CW: This chapter does get a bit *steamy*, but all that the reader sees is a shirtless make out scene and the morning after. Skip if you want!

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Two weeks later

Niles swung the front door open, and Ashton looked up from his spot on the couch.

Niles just grinned, looking much lighter than he had in weeks. "Guess who just finished their presentation to the board?" he asked, and Ashton lit up.

He was at the door in two steps, sweeping Niles into his arms. "Congratulations!" he exclaimed, pressing a firm kiss to his human's lips.

Niles sighed into him, seemingly much more relaxed than he had been in weeks. Ashton held him close for a few more minutes, letting Niles lean against him. Niles always worked hard, but Ashton had never seen him stressed before. This paper had taken a lot out of him.

"What do you want to do to celebrate?" Ashton asked next, and Niles shifted back a little from his chest to look up at him.

"Honestly, I just want to be with you," Niles admitted. "I don't care what we do. You can choose."

Ashton's eyes immediately slipped down to Niles' collar. His long-sleeved shirt had only three buttons leading down from the collar, which Ashton thought was an odd design choice, but it might open up some fun opportunities.

"Ashton," Niles suddenly chided. "My eyes are up here."

Ashton's eyes snapped back up to Niles' face, and Niles raised his eyebrows at him. "But what if this is what I want to do?" Ashton asked pointedly, and Niles rolled his eyes.

"It's a bit too early in the day for something like that, don't you think?" Niles asked.

Ashton snuck his hands up to the collar of Niles' shirt and carefully undid the buttons. "Mhmm," he murmured in agreement, focused on his task. He folded the corners of Niles' collar back, exposing a triangle of skin at the top of Niles' sternum.

"Ash..." Niles began, but Ashton had already stooped his head over Niles' collarbone and was kissing the top of his chest, working his way up to his neck. Niles swallowed hard, and Ashton's lips curved into a smile against the soft skin of his throat.

"Nervous?" Ashton murmured. The tips of his pointed teeth scraped against his human's skin, and Niles shuddered.

Oh? Ashton thought, intrigued by the reaction. Niles was always so calm and in control, which made Ashton all the more delighted to see him so rattled. Ashton had never seen Niles nervous like this, and he realized that he liked it a lot. Maybe too much.

***

Niles was always happy to spend time with Ashton, but this was not what he had in mind when he told Ashton to pick something for them to do together.

As Niles stood there, both amused and a bit flabbergasted, Ashton slipped his hand under Niles' shirt and lightly ran his sharp nails down his chest. His hand came to rest on Niles' hip, and Niles tensed, his own hand cupped around the back of Ashton's neck, the other on the front of the faerie's chest.

Wh...what is he doing? Niles wondered. Ashton likes to test boundaries, but he always stops himself from being too forward. And... why is this so... fun?

Niles gripped Ashton's shirt tightly and pressed his face into the faerie's collarbone, barely breathing. Ashton's free hand stole up his back, and he tangled his fingers in Niles' hair, pulling his head back slightly so that his neck was exposed again.

Niles swallowed hard, and Ashton's eye caught the movement of his Adam's apple. He dipped his head to kiss it, and Niles couldn't help but go limp in his arms.

"Ash..." he murmured, curling his fingers tighter around Ashton's shirt. Ashton didn't reply, too preoccupied with tasting every inch of Niles' skin.

So, Niles waited, eyes half closed, as Ashton's lips and teeth explored his throat, moving up to his jaw and eventually his ear. There was a lull in Ashton's movements, so Niles tried again. "Ashton..." he began.

"Hmm?" Ashton replied. He was currently captivated by the tip of Niles' ear, and the way his sharp teeth grazed it made Niles shiver.

"I think..." Niles paused, distracted by what Ashton was doing. When the shameless faerie didn't stop, Niles lightly hit his chest.

"Ashton!" he insisted, and the sprite finally listened and pulled back to look down at him.

"Hmm?"

Niles looked up at his familiar face, with its carved-from-stone features and curious, hazel eyes. Those cat-like eyes were now staring at him with such searing intensity that it made Niles' knees weak.

He swallowed hard. "I think... we'd better go into the bedroom," he said finally. "No... no windows that face the garden."

Ashton's eyes lit up as he realized what Niles was saying, but then he looked at Niles seriously. "Are you sure?" he asked, looking Niles up and down. Niles didn't miss the look of longing that he saw in Ashton's eyes, and he held back a laugh.

Despite sleeping in the same room together, they hadn't done anything like what Niles was suggesting. This... this would be a big step. One that Niles wanted to take.

