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"Are you sure you don't wanna check this out, Amber? It's all really interesting!"
"Not really... Worms and the like are pretty gross."
"You're missing out!
Aether shrugged and turned forward again. He was sitting on the beach just outside of Mondstadt City shoulder to shoulder with Nantuck, the man in charge of the local branch of the Fishing Association. They had already been talking between themselves about lures and fish for over a minute before he remembered I was even there.
If there was a flaw to be found in Aether, the mysterious outlander who had taken Mondstadt by literal storm, it was probably that he was so easily distracted. Though maybe that wasn't fair... The truth was that he appeared to be a real jack of all trades, but he also had the uncanny ability to quickly master them all ass well. Fishing was only the latest of his many interests that I knew of, but he also had already become an honorary knight as well as a proficient adventurer, and rumor had it he was a good cook too.
Being invited for a stroll around town by such a charming man almost felt like an honor, and walking around with him was a pleasure too great to pass up on. It's like he always knows the right thing to say, always has the perfect joke ready! Aether had also felt special in much more personal way right from the start, but it was a sentiment hard to pin down, so I avoided thinking about it too much for my own sanity. In short, turning him down would've never crossed my mind, especially when he appeared so busy all the time and I had to take any chances I got. Barbatos only knows how long I had to insist for him to take the gliding exam!
Alas, Aether's latest fixation seemed to be fishing, which unfortunately was something that never interested and never would, so I gladly kept my distance from whatever they were doing. The least wriggling worms or slimy fish or gross entrails I saw, the better. Hopefully none whatsoever.
Though, while I would've never admitted it, not even under torture, today's arrangement suited me perfectly. Aether's interests seemed to change with the winds, while my most recent fixation was very... unique, and it required specific conditions to be enjoyed. My pulse was already increasing in anticipation, and I had to focus to keep a tremble from reaching my fingers. This is the problem: Why did it have to be so damn thrilling!? I know this is wrong, but that only makes it more exciting!
I squeezed my hands in my lap, wringing them in an attempt to squeeze the tension out of them. I slowly removed my gloves and tried to fill my lungs with the morning air, but only managed to get halfway there. I was going to attempt something so daring, so incredibly dumb, and yet so exciting, that it was taking my breath away. Luckily, getting away with it ad proved surprisingly easy in the past, which was why I was even willing to try in the first place... But if I wanted to succeed, or at least get to see what it was like before prematurely dying of stress, I had to calm down.
I forced my breathing to slow down even though the anticipation kept the fire inside me burning hot. I was taking Baron Bunny out of the bag when Aether addressed me again but without turning around this time. My heart jumped in my throat like a kid caught red-handed, as if he somehow already knew, even though I hadn't done anything at all yet.
"Amber! Did you know Nantuck also writes poetry? How cool is that?"
"Oh yeah? So you're a poet too?" My heart sank when I realized how rude that had come out, so I hurried and changed the topic before he could reply. "Listen, I'm going to do some tweaks to Baron Bunny if you don't mind?" Hopefully that didn't sound as awkward to him as it did to me.
"Oh, sorry, right," said Aether, turning almost fully around with a worried look. "Do you want to go somewhere else? I didn't mean to bore you like this!" Shit.
"No, no, don't worry about it," I replied way too enthusiastically, "I meant to do work on this anyway, and today's such a beautiful day! This is fine, I mean it!"
"Okay, if you say so..." He didn't look too convinced, his expression a mixture of gratitude and relief with just a hint doubt. "Thanks Amber. You're the best!" He reached up and squeezed my hand, and I had to suppress a shiver. The same hand I'm about to use to...
Aether turned forward once more to conspire about fish and nets with Nantuck. I take a good and long look around, making sure the beach was as deserted as it always was on most days. I turned my back to the lake to look at the city wall; it was pretty far from where we were, and even a strolling citizen or or a patrolling knight would've had trouble making out what happened way out there. The bridge connecting to the mainland and the piers were farther still, the people on them little more than smudges of color against the green and blue of the Mondstadt wilderness.
I turned toward the lake once more and sat down cross-legged a couple of feet behind the fishing duo. When my thighs spread and pulled up, my shorts shifted, tugging in and rubbing against my privates, a sweet and teasing promise of what was to come.
