Work Text:
Angua was regaining, well, not consciousness, but definitely more clarity, whilst pressed against Carrot’s torso. He was sitting up against the headboard, with Angua’s face pressed on his shoulder and sitting astride his lap. Skin against skin, her hair clung to her back with sweat, tingling and calming down. Everything had been just perfect for a long time, his arms wrapped around her and the smell of him- along with the loud, reassuring thump of his heartbeat, helped her ease back into the real world as it were.
It was an unofficial celebration of moving in together and one of their first nights off in gods knew how long. She had needed this. It had been a difficult few months and now everything just… began to make sense again.
As the warm, blissful feeling began to gently ebb away, with Angua leaning against Carrot’s heaving chest and trying to catch her own breath- a few things began to occur to her.
There was a… feeling that she was regaining some semblance of control over herself. She’d lost it for a while, she hadn’t really thought much during the last hour. It had been... experience. Feeling. Good feelings too. No coherent human thought.
Now that she actually did think about it, it had been better than it had been in a while. She felt like a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders, like everything seemed lighter and easier.
But… that also meant she hadn’t really been in control of herself. Of what she was doing.
‘Carrot?’
‘Hmm?
‘You okay?’
He chuckled.
‘I was about to ask the same thing!’ He said, shifting slightly to stretch out a kink in his shoulder.
‘Was…’
She hesitated, not even knowing how to ask.
Gods damn her. She couldn’t let a good thing just be, that was her problem. She always had to look for a reason.
‘Never mind,’ she said, reluctantly disentangling herself ‘it’s nothing.’
He shifted too so they could lie down and hopefully get some sleep. He rolled over onto his side. Angua stared at Carrot’s back.
Oh…
‘Um, Carrot?’
‘Yes?’
‘Uh- your um, your back- I think I left a few marks.’
He blushed a little and tried to look over his shoulder.
‘I don’t see anything- although it feels a bit sore,’ he said, mildly.
‘I should think so,’ Angua tried not to whimper.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I got… a little overenthusiastic. I’m sorry.’
Carrot got up and checked in the mirror that sat above the wash basin. Angua winced when he saw it.
Two sets of tracks down his back, bleeding slightly, from shoulder to side. You didn’t need an anatomy lesson to see they looked… like claw marks. And only now did she also note the teeth marks in his shoulder leaving a bruising impression.
Carrot himself didn’t seem too upset, he didn’t smell upset either. His eyes widened when his fingers came away bloody, but he caught Angua’s face.
‘Oh- no it’s alright!’
‘I hurt you…’ Angua fought back the instinct to flee.
‘No- well, a little bit, but it doesn’t hurt as such,’ he assured her with a smile ‘it’s fine!’
Angua backed away when he reached out to her.
‘Gods I’m so sorry,’ she whispered, finding the tears welling up before she could stop them.
‘Angua,’ he said, slowly ‘it’s alright. I’m okay! No harm done really.’
‘But-’
He took her hand and gently drew her to him. She froze, trying to reassure herself it was fine. Carrot didn’t lie, he was telling the truth, he wasn’t sparing her feelings he actually meant this.
‘Tell you the truth,’ he said, colour rising in his cheeks ‘I uh… actually… I liked it.’
Angua stopped, her hackles settling.
‘You… liked it?’ She repeated, dumbfounded, ‘Didn’t it hurt? Your back looks really painful!’
‘I mean, it did a little but… I think it was just… part of the whole um, thing.’
Angua gave him the look she always gave him. Even now. They’d been together for the better part of ten years and still.
‘So… so you’re alright with me… hurting you?’
‘Well, within reason,’ he said, with a soft smile, ‘but I think you were just… lost in the moment?’
She almost snapped at him.
‘That’s not a good thing! Not for me!’
‘Why not?’
‘Well… I could’ve…’ she stopped, trying not to go down that road.
‘I would’ve stopped you if I thought you were going too far.’
She hugged her middle for a second and considered this.
‘You can trust me and I can trust you,’ he went on, gently lifting her chin ‘alright?’
She found it difficult to look into his eyes sometimes, they were so blue, yet so warm and safe. She had to remember that. She was safe. It was alright. She wasn’t a monster. Not when she had him to keep her safe.
He promised, remember?
Angua relaxed.
‘You’re… you’re alright with this,’ she said, to herself more than him.
‘I am,’ he said, softly drawing her in and wrapping his arms around her ‘and… I wouldn’t mind if it happened again. Although maybe let these ones heal first.’
He said that last part with a soft laugh, but Angua did still feel more than a touch of shame.
‘I should clean them up,’ she said, pulling away ‘there’s some ointment in the cabinet. That should-’
‘Angua.’
She stopped and cast one final glance at him.
One day, she thought, one day I'll actually accept he is being serious. He's not taking the piss.
She rubbed the healing ointment into the claw marks, realising that they weren’t horrifically deep and the bleeding had already stopped. There wouldn’t be any scarring. The bite mark was less… angry than she initially thought too. It was bruising up and he might not want to heroically take his shirt off for a while, not if he wanted everyone to see… well, what a lot of people probably already suspected was happening dans la chambre as Mrs Proust put it.
Perhaps she did know not to hurt him too much, but this was… the affection a wolf would show in the throws of passion.
And he didn’t mind- in fact he actually wanted it.
Once she cleaned his wounds and they had settled down for the night, feeling safely able to drift off to sleep… she felt a hand brush her hair aside and the slow, gentle press of teeth at the back of her neck. The inner wolf rumbled appreciatively.
He does pick things up, even these sorts of things, she thought, as an arm gently, lovingly snaked around her waist.
She relaxed as the bite turned into a kiss and then just a gentle breathing as Carrot fell asleep.
I think.. I think I’m in safe hands.