” she asked.

He wanted to tell her to fill him up now, to push the dildo all the way inside, as hard as she could.  Instead, he murmured “Sl—slowly at first.”

Keyleth listened, rocking Percy’s hips with her hands, kneading at his body, lifting her hips a little here and a little there.  Taking her time.

It was blissfully agonizing—that sense of fullness slowly growing, Percy wanting to spread himself even wider, make even more room, let Keyleth split him open.

And then he felt the harness against his skin and, at almost the same time, the dildo brushed something inside and his body went hot.  He pitched forward, catching himself against the bed, his eyes closed, a ragged groan flooding out of his mouth.

Keyleth’s hands fluttered against his skin.  “Percy?  Are you okay?”

Through the haze, the dildo lightly press on inside, Percy could hear the concern weighing down her voice.  “I—I’m—yes,” he managed to squeeze out.  “Pl—please keep going.”

There was a moment where nothing happened, where Percy knew Keyleth was trying to figure out what “keep going” meant, and then he felt her move, her hips pull back a bit, the dildo slid slowly out, and then, just as quickly, Keyleth thrust up.  Percy groaned and grabbed at the bed.  They were little movements but, again and again, Keyleth thrust up, and, again and again, Percy’s vision went sideways.

It had been like this, when he was in control, when he was fucking himself with the dildo, but less so.  He didn’t know if it was the angle.  He didn’t know if it was Keyleth, but, for whatever reason, this was different.  It just wanted her to do it harder.

He moaned and then said, “We should switch to—ah—you on top.”

Keyleth nodded quickly.  “Okay.”  She tapped him lightly on the thigh with one hand.

Percy lifted himself and whimpered as the dildo slipped out.  He felt its absence deeply and he just wanted to get back to Keyleth being inside him again.  He fell backwards onto the bed, his legs hanging off the edge, and Keyleth stood up.  The dildo waved in front of her, slick and tinted a slightly darker color.

“I think you need to hold your legs back,” she said.

Without hesitation, Percy pulled his legs towards his head and gripped his thighs.  Keyleth knelt on the bed.

“Are you ready?”

“Please.”

It was quicker this time.  Percy was already primed and ready and the dildo pushed inside with little resistance.  Keyleth wove her arms between Percy’s arms and legs, so that she could get as deep as possible.  Every move was heightened.  Every move was delicious.  Percy moaned as she slowly worked the dildo in and out.

Keyleth had said an orgasm was like a fire for her, but this?  This was like water, like steam.  The pumping of the dildo, the steady rhythm of Keyleth’s body, the pulse punching through Percy’s body with every thrust, they stoked the furnace and pushed the water to boiling.  He could feel the pressure building in his pelvis and every time Keyleth thrust (never violent, always slow and controlled, but it didn’t matter) the pressure grew until he was sure he was about to burst, the heavy rush of water washing through his body.  His legs ached from the position, but he didn’t care.  He moaned and his jaw trembled around the sound.

He closed his eyes and the dams burst.

It started as a low twitching and jerking somewhere deep in his pelvis—a swirling feeling that tied knots in his groin.  Percy’s fingers curled on his thighs and his head dropped back to the mattress.  The feeling spilled outward into his stomach, then his chest, flowing out into a tingling in his limbs.  His legs shuddered—trying to spread and close at the same time—and his eyes rolled back in his head to a throaty groan.

Keyleth didn’t stop and the rolling, flooding feeling started again: a pressure in his pelvis exploding outward and filled the rest of his body with a roiling hot sensation that overwhelmed his senses.  Again and again and again, Percy lost sense of time, the twitching and rolling filling him up until, suddenly, a massive hot, wet release flood out onto his abs.  It wasn’t a single explosion or burst, but a stream of come spreading across his stomach.  Percy barely noticed.

Sometime later, Keyleth plopped down next to Percy (his insides were still vibrating, his vision still hazy) and grabbed one of the handkerchiefs they had started bringing to their sessions.  Then she grabbed another one and, after a brief analysis, another one.  She started wiping Percy’s abdomen down, the mass of come smearing this way and that as she wiped.  Percy lifted an arm to take over the job, but then let it collapse to the bed.  He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling in heaving breaths, and let Keyleth continue the cleanup.

Out of the darkness behind his eyes, Percy heard Keyleth giggle.  “Wow, I—“  She started wiping with another dry cloth.  “That was a lot of semen, Percy.”

