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Sendak can tell that one of the things that really helps Hepta to trust him, is that Haxus has never offered him his sheath, and that Sendak never pushes it. It takes him a while to notice, of course, especially since Sendak enjoys receiving just as much as giving, maybe even a little more. It’s hard to say. With Hepta around, they sort of fall into an order of Sendak taking Hepta while Haxus takes Sendak. All at once isn’t an unusual configuration, either, and Sendak really has come to love it, the sweet softness of Hepta cradled beneath him while Haxus fucks him deep and hard. They still haven’t done this with Haxus in Sendak’s ass, but it’s only a matter of time. Hepta has seen the way Haxus hurts Sendak and the way Sendak loves it, and it doesn’t scare him anymore. They’ve proven that they’ll listen when he uses their word, that he really can always say no.
Haxus is even over the worst of his jealousy, these days. Neither of them have admitted it to Sendak, but Sendak is sure that dire threats and nasty little insults have passed between them. He’s not a fool, he can feel the energy between people, and smell the pheromones involved. Still, it’s clear now, like the clean, sweet air after everything has been vented and recycled planetside. His two precious ones love each other now, whether they say so or not, even if they’re still a little shy. Haxus is tender with Hepta, but not soft, not the way he can be sometimes with Sendak. It always feels like the most miraculous secret in the universe, when Haxus curls up small in his arms, when he calls him ‘beloved’, or when he lets Sendak just play with the mouth of his sheath with carefully-dulled claws.
Sendak loves them both so much he can hardly stand it, and while he was raised properly and doesn’t show it everywhere in public, there’s no way to keep love-bonds out of your scent. Not really. Even Zarkon as he is now, still faintly smells of how he once loved. Sendak tries never to think about it, it hurts too much. Right now, it’s easy to avoid, because all he can think about is Haxus. Subjected to enhanced interrogation by rebels before he could escape (not even be liberated by Sendak’s forces, because Zarkon wouldn’t send them, and there is hate boiling in Sendak’s liver next to the worry) and then debriefed by the witch’s druids, Haxus needs a safe nest and he needs it now. Well. After medical attention. Sendak strides down to sickbay, trying not to stink of worry.
Sendak has never said anything about it, but he knows that the sweet stench of relief goes rolling off of him like a fog bank when he finds Ulaz treating Haxus’s wounds. Ulaz is too standoffish for Sendak to have ever done more than nuzzle him a little, but he had been moved to do so by how gentle his touch is. Ulaz is even purring softly now, as he touches Haxus, like a mother with her kit. Every time Ulaz needs to reach for a tool or anything, he tells Haxus exactly what he’s going to do, and it makes Sendak want to nuzzle him again.
For his part, Haxus sits there, very calmly and obediently. He’s even thinner than usual, and his eyes are sort of staring out through the wall. He smells sour, like unwashed scales and old blood and fear, and the only reason Sendak doesn’t go to him this instant is that he knows what it’s like. He knows that Haxus will fall apart as soon as Sendak puts his arms around him, and that he’s doing everything he can to hold himself together. So for now, Sendak just stands by, waiting, and lets Ulaz work. To his credit, he doesn’t take long.
Haxus stands from the table, pulling the robe given to him by the druids close around him. He’s steady on his feet, and keeps his eyes locked on the wall, but doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself. Sendak has never seen him look so small, or so lost. He steps closer, and very carefully, puts one hand on Haxus’s elbow. Haxus stays frozen for a moment, and then turns to Sendak like he’s seeing him for the first time. He starts to shake, and whines in his throat, so quietly and so high Sendak almost can’t hear it, a sound of utter misery. Without considering it at all, Sendak picks Haxus up, gathering him in against his chest and wrapping his cloak protectively over him. Haxus whimpers softly, grabbing two fistfuls of Sendak’s ruff and burying his face in it, trembling like he’ll never stop.
Ulaz is watching them both, his face unreadable and his scent full of an aching, tender sadness like sweet flowers and ash. “Thank you,” Sendak says, inadequate and all there is.
“Of course, Commander,” Ulaz says, and salutes. “Vrepit sa.”
“Vrepit sa,” Sendak answers, on automatic, and carries Haxus back to his quarters.
