“Well darlin,” Agalon said pleasantly as he and Kytarr entered the room, “I reckon I got everythin straightened out. We oughta finally get our damned wardrobes here in the next couple days so we’ll have somewhere to put all your new clothes.”

“Thanks Aggie,” Xaxac smiled up at him and made an attempt to stand, to go to him, but the world spun around him, so he put out his hands and tried to get his bearings, but it was no use as it teetered and the floor came up to smash him in the face.

Alex had the loudest laugh he had ever heard.

“What you boys drinkin?” Kytarr took the bottle from the coffee table and looked at it, “Corn whiskey? Alex that’s too strong for him, look at him, he don’t weigh a hundred pounds.”

“He was cryin again,” Alex slurred, “he cries any time he ain’t with his master. I don’t know what to do with him.”

“Oh, Honey Bunny, I didn’t,” Agalon sighed as he lifted Xaxac to his feet, “I didn’t mean for you to get that drunk. We gonna have to sober you up.”

“But I love bein drunk,” Xaxac argued as he wrapped his arms around Agalon and snuggled into his chest, “And I love you. You’re fun to hug.” He let out a happy hum and added, “I get scared without you. Are we havin a party?”

“I gotta sober him up,” Agalon said as if he was annoyed, and Xaxac didn’t like his tone, “I gotta do somethin about this. I shouldn’t’a left um with whiskey.”

“I’m with Xac,” Alex said, “I love bein drunk.”

“Whatcha got there?” Kytarr asked as he sat on the sofa next to Alex, and Alex crawled into his lap. Kytarr took the book that fell from Alex’s lap to the floor when he moved and opened it, “Oh, a book of legends. You want me to read to you, darlin?”

“Yeah,” Alex said.

“Alright, but in a little bit, Kai wanted to teach Xac something first.” Ky explained.

“I like it how your names are kinda the same,” Xaxac told Agalon’s chest, and continued, in the hope that Kytarr would hear him, “I was named after a rug.”

“I know, darlin,” Kytarr said as if it was supremely interesting.

“Aggy,” Xaxac pulled away and looked up at him, “Are we havin a party? Cause the reason I got scared was… them moons are gonna get full and…”

“I need to talk to you, Honey Bunny,” Agalon said, “But I need you to remember it, so I guess we’re gonna have to have this talk in the mornin. I shouldn’t ‘a give you whiskey. I shoulda been watchin you better.”

“What was you gonna teach him?” Alex asked, “Cause lord knows he needs it. He don’t know nothin.”

“His metabolism is so fast,” Agalon said as he cradled Xac’s face in both hands and stared down into his blown open eyes, “maybe he can still at least do that. If we wait till he starts askin for another drink he’s probably gone back down from drunk to tispy.”

“Is that a shifter thing?” Ky asked.

“Yeah, this boy drinks like a fish,” Agalon said as if it was some sort of funny quirk. Then to Alex, he explained, “I was talkin to Ky and we thought Xac probably oughta learn how to top. He ain’t never done it before an I might need to breed him.”

“I’d be up for that,” Alex smiled, “Xac? Honey? Can you fuck? You got the whiskey dick?”

“I don’t remember what that is,” Xaxac admitted, because he wasn’t paying particular attention to the conversation, but he had made out of a few choice words that he heartily agreed with, so he attempted to join in anyway. “Yeah, let’s fuck! Aggie, let’s go to bed! Pick me up!”

“Oh god,” Agalon said as Xaxac put his hands on his shoulders and lept onto him, wrapping his legs around his waist. Agalon moved quickly to catch him, but went stumbling with the motion, backwards, until he hit the arm chair and fell heavily into it.

Alex and Ky were laughing at him now, which made perfect sense because he was both witty and funny. He shoved himself away from Agalon and stood to take off his clothes, but the world began to spin again and he flailed to catch himself before he went careening backwards. Fortunately, Agalon was there to steady him by grabbing him by the hips.

“You drunk bitch,” Alex giggled.

“Alex,” Xac whined, “help me!”

“Darlin, I would,” Alex said, “But I don’t reckon I can move no better than you can. I thought I was gonna lay down? Didn’t somebody say I was gonna lay down? Where we doin this? Is anybody else burnin up? Can we light a fire?”

“That’s… them’s two contrary statements, darlin,” Ky giggled.

“I can’t see,” Alex explained, “Them lamps don’t do shit.”

“Oh, right,” Agalon said as if he had forgotten something, “humans can’t see in the dark. Yeah, we can, I reckon. It ain’t that hot, you’re just drunk. It’s gettin to be fall.” He stood, still holding Xaxac by the hips and guided him toward the sofa, then shoved him down on top of Alex, who giggled and wrapped his arms around him.

“Kai, that’s my lap,” Ky said as he tried to deal with both squirming humans piled on top of him.

“What a pure incomprehensible thing to bitch about,” Agalon said in all the tone and cadence of a joke, “Just watch him for a second while I get somebody up here to make a fire.”

“Here, Xac, get your clothes off,” Alex said as he tried to remember how buttons worked, “I hate this outfit. Ky, don’t you hate this outfit? Ain’t he got nothin else to wear? He gotta dress like a houseslave?”

