Within Cells Interlinked

Court watched you open the closet door and winced internally when it smacked into the wall. He knew he'd fucked up but, shit, you were more pissed off than he thought you'd be.

The door closed behind you as you walked up to him. Court was standing with his arms crossed and his head down in the corner, looking a little too much like a kicke puppy. Before you could open your mouth and rip into him, Court whispered, "Sorry, sir."

You clenched your jaw and laid a hand on his shoulder tightly. You squeezed once in warning before dropping your hand. "Do not."

Court nodded faintly and dropped his arms to his sides, glancing up at your chest but not your eyes. You started seething, preparing to lay into him about how stupid what he did was, and how he could have fucked this entire mission up, but the door squeaking as it was opened stopped you.

You turned just your head around towards the door, eyes narrowed at the man walking in, and saw the man stop in his tracks. You both looked at each other. You hadn't even realized it, but you had grabbed Court's forearm when the door started opening instinctively.

Court was staring down at where your hand was wrapped around him in a vice grip and took a shaky breath in.

The man said that you two weren't allowed in here in the weakest, shakiest voice possible, clearly intimidated by you, and you nodded faintly as you apologized with a strained calm voice.

The man had you two leave the closet, your hand pulling Court with you, and him following you with his head down. He didn't make eye contact with the man who had caught you two speaking, but he could feel the weird look he was getting from him.

You dragged Court to a semi-quiet area of the party you two were infiltrating and let go of his arm slowly. "Sorry," You mumbled, looking down at where he might actually bruise because of your strong grip. "Shit…" You rubbed your palms over his arm to soothe the skin, but Court couldn't pay attention to that— not when you were acting like this.

"It's fine," He finally spoke up quietly. He was worried you'd rip into him again, but given your focus on his arm— on the possibility of having hurt him— he was willing to take his chances.

You sighed and traced where your nails had dug into his skin. You finally shook your head and let go of his arm. "We'll talk about what you did later," You trailed off and then sadly added, "I'm sorry I hurt you."

Court shrugged dismissively and pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against. "Don't worry about it," He meant what he said. You didn't intentionally hurt him, so he wasn't angry whatsoever.

You hummed and patted his upper arm in response. You disappeared down the hallway, getting back to work, and Court had to take a second to get his heart and breathing under control again. He looked down at his forearm and licked his lips when he saw the slightest indents from your nails.

Court cleared his throat and readjusted his shirt, getting himself back on track, before walking down the hallway towards the main party.

Four hours later, Court sat in the passenger seat of the car you two had been renting for the job and watched the streets as you drove.

You were quiet, focusing on the road ahead of you, and Court wasn't sure if that meant you were calm or not. Maybe you were still angry over his fuck up earlier, maybe you weren't.

Court listened to the music playing on the radio to try to relax and saw your hand tap the steering wheel along with the best. Okay, so maybe you weren't angry anymore… Maybe.

Court bit his lip. May as well bite the bullet, right? "Sir?" He called softly to you. Your eyes darted to the side towards him a moment before returning to the streets.

"Hmm?" You responded as you took a right turn smoothly. Court watched your hands on the wheel glide over the leather and cleared his throat.

"Are you— earlier?" Court struggled to get what he was saying out. He realized how stupid this all sounded now that he was in the position to speak, but he was in too deep not to have you yell at him for being an idiot.

You nodded as you pulled into the parking garage of the hotel you were staying in. You pulled the car into a spot hidden away from any cameras and threw the shifter into park. You turned towards Court and he saw your eyes narrow for a second. "We'll talk once we're in privacy."

You undid your seatbelt, shut the car off, and got out. Court blinked and then undid his own seatbelt before getting out of the car. You opened the trunk to grab both of your bags and closed it again.

Court took his bag from you silently, unsure if speaking would worsen your ire, even if it was to say thank you.

You two walked into the hotel, grabbed your keys, and went up the elevator. Court kept glancing at you, feeling his heart race for some reason. Maybe it was the anticipation of being yelled at by you? Who knows?

You unlocked the door and swung it open, flipping the light switch on and dropping your bag on one of the queen-size beds. Court dropped his on the other bed and turned towards you after you locked the door.

Court stood upright with his head lowered, hands clasped in front of him as you walked up to him. You sighed, something between disappointment and anger, and shook your head. "You know how stupid that was, right?"