Once the door shuts behind them, Haxus is crying like a kitten, and Sendak hugs him tighter, rubbing his face over and over him, covering him in the scent of home and caste. “Precious one,” he murmurs, “you have come home to me. You’re safe. I’m here.” Haxus nods, still whimpering, but more quietly. “Sweet little thing,” Sendak croons, going over to sit on the bed with Haxus in his lap. He frees one hand to pull out his communicator and send a silent message to Hepta, still on duty on and undoubtedly worrying himself sick: I have Haxus with me. Only minor physical injuries. There’s no point talking about his emotional state, and Hepta of all people will know not to expect it to be good. That done, he holds Haxus close and just rocks him a little and strokes his sleek head and rubs his back, letting their hearts beat together.
“Scared me,” Haxus whimpers, after a long time. “Reached into my head and dug around and scared me. I never get scared,” he adds, looking up at Sendak, eyes wide and expression plaintive, like he’s desperate to be believed.
Sendak pets him again, very, very gently tugging on one cute, floppy ear. “I know you don’t, little sharp teeth. They scare everyone. I was scared, for you.”
Haxus whines softly, and stretches his neck and turns his head to kiss Sendak’s palm. “I love you,” he says, very quietly, as if it’s some kind of secret.
“I know,” Sendak purrs. “And I love you. More than there are stars. Now, precious one, do you think we could perhaps bathe?”
Haxus wrinkles his nose, looking more like his usual self. “I am disgusting,” it’s true.”
“Hush. I would lick you clean,” Sendak says, standing up with Haxus in his arms.
He can smell a little puff of embarrassment, but Haxus doesn’t actually say anything about it. He just mutters, “Gross,” and cuddles closer.
It has been a while since Sendak has taken the time for a proper bath. It’s nice to actually retract the floor of the sonic shower and fill the hidden tub with soft, silky, dust. He lowers Haxus into the silvery dust and then climbs down after him, sighing as he burrows into it. It’s pre-warmed, heavy and satisfying as it slides deep into his fur, picking everything up. Haxus burrows deep, until only his eyes and nose are visible above the dust, and he just rests there for a moment before crawling free. Sendak sits up, and grabs the scale cloth and the fur brush, getting to work on Haxus. All of the wound dressings are dust-tight, so it’s easy to work around them. Haxus purrs, relaxing in Sendak’s arms for a while before taking the brush and returning the favor. Sendak lets him, since it seems to calm him. Once they’re both soothed and warm and clean, they drain the dust, put the floor back, and remove all residue with a sonic shower.
Sendak has heard that for a lot of other species, it’s just the closeness and holding they really want when they’ve been through something like Haxus has, that sex often feels invasive. But Haxus is Galra and so is Sendak, so it’s not much of a surprise when Haxus is half-unsheathed by the time Sendak carries him back to bed. He’s still all big-eyed and needy, which is also no surprise. Sendak could remember how Zarkon used to take care of him, if he felt like hurting himself. Since he doesn’t, he lets Haxus straddle his lap and bury his face in Sendak’s ruff again, rubbing up and down that skinny back, mindful various wounds and welts. He purrs, and grips Haxus’s ass, squeezing him and following his movements as he starts to rock a little against Sendak’s belly. He’s not sure what he’s expecting. Probably for Haxus to get off just like this, soft and slow against the plush fur of his belly. He murmurs softly to him about how beautiful he is, how precious, how loved, and Haxus whines, his sheath pouring slick as his cock slides the rest of the way out.
Haxus moans softly, clinging even more tightly to Sendak’s ruff. The grip is painful now, but of course Sendak wouldn’t dream of making him let go. Haxus shifts his hips back, lining up to slide along Sendak’s cock, rocking slowly up and down the underside of the shaft. Sendak groans deep in his chest, shivering at the tease, and Haxus makes a sweet, quavering noise that Sendak has never head before. He gazes up at Sendak with those huge, oruun’ak eyes, such a strange and beautiful expression on his wicked face, and Sendak nuzzles him. Haxus nuzzles back, then rises up on his knees a little, closing his eyes and panting as he poises the mouth of his gleaming-slick sheath over the tip of Sendak’s cock. Sendak whines, staring as Haxus slowly rolls his hips.
“H-Haxus?” Sendak breathes, and then groans as Haxus sinks down.
