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"A-ah, Vex?" Percy says, nervously.

Behind him, she chuckles, soft and low, into his ear, that sultry sound that he's become startlingly addicted to considering the relatively short amount of time he's had to hear it. She presses up closer against his back, breasts warm against his skin, nipples hard points between his shoulder blades. She's trying to get him to relax, he can tell, that underhanded sneak of a woman, and damn her but it's working, making him lean back against her.

"It's alright, darling," she murmurs, nibbling at his earlobe and making him shudder at the feeling of it, running her nails along his abdomen to take hold of his cock and stroke. He nearly whimpers when she fists him, thumb scraping across the head of it and smearing pre-release across the tip. "We've got you."

The reminder of the other person on the bed makes him squirm and glance up. Jarett smirks at him, dark hair falling into his eyes, and Percy watches his hands anxiously as he coats his fingers in a rich, fragrant oil. When he speaks, his voice is far more amused than comforting. "Yes, my lord. I'll take very good care of you."

As he takes hold of one of Percy's legs to pull them apart, Vex whispers to him again, delighted, "Just take a deep breath and relax."

Percy gulps.

---------------

Okay, wait, back up. We're getting a bit ahead of ourselves now.

Let's start over, from the beginning.

---------------

When Vex first approaches him with the idea, he's more startled than anything. Their relationship is fresh enough that he's only recently gotten to a point where he's actually comfortable with it, felt like he's reached some kind of equilibrium, and so he's (understandably, he feels) surprised when Vex crawls atop him one morning, nuzzling into his chest and pressing kisses into his skin and then saying brightly, "Let's have a threesome with Jarett."

Percy squints down at her.

Last he checked, he was half-blind, not half-deaf, but stranger things have happened in his life than waking up with an impairment that he didn't have the night before, and so he feels like he's impressively calm when he asks, "Beg pardon?"

"You, me," Vex grins up at him, pausing briefly to mouth at one of his nipples, making him shut his eyes for a moment before opening them once more. "Jarett."

Ah, no, still heard the same thing, sex with Jarett. He reaches over to his nightstand and picks up his glasses, sliding them onto his face and blinking at her. She's smirking at him, a coy smile tilting her lips up in a way that's still new enough to make his heart flutter before he stomps it back down, the traitorous little thing. This time when she puts her lips back to his skin she adds teeth to the mix, nipping just hard enough to make him jump.

"Why?" he asks, and again, he feels like he deserves a reward for how sincerely he's not freaking out.

"Because it'd be fun," Vex says simply, sitting up to straddle his hips, hands bracing against his stomach as she rocks herself down onto him, taking full advantage of his morning erection ("Elves and dwarves don't get them!" she'd said excitedly the morning after their first night together, looking as pleased as if she'd gotten a Winter's Crest gift early. "Only humans! I love them! It's like, hello! Surprise!" And then she'd gone down on him, so his reply was, "Well, that's something I didn't need to knoooooh god.").

She says it so simply, too, the way she always says such things so simply. He'd known, of course, her candor and impropriety regarding sexual relations before he'd gotten into a relationship with her, even before he'd started having actual romantic-like feelings for her, but even so it still shocks him, sometimes, how utterly open she is about her desires.

He loves her, but damn it's nearly a good thing that she never got to meet his parents; they'd have gotten halfway into the first conversation with her and his mother would have had a heart attack.

"Yes, but why?" he asks, huffing out a breath as she sinks down onto him, biting his lip and closing his eyes in the pleasure of it, the early-morning bliss that trundles lazily up his spine, before opening them again forcefully, determined to maintain a presence in the conversation and not let her distract him.

"Because," she laughs, the sound of it breaking slightly on a moan, lifting herself up enough that he nearly slips out of her and then dropping back down hard, so that there's an audible slap of skin against skin, and his eyes close again instantly, hands settling on the tops of her thighs. "He's got a great arse, and I've wanted to touch it for nearly as long as I wanted to touch yours."

"I've known you for several years longer than him," Percy reminds her with a grunt, a touch offended.

"Yes, darling, and you were such an arse that it made me want to avoid your arse."

"Rude," he states, and meets her downward thrust with an upward one of his own, startling another moan out of her.

She draws her lips between her teeth and then grins down at him, nails digging into the soft skin of his abdomen. She bends down over him, moving in close enough to kiss his chin, whispering against his lips, quickening her pace as she rides him, "And because I've seen how you look at other men, the curiosity in your eyes." His breath catches in surprise, eyes flying open once more. Her own brown ones stare down at him, heady and filled with heat, her hips never ceasing their movement. "How you look at their faces, their fingers. Their backs when they leave."

He chokes on his words, unsure how to respond. He's never-- it's never come up before, never been an issue, not something he'd had to consider. He's never had the time before, the inclination, too caught up in his pain and the memory of what he'd lost to bother to do much more than look at women or men alike. Lillith was-- was the first opportunity, the first time he'd actually wanted in years, and before that, well, as a young lordling there was his family to consider, the unwillingness to shame a father who he's still convinced he'd somehow shamed anyway.

"V-vex," he stutters, stumbling over his tongue, but she just smirks down at him, patting his stomach in a way that's so clearly false-comfort that it's nearly patronizing.

"Don't worry, darling," she purrs, grinding down on him harshly, making him gasp out at the feeling of her, the clenching warmth around his cock. "I don't blame you. Men are, mmmm." She closes her eyes again, rolls her hips slowly, sensuously. "Men are exquisite."

"I wouldn't know," he hisses, tilting his head back, and she takes advantage of it, leaning forward to bite at his neck.

"Pity," she whispers, licking at the dip in his throat, sucking hard in a way that he knows will leave bruises that Vax will no doubt glare at him for later. "You're fantastic beasts, you know. Ladies are lovely, no doubt about that--"

"You being the loveliest," he says, sincere almost to the point of mockery, and she loses her train of thought to blush prettily, blinking down at him, more thrown by affection than sex in a way that never fails to make him simultaenously proud of himself and saddened for her.

"Yes, well," she stammers, clearing her throat and swatting at his stomach in punishment for distracting her; he grins up at her and snaps his hips up in reply. "A-ah! S-see, Percival, that, mmm."

"Go on," he says, smugly, and she swats him again.

"As I was saying, ladies are lovely, but men have to be good for something." He frowns at her and she grins once more, cheekily, having regained her momentum. "I'd figured as much, though, you know? That you've wanted but never touched." He swallows nervously. Has he really been that obvious? "I'd considered Gilmore--"

"Oh, fuck, no," he groans, lifting his hands from her hips to press them against his own face, shielding his eyes so he doesn't have to look at her. "Vax already hates me enough for bedding you."

"He wouldn't have me, anyway," she assures him, laughing. The urgency has left their movement, that overwhelming heat having cooled, but it's sweet, it's comfortable, the sex languid and familiar in a way that until recently he's been loathe to grow accustomed to, too convinced that life will somehow snatch this happiness away from him the way it's taken so much else. "But Jarett would be a kind first, I think. He'll treat you right."

He peeks at her from between his fingers, and she laughs harder at the sight, finally lifting herself enough so that he slips out of her and instead plastering herself to his side, chin once more on his chest while her hand sneaks between the two of them to continue touching him. "Why does it sound like you speak from experience?"

"I haven't touched his arse," she says, reasonably, like she's explaining something to a toddler. "Doesn't mean I haven't touched other things."

"Oh, bloody fuck," he sighs, because of course she has.

"Not if he does it right," she chirps, grin widening when he catches her meaning and immediately hides his face once more, groaning. He can feel the burning of his cheeks. "We've talked about it, though, he and I. He's willing if you are. I told him you're good, too."

"And how often do you discuss our sex life with other people," he grunts, huffing in disappointment when she abandons his prick to play with herself, fingers slipping between and into her folds, her breath catching for a moment and causing him to shift and moan softly at the sight. Gods, he loves watching her.

"Only often enough to invite a third person," she assures him, a smile clear in her voice, and when he looks at her face again she's watching him, expression sweet but with an edge to it, a sharpness that makes his breath catch. "You've wondered, haven't you? What it'd feel like? How good it'd be, to get fucked?"

He moans again, because he has. He's-- he has always wondered, quietly, anxiously, in a way that he's never admitted aloud to anyone before now and only rarely admits to himself. There it is again, that heat that had faded away, that itch in his hips that makes him ache, sweat prickling at his skin as she presses against him, up the length of his body, her breasts soft and her fingers calloused and her hair tickling his chest and throat, and the-- the thought of it, of-- of a man-- yes, he's wondered.

"Because it is good, Percy," she murmurs, kissing his collarbone again, open-mouthed and wet. "It's very good."

When he grabs at her hips again and twists so he's above her, her stomach against the mattress, she laughs throatily, then lets out a long, gasping moan when he drives into her from behind, hands catching her wrists as he pins her down, pelvis slapping against her buttocks noisily, determined to remind her of exactly how good she thinks it feels to get fucked.

