“Fletch-ahh-” Hazel let out a loud, fading moan as Fletcher started to move. Their hips followed to grind against him, gasping.

Fletcher bit back a moan of his own. This was- This was not what he had expected. There was so much. The warmth of Hazel's body on his skin. Rose perfume and lavender drifted in the air. The little moans as he thrust each time, elicited from red lips, were like a song in the suite. 

He leaned down, pressing an open-mouth kiss to their collarbone. A possessive growl rumbled in his throat at the feeling of teeth on flesh but he was careful not to break the skin. 

Hazel rocked back and forth along with Fletcher’s timing, a gasp with every thrust that he made. They held a hand on Fletcher’s shoulder, the other still digging into the bed sheets as they bent into his caresses.

Fletcher pulled back from their flesh, leaving a mark there, deep purple already. There was a stab of shame in his gut, but it was absolved by the satisfaction in his chest. The need to mark. The need to stake a claim. Shameful instincts that he could not shake. 

Pleasure burned pleasantly down his spine. It was like the gentle warmth of Spark magic back when he had mastered the flame as easily as the forge. He’d gladly let it burn him up. He’d gladly submit to the fires of damnation if it meant he could stay close to Hazel. 

Dammit. At this rate with them squirming under him, looking so beautiful, he was not going to last long. 

He buried his face against Hazel’s neck. His lips left matching bites and kisses along the untouched skin. Every bit of him wanted to memorize their body. The sweet taste of their skin, the placid but desperate way they moved to meet him with each thrust, and the little noises that Hazel made played in his head like a hymn. He’d get down on his knees for the chance to make this last forever. 

“Hazel,” he sighed their name against their skin. “Ha-Hazel I-” He let out a shuddering breath.

Hazel moaned in ecstasy as Fletcher’s mouth continued to their neck, kisses, and bites driving their senses wild.

"Hazel." Fletcher breathed their name, raspy and convicted.

The words unsaid were like nails in his coffin lid. 

I’m sorry. I’m a monster. I do not deserve you. I was a fool. I’ll take you away from him if it is the last thing I’ll do.

“I-I think I love you.”

“Ahhhh...! F-Fletcher...” They panted between thrusts, “I...I love...you...!”

Fletcher was close. He sat back, straightening up so he could take all of Hazel in. From the splattering of love bites on their neck to the throbbing arousal let free from lacy panties, they looked divine.

With one hand over his mouth and the other caging their head, he moaned. “Oh rings above, Hazel. I’m-“

Fletcher wanted to burn the image in his mind. He wanted to stamp this moment on his very soul, enough to get him through nights alone. Though shame scorched his gut at his confession he did not have the wherewithal to feel more than a shadow of it.

Regret will be for later. Now, there was only Hazel.

He let out a strangled moan, pace now erratic. Desperate to reach his peak but also begging for time to slow down, Fletcher buried himself in Hazel. 

Everything went white, pleasure like an ocean wave overturning the ship that was Fletcher.

“Ahhh...!” Hazel gasped. “F-Fletcher....!”

Their hips shook with release, their hand desperately clutching at the bed to pull their dress’s skirt away before it could be stained.

After a moment. Hazel’s moan faded as their body went limp. They opened weary eyes, filled with warmth and satisfaction, to gaze upward at Fletcher and smile.

Fletcher still had one hand to his face, chest heaving with labored breaths. 

Words were difficult for him at the best of times. Being polite only went so far. Anything he could say felt like ash in his mouth.

He pulled from Hazel, collapsing to lay beside them. They would both have to be cleaned up. But for now, he was content to bask in the afterglow and their company.

Hazel’s head turned to gaze over at Fletcher and reached out a hand, rolling over until they lay on his chest.

Fletcher hummed, the sound satisfied and deep in his throat. He wrapped one arm around them and leaned his head into their tousled hair. 

“That was-,” he breathed, voice muffled in those brunette tresses. Description escaped him. He had had sex before, clumsy and unpleasant with the woman he considered his best friend. But this was different. “We-we cannot lay here for long,” he whispered.

Hazel’s voice was quiet. “I... I should clean myself up.”They wearily sat upright, careful not to move too quickly. Gathering their composure, they made their way to the washroom.

By the time Hazel returned, clean and dressed only in their undergarments and the light underdress of their cleric attire, Fletcher had thrown on a loose shirt and underwear. The sheets had been turned down on the bed. Though it mattered little when they had thoroughly wrinkled them already. 

He sat on the end of the bed. Regret was bitter water on his tongue, akin to the burn of whisky without any of the pleasure. 

“Hazel,” he said and beckoned them with a pat on the bed. “Will you come to bed with me now?”

Dropping their neatly folded clothes onto the vanity, Hazel nodded and took their place by Fletcher. They sat tenderly, rubbing the red spots he had left on their neck.

Fletcher melted against them, slowly pulling them into the mound of soft sheets and pillow more like a den than a bed at this point.

He buried his face in their neck. “We leave for Ringcomb tomorrow,” he said, voice sleep-soft. “It’s a short ride.” They would be there by early afternoon if they left in the morning. But Fletcher did not mind it because it meant another night with Hazel.

“That...is good.” They shivered slightly as his head again touched their neck. Instinctively, a leg wrapped around Fletcher’s. 

“And-“ Fletcher nuzzled into their flesh, a content rumble sitting low in his throat. “When we get to Briargarth I-“ He paused as his breath hitched sharply. “I’ll be not leaving without you.”

Eyes flashed wide at Fletcher’s words. They gripped Fletcher’s body tightly, holding his head close to their chest.

Then Hazel’s eyes fell closed. “Thank you...”