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It had been a rough mission. Deadlock hadn’t been injured, thankfully, but she was one of a narrow few and had appeared visibly shaken dismounting the VLTR, Neon’s unconscious body hefted between her arms. She had patched up the Filipina’s wounds as best she could, but getting proper treatment couldn’t wait.
Sage hurriedly filed out of the complex alongside Viper and Skye with a series of wheeled stretchers, beginning the move the injured onto them. “Deadlock, we can take it from here.”
“No, let me—”
“You’ll do no such thing, Locky.” Clove emerged from the door behind the older agents, their expression compassionate but firm.
“But—” Deadlock’s protest died in her mouth at Clove’s disapproving shake of their head.
Grabbing Deadlock’s hand, Clove guided her back to her room, releasing the sentinel’s hand to push it against the biometric scanner and allow themselves in.
Clove closed the door and turned to her, grabbing her face. “Now, what do you need, Iselin?” Deadlock flinched at the use of her real and unabridged name. “And don’t say you need to go look after the others, you’re worked to the bone and you’re going to work yourself up trying to help them.”
Under different circumstances, Deadlock might have flustered at the sudden physical contact, but her nerves were stretched too thin, her muscles only tightening in response.
Clove looked at her firmly. “A shower? Seems you could use one.” They slid their hand along Deadlock’s shoulder and brushed some dirt off.
A shower. She could shower. “Ok.”
Deadlock made her way into her bathroom, doffing her jacket to be washed later before making her way to the bathroom, surprised to find Clove close on her heels.
“Uh.” She glanced at them.
“Oh, uh, it’s nae bother if you don’t want to, but you always complain about showering with one arm and I figured I could… help? And I think you could use the company.”
Deadlock hesitated. They had showered together once before, with Deadlock helping wash Clove much more than the inverse. She had worn her arm in the shower then, but with all the dirt caked around the joint, washing it separately would likely be wise. Clove looked at her expectantly.
She inhaled. “Okay.”
She and Clove silently undressed. There was nothing she hadn’t seen before, but the very nature of each other’s banal nudity still felt vulnerable, doing little to aid the tightly wound nerves she had accumulated on the mission. Swallowing her apprehension, she fiddled with the mechanical switches to detach her arm from the stump of her left arm and set it gently down on the bathroom countertop.
Clove beckoned. “Come on.” They gingerly made their way into the shower as Deadlock followed, raising the setting on the tap to a pleasantly high temperature. They gleefully flicked a few droplets at Deadlock before pulling the valve to direct the water to the shower head, its spray wide enough to get both of them wet.
Clove smiled warmly as they grabbed some shampoo and began working their fingers through the Norwegian’s hair. They began to pick up a rhythm, rubbing aggressively against her scalp before smoothly running their fingers through her hair. Little by little, the force of contact wore at the tension in Deadlocks head, allowing her to begin softly sighing at the sensation, her head lolling slightly against Clove’s soft hands.
“Attagirl.” Clove guided Deadlock’s head under the shower once more, running their hands through the sentinel’s hair as the water slowly rinsed out the shampoo. They followed it up with conditioner, carefully working it into her locks, gently detangling what clumps of hair they could find. Allowing the conditioner to sit, they moved their hands lower to her shoulders, precisely and firmly kneading at the knots in her muscles. Deadlock let out another sigh of relief as she felt more of the tension wash out of her.
“Feel good, Ise?”
“Mm.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Clove continued their magic until the conditioner had set, slowly washing it out before returning to her shoulders, this time with body wash in tow. They gently scrubbed, the caked-on dirt of a long day in the field flowing off of her. Clove hummed to themselves in satisfaction, allowing their hands to steadily scrub along Deadlock’s body, passing along her breasts without second thought.
“Still okay?”
Warring urges fought in the sentinel’s mind, half desperately wanting more attention but the rest terrified of escalating the situation. “I’m— I’m good.”