---------------

("We don't have to if you don't want to, of course," she says softly, once the fervor has died down and they've caught their breath and he's cleaning her up, too gentlemanly to watch her wipe away the mess he made of her by herself. "I genuinely hope you know that I'd never expect you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

"I know," he tells her with a kiss. He means it to be a quick thing, a short acknowledgement of her statement, but one of them deepens it and he's not sure who, until it's long and heavy, the sex in them spent but the love still lingering, his mouth moving against hers gently, delicately, breathing through his nose to prolong the contact until she breaks away and licks her lips with a tiny smile. She gets embarrassed by it, sometimes, he thinks-- how much he loves her. "I'll think about it."

Her eyes jump up to his, startled and then hopeful, and he sighs and rolls his own in mock-defeat, feeling his cheeks warm up again. "The idea does have merit, I'll admit."

"Awesome," she breathes giddily, and he rolls his eyes harder.

This woman will be the death of him one day, he's sure.)

---------------

Despite Vex's reassurances of Jarett's understanding of the need for discretion, Percival still finds himself nervously knocking on the door to the guard captain's quarters without her present as a buffer. He didn't tell her his destination, but he's sure that she knows anyway, the wretched rogue, she's got eyes in the bloody walls of this place, and likewise when Jarett answers, opening the door and peering at Percy with his dark eyes, he doesn't look surprised to see who's visiting.

"Captain Howarth," Percy greets, commanding his voice to stay steady through sheer determination and feeling inordinately pleased with himself when it listens. "I should very much like to speak with you in private, if you please."

Jarett blinks at him for a moment before his lips curl into a smirk and he leans against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ah, I see the lady Vex'ahlia approached you with her fine idea, yes?" Still smiling, a sharp little grin that isn't so much unkind as simply lacking kindness, his eyes flick over Percy, starting at his head and sweeping lower, slowly, all the way down to his toes. "And what was your answer, I wonder?"

"In private, sir," Percy repeats, knowing his face is flushing but still managing to keep his words calm and smooth, and Jarett pauses to actually look at him, gaze assessing now instead of just leering.

"As you wish," he says finally, pulling away from the door frame and then gesturing into his room with a light bow that despite his earlier behavior seems to carry more genuine respect than mocking. Percy swallows while his eyes are elsewhere, then lifts his chin and steps forwards, head high despite the heat in his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

Jarett gestures once more, this time to the bed, as there are no other places in the room to sit; there's a desk, but it seems to have been relegated to the role of a makeshift weapon's cabinet, knives and bolts scattered across it and the mechanical parts to a gutted crossbow taking up residence of the one chair that seems to go along with it.

"I'd prefer to stand," Percy says, anxiety dropping him into that voice that he uses for diplomacy, the one that Vex calls his 'Lord Poncey' voice.

"Suit yourself," Jarett replies with a shrug, and then sits on the edge of the bed himself, crossing his legs and looking up at him expectantly. Percy swallows.

He's a very attractive man, Jarett. Percy has never been to Marquet, much less Ank'Harel, but if all the men that live there are this attractive then the country must have good stock. He's broad where Percy himself is lean, strong in the face where the de Rolos have always tended towards angular, and Percy would be lying if he said that his eyes hadn't lingered on the man in the past, hadn't occasionally strayed from his face to the width of his shoulders or, maybe, even lower if his back was turned. But, as in nearly all cases of attraction that he feels, save for one very big, very important one, it's always been a fleeting thing, a short thought that's easily discarded when there are more important things to occupy his time.

Still, he can see why Vex would lust after their guard captain, not that Vex has ever needed reason to lust after anything; unlike himself, she's never seemed to feel the need to restrain herself from something that she wants. He is learning, slowly, how to let himself want things, too.

The thought of her, as it usually does, gives Percy courage, and he stands a little taller, links his hands behind his back and when he speaks again his voice is even steadier, even stronger. "She has spoken to me about-- about her thoughts, yes."

That sharp smile is back, but Jarett just watches him, head tilted slightly to the side, and when he speaks he's casual, questioning, still respectful despite the way he leans back slightly, bracing himself against the bed with his hands. "And what are your thoughts, then?"

It takes all of his strength, all of his vast well of willpower not to look away in embarrassment, but he meets Jarett's eyes when he answers, "I told her the idea has merit. Provided," he continues pointedly, when Jarett's mouth opens to speak, "you and I can set some ground rules."

The other man closes his mouth and narrows his eyes at Percy, measuring him up as if trying to determine how serious he is, before nodding in concession.

Percy takes a deep breath, steels himself, shoves down his nerves, he is-- Percy is an adult and he can have adult conversations about adult things and he can do it without Vex. In fact, he probably needs to do it without Vex; she'd just laugh herself silly at him.

"Firstly," he starts, with only the barest tremor to his voice, and if Jarett notices it he doesn't react, "you are not to kiss her. Not unless she asks. You can-- you can touch her, but unless she specifically asks for it then you cannot do that."

Jarett's eyes narrow further and his lips pull into a frown, but this-- if this is to happen, then this is a point that Percy is adamant on. Possessiveness is, perhaps, not the best trait for a good man to have, but Percy has never claimed to be a good man. He has fought too hard for too long to have something kind in his life, and he is loathe to share now that he does. If Vex wishes it, then that's, that's her decision and he will not stop her, will respect her wishes, but he will not invite another party into this relationship more than they already have.

"Nor myself," he continues, because it's only fair.

Now Jarett's got that smirk back, that self-assured one, and his eyes drop down to Percy's lips, then the bob of his throat when he swallows. "But if you ask...?"

"If I ask," he says again, firmly. "Or if you ask, and I allow it."

After a moment Jarett hums and nods. "Understood. Secondly?"

"Secondly," Percy says, a bit louder than he means to, trying to regain the balance that he'd had, "I would prefer for this to, ah, not become a topic of conversation around the Keep. Specifically, I'd rather it not fall on Vax'ildan's ears."

"Discretion is the better part of valor," Jarett says with a grin, and Percy nods, sighing. "Trust me, my lord, I want him to catch wind of this as much as you do, which I imagine is not very much at all."

"It would end poorly for all parties involved," Percy agrees, and Jarett laughs, the sound of it coming from deep in his thick chest.

"Including the lord Vax'ildan once his sister got ahold of him for sticking his nose into her business."

"Oh gods," Percy says, grimacing, "please don't make me think about Vax sticking his nose into anything while we're talking about, ah, what it is that we're talking about."

Jarett snorts indelicately, and for a moment a sort of kinship is shared between the two of them that Percy regards warmly before remembering exactly why he'd approached the other man. "Thirdly," he says finally, voice definitely cracking this time, and he watches Jarett's lips tilt up into a smirk before he forces his expression to smooth again, "and I mean this as no impugnment on your honor, sir, but-- but for my own peace of mind I feel I must say it." The seriousness of his words sobers them both up a bit, and now Jarett is watching him, his earlier humor faded away, a sort of trepidation on his face. "If I-- if either of us asks to-- to stop, I would... I would hope that you would respect that."

There's a long moment of silence while Percy forces himself to keep his eyes on the other man despite cowardly instincts to look away, forces himself to watch the way Jarett's jaw works and his eyes harden slightly.

"I would never take what isn't willingly given," Jarett says, quietly, offense clear in his voice, but Percy rallies himself, tries not to think of the context of their conversation and instead focusing on the intent of it.

"But if minds are changed in-- in the middle--"

"And what are the chances of that?" he interrupts, straightening from his slouch and then standing up, and it'd be almost threatening if it weren't for the honest question in his eyes, something that nearly approaches concern.

Percy swallows again, his hands tightening their hold on each other behind his back, his spine as straight as if he's had a rod shoved through it. His father may not have been the kindest of teachers, but strength through adversity was a lesson that he'd taught through more than just books. "I cannot truthfully answer that, because I do not truthfully know."

Jarett steps forward and stops perhaps a foot away, regarding Percy thoughtfully. They're nearly the same height, though Percy may have an inch or so on him, and his expression is serious when their eyes meet.

"She'd said you hadn't been with a man before," he says finally, and against his wishes Percy feels his face burn, knows his white hair and pale complexion make the red of his blush stand out terribly. "Is that true?"

"Yes," he answers without pause, because he's unsure whether or not he can bring himself to speak if he thinks about it.

"Have you ever kissed one?"

Now, now he looks away, eyes dropping to the side, and he sets his jaw. He has wanted-- but oh gods, how many things in his life has he wanted but could not have? It's not-- it's not a terrible thing in Whitestone, not necessarily frowned upon in his city, but as a noble, as a de Rolo, he was expected-- his father had expected better.

He shakes his head.

Movement, and then heat; Jarett is far faster than he'd expected, far closer when he looks up in surprise, only a few inches away from him where before there'd been space.

"May I?" he murmurs, accent growing thicker as he speaks quietly, close enough that Percy feels the breath of it on his lips, and his own breath catches as if in reply. He doesn't trust his voice to stay steady now, not with how hard his throat is working to draw in air, and so, short and sharp, he nods.

