for Peter (werewolfing) - Post-Folkmore Exandria AU

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb opens his eyes back in Exandria. When he fell to sleep, he'd been safe and warm, held in Peter's arms. Where he belongs, where his heart had come to know was where he was meant to be, in any and all worlds. Now though, now he finds himself opening his eyes in a moment that is familiar, but feels distant. The last moment he'd been in Wildemount before he'd found himself snatched away by the Fox and her request that wasn't quite a request so much as a command. It's disorienting, like being dropped into a deep pool of cold water, not entirely sure which way gravity properly existed, no memory of how to breathe like this.

He takes stock almost desperately. Yes, this is his own world. There's a terrible moment where he wonders if all that time in Folkmore had been some incredibly vivid dream. But no, that's wrong. It's impossible. His imagination has never been so talented, and his heart knows all too well that it was real -- the people he'd met there, the things he'd done. Peter. Immediately Caleb reaches for that bond that has kept them in each other's minds, the comforting, warm presence of his lover. 'Peter!' But no answer comes. It feels like the connection is still there, some vague promise that somewhere, across whatever realms and worlds may be, Peter Rumancek is still alive. He looks quickly to the red string around his pinky -- and it's still there, still tied securely, but it trails off into nothing after only a few inches, connected to nothing.

No. No. The frantic sound he nearly chokes on wakes Veth, and she's quick to ask him what's wrong. He tries to explain it, he really does, to Veth, to the others. Again and again. But they don't know what to make of it. They know that Caleb has been here all this time, had he been dreaming? He tries to assure them that no, he hasn't been dreaming, he's been in another world all together, for months, longer. His friends are kind, and they humor him -- or they worry. Caleb knows they're worried. He tries to pick up and move on.

Time passes, and there's a new and somehow deeper sadness in Caleb, a new loss that is fresher than his older regrets and sorrows. He's quieter, and his friends notice him fidgeting with his fingers lost in thought, the small one where that limp invisible red string is wrapped, his ring finger that feels so empty without the simple band that Peter had placed there.

By day, he keeps going. They have important goals to accomplish, things that cannot go neglected. But oh the nights are hard. Cold and empty. Sleep barely comes, and when it does, there are dreams of beautifully blue eyes and a rakish smile, a face that he fears even with his keen mind he might be forgetting. A month passes, longer.

They've returned to Zadash to check in with the Gentleman -- Jester's father, apparently, so there's that -- a sort of returning to their roots, the place they had begun. Caleb is there, physically, but there's still a distance about him, as if his mind is elsewhere. It is, of course. It's chasing his heart, which never did make the trip back to Exandria with him.

They make their way down into the Gentleman's lair, greeted warmly by their crime-boss sometimes-patron. Caleb is silent, lingering in the back of the group as conversation spins up in cheerful catching up.

What the wizard doesn't notice is that his familiar has wandered off, Frumpkin quite certain that he's caught a very familiar scent. The small orange cat seems intent on finding something, on a feline mission with his wizard's best intentions at heart.]

Comments

[werewolfing]

I know, iubit, I know. Shhh, soon.

[ there's no more teasing, just making the requisite stretching as pleasurable as possible for his soulmate. fingers brush over caleb's prostate, twisting and scissoring inside him until peter knows the other man's body can accept him.

after hauling himself onto his knees, peter lifts caleb's hips and slides the pillow beneath them. he slicks his own cock with oil, the sweet smell again flooding his nose and making him groan at the sensation. ]

You've been so good, love. So patient.

[ he's ignoring how much his own hands are trembling as he eases slowly into caleb, an unsteady quiet groan escaping him at the tight heat.

and then that other part of their bond, the one peter had nearly forgotten, flares to life. the resonance between his swadisthana and their bond sends peter shuddering, struggling to keep his balance as he suddenly possesses two sets of nerves, feels the sweet burn of muscle as he slides inside caleb.

already panting, peter leans down to kiss caleb, a fiercely tender capture of his mouth as he gives them both time to adjust to the near-overwhelming sensations. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb shivered at the praise, unable to hide the rush of pleasure the words alone brought -- unable to hide anything with the bond between them. And oh he didn't want to. Peter is back in his mind where he belongs and the world is not so cold and quiet and empty anymore.