Court knew you weren't looking for an answer but felt himself nodding anyway. You pinched the bridge of your nose. "You coulda gotten someone killed— you're better than that." You didn't even shout at him. You just spoke firmly, like a teacher having to scold a good student, and Court tightened his hands together.

He was beginning to feel hot and his heart was pounding in his chest. "You're better than that… I'm disappointed in your performance today," You crossed your arms and Court's eyes followed your muscles shifting.

"Yes, sir," He mumbled, voice weak. You looked him up and down, surprised he was speaking in that tone. Court's been reprimanded by superiors before, so why was he acting differently now that it was you?

"Court?" You asked with wide eyes, actually lost for words when you realized what was happening.

Court's shoulders tightened and his head lowered even more. "Sir?"

You took a step closer, getting in his space and lifted a hand to rest on his ducked chin. "You like being reprimanded by me, is that it?" You rubbed your thumb over his chin and Court swallowed harshly.

"No, sir," He lied, hands clenching together as you lifted his head. Court refused to make eye contact with you as his face burned.

"Tell me the truth," You whispered. Court refused to answer. He was beyond embarrassed and ashamed of himself, of how his body was reacting. You hummed shortly at his lack of response, and took hold of one of his forearms.

Court looked down at your hand on him and you began pulling him towards the desk chair in the room. "Sir?" He asked feebly but all you did was shush him gently.

You spun the chair out to be close to the bed and motioned for him to sit down. "Gotta reprimand you some way," You explained simply. Court bit his lip but sat down in the chair, back tense as he looked up at you with big, wet eyes.

You put a hand on the top of his head and ran your fingers through his hair gently. Court relaxed a little at the touch and leaned into your hand. You leaned down and whispered, "You okay with this?"

Court tapped his foot on the floor anxiously, feeling himself lose control over his body and mind as he kept touching him. "'m okay," He murmured. You kissed the side of his head in response and pulled your hand away from him.

Court looked up as you walked to your bag and pulled out handcuffs. Court looked down at his hands resting on his lap and then up at you. You came back in front of him and had him put his hands behind the back of the chair.

You handcuffed him loosely and saw him try to look over his shoulder at the metal wrapped around his wrists. Court turned back to you with his pupils dilated and you smirked. "This isn't gonna be much of a punishment, is it?" You asked yourself aloud as you reached for his belt.

Court spread his legs for you and you patted his thigh before unbuckling his belt. You slipped the leather out of the loops and dropped it on the bed behind you.

Court watched you grab hold of the back of his knee and roll the chair closer to the bed as if he weighed nothing. You sat down on the edge of the bed, your legs between Court's spread ones, and reached for his zipper.

You stopped just before touching him and glanced up at his face, but he was looking down at your hands. You tilted his head up and hummed questioningly, eyes flicking between his pants and his eyes. Court nodded and shifted in the chair, trying to coax you into taking off his pants.

You kissed his cheek and started pulling down his waistband. Court lifted his hips off the chair so you could get the material below his ass, and watched how you yanked it down to rest just under his knees. He looked down at himself when your hand teased his length through his underwear.

Court tensed and strained against the handcuffs. Of course, you knew how much he loved being touched, so you had to take it away as punishment. He sighed at the realization that he wouldn't be able to touch you and you smiled. Maybe this would be a punishment after all.

"Sir," He blinked a few times as you trailed a hand over his dick through his underwear. Your thumb pressed into his tip and his back arched against the chair.

You pulled his underwear to the side and his length sat against his thigh, no longer having the underwear in the way. "Gonna cum too soon… we can't have that." You rubbed his tip and watched Court inhale sharply. He breathed heavily and tried to close his legs together. You used your knees to prevent his legs from closing, and watched him writhe under your touch.

You pulled your hand away and he slumped against the chair. "Think you can stay quiet?" You asked him, petting his cheek comfortingly as if you hadn't been trying to make him get loud two seconds ago.

"Yes, sir," Court closed his eyes and felt your hand move to the waistband of his underwear. "Sir," He whined. He needed you to move faster, do something, make him cry from pleasure, anything other than fidget with the waistband of his underwear teasingly.

"Hmm?" You hummed as if you had no clue what he was begging for. "What do you need?"