He expects Jarett to swoop in immediately, quick and hard, expects teeth and tongue, and is pleasantly disappointed when there is a brief pause, as if the other man is waiting for him to change his mind, giving him an out, before he leans in slightly, settling his lips on Percy's with just the barest amount of pressure. It's not gentle, not really, and more questioning than kind, but there's no demand, no forcefulness.

It's different, Percy thinks, than kissing a woman-- and yet, and yet rather the same. Not so different that if he closed his eyes he could tell, especially since Jarett keeps his face clean-shaven, the only rasp of stubble on skin coming from Percy himself, and so he does close his eyes, and it helps, a little, in a way that he's slightly ashamed of. His hands loosen from their place at his back, dropping to his side, clenching into fists and then flexing open once more when Jarett pulls away after nearly a minute of just resting his lips against Percy's.

"Again?" he asks, and after a moment again Percy nods, and this time there is a press, a question for participation rather than just acceptance, and Percy's fingers shake when he pushes back, mouth opening slightly when Jarett runs his tongue against the seam of it.

It's not a dirty thing, despite what the strict manners of his upbringing tell him; he has shared more sensual things with Vex'ahlia, certainly. Still, he doesn't realize that he's trembling until Jarett lifts a hand to his shoulder to steady him, mouth still working wetly against his own, and without his consent his own hands move up and make fists into Jarett's overshirt, a distant part of his mind grateful that the guard doesn't wear armor off duty.

They pull away for breath and Percy keeps his eyes closed. He's-- he's not sure if this counts as infidelity, if Vex'ahlia would see this as him compromising the integrity of their partnership, if she would only permit such actions when she's present. When Jarett asks, softly, huskily, "Again?" Percy shakes his head, licks his lips and tastes the other man's saliva still there.

It takes a moment, but Jarett backs away, breathing heavily, but not as heavily as Percy, who feels simultaneously exhilarated and ashamed, for a variety of reasons. He needs-- he needs to talk to Vex.

Finally he opens his eyes. Jarett is smirking at him, self-assured, but it's not unkind for all that it's smug. Percy clears his throat, tries to regain his composure. "Thank you for speaking with me," he says, his words halting for just a moment, and he waits only for Jarett to nod before he leaves the room, steps hurried.

---------------

(Vex looks up in surprise from the floor where she's grooming Trinket with a horsehair brush when Percy bursts into her room, eyes wide and breathing hard.

"I kissed Jarett," he says anxiously, bracing himself against the doorway with his hands. "And I really, really liked it, and I'm really, really sorry, and I really, really love you."

Vex stares at him, then silently sets her brush to the side, expression blank, and then laughs, and laughs, cackling from the force of it until Trinket looks up at her and groans in concern.

"You fucking loser," she howls, leaning against the bear and beating her fist on the floor.

Percy sags against the door and sighs.)

---------------

Percy is content to let Vex handle the logistics of everything. Of-- of where, of when, of the procuring of-- oh, hell, of necessary items. Apparently she goes to Gilmore for those because when next Percy has occasion to visit the magic shop, the purveyor watches him with a keen, curious eye as he browses, not quite as stealthily as he might think he's being because Pike, who's travelled there with him to pick up her armor commission, asks him about it afterwards.

Regardless, it's out of Percy's hands and entirely in Vex's, which given the circumstance is how he thinks they'd both prefer it anyway. And the damned woman is just so bloody proud of herself, strutting about the Keep and doing any and all business with the most smug smirk on her face. It'd annoy him if he didn't like her confidence so much, and if she wasn't so quick to offer comfort and assurance whenever he expressed the slightest amount of doubt.

"Don't do this just for me if you don't want to, Percival," she tells him one afternoon while they're down in his workshop, watching his hands and occasionally assisting while he tinkers.

They don't spend all of their time together, not even now; they're both relatively solitary people, have the both of them spent most of their lives in various degrees of loneliness, him through loss and her through the quiet sanctuary of the woods. He loves her, and he loves her company, and he sincerely hopes that she feels the same, but there are times when he doesn't require her presence to be happy and he knows that she has similar days. She doesn't always follow him into his workshop and he doesn't always follow her on her hikes, and even when he is alone he is content, but for all that her company is rarely distracting when he has it, be it through companionable silence or idle chatter or meaningful conversations.

His parents-- well, they were not perhaps the warmest of personalities, but Percy never doubted that they loved each other regardless. One of his earliest memories, back when he was still considered one of the younger ones of the gaggle, is of dozing off on his mother's lap while she lounged in his father's study by the fire as the man himself poured over the month's bookkeeping, the gentle quiet of them, the way that they just existed close to each other and were happy for it, comforting enough that when they did speak Percy would wake without startling and then slip immediately back into the safety of dreams.

Dreams are not always safe now, but while there are many ways that Percival doesn't want to emulate his father the sweetness that he brought to his marriage is something that, perhaps, he would not mind one day achieving.

"I do so ardently love you, darling," he says, smiling to himself when he hears a clatter of something dropping, likely the arrow she'd been playing with, and a quiet swear, the unprompted affection throwing her off the way it often does, "but I'm not in the habit of allowing people to make me do things I don't want to do."

There's a long pause, long enough that he almost thinks the matter is dropped, and he goes back to his sketching (plans for that damned broom, the blasted woman keeps finding new and increasingly creative ways to nearly kill herself with it, Percy will die young from blood pressure problems if this trend continues), when he hears movement and arms snake out to wrap around his shoulders from behind. Vex rests her chin on the crown of his head, leaning over him to presumably look at his work, but he's surprised when after a moment she instead burrows her face into his hair, nuzzling against him.

"You just seem so very hesitant about it," she says, quietly, a thread of insecurity in her voice. "I worry that I'm pushing you towards this."

Percy sets his pencil down, then reaches up with one hand, finds where her head is tucked against his own, and slides his fingers into her hair, catching briefly on the feathers of her braid before redirecting his course. He runs his nails across her scalp and she hums softly, leaning into it like a cat. He gives himself some time to collect his thoughts, not wanting to misspeak, and finally says, "I am... nervous. I will be honest and admit to having reservations, but that is-- more because of how I was raised, and not because I am unwilling." He swallows, fingers stilling for a moment, and Vex moves her face against him to press a kiss into his hair. "It is a difficult thing to move past, the conditioned learning that I am not allowed to-- to have the things that I want."

He tugs at her hair slightly, and she lifts away from him in response, enough that he can tilt his head back and look at her, upside-down from his seated position. Her eyes, brown like the steady earth, brown like the sturdy tree, are worried, brows furrowed, but she goes willingly when he pulls her back down and into a kiss, the position awkward but hopefully conveying the trust that he means for it to.

"But I am learning," he murmurs against her lips, "that I am permitted wants. Be patient, darling; but I am learning."

"I do love you," she says, arms tightening around his shoulders. "I wouldn't suggest anything if I didn't think you'd enjoy it."

"I know," he assures, and kisses her again. "I know."

---------------

(Percy, ah--

--practices. Or attempts to, anyway. By himself, in the confines of his room, without Vex present or hopefully even knowledgeable to the fact that it's happening. She'd no doubt insist on helping, or at least watching, since the insatiable woman has admitted to being fascinated with his arse since they'd fought with the Take and he'd had that fiasco with his damned pajamas.

("You should wear them during sex!"

"I will burn them and leave you and not necessarily in that order or combination."

"Spoilsport.")

It's, well. Hmm. It's difficult, at first. Shameful, in a way that he's trying to get past, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that he has trouble staying hard through the-- the practice. This would surely only be worse if he were subjected to an audience, he thinks.

Still, he tries, and occasionally succeeds, and he discovers that, at least during his own attempts, it's not so much painful as just strange. A pressure he's unused to, a sensation he's never had reason to feel before, something-- something inside of him, a pleasure welling up from it that he's not entirely sure isn't just mostly psychological.

It is pleasurable, though. Surprisingly. Strange, but pleasurable.

It would take time, but-- he could get used to it, he supposes.)

---------------

When Vex approaches him and asks casually, "So, how do you feel about the night after next?" Percy thinks about it and nods, and then after she leaves he makes one of those terrifically bad decisions that he's known for and, in an adrenaline-filled panic, goes to look for Vax for advice.

It's-- oh, gods, it's a terrible idea, but Vax is the only man whom he's close enough to to ask such questions, and the only man he knows that-- that has experience with things like this. He entertains the idea of Gilmore, briefly, but that's-- wow, wow, no.

Vax is not in his room, nor is he in the kitchens or the dining hall, and he's not in Keyleth's room, though she is, and she glances up from her book when he knocks nervously against her open door, announcing his presence.

Keyleth loves leaving her door open, her windows wide, especially in the spring and summer, and several times over the course of their lives at Grayskull he's come into her room to find her conversing with birds or squirrels or other such wayward beasts that find their way into her quarters. It's a lovely thing, to not have to be invited in, to feel comfortable enough to walk into a room without feeling like a trespasser; Keyleth has never, ever, in the entirety of their friendship, made him feel unwelcome.

