Getting home felt like a nightmare all on its own. Kallan had dropped them off first before taking Artemis to go turn over the butler to his aunt, Queen Nadia. However, even though protocol said he should’ve joined them, he was told to go to his room and rest. Lavimo didn’t know how to feel about that. Part of him felt ashamed that he’d been viewed as too immature to attend, but the other part of him was just glad to be able to rest in the room he shared with Haven, which sometimes felt like the safest place in the world.

  He was so drained. He didn’t think he could feel anything else even if he wanted to. He could sense that Haven was staring at him, analyzing, as if pondering over whether or not they should say something, but he couldn’t even acknowledge that. It made him feel horrible. He was a horrible person.

  “Lavimo, look at me,” Haven whispered, hands gently combing through their lover’s black hair as they undid the tight band, although it felt like their call bounced right off him. He wasn’t paying attention to them at all, which was... rather annoying. “Lavimo, I’m talking to you,” they glared, taking him by his shoulder to push him onto his back, irritated that he wasn’t acknowledging them. They knew he’d been through a lot today, but Haven still hated being ignored. Yet, when they saw his face, it clicked a bit of sense into them, and they calmed down. So he was paying attention…

  “I’m sorry,” Lavimo hiccupped, his eyes gazing off at nothing as he curled into himself, arms starting to clutch at the bedsheets while Haven stared at him. “I, I was completely useless today… I didn’t… I couldn’t do anything to help you,” he cried, his eyes shutting tight as he buried his face into the blanket. “I’m sorry. I wanted to help you, but you ended up doing everything… you even had to face all those kids on your own, when I should’ve… I should’ve been strong enough, I should’ve been there to help you…”

  Hm. No. It was probably a good thing Lavimo had left that room, Haven made the internal remark, mint green eyes glancing over his trembling body. They could only imagine how much more of a mess he’d be if he’d been the one to kill those kids. Haven couldn’t bring themselves to care too much about it, but they knew Lavimo would’ve been devastated, and would have ended up grieving the loss of their lives ten times over if he’d been the one to do it. It was a sad reality, but at the very least, Haven was glad he hadn’t been there.

  Though, seeing him depressed at all was rather annoying… it was over now, so what was he expecting to get out of moping? It was best to just move on and forget it ever happened. But Haven understood that wasn’t how Lavimo worked. He was always emotional, so the best way to help him and care for him and get him back on his feet was always to cater to those unruly emotions.

  “It’s fine, I don’t need you to protect me,” Haven eventually responded, tracing around Lavimo’s ear and the shaved sides of his hair, scratching lightly at his undercut while he sniffled. “Let’s just be happy no one on our side got hurt. Kal and Artemis are both fine. I’m fine, you’re fine. Those are all good things, aren’t they?”

  “Uh… yeah. They are… I mean, they are,” Lavimo fumbled out, hands digging into the blanket as he shyly looked down, as if he were embarrassed to look Haven in the eye. “But still… I wish I was more useful.”

  “That doesn’t matter. I already told you that you’ll become more useful the more experience you get. You just need to be patient,” Haven spoke sharply, Lavimo flinching as his expression twisted into something rather pale. That was until he felt their hands move sharply in his hair, his face getting pulled up and forced to stare Haven in the eye as he shook. “Just let me take care of you for now. You’re mine, and I take care of what’s mine. You should know that.”

  ...Lavimo was quiet, amber eyes staring at Haven with the leftovers of tears staining his cheeks and lashes. The way he was looking at them… it was like he was expecting something more, which annoyed them.

  “What?”

  “You’re not acting like it.”

  “I’m not acting like what? Spit it out,” Haven tugged aggravatedly on his hair, Lavimo’s face malleable as he let his chin get lifted up even more.

  “I mean you’re not acting like I’m yours,” Lavimo snapped, eyes crinkling as if he were actually offended by that statement. “If I’m yours, then you need to prove it. You’re usually so possessive, Haven, but I can tell you’re holding back right now. If you want to put me in my place and tell me to stop moping, just do it. I don’t like it when you hold back your desires, and I can tell you’re annoyed with me right now, you can’t hide it from me.”

  “You… I’m trying to be gentle. Is that not what you want?” Haven glared fiercely, emotions finally snapping as they scrunched up as much of his hair in their fist as they possibly could, tugging it tight on his scalp while Lavimo winced. “What is it with you?! You act all miserable and pathetic and then you try provoking me… what do you mean I need to prove it? Are you actually insinuating you don’t belong to me? You’re mine, and I'll never let that change, so shut up,” they growled, Lavimo not able to hold back his smile as he felt Haven push him down.