Between breaths, Percy said, “It just—just came out.  I—I—oh Pelor that was …”  He let out a long, narrow breath.

“I wish I could orgasm like that!”  She laughed again.  “But I suspect I don’t have the parts.  Just—wow.  I didn’t even know men had that much semen in them!”

“I—I admit to being … surprised myself.”  He gasped for breath again.  There was still a deep pulsing in his pelvis that threatened to overflow and fill his body up again.

“So I assume that was good?”

Eyes still shut, Percy nodded vaguely.  He tried to string some words together, but eventually settled for “Yes.”

Keyleth finished mopping up the mess and tossed the handkerchiefs aside.  She lay down on her side next to him and flung an arm across his chest and a leg across his legs.  Percy realized they were hanging partially off the bed, feet in midair, but he didn’t care.  Keyleth nuzzled into his shoulder.  They lay like that for a while, basking in each other’s presence, until Percy’s insides had stopped twitching and he was able to catch his breath.

He rolled his head to the side and kissed the top of Keyleth’s head.  “Thank you.”

Keyleth tilted her head up and gave him a peck.  “Pretty sure that’s why we’re here.”

“Yes, but … I—I—“  Percy paused looking over his thoughts and then let out a sigh.  “I was taught very few things about sex.  But there were some clear lessons.”

Percy could see his father very clearly in his mind: stern, severe, towering—broad shoulders and regal eyes.  And he could also hear the words: “We have a responsibility as men to continue the De Rolo line and, when it is time, you must make sure that your wife understands that that is her most important duty as well.”  Even at that age, he had wondered why that was so important (he wouldn’t inherit the duties of the family name, anyway), but mostly he just hadn’t wanted to think about it at all.  His father had always been distant and uninterested in the younger children.  That piercing attention, even for the few minutes it took, had been … uncomfortable.  He had much preferred the time with his mother.

“They were not … useful lessons.”

Keyleth simply squeezed him tight and propped her chin up on his shoulder, turning almost onto her stomach, wiggling her feet in the air.  She smiled.  Percy appreciated the silence—the fact that she knew not to ask questions when he navigated around his past, his family.

“But what about you?” asked Percy, “How was this particular experience for you?”

Keyleth wobbled her head back and forth on Percy’s shoulder as her face squinted up into a thoughtful look.  “It was interesting.  I’ve never had to move my pelvis in that particular way.  I actually think I might be a little sore tomorrow.”  She stopped and her eyes flicked downwards and then back up to Percy’s face.  “And I’ve never seen someone, um, I guess ‘overwhelmed with pleasure’ is the right phrase for it.  I honestly wasn’t sure whether to keep going or not or if something was wrong or—“

“Was I really that bad?”

Keyleth’s head shot up and she waved a hand in Percy’s face.  “Oh!  No! No!  It wasn’t bad.  I don’t want you to think it was bad.  I just, didn’t think about what, um—“ She laughed.  “If I’m being honest, I hadn’t considered what I might look like when I, uh, orgasmed until that moment.”  She propped herself up on both arms.  “Um, what do I look like when I orgasm?”

“Nothing to worry about I assure you.  You honestly look almost peaceful.  I—your eyes are almost completely closed and your mouth is just a little open and you sigh.  Really, that’s about it.  It’s mostly in how your body twitched.”  Percy suddenly looked concerned.  “What do I look like normally?”

Keyleth wiggled as she thought about it.  “You just scrunch up your face really tight—“ Keyleth scrunched up her face into an almost sour look.   “—and then you grunt and your whole face goes lax.  That’s it.”

“Not exactly a complimentary picture.”

Keyleth giggled.  “I’m not sure my spaced out face is all that complimentary either, but so what!?  I assume you don’t care what I look like when I orgasm and I can assure you I don’t care what you look like.”

“Except this time,” said Percy with a meaningful point of his finger.

“No!  I—I just was surprised, that’s all.  I didn’t know you—“  Keyleth broke off.

“Go ahead.”

“I didn’t know you could lose control like that.  You’re—you’re very, um, in control?”

Percy gave her a long stare (his eyes showing a little strain without his glasses).  “I suppose that’s a compliment in a way.”

Keyleth sighed and pushed herself up to seated.  She nodded towards the head of the bed.  “Why don’t we get a little more comfortable?”  She lay back, head on pillow and reached out an arm for Percy.