Still, she's not the person he's looking over, and he asks, "Ah, Keyleth, do you know where Vax is?"

She blinks at him for a moment before setting her book aside and stretching from her place on the bed, her bare toes wiggling as she lifts her arms up high enough that her back cracks, and then she pulls herself into a sitting position, legs crossed beneath her as she turns towards him. "Nope, haven't seen him today. What's up?"

Percy shuffles awkwardly, trying to figure out how to leave to continue his search while his courage is still present. "I, ah, just need to talk to him about a-- a private matter." And then he immediately winces; Keyleth is a dear friend and a lovely woman, but when she thinks something suspect is happening under her nose she'll latch on to that suspicion as stubbornly as a hound.

"A private matter? What kind of matter?" she asks, still more curious than cautious, though her interest has definitely peaked more than he'd wanted it to.

"It's, ah, nothing, I just-- I'd like to ask his advice about something." He winces again, harder, because honestly he is just digging himself even deeper now.

"I have advice," Keyleth says, brows furrowed and sounding a little offended, like it's some great insult that he wouldn't ask for advice from her. And, normally, he'd be more than happy to, the two of them are close enough that Percy feels like he can get her opinion on almost anything and trust her to be honest with him, just-- just not about this. "I have loads of advice."

"I know," he tries, desperately, already backing out of the doorway. "But not about this."

She follows him, though, and he resists the urge to bury his face into his hands, already feeling his cheeks heating up. "Why not? I know about stuff. What can Vax help you with that I can't?"

"Things, Keyleth," he says, quickening his stride and forcing her to move faster to keep up with his longer legs. He's not even sure where he's going, he'd hide in a privy if he didn't think she'd just camp outside it and talk to him through the door. "Guy things." Gods, what an-- what an awkward way to put it.

"I know tons of stuff about guys," she says firmly, which is hilarious because he knows for a fact that she doesn't.

"Sex, Keyleth!" he says finally, whipping about to face her. It forces her to stop short, only a few inches away from him, and her eyes widen. "Sex stuff! Guy stuff about sex! I want to talk to Vax about guy sex stuff!"

"Oh," she squeaks in surprise, and takes a step back. "You mean, like--"

"Yes," he answers, voice cracking slightly, and runs a hand through his hair.

"But I thought you and Vex--"

"We are."

"O-oh," she says again, taking another step back, her face now as red as her hair. The two of them stare at each other for a long moment, both of them blushing terribly, before she says, "I-- I don't have any-- advice about that."

"I know, Keyleth," he sighs, defeated, and gives up, dropping his face into his palms. "Thus, Vax."

"Yeah," she says, voice pitched higher than usual. "Vax. I, uh, I think he said something about target practice."

"Thank you," he says, as sincerely as he can from between his fingers.

"Guy sex," he hears her whisper to herself, sounding a little horrified, as he walks away as quickly as his bruised pride will allow him to.

Vax is, in fact, outside the Keep, tossing his knives into the thatch targets that have been set up in their designated area of the training field. Unfortunately, Vex is there as well, sitting atop one of the ones that he's not aiming at and dangling her legs over it, and he can occasionally hear banter, mocking jibes when he throws a dagger and it doesn't land in the perfect center. Grog is present too, though at more of a distance, practicing with his axe by chopping into wooden dummies with wild abandon, seemingly ignoring the twins.

Percy hesitates at the edge of the field, waffling over whether or not he's still brave enough to face more embarrassment, but fuck it, he's been shamed enough already, what's a little more heaped on top?

"Hello," he greets as he approaches them; Vex looks up and smiles, bright and wide, and Vax grunts and throws another dagger. Great, lovely, off to a brilliant start. "Vex'ahlia, darling, could I speak to your brother alone please?"

Vax, hearing the endearment, looks like he's just had curdled milk shoved under his nose, and Vex, the wretch, the absolute terrible wretch, shifts that smile into a predatory grin, of course she knows what he intends to talk about.

"Whatever about, dearest one?" she asks, voice as sugary as honey, cocking her head towards him innocently.

"Well, my love," he says, and Vax looks ill, "I have something of a private matter to discuss with him, you understand."

"Sweetling," she purrs, and when Vax glances up at the heavens as if asking for patience Percy mouths it back to her, sweetling?, eyebrow raised. "I'm sure that I have just as much knowledge on whatever topic you wish to pick my twin's brain about as he does."

"Dewdrop," he says in as serious a voice as he can, and Vex lifts a hand to cover a snort while Vax looks like he's debating between stabbing Percy or himself in the eye, "I do hope that you'd respect my wishes enough to allow me the privacy of conversation with our dear Vax'ildan."

Vex kicks her legs even harder, grinning like a knife, glancing between the two men in delight. This is a favorite game of theirs, especially now that Vax seems to have finally come to terms with their relationship. They've never taken it so far that it's actually seriously aggravated him, but... well, Percy won't deny that sometimes it's fun to push. "You wound me, heart of my heart," she says with a dramatic sigh, placing one hand over said heart. "I'm shamed, that you so disdain your lover's presence."

"Holy shit," Vax says finally, looking sick, "just go away so we can get this over with."

"Farewell, my peach," Vex calls out wistfully, then drops the act completely and laughs as she hops down from her perch, and she continues laughing, growing progressively louder, all the way back to the Keep. Percy says nothing, because she's clearly won this round.

"Wow," Vax says, deadpan, as her cackling is finally swallowed up by the stone walls.

"Yes," Percy agrees, crossing his hands behind his back.

There's a long moment of silence, before Vax says, slowly, "So."

"So," Percy agrees again, his heartbeat picking up, the distraction that had afforded him some calm having passed. "I was, ah, wondering if I could speak with you about a-- a personal matter, of some privacy."

Again, just as slowly, Vax sheaths his knives and says, "Okay..."

Percy takes a deep breath, lets it go, and then takes another, trying to figure out how he wants to word this. Finally, he starts with, "Ah, Vax. We're friends, right?"

"Occasionally," Vax answers, crossing his arms. "Less so than we used to be, more so recently than before."

"Quite," Percy says, a little unnerved. Well, if nothing else he can appreciate the other man's candor. He glances over to Grog, who still doesn't seem to be paying any attention to them. "I was wondering if you had any advice on a, ah. Delicate matter."

"Oh, hell, you're not going to ask her to marry you, are you?" Vax groans, face pulled in tight in distaste, and Percy feels like he's just had the wind knocked out of him by surprise. "Because I'm not sure if I can handle that right now."

"No," Percy squeaks, "n-not, not quite that."

Vax looks relieved for a moment, and then abruptly frowns even harder. "Why not? You don't want to marry her? Is she not good enough for you?"

"Oh, gods," Percy says, now praying fervently that Vex will come strolling back and save him from this conversation. "It's not that-- nevermind, nevermind, this was a mistake--"

"You can't do it right now," Vax warns, a bit of a threatening growl in his voice, "but you'd better marry her someday, or I swear to the Queen I'll--"

"She wants to have a threesome with Jarett!" Percy bursts out, then immediately throws his hands up into the air. He'd been-- motherfuck, he hadn't meant to just come out and fucking say it. "There it is, that's the the problem, that's what I want advice on, how to have sex with a man."

"Oh, gods," Vax groans, a look of pure and unadulterated horror crossing his face. "Oh, gods, ew!"

"This was a mistake, an utter failure." Percy fists his hair with both hands and then turns to march back to the Keep. "Please excuse me, I'm going to go drink myself blind now."

Abruptly, Grog's voice calls out from behind them, closer than either man was expecting, and they both startle badly, twitchy from nerves, and twist to face the Goliath. "You talkin' 'bout butt stuff?" he asks, surprised, wiping the back of one hand across his sweaty forehead.

"Holy hell," Percy says, wishing briefly that he'd just drowned in that damned river five years ago and avoided this whole mess, and Vax starts stuttering out denials.

"'S easy," Grog continues, shocking both men into silence. "You get a little drunk before you do it, use lotsa oil, and go slow 'til you get relaxed. 'S better on your side, too, can't get as deep but hurts less."

Percy takes a deep breath and resists the urge to vomit.

"Grog," Vax says, slowly, as if he's regretting the words even as they come out, "why do you know that?"

The Goliath sniffs imperiously. "I am a cultured gentlemen of varied tastes," he says, and then turns back around to go back to swinging his axe into the dummies.

Percy and Vax stand in silence for a long, long moment.

"Well, I'm going to go find a wall to beat my head against until I forget that this entire conversation just happened," Vax informs him, and then leaves Percy standing alone in the middle of the training field, feeling like he's just had a roof dropped on top of him.

---------------

(That night, Percy's door opens with a creak, and he stirs in bed slightly, half-asleep. It's probably one of the twins, though he can't imagine Vax would have any good reason to sneak into his room at night. Except maybe to stab him.

Footsteps, and then a body crawls atop his back, pushing the air out of his lungs, and settles over the length of him, smushing his face further into his pillow.

"How'd the conversation go?" Vex asks, a smile clear in her voice as she wraps her arms across the expanse of his back, kissing the bare skin between his shoulder blades.