The wizard watches with a heated gaze, hot enough that the blue in his eyes has gone molten, at least what little of it is left around the wide-blown pupils.

And he's not ready for the feeling of it, the way their connection echoes the physical sensations back to him, the way he can't tell where Peter ends and he begins, how he can feel Peter pressing inside him, feel the way his own body clings tight around the other man's cock, everything all at once.

He tilts his chin to meet that kiss, arms winding around him and holding on for dear life.]

This is real... you're really here.

[There would be no imagining this, no faking this moment.]

[werewolfing]

It's real, iubit.

[ not that peter doesn't feel similarly astonished about that fact. astonished and so grateful that his ribs feel ready to burst with it. caleb's arms are tight around him and peter shifts down onto his elbows so they're as close as they possibly can be, belly to belly and chest to chest. his fingers run through caleb's hair, tangling in it so he can run his nails lightly over the other man's scalp. ]

You're the most real thing in the entire world, you precious creature.

[ peter rocks his hips, moaning softly into caleb's mouth at the sensations that shock through him. it's not much movement, just an inch or two of friction and pressure, but he doesn't want to stop being this close to caleb yet. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb hooked his legs over Peter's hips, anything to pull them closer, anything for more contact, more touch. He reveled in the feeling of Peter against him, the weight of his body offset as it may well be. His own arousal was trapped between their stomachs, likely already making a mess of both of them given that after Peter had worked him up so thoroughly, precome was already quite liberally beading and smearing with each motion.]

I can feel you, feel everything. My love... gods.

[Coherency wasn't exactly in his ability, and instead he whimpered an answering moan to Peter's lips as the other man began to move.]

[werewolfing]

[ peter's not much for coherency at the moment either, but it's clear enough that he agrees wholeheartedly with caleb's sentiments as he shifts his weight to be able to move his hips more freely.

they still fit perfectly together, and that's all peter can think about as he lets his body move itself and gives into feeling everything he possibly can. there's something truly magical about being able to feel everything caleb feels both physically and emotionally, and the fact that every move either of them makes brings them both the same pleasure. peter can feel the pull of his fingers in caleb's hair and the friction of their bodies against the other man's cock; caleb can feel how exquisite he feels around peter and the grip of his thighs around peter's waist.

the song of the universe is subtly different here than it was in folkmore. there are more resonances, a more complex layering of tones to make something closer to a melody as all the planes and planets and stars blend together in their unique harmony. it's the third song peter has heard in his very strange life, and as he stares into caleb's eyes, something in him knows that this is where his soulmate belongs. ]

Everything, yes. You're everything, iubit. Your everything.

[ peter doesn't know what he means, exactly, but he knows that he means it. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[It's not the first time that Caleb has cried during sex with Peter, not the first time the emotions in him flood and surge so strongly that there's no way to contain them. The wizard hasn't noticed that the tears that hadn't finished earlier are slipping free from his eyes now. But there's no sadness, only relief and pleasure and joy in the miracle that Peter is back in his arms.

The physical sensations are dizzyingly good, the way that he can feel the electric sting as he curls his fingers to his lover's back and drags nails against sweat-damp skin, the way that every thrust of that length inside him feels like Peter is coming home, the two of them as close to one as they can be.

And he can feel that melody echoing through Peter, soundless but swelling in crescendo regardless. He looks back up to the other man, to those depthless blue eyes.]

My everything. My Moonlight. My world.

[Everything that he's ever needed.]

[werewolfing]

[ peter sees the tears, but they seem fitting in the moment. his own eyes are shining but dry, if only because his tears will fall after. right now, he moves for both of them, and he needs his breath for that.

sweat-salt burns along his back as caleb's nails drag down and his spine arches up into the sting, welcoming the small pain that makes the pleasure sharper. his teeth close on caleb's lower lip, worrying it gently and then licking at the skin that is now flush and sweet with unshed blood. ]

My beloved, my wildfire, my home...

[ it's been so long that peter feels the want building hot and taut low in his belly, altogether too soon and not soon enough. they'll fall over that edge together, he's sure, because every touch and taste and movement brings them both closer simultaneously. and that is as it should be. ]

Fall with me, iubit. Let it happen.