“Okay.” Clove leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the back before continuing downward, rubbing gently at the metal implant on her missing arm, gliding along her hips and down her ass. They spun her to face them as they worked down her legs to her feet, which the sentinel lifted in turn, using her good arm to prop herself against the shower wall. Clove glanced at her yet-unwashed member. “I’ll leave the rest to you?”
Deadlock gulped and nodded, finishing washing herself as Clove took some body wash for themselves, working their way down their own body swiftly but thoroughly.
She glanced at them. “Not going to wash your hair?”
“Nae. Did it this morning.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t need a shower.”
They shrugged and winked. “Guilty as charged. But you like my company.”
Deadlock sighed and turned off the shower, allowing Clove to cheerfully towel-dry her hair and help brush it out, sighing contentedly. She slipped into her boxers and a loose bra that Clove helped her clasp. Clove, for their part, was content to steal her nightshirt and sweats.
Sighing, Deadlock sat at the edge of her bed while Clove dressed, politely averting her eyes as if they hadn’t just been naked together moments before. Seizing the opportunity, Clove snuck up behind her to pull her backwards onto the bed.
“Clove!”
Clove giggled softly and nuzzled their face into her shoulder. “Hey, bhòidhchead” Beautiful.
Deadlock blushed. “Not fair.”
“Oh, you haven’t seen me unfair.” Clove pecked at Deadlock’s neck and wrapped their legs around her waist, freeing one arm from the hug to play with her drying hair.
Her blush deepened, allowing a slight gasp at the sudden pressure around her and the sensation at her neck. Clove smiled against her as they continued their onslaught.
“You like this?”
“I—”
“Think about it first.” Clove paused, simply leaning into her as they allowed her to contemplate the question.
Deadlock was never much one for receiving affection, content to give it in spades and ask for little in return. She had been the watchful eye of the Ståljegere, minding her sisters’ needs and abilities to help keep them alive and well. Not that it mattered in the end, she supposed.
“Ise, you’re tearing up.” Clove gently took a tissue and wiped her eyes.
“I failed them,” she murmured, leaning into Clove’s embrace.
“No. A tragedy befell you. You did what you could.”
“I took care of them.”
“And you did so to the very end.” Clove had encouraged Deadlock to take the trip to her sisters’ vigil, a choice she did not regret but one that still weighed heavily on her heart.
“It’s— weird,” she said finally, turning her mind back from her sisters’ plight to the question laid before her.
They chuckled. “Good weird?”
“I don’t know.” The war in her mind had not ceased. She trusted them, intensely so, but she continued to feel compromised, like she couldn’t be safe unless she was the one in charge.
Clove hummed. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can I make a suggestion, then?”
She shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”
“That wasn’t a very enthusiastic answer, Ise.”
She sighed. “Yes, you can make a suggestion.”
“I say you lean into it.” They traced their fingers along her neck and down her back, halting at her bra strap and trailing back up. “Let me take care of you.”
“Like… sex?”
Clove burst into giggles. “Awful blunt, but yeah. You’ve shown me a good time on a couple occasions now and I’ve yet to return the favor. You’re all wound up like a clock and it seems you could use the attention.”
“I—” she trailed off.
“I’ve seen you, you know. You’re a good teammate to everyone, but once something falls out of your little box you freeze up.”
“I don’t follow.”
“What I mean is you spend so much time trying to stay in control. You can adapt, so long as it’s you adapting, but it bothers you when the outcome falls out of your hands.”
“I want to keep everyone safe.”
“And you do your best at that. But we’re not in combat now, and you’ve been hesitating at every bit of control I take from you. And don’t think I didn’t notice you blushing when I was washing you.”
The sentinel turned to her breathing exercises, ones she had been taught while training as Ståljegere, to keep an unquiet mind focused. Inhale. Exhale.
Deadlock freed herself from Clove’s grasp and turned towards them, her averted eyes grazing over the color of the bedspread like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “I’m not sure,” she admitted.