"Hm..."
I placed Baron Bunny on my lap to block sight from the front in case either of them turned around and finally, finally slid a hand between my legs, cupping my crotch. The call of pleasure was so sudden and strong that I wasn't able to suppress a shiver, and instead chose to let it run through me fully.
I was suddenly aware of how wet I was, but that wasn't really a surprise. It had started when Aether first asked to stop there by the beach, when I realized it could be the perfect chance to give an incredibly stupid plan that had been bouncing around in my head for a few days a try. After several minutes of intense anticipation, I could feel my slick lips slide against the inside of my increasingly damp underwear.
I couldn't tell exactly when my obsession to touch myself in public had started, only that I couldn't get the thought out of my head ever since it had appeared there one accursed and beautiful day. Some days were worse than others, to be sure, but it wasn't uncommon for the idea to come to mind completely unbidden and out of the blue.
It had only started as a crazy fantasy, but I could remembered the first time I finally indulged in it as if it was yesterday... It happened in a toilet of the knights HQ. I had masturbated before, but it never particularly interested me before then. And yet, that morning I realized I could do it with people coming and going right outside the stall without anyone noticing, probably, and I found the thought irresistible;I leaned with my back against the door and started playing with myself. The orgasm came shortly after, when someone startled me by knocking on the door while I was tense and nervous; the vibrations boomed through my back and chest like the rumble of a massive drum... I had never cum so hard before in my life. I was hooked.
After a few more times in the bathroom, it was no longer enough. The first time I did it completely out in the open was in a dark alley at night. There was no one around, but I could hear the distant voices of the main streets. The thrill of doing something forbidden in a public place and how easily getting away with it had been was exhilarating... Good thing I was already headed home, or working with undies that drenched would've been really awkward.
The dumbest one to date was when I touching myself on a whim at the Good Hunter while waiting for Aether. I didn't even know when or how I had started, only that at some point my hand ad found its way between my legs. Good thing I saw him arrive and stopped in time! I didn't finish then and there, but I still touch myself to the memories of the thrill I felt on that day... But today already promised to replace those memories with something even grander.
Today I was going to do something really dumb... I was going to touch myself completely out in the open, right there on the beach. And I was going to do it a couple of feet behind two guys, one of which was a hottie like Aether, with only Baron Bunny and their turned backs to shield my hand from sight! I pressed into my crotch a bit harder, and my hips pulled back with an irresistible shudder. I couldn't wait to get started anymore, and my head felt light with anticipation and excitement. A small part of me wished I wouldn't succeed, because if pulling even that stunt off had proved easy, I feared I'd try something even dumber next time... The prospect of being caught filled me with dread and yet also with a similarly heady flavor of excitement.
I slowly unzipped my shorts after a glance forward, making sure the two were still busy with themselves. The change of pressure caused a wave of relief and pleasure all on its own, and I felt so damn wet it was as if I could almost hear it... Though that was probably the sound of the waves on the lake, and my mind playing tricks on me.
There it was, the moment of truth... I hesitated, fearing a letdown. Often anticipation builds so high in our minds that it surpasses and overshadows any reality that might end up being. No matter how badly I wanted to touch myself on that beach, no matter how how good it had felt in the past, maybe it wouldn't be as great as I thought... Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was. My hand was a tight fit inside my panties, but the familiar touch of my fingers felt as thrilling as a groundbreaking discovery and as comfy as coming home after a long day of work.
I slowly dipped my middle finger between my lips; they gave without a fight, slick with thick wetness, and parted before my gentle probing. I slowly dragged it through, sliding it from bottom to top as I looked intently at Aether and Nuntuck. They were discussing animatedly but quietly while tinkering with something in front of them; I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I could hear the smile in Aether's voice. I smiled as well when I drew small and unbearably slow circles on my clitoris. My eyelids fluttered.
I adjusted my sitting position, pulling my short a fraction of an inch lower and giving me a small amount of extra wiggle room. I slowly turned my head to the left while I resumed caressing myself; two sailors in the distance moved crates on one of the piers. I turned the other way and saw two people walk on the bridge and out of the city; they were unrecognizable from the lone beach, but they seemed to wear Adventurers' Guild uniforms.
