It was a scout of the West which he found skulking around the camp. Fleet of foot with only a trail of sleeping men behind him. As he brought the westerner to its center, the man's non-lethality came to mind. It seemed like a burden where a simple casualty would suffice.
His men surrounded them both, their blades at the ready.
"Though impressive, your scouting efforts have done you no favors. Were you to try anything right now, my men would not allow you a single blow."
He looked down at the scout who had been forced to his knees.
"I will however give you a chance to redeem yourself. Reveal your master's name and purpose, and your death will be quick."
The scout kept his gaze level, his hood obscuring all but his lips. He did not speak.
"Your death is absolute, it is only a matter of how. Your master's name."
From out of his sight, the heel of a weapon brought the westerner to a keel. His only response was an exhale.
He took two steps forward, a gloved hand reaching for his chin. He forced his gaze upwards and smiled down at him.
"Glutton for punishment." His grip grew tighter and warmer, as his smile lost its charm. "String him up. Let his form be a warning to all others."
As the guards lifted him up to be hung, the hooded scout finally spoke.
"The master is I." The guards halted. "And my purpose is to find you."
"And you have found me. Now that you are satisfied, you can enjoy the buzzards' view." He waved him away, but his men only let go.
The man stood tall, thin armor blacker than pitch adorned his form. He let the veil of night obscure most but his face. As the hood was tossed aside, he came to a realization.
Big Boss raised his hand. The men around them sheathed their weapons, and moved closer, forming a tight circle around them.
With a single gesture, the tide had shifted.
Kaz balled his fist tight. Boss had taken a few steps closer. Though obscured by the sleeves of his robes, a powerful flame grew in his hand. As he reached arm's length, his being caught his flame.
Kaz brought the fist to his chest and gritted through his teeth. He fell for a trap, but he refused to repeat mistakes. "You'll never take me alive..."
He screamed and begged for the End, but it refused to come. Even as the flames within consumed his withered being, the memories came flooding back. From the first night to the last, every moment with Him burned through the senses hotter and hotter. The skin of his hands were ash, yet they could still feel. He could still feel the armor fusing together, the fireball singeing nerves long dead.
That was the night of death and rebirth, though not the only one.
It was there that they stood, a sea of bodies lapping at their feet. The blood of the East and West, of friend and foe alike coalesced in pools that quenched the landscape.
His arms kept the sorcerer steady as they trudged forward, taking no care of the dead around them. Snake was tired, and Kaz even more so, his thinning frame even more gaunt in the moonlight. They was neither victory nor loss. This was only the beginning, a warning from a powerful lord.
Though all was quiet on the battlefield, another army would take their place. All they could do was retreat into the shadows, and regroup.
The flames were not the only thing that craved him. As His demon form, somehow matching him, phased from the darkness. It took hold of his withered frame, and with unholy blades for teeth, it plunged into the skin of his neck. As it bit into flesh, it wasn't venom coursing through his veins. It was something much more maddening.
Kaz knew what he felt deep within, and he hated himself for it. Love and lust of eons past flooded his senses. Pain and pleasure became one and the same.
Hands reached up, blindly begging for His touch. They were met in kind, as rough fingers laced with his. There was no longer a vicious serpent-hound bearing down upon him. It was his confidant, his commander, his lover, his Boss. Now bone, not obsidian, pierced his skin and brought blood to light. Though now human, He still indulged in the drops of blood on Kaz's neck. Each dry kiss drove him mad, each quick lap of the tongue torture.
Though Undead, he was no stranger to carnal delights. Even as his memories bled away, those nights long ago, nights of His indulgence surfaced.
When he awoke, he found himself elsewhere, inside, hidden away from the men that came for their heads. He sat up, looking around for the man that brought him here.
"Snake...?" He whispered, his bandaged hands grazing the ones wrapped tight around his chest.
The only light that guided him were the slivers of moonlight that peeked from cracks in the wall. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw nothing but stone walls, with a single doorway as an exit, though it was boarded up firmly at the moment. It was no castle or keep, but it would have to do.
His hands moved to push him from his spot on the floor, but his strength was no more. He fell back onto the mat, winded. A dull pain radiated through his body, and his fingers tingled. Kaz felt he slept for ages, but was no more refreshed.
"Snake...?" He mumbled, wondering where his commander had gone. The last he saw of him, was when his arms kept the other steady as they escaped from Zero. It was close, but they had managed, and then he fell. Kaz waited for what seemed like hours, and when he couldn't anymore, he began to let his exhaustion overtake him.
"Kaz." His eyes shot open. A gruff voice thrust him back awake. The moonlight seemed to be much brighter now, as the splinters of light revealed Snake's form, now knelt by his side.
Bandages obscured the eye that never was, and wrapped around his arms and neck. Neither of them left the last fight unscathed.