Court huffed and dropped his head. "Take it— please take it off," He breathed.

You hummed in approval before slipping the underwear down his legs with his assistance. You rubbed your hands up and down his thighs and hips, watching him twitch and blush at the soft touch.

You wrapped a hand around his length a moment later, eyes focused on his body. Court watched your hand move and marveled at how gentle you were. He wasn't surprised you were gentle— that wasn't as much of a surprise as it used to be— but he'd expected a punishment to hurt in some way... but this didn't.

You saw the thoughtful expression on his face when his head raised a bit, and slowed your hand. "You alright?" You were ready to pull away from him but Court nodded with his eyes closed again.

"You said punishment…" He forced the words out. "Expected it to hurt, ya know?" He felt humiliated saying this, but you were worried about him. The least he could do was explain why he looked so lost in his head.

You actually froze and then let go of him completely. You sat there watching his entire body to see if he'd been in distress while you were too carried away to notice, but he seemed relaxed. "Nothing is supposed to hurt," Your voice was firmer and angrier now than it had been when you were scolding him earlier. Court went to speak, tried to rationalize what he was thinking, and pretended nothing happened, but you kept going. "If something— I would not hurt you, that's just wrong."

Court finally glanced up at you and saw how serious you were. "But I fucked up—" He started but you shook your head.

"Doesn't matter," You cut him off. "Doesn't matter, I'm not hurting you."

Court tapped his foot on the ground as he thought. "So… how's this a punishment then?" You actually looked like you were ready to burn a building after he asked that, and he regretted ever opening his mouth.

"You not being able to touch me, be loud, or cum is the 'punishment'. Nothing is supposed to hurt." You said adamantly.

Court took a moment to absorb your words and then whispered, "Oh."

You went to reach around the chair to undo the loose cuffs but Court bumped his knee into yours. "I trust you… I'd like to continue," Court told you, eyes glancing between your leg touching his, and your face.

You nodded with a small, genuine smile and wrapped a hand lightly around his length again, watching his face the whole time to make sure he was actually okay with this.

Court only sighed and spread his legs back out, relieved that the private, quiet thought of being hurt was no more. He didn't want to say anything earlier in case it upset you, but he also just thought a 'punishment' meant pain.

You leaned forward and kissed the top of his head, putting a gentle hand on the back of his neck and carding your fingers through his hair. Court relaxed into the touch and you felt better now that he was openly okay.

Court watched you graze your nail along a vein on his length and groaned quietly. He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as you took your hand away, spit in it, and brought it back down to his dick.

Court shuddered at the wetness collected on your palm and closed his legs around yours. You hushed him and started stroking him, thumb brushing over his tip each time, making him bite down on his lip harder to keep himself quiet.

"Roll into my hand," You put a hand on his hip to encourage him to start thrusting, and he hesitantly did as you asked. In the back of his mind, all he could think about was the fact that this punishment didn't feel much like one at all.

You squeezed the base of his dick as Court thrusted into your hand and he dropped his head. It felt so good and that wasn't what he'd been expecting going into this. Maybe you'd hurt him, sure, but Court would deserve it for failing… Now? He couldn't really believe he'd thought that you would harm him. When your nails had dug into him hard enough to leave marks at the party, you'd soothed his skin and apologized, looking guilty as sin… Of course you wouldn’t hurt him.

"How's that feel?" You asked him, breaking him out of his thoughts. Court nodded a couple of times and you hummed. "Good, you're doing so good," You praised quietly as he kept rolling his hips into your hand.

Court strained his arms against the handcuffs—he'd honestly forgotten they were there— because he wanted so badly to wrap his arms around you— touch you in some way.

You saw his struggle and warred with yourself over whether or not you should uncuff him. May as well just ask the man himself, right?

"Court," You called and held his jaw up so he'd look at you. "You wanna touch me?"

Court pressed his face into your hand and nodded. "Please."

"I have to stop touching you, though." You told him before stilling his hips with a firm hand and letting go of his length. Court whimpered at the loss but watched you attentively as you got off the bed and walked behind him.

He felt the handcuffs drop away from his wrists and sighed in relief. He could touch you now. You rubbed his wrists where they were marked from his straining before standing and making your way to the bed again.