Percy smiled tightly at her and pushed himself up.  He grimaced for a moment and rubbed one of his butt cheeks as he climbed up towards Keyleth.  “That’s a little sore.”

Keyleth looked concerned. “Was I too enthusiastic?  I’ve never had to thrust before, so—“

Percy laid down next to her and pulled her close.  “I assure you that you were perfect.  I would think you’d be able to tell.”  He felt her laugh and it brought a smile to his lips.  “So what do you want to do next?”

“Well, we finished our list!  I didn’t really think of anything past that.”

“Yes,” said Percy, “Things have been so hectic lately, I really wasn’t certain we’d be able to finish.”

Keyleth nodded beside him.  “I guess we could stop.  I—I wouldn’t really miss the sex, but I feel like I’d miss … well, I’d miss this.”  She rolled over and rested her forehead against Percy’s.  “You know?”

“I do.  There’s something pleasant about the … moments of peace we find together.”

Keyleth brushed a hand through Percy’s hair.  “That and just being able to talk, to be open about things.  I grew up with that, but … the rest of the world doesn’t seem to understand the importance of it.”

Percy hesitated.  Keyleth had been so open with him and he’d held so much back.  She didn’t know anything about his family.  She didn’t know what had happened.  Sometimes he thought she suspected, but he had never told her.  But there was also a peace in being able to shut that part of himself away and act like he could live a normal adventuring life—live like he didn’t know that his life was already over.  It was nice to pretend that all of this practice was for a future where the darkness was gone, where he had a life with someone, someone he could practice with all the time.  Sometimes, Keyleth, with her overflowing lightness, made him believe that, even if it was just for a moment.  She opened him up to a better world.

So Percy said, “Maybe we should keep practicing.”

Chapter Text

And then there was Brimscythe.

And Jurazel.

And the Dread Emperor.

And the Underdark.

And the Briarwoods.

And Thordak.

And Raishan.

***

Vax had wanted a little time with his sister—it had been so long since they really connected.  The time had just stretched away during that year apart and, somehow, the twins, for the first time, had spent it apart.  This late at night, Keyleth had decided just to wander around Dalen’s Closet, seeing what she could find.  Which is how she ended up at the bar, breathing in the warm sea breeze as she sipped at a bizarrely fruity drink that the bartender assured her was packed with alcohol.  The little umbrella that he had dropped in the glass was also something else.  It was strange, but pleasant.  Sometimes it was nice to just have something cute and pleasant.  She leaned back and listened to the waves breaking on the beach.

“Mind if I join you?”

Every muscle in her body went to tense and her glass jerked up, sending a splash of drink down her front.   Keyleth turned to fix Percy with a stern look, which was undercut by the smile on her face.  “Damn it, Percy.  I didn’t hear you coming!”

He gave her a pained expression.  “Apologies.”  He reached over the bar and grabbed a cloth, handing it to Keyleth.

Keyleth patted down her front and then pulled Percy down to the stool next to her.  “You idiot.  Since when did you need permission to join me?”

Percy let out a long sigh and adjusted his glasses.  “Honestly, it just seems like we’ve been apart for so long.”

Keyleth looked down into her glass and then set it to the side.  “Yeah.  And so much happened before that.”  She laughed.  “We hardly came down from the stress of the Chroma Conclave and then we ran off and went our own ways.”  She wrapped an arm around Percy’s shoulder and pulled him in close.  “I’m glad you came down.”

“I’m glad Vex and Vax decided to go off together so I thought to come down.”

“I’m glad you found me.”

“Yes, we have a lot to catch up on.”

Keyleth ordered Percy a drink (“the same!”) and they talked (after Percy had gone on about the travesty that was fruity cocktails).  It was nice to just catch up.  To share what they had been doing, how life had changed.  Keyleth had spent the year rebuilding the Ashari from their losses and hopefully developing systems to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again.  Percy had spent much of his year in a similar way, working with Cassandra and the council to revitalize Whitestone—restoring the things the Briarwoods had destroyed and building a stronger city.

“And what about Vex?” asked Keyleth.

“Vex?”  Percy blinked in confusion behind his glasses.  “What do you mean?”

“How is it?  Is it good?  Is it working?”

Keyleth’s insides warmed as she saw the slightest hint of a smile slip across Percy’s lips.

“Yes, it’s good.  Very good.”  He took a quick sip to cover the smile, but Keyleth saw it shining in his eyes.