"You're alive." The sigh of relief was unmasked.
"I could say the same to you." His hand reaching out to inspect one of the other's. What went unnoticed to Kaz suddenly came to light. The bandages were unclean, blood staining them a rich brown, making them crusty and harder to move against.
Before Kaz could react, Boss had left his hand up, and returned with more.
"What about you?" He gently tugged his hand away, pointing at strips that would barely hold on. Boss grunted in response, taking a hold once more. "It can wait, these can't. Flames tend to burn even if they're yours." Strictly business as always. It was always expected, but he couldn't help but sneer.
"I can wear gauntlets if need be. You're little else without a neck." With his other hand, he reached over, pulling the loose bandages taut. They wouldn't stay no matter how much he tried. Instead of swatting away the troubling hand, he plucked it away, silently asking for his obedience.
Kaz took away the bandages and began the process himself, peeling away caked cloth gently. "Hurt I may be, but I'm no child." His tone came across as petulant despite himself. Boss managed a chuckle, shrugging. "Then I should expect you on the battlefield in no time."
"I'm no child, but I'm still a being of flesh. Give me time to heal." With the left hand covered sufficiently (no small task, considering the pain and cleaning it took), he began on the right. "Time is what I need to return at my peak."
"Time is what we've not enough, despite letting you rest." He growled in frustration, though it was undirected at the sorcerer. It did not make him feel any better about the situation, regardless.
They remained in silence a while after, Kaz now completely covered in fresh and clean cloth. His gaze moved to the light peering into the room and he sighed, his own condition weighing heavily on the mind.
"How long was I out?"
"A fortnight, or so." The words made his stomach churn. So long without waking, so many sunrises where he burdened the other by doing nothing at all.
"How have you kept us hidden so long?" Boss only smiled, somewhat crooked with scars and wan light. The restlessness only grew, Kaz wanting to make up for lost time. There wasn't much he could do in his condition, however. His energy had a ways to return to normal, and he'd rather not draw any outside attention.
His hands, now clean, returned to the remnants of bandages on his commander's neck. "Those bastards may never catch you, but a simple infection just might."
Boss clicked his tongue, but didn't shy away from his hands this time. Kaz unceremoniously peeled away his underclothes, silently amazed at the extent of his wounds. Dried and crusted blood seemed to be everywhere, the strips of cloth doing nothing to contain it. It was his turn to click his tongue as he saw how sloppy a job it had been. Not that he could blame him.
The trail of wounds carried his eyes downward, stopping just at his waist. Hidden behind more underclothes, he could see more uncovered wounds peek out. He kept his hands hovering around his collar. "Is your entire body covered...?"
Another grunt in response. Kaz sighed, his hands starting from the top.
He was as gentle but firm, treating the worst with whatever herbs he had left, and cleansing what remained in the manner he did himself. It took him more than he had to keep from staring too long. He had seen him in such a state from a distance of course, but there was always some distance. It was no surprise that his commander was strong, with an inspiring form, but as he treated him, tending to his wounds, it felt...intimate.
With his upper body cleaned, Boss was satisfied, and began to pull away, before Kaz spoke. "Not yet." He chided in Eastern tongue.
Fingertips gently tugged the rest of his garments down, Kaz keeping more of a distance. Where the bandages ceased, spots of dried blood took over. They went past his navel and curled around his upper thighs. Kaz couldn't imagine what the other went through to bring them both safety, albeit temporary.
The lower his hands strayed, the more gentle he became, until he didn't touch his skin unless absolutely necessary. It wasn't long until the job was done, and they both let out a sigh, one of relief, the other of exhaustion.
Kaz lay back on his makeshift bed, closing his eyes, and leaving Boss to fix himself. He heard a bit of shuffling, and suddenly his presence became a lot more apparent.
When he opened his eyes, Boss was sitting between legs parted unconsciously. "I've no other injuries." He blurted out.
"With such power, I never expected hands that conjure destruction to be so...gentle." He appreciated the compliment, something usually given post-fight, but he could feel an undercurrent of a different meaning.
He couldn't help but jump as heavy hands palmed his knees. Kaz didn't know whether to wave away his very obvious advances, or to indulge them. A prideful grin was obscured by darkness.
"Direct with orders, but little else, hm?" It had been a while since they had a time to relax properly. There wasn't much of it left, but it was enough. Being playful was a luxury now, not a given.
"You're keen enough, Kaz." He could hear the grin as he spoke.
A shiver ran down his spine, and he sat up better to face his commander better. "What else am I?" He teased, wanting to indulge his ego before anything else.
Boss took no more time playing coy, as he leaned just enough to graze the other's lips. His answer would come a bit after a powerful kiss, tainted slightly by the taste of nature. Not that he would savor it, as Boss trailed down from cracked lips. Teeth and tongue alike sampled his jawline, before delving lower. Kaz craned his neck back, giving the other more to explore.