It’s excruciatingly slow, and Haxus is every bit as tight as Sendak would have thought. He stretches easily, though, opening right up for Sendak, who curses and moans. Haxus whimpers, taking Sendak all the way to the knot and then just resting there for a moment, adjusting. Sendak trembles and reminds himself to keep breathing.
“Oh…” Haxus whispers, and then starts to move. It’s slow, gentle, and deep, and Sendak puts his hands on Haxus’s hips to feel him ride. He was never going to press the issue, but of course he has fantasized about what it might feel like to fuck Haxus. If he clenches tightly or has an easier grip, if he gets wet enough to drip or just enough to get the job done, where he likes the most pressure… And now he knows. That Haxus is viciously tight, and not just from disuse, that he’s opulently wet, slick as oil and gushing a little every time Sendak hits the right spot, low in the back. Haxus is usually quiet, and even now just makes little ah sounds. The flush on his face and the way his ears flap with his movements is adorable. He looks so sweet and earnest, something most people would never believe he was capable of.
Of course Haxus starts to tire much sooner than he ordinarily would, slowing down and giving Sendak such a cute and plaintive look that he must be taking lessons from Hepta. Sendak chuckles. “Of course I’ll take care of you, little one,” Sendak purrs. He has to lift Haxus off of his cock, holding him in his arms as he shifts positions, and Haxus whines. “Hush,” Sendak rumbles, stretching Haxus out on his back and ranging over him. “It’s all right.”
“Please,” Haxus whispers, twining his arms around Sendak’s neck, and then whines, high and sharp as Sendak slides back into him with a satisfied groan, cradling the back of Haxus’s head in his organic hand, the cybernetic one wrapped around him. Haxus locks his legs around Sendak’s waist, panting as Sendak sets up that same deep, slow rhythm. He can feel Haxus’s body relax once he’s getting what he needs again, and purrs.
“There you go,” Sendak rumbles, grinding deep inside Haxus with that little figure-eight roll that never fails in a sheath-fuck and doesn’t fail now, making Haxus shake and moan. “There you go.”
Haxus gazes up into Sendak’s eyes, dazed and beautiful. “Daddy…” he breathes, and Sendak is stunned. He never would have thought Haxus had anything like this hiding inside him, but well. The druids have a way of… unearthing things.
Sendak nuzzles Haxus, rocking him against the bed. “Sweet boy,” he murmurs into one sleek-soft ear, “Daddy’s going to take care of you.”
“Please, Daddy,” Haxus whimpers, voice breaking. “Keep me safe?”
“Always,” Sendak says, even though they both know that it has to be a lie, by the very nature of their lives, and really, life itself. But Sendak will do everything within his power, and the next time Zarkon tries to stop him, well… it has been said that there is a season for mutiny. “Always, always, Daddy protects his kitling,” Sendak pants, speeding up a little as Haxus whimpers and pants, crying out as he clutches at fistfuls of fur.
“Daddy,” Haxus sobs, writhing under him, “Daddy, Daddy!”
Before Sendak can even touch that slick, pretty cock, Haxus is coming so hard it’s a convulsive, full-body thing, wailing in a helpless, broken way Sendak has never heard from him. Sendak just holds him close and grinds deep inside him, biting onto his scruff as he knots, Haxus’s sheath caressing him for a long time after Haxus goes still, his heartbeat pulsing all around Sendak.
Haxus whimpers for a long time, catching his breath and cuddling close to Sendak’s chest. He wants Sendak’s weight, pulling him back when he tries not to crush him. Sendak purrs for him, nuzzling those soft little ears, and licks his crest, and after a little while, Haxus lets Sendak roll them over, so he can rest on Sendak’s chest. It’s no real surprise that he’s asleep almost immediately, and Sendak lets himself follow.
The door opening wakes Sendak up, but it’s just Hepta. He looks worried, the expression softening as he sees them together, and the way Sendak is holding Haxus. “Is he really all right?” Hepta whispers, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.
Sendak squeezes Hepta’s hand. “I think so,” he says, too softly to wake Haxus, still asleep on his chest. “Just very, very tired. They gave him nutrient pouches, of course, but we’ll have to eat something when he wakes up.”
“Of course,” Hepta says, with a fond smile, shedding his uniform and crawling into bed, cuddling up on the opposite side of Sendak’s chest from Haxus. Sendak sighs, hugging them both and feeling truly calm for the first time in weeks. He scents Hepta, and sighs, drifting down to sleep again.