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb can barely think; feeling is taking up far too much, and that's fine. That's exactly as it should be. His body remembers this though, the way they fit together, move together, all of it, and he falls into the rhythm of this intimate dance. He gasps to Peter's mouth at the blissful sting of those teeth at his lip.

The feeling of that pleasure is cresting in him too, borne and buoyed by that rising tide that lifts the both of them together. The crash of that wave is inevitable, and Caleb knows it will take them together.]

Yes, I... yes, Liebling. Together...

[And then even unspoken words are beyond him, and Caleb is clinging to Peter, moving with him in those final moments before his climax rushes over him. He cries out then, wordless, a sound as much a sob as anything else. His arousal, trapped between them, paints both their stomachs with white, even as his muscles tighten around the cock moving inside him.]

[werewolfing]

[ a near-feral sound throbs out of peter as he comes, the feeling so ecstatic and consuming that it's somehow adjacent to pain. his hips snap once, twice more before stilling buried deep in his soulmate, letting the rhythmic tightening of caleb's muscles pull out the rest of his orgasm.

he's not sure how long it is before the awareness of his limbs returns and he finds himself draped over and clinging to caleb, panting against the pulse of the other man's throat. the tears that hadn't fallen before have started without his knowledge or consent, but peter figures that doesn't much matter now. his hands wrap firmly around caleb's back and haul up until he's sitting with caleb in his lap with his legs folded to support the other man so their bodies stay joined. ]

Missed you like air, iubit, like water. Not sure I could stand to not have you with me again.

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb clings to him tightly, holding to him like the world has turned into a storm and Peter is the only thing solid enough for him to hold to. He barely notices that he's even being moved, until he finds himself sitting in Peter's lap, still impaled on him.

So he lets his legs wrap a bit more securely around the other man, arms winding around Peter to hold them close, close as he possibly can.]

I'm never letting you go again, Mondschein. I can't. There is no life for me without you in it.

[werewolfing]

No, never again.

[ peter's tears flow freely now, even though there's only a small
hitch in his breathing. it's absolutely a release of joy and relief--the time for sadness has passed and he would really rather move past it as soon as possible. ]

Your friends aren't going to love me, you know. Not like the haus. It's going to take a long time for me to be that person again with anyone but you.

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb leans back just enough to catch Peter's face between his hands, thumbs brushing along tear-streaked cheeks, soft and gently. His own tears have ebbed, though faint tracks of them linger on his own freckled cheeks.]

They will love you because I love you, and that will be enough until it is something more.

[Caleb is certain of that much. He knows he is a better person when he is with Peter, is happy and content in a way that he had never thought himself capable of. Peter Rumancek is his heart in another body.]

And I will love you enough for everyone, regardless.

[werewolfing]

I don't think that's how it works, but I'll take your word for it, love. At least I may be useful, if nothing else. It doesn't cost me anything to change my shape, and I have two more down now.

[ in peter's opinion, his doubt is perfectly reasonable, but these people are complete strangers to him. caleb may indeed know better, and when it comes down to it, peter doesn't much care if they like him as long as they don't interfere with his ability to protect caleb and vice versa. he gives caleb a small smile and cups rough palms gently around his cheeks and jaw. ]

You're the one I care about, iubit. Don't want you to get a raft of shit for your soulmate choices.

[ausgebrannt]

Two more? You've been busy... I want to know everything, Peter. I want to know what I've missed in your life. I know Exandria is not always... the kindest place.

[And Peter has been on his own and that still stings and Caleb hates it. But he has him back in his arms now and that soothes enough of that unease that he can settle from his earlier anxiety.

He turns into those hands, nuzzling into the touch.]

It does not matter anyway. You are my heart, Schätzchen.

[So if the rest of the Nein have opinions about Peter, let them. Caleb has what he needs, his beautiful, scruffy werewolf back where he belongs.]

I've missed your smile. [Spoken out loud now that he thinks he can trust his voice once more, even if their silent communication has surged back as second nature.]

