"That would be Katsu-fussing." And painful. Before Katsu could come up with anything worse, Ashe asked, "What are we doing, anyway?"
"Finding the dragon's lair."
Ashe stopped walking. Katsu continued for three more steps before he stopped, too, and looked back. "The dragon's lair?" Ashe's vocal cords tightened on the last word. But then, they'd been tight on the first word, too.
"I want the eggs. I told you they were worth money."
"Yes, but--"
"The dragons are caught or dead. It's not like we have anything to worry about now." Katsu turned and started walking again, not bothering to wait and see if Ashe would catch up.
Of course, Ashe did. "That isn't the point!" So much for a semi-romantic walk through a forest, complete with light bantering and soulful looks. Dragon eggs definitely put a damper on his libido.
"I think it's exactly the point. What else do you think is going to be in a dragon's lair besides dragons and eggs? If there are no dragons, that leaves only eggs." He looked up at Ashe and drawled, "I swear I won't let the eggs hurt you."
It was hard to argue with that sort of sarcasm. Ashe walked on, wishing he could come up with any kind of reason that they should leave dragon eggs alone. Aside, of course, from the obvious fact that they were
dragon eggs
, and surely no good could come of this.
Unless he was getting half the bounty. "How much are they worth?"
Katsu smirked. "Depends on what you sell them for."
"Do you know where the dragon's lair is?"
Katsu nodded easily while still watching his step. His lashes were shadows against dusky skin. "I have a pretty good idea. You think if that dragon had felt his eggs were safe, he'd have left us today?"
Ashe considered that, then nodded slowly.
"He didn't leave us. So he didn't feel his eggs were safe. There's only a few spots dragons of that species will hatch eggs. They need heat -- you don't find that in a shady forest. They need warmth. No breezes. Caves are good."
Slowly, the pieces fell into place in Ashe's mind. "We were practically on top of the lair."
Katsu nodded again.
Ashe turned that over in his mind. Moran care for him in the afterlife, they were lucky to have escaped. "How do you know so much about dragons?"
The corner of Katsu's mouth twitched upward in a little smile. "Cultural hazard."
Ashe spent a moment trying to puzzle that out, then finally gave up. He offered another gambit instead. "You did well last night. I mean, I knew you were a good doctor and all, but that magic thing--"
"Chakra."
Ashe waved a hand. "Whatever you want to call it. That was pretty amazing." He hesitated, realizing suddenly that Katsu had saved his life. He'd known it before, of course, but somehow the import of it hadn't really hit him until now. "Thanks," he said quietly. He shifted his shoulders, feeling the sting of the small cuts Katsu had drawn into him. At the moment, he didn't mind them.
Katsu glanced at him, then nodded once, dark eyes steady on Ashe's face. "You're welcome." He went around a tree, brushing something off his sleeve as he went. "I could probably teach you some of it. How to use your -- magic better, anyway." There was an odd emphasis around the word "magic," and it didn't take much of a guess to figure out that he'd substituted for his own word.
Ashe grimaced. "Believe it or not, at one point I could use magic just fine. I was pretty good at it, even. I'm just out of practice."
"I still probably know things you don't. And I'm sure you know things I don't," Katsu added grudgingly. "It could be mutually beneficial."
Given they had all afternoon, Ashe couldn't see why not. But even more than the afternoon stretching out before them, Katsu was
offering
him something. Katsu never offered anyone anything. Ashe wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by.
***
By the time they located the correct cave, Ashe was feeling every sore muscle from their hunt, escape, and run over the last twenty-four hours. He didn't even know he
had
that many muscles.
He gazed over the nooks and crannies within the cavern, each of which had held an egg the size of his fist, and felt quietly amazed that they'd had enough satchels. Katsu knelt nearby, settling the last egg into the cloth, grass and leaves packed around each one.
"What do you use dragon eggs for, anyway?" Ashe asked, turning to look out over the small valley. There was water here, but trees and plants still had a hard time forcing their way through the rock. The ravine was pocked with caves, most of them far too small to contain a dragon, much less a breeding pair and eggs, so that had cut their search down. Still, the sun was disappearing behind the cliff above, sending long shadows stretching over the ground.