“Can you try? For me? Feel free to use our safe word at any moment.”
Inhale. Exhale.
Deadlock looked into their eyes. They betrayed no fervor, no hungry desire, just the same gentle care that had been offered with every act before now.
Inhale. Exhale.
“Ok.”
Clove smiled. “I’ll start slow.”
Gently, they pulled her closer, shifting her until she lay flat on her back underneath them. They leaned forward, pressing a hand against the bed for support as they met Deadlock’s lips in a brief, chaste kiss. Taking Deadlock’s response as an invitation for more, they followed up, diving down for seconds. This time, they allowed their tongue to softly slide between their locked lips and carefully graze along her teeth. There was no hurry or desperation in the motion, no immense passion, just a simple, intimate kiss.
Still moving slowly, they broke off and gazed down at her once more.
Inhale. Exhale.
“Doing ok?”
Deadlock nodded.
“Opinions on marks?”
Inhale. Exhale.
She blushed. “Nowhere visible.”
“Lucky me you like crew cuts and higher.”
Deadlock’s blush deepened as Clove shifted down her front, reaching the same stretch of collarbone they had been nuzzling the back of just minutes ago. They traced the blank canvas with their hand before leaning in, kissing the skin before taking it into their mouth and sucking firmly, the sensation causing a spark of pleasure to shoot through the Norwegian. Clove released their mouth, smiling gleefully at the blossoming bruise left in their wake.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove moved down and over slightly to one side, pulling again a new patch of skin with their mouth as Deadlock carefully balanced the experience of the moment with her careful breathing. Two more marks quickly followed, and Clove ran a finger over their handiwork.
Inhale, Exhale.
They grinned. “There. Like your freckles.”
Deadlock craned her neck to see that, indeed, they had left a diamond pattern of four hickeys just below her collarbone, matching those on the side of her cheek. She blushed furiously and looked away.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove reached for the clasp of her bra. “Mind if I take this off?”
She turned back to face them, nodding.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove carefully freed the bra from Deadlock’s shoulders, removing their nightshirt in kind. “Now I’ve noticed your breathing trick, and good for you. That said, I’m hoping to get you breathing a little faster by then end of this.”
Deadlock gulped.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove looked at her and smiled, gently squeezing a boob like a giant stress ball. “Estrogen’s done you good, eh?”
“Hm.” Deadlock glanced up at Clove’s chest, small buds carved over the fading scars of their reduction surgery. Estrogen had done them well, too, though more than they had liked in the chest department, so a fix had been in order. “You, too,” she said awkwardly.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove leaned forward and kissed her left one. “Hey, just because I didn’t like big ones on me doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate yours just as much.”
“Right.”
Inhale. Exhale.
They chuckled. “You’re a little stiff still. Let’s help you with that.”
Clove scooted further down until their mouth was level with the sentinel’s chest, beginning to softly kiss and lick her left nipple while their hand roamed to the right. They sucked on it slightly, then, noticing Deadlock’s lack of responsiveness, stopped.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove tilted their head. “You good?”
She shrugged. “Just not that sensitive there, I guess.” She had tried a few times to make it feel good on her own, but her nipples remained frustratingly unreactive.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove nodded and moved their head slightly inward, one of their horns gently poking her sternum. They began to kiss as before, this time pulling out a gentle sigh from the sentinel. Opening their mouth further, they latched on and gently bit her inner boob. Deadlock didn’t react vocally, but her pecs tensed slightly, enough to tell Clove that their efforts were no longer in vain.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove lingered on her chest for a while longer, leaving a few marks as they went, slowly venturing lower to kiss her stomach and the small bit of blonde fuzz trailing above her boxers. They glanced back up. “Off?”
Deadlock nodded.
Inhale. Exhale.
Clove carefully slid the boxers off Deadlock’s legs, the glee unmistakable in their expression as the sentinel’s erection rolled out of her underwear and across her stomach. They matched her nakedness by removing their pants in turn.