Court reached down to his boots and tugged them off, throwing them without a care for where they'd land, and then slipped off his pants and underwear.

You sat down on the bed, watching him with a soft look, and Court stood from the chair.

You reached a hand out and he took it without hesitation. You tugged him on top of you and Court sat on your lap.

"Better?" You asked, brushing some hair out of his face. He nodded and guided one of your hands to his dick. You took hold of him again and began stroking him like before.

Court buried his face in your shoulder, rocking his hips into your hand while letting out panted breaths and groans. "Never been on someone's lap before," He admitted into your shirt.

You kissed the side of his head, next to his ear, and met each of his thrusts easily. "You like it?" You teased him.

Court mumbled something into your shirt but you didn't catch the words. You asked him to repeat it and he brought his face away from your shoulder just a hint. "I like you."

You felt him press against your shirt harder than before, and you held onto him tightly. "Such a sweetheart," You kissed his hair. "Like you too, Court."

Court gripped the back of your shirt as you sped up your hand. He's been on the edge of cumming a couple of times now, but something was always stopping him, so now he was chasing his release.

"Close," Court whimpered into your shirt as your hand glided up and down his length.

"C'mere," You whispered into his ear and brought his face up to be in front of yours. You leaned up to brush your lips against his and Court jumped at the opportunity to kiss you.

Court slid a hand up to the back of your neck and held you as you slid your tongue in his mouth. Court sighed when your tongue touched his and couldn't focus on thrusting his hips anymore.

You pulled back enough to nip his lower lip and then went back to kissing before he could do anything.

Court pulled away to catch his breath and you trailed kisses down his throat. He held onto the back of your head like it was a lifeline and felt your hand wrapped around his dick finally sending him over the edge.

You kept kissing and sucking his neck as he came over your hand and both of your bodies. Court let out a choked moan but remained quiet otherwise.

You pulled your hand away from his length but kept laying small kisses across his skin.

"Sir?" Court asked after you hadn't stopped when he thought you would.

You nipped his Adam's apple and pulled away fully. He swallowed and panted as he caught his breath. "That feel good?" You asked sincerely.

Court nodded with a faint smile, feeling spent and relieved. "Should get in trouble more often."

You snorted and wiped your hand off on your shirt. "We get into enough trouble as is."

Court looked down and saw his cum over his shirt and yours. "Uhh.” He wasn't sure what to do now.

"Get up for me," You patted his thigh and Court stood on semi-shaky legs. You put his hand on your shoulder so you'd be his anchor and he helped you stand up a moment later. "Shower."

You grabbed clean clothes out of your bag, and Court did the same. You walked into the bathroom together and he turned the water to the shower on.

When he turned around to face the sink, you had stripped down and were now leaning against the counter. Court almost choked on his spit and turned his eyes away.

"Honey, please," You chuckled at his reaction. "I just made you cum in my lap but you can't see me naked?"

Court sighed softly and wiped a hand down his face. "That's different," He tried to argue.

You hummed noncommittally in response and checked the temperature of the water before getting in the shower. You held a hand out for Court to take and he stepped under the water using your hand to balance himself.

You faced the water, wetting your hair, and Court may or may not have admired your back muscles moving as you lifted your arms to push your hair around.

Court laid a hand on your shoulder and then pressed his front into your back, wrapping his arms around your front tightly. "Thank you," He said just loud enough over the water.

You rubbed a hand over his forearm and leaned back into his chest. "Don't need to thank me."

Court shrugged and took a hand away from your body to grab a bottle of shampoo.

When Sierra had breached the building, Court had been up a sniper's nest some few hundred yards away watching everyone's back.

Except, Zack had yelled for him over comms within a minute of entering the building, and Court had gathered his equipment in seconds before rushing towards the building.

Court entered behind the rest of Sierra, footsteps going silent as he saw multiple men pinning down his squad. One of the group separated from the others, intent on slicing open one of their throats from behind.

Court saw it from his vantage point and just before the man had fully raised the blade, Court bit down on his arm hard. The man screamed and everyone in the room, despite the gunfire, glanced over at the sound.

Sierra's attackers were beyond surprised that it was a man biting their comrade and not a massive dog to say the least. The rest of Sierra used the distraction to push forward and kill the assailants while Court nearly bit the man's arm off.