The townies wouldn't tell Nate to release the dragon, though. Surely.
Katsu's voice broke into his reverie, reminding him of the question he'd asked. "All sorts of things. Burn salves, fertility potions... Rubbing powdered shells on your skin is a powerful aphrodisiac."
Ashe looked down at his hands with alarm. He certainly felt horny, but he'd thought that was just because he always felt horny. Was-- He twisted to look at Katsu, and saw the medic grinning, a wicked twinkle in Katsu's eyes. Ashe relaxed and chuckled. "You asshole."
Katsu barked a laugh, then, setting the last satchel aside and standing up. He put his hands against the small of his back and arched, stretching. Ashe watched appreciatively. The tunic flattened against Katsu's chest and stomach, clearly outlining muscles.
Ashe glanced away. Despite learning more about Katsu in the last few hours than he had in the entire time they'd been working together, Ashe still didn't know much. Katsu was a gifted healer, with what must have been years of training under his belt. He was a foreigner, but he'd been here long enough to shed all traces of an accent. He didn't like to talk about himself.
Ashe figured that by this time, his crush should have worn off. It hadn't.
"Wash?"
Snapped out of his thoughts, he glanced at Katsu. "What?"
Katsu nodded toward the shallow stream that meandered through the valley. "You want to wash before we head back?"
Practicality argued with desire. It would be cold soon, and if the townies did take the chance on the dragon being released, it might head straight here. On the other hand, seeing Katsu with nothing but water running down his golden skin... "Sure." The word was out before his mind had a chance to censor his libido.
"I'm only partially kidding, by the way," Katsu said, picking up two satchels and carrying them toward the water. Ashe scrambled to get the other two and follow. Katsu kept talking, voice drifting back to him on a gentle breeze. "Powdered dragon egg shells are used as an aphrodisiac. They just don't work. It's an old wives' tale."
Ashe picked his way down the rocky slope, watching gravel and shale spill out from under his feet in a miniature avalanche. Katsu was already at the water's edge, setting bagfuls of eggs down carefully on a patch of grass. Then Katsu shimmied out of his tunic, and Ashe stopped to watch.
Katsu was shorter than almost any of the other humans, but covered in compact muscle and gorgeous skin. He draped his tunic over a branch, pulling his boots off and setting them aside. His long-fingered hands started on the laces of his trousers.
Ashe told himself to look away. He told himself over and over, but somehow he was still watching when the trousers fell to Katsu's ankles and Katsu stepped out of them, wading directly into the water.
Water lapped at Katsu's ankles, then his calves, knees, firm buttocks, the small of his back -- and then he turned to face Ashe, still wading deeper, the tattoos across his chest and shoulders inky lines that moved with every stroke of his arms. "You coming in?" His gaze drifted down Ashe's body, and his eyebrows rose.
Ashe glanced down himself and wasn't surprised to see the evidence of his own arousal in the shape of his trousers. He set the satchels down and began stripping, unembarrassed. "Maybe that bit about the dragon eggs isn't an old wives' tale," he suggested laughingly.
Rubbing grime off his arms, Katsu chuckled. "Maybe not. Or maybe you're just a typical elf."
That did seem more likely. Ashe stepped to the shore, letting the water lap at his toes, watching it kiss the tips in tiny surges. Only four toes. Pale pink skin. Longer legs than any of the humans, willowy in comparison. His body hair was sparse -- in that, at least, he and Katsu were similar -- and the same sandy brown as the braids on his head.
He stepped into the water, glad to feel it was still warm from the summer sun. Silt drifted around his ankles, stirred up by their passage. He waded in farther, letting the water encompass his legs, his thighs, his hips, the thin trail of hair on his abdomen. Once more, he glanced at Katsu.
Surely they weren't
that
different, physically. Eddie had just been harassing him. He was almost positive.
