don't go breaking my heart

Nirvana. Shangri-La. Eden. Heaven. Whatever name it was to be called, Maverick had truly found that utopia here in the arms of Venom Abraxas. The sensations that raced like electricity across his skin and through his nerves were unlike any he'd ever experienced before. He was no stranger to physical pleasure, but this... this was no mere pleasure. This was an ecstasy of the highest order, the kind reserved only for select few lovers who found their perfect partners, their missing pieces, their soulmates. Just as Maverick had felt wholly unprepared to become the partner to an Empress and assimilate himself into her Empire, the snow and sky brute had not been ready to feel such intense sensations of intimacy. The euphoria he basked in from the afterglow of their shared orgasms had him quivering beneath his lover, paws twitching and toes curling. Never before had he been left in such a state by anyone before! Venom had completely blown him away in a manner no one else had ever come close to.

The disheveled, panting mess of a wolf lay strewn out on the plush bedding, cradling the smaller body of his partner close while she lay sprawled over his body. With her head resting on his chest, it was easy for Maverick to let one paw roam slowly up the curve of Venom's back, sharp claws ever so delicately trailing through her fur and over her skin until he was stroking around her dark-furred ears, giving her crown affectionate pets while they both caught their breaths and recuperated from the extreme emotions and sensations they'd both been rocked with. Their bodies, still coupled and entwined, were like a physical representation of their hearts and souls, binding themselves together through their actions and through their emotions. Mav would have been floored by all these thoughts if there were any thoughts in his head. The dire brute was still in his dazed stupor, that dopey and deeply satisfied grin still painted across his visage. For a few long, glorious moments, he simply lay like this with Venom in his arms, petting her, stroking her, touching her, reveling in the feel of her body wrapped all around him in the most intimate ways. Oh yeah, this was heaven all right...

After a few moments of post-coital snuggling, the dire brute felt his svelte queen shift, her head moving until their gazes met once more. Sunset meeting clear sky. The grin on her face made his heart flutter and leap in his chest, the palpitations rushing liquid fire through his veins. This was when Mav realized that this would be his new normal. He would get to wake up to Venom's beautiful, smiling face every single day and fall asleep with her wound up in his arms every night. There would be no more goodbyes, no more hesitation, no more questioning, no more lingering outside her borders waiting to steal a glimpse of ash and snow fur through the trees. This was theirs, wholly and exclusively, for all time. Venom whispered his name, drawing the renegade wolf out of his blissful daze with a low hum as teal eyes refocused on her instead of drowning himself in those twilight pools. She said she wished she had a better way to describe her feelings for him. Maverick couldn't agree more. He was a charmer and had charisma in spades, but even he was no master poet, no brilliant mind able to capture his true emotions into words.

But it turned out Venom could—when she told him she loved him.

Maverick felt his heart miss a beat, then patter rapidly against his ribs. His expression shifted, teal eyes widening in shock at the heartfelt admission. He knew she wasn't lying. The sincerity in her eyes told him just how serious she was when she said it. This was no idle toss of the words to be cute or make him feel good. This was the real deal. Hearing those words thrilled and astonished the brute, his tail signaling his joy with its eager wagging against the bed. But there was a part of him that was afraid. Afraid because the last time he'd heard those words, the wolf that spoke them had vanished, never to be seen again. Mav knew that Venom was not her, he knew that she was better, she was everything he'd needed and wanted. But he also didn't want her to be saying something in the heat of the moment that she might come to regret saying later.

"Venom..." he whispered back, an amazed and breathless chuckle leaving him while he brought one massive paw around her neck to gently caress her cheek. He found himself falling into her gaze again. Gods, how easy it was for him to drown in her eyes...! A lopsided smile played on his lips while he debated between speaking more and simply pulling her into another kiss to express his feelings for her. "Do you mean that...? I mean, we both just had some incredible sex. You just got off real good. And now you're saying..." Maverick swallowed, hoping with all his might that this wasn't just a side effect of Venom's afterglow. He held her gaze, staring deeply back into her eyes. "We've been burned by those words before..." whispered the white and navy brute while he slowly stroked Venom's cheek. "Tell me you mean it. Tell me that what we're feeling is real and not just a side effect of our lovemaking. Tell me..." He leaned up to bring his muzzle closer to hers. "...so I can tell you I'm in love with you too."

"Venom & Maverick"