"I'm sure," he replied, wrapping his arms around Ashton's neck and pressing a soft kiss against his lips. "Take me to the bedroom."

Ashton didn't need to be told a third time, sweeping his arms underneath Niles to scoop him up and carry him into the next room.

After setting Niles down on the bed, Ashton's shirt was off in a second, so fast that Niles didn't even see him remove it.

He reached for the hem of Niles' shirt with his talons, a questioning look in his eyes. Niles nodded to let him pull the fabric up and over his head, shivering at the way it slipped over his skin.

Ashton traced the goosebumps on Niles' skin with an almost reverent look on his face before his eyes snapped back up to meet Niles'.

Niles raised his eyebrows at him, a what are you going to do to me now? question in his eyes.

He didn't have to wait long for the answer, however, as Ashton pushed him back against the cushions and straddled him, leaning down for a long kiss.

***

Ashton broke away from the kiss for a moment to stare down into his human's face. He just couldn't get enough of Niles, his Niles, sweet and kind and good Niles, whose dark eyes threatened to swallow him whole with an intensity that Ashton didn't know his human possessed.

Niles' hands, usually so gentle, pulled at him with an unexpected urgency. Ashton happily gave in and lowered his head to reach him, but Niles surged up to meet him halfway, claiming his mouth with a fervency that left Ashton breathless.

Ashton felt like he was on fire, Niles his only source of water. Every breath, every sigh, every gasp from Niles served to both quench his thirst and fan the flames higher.

"Niles," Ashton murmured against his skin. "My Niles." He whispered it over and over again, like a song, like a prayer, like a promise.

He dug his talons into Niles' skin, desperate to get even closer. Niles made a small noise underneath him, but it didn't register until the scent of blood hit him. Ashton pulled back, startled to find that his claws had pierced Niles' skin.

"Niles," he stuttered, eyes wide at what he had done. "I'm so sorry. Are you ok?"

Niles laid his fingers across his lips, stopping him from apologizing again.

"Mark it all up," Niles demanded. Ashton looked down at him in surprise, and he saw a dark intensity in Niles' eyes that he'd never seen before. "It's all yours, anyways. I want to look at myself and remember that every last inch belongs to you."

Ashton rested a hand on Niles' chest. His talons stood out sharply against his smooth skin. 

"I don't want to hurt you," he said hesitantly.

"Do it," Niles insisted, his voice low and eyes steady. "I want to feel everything. Every bite, every bruise, every scratch." He reached up and draped his arms over Ashton's shoulders, tilting his chin back. "I want to be yours. Make me yours."

Ashton leaned down to press his lips against Niles' throat, and he felt Niles breathe out a sigh into his hair. "Tell me if anything hurts too much," he told Niles. "And I'll stop."

"I trust you," Niles murmured, his eyes already half closed. "I know you won't go too far."

***

Ashton woke up groggily the next morning and shifted, freezing as something soft brushed against his cheek.

He glanced down and was surprised to see Niles tucked against his chest, breathing slow and steady, legs tangled between his. Oh. Oh my.

He cupped his hand over the back of Niles' head and ran his fingers through his human's dark hair. It was still smooth and silky, which was... impressive given what they had been up to the night before.

Ashton knew that Niles liked to sleep in, and he wasn't in any rush to wake his hokla up and end this still, little moment. So, he lay there with his eyes closed, stroking Niles' hair and enjoying the soft sounds of his breathing.

Niles began to stir about an hour later, stretching out his limbs with a tired groan.

"Damn, I am so sore," he complained, and Ashton chuckled softly.

"Sorry," he offered, planting a kiss on Niles' forehead. "Can I get you anything?"

Niles just tilted his face up towards Ashton, eyes still closed, and Ashton enthusiastically took his invitation to shower him in kisses— on his eyelids, on his cheeks, on his nose.

Niles lay still and let him have his moment, but he ducked his chin back down as soon as Ashton's sharp teeth started nipping at his throat.

"Alright, that's enough," came his muffled voice from where his face was pressed into Ashton's chest. "Otherwise, this might turn into round... who even knows anymore."

Ashton heaved a dramatic sigh of disappointment, and Niles laughed into his chest before planting a kiss of his own there.

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A/N: Niles over here looking like he lost a wrestling match with a tiger. Also, though Niles is full of bite marks, Ashton didn't formally mark Niles here. Just fyi. They also aren't hoklas yet. Ashton just refers to Niles as his hokla when he's thinking to himself. 

Thanks for reading and see you in the next part!