The man dropped the knife in the scuffle and Court spun him using the arm in his mouth so he was facing Court. He looked absolutely frightened and tears were running down his face as Court leapt forward and crushed the bones in his throat.

The man gasped feebly and then went still under Court's hold. Zack and the others watched this with their jaws dropped, completely forgetting about the rest of the mission with Court doing this in front of them.

Court dropped the man and his head bounced off the cement floor before rolling to the side. The blood from his throat was pouring out like a fountain, and Court licked his teeth instinctively to clean them.

He spat out some of it and turned towards Zack. Zack kept glancing between the man on the floor and Court's mouth. Court felt his ears pin back under his helmet at the stares pointed his way from the team, and took a subtle step back.

Zack cleared his throat and whistled to get everyone's attention. "Nice, you saved our asses," He nodded to Court and had everyone focusing on the mission again. "Alright, we clear this building and the next, and we're done."

Everyone got back to work, listening to Zack's orders and Court felt the hair on his neck finally relax. He licked away the blood on his lips and wiped a gloved hand over his face to try to get rid of the feeling of sticky blood, but it wasn't much use.

The rest of the mission went fine, nothing exciting happened to them. Court was sick of the dried blood but focused on what he was doing easily.

When they loaded up in the early morning after finishing their operation, Zack sat down next to him in the cargo plane they were using as cover to get back to the States.

Court didn't say anything, just continued decompressing after an operation away from everyone else. Zack pulled a bottle of water out from behind him and a rag. "Come on," Zack turned towards him where they sat on the crate they were using as a seat. Court watched him pour water out onto the clean rag and squeeze it a couple of times before folding it into a neat square. "You look like a vampire right now."

Court huffed and went to reach for the wet rag but Zack pulled his hand away. "Lemme do it, you'll never get all of it," He smirked at Court and Court finally turned fully towards him with his chin raised.

Zack raised the rag and his opposite hand up to Court's face and laid his hand on Court's cheek to stabilize him. He started wiping away the dried blood as best he could, having to put some pressure and scrub the same areas over and over again.

Court closed his eyes and felt his ears drop down as he relaxed. Would have been nice to wear the helmet right now to hide what he was feeling from Zack, but the damn thing squeezed his ears enough as it was… He didn't much feel like wearing it anymore than he had to to be quite honest.

Zack smirked seeing Court's ears droop and brushed the rag over the man's lips. Court's eyelids flickered for a moment before his eyes opened fully. He looked at Zack questioningly and Zack huffed. "Your teeth are probably dirty, too, huh?" He dropped his hand down to press against Court's bottom lip.

Court pulled back a little at the touch and Zack whispered, "Easy." Court grumbled before letting Zack touch his lip again. "They feel gross?"

Court licked his teeth again and grimaced. "Yeah."

Zack hummed. "Open, I'll wipe 'em now so it'll be easier to clean later." Court scanned his face, looking for any sign that Zack was fucking with him, but all Zack did was pull away to wet the rag again. The man folded the rag into another neat, now clean square and raised it to Court's face again.

Court pulled his lips back to show his teeth, more so the top than the bottom, and Zack's eyes widened. "Wow," He murmured to himself before starting to wipe the blood off of Court's front teeth.

When he pulled away to find a clean spot on the rag, Court spoke. "'Wow' what?"

Zack found a spot on the rag and brought it back to Court's face. "Wow, as in: your teeth are bloody and your canines are sharp as hell."

Court huffed a laugh through his nose. Of course, his canines are sharp. Zack was so… stupid sometimes.

Zack traced the rag in between his teeth, pulling out bits of flesh that had gotten stuck, and wiping away blood that didn't want to go. His eyes and hand lingered on Court's canines, and Court felt his ears perk up when an explanation for Zack's behavior struck him.

"You like them," Court said quietly when Zack pulled away again. Zack froze for a millisecond before continuing what he was doing. "Oh, you do."

Zack grumbled under his breath before cleaning up Court's bottom teeth. His eyes, again, lingered on the canines and felt both of them with his thumb, pressing down on the sharp point. Court growled softly in the back of his throat, hoping to freak Zack out, but all the man did was lick his lips.

Court's ears flicked back and forth at the reaction. Man, he's never going to understand Zack, is he? Getting turned on by Court's teeth… is that a new low?

