Ride Out the Storm With You

She molded herself easily against his body at his insistence, and Straton gave a pleased rumble deep in his chest. Not once had Cicero ever denied his affection, nor did he anticipate she would this time, but it still amazed the grizzled old brute at just how much she enjoyed his presence, his touches, his licks and nibbles and kisses. What had he done in life to deserve the luxury of spending his twilight years in the company of a rare gem such as Cicero? Any wolf would have killed to have a fae as gorgeous as she was on their arm, and that wasn't even accounting for the chemistry they'd found together. Straton could recount a number of times he felt like he'd truly gotten lucky. Cicero was by far his greatest use of luck in his entire damned existence in this world.

At some point between his grooming of her fur, Cicero began to admit that her family didn't know much about where she'd been or what she'd been up to. Straton hummed in response, a husky vibrating of his vocal cords while he focused on running sharp teeth over delicate skin along the side of his lover's neck. Though not ashamed or unwilling to talk about her family, Straton had noticed that Cicero seldom volunteered information about them. Over their time together, he began to understand why. She felt like the black sheep of the family—always on the outside of the group, never excluded nor was she treated the same. His lips pursed together into a tight line when she admitted that she wasn't sure her family was happy to see her, that they were only happy for her stock of hallucinogenics.

Slowly, Straton began to pull his muzzle from her scruff so he could meet her gray gaze, slate eyes peering into the depths of her soul with a devotion for her so strong it ached. When he'd retired, the old hunter had been afraid he'd lose all purpose in life. When he found Cicero, he realized the purpose he'd been looking for was having someone to love, to dote on, to smother in affection and pleasure and passion. She gave him goals, objectives, and ambitions again. He wanted to keep her happy, because she made him happy. It really was that simple. Cicero pressed herself further into him, looking to him for comfort that he would provide eagerly. The thickly corded foreleg around her side wound tighter, keeping her svelte form tucked snugly against his side, savoring her warmth and the way her soft fur mingled with his where their bodies met.

"Not as strange as you'd think," he remarked with a half-smirk, bringing his free paw up to gently caress Cicero's cheek while he held her gaze, drinking her in while listening to the roils of thunder and rain outside. "I'm sure your family loves you, Cissy. They might have a fucked up way of showing it, but they're supporting your passion. Least they aren't ignoring you completely." Bringing his muzzle slowly down to hers, Straton nudged her tiny nose with his own large one, then caught her lips in a slow, tender kiss that lasted for a few seconds. When he pulled back again, it was only an inch or two so he could speak again. "I hope we find them. I'd like them to see how amazing you are." A roguish grin crept across the old hunter's lips and he chuckled beneath his breath. "Plus I promised we'd do all the normal couplesy shit when we got here, and I'll be damned if they make a liar outta me." Seeing her home and meeting her family had been something they'd both discussed and agreed on. With his own homelands continents away and all of his family dead, Cicero was the only one of them with any ties to this world still. Straton lived almost exclusively for his beautiful little galaxy.

"Straton"