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[foulplayed]

« mocking.bird » TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION Yuri Leclerc ✦ Fire Emblem: Three Houses
RESIDENCE ✦ Emerald District
GEMBOND ✦ Amethyst

"Leave it."

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[foulplayed]

( For Yuri, the return to the water is a welcome change. Movement is easier here, and there's no discomfort from having to hang off the edge of the wooden dock — a piece of which Balthus has thoughtfully brought with him, he realises, just in case he finds himself missing the surface too much. An amused smirk settles on his lips as he pulls him through the water, bright shafts of light glancing off them as they move, until they're deep enough that fingers of sun dipping into the lake have faded to a a pale glow.

There.

Safe from prying eyes.

Yuri releases his hold on Balthus carefully, his hands stroking his cheek and side the same way he'd soothe a panicked horse. The Merrow within him is soft with pleasure but he's aat least vaguely aware that Balthus doesn't belong — that without the fresh bond of trust this would likely be a terrifying experience for him. Trapped at the bottom of a lake, thinking the wobbling bubble rising to the surface was his last gasp of air ...

Oh, right.

Yuri corkscrews around Balthus just the once before touching his throat, then his chest, unable to communicate with words but trying hard with actions to let him know that he can breathe. He takes one of the Devil's hands and places it against his own chest before pulling in an exaggerated breath, demonstrating, before moving it back to Balthus's and gesturing for him to do the same.

Breathe, Balthus. Yuri peppers kisses over his cheeks, his lips, his jaw, then brings their mouths together again, kissing him soundly as his tail curls around the curve of the other man's ankle.

Breathe.

Everything will be okay. )

[ashenputtel]

[Balthus knows what drowning feels like, sort of. He remembers a time with a particularly savage bounty hunter and a nearby lake, with an armored hand twisted in his hair while his face was pressed down below the surface; he'd gotten water in his lungs then, and he remembers how it had burned, and how after he'd wrestled himself free and sucked in air and eventually knocked the guy out, he'd made a reminder to himself to never die by drowning, ever.

So on some level, it feels like he'd have to be crazy to breathe in right now. It's dark down near the bottom of the lake, and he doesn't even know if he could manage to swim back up to the surface before his lungs give out, but the monster in him at least wants to try. He's going to have to make a decision fast, though; his chest is straining, his lungs tight, and soon he's not going to be able to hold off the reflex any longer.

But Yuri's there. Touching him, soothing him, coaxing him. He mimes something — throat, chest — and then tries to show him the same thing, urging him on.

Yuri...thinks he can breathe, huh? Maybe that's what he was getting at, then. Promising he'd be okay. Knowing all along that he'd be all right, air or not, because he could just...do this.

Tentatively, against all his better rational judgment, he inhales — and the burning in his lungs alleviates, as blessed cool relief flows over them. No more straining. No more fighting. He's okay. He can breathe.

Wide-eyed, he's just about to signal an astonished I can breathe! at Yuri somehow, except that before he can start to do it, Yuri's on him, kissing him, and he doesn't want to think about breathing anymore because he wants to think about being kissed. The tension rushes out of him like a puppet with its strings cut, and he lets the water and Yuri's presence hold him up for the time being, kissing and breathing and getting a little drunk on the relief of it all.

His arms, thick with scales, wrap carefully around Yuri's waist, and he gathers him in close as best he can; almost tiredly, he brings his head down and kisses against the juncture where Yuri's neck meets his shoulder, a move chosen for its intimacy yet mostly free of amorous overtones.

Thank you, he mouths against Yuri's skin, and hopes he'll understand it even through the muddling of the surrounding water. You've got me. I'm okay.]

[foulplayed]

( Balthus chest expands and contracts in a deep, life-giving pull, and Yuri all but sags against him in relief. If he could press closer then he would; thick arms settle around his waist to keep him held in close to Balthus, and he lets his own drape around the neat cut of his waist as they hold each other in the quiet. The moment seems strangely timeless: lips touch Yuri's neck as he splays his fingers against the small of his back, and he can feel the soft brush of words against his skin that seem to be shaping themselves into thanks.

He wouldn't necessarily know of Balthus's gratitude from touch alone, but the Synchrony certainly helps. A wash of relief floods their bond as Balthus settles there in his arms, his lips against his neck and his body no longer fighting against the weight of the water. Watery light glances across them as they settle there together, and contented little smile brushes Balthus's temple as Yuri turns his face towards him.

The urgent sense of need is cooler down here than the wildfire heat they'd experienced together on the surface. Perhaps it's something to do with the fact that Balthus just survived what was essentially a near-death experience — another one orchestrated by the hand of his Boss.

Yuri doesn't feel guilty yet, but there's always later. Right now the only thing that seems to matter is the fact that Balthus is happy again, and he runs his hands up and down the space beneath his wings as his tail squeezes fondly at his leg. )