It was impossible to tell, though; Katsu had dipped himself into the river and was smoothing the water out of his face and hair. It ran down his chest, between pectoral muscles, following the tattoos. Ashe's cock twitched.
"Are you doing this just to tease me?" he asked finally. Everyone knew him. Everyone knew his sex drive was all-encompassing, and no one asked him to bathe alone unless it was an invitation. Katsu had never been interested
before
, though, and, well, Ashe liked him. He didn't want to fuck something up.
Katsu stalled, movement halting for a moment as a frown touched his brow. "Do I seem like the teasing type?"
Ashe considered the question carefully, trying to decide if it was a hint -- no teasing, this really was an invitation -- or if Katsu was just oblivious. Ashe could clue in even the more oblivious people, though. "You know I'd like to bend you over that branch," he gestured to where Katsu's tunic hung, "and fuck you senseless, right?"
Katsu's dark skin got even darker. "I--" He stopped, and it didn't look like he knew quite what to say.
That figured. He really was that oblivious. "Just checking." Ashe dunked himself underwater, shaking his head to rinse out his braids, and came back up for air. Katsu was still standing there looking perturbed.
"I didn't say that was a bad thing," Katsu blurted.
Confusion stopped Ashe. He stared at Katsu, willing Katsu to elaborate.
It seemed to work. Katsu crossed his arms over his chest, annoyance like armor, and fairly growled, "Just because I'm not the type to make a first move doesn't mean I'm not interested. Hells, I've been here for eight months and I haven't gotten laid. You look as good as anything."
It wasn't the nicest compliment in the world, but Ashe would take it. He pushed through the water toward Katsu, laughing when Katsu's eyes widened. "This is what you just offered, right?"
"I--" Katsu began and stopped. "Well, yes."
"And it's what you were thinking? You weren't kidding? You want sex?"
Katsu's skin grew even
darker
. It was hilarious. "I was. I am. I mean -- I do. Want. That."
"Holy gods!" Ashe laughed, finally coming within arm's reach of Katsu. "You're repressed! Say it with me, Kats. Sex."
"Kat
su
," he growled, "and I'm not a child."
"Thank all that's holy." Just a stretch, one single reach, and he'd be brushing Katsu's skin. He could wrap his fingers around Katsu's hip and draw them together, grind their cocks up close and find out just what Katsu liked. He took another step closer, instead, bringing them so near that he could feel the heat from Katsu's body. Water dripped off Katsu's short, black hair, landing with a glint on his shoulders, one drop at a time.
Instead of touching, Ashe leaned in and licked the drop off with a barely-there brush of his tongue. He felt Katsu's breath catch, heard the quickly indrawn breath. He did it again, teasing and light, then flicked the tip of his tongue over the lobe of Katsu's ear. Katsu jumped and settled. Fingertips brushed Ashe's arms hesitantly, barely any sensation before they were gone.
It was plenty of encouragement. Ashe took a half step forward, bringing them chest to chest, settling his hands on either side of Katsu's waist. He stroked, up to feel Katsu's ribs covered by pads of muscle, down to find the line of his hips. He pulled Katsu closer and felt the brush of skin against his cock.
Katsu muttered something in a language Ashe didn't know, hands landing hard on Ashe's waist. With a grin, Ashe thrust his hips forward, rubbing his shaft along Katsu's abdomen, feeling Katsu's dick against his thigh. He dipped his head, licking the tendon in Katsu's neck, hands drifting upward to find the hard nubs of dark nipples. Katsu shuddered under his touch, fingers tightening again before stuttering up and down his torso in a pale imitation of what he'd done.
Ashe grinned against Katsu's skin, then nipped a collarbone and began to walk backward, tugging Katsu with him toward the shore. Katsu came willingly, even when Ashe turned them so Katsu was walking backward. Water slipped away from their bodies, the breeze placing goosebumps on their skin. Ashe aimed them toward a boulder, putting his hands on Katsu's shoulders and guiding while trying not to separate their bodies. "Sit," he said, and Katsu glanced back to see where he was sitting before he plopped down, all grace vanishing from his limbs.