"Fuck off," he mumbles into the pillow. She giggles into his ear and tucks her face against the back of his neck.

"Mmm," she hums, mouthing at him. "I could help, you know."

"Darling," he sighs, drowsy and still embarrassed by the whole ordeal, "I'm well familiar with the equipment you have and I regret to inform you that you're lacking something rather necessary for that."

Her lips wrap around one of his earlobes and she tugs at it with her teeth, the barest scrape; despite himself he tenses, an interested shiver arching up his spine. "I'm creative."

She leans back, moving to sit atop his rear instead of stretched out over the whole of his body. He moves as if to roll off his stomach, but a hand slides into his hair, fists it, gently but firmly forcing him to still, keeping him facedown. Another shiver, intrigued, and when her hips grind down against his arse he takes a deep, heavy breath.

When she speaks, her voice is heady, thick with arousal. "I'll take good care of you, darling."

And she does.)

---------------

This is, probably, why Percy is a lot less nervous about the whole thing two days later.

Oh, he's still incredibly anxious, for sure. Vex is-- well, Vex is Vex, and he trusts her implicitly, but Jarett is a new addition to the equation, one that he's not entirely familiar with and isn't sure how to approach. If nothing else, Percy supposes that he doesn't believe the man will intentionally cause him harm. Still, he's not quite as, well, scared of the situation as he was when the idea was first broached, but he's certainly not wholly comfortable with it.

At sundown he's nearly halfway through a bottle of wine himself while they wait for Jarett to finish his shift ("I told him to just take the whole night off," Vex had said with a shrug, "but he'd declined. His loss."), and Vex laughs, taking the drink from him before he makes himself useless. With nothing to preoccupy him, Percy takes to pacing the length of the room, dodging around the overladen pseudo-worktable he's got sitting out from the wall. They'd decided to use his room, because it was the furthest from any of the other rooms Vox Machina uses, which-- well, he's got a feeling the courtesy will be appreciated.

"Darling," Vex chuckles, beckoning him over. She's seated at the edge of his bed, legs tucked daintily beneath her, appearing far more at ease than he is, and he envies her poise, her confidence, wishes he could gain some it simply by proximity. After a moment of him just staring at her, she lifts her hands imploringly, eyebrow raised, and he finally steps forward. When he reaches her she wraps her arms around his waist, rubs her face against his stomach and squeezes him tight. "Darling, you can always say no, and we will listen."

"I know," he says, quietly, and runs a hand through her hair. It's loose tonight, free of the braid she typically keeps it in, and he tucks it over one of her shoulders. "I'm nervous, not unwilling." When she glances up at him, cheek pressed against his abdomen he smiles at her. It feels shaky, but he hopes it's reassuring enough. Trying to lighten the mood, he says, "Truthfully I'm glad that it's, ah, me and not you in the middle, so to speak." Her eyebrow lifts higher and he continues, "For all the siblings I had, I never learned to share very well."

"I have a twin," she smirks, kissing his navel, the feeling of it dulled through his shirt. "I spent my entire life sharing, I'm well used to it."

There's a minute of silence where she lends him her strength for this, his fingers combing gently through her hair and her breath warm against the fabric covering his stomach. Finally, she takes a breath and speaks again. "You know that I only want to share our bed with him, right? Not our hearts. Not mine, and not yours."

It-- it helps, having that clarified, the quiet worry that he's been carrying deep inside of him but not spoken aloud for fear of the answer diminished, and he holds her a bit tighter, cradling her head in his hands. Her arms squeeze his waist in reply. "I had wondered, honestly. I know that he's brave, and honorable, and that you're fond of him."

"I'm not so used to sharing that I'm willing to share that," she huffs, and he chuckles, and she lifts his shirt slightly to press her lips against the skin of his abdomen. "Besides, I am far more fond of you." She kisses again, open-mouthed, lower, where the wine is starting to create a pool of warmth inside of him, and he sighs, a bit harder, a bit shakier, and tightens the hold he has on her hair.

"I want to see what you look like," she murmurs, hands pushing his shirt up higher, and he releases her briefly to pull it all the way off, glancing out the window to try and gauge how much time they've got before Jarett joins them. "You're so sharp sometimes, Percy, so angular; I want to see if this softens you up." Her fingers dip down to his waistline, work at the buckles of his pants, and when she loosens them enough to pull out his cock, still mostly soft but growing under the attention, she presses a kiss to the tip of it, ending it with the touch of her tongue. "I want to see you fucked stupid, gasping for it, you're so good at giving it, I want to see how well you can receive."

He shudders, breath coming out hard as she nuzzles down to the base of his cock and then licks up the length of it. "Vex," he sighs, pushing her in closer, and she lets him, wrapping her lips around him and allowing him to guide her, one of her hands holding him steady about the base and the other sneaking around to the seat of his pants, pushing past the fabric to dig into the flesh there.

He thrusts shallowly once, twice, three times, before Vex pulls off to take a deep breath, now stroking him with the hand she'd had fisted around him, pressing kisses into the pale skin between his prick and his navel. "I bet you'll be beautiful," she says, glancing up at his face for the first time since she'd started working him.

"Probably," he agrees, and laughs breathily when she swats at his arse with the hand she'd been using to squeeze it.

"Cheeky," she accuses, nuzzling into his stomach as she strokes him until he's fully erect. "'S why I called you peach," she says suddenly, grinning up at him, and squeezing his ass once more. "Cause your cheeks are so sweet."

"Wow," he laughs, startled, and then groans in surprise when she leans down to tongue at the slit at the tip of his cock, hands tightening in her hair as his hips jump forwards unexpectedly. She takes it with a moan, letting him into her mouth, and he pushes in, in, in, until her lips are at the base of him and he's deep in her throat, the constricting muscles fluttering nervously around him, her eyes screwed shut with the effort. He grinds in hard, panting at the tight warmth, and then pulls away, letting her take a deep heaving breath, her lips shiny with spit and a string of precum stretching from the tip of his cock to her bottom one until she licks it away.

"I hope you're not expecting me to do that to him," he says, voice rasping, and her eyes close as if in thought before one side of her mouth tilts up in a smirk.

"He's too big for you to attempt that, darling," she replies, and he huffs, offended. She laughs and brings her hand up once more, but instead of wrapping around his cock she dips lower, to the soft skin beneath, and runs a fingernail across the skin behind his testicles. He jumps, startled by the rush of arousal that floods him, causes his cock to twitch. "I've had practice, my love," she says placatingly, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. "It's something you have to work up to. Maybe if this becomes a regular occurrence then you can try without choking yourself."

"Not too regular," he growls, fisting her hair again and pulling her close once more, and she laughs for a moment before allowing him, once again swallowing him down until he sits inside her, her tongue pressing against the base of his cock, lips curled to keep her teeth from scraping him.

He rocks against her face, always careful not to shove in too hard, too fast, more focused on letting her throat work him than trying to thrust in. They don't do this often, if only because-- well, honestly, because he finds it sort of demeaning to her, like she's-- she's just a tool for him to use, and he likes the feeling but not the connotation behind it. Vex has only ever welcomed it, never denied the harsh treatment of her throat, but he very rarely seeks it. He'd much rather pleasure be shared than taken.

She pulls away, against the hold he has of her hair, and he lets her go, loosening his grasp immediately as she rests her forehead against his thigh, gasping for air. "Oh, fuck," she whispers, the sound of it just loud enough that he can hear. "Oh, fuck me."

He pets her gently, trying to ignore the ache of his cock as he lets her catch her breath, unwilling to ask for attention while she recovers. "Alright, Vex?" he asks, nudging her face up with a hand so that she's looking at him, and she blinks, eyes dazed, before smiling.

"Alright, Percy," she answers, patting him reassuringly, and then closes her eyes, leaning against him and just breathing. After nearly a minute of this, there's a knock on the door.

"May I enter?" Jarett calls out from the other side, but the doorknob remains untouched.

Vex's eyes open and then glance up at him, and he stares down at her, waiting for direction. "It's your room, darling," she says finally. "You need to be the one to let him in."

Percy hesitates, and then nods slowly. "Alright. Alright." Then, louder, he calls out, "You may."

Another moment passes before the door opens and Jarett slips through, pausing halfway inside when he sees the position they're in, eyes widening in surprise. Percy can only imagine what he sees, what he's thinking, and Jarett swallows before stepping fully into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"You started without me," he accuses, but his voice carries no ire and he's unbuttoning his shirt even as he approaches.

"I offered to let you take the night off," Vex says, her voice raw from the rough treatment of her throat, her hand lifting once more to stroke at Percy's cock, but only lightly, teasingly, clearly more in effort to keep him hard than to bring him to release. "So that's your own fault."

It isn't until Jarett is close enough to him that Percy can feel the heat radiating off his skin that it hits him, it actually honestly hits him, that he's about to bed down with another man. That anxiety that he'd thought had left him comes back suddenly, every muscle tensing noticeably, his heartrate skyrocketing, as Jarett rests a hand on his back and glances down to where Vex is still holding his prick.

