Establishing Relations, Epilogue

Natani woke up from a hazy dream with a tingling sensation, and found Keith in his arms, the basitin's warmth pressed all along his front, from his bound chest down to his stomach -- his naked stomach. And the base of the basitin's tail was right between his legs, and Natani had one leg over Keith and...

And he'd been humping him in his sleep! And...

And the memories of how they'd gotten there, of the whole previous day, came flooding through, and Natani felt his blush rise, and then keep rising, until his whole body felt flushed. It had started as embarrassment, but as more and more of it had sunk in, it had slowly transformed into something rather more wonderful, a warmth that came from somewhere deep within, suffusing him until he felt like surely it must be coming off him, like steam off hot water.

For a time, he just laid there, his arms around Keith, enveloped in the basitin's scent, feeling his heartbeat and listening to his steady breathing, loving him.

Then Keith made a little noise in his sleep, his tail twitching, and Natani backed off just a bit, carefully shifting himself up the basitin's body just enough that Keith's tail would be... free to move.

He could glimpse a sliver of the sky through the window, and it was still very much dark, maybe just barely gloaming... but Natani didn't feel the least bit tired.

... Might have something to do with how he'd woken up.

Still, he was awake, and happy to be so.

Just... happy throughout.

The world felt new.

He became aware of a tugging on his mind; and then of his mental link to his brother, still unusually thoroughly sealed -- and the tugging was Zen trying to get his attention. It had never felt like that before... usually he could just burst in whenever, if Natani wasn't actively keeping him out. Now it felt more like he was knocking at a door, and so that was how Natani visualized it as he mentally went to answer.

And then he halted there, his hand on the doorknob. This would be a lot for Zen to take in.

But...

No time like the present.

Yeah.

He turned on the doorknob, and for a moment he felt a press, as if another hand was on top of his, turning with him -- and then the door began to open, and the metaphor unraveled as Zen spiritually burst into the physical room Natani was in.

_Nat! You've gotta stop disappearing like that, you're going to give me a-- Woah! _ He skidded to a halt, looking at Natani, and Keith in his arms.

Natani smiled at his reaction. Hey, Zen. I don't think you would have wanted to be here for some of--

But Zen was already diving into his memories, only to hastily recoil back out.

Natani grinned. Told you so.

Nat... how... what...?

He could see the ramping concern in his brother's mind, and more than that, could see the wounded almost-panic hiding behind it. Natani's feeling surged in response, pure love and reassurance. Zen, it's okay. Nothing is wrong. I'm safe. I'm still me. Everything is good.

But...

It turns out I was afraid of some things I didn't need to be afraid of. That's all. It's okay. I'm okay.

Zen pulled up an ethereal chair and sat down, looking a little shaky. Okay. Okay. So... He leaned his elbow on the bedstand, and bumped into Natani's physical, literal and figurative dick, then jerked away from it, looking at it like it had bitten him.

That's mine.

Zen shook his head like he was shaking off water, then brought his hands to his muzzle and let out a strained sigh. Okay. Okay. I have to know what actually...

And he dipped back into Natani's memories, doing the mental equivalent of covering his eyes and looking past his fingers, skirting along the edges of the things he very very definitely did not want to see to try and get an idea of what had happened.

So you both...?

Natani smiled. Yeah. Willingly. Happily.

And... you got with the King?

His smile widened into a grin. You bet I did. But not a word about that to anybody. It's hush-hush.

Zen shook his head, impressed despite himself. _ Damn. _

He drifted away from any more of Natani's memories, and some moments passed in silence, Zen just taking it in, looking at him and Keith, or occasionally the dick on the bedstand. Natani could feel him gradually calming down, his panic replaced with a shaky sort of relief... and then something else?

After a time, Zen let out a long breath, and looked at him. So you...

Yeah. I love him.

Zen nodded, then looked at Keith, still sleeping contently, unaware of what was going on around him. Zen sighed, then looked back at Natani, and for the first time there was some amusement in his look. Why do I want to touch his ears?

Natani smiled. It's a basitin thing. And they're super soft.

Zen shook his head, a hint of a smile on his muzzle. Okay. I don't think I can be in your head right now. Need to regroup, and get some sleep. But could you... not do that with the link again? I mean, except when you really need to.

Because he felt uneasy if he couldn't reach Natani. Zen... Yeah. I mean... I don't think there's going to be anything for you to worry about while I'm here. But I'll try not to shut you out too much.

Zen sighed. Good. Thanks. I mean, it's just... He shook his head again. This is going to take some getting used to. I really do need to go. But can you come find me later, preferably when you're alone? We should start thinking about what we want to do next.