  Ahh… yeah, maybe he had provoked them a little bit… but he needed Haven so much. He needed them to completely dominate him and erase everything he was on his own. He loved being theirs, he loved it so much. It could make him forget about anything, no matter the loss or how miserable he was. Their possessiveness always gave him a place to be, it gave him someone to belong to, someone who cared about him and who made him feel safe. So yeah, he’d provoke them a little bit. He wanted them to start acting like they were just as obsessed with him as he knew they were, so that he could finally feel a little better about himself.

  “Hehh, yeah, I belong to you. So make me feel better… you’re not doing anything, Haven,” Lavimo protested, voice borderline whining, and he could almost sense the way Haven’s blood vessels must be popping. He knew all the right ways to piss them off, that was for certain. And the biggest things that pissed them off were, one… someone insinuating Lavimo didn’t belong to them, or two… someone telling them they weren’t taking care of him properly. So he’d use that to his advantage to get them to do what he wanted. He’d get them to show their primal obsession with him if it was the last thing he ever did. So he grabbed onto the looseness of their tunic, tugging on it needily as he pleaded with them. “Haven, you love me, don’t you? Why aren’t you acting like it? I’m not gonna feel better if you don’t start— mm!” he jerked, the feeling of Haven’s nails digging into his neck stunning him as the smaller person crashed their faces together, almost biting his mouth as their tongue was forced in deep.

  Lavimo’s mind was spiraling, and he couldn’t give a crap what anyone else called this as he finally let himself go blank. He was willing to do anything Haven wanted. He wanted to see their obsession. He couldn’t live without their obsession. Lavimo needed them to be obsessed with him, because it made him feel more alive than anything else. Even after everything he’d gone through with Orvana and the hallucinations she’d made him see… if Haven could just show how crazy they were about him, all of it could fade into the background. It would cease to matter. So long as Haven had their hold on him, had their teeth digging into his heart, had their breath moving through his lungs… he was sure he’d be fine.

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  His breathing was ragged as he felt Haven suck on his tongue, his eyes fluttering shut the only movement he could make. He could only feel their hands pressing into his neck, the way the air in his lungs felt blocked, the bruises forming on his lips as Haven took him over. Their tongue was so wet, so aggressive… his brain was getting fuzzy, his thoughts dizzying, the only thing he could properly focus on being the heat of their tongue sliding against his mouth… when suddenly, his lungs were free, and he was left to gasp for air through their locked lips while Haven kept smothering him, his arms wrapping around their neck to pull them as close as possible. It was hard to breathe. It was so damn hard to breathe. It felt like Haven was suffocating him despite the strangling having stopped, and yet the more he struggled, the more excited he became.

  “You’re asking me to show you all of my desires, yet you can’t even handle a little strangling… you’re absolutely pathetic,” they stared at him rather apathetically, eyes hooked on the way his chest moved up and down in a quick, unstable rhythm while Lavimo tried to regain his air. But they only crawled further on top of him, landing their palm in the middle of his chest while they pushed their entire weight onto him, Lavimo’s eyes rolling into the back of his head before a stuttering groan creaked out of him. “Look at what you’re asking for… you can’t handle it, can you? You’re so… so arousing,” Haven’s expression twisted, delighted smile trickling its way onto their features as they started undoing their belt, stripping off their clothes as quickly as they could while Lavimo trembled, air finally leveling out as he stared up at them.

  “Haa, Haven…”

  “Shut up. Don’t talk. The only thing I want to hear is your pathetic little moans, okay? This is what you wanted, right? You wanted me to have my way with you, because you like being my cute little plaything, don’t you? Is that right?” Haven grinned sadistically, Lavimo’s face flushing as he hurriedly nodded his head, the most vigorous movement he could possibly make.

  He was completely motionless as he let them take off all his clothes, and Lavimo didn’t think he could hide how eager he was even if he wanted to. He felt so tense, like his body was a spring. He just needed Haven to take control and do everything for him. He just needed Haven to take hold of him, use him, devour him, eat him up until there was nothing—

  Something that was a mix between a scream and a moan ripped out of him when Haven’s hand went and grabbed the base of his dick, jerking it like they were trying to rip it off as Lavimo choked. But then their hand got gentler, smoother, rubbing their thumb on the tip for a minute as his feelings of pain and arousal mixed together into something that vibrated inside his core. He knew they must be fingering themselves too, to get themselves prepped and ready for what came next, but he couldn’t even open his eyes while he felt Haven start twisting his dick every which way like it was some fun little stress ball. They were slow with it, moving his erection down in a way his dick didn’t want to go at all, carefully moving it sideways and in circles and bending it while rubbing their hand against its base. It caused a mixture of pleasure and pain that made his body confused on what it wanted, every tiny movement feeling like electric shocks tickling and jolting him at different times. His hands were covering his eyes, pulling at his hair as he tried to hold on as best he could. He felt so many sensations, all sensations he adored so long as Haven was the one bringing them out of him, and, and—