Percy takes a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth, the exhale of it shaking slightly, and Vex looks back up at him with worried eyes.

"Percy?" she asks, the hand that had been squeezing his backside rising to instead rub at the small of his back, more comforting than sensual, and Jarett's touch on his skin raises until he's holding the back of Percy's neck, gentle, nonthreatening, digging his fingers into the coiled muscles there in a half-massage.

When Percy turns to look at him, feeling embarrassed because surely the look on his face must reflect his hesitance and fear, Jarett asks, "May I?"

It takes him a moment to realize what the question means, and his instant, immediate reaction is a tiny, barely-there shake of his head, the slightest of movements, before he steels himself, drags some last vestige of courage up from deep inside him, and nods much more firmly.

When Jarett pulls him into a kiss, Percy can just barely hear Vex's sharp intake of breath over the roaring of blood in his ears. Jarett is calm and patient for all of five seconds before the kiss loses the gentleness it'd started out with and becomes bruising, lips pressing against Percy's with force, and he responds back instinctively, grateful for the distraction the pain provides. Distantly, he feels Vex's hand on his back leave his skin and he almost pulls away to look at her, but then Jarett licks the roof of his mouth and he refocuses his attention.

It's not like kissing Vex, not even when she's in her most wild moods; it's different, harder, sharper, but not necessarily any better for it, providing no cataclysmic shift in Percy's worldview, no great revelation or enlightenment. It's painful, yes, but pleasurable despite that, especially when the grip on the back of his neck tightens and pulls him in closer, Jarett's teeth nipping at him, and Percy can feel the smile against his lips when he growls and bites back.

He's still-- still nervous, still unsure, but sex is a dance that Percy knows the steps to, and while they might be changing slightly he knows he's got two partners he can trust.

Jarett pulls away first, his dark lips bruised and swollen, and smirks at him, squeezing once more at the back of his neck before glancing down at Vex'ahlia. That smirk widens, and Percy follows his gaze.

While they were busy she'd shifted her position, legs uncrossed and that hand that had gone missing now working between them, watching them with half-lidded eyes and her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. Percy sighs softly, an exhale of breath that heralds a swooping sensation in his stomach, a frission of heat that lights up his spine, and Jarett asks, his accent thicker than Percy's ever heard it, "Enjoying yourself, my lady?"

Vex laughs breathily, the sound of it stuttering towards the end with a moan as she hits some place inside her that makes her close her eyes for a brief moment. "Don't stop yourselves on my account," she says finally, and Jarett looks back to Percy, a question in his eyes, but before he can even ask Percy pulls him back in, turning towards him fully and grabbing at his face with both hands.

Truthfully, Percy's not sure how long they kiss before the backs of his knees hit the bed and he topples over with a yelp. Long enough that his chest is heaving for breath, not unlike the way Vex's did earlier; long enough that she's had time to pull off her clothes completely; long enough that his lips tingle and burn from the scrape of teeth and tongue. When he lands on the mattress, blinking up at the ceiling in surprise, he has maybe two seconds to think before Vex is leaning over him, her dark hair falling into his face as she kisses him upside-down, breathing hard against his mouth, and once the moment of vertigo passes he raises a hand and threads it through her hair, kissing back with just as much fervor.

She pulls away, smiling down at him, her eyes dark with heat, before glancing up at Jarett, who seems to be regarding them with the same sort of rapt attention that she'd watched with before.

"Oil's in the bedside table, darling," she tells him with a smirk. "Make yourself useful." Jarett snorts but follows directions well enough, and while he's busy she looks back down at Percy, the smirk softening into something more gentle. "Hello there, you."

"Good evening," Percy huffs, slightly out of breath, and scratches his nails against her scalp.

"I adore you," she informs him, leaning down once more to kiss the tip of his nose. "You can do this."

Percy stares up at her.

She's such a feral thing with such a windswept soul, a wildness in her born from woods and mountains, and yet she soothes him so much, curbs that great darkness in him that he's not even wholly aware of until it comes out. He has been smoke and fire both, and she has kept pace with him regardless, letting him loose when it's required and reigning him in when he needs it, even if it's not what he wants. He loves her, desperately, and if ever there was a mortal soul he trusted to know his limitations better than himself it would be her.

"Alright," he says, and she smiles once more.

Jarett clears his throat, and Percy swallows before turning his gaze from Vex'ahlia to looks over at the other man. He's unclothed now, entirely naked before them, his skin dark and smooth except in places where it's marred by pale scars. In one hand he holds the little jar of oil that Percy has grown exceedingly familiar with the last couple days, and he's stroking his half-hard cock with the other. Percy, who's never seen another man's erection, at least not this close up, swallows again nervously.

Oh hells, and they want that inside of him? Bollocks.

"You two are a pretty picture, you know," Jarett informs them, smirking. "If I had any less honor I'd be crowing about this to Shayne for years."

Percy frowns up at him, but Vex just snorts in amusement. "She'd be too busy fending off Cordell's attempts to woo her to listen."

Jarett blinks, and then frowns. "Wait, really? He's courting her? How did I not know this?"

Percy clears his throat and says, "I believe we have more important things to worry about, yes?"

"I'm their Captain," Jarett continues with a grumble even as he moves towards the bed, climbing atop the mattress. Vex pulls Percy up and closer to the headboard, and he leans his back against her chest, nerves once again taking hold of him, skin trembling slightly. "They work the same shift. I should know this shit."

"Focus, darling," Vex tells him with a laugh, but Percy loses track of the conversation, too busy watching Jarett unscrew the cap of the oil jar, the smell of it hitting him and making his thighs clench reactively.

"A-ah, Vex?" Percy says, nervously.

---------------

There we go.

---------------

"Just take a deep breath and relax."

Percy gulps.

Then, he takes a deep breath and relaxes.

Or, rather, he tries to; relaxing his tensed muscles is difficult enough during sex without the trepidation of being penetrated by a man, and his legs shake when Jarett pulls them apart, tugging him down a little and away from Vex so that he can have a better angle to work with. The first touch of fingers makes him jolt, skin jumping instinctively, but they merely circle around the muscle, spreading oil lightly for nearly a minute before pressing in.

"Relax," Vex whispers again when he jerks once more, voice soothing in his ear, kissing his hair and the top of his head, her hands gentle on his stomach and sides, no longer touching his cock for fear of causing sensory overload. Percy takes a shuddering breath and closes his eyes, trying desperately to distract his mind from what's going on, not fearful of the act itself so much as what it means.

Jarett goes back for more oil before sinking two fingers deeper inside, his other hand rubbing Percy's thigh comfortingly. They're-- they're thicker than Vex's, than Percy's, stretching him a bit too much before he's ready for it, but he bites his lip and takes it, loathe to show more weakness than he already has. Besides it, it doesn't take long before he hisses out a breath and then forces his muscles to loosen, leaning back entirely against Vex, focusing on her, the warmth of her skin, the softness of it, the touch of her hair against his face when she leans over him to press her forehead against his. The movement of fingers inside him is shoved to the periphery of his attention, something he's low-key aware of but trying not to dwell on.

"You are so pretty," Vex tells him quietly, hands petting his sides, nails just slightly scratching against his skin. He takes a shuddered breath and just listens. "Men aren't usually pretty but you wear it well, darling."

"I try," he mutters, then gasps, loud and surprised, when Jarett's touch reaches deeper than he's managed to before and brushes something inside of him, sending sparks through his muscles and without the consent of his mind his body grinds down into the motion, trying to chase that feeling.

"There we are," he hears Jarett say, his accented voice sounding smug and pleased, and his fingers twist once more, searching for that spot again. Percy gasps again when he finds it and then stays there, his back bowing upwards and legs clenching around Jarett's sides where he's seated between them. "How's that feel then, my lord?"

It feels-- oh, fuck, it feels good, a different sort of good than the sex he's had before, not better and not worse really, just different. His hips work against the fingers sinking into him, trying to get them in deeper, an emptiness in him that he wasn't aware he'd had aching to be filled, and when Jarett pulls away and then thrusts back in, repeating the motion, hiking one of Percy's thighs up to get a better angle he keens, surprising himself with the volume of it.

Normally he's not loud, normally Vex is the one of the two of them who's verbal during sex, but he can't help it, the little moans and gasps that well up in his chest and climb up his throat to pour out of his mouth, audible confirmation of his pleasure. When Jarett's fingers exit him entirely he's embarrassed by the whine he lets out, turning his face against Vex's thigh and shivering as the two of them talk above him quietly.

"What do you think, then?" Vex asks, running a hand through his hair even though Percy knows her attention is mostly on Jarett. Still, it's comforting, a reassurance that he desperately needs right now, perhaps more than he'd realized. "Before, during, after?"

"Hmm," Jarett answers, and though Percy isn't watching him he knows that he's coating himself in more oil simply by the sudden strengthening of the scent of it. He'll likely forever associate that smell with-- with this, and oh gods, isn't that a wretched thought, him struggling against a developing erection in public just from catching passing whiff of it. Vex must never know this thought; she'd sneak it into every facet of his life just to watch him squirm. "He's more sensitive than I thought he'd be, we could probably manage it."