What do you mean?

Zen smiled, and it was somehow happy and pained at the same time. Nat... you feel like you're home. And I don't just mean whatever place we happen to be staying. Home home. And maybe that's just some kind of first rush after getting it on with your boyfriend here... I don't think either of us can really have a clear head at the moment. He looked at Keith again, and shook his head. But maybe it's not. And even if it's not all that... well, you love the guy. The guy loves you. He'd better. And that's... more than we've got going for us over here. So...

Natani's heart swelled. You're coming here?

Zen shook his head, smiling, then reached over to touch him on the cheek, ruffling up his fur. I'm saying we need to think about it. Can we live there? You're a guest now, but you're not a guest for life. I wouldn't be a guest at all... He cocked an eyebrow and grinned. Though, maybe that King of theirs would take an interest in the more charming brother, too? I certainly wouldn't mind a little teetateet, if you know what I mean.

Natani grinned slowly. Well, she did say she liked cocky guys...

_ Did she now? Well well well... but anyway, that just brings us back to the not-for-life part. Where would we live? Is there work to be had that we both can and want to do? How much of a pain are the basitins and their laws to deal with on a more permanent basis? How many keidran are there in that city already? Are any of them our enemies?_

Natani's mind wheeled, looking for answers, and Zen shook his head, laughing. _ Later. When we both have clearer heads. Find me._

And he was gone, with a last warm touch on Natani's cheek, on his very self, a lingering sense of his brother's love.

Home?

Natani squeezed Keith just a bit tighter, not wanting to wake him, but wanting to feel him that much more.

Maybe it really was.

Or... maybe it really could be. Zen was right that if Natani was staying, then... stuff that simply didn't matter at all in the short term had to be figured out. He didn't think he cared if he always needed to hide his true relationship with Keith -- he was used to hiding things anyway, and as far as he was concerned, it didn't need to be anybody else's business. But he would still need to have a relationship with Keith, as far as the world was concerned, because Natani did care about being able to spend a lot of time with him.

Could they ever live together?

If they couldn't, would anything less be enough?

What would it cost Keith to associate so closely with a keidran or two?

Whatever it was, would he want to? And... Natani slowly realized, even if Keith did want to... would it really be worth it? Even if Natani was here for life, Keith's life was longer. Surely a basitin partner would be better.

Not that him having one would necessarily be a problem. But whoever it was, Natani would have to like them a great deal too -- and they would have to be in on him and Keith as well. And if basitins never had eyes for more than one person at a time, it couldn't really work.

Unless the other person was in a situation similar to Keith's -- actually in love with someone else, and just needing convenience and cover.

On and on his mind spun, and just about the only thing Natani was actually able to resolve was that he wasn't going to say anything to Keith yet. He would start by talking to the King, because she should be able to weigh in on almost everything. And he would only talk to Keith, if it ever came to that, when that was the last thing to do before making the decision. And then Keith would have to find a clear head somewhere, too.

Natani must have eventually dozed off, because he came awake again with a start, to find the sky markedly lighter, and Keith trying to wriggle out of his arms.

So of course, Natani pulled him back in, leading to laughter and some more squirming as Keith turned around to face him, Natani giving him enough slack that he could. Keith was smiling. "Sorry. I was trying not to wake you."

Natani gave him a kiss. "You're not trying to sneak off on me, are you?"

Keith blushed, and smiled wider. "No, I just wanted to wake you up with coffee."

"Ohhhh, I like the way you think."

They'd made off with some of the King's supply last night, and that would have really hit the spot right about now -- Natani was feeling markedly more tired than he had when he'd woken during the night. Though, Keith being right there was already doing wonders for shaking it off all by itself.

Keith returned the kiss. "I thought you might."

Natani brought his hand up to give Keith's cheek a few strokes, making the basitin's blush and smile re-ignite, then moved it over to Keith's ears to give those some attention, too. The basitin nuzzled up against him in response, burrowing in under Natani's muzzle and letting out a long trembling sigh.

So of course Natani kept stroking his ears.

After a few moments, Keith's hand came up to Natani's side, softly grasping at his fur there, stroking with his thumb. "I do need to get up, you know."

Natani smiled. "I know. Important business. Like making me coffee."

Keith laughed, and Natani gave him a kiss on the base of one of his ears before letting him go. The basitin got out of bed and went to retrieve his boxers. Natani didn't want to risk dozing off again, so he forced himself to swing his legs off the edge of the bed and at least sit up, stretching and yawning as he watched Keith begin to dress. The basitin had looked back at him when he yawned, and Natani got to see Keith's already half-hard cock surge to a bit more than that as the basitin stuffed it into his boxers, accompanied by a cute little blush.