[werewolfing]

[ peter laughs, a slightly wet chuckle that leads him to rub his nose against caleb's in a little butterfly kiss. ]

Mostly a lot of learning to stab people without getting stabbed in the process and listening to shady people make shadier deals from halfway across that shit bar of the Gentleman's to make sure he wasn't getting fucked over. Upside, paid well enough for me to get some fancy boots and a handy belt, and I've managed to collect two very nice blades off corpses on my last assassinations. It's handy to be able to turn into a corvid and a rat. Wouldn't even believe how many places you can get into between the two, even if being a corvid--not actually sure if it's a crow or a raven--has some weird side effects. Still thinking about what else would be useful.

[ even in his head peter's tone is light; he's neither ashamed nor angsty about how he's been making a living, just factual. it's not like an adventuring party can really criticize him, he's seen more than a few come through and pick up killing contracts. it's not as though someone who rips out of their skin and eats it has room for any squeamishness regarding blood and entrails, even if he still can't stomach bacon. ]

And you're mine, pretty flame. Mostly just warning you that I'm chronically low on patience for all people not Caleb Widowgast.

[ low on care at all, in truth. spending a few months in a haze of apathy and violence hasn't done peter's mental health any favors, and that apathy has only really cracked for caleb. ]

Haven't done it in awhile. Might hurt my face if I keep it up.

[ his voice is still a bit hoarse with disuse, a little more gravel in it than normal, but his smile only widens as he speaks the words. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb certainly cannot criticize Peter for it. He's killed his share of people and creatures in his time, will likely kill more. Staying alive is one of those great motivators as those things come. And Caleb is just glad that Peter is here and alive and relatively (physically) well. He can work with anything else, can handle whatever challenge there may be as long as Peter is with him.]

They're very nice boots. But I would believe it. Frumpkin has his forms, though he favors feline. What side effects?

[He can't seem to stop touching him, hands moving from his face to his shoulders, his back, up to catch in the bun he has his hair in before pulling it free so he can sink his fingers into those strands properly.]

We'll have to work on those muscles then, a little more repetition perhaps, with time...

[Caleb leans close to kiss that smile, a brief, chaste, tender touch.]

[werewolfing]

In my world's...mythology, I guess, crows are considered to be like...intermediaries between the dead and the afterlife, I guess. And then Exandria has the Mother of Ravens, maybe they serve a similar purpose here. Either way, seeing wandering spirits is a bit weird, but I'm kinda used to weird at this point. Either way, can't eat spirit bugs, learned by trying.

[ he chuckles about it, so obviously this is one of those things that peter seems to consider acceptable weirdness.

peter's bun unravels beneath caleb's fingers--his hair has grown more than might be expected, and spills to halfway down his shoulderblades. it's still as soft as ever, made a bit wavy by the twist of the bun. ]

Have a feeling that probably won't be a problem when I get to look at your beautiful face all the time.

[ peter returns the kiss, equally as sweetly brief, before gently knocking their foreheads together. ]

How are you really, iubit? You've had your friends, but it's not the same. Didn't seem like any of them really understood, except maybe Caduceus.

[ausgebrannt]

Ah... that is something that would take getting used to.

[There is a moment of anxiety that pulses through their bond, one that Caleb does his best to hide -- and utterly fails. Even tangentially, idea of Peter catching the Raven Queen's attention is a bit nerve-wracking. Caleb has never been one for deities or worship, but he's not a fool. But it's fine. Peter is here and alive and Caleb will not allow for anything else.

Instead he focuses on that soft hair, letting his fingers run through it. It really is so much longer than it had been.

He hesitates at the question.]

It was not the same, no. I... I do not know how much longer I could have gone on. If it weren't for the string around my finger I would have thought I'd gone mad and imagined everything. At my darkest times, I feared that might be true anyway. I've been lost in madness before, perhaps it wasn't so far-fetched an idea.

But mad or not...

[He trails off, unsure if he should be quite so honest, but Peter deserves the truth.]

I could have survived long enough to see the things done that needed to be done, but there is no living for me without you.