"Let's get on with it then, before he starts thinking too much," Vex replies, though her voice is affectionate, and she leans down close once more to kiss him. It's meant to be short and light but he catches her, lifting a hand to her hair and holding her there, making it longer, deeper, open-mouthed and hot, teeth knocking together lightly from the odd angle, and it breaks only when Jarett's fingers once more shove into him, harder and rougher, and Percy pulls away with a cry, voice cracking in surprise. The fingers stretch, pull apart and push back together, scissoring him open where before they'd only sought to reach deeper, and it's painful in a different way, more stinging than aching but Percy bites down against it and takes it quietly, gritting his teeth against a pained hiss.

A hand wraps around his cock suddenly and his hips jolt upwards into it, startling a gasp from him. A small hand, feminine for all the callouses on it, familiar in the shape and size; Vex works him back into an erection as Jarett stretches him open, and he hadn't even realized that the strangeness of the situation had caused him to soften.

"Alright there, darling?" she asks, squeezing at the base in tandem to Jarett rubbing his fingertips against that spot inside him again. Percy whines once more and grinds down into it, hips shifting needily. There's a definite smile in her voice now. "Is it good?"

"'S good," he says, breathier than his pride wants him to be, but he's surprised by how honest the sentiment is. It is good.

It's decidedly less good when Jarett pulls away, and Percy lifts his head for the first time in several minutes to frown at him heavily. The sight of it, Jarett between his bent and open legs, working oil onto his cock in preparation, makes him swallow anxiously and drop his head back down, breathing picking up nervously. This is-- this is about to happen, this is actually going to happen.

"Relax," Vex murmurs, hand running through his hair once more, and she reaches up with her other one to pluck the glasses from his face and set them to the side. He blinks rapidly, trying to get his eyes to focus; her face above his is a blur of color, the vaguest outline of a shape, made even more difficult to see by the flickering of the wall sconce, the only light source in the room now that the sun has fully set. (She'd tried on his glasses once and then immediately taken them off, repeating the word "Wow" to herself in various degrees of volume and emotion.) "There we are, darling. Now I can see those lovely eyes."

"That's good, because I can't see anything," he says, forcing levity into his voice, breath catching when Jarett's hands take hold of his thighs, pulling him closer once more and nudging them open wider.

"Unfortunate," the other man says, smug enough that Percy can hear the damned smirk. "You paint a rather pretty picture. You ready then?"

No. No, he's not, he doesn't think, and he may never be, but he won't know unless he tries, so he gives a quick nod, and then inhales sharply when something that's decidedly not fingers starts begins to breach him.

"Relax," Vex tells him softly, gently, taking hold of his cock once more, though she doesn't do much else, just rubs her thumb across the head as Percy forces his muscles to loosen through sheer determination, jaw tightened and teeth gritted so hard that it's painful as Jarett sinks into him, his own breath guttered and shaking.

It's-- it's too much, too much, thicker and longer than he'd been expecting, stretching him wider before he's ready for it, too much, not enough, and Percy gasps out as he takes another inch inside him, "Wait, wait, stop--"

All movement below his waist stops instantly, though Jarett's hand on his hip clenches hard and his body shakes enough that Percy feels it against his thighs, restraint clearly taking a toll on him. "Percival?" Vex asks, her voice concerned, but Percy's eyes are shut tightly against the sensation, the feeling of it, overwhelming and all-encompassing.

"Just-- just a moment, please, I--"

"Do we need to stop?" she says, quietly, her voice closer than before, hair tickling his shoulders and chest as she leans down over him once more. Jarett's grip on his skin tightens again and his hips shift, not pushing in but not pulling out, and Percy is-- is getting used to it, just needs to adjust, it's not good but it's not bad, it's just so-- so much.

"No, no, just-- a moment. A moment, please."

Truly it only takes a minute for him to regain control of himself enough to force himself to relax, but it feels longer than that, an eternity, before he nods once more, and once more Jarett starts to press in closer, the feeling of him getting impossibly wider the further in he sinks. Twice more Percy makes him stop, twice more he has to pause to catch his breath, and on the second break Jarett pours more oil over the point that their bodies meet, but it's not, it's not terrible, it's just strange, just different, so much more than he was expecting and yet somehow less than he'd anticipated.

When Jarett's hips meet his, his prick finally fully sheathed inside Percy's arse, he exhales hard and stays there, seated within him, his heated skin warm against Percy's inner thighs.

"How does it feel?" Vex asks, her voice deep, thick, heady with arousal as her hand begins to work Percy again, grip light and teasing. Truthfully, Percy's not sure which of them she's asking, and he also not sure how capable he is of responding right now; when he opens his mouth to reply, a breathy whine comes out instead of words.

"Tight," Jarett says finally, accent strained, and his nails are digging into Percy's hips, hard enough that he's sure there will be bruises. He's given similar things to Vex'ahlia before, and some distant part of him that's not overwhelmed by the current circumstance is curious to see what they'll look like on his own pale skin. It's-- it's so strange, the feeling of it, something inside of him. Fingers had been awkward enough, but this is bigger, thicker, harder, and-- and strangely satisfying in a way that he's not entirely sure he's comfortable putting words to. "May I--" Jarett stops and hisses quietly when Percy rocks his hips experimentally, the barest motion causing the cock in him to shift enough that he sighs forcefully. "May I move now?"

Percy bites his lip and says nothing for a long moment, eyes still tightly shut, before finally responding, "Well, if you feel you must."

Vex laughs throatily, and then takes a quick inhale of breath when Jarett pulls partially out and then shoves back in, harder than Percy was expecting but not hard enough to be damaging, and Percy keens once more, voice pitched high and reedy, tossing his head back into her lap. She adjusts her seating, moving his neck to rest against one thigh instead, and he hears the quiet wet sound of her touching herself, and he bites his lip at the thought of it, her taking her own pleasure from watching them.

Jarett is gentle at first, not rough with his movements but not coddling him either, testing out the threshold of what he's comfortable with and just barely pushing past it, quick to restrain himself if he pushes hard enough that Percy's face tightens in discomfort. Vex was right, he's a kind first. Percy cannot imagine this going well if they'd attempted the activity with a man who was less considerate, less tempered. (Likely enough it would have ended with arrows in the face, to be honest. Vex has proven to be delightfully protective of him.) He gives Percy time to adjust, and when he finally does grind in hard and demanding it's painful, but less so than Percy was expecting, and pain is a common enough thing for him that he's able to push it aside, that he's able to fall into the same sort of single-mindedness that takes him in battle, that allows him to suffer pain and fight despite it.

Overwhelmed as he is by the physical aspect of it, he's not able to concentrate on the mental part, the emotional, the fear and shame that had gripped him so tightly during the preparation; when Jarett leans over him, uses weight and leverage to shove in hard, dragging Percy's hips up even higher from the force of it, he can only cry out in pleasure, that spot inside of him that had loosened him up and caused his muscles to lax assaulted.

"Mmm," Vex sighs above him, and it's a force of will for Percy to open his eyes to squint up at her. She's blurry, unfocused without his glasses on, and when Jarett thrusts into him hard enough that their skin slaps together loudly from the meeting of it he gives up and shuts his eyes once more with a moan. "I was right, you are gorgeous."

"He bruises so fast," Jarett grunts, voice strained, sweat dripping down his face to land on Percy's chest as he fucks in deeper, one hand on Percy's hip and the other gripping the sheets, holding him up on the bed. "I want to mark him up."

He's thick and hard, hot inside him, invasive and welcome in equal measures, and again, it's sex but it's not better or worse sex than Percy's had before, just different, just new, more of something and less of something else in a way that he can't put his finger on. When he pulls out and slams back in Percy feels it with his whole body, the motion of it, shoving him up higher on the bed and closer to Vex, who's now moaning softly above him. She's rather getting the shit end of this, he thinks to himself, but he's so over-stimulated, so preoccupied that he can't even begin to try to please her himself.

"Vex," he gasps, and the hand that had been petting his hair tightens around it, pulls hard, forceful in the way that she likes to be, and he moans with her. "Vex."

"I'm here, darling," she tells him, the wet sound of her fucking herself with her fingers growing louder. "You're doing so good."

A hand wraps around his cock, fingers broad, palm slick with oil, and Jarett works him inside and out, hips stuttering against him distractedly, and Percy keens at the fullness of it, the pain of the stretch good now that he's used to it, like the satisfying burn of muscle after a training session. His own hips shift and grind, down onto the thick cock and up into the warm grip, his body unsure of how it wants to take its pleasure, and his breathing escalates, heart rate rising, he can only imagine how red his face and chest are, and when he comes it is suddenly, unexpectedly, with a shivering whine as he spills over Jarett's fingers, still working him through his orgasm.

