Imperial Duties

Maverick didn't know what to expect from Venom when he confessed his trepidations to her. He hadn't really been expecting this conversation right now at all, for that matter! Sure, she wasn't asking him to breed her right this very second, and somewhere deep down inside he'd known that the Empress would one day want to have a family. Faes never stopped at one litter, after all; they always ended up wanting more and more babies. But he supposed this conversation was an inevitability, and whether it happened now or sometime in the future didn't change the gravity of it. This was part of what a lifetime with Venom entailed, and he supposed the sooner they discussed it, the better they could prepare. But would there ever be a way to prepare Maverick to deal with the lingering ghost of his own self-doubts? There was a reason he'd been an unwed vagabond for so long.

Venom whispered back to him as soon as he finished speaking, soothing him with a gentle coaxing of words while she graced his lips with wholesome little kisses, reassuring him of what he already knew—that she did not make decisions lightly, especially those with the implications this one had. She grinned, her smile making the brute melt in her arms, the anxiousness visibly melting away from his features as he came back down to his relaxed state in her embrace. She had him, wholly and irrevocably, and they both knew it. It didn't escape Mav that Venom wanted to have this conversation with him because she wanted him as her partner. A wolf like her could have easily had any man she desired to be the sire of her children, her pick of the best genes to create her offspring with, or just as easily ordered his compliance. But no... she wanted him to want this as well. Not just because any pressure she applied as monarch would likely be met with spirited resistance from the (somewhat) domesticated renegade, but because she cared for him.

Maverick listened in contemplative silence while Venom empathized with his nervousness, assuring him with all her faith that he would be a better father than Hattori had been. His stomach churned; in secret, that had been one of his biggest concerns about breeding with Venom. He had never met her ex-husband, but he had seen her first litter about the pack, seen the majesty of their mutations and heard the tales of the imposing force the former Shogun had been. For all his bravado, Maverick would have happily gone up against Hattori in a dick measuring contest—but when it came to giving Venom pups worthy of her title, her family name, he feared that he would pale in comparison to the magnitude of his predecessor. He was a damn good lover, that he knew for sure. He knew from the blissful smiles and satisfied sighs he drew from Venom whenever they spent private time together. But as a father...? What example did he have to look to? The man that had sired him and reviled him? Or the wolf that had given Venom her litter of magnificent children and abandoned them? At least Hattori had that going for him. Maverick was just fucked up—plainly and simply fucked up.

His name came out in the quiet on Venom's beautiful lyrics, snapping the dire brute out of his deprecating daze. Teal eyes blinked back to focus on her while she encouraged him further. They would do this together as partners. A loving couple raising a family together. It was the picture perfect standard every wolf thought of when they thought of a family. Stability. Support. Love. It all sounded wonderful, like some impossible dream, and Maverick didn't know if he was worthy of it. Venom teased him gently, reminding him that he at least knew what not to do. The sky and snow brute smirked and let out a single hard laugh, feeling his pulse quicken in his veins when the charcoal and alabaster Empress placed a teasing kiss to the end of his nose. It was oh so sorely tempting to just pull the beautiful woman back to him and have her again, to make love to her as if they were making puppies together right now and show his devotion to her. But there would be time for that soon enough. This was an important matter to Venom and he wanted to give it the respect she deserved.

Maverick sucked in a long, slow breath, held it within his chest for a moment, then released it in a drawn out sigh. His eyes remained on hers all the while, but his pupils shifted ever so subtly to show the thoughts that were running through his head. There was so much to consider, and the former rambler could have spent all night dwelling on them only to beat himself down even more. But ultimately, there was only one question that mattered: did he want to have a family with Venom? Regardless of how ready he felt or if he'd ever truly feel ready or worthy, was this something he wanted? He knew the answer, it was just a matter of convincing his brain and nerves to follow his heart. "Dammit, you're too good with that silver forked tongue, Ven." Mav snickered and flashed his lover a crooked grin, teal eyes shining with love for her in the dim lighting of their bedchambers. One paw shifted to slide up between her shoulder blades, deftly navigating her quills and gliding up the side of her neck until paw pads were caressing her cheek. "Together..." he whispered back to her, bringing his muzzle to gently tap his nose against hers with a roguish grin. "We do this together."

The smile shifted a little as doubt crept back into his gaze, but this time he didn't keep his thoughts secret from her. "I just... Your children, they're all so gifted. Hattori, he had a lot to offer to the gene pool. Me, I'm just... me." Venom would know what he meant. Maverick had no mutations to speak of, nothing special to pass on to any children he sired, save for maybe a tremendous height, unparalleled snark, and incredibly good looks if he said so himself. "I guess I... I dunno, I'm wondering if I'm... good enough." The same dilemma he'd dealt with since he'd been a whelp born to his father's scrutinizing and unattainable expectations, now the secret fear he carried that he'd never shared with anyone—not until now. Was he good enough?

"Maverick"