“I’m so glad.  I—I was so happy when Vex told me you kissed her and—”  She stopped and bowed her head in embarrassment.  “I think she’s really good for you.”

Percy nodded.  “I think so too.  She’s so different from my family.  We were … distant.  Loving was not a word anyone would use to describe the De Rolos.  We all understood that we cared for one another, but to express it, well, that was unheard of.”  Percy took a deep breath and placed the drink of the bar with a light tap.  He looked over at Keyleth, his face glowing.  “Vex is—Vex never lets a day pass without letting me know how she feels about me.  At first it was … uncomfortable, but then I realized that I wanted to spend all my time telling her the same thing.  I just … didn’t do it with words.”

“The arrows.”

“The arrows.  The broomstick.  Little items and odds and ends.”  Percy’s checks flushed red.  “Vex calls it my love language—making things.  I just think of it as something I do.”

Keyleth finished her drink and waved to the barkeep for more and then rested her head on Percy’s shoulder.  “I think we all understand what—what we all mean by those things.”

Percy leaned his head against the top of hers.  “And what about you and Vax.  Are you doing well?”

Keyleth sighed a little into the night air, a slight smile painting her lips.  “Yeah, we are.”

“How does he handle being consort to the Voice of the Tempest.”

Keyleth scrunched her face and gave a strained laugh.  “That’s a really weird way to put it.  Although, I guess, not weird for you.”  She gave him a playful nudge.  “We’re good.  He’s—he’s one of the—he listens and he’s there.  And he’s just happy to do it.”  She pulled back and Percy felt her movement and lifted his head.  “You and Vex, you took a while to get there, but once you did, you jumped all in.  Vax and I couldn’t do that.  I couldn’t do that.  I—I wasn’t really sure anything could work for a while.  And then the Raven Queen and—”  Keyleth puffed out her cheeks and blew out a blast of air.  “But we understand each other now and we respect the things that … we disagree about and Vax is the most supportive partner you could ask for.”

The new drink had been delivered at some point while Keyleth was distracted and she took a sip.

“Percy?”

Percy was partway through a deeper drink.  He swallowed and gave a “hm” of acknowledgement.

“What—what’s it like with Vex?”

Percy blinked a few times at the question.  “In … what way?”

Keyleth took another, longer, drink.  “In bed.”

“Ah.”

Keyleth waved her hands wildly and laughed nervously.  “Nevermind, nevermind!  I just wondered whether our—us—was it helpful?”

There was no deep sigh, no agonized stare as Percy thought over his words.  He simply said: “Yes.  I can say without any doubt that our time together was deeply helpful.”

Keyleth stared at her drink and whispered, “I’m glad.”

Percy looked her over.  “And you?  Was it helpful?”

Her response started as a slow nod that built into something more sure.  “Yeah.  It’s—it’s funny because the most valuable thing for me was practicing how to talk about it.  Understanding more of what he might want, even if I don’t want to give it.”

“Is he … respectful?”

Keyleth grinned at Percy’s roundabout way of talking.  “The most respectful.”  She laughed.  “He doesn’t ask for anything and I—I really don’t think he wants anything more.  We mostly cuddle and then, sometimes, when we want to feel even closer we have this incredibly soft loving sex where we’re wrapped entirely in each other ….”  She trailed off and then seemed to shake herself out of her mind and took a quick drink.  “Anyway, what about you and Vex?  Is it right?”

Percy shook his head in disbelief.  “Sweet Pelor, the woman is insatiable.”

A laugh exploded out of Keyleth and she quickly slapped her hands over her mouth.  Finally, when the quaking had subsided, she said, “Are you surprised?”

“No, no.  And I’m not complaining either.  It’s just … I had no idea.”  His eyes stared off into the distance.

“Are you—are you able to give each other everything you want?”

“You know what?  We are quite compatible.  I’m sure we’ll find some things that don’t mesh at some point, but, well, it’s all worked quite exceptionally so far.”  He chuckled.  “I—” He laughed louder this time.  “I want to thank you for the practice.  I suspect that my time with Vex would have begun much more stressfully if I hadn’t had … more realistic expectations.”

Keyleth smiled and sipped at her drink.  “Well, thank you too,” she said.

“For what?”

“For being such a good friend.  I—I’m glad I had someone I could be so open with.  I—well, you know.”  She wrapped an arm around Percy and pulled him close again.  “I love you.”

“I love you too.”