Red (Ficlet for jurisimmortalis)

[watch_the_nails]

The first thing that Nat noticed were the drops of red staining the floor, indiscriminate spatters of crimson staining the hardwood in random scatters inside the doorway; she followed the trail as it led towards the kitchen, her mood quickly changing from one of quiet relief at arriving home to one of anger – or concern. If Victor had brought one of his victims back here, or if he’d been injured...

“Victor?” she ventured, calling out his name as she traced the route of those scarlet droplets towards the kitchen – and stopping in her tracks as she noted the familiar black shape silhouetted against the countertop. He was hunched over and had his back to her, his body shielded from view by the large coat which he always wore, and as she rounded the corner he glanced up to stare at her, a look of shock and surprise written on his face. “Victor, what the hell’s going on?”

“It’s nothin’, Wildcat, I just...”

Whatever was the matter, it was clear that he didn’t want her to know about it, at least not just yet. She couldn’t help but wonder just what was wrong, and the pang of concern which had been rising within her began to become something more of a panic as she noticed the slowly-spreading pool of red making its way across the countertop. Something was wrong, seriously wrong, and she wouldn’t let Victor’s stubborn male pride keep it from her. Setting her jaw, Nat marched across the floor towards the feral and firmly yanked his arm away from his side – only to be confronted with the fresh, sweet aroma of freshly-cut fruit.

“Strawberries?”

“Yeah, I was just… well, I…” Victor frowned as his brain engaged itself in a mental flail, caught in the act of trying to make a caring gesture without her finding out until the last minute. A mangled punnet of strawberries sat on the countertop in front of him, pulp and juice dripping from his claws. He’d been trying to chop them up using his nails, but it… hadn’t really worked. Sighing, he pierced one of the less-mutilated fruits with a single claw and held it out towards her, hoping she wouldn’t mind his failed attempts to create something for her to come home to.

Comments

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

As usual, she took the pain from his claws with a grain of salt. She was almost used to it by now. But one thing Nat doubted she would ever get used to was how intensely passionate Victor was. It definitely wasn't a bad thing, not by any stretch. Besides, she liked feeling overwhelmed by him.

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

Victor had always been passionate, driven by his desires and his instincts; it was all part of being a feral, and things were no different with Nat. When it came to his lusts he just couldn't help himself, clawing and pawing at his female, pressing himself against her as closely as he could.

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

And Nat was more than happy to accommodate Victor's passion; especially since, more often than not, it was her fault. She craved feeling wanted and it seemed he was the only one who could feed that appetite. Pulling back a little, she looked up into those oh-so-blue eyes and gave a little smile.

"What about those strawberries...?"

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

"What about 'em?" he teased, pulling back from the kiss and reaching up with a claw to touch playfully at her nose. Oh, he knew full well what she meant, or at least, he hoped he did. He hadn't been intending to eat them from a plate when he'd acquired them in the first place. "You want I should whip up some kinda Pavlova?"

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

"I was thinking something more along the lines of shortcake."

It didn't matter really. Nat was just pleasantly surprised at the gesture, even if it hadn't gone quite as Victor had planned.

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

"Shortcake? We can do shortcake." He pulled a face, as if trying to act like he was speaking perfectly innocently - which, of course, he wasn't. "I was thinkin' more along the lines of a cream pie..."

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

The tone in Victor's voice left little doubt that what he had in mind had anything to do with the whipped cream in her hand. Nat swallowed compulsively.

"Um, yeah... Sounds good."

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

"You wanna try it?" He was teasing her now, and making a game of it; like a cat playing with its prey, he enjoyed seeing just how far he could push her sometimes, knowing that they'd both benefit from the result. Laughing, he tugged her towards the bed with his strong arms, his grip firm but gentle. "We ain't gonna get shit all done just standin' around here like lost chefs at a caterin' convention."

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

"Y'know something? You're right."

Laughing softly, she grabbed the plate of strawberries on the way over to the bed.

"And, yeah. I do wanna try it."

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

Still grinning, Victor sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling Nat and the strawberries down with him. He shuffled over the bed and lay back, still fully-dressed, letting go of her so she could clamber up beside him - or even onto him, should she so desire - in her own way. Damn, but this was the best way to get his five-a-day.

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

Plucking a berry from the dish, Nat popped it into her mouth and chewed for a second before leaning in to kiss him. Just as she had with the whipped cream, Nat challenged Victor to take what he could of the sweet fruit.

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

Hungrily, eagerly, he kissed at her mouth, pressing his lips against hers and sliding his tongue over her own, tasting at the sweet fruit and moaning as he gathered some for himself; his arms slid around her back, drawing her against him, his claws dancing up and down her spine.

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

Of course, Victor got the lion's share of the strawberry, but that was just fine with her. Nat's legs, meanwhile, easily straddled his lap as she snuggled against his chest.

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

No matter how good the little red fruits tasted, Victor hadn't brought Nat over to the bed to indulge in a fruit salad. He purred as he kissed her again, eliminating all traces of the red juice from her mouth, bucking his hips upwards against her and leaving her in no doubt as to his current state of arousal.

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

Like she needed a reminder. Chuckling softly, Nat lightly nibbled Victor's bottom lip. As much as she liked feeling him beneath her, she was curious to see what exactly he had in mind for those strawberries.

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

"Let me ask you somethin, darlin'." He pulled back to smirk up at her, his hands running over her body, his claws tracing delicate patterns over her back and shoulders. The look in his eyes was nothing short of debaucherous. "How d'you feel about gettin' stains all over those clothes of yours?"

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

One shoulder lifted and fell in a shrug. Most of what she was wearing was black and it wasn't like stains would really show. "That's why God invented washing machines."

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

"That's some pretty damn unshakeable faith y'got there," he grinned, reaching out with a claw to spear one of the mangled strawberries and guide it towards her mouth.

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

"All hail St. Laundry Detergent," Nat laughed as she plucked the berry from Victor's claws with her teeth.

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

The feral couldn't argue with that. Laughing, he plucked another strawberry from the small pile - this one had also seen better days, and it dripped a small trail of scarlet across the bedsheets as Victor raised it towards Nat's mouth - only to give a wicked chuckle and alter his aim at the last minute, dropping the fruit into her cleavage.

"Oops."

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

Rolling her eyes, Nat just chuckled. Victor was, as usual, just being Victor.

"I supposed this is the part where you keep it from staining anything..."

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

"Got it in one, baby."

Chuckling, he tugged at her clothes with his hands, trying not to tear the material - but with claws like that, it was bound to happen sooner or later. He didn't mind Nat second-guessing him at times like this, and he continued to grin as he leaned over to press his face against her cleavage, kissing and licking gently at the bare flesh, his teeth nipping gently at the fullness of her breasts.

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

Nat just sighed; both in patient tolerance of Victor's claws, but also because of how his mouth felt against her skin. She could feel the warm ache between her thighs continuing to slowly build.

[watch-the-nails.livejournal.com]

He allowed his tongue to snake out and lap at her bare skin, licking away the taste and stickiness of the fruit as well as savouring the way her own flesh felt beneath his mouth; his hands reached up to cup at her breasts, his cheek rubbing against their firmness.

[jurisimmortalis.livejournal.com]

Reaching for the red-and-white canister, Nat gave it a quick shake.

"You want some cream with that...?"