When finally he whines again, this time in pain from the oversensitivity of it, Jarett drops his hand away for the barest moment to wipe it off against the sheet before taking his hips in both hands and slamming into him hard, no longer gentle, a punishing pace that he still feels even through the post-orgasm haze as Jarett works himself towards his own completion.

"Percy," Vex moans, and then shifts above him, her leg moving so that his head drops against the bed, getting herself into a better position to reach in deeper. After a moment to catch his breath, thin tendrils of pleasure still curling up his spine despite the distraction of Jarett's rough treatment, he lifts his hands up and behind him blindly, and when he finds Vex's thighs he pulls at them, tugging until she realizes his intentions and shuffles forward with a breathy laugh, kneeling over him and lowering herself down. Her cunt is wet against his lips, her dark curls musty with the smell of her, and he devotes his attention to working her with his mouth, the harsh thrusting of the cock still inside him a backburner sensation as he seeks to please her.

"Percy!" she cries out again, and then, "Fuck," as she seats herself against his face, his tongue pushing up into her, repaying the favor that she'd granted him earlier with her throat. Catching his breath is hard now, and he inhales air whenever he has a chance to, and more often than not it's knocked out by a sharp thrust from Jarett, whose motions are becoming harder and harder to ignore as they increase in speed and force. The other man is groaning now, his grip hard and bruising on Percy's hips, and Percy mirrors that with his own hands against Vex's arse as she grinds down against him, moaning wantonly, bracing herself upright with her hands on his chest.

Finding her clitorus is difficult upside-down and from his angle but he manages, sucking at it and teething gently, shifting after a moment to once more sink his tongue inside of her, the taste of her pleasure familiar enough to him that, coupled with Jarett's quick, sharp thrusts into his hips his prick gives a weak, interested jump. He knows himself well enough to know that he's spent for the night, but the aftershocks of his orgasm are still there, his muscles lax and loose, and he doesn't even have the energy to startle when Jarett grinds in deep one last time, pelvis flush against Percy's arse, spitting out a soft "Shit," when his cock twitches inside him and he comes, an odd feeling of warmth welling up in Percy's guts.

Jarett stays seated inside him for nearly a minute as Percy continues to work Vex over with his lips and tongue, her cunt rocking against his mouth, his eyes tightly closed until she tightens around him and moans loudly, muscles tense beneath his hands as he cleans her up with his mouth, her hips shaking all the way up her spine until finally she pulls off him with a heavy sigh, settling herself back onto the bed and draping herself over it.

When Jarett pulls out Percy winces, the looseness of him becoming uncomfortable with the rush of fluid that threatens to come out, but his limbs are still useless and heavy and he doesn't even react when Jarett takes ahold of the sheet and wipes at him with it.

"Well fuck," he announces around a breath, and Vex lets out a startled laugh. There's the sound of shifting on the bed, and then her face is directly over his, so that when he opens his eyes he can see her clearly despite lacking his glasses, and she kisses him, soft and gentle, licking into his lips and no doubt tasting herself there.

"It was good, right?" she asks, a smile clear in her voice as Jarett cleans up, stoppering the jar of oil once more and stretching his arms out, groaning as he lifts to go put out the fire that lights the room.

"Yes," Percy answers, sighing, a bone-deep tiredness starting to settle into his body, punctuated by the ache of his hips and arse. When he shifts it stings, sharp and hard, and he winces as he pulls himself higher up the bed to rest his back against the headboard. That lasts for all of ten seconds before the pressure against his tailbone becomes too painful and he flops back down onto his side with a huff. "I guess."

"It was," she laughs, joining him and resting her head on the same pillow that he's using, their faces only inches apart. He can see her still, the distance between them so minimal that his eyes have little trouble adjusting to focus on her. "You enjoyed it."

He hums, jumping slightly when Jarett falls against his other side, curling up against him with a yawn, back-to-back. "I did," he confirms finally, and Vex grins until her eyes shut from the force of it, leaning in to kiss the tip of his nose.

"Good," she whispers softly. "I'm glad."

"I did too," Jarett intones from his other side, "now stop talking please."

"He's very rude," Percy says quietly to Vex, and she giggles, snuggling in closer. "Won't even have a cuddle, just goes right to sleep. Honestly."

There's a groan and then a shuffle, and Jarett turns over and throws an arm over Percy's hip, surprising him into a yelp. "There," he grumbles, digging his face in against Percy's shoulder. "Now will you stop talking?"

"It's very hard for him to do," Vex says with a laugh, burrowing into Percy's chest and kissing that as well when he lets out an offended huff.

Sleep takes a little while to find him, but it's not so bad. There is warmth at his front and warmth at his back, and he has spent so very much of his life feeling cold and lonely. It is lovely, he thinks to himself, listening to two different breaths in the dark, to have such comforting company.

---------------

Percy wakes to the light of dawn shining through the window, and the scuffling and rasp of clothing against skin in his room.

Waking for him is a short process, an expedient one, his mind not bothering to dwell on the unhappiness of leaving his dreams; he usually wakes quickly and quietly and several times in the night, always half-alert for movement or sound, but he's almost always able to parse out what's a threat and what's not and slide back into sleep fairly easily. Sharing a bed with Vex has made achieving a full rest more difficult than it used to be, since she has a tendency to latch on to whichever of his limbs strays too close and then hold onto him in a death grip.

Regardless.

He opens his eyes and blinks, half-blind, into the soft yellow light that filters into the room, then reaches over Vex with one hand and paws at the bedside table for his glasses. Unlike himself, who wakes at every shift and sound no matter where it is he's sleeping, if she's in a place that she deems safe she will sleep like the dead until she naturally wakes or someone purposefully wakes her.

Jarett is slowly sliding back into the clothes he'd worn the night before, clearly making an effort to be quiet, but he pauses for a moment when Percy moves. "Ah, apologies," he murmurs, voice pitched low so as not to wake the last person sleeping.

"It's fine," Percy says, a yawn breaking the words, and he rests his head back on the pillow briefly before lifting it once more. "I'm just surprised I didn't wake when you got out of the bed." He hesitates, not entirely sure of the appropriate protocol for this sort of thing. "You could stay if you like."

"Unfortunately," Jarett says, though his voice is just slightly warmer than it had been a moment ago, as if the offer pleased him, "I do have a job to do, and two night shift guards to have a chat with."

Ah, yes. Shayne and Cordell. Vex'ahlia really did drop the ball on that one, didn't she? "Oh, wait," Percy says suddenly, a bit of concern coloring the words, "I hadn't even thought of this, but we're your bosses, aren't we? Isn't this something of a conflict of interests for you? You didn't feel pressured into it, did you?"

Jarett pauses once more to give him a deadpan glance, shirt halfway pulled over his head. "My lord, I'm not sure if anyone would have to be pressured into this. It was my pleasure."

Percy shifts and then winces at the ache that pulses through his lower body, the feeling not unlike the abuse of muscles after a training exercise without proper stretching. "I'll say."

The other man laughs, then swallows it when Vex shifts. They both hold their breath for a moment but she soon settles with a murmur, and Percy regards her fondly. His exceptional woman.

"I'll show you out," he says once he's sure Vex has quieted. "It's only proper."

"You don't have--" Jarett tries, but Percy is already rising from the bed, only to stop with a yelp when that ache inside him becomes a sudden jolting pain, centered at his hips and streaking up his back.

"Oh hell," he wheezes, sliding back down against the bed. "No I shan't." As if to punctuate this, Vex curls in closer and grabs ahold of one of his arms, wrapping her own around it. Percy regards her once more, a bit less fondly. "Fuck. Now I can't leave until she wakes up."

At Jarett's curious glance, Percy rolls his eyes and tries to pull his arm away; Vex growls in her sleep and tightens her grip. When he continues pulling, she bites him.

"...did she just bite you?"

"Yes," Percy says with a sigh. "She does that."

When he looks back up, Jarett is watching them both, a peculiar soft sort of look in his eyes before he swallows, clearing his throat and looking away. "I appreciate the invitation to join you in your bed," he says, quietly, no longer looking at Percy as he finishes dressing himself.

Percy thinks.

It was good. Enjoyable. Very agreeable. There are some things he will have to sort out within himself, some conversations to be had with Vex'ahlia, but it was good.

"I'm sure," he starts after a moment, then stops with a hum to consider his words. "I'm sure that future invitations will be extended as well."

Jarett looks back up at him, a somewhat hesitant smile on his face that quickly morphs into a grin as he visibly steels himself, covering up something with the persona that Percy is more familiar with. Strange, he thinks to himself; he knows the man, but does he really know him?

"I would like that," he says, and then pauses with his hand on the doorknob. "Get some rest, lord Percival." That grin then transforms into a smirk, and this one is much more obviously heartfelt. "You've earned it." Then he slips through the door, a chuckle just barely audible as he closes it behind him.

Percy rests his head back against his pillow with a yawn, and Vex shifts even closer, drawn as she always is to the heat that his body naturally exudes. He feels, inexplicably, like his life has gotten exponentially more complicated, but oddly enough that feeling doesn't really bother him, doesn't seem worrisome enough to cause alarm.

After all, he's rather used to complicated.