Zack finally pulled away and put the rag down on the crate beside him, clearing his throat and wiping his wet hands off in his pants. Court's tail wagged seeing how affected Zack was and he growled again, just wanting to see what would happen.

Zack pushed his shoulder without making eye contact and Court laughed silently. His tail wagged more and he slid sideways to sit right next to Zack. Court wrapped his tail around him and let the tip of it rest on Zack's thigh.

Zack sighed. "You're so annoying," He spoke without any real malice or annoyance. Court gave him a toothy smile and Zack's eyes darted between Court's eyes and his teeth.

"You're so easy," Court smirked and laughed to himself. Perhaps he was feeling too confident right now, but he'd never expected Zack to be affected like this by him in any way. So, sue him, he wanted to tease.

Zack mocked his words and then went silent. They sat there, looking around the rest of the cargo hold and enjoying the quiet. The rest of their team was further in the plane, resting together, probably asleep right now if Zack had to guess.

Zack turned his head towards Court and shifted the man's head towards him with a light pointer finger to the jaw. "Can I try something?" He asked, eyes on Court's lips. As if Court didn't already know what he wanted.

Court turned halfway towards Zack and nodded once. Zack leaned down, hand resting on the side of Court's face, and kissed him. It was soft for only a moment before Zack sighed and opened his mouth. He licked over Court's teeth and traced one of his canine teeth.

Court hummed low in the back of his throat at the feeling and put a hand on Zack's side. He squeezed when Zack pulled away enough to nip Court's bottom lip. Such an ass.

Zack dipped his thumb into Court's open mouth and Court's tongue found the finger instantly. He lapped at the skin with his eyes closed and wrapped his lips around Zack's finger. His ears dropped down as if this calmed him and Zack brought his other hand up to stroke his cheek. "Saved us earlier," He whispered to Court as he leaned his forehead against the man's. "So strong."

Court's nails dug into Zack's side and his tail twitched. "Mhmm," He mumbled around the finger in his mouth. Court sucked on it and brought his free hand up to wrap around Zack's wrist.

Zack's finger slipped out of his mouth when he pulled away enough to swing his leg over the crate so he was straddling it. Zack felt Court's tail move so it was behind Court's back, swishing back and forth lazily.

Court kept hold of Zack's wrist and shuffled forward before putting the man's thumb back in his mouth. Zack looked down by chance and saw the tent in Court's pants. Court was already hard from just sucking Zack's finger.

Jesus, Court was trying to kill this old man.

"Court," Zack murmured. Court looked at him with half-lidded eyes as drool started to seep out of the sides of his mouth. Zack thought for a moment, not sure of what to say but he had an idea of what to do.

He brought his free hand down and pressed the heel of his palm into Court's erection. Court groaned, a quiet growl following the sound. Zack saw the man's tail freeze before it dropped down to rest fully on the crate. Okay, Court liked this.

He shushed Court gently as the man rolled his hips into Zack's hand. He whined lowly as Zack slipped his thumb out of his mouth. Zack smirked at him and said, "Be patient. You can do that, right?"

Court flicked his tail, annoyed, but waited as Zack readjusted himself on the crate so he was facing Court fully. He straddled the crate just like Court was and tugged the man towards him. Court's knees bumped into his and before Court could complain, Zack slipped his pointer and middle fingers into his mouth.

Court's ears perked up before drooping. He gave a few licks to Zack's fingers before beginning to suck and graze his sharp teeth over the skin.

"So strong. You saved us," Zack whispered to Court. "Did so well."

Court grabbed Zack's hand and placed it back down on his pants. He kept a firm hold of the man's wrist as he started thrusting into his hand. Court groaned at the feeling and bit down just a little on Zack's fingers.

Zack didn't even wince, just laughed at Court's reaction. "Needed this, huh? Needed me to take care of you?" He teased Court as the man nodded around his fingers.

Court grazed his canines slowly over Zack's fingers and licked over where he'd bitten down too hard in apology. He whined to Zack to show he was sorry and Zack just ground his hand down harder into his erection.

"Quiet down," Zack told Court with a small smile. "You want someone to find us?"

Court shook his head and tried to repress the growls and groans he was letting out. Zack praised him again and Court lifted his hand off Zack's wrist. He held onto the corner of the crate beneath him and started pushing into Zack's hand faster.

