Nothing seemed to have changed after their visit to Maxwell and Zeppelin. Kyree was still the same. Maybe even a little worse. Maxwell had told Ambrose to give him a little time by himself to come to terms with his loss, Ambrose opted to give him a week.
5 days into that week, something changed in Kyree. Like a switch flipped in his mind. The haze of grief and self-pity seemed to lift, taking with it the fatigue and heartache. He felt alive again, he just felt everything again. He decided to go on a run, having been cooped up inside for God knows how long.
Endwin joined him, despite his injuries from the assassin. Kyree did wonder what Endwin had inflicted upon his attacker, much worse than what he had gotten. Kyree kept his pace slow, so Endwin could keep up with him, but soon his dog was outrunning him by quite a while.
As he tried to catch up, he allowed a small smile to curve up the corners of his mouth. He enjoyed the feeling of wind rushing around him, the sound of his feet hitting the floor, his breath coming out in short, sharp bursts. He made a promise to himself as he stopped to catch his breath that he was going to get Saige and Ambrose to come on a run with him next time.
Kyree chuckled to himself when he noticed how long he had been out, deciding an hour was probably long enough to have run off the residual depression. His stomach agreed, making an awfully loud noise. He had barely eaten for almost 3 weeks, maybe he could badger Ambrose into cooking something for him. The thought of Ambrose awoke a different type of hunger within him, God he missed him.
It took him a further half an hour to find his way back to the royal palace through the thick forest that surrounded it. He could have just appeared back in their bedroom but he truly enjoyed being outside.
Endwin seemed altogether exhausted as they entered the palace, almost collapsing by the door. Kyree smiled softly at his pet, filling a bowl with water and stooping down to ruffle the fur on his head.
"Never got a chance to thank you, End, you saved my life," he murmured happily. Endwin, whether he understood what Kyree was saying or not, simply made a content little whine, lapping up some of the water before laying back and drifting to sleep.
Ambrose hadn't been in their bedroom, he never really had been since Kyree had gotten seriously bad. So Kyree assumed he was probably in his office, and his assumption was correct. Kyree simply stood and stared at Ambrose through the half-open door, knowing Ambrose had yet to notice him.
Ambrose was wearing a suit, as usual, that man never did understand the concept of casual clothing. But the blazer was hung around the back of his chair, and the sleeves of pristine white shirt were rolled up to his elbows. The brand was on display, Kyree wondered if Abigor got restless when he wasn't called upon for so long. Maybe they would let him out for a run later.
Despite the deep purple bags under his eyes, Ambrose looked the same gorgeous man Kyree always saw. His brows were knotted together into a soft frown as he kept his gaze on his laptop, only adding to his bewitching appearance. When the time came that Kyree was no longer content with simply observing Ambrose, he strolled into the room, closing the door behind him.
Ambrose glanced up, looking a little sheepish. Kyree was shirtless, wearing only a pair of tight black sweatpants that hugged every inch of him, leaving not much to the imagination as they hung low on his hips. Ambrose's lips twitched, and Kyree wished he would allow that wicked little smirk to consume him, but his mouth remained set in a hard line.
"How are you feeling?" Ambrose asked gently, his voice soft as he spoke. Kyree wasn't surprised at this, though he missed Ambrose's confidence, he knew this would be the case for a short while until Ambrose truly realised Kyree was better.
"Honestly?" Kyree strode over to Ambrose's desk, standing opposite and resting his hands on the smooth wood, "horny as fuck," Kyree ran his tongue over his bottom lip, gauging Ambrose's reaction. He still looked sceptical, not truly believing Kyree was back to his same flirty self. With a soft chuckle, Kyree moved around the table, tugging back Ambrose's chair and straddling his lap. Ambrose had a hell of a lot of restraint to keep his arms by his side as Kyree leant forward, catching his earlobe between his teeth and rolling his tongue over it gently.
"Touch me, babe," Kyree purred, his teeth grazing against Ambrose's stubbled jawline as he moved his mouth toward his lover's, "c'mon, I know you want to, I can feel how much you want to," Kyree pressed his hips down ever so slightly, eliciting a sharp gasp from Ambrose, yet still he felt no hands on him, "do I have to do all the work?" Kyree's lips neared Ambrose's, but he pulled them back a little as they barely brushed against his lover's. Ambrose's eyes had darkened, the colour lost beneath their obsidian finish, they were wide too, a little fear in them. Kyree shook his head, his smirk widening.
"Would you like me to beg?" Kyree bit down tenderly on Ambrose's bottom lip and that seemed to be all he needed to show his lover he truly wanted him. Ambrose's left hand pushed Kyree's head closer as their mouths collided, his other hand tightening around Kyree's waist, holding him still. He tugged on Kyree's hair, coaxing a soft gasp from him and taking full advantage of his open mouth.
"Are you sure?" Ambrose broke the kiss for just a second, but Kyree simply reconnected their lips in response. Kyree's hands fumbled down the buttons of Ambrose's shirt, craving the feeling of his lover's skin on his. He splayed his hands out over Ambrose's bare torso, feeling every bump and ridge of his well-defined muscles.
