Prey (Male!Naga x Male!Reader)

Chapter 34

Soft, golden light filtered in from the cavern's natural crevices overhead. The familiar noise of distant rushing water had Y/n almost jolting awake, expecting all at once to be back behind the cage's bars, Dr. Nilsson's — and everyone else's — fate still uncertain.

Except, when Y/n rushed up — his shoulder and thigh throbbing viciously — a sudden, heavy weight pinned him back down. The (h/c) man glanced down to see the naga's arm wrapped firmly around his waist. Then Y/n promptly realized he was still laying on top of Enlil, and — and everything came back to him, causing heat to rush to his cheeks.

Enlil, obviously roused by Y/n's movement, shifted. The (h/c) man unintentionally held his breath as the naga stretched languidly, Enlil's flexed abdominal muscles plastering themselves against Y/n's back. The (h/c) man tried desperately not to think about how much he liked the feel of them; all the while his face burned.

A soft exhalation tickled the hairs on top of Y/n's head, signaling the naga was very much awake. The (h/c) man just nervously set his eyes on the rocky ceiling above, still unsure about this new dynamic between them.

But then Enlil's other arm rose, taloned fingers lifting over Y/n's face and cutting into the sunbeams. They seemed dangerous exposed in the light. The white keratin of his claws glowing viciously bright and sharpened to a fine point. Yet, when those fingers descended to touch Y/n's face they were nothing but gentle. Cool fingers traced the line of Y/n's jawbone before herding the (h/c) man's face closer to the dip between the the naga's collarbone and his throat.

Y/n found himself looking up only to see Enlil gazing at him with petal pink irises. The (h/c) man felt some of his unease melt away. He knew what that color meant by now.

They laid like that for an immeasurable amount of time, meeting each other's eyes, and Y/n knew he should have a thousand questions. How this would work out between them — what it would mean if he truly chose to stay here and leave everything else behind — if this was worth it — if this was possible —

But those questions faded. And Y/n slowly let himself sink against the naga, his head naturally finding its place tucked into Enlil's neck.

Y/n huffed in amusement when the naga immediately began purring.

"It is too early to wake," Enlil murmured, the purr vibrating through his voice.

Y/n's eyes slid back shut. He was coaxed back into some twilight space between awake and asleep, the deep purring in the naga's chest suffusing in and out of his ears. It was peaceful and with Enlil's cool skin, Y/n was surprisingly the perfect amount of warm. He wondered, in his dozing state, if the naga felt the same. If the naga was always too cold until his skin touched Y/n's...

But then the ache in his shoulder and his leg steadily grew worse over time, as if reminding Y/n he needed to be responsible. He had to keep it clean and sterile. The (h/c) man couldn't afford for his injuries to get infected. Not here.

On top of that, Y/n's stomach was painfully empty and likely on the verge of crying out.

It was at that point, the (h/c) man opened his eyes. He was silent, unsure of how this would work. Enlil had seemed pretty insistent that he would take care of Y/n and all of the (h/c) man's needs supposedly — but did the naga really understand what all that meant? In his present state, that meant more than feeding and watering him. It meant helping him move — he certainly couldn't put any more strain on his leg. It meant helping him take care of his wounds and... and though Y/n had gotten lucky with both of his gun injuries, the bullet only cutting through skin, muscles, tendons — which meant no injuries to either of his bones — that would still take weeks to recover fully.