Zack met Court's thrusts and started pumping his fingers in and out of the man's mouth. Court groaned and drool spilled out of his mouth and dripped down his face, neck, and clothes.

Zack watched the man's ears fully stand up and his tail curl before he choked out a moan and came in his pants. Court splintered the wood of the crate with his white-knuckled grip and released his hold on Zack's wrist so he wouldn't hurt him.

Zack worked him through his orgasm and slipped his fingers out of his mouth when the man's jaw fell open as he panted. Court's saliva dripped down in long strands to the crate beneath him and groaned weakly as Zack's hand pushed into his dick one last time before it pulled away fully.

Zack took the wet rag and wiped down Court's face and neck with a teasing smile. "Gotta make you look presentable before we land."

Court exhaled through his nose and his tail relaxed. His pants were stained but thankfully the material was dark. Zack put the rag in his hand when he unclenched it from the crate. "Clean yourself up and come upstairs to hang out," Zack told him.

Zack stood and stretched as Court finally caught his breath and swung his leg back over the crate so he was facing forward again. Zack leaned down to Court's ear—despite absolutely not having to for Court to hear him— and whispered, "That's my boy."

Court's eyes widened and he shuddered. Zack clapped a hand on his shoulder playfully and walked off, turning the corner around another, taller crate so Court couldn't see him anymore.

Court looked down at the rag in his hand and then at his pants. Holy shit. Did he just…? He cleared his throat and cleaned himself up, wincing at the sensitivity.

He slipped the rag into a pocket so no one would see it, and then stood. Court saw over his shoulder that his tail was wagging far too happily. He took hold of it and sighed. Damn tail and ears always gave away what he was feeling.

Henry was awake at this ungodly hour, and he did not want to be. His insomnia was forcing him to feel tired but be unable to sleep right now, so here he was, pretending to read a book to try to tire himself out.

A thump from Julian's room broke him from his thoughts. Henry whipped his head up from his book and then heard a quiet groan reverberating off the walls.

What the fuck?

Henry put his book down and got off his bed, walking slowly over to Julian's room. He heard the man sigh to himself from behind the door, and Henry brought a hesitant hand up to knock on the door.

He tapped the wood lightly. It was quiet from the other side of the room for a moment before Julian opened the door silently.

Julian looked at Henry for a moment, hiding mostly behind the door and looking down at the floor. "Yeah?"

Henry wasn't really sure what to say, but he certainly hadn't been expecting Julian to speak first. "You okay?" He asked, even if he knew the answer was no. It was a common courtesy thing, right? Henry hoped Julian wouldn't shut down and close the door in his face for asking.

Julian thought for a moment, eyes glazing over, before he shrugged with one shoulder. Henry put his hand on the door and started pushing it open without any real force. Julian let him and took a step back from the door.

Henry saw something reflecting the light of the bedside lamp on the floor and squinted at it. It was blood. Henry walked into Julian's bedroom in a few short strides and Julian took a few steps back, hiding his hands behind his back.

"Julian," Henry sounded like a parent scolding a child now. He wasn't angry, he was more scared and confused. "What happened?"

Julian fidgeted in place, shifting from foot to foot without looking anywhere, Henry. "It's fine, I'll clean it."

Henry flicked the light switch on and saw that there was blood on the bedside table, the floor, and a splatter of it on the sheets. He caught sight of a blade and narrowed his eyes at Julian.

Julian sensed that Henry had figured out the truth, so he slowly brought his hands to rest at his sides. Both of his arms were dripping blood down to his hands. Small drops of blood hit the floor silently. "I went too deep," Julian murmured.

Henry stepped forward and raised his hands. Julian hesitated before letting Henry hold his arms in each hand and inspect the cuts.

He wasn't going to scold or yell at Julian. That'd just be hypocritical. Henry was just going to clean his wounds and help clean up the blood.

"Come on," Henry whispered, dropping his now blood-stained hands to Julian's wrists and tugging him out of the bedroom. Julian held onto Henry tightly as his hands shook minutely, walking to the bathroom with his head down.

Henry turned the light on in the bathroom and had Julian sit down on the closed toilet lid. Henry got out the first aid kit and took out gauze and medical tape.