“Anything I should ken?”
Inhale. Exhale.
“Not that I can think of.”
“Just let me know.”
Clove returned to her length, gently tracing their fingers down the shaft and eliciting a shiver from the Norwegian. Gathering saliva in their mouth, they spit in their hand, sliding the wetness along her erection and beginning to firmly slide their hand up and down its length.
Inhale, Exhale.
Taking their time, they slowly and gently began pumping their hand along her dick, their other hand tracing circles along her stomach. Straddling the sentinel’s leg, they lay forward to lightly brush their lips against her tip.
“Pretty.”
Inhale Exhale.
“Relax, Ise, I got you.”
Clove continued moving their hand while they extended their tongue, licking the precum beading on the end of Deadlock’s erection before carefully parting their lips to allow it entry. They enclosed just its end in their mouth, swirling their tongue at its edge as their hand continued its work along the rest of her length.
Inhale-Exhale.
Clove shifted their hand lower and lower as they began to take more and more of her into their mouth, their head remaining steady while they ran the flat of their tongue along the enclosed underside, their lips preventing any contact with their teeth. Eventually, she could feel the end of her dick brushing up against their throat, Clove gagging slightly but continuing to work their way down. There was little space for their hand now, so they moved it away to begin squeezing her thighs and ass.
inhaleexhale.
Clove began to move their head, slowly at first but picking up the pace, the sensation breaking Deadlock’s already unsteady breathing pattern into a series of gasps, her hips thrusting upward to meet Clove’s mouth. With a groan, she moved her hand behind Clove’s head, adding force to the thrusts as she moaned with pleasure, her added effort allowing the rate to speed up as Clove moved a hand to the bed to aid their efforts.
“Unh, uh, Clove, faen, I—”
Clove rubbed her thigh reassuringly as they continued moving, pulling deeper and throatier moans from the sentinel’s throat as she reached her peak. As Deadlock climaxed, they slowed, allowing her to push their head all the way to the base as her erection spasmed in their throat, Clove swallowing the dribble of cum that came with it.
Slowly, they lifted their head and slid their lips up her length. Clove gingerly ran their hand along Deadlock’s waning erection as she whimpered at the sensation.
“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Clove whispered, their voice sounding unusually strained.
“Are you?”
“M’great.”
Deadlock looked up at her lover to see— oh. Clove was aggressively grinding against her leg, a motion that had gone unnoticed in light of the much more intense sensation elsewhere.
“Can I—?”
“Not. This. Time,” Clove grunted, gasping heavily at the friction. They were evidently already quite close. They moved from her knee to her thigh for better contact, batting the offered hand away. “About you. Just. Need this.”
Deadlock watched in mild awe as her lover came undone against her thigh, their length pressed up against her as they angled themselves for friction. She very much wanted to grab their ass, to pull them against her and help them finish, but she stayed put as instructed, watching Clove’s aroused grunts and pants. They didn’t last long, moaning and climaxing along her leg, cum spraying down Deadlock’s thigh and up to her spit-soaked shaft.
Clove gasped and sighed as they dismounted, clambering forward to hug her and press their face against her neck.
“Sorry,” they mumbled. “You were really hot.”
Deadlock blushed. “I— it’s okay. I didn’t mind.”
They pushed themselves up and looked at her directly. “You liked it, then?”
“It— it was good.”
Clove smiled, giving her a quick peck on her freckles. “Again sometime?”
She sighed. “I’m not sure. Maybe eventually.”
“I hope so. You were hot as hell.”
“Mm.” Deadlock still wasn’t sure how to take their effuse compliments, though she was getting better at not rejecting them.
Clove chuckled. “We might need another shower.”
“Not yet.” Deadlock wrapped her arm around the immortal, pulling them close and nuzzling their face against hers. “I think I’ve got you right where I want you.”