[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

jayden has never been a person who thinks much of the things he does, especially when it involves matters of the heart. historically, he has always led it lead him — whether it leads him to happiness or ruin.

[break][break] later, he will think of the words that illeana reyes had once asked of him. 'why not pursue it?' at the time, he had said that he simply never thought of it. in reality, it was more than that. even though he had chastised her for the same thing, fear had always been a motivating factor — fear of the unknown — in why he never chose to pursue those things in the first place.

[break][break] but if he'd known then what he knew now — the addicting quality of fern delaney — perhaps he would have looked harder. searched harder.

[break][break] his kisses grow insistent and more passionate as each moment passes, his lips lowering onto their collarbone and sucking upon the sensitive skin. hands wrapping around their thighs, he pulls them as closer as he can have them, breathless as their voice shutters against him.

[break][break] mine.

[break][break] the words had come out without thinking.

[break][break] jayden finds out he doesn't mind the sound of it.

[break][break] "is that okay?" he murmurs, pulling back from his kisses just a bit to stare at the other in the eyes. his hands brush up against their face, unexpected to find the way his heart tumbles with anticipation.

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

it's addicting.

[break][break] the quality of fern's kisses, their presence. the more and more time he spends with them, jayden can't help but wanting more.

[break][break] it's a bit terrifying.

[break][break] but in the moment, that's not what jayden is thinking about. as he claims their lips in another searing kiss, pressing close to them as possible, all he is thinking about is the need to get closer.

[break][break] it takes everything in jayden to pause, to stare into fern delaney's eyes, and make sure that this is what they want too. that he's not being selfish, not pressuring them into something that they didn't want. but as soon as he is given a yes, jayden is back again. nipping at skin, sliding a hand up their shirt, chasing that delicious heat.

[break][break] like the wolf that he had spent his whole life trained to be. a wolf that would devour without remorse.

[break][break] but fern is just as much of a predator, pulling jayden forward with a sharp tug. the sound of papers and tools clatter against the ground as jayden opens his mouth to deepen the kiss, tangling his fingers in the other's hair. addicted.

[break][break] his fingers go to his own shirt to quickly unbottom them, the fabric falling down quickly onto the floor. discarded. he reaches down to pull their shirt over their head, tossing it aside to join his own clothes before he dives back down. he nips at the skin again, teeth grazed against the shell of their ear. "call me michail."

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

jayden is not quite sure why he has said it. maybe caught up in the flurry of the moment — the excitement, the thrill. after the events of meteno, jayden and fern had hardly had a moment to themselves, been so busy both with first their injuries and then their mutual work.

[break][break] there hadn't been a moment left to breathe, to care about the things he should or in the way that he had wanted to.

[break][break] but if he were perfectly honest, jayden had been thinking about it ever since fern had asked. what had he wanted to be called? names had never meant anything special to jayden — not when so much of his life had been out of his control. people called them what they had wanted, and he'd never had a choice in the matter.

[break][break] jayden. michail. mischa.

[break][break] none of it had mattered — until it did.

[break][break] but there was no denying the flurry of feelings whenever fern used a nickname with him. whether they be good or bad, it stirred something in him, awakening something that he didn't know he wanted.

[break][break] and even more than those nicknames that he enjoyed, he realized he wanted them to call him by his name. his family name. the one that he had been given at birth.

[break][break] somehow it seemed like if there were bad memories associated with them, fern could wipe them clean. to be the light that chased away the gloom.

[break][break] a shiver runs down his spine as nails claw at his back and a groan of pleasure releases his breath, though it's impossible to tell whether it's from fern saying their name in this intimate moment or the physical act. either way, after sucking a spot on their shoulder, he returns back to kiss them, more fervently and heatedly than before. he opens his mouth to deepen the kiss, seeking equal passage, before his hands slide down between them and grab their hips, slotting them as close as possible.

[break][break] fern delaney may have once called him a raven, but today, he was a wolf.

[break][break] devouring them as much as they would allow.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

when all is said and done, jayden picks up his shirt discarded off the floor and begins to button himself back up. his cheeks are still flush with the heat of the moment, but there is something warm and pleasant buzzing in his chest — a fuzziness at the corner of his conscious that not even a little bit of shame can bide away.

[break][break] a soft, breathy laugh exudes from his lips.

[break][break] "you would've liked that, wouldn't you?" he teases gently back.

[break][break] his violet eyes linger on the tender bruise on sporting on his partner's shoulder, ignorant to the marks littering his own body. on his back, there are sharp red marks where their nails dug into his back. something that he may think about tomorrow, when the wounds would sting.

[break][break] jayden glances down in concern at the bruises that would surely blossom on the other's shoulder, distracted for a moment as they lean up to press their kiss-swollen lips together. something calming settles in his chest at the movement, his fingers reaching down first to rub against their cheekbones, before sliding down his neck, shoulders and finally down his arms.

[break][break] "i'm sorry," he says, cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment. "i don't... i don't know what came over me."

[break][break] once again, his gaze drifts down towards them, caught in the whorl of their teal-colored gaze.

[break][break] softly, he says, "i missed you."

[break][break] jayden follows obediently, intertwining their fingers together, as they head towards the back door. "i would like that."

[break][break] "i forgot if i've told you but my company's donated to the gala's effort as well."

[break][break] while he was sure that fern delaney would have known about it, jayden couldn't quite recall if they'd ever spoken about it. sure, fern was an expert in his craft, but jayden's public persona was not one that he talked about all that much.

[break][break] mostly because he preferred to separate rocket and his personal life, but fern had already been so good at blurring his boundaries. the last person he'd spoken to about it had been felix.

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"okay," he says, smiling slightly at the reprimand. "i won't."

[break][break] there is something warm and fuzzy bubbling in his chest, like a blanket slung over him, as he follows fern into the backroom. at the corner of his eye, he notices that the winter storm has nowhere near ceased — in fact, the winter flurries only seem to grow with intensity.

[break][break] jayden finds a nearby chair and pulls it out to sit upon, as he awaits fern's tea preparation. he hums thoughtfully in the back of his throat.

[break][break] "we will."

[break][break] his head tilts.

[break][break] "the board thought it a good option." his lips purse. "you know... you've never really asked me about my work."

[break][break] his work outside of rocket. the life that he lived outside of the constrains of the organization.

[break][break] "are you not curious?"

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"oh," he blinks. it's a good point - one that he had never quite considered. he was so used to having to give the dialogue to hoenn natives, to explain the whereabouts of the company and where they had established, it often made him remiss of the fact that it was a conglomerate well populated in galar.

[break][break] his grandfather's blood, sweat and tears would not go undone, even poisoned as they were by dmitri's influence.

[break][break] jayden's fingers brush against theirs as he takes the cup from their hand, warmed by the steaming liquid. unlike them, jayden takes his drink black, forgoing the sugar.

[break][break] "you're more interesting than meetings and paperwork," he says, with a teasing lilt to his voice. it sobers as he takes a sip of the drink.

[break][break] "but i'd be happy to share that part of my life with you as well. what kind of things are you curious about?"

[attr="class","ooc"]

fern delaney

☉