Julian laid his hands palm up on his lap, and Henry crouched in front of him to wipe away the blood and put pressure on the wounds to staunch the bleeding. Julian didn't even flinch at the pain but his eyes glistened with tears. Henry wasn't sure if the tears were from pain or emotion.

Henry tossed away the bloodied gauze and got fresh ones out. He cleaned the wounds with a wet, warm towel and some hand soap. It should've stung. It should've hurt a lot, but Julian was still.

Henry ignored the anxiety and fear building in his chest as he dried Julian's arms. He wrapped the wounds in gauze and taped down the bandages tightly. Not tight enough to cut circulation, but enough to slow the bleeding and prevent blood from seeping out.

Julian squeezed his hands open and closed as Henry tossed away the wrappers of the packages he'd opened. Henry stood back up, his knees cracking, and put away the first aid kit.

Julian reached out and grabbed the end of his shirt, head still down. "I'm sorry," His voice was small and quivering.

Henry shrugged. "I get it."

They both left the bathroom, Henry turning the light off once Julian got out of the room, and went into the kitchen. Henry grabbed paper towels and Julian grabbed wipes to clean the floor. They were lucky they had wood floors in the bedrooms.

They went back into Julian's room and quietly worked together to clean up the blood. Julian finished wiping down every surface he's stained, and yanked the sheets off the bed. He'd been meaning to wash them anyway.

Henry took hold of the switch-blade Julian had used and wiped it down with a paper towel. He looked at it for a long moment after it was free of blood before closing it with a small click.

Julian took all of their supplies and trash back out to the kitchen to put everything where it belonged. When he came back, Henry was getting new sheets on the bed with the switch-blade nowhere in sight.

Julian pretended not to care about where his knife was and helped Henry put the bed together. He still couldn't make eye contact with Henry. His heart was beating wildly from the stress of the inevitable conversation that was to come.

The bed was put together and Henry sat down on the end of it. "How often?" He whispered, rubbing at his knees now that they were sore.

Julian sat down just a foot away from him and sighed. "Not all the time."

Henry hummed, thinking to himself about what that could mean. "You want me to keep the knife away?" He was asking even though he really wanted to get rid of the damn thing regardless of what Julian said.

However, he wanted Julian to feel like he could trust Henry, so Henry was going to ask for permission. He could do that for Julian.

Julian traced the bandages on one of his arms, debating whether or not to say yes. "…Okay," He finally said, voice fragile.

Henry nodded and mentally cheered that Julian had agreed. If Julian had cut too deep today and Henry had been awake to hear it… what could happen if Henry wasn't awake? What could happen if Julian intended to cut deeper? What then?

Henry leaned against Julian. "Wanna stay in my room for the night? I've been reading."

Julian stopped fidgeting with his bandages and looked down at Henry quizzically. Henry wasn't asking questions. Why wasn't he prying for answers right now? Julian was grateful for Henry's quietness. The last thing he wanted to do right now was explain why he was cutting himself open in the middle of the night.

"Okay," Julian agreed after a moment. Henry stood up from the bed and stretched. Julian followed a moment later, looking around his room and seeing no evidence of what he'd just done to himself.

Henry walked to the door and Julian left after him, flicking the light off as he went. They went into Henry's room and Henry crawled back into bed, opening his book again and sighing.

Julian went around the other side and got under the covers stiffly. He turned on his side so he could see Henry and the book he was reading. Better to have something to focus on that wasn't the wall.

Henry turned the page after a moment, thoughts scattered but trying to focus on the book for Julian's sake, as Julian closed his eyes. He started falling asleep but felt like he hadn't done enough to thank Henry yet.

"Just get overwhelmed," Julian whispered into the blankets, eyes still closed as he confessed to Henry. "Everything is too much sometimes."

Henry hummed in understanding. "I get that feeling, too." He looked down at Julian for a moment. "We'll figure something out."

Julian relaxed into the bed and exhaled. That was easier than he thought it'd be. "Thank you."

Henry reached a hand under the covers and put it over Julian's. Julian smiled faintly and flipped his hand so Henry could touch his palm. Henry rubbed the side of his hand with his thumb as he continued reading.

He was still stressed about what had just happened, but being able to hold onto Julian as he slept helped him relax.