Natani smiled. "Ah... you might want to wash the base of your tail."

"Huh? Why?"

Keith's hand went behind him, and then to his nose, and the basitin blushed crimson, his boxers filling the rest of the way out at the same time.

Natani grinned. "Sorry. Did it in my sleep."

A quick emergency scrub later, Keith was back, and moving on to his pants. Natani, still sitting on the edge of the bed, watched with great interest as he tried to get his buttons to close on his very formidable bulge.

This was really starting to wake Natani up, too, especially with the way Keith kept glancing at him. Natani started giving the basitin his I-know-what-you're-thinking smile, and after a few more moments of trying, Keith's hands came to a stop, still holding each side of his fly.

"Um... Natani? Could you... maybe... give me a hand?"

His blush really was something to see.

Natani smiled, only a little evilly. "You mean, with the buttons?"

Keith reached maximum blush, but there was a lot of amusement there, too. "With... you know. Muzzle stuff."

Maybe Natani was blushing a little, too. "Sure. I'd be happy to."

Keith let his pants fall, but kept the boxers as he walked over, coming to a stop right in front of Natani. He could actually see inside, too, the basitin's straining cock pulling the waistband right off his stomach.

Natani gave it a friendly little squeeze through the cloth, making Keith let out a trembling sigh, then pulled it past the basitin's waistband, letting it free. He tugged the boxers off Keith's legs, letting them fall around his ankles.

Natani leaned forward and dipped his muzzle down and gave the tip a kiss, before reaching his tongue out and nudging it first to one side, then the other, before catching it, curling his tongue underneath and pulling the tip into his muzzle. Natani gave it a little suckle, and was immediately rewarded by another sigh from Keith, and a throb against his tongue, his first taste of the basitin's pre for the day. Natani reached out with a hand, fingers coming up underneath Keith's sack, plump and full, and gently lifting it up, that touch drawing out a second, heavier throb, and a second, bigger spurt of pre.

Keith certainly seemed ready for it. And this position wasn't too awkward, so Natani was sure he could have gotten the job done, but... maybe this was the time for a little extra? He let Keith slip out of his muzzle, then slid past the basitin onto the floor, bringing the blanket down with him.

He looked up at Keith, smiling. "Have a seat."

Keith did, sitting down on the bed and spreading his legs, and Natani settled down in between them, doubling up the blanket under his knees. Then he nudged at Keith to lean back further, so Natani could more easily look at him, and leaned forward himself, placing his elbows on the bed to the insides of Keith's knees, and his hands on the basitin's hips.

And then he gave Keith's tip another kiss and looked at him with a smile, finding Keith looking back, also smiling, a look of pure joy on his face, a blush still tinting his muzzle and raised ears. Natani let his own blush rise in response, remembering that warmth he had felt, that he still felt, letting it show on his face, letting it come through in every look and every motion as he once again opened his mouth, and took the basitin's cock in, not just the tip this time, but as much as he could comfortably take.

He started a slow bobbing rhythm, tilting his muzzle first down, as he slid deeper onto Keith's shaft, then up, pushing against the bottom with his tongue as he pulled back toward the tip, all the while keeping an eye on the basitin, feeling that warmth build between them and in each of them, even as Keith's features started to tense up, and his breathing grew heavier, and those spurts of pre became more frequent, his pleasure rapidly building to its peak.

Keith was eager to come, and it had been an eternity by basitin standards, and so it didn't take much time at all for Natani to draw an orgasm out of him. He didn't even need to speed up. And when he saw it coming, he backed up towards the tip, just in time to catch the first heavy jet of the basitin's seed, even thicker after a good night's sleep, on his tongue -- but he didn't stop his bobbing, just slowing it down as much as he needed to to catch all Keith had to give without letting it spill, swallowing it down as he watched the basitin's pleasure play out on his face, Keith's own muzzle hanging open as he filled Natani's -- and then as it was winding down, Natani sunk deeper once more, and built back up to his previous, slow rhyhtm -- and when he'd drawn the last of Keith's climax out of him, he started speeding up, the basitin's face caught between tension and release as he realized what Natani was doing -- then slowly tilting back towards tension as a fresh dollop of pre squeezed its way up his shaft.

