Florian nodded weakly. Now that the adrenaline of the moment had faded, he could feel his legs quivering. Having always been on the receiving end, it had never occurred to him just how tiring it was to be the one doing the fucking; but the exertion of it all was certainly catching up to him now.
“Yeah,” he breathed. “That was a lot.”
“I mean. It was really good too,” Kade interjected, opening his eyes just enough to look over at Florian through his eyelashes. “I don’t know if I could handle this every single time, but... You know. It’s on the table.”
He smiled up at Florian as he said it: a shy, almost embarrassed sort of smile that made Florian’s heart swell with affection. He leaned forward to try and kiss him, but couldn’t quite reach—with a slight chuckle, Kade propped himself up so their lips met. The kiss was tired and slow, but still made Florian’s cock twitch with weak interest, though he was certain he couldn’t stay hard much longer even if he wanted to.
When they were cleaned up, Kade laid back down as Florian stood again at the foot of the bed, idly shifting his hips back and forth to feel the strange, foreign sensation of his cock swinging with the movement.
“Final verdict?” Kade teased, a tired, sated smile on his face. Florian laughed.
“It’s weird,” he said. “I don’t think I like having balls. The rest of it is pretty good.”
“I guess they are a liability,” Kade chuckled. “You’re lucky you can just decide not to have them.”
“That’s true.” He hesitated. “And, um, you’re sure you’re okay? It doesn’t hurt or anything?”
Kade laughed aloud at that, shaking his head. “I’m fine. It’ll take a lot more than that for you to hurt me.”
“Good,” Florian said with a nod, and he crawled across the bed to curl up next to Kade. “Maybe we can, you know, switch off and stuff.”
“Okay,” Kade murmured, his voice a low rumble next to Florian’s ear.
For a moment they laid quietly next to each other, then he asked softly, “Have you thought at all about when you want to go back to the Winter Court?”
Florian sighed, trying to ignore the cold feeling in his stomach that bubbled up at the words. While they didn’t exactly have a strict itinerary to follow, there was still a lingering urgency that made him uncomfortable. Much as he wanted to stay, he knew their time in the wolf kingdom could not go on much longer.
“Maybe a few more days,” he said, his voice small. Kade was quiet, nodding silently.
“We can stay as long as you want,” he murmured, but already he sounded drowsy and distant. Florian didn’t reply. After a moment, Kade’s breathing slowed into the deep, even rhythm of sleep.
The next morning was a little easier. Florian figured that was the best he could hope for, that if he could wake up each morning feeling just a little better, eventually he’d be back to normal. This time they actually went down to breakfast, joining the rest of Kade’s family around the table just as Meriwa set out the last of the food.
“Oh! Look who’s joining us,” she quipped, though a relieved smile spread across her face as she spoke. At the head of the table, Kallik also looked visibly relieved to see them; and Florian realized with a slight shock of guilt that neither of them had gone to speak with him since they’d returned.
“I’m glad you’re both feeling better,” Kallik said. “I was worried. Bowen said you were hurt.”
“I did also say he’s okay now,” Bowen interjected, and with a wry grin Kade nodded.
“Iamokay now,” he agreed. “Sorry we didn’t check in with you sooner.”
“Sorry,” Florian echoed.
“No, no, don’t apologize,” Kallik said, waving his hand dismissively. “I understand. As long as you did what you set out to do, that’s all that matters.”
“We did,” Kade said with a nod, sitting down at one of the two empty chairs that had been left for them.
For a moment everyone was quiet, looking between Kade and Florian, as if there were more they wanted to say. Yuka, who sat across from Florian, started to open his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as Kallik said, “Well, let’s eat.”
Meriwa started to pass around plates of food, and idle tableside chatter started up again. When Yuka finally did speak, it was to Kade, about how he and his friends had “scouted” through the forest while he and Florian were gone.
At the end of breakfast, Florian followed Kade back outside, and together they walked aimlessly along the length of the main road. A few other shifters stopped them occasionally to express their well-wishes, or their relief at seeing Kade, now whole and unharmed. When they reached the end of the road, where the last of the homes and buildings had tapered out, Kade continued to lead them into the woods that surrounded the village. Florian hesitated for only a moment, glancing back at the snowy path, before following.
“I always feel better after a walk,” Kade murmured, as Florian caught up to him. “Clears my head.”
“Are you feeling bad?” Florian asked, frowning up at him.
“I’m...” Kade started, then trailed off. His expression didn’t change as Florian looked up at him, but his shoulders seemed to sag slightly. “I’m okay. It feels weird to be... doing this, all of this, without Jerah.”