  His brain nearly short circuited when the hand was replaced with something else entirely, Haven quickly removing it and replacing it with themselves without a moment's notice, immediately forcing themselves all the way over him in a way that made Lavimo want to cry. He could feel their flesh encasing him so tightly, and everything felt like it was throbbing. He didn’t, he didn’t, he couldn’t—

  “Are you enjoying yourself, Lavimo? You look like you are,” Haven remarked as they started rolling themselves on him, hips strong and tactile as shoots of pleasure made his brain feel caught in flames. His dick still felt a little sore from how Haven had been handling it, but now it just felt so, so, so good… he didn’t know what to do with himself, he was a mess. But, but ahhh…

  Oh god, this is what he wanted. When he opened his eyes through the sparks, he could see Haven’s slightly flushed face, their mint gaze not looking away from his dizzy expression for a minute. They were watching everything, absorbing everything, loving everything. All of his reactions, every moan, every cry… they were watching it all. The obsession was clear.

  “This is what you wanted, right? Why is your body not acting like it?” Haven snapped impatiently, reaching over to snatch his thin black hair as they pulled it up, Lavimo breaking out into tears as he felt their hips slam down on him. He was shaking, and the pain in his scalp only made his body tremble more. His brain felt numb, fuzzy, but he just wanted more of this.

  Though he really didn’t know what to do when he felt both of Haven’s hands grab his hair, gently carding through the black waves at first touch. It should’ve been calming, but the slight, slowing movement of their hips only made everything worse. No, he wanted them to go faster, he wanted more movement, this wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted, he wanted—

  Fuck. Haven took fistfuls of his hair and lifted their hips to the very tip of his dick, before pulling on his black strands with too much force while slamming themselves down, Lavimo’s body jerking as the tension he’d been building up spoiled over, Haven’s pleasure only doubling seeing him all pathetic and blissed out. His mouth was quivering, his amber eyes looked so dreary, his body was taut and stiff, like any small touch could break it. It made them elated, and they rubbed their clit over on his dick a few more times while getting off to the sight, their own release not long after.

  Damn it, he looked so cute. He was so perfect. He was a kind person with the type of morals Haven admired, and he also didn’t mind it when they set their claim to him. He’d have small bruises on his neck for a few days, but Lavimo never hid them, and they loved that. Damn it, damn it, damn it, they loved him so much, they loved him so much it felt like they were going to die… seeing him like this, so vulnerable, so tired, so completely at their mercy and trusting them to take care of every single thing… they loved every part of it.

  “Do you feel better now? It looks like you’re about to pass out,” Haven hummed, more than satisfied and unable to stop their trembling smile, too ecstatic about the bruises that marked him. They wanted to give him more, but that wouldn’t be good… if anyone saw, they’d think they were abusing him.

  And Lavimo could see how ecstatic they were, eyes blinking slowly, observing, watching them. He was already done, but Haven looked ready to pop... they still had lust in their eyes, looking him over with satisfaction and pride... but they looked like they wanted to claim him a little more, so he gladly sighed and leaned back before giving them a small smile of his own. “Give me another hickey. Doesn’t have to be on my neck. Tell everyone I’m yours, okay?”

  Ahh… the way Haven’s eyes shook was so satisfying, like a hunting dog being let out to take the kill for the first time in a while. Lavimo loved that predatory gaze, and carefully patted down their soft pink hair as they started nibbling beneath his collarbone, sucking and licking hard to give him another nice mark.

  Maybe this wasn’t normal. Lavimo didn’t really think what they had was normal, either. Looking at other relationships… like his aunt and uncle, or others… most of those people didn’t act like this. Actually, he very vividly remembered Nefion, his older cousin, giving him a lecture… saying that he should be aware of Haven’s toxicity and their controlling tendencies. They’d tried convincing him to break up with them… quite a few times, in fact. But Lavimo didn’t want to do that. He loved being the center of Haven’s world, the center of their possessiveness, the center of their obsession. He didn’t want things to change. Sure, if Haven ever did cross a line and did something he really didn’t like, he’d stand up for himself, but… for right now, he liked where he was at. He had everything he wanted. Right now, with a body exhausted and with spots still tingling from leftover pain, and with teeth still digging into his chest to give him another territorial mark… Lavimo didn’t see anything wrong with it if it’s what he wanted. Nefion could call Haven toxic as much as they liked, but at the end of day, Lavimo was probably toxic, too, so… it didn’t matter. They were perfect for each other. And nothing could change his mind on that.