[werewolfing]

[ that spike of anxiety makes peter frown slightly, and his thumbs brush across caleb's cheekbones beneath his eyes. ]

What's got you worried, love? In a world this full of magic, I'm not surprised that I get some extra weirdness on top of my regular eccentricities. If me existing pissed off the Mother of Ravens I'm sure she'd have found a way to let me know.

[ caleb's confession about going mad isn't surprising, but it's still worrying. tilting his chin up, peter kisses caleb's forehead, then the tip of his nose, and then presses their mouths together softly. ]

We've both been lost in madness before, iubit. And we've healed. We'll heal again. The only reason I'm not completely 'round the twist is because I've got a bit more faith in providence than you do. Or just too shit-stubborn to believe I'd end up somewhere you didn't show up eventually.

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb is so intensely weak to that touch. A breath and he nods just slightly, barely a movement at all.]

Ja, I suppose that is true, she likely would have. I would just prefer the Raven Queen not take notice of my love when I finally have him back in my arms.

[If Peter is taken from him now, Caleb Widogast would likely make what the Briarwoods did look quaint.

He shuts his eyes at the kiss to his forehead, not opening them even when those lips find his and he leans in to return the kiss soft and tender but no less desperate for all its gentleness.]

We'll heal again. [Caleb echoes softly.] I think I have already begun. The world has been so cold. It feels warmer now.

[werewolfing]

Darling, since I come back from death without any divine interference, I don't think we have anything to worry about. We'll have to warn your friends, though--I don't want any gods involved if it happens.

I'll never leave you, iubit, don't be afraid.

[ now that peter has knives as well as a very deadly lupine bite, thingws aren't likely to go well if caleb was ever taken either, so it all balances out in his mind. ]

It does. More warm and colorful with my pretty flame beside me again. Which reminds me.

[ peter slides his hands around caleb's head and fiddles with something for a moment before taking caleb's left hand and sliding a warm band of metal around his ring finger. he cradles it in his palm, smiling softly. ]

There. That's much better.

[ausgebrannt]

[Caleb nods. There's reason in what Peter says, of course. It won't stop Caleb from worrying about it, mind, but he'll try to worry at least a little less. And that reassurance, he would take it for a promise.]

I'm am always afraid, Schätzchen. I am a coward. But I believe you.

[His dangerous wolf with these new blades and new scars.

Caleb goes still as as his hand is taken, as that ring is slipped back onto his finger, back where it belongs. He releases the breath that had caught in his lungs and smiles. The newly beringed hand lifts to cradle at the side of Peter's face as he leans in to kiss him, chaste and sweet but repeated, again and again.]

So much better, ja.

[werewolfing]

Being afraid doesn't make you a coward, it makes you smart. The world's a dangerous place. But there's a difference between being afraid and living in fear, and you don't do the second one. Even being from two different universes couldn't keep us apart, and that's bugfuck nuts impossible when you think about it.

[ peter returns those sweet little kisses, mouth curved in a gentle smile. ]

Good. Didn't look right on my hand anymore, now it's back where it should be.

[ with a little sigh that sounds like reluctance, peter maneuvers them both to lie down, caleb still draped over his chest. ]

Don't know about you, but it's been months since I've had a good sleep.

[ausgebrannt]

Entirely impossible. But here you are. Here we are.

[The universe -- a notoriously unkind place that did not care about fairness or suffering -- had been kind in this. Caleb could not question it. Would not. If there was a price to pay for having Peter back in his arms, he would pay it without hesitation.

He settles in, comfortable and familiar the way that he drapes over Peter, rests his head against his chest, arm slung across him. Fingers found their habitual absentminded tracing over that warm skin, inscribing absentminded sigils and runes in their passing, moving over familiar angles and unfamiliar scars.]

The nights have been the longest things. Sleep, Schätzchen. You deserve the rest.

[werewolfing]

You too, lovely. And we're gonna feed you up, I can feel your ribs again.

[ his voice is non-judgmental and drowsy, one arm pulling caleb closer to settle just like he should as peter pulls the blanket over them. the nein will just have to get used to peter being naked if anyone decides to barge in. ]

Love you, iubit. Now sleep.

[ he whispers the words into caleb's hair, filling his nose with the scent of fire and ink and--he realizes now, with exposure--magic that relaxes him beyond all reason. ]