"Strip," Ambrose growled, his voice lower than Kyree had ever heard, "now," slipping off Ambrose's lap, Kyree took his time removing the sweatpants, revelling in the lustrous, half-lidded stare Ambrose supplied him with. When Kyree was done with his little show, Ambrose rose to his feet, letting his open shirt fall from his shoulders in the process. Ambrose took a hold of Kyree's elbow, spinning him around and bending him over the desk.
"Stay," he commanded, running his index finger down the curvature of Kyree's spine. Kyree let out a soft whimper as he felt the piercing sting of Ambrose's hand across his bare ass. It would leave a mark, there was no doubt of that, yet that just turned Kyree on even more. The familiar jingling of Ambrose's belt unbuckling filled Kyree with anticipation, and even a little fear.
Ambrose didn't give any sort of warning, simply buried himself completely in Kyree with one movement. A groan left Ambrose as a small cry of pain slipped from Kyree. Tears sprung to Kyree's eyes, the sharp aching throb he had missed so much returning, he would have to get accustomed to this kind of rough love all over again.
Ambrose leant over, hastily trailing a line along the soft skin of Kyree's throat with his lips, catching the flesh between his teeth every so often to ensure a mark would remain. His pace was fast, and soon the pleasure outweighed the pain for Kyree.
Moans of varying length and volume escaped the two men, mingling with the creaking of the desk and the sounds of skin hitting skin. Kyree moaned some warped version of Ambrose's name as he tipped over into ecstasy, his lover following not too long after. Words couldn't describe the feeling, the intimacy, the pleasure, all rolled into one was so... intense.
Somehow, in the hazy aftermath, Kyree found himself curled up on Ambrose's lap with his lover's shirt loosely around him. Kyree's arms were wrapped around Ambrose's neck, his head rested on his chest and his legs dangling either side of his lover's lap. It felt wonderful to be held again.
Ambrose set his chin upon Kyree's head, contemplating whatever had happened in the past half an hour with a sated smile on his face. Eventually, he had to get back to his work, but didn't mind having to do so around his slumbering lover. He could see Kyree's dream playing in the back of his mind, it was a pleasant one, that Ambrose happily focused in on every so often.
He was just finishing writing up an email when there was a soft knock on his door. He glanced down at Kyree, thankful that the desk covered both Kyree's ass and his lower body entirely. He was shirtless, but that truly didn't bother him.
"Come in," he kept his voice low, ensuring he wouldn't wake Kyree. Saige entered, a startled expression on her face as her eyes landed on Kyree.
"Oh, I assumed you would be alone, am I interrupting something?" she asked nervously, unsure whether she truly wanted to know the answer.
"Had you walked in 15 minutes earlier, my dear, you would have learnt the ins and outs of gay sex first hand," Kyree mumbled sleepily into Ambrose's chest, not bothering to open his eyes. Ambrose hadn't even noticed that Kyree had awoken.
"Kyree," Ambrose scolded, trying, and failing, to suppress a small bout of laughter, "not in front of our daughter please," Kyree made a low sound of appreciation as Ambrose rubbed small circles in the base of his back, kneading the flesh back to life.
"How are you, dad?" Saige walked closer to the desk, perching on the chair that stood the other side.
"Back and better than ever," Kyree turned his head slightly to glance at his daughter. She looked paler than usual, but overall there wasn't much change from when Kyree had last taken the time to truly appreciate her appearance.
"When did this happen?"
"Mmm... about three hours ago. Just woke up and felt..." Kyree paused, trying to think of a word to describe how he had felt when he had awoken, "everything. Felt normal again, just like that. Begs the question, don't you think? Was all that morbid depression truly from me?" Saige had that same little frown Ambrose had when she was thinking about something in depth, it put a smile on Kyree's face each and every time.
"What do you mean?"
"You think it was something else that caused you to feel that way?" Ambrose chimed in, his frown mirroring Saige's.
"It's possible, don't you think? I mean, it all feels like the past three weeks was just one long dream. I've never had suicidal contemplation before, ever, even after Alexander's death, I never thought about killing myself. I mean, the night I found out what I had done to Alexander, sure it affected me deeply, but not enough to make me truly want to kill myself.
"The last thing I would want to do would be leave the people I love feeling the exact same way I had felt after losing Alexander. I would never do that to you, to either of you. And if I died," Kyree turned his attention to Ambrose, caressing his thumb up over his smooth cheek, "you wouldn't just lose me, you'd lose Saige too and I couldn't ever do that to you," Ambrose smiled warmly, kissing the underside of Kyree's palm and wrist as it neared his lips.
"What do you mean he would lose me too?" Saige interrupted, sounding a little more nervous than before.
"We don't usually tell our children this, my dear, but if a sire dies, everyone they have turned dies too. If I had killed myself, my blood tie to you would be cut off and you would simply die, return to being merely a corpse," Saige's eyes widened slightly, her lips parted in a silent gasp.
"So if you had been killed at your trial?"
"You would have died too, yes, my dear," Ambrose explained, "I didn't want to burden you with that additional fear after what you were already going through," not wanting to indulge anything more fearful to Saige, Ambrose changed the subject, "I'll ask my father if he's heard of anything. Now, baby, you need to go get dressed, we're having lunch with everyone, I have an announcement."