Natani leaned into Keith's legs, spreading them that much wider, then reached farther with his hands, past the basitin's hips, going around to the base of Keith's tail, fingers massaging and squeezing, playing out the same rhythm Natani was working on his cock. Keith's eyelids fluttered closed, and with a long, drawn-out groan he came again, Natani once again falling back to his tip, and this time stopping his motions, just staying there to catch the basitin's seed, kneading the tip with his tongue as Keith again filled his muzzle, his bounty less thick this time but just as rich, just as tasty, and even more plentiful as it just kept coming, slow surge by slow surge, the basitin's hips and legs trembling under Natani's forearms.

And when it was done, Natani let Keith's already softening cock slip out of his muzzle, swallowed up the last of what he'd got from the basitin, and gave him a kiss on the hip. "Now we're even."

Keith let out a strangled laugh from where he'd collapsed on the bed.

Natani got up, then into bed on his hands and knees, over Keith, to give him a little kiss.

The basitin looked up at him, beatific, and Natani could feel Keith's hand come up to his side, and stroke his fur -- but the basitin didn't pull him down. Instead, the hand came all the way up to his muzzle, to stroke his cheek.

Keith's expression grew more serious, and he swallowed. There was a strain in his voice. "Natani... I love you."

Words had power, too, and shapes that made them difficult to speak.

"I love you too, Keith."

Keith nodded, tears in his eyes, and Natani kissed them away.

A long moment later, the basitin let out a sigh that sounded like it had come all the way, and smiled up at him. "So, is there anything I can do for you on this fine morning?"

Natani laughed. "I would probably just fall back asleep, and I kinda need to be awake too. Magic stuff." Outside, the sun was just beginning to peek past the horizon, casting its first golden rays into the room. "Besides, shouldn't you be going?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I should. And I think I can get into my pants now. Thank you."

Natani grinned. "Don't mention it."

Natani let him go, and Keith quickly hopped into his boxers, followed by his pants, and then the rest of his clothes. Natani watched him dress, and thought it really was quite a shame that there hadn't been time to take him up on his offer.

Maybe tomorrow, they should get up earlier?

When Keith was all ready to go, he looked at Natani, smiling. "Um, sorry about the coffee. I'll get it tomorrow."

Natani returned the smile. "Don't worry about it. And as for the other thing..." He shifted how he sat, spreading his legs, making sure Keith had a good angle. "Maybe come find me around lunch?"

Keith blushed, and laughed, and the fit of his pants got ever so slightly worse. "Dammit, Natani, how am I supposed to think about anything else now?"

Natani grinned. "Exactly."

After Keith left, Natani finally got up, stretching and yawning, and went to make the coffee himself.

Other than that, he kinda felt like he'd already had breakfast.

With his coffee in hand, he felt like he was ready to really start the day, and was gathering up his clothes when his eyes happened upon his dick, gleaming black in the sunlight hitting the bedstand.

He looked at it, sipping his coffee.

Keith had left him a little hot and bothered.

And the coffee was doing wonders for his energy.

He could spread out a towel...

... and anyway, the basitin had said that he wanted his bed to smell of wolf.

Natani went to heat some more water.

POST-CREDITS SCENE

Natani's spell stopped the King where she stood, next to the bed. He could see her eyebrows rise slightly as she felt the effects; not exactly rendering her immobile, or she would have toppled from where she stood, but rather making her unable to move against the magic, only with it.

It was a less used and less costly variation of the paralysis spell, and Natani had little doubt that the King could have broken it if she'd really set her will against it -- but then, right now that was a plus. Natani reached up to her shoulders with his hands and, seeing no objection, unclasped her cloak. Keith caught it from the back, and set it aside while Natani reached up even higher, needing to get on his tiptoes to get her fingers around the band of metal the King wore on her head. He took another look at her, and saw only a flash of amusement, so he pulled that off, too, and handed it to Keith, then the amulet she wore around her neck.

He worked together with Keith to get her top off, and then the plates of armor covering her skirts, and the skirts themselves, leaving her wearing only the wrappings around the base of her tail and on her ankles, and her loincloth.

Natani could already smell her arousal before he went down to his knees, reaching up to her waist to undo the garment, Keith having told him the trick to it. As it fell away, he could see what his nose had already told him. Looked like they were in business.

He took a deep breath of her scent, then placed a single kiss low on her abdomen, just above her clit, and felt her shudder.

They guided her down to the bed, on her back, and Natani could see that her nipples were already hard, standing out amidst her fur. Her breathing was deep, but laden with anticipation.

Natani spread her legs.

"Ah, Mr. Wolf? Before you ravage me senseless?"

Natani couldn't help but smile. "Hm?"

"There's a blindfold in the dresser. Top drawer."

Well then.