Do I know them? Do they know me? Can they see me from over there? Can they see I'm touching myself? I pushed my finger between my folds a bit harder with every thought, each question a new thrill. I swallowed a dumb grin before it could pull at the corners of my mouth too hard.
The best thrill of them all was right in front of me though. Two men, one of which I was getting to know very well and who knows, maybe even like, were so close to me as I continued playing with myself. Only Baron Bunny would have blocked their sight if they decided to turn around, only my precious plushie hiding my open shorts and my hand digging inside, rummaging.
I started increasing the pace as I stared intently at their backs, their shoulders and necks and heads, looking for signs of warning, of recognition, but there was nothing of the sort. I was pretty sure I was being quiet, at least when it came to my hand, and the sounds of water and wind were probably loud enough to cover it all. I was also making a conscious effort to keep my breathing slow and regular, although it was becoming increasingly difficult as I sped up, something I couldn't help in the slightest as pleasure started taking over.
Soon I feel myself squeeze inside, droplets of wetness trickling out to smoothen the process even further. My hips start rolling back and forth lightly, the sand quietly shifting under me; it was a minute dance performed together with my searching fingers that I knew perfectly well mimicked a grander, sexier act still.
I dreamed of romance, naturally; all girls do, but I was in no rush. The right man would come for sure, at the right time. I was curious about what that felt like, obviously, but I didn't feel the need for it, not when I already had this. And while I knew I was technically doing something dumb and wrong, could it really be so bad when it felt so damn good ? It's not like I was hurting anybody anyway. What I did with my body was my business, and by extension, where I did it was too.
My body felt like it was burning after a while, and my hand moved with increasing urgency. My head started swimming, like during a fever. Thoughts came and went, some formless, other vaguely more detailed. I was staring into Aether's nape, right where his golden hair started; I watched some strands catch the sun and flutter in the breeze, and I suddenly caught myself wondering what it could smell like for some reason. My clitoris throbbed under gentle and yet insistent pressure, and a greater pressure building from within answered in kind. I closed my eyes in delight, failing to suppress a smile. It was coming.
"Hey, did you hear what I said?"
My eyes flew open. Suddenly, as if he had never been turned forward in the first place, Aether was turned around and looked me straight in the eyes. A sense of dread and doom flared within me, filling my muscles with cold fire and freezing them. Only that clenching inside me continued, and there was nothing I could do about it; I had the irrational impression that even that movement could betray me to Aether's gaze even though my clothes and of course Baron Bunny hid most of my torso from my neck down.
But nothing strange showed in his eyes. He looked earnest and happy like always, as well as excited for whatever he was doing with Nantuck. Not suspicious at all of what I was doing. The initial panic slowly bled out of my flesh, giving me me control of my muscles back. I gripped Baron Bunny harder, its soft body an impenetrable barrier that shielded my gambit from Aether's bright golden eyes. Stop, don't do it. Don't you dare. But the other hand got back to it anyway. My middle finger kneaded my clitoris unbearably slowly —trying not to betray any movement— and yet hard and fast enough to keep that pressure building inside me. Heat rushed back to my cheeks.
"Sorry," I croaked, then swallowed before continuing, "what were you saying? I was lost in thought."
"Yeah, I can see that." His cocky smile reached deep, wrenching another agonizing squeeze from within me. My finger pushed back, squeezed in, wrung hard. "Nantuck was showing me this fruit extract he uses to bait fish... You know, the kind you throw in the water before actual fishing? Anyway, you won't believe it, but it actually tastes really good!"
"I... What?" I tried to buy some time as I collected myself the best I could and caught my breath. My finger continued rubbing miniscule circles into my clit as if it had a mind of its own. The clenching got faster, the pressure larger.
"Look, it's this stuff." Aether half turned around, scooting a bit closer in the process, and showed me his hand. Strings of a white gelatinous substance streaked his palm and fingertips; it didn't look appetizing at all.
"But... it's for fish..."
"Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it! It's pretty good." He brought his hand to his mouth and licked his palm, then closed his eyes and worked his jaw before smacking his lips. "Go on!"
When Aether presented his hand to me again, a wave of burning heat caught me completely off guard, making my skin boil and blurring my vision for a moment as my breath caught in my throat. I had no idea what it was or where it came from, but it could only come from deep inside me. I could smell something funky on from him, and his fingers looked glazed or frosted for a moment, and strangely delectable all of a sudden.
My lips parted in slow motion as if they belonged to someone else, but not to taste what was being offered to me. My mouth was opening by the sheer pressure now being released inside me looking to escape, like the front of an explosion that had already been set in motion. My legs locked up, and so did the muscles of my abdomen and those behind, within.
It was already out of control, completely and terribly so. When the first wave of pleasure rode up my spine and threatened to push the air out of my lungs, I took his fingers in my mouth in an act of desperation to keep myself from crying out.
I hoped it would be over soon, but it seemed to last forever. I rode the high of pleasure trying to keep still and failing miserably as I tried to moan as little as possible into Aether's fingers. My legs shuddered as my crotch kept trying to thrust forward, pushing my clit into the finger that was trapped between it and my damp underwear. All the while I kept my eyes firmly shut and my lips tightly closed around two of Aether's fingers, sucking on it because I had nothing better to do with it. At one point my tongue moved up between his index and middle, or his fingers moved down around my tongue, one of the two. The tart and somewhat bitter taste spread into my mouth as I breathed erratically in and out of my nose.
Aether slowly pulled his fingers out right as I started coming down and the white flashes painting the inside of my eyelids retreated. The taste lingered, but the void they left behind seemed cavernous and impossible to fill for a brief dizzying moment. My skin tingled with the retreating pleasure as I opened my eyes to the dazzling sun and focused with difficulty on Aether's enigmatic look. I just came in front of Aether. He was looking right at me. I came while sucking his fingers.
When shame arrived, it crashed hard . I could feel myself blush to the tip of my ears even as the echoes of pleasure stubbornly clung to my flesh. If I could've dug a hole and disappeared into it forever, I would've done so in a heartbeat. How was I supposed to explain myself? There was no excuse for what I had done, we both knew it. And the worst part of it was, it had felt so good I didn't trust myself not to do it all over again despite how mortified I was as a result of it.
"That bad, huh?"
"Huh? Wh-What?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but there was only one possibility, wasn't there? Yes, I had it bad. Really, really bad.
"The bait! You really didn't like it, huh? You made such a face!" His chuckle sounded sincere, crystal clear, and a felt like a float thrown to my drowning self. I swallowed. Blinked. Straightened up and pulled Baron Bunny closer to my chest while pulling my hand free of my open shorts.
"Not a fan, no." Could it be? Had it really not noticed? I didn't dare hope, and yet clawed at the possibility with every fiber of my being. He didn't seem to be playing dumb... He looked like the usual Aether: cheerful, curious, playful.
"Hey, that's fine! It's probably a bit of an acquired taste. Maybe when you get older?"
When he turned forward again and resumed chatting with Nantuck, I quickly pulled my short up and closed them with trembling fingers, then wiped my hand on the back of Baron Bunny. It took several more seconds of staring at Aether's back sumbfounded for the dread to sublimate and transform into an exhilarating feeling.
I hugged Baron Bunny and squeezed him tight to avoid the shakes threatening to take over me as relief washed into and through me like a cleansing tide. I buried my face on the top of its soft head, and I was suddenly so happy I could cry. I wanted to scream into the fabric, but instead managed to only open my mouth as wide as it went in a muted cry, then grinned like an idiot.
I got away with it! I really got away with it!! Something stirred in the pit of my stomach, the giddiness of a prankster who almost got caught but instead made a narrow and exciting last-ditch escape.
The pleasure was gone now, but I knew its memory would stay with me for a long time. My mind raced, and yet was unable to form thoughts more complex that raw emotions; it was like my entire body was laughing with joy, and I could barely keep myself from giggling into Baron Bunny's head.
But even though I couldn't conjure the thought outright, I didn't need to... I had barely gotten away with it, and yet I already knew I was going to try it again.