Before continuing his journey down, he grazed up until lips touched earlobe. He gave one deep sigh of pleasure before whispering. "Mine." The richness of his voice and cadence crumbled the foundations of his damned soul, and in the same breath, built anew.
Hands worked where his mouth couldn't, fingertips streaking up and down his chest, before palms pressed against worn muscle. Kaz felt the tension and worry bleed away as his commander became the only focus.
The sorcerer moved bandaged fingers down Boss's back, snagging once or twice on strips of cloth, but reaching his lower back somewhat comfortably. Boss purred in response, a simple movement urging his descent faster. Lips moved down where his fingers had coasted before, his forehead nudging the other. Kaz leaned back at the cue, but kept his eyes on his Boss. He made no delay in reaching the navel, his cheek brushing against blonde hair.
Kaz knew not of how much heat burned between his commander's legs, but between his own revealed his enjoyment. Boss gave a smirk against thin undergarments, before he tugged them more firmly than Kaz had done.
The cold air did him many favors, as warm skin tingled, now exposed. It was then a flush of embarrassment came across, barely visible. Kaz reached down, possibly to obscure his shame, but Boss had beaten him to it, with a firm grip.
The sorcerer gasped in equal parts surprise and pleasure. Though his instinct was to buck forward, he remained still, awaiting his Boss's next move. The hand relaxed, moving up and down as the other flicked sensitive skin. He closed his eyes, floating in the waves of pleasure and sparks of pain.
The real pain wouldn't begin until something slipped inside him, moistened and thick. As his commander's slowly slid his fingers in, his body reacted strongly, his body arching in a shock of splintering pain, at first. As his body relaxed, it dulled, a new sensation taking its place. His fingers worked him, molded him until he was ready. And when he was finally ready, his knees were spread further, his fingers pulling away for something more.
The rhythm was slow, tauntingly so. Fire consumed his being and he so desperately needed Him to smother it. Strong arms wrapped around his withered hollow frame, keeping him under His control. This would go His way, or not at all. Were he fit to fight back, he would try and shatter Him into pieces. Instead, he obeyed the power of His embrace.
Just like old times...
There were no hidden thoughts in this realm, He was the Beginning and the End, and He knew Kaz more than Kaz knew himself. His desires and needs known before his mind could voice them. He kept the sorcerer pinned, but with abandon, he worked the most delicate parts of him until there was pain, which became pleasure, then pain again.
It was a never-ending cycle that he could never grow numb to. His mortal body gone, and along with it, its restrictions and limits and boundaries. He would unravel his very soul only to wind it up again, cruelty at its finest, if Kaz hadn't enjoyed it.
Eons felt as if they had passed when he finally spoke. "Please...please..." He rasped, nails digging into His wrists. "Release me..." He prayed to the lords of old. "If there is any mercy, please."
His lips forced Kaz's silence as He wrapped a hand tighter around him. He would not get a single moment's respite until He was sated.
"Atone for your sins, for only I can grant you peace." As he spoke, he felt the words slither into his very being. Kaz knew there would be no peace, only pain. There was no difference to him, as he tried to buck his hips up.
"Boss...Snake...Snake please...!" All it would take was a single gesture, and he would become undone.
He spoke again, the words unchanged. Kaz was not a pure man, his time in the Asylum proved as much, but this was not a time to recount his failings. Though he felt consumed by his selfish lust, a sin in of itself, the words came out without thought.
"Snake...please forgive me. " he groaned as the warmth grew below. "It was I...I who created you." The memories flooded back, creating a pool of muddied regrets. Though they were flesh and blood once, it was Kaz who created the beast who asked his obedience. "It was I who fed you to the abyss, please forgive me...!"
Kaz felt pressure building as His hands resumed their movement. As His grip relented, he was given slightly more freedom, his body moving upward to match his strokes. It was a display of shameless desperation, and he took in every minute of it. As his hips bucked, the grip tightened slightly, a tendril from nowhere carefully teasing the very end of himself. It wouldn't be long until it was over.
A fullness that he missed so dearly returned, indulging the spots of pleasure He purposefully neglected. With his plea for repentance absolute, He had no more need of him. Kaz was frozen by unseen grips, the fullness digging deeper, with phantom hands and tendrils working from the outside. Pleasure bordering on
the insane.
As slowly as He reappeared, He quickly left his sight, a toothy grin branding what remained of his mind. His shadows that remained danced around him, binding his arms and legs. His former resistance was gone, his desires at their climax. His body arched in the void. Whispers, words, sensations, and all flooded through him. His release consumed the senses. The shadows in turn pulled him in. There was no love as He devoured him whole.