“Yeah darlin, but he don’t need to get into it till his wardrobe gets here. I’m gonna move y’all a little bit.” Ky explained as he gently slid them off of his lap and onto the sofa.

“I am a houseslave,” Xaxac said.

“No you ain’t,” Alex huffed as if he had been offended, “You’re a pleasure slave. Please. You’re practically a concubine.”

“What’s a concubine?” Xac asked.

“Rich elves what get kept by their lovers,” Alex said.

“That ain’t exactly right,” Ky giggled, “But it’s close enough for government work. Here, darlin, let me do that, you’re havin a real hard time.”

He reached over Alex to unbutton Xaxac’s shirt, then helped him out of it to lay it across the back of the couch.

“Ain’t he a cute little thing?” Ky asked Alex.

“Cuter than me?” Alex asked in an adorable voice.

“Don’t get jealous, darlin, I thought y’all was friends,” Ky warned.

“Nobody’s as cute as you,” Xaxac said, because he was drunk and had no reason to hide the awe he felt, “You make it look so easy.”

“Honey, I am easy,” Alex laughed.

“Here, let get y’all on the floor,” Ky suggested and steadied Xac by the shoulders to help him down. Xaxac thought he was amazingly similar to Agalon, in terms of body type, and leaned heavily into him.

“There you go,” Ky said soothingly as Xac pushed himself along the rug until he could rest his back on the armchair.

“Can I have another drink?” Xac asked.

“Not right now, sweetheart,” Ky explained as he guided Alex to the rug next to Xac, where he sat patiently on his knees to let his master untie his belt. After that he was able to peel himself out of his clothes fairly easily, even in his drunken state. They seemed to be stretchy, and once they were off his body, they were so tiny Xac was amazed he had ever had them on at all.

Agalon came back into the room with Lee and another human whom Xac had seen around the house, but whom he did not know that well. He didn’t understand why he was there instead of Jimmy, but the man carried a packet of wood, which he set into the fireplace in a sort of conical shape, all lined up together. Then he took a matchbook, struck one, and threw it into the middle of the cone, so that the whole thing caught fire.

He stood, looked at Lee, who nodded, then made his way out of the room.

Agalon plopped down comfortably on the armchair and Lee stood, silently, behind and slightly to the left of him, in that unsettling way he sometimes did.

He didn’t swim in Xaxac’s vision, and Xac saw the pity in his eyes again, and tilted his head in confusion. Who did Lee feel sorry for?

“How are you feelin darlin?” Agalon asked as he reached a hand between his knees to scratch Xac’s scalp.

“Can I have another drink?” Xac asked hopefully.

“In a minute, darlin, first I want you to learn somethin,” Agalon explained, “we promised Alex you were gonna fuck him, so you need to learn how.”

“It ain’t that hard,” Alex said as he stretched out before the fire.

“Be nice,” Ky warned, “It’s his first time. And you get bitchy.”

“Yes, master,” Alex said in the tone of someone who fully believed they had deserved the warning they had been given, which worried Xac.

“Um,” Xac said, staring down at Alex, because his brain would not give him anything useful to say.

“Here, stand up, darlin,” Agalon said as he pulled Xac up by the shoulders, “Let’s get your pants off.”

“He needs some new clothes,” Alex said in the middle of a stretch that arched his back off the floor and showed off the muscles in his stomach, “Them’s too hard to get on and off.”

“He got some right proper pleasure slave clothes,” Agalon said, “We’ll put some on him tomorrow.”

“Neat!” Xac said excitedly, and steadied himself on Agalon’s shoulders to step out of his pants, “I love clothes. I hope they’re pretty. She seemed so nice.”

“Who?” Ky asked.

“The clothes lady,” Xaxac said, “with the dead wife.”

“Sakala,” Agalon explained, “He liked her. Well, he liked her things. Just about bought out the whole shop. But focus darlin, you want Alex to like you, don’t you?”

“Yeah!” Xac said, “I think he does. Don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, but he seemed as if he could drift off to sleep and was, perhaps, not paying very much attention to the conversation, “I like you. Are we gonna do this or not?”

“Alright, darlin,” Agalon said as he handed Xaxac a familiar bottle, “Spread this out all over your hand, alright? You gonna have to get everything nice and slick or you can hurt him. You don’t wanna hurt him.”

“I don’t wanna hurt anybody,” Xac said, staring at the bottle and connecting the dots. His face lit up as he realized what he was doing, and he began to speak without thinking, “Oh! Yeah I can- I can figure this out! I know how to do this! This is what you done to me. It don’t hurt. You kept sayin it was gonna hurt and it never did. I ain’t gonna hurt him.”

Xac scoffed at the idea and knee walked to where Alex lay, now dozing in his drunken stupor, by the fire.

“You got that shifter healin, Honey Bunny,” Agalon tried to explain, but Xaxac had been through this before. He didn’t need to be taught. How stupid did they think he was? Alex was right; it wasn’t difficult at all.

Alex shuddered and jumped himself awake as Xaxac drizzled the lube over his hole, then saw him, realized what he was doing, leaned back, let out a happy humming sound and spread his legs.

“Mmmm, Ky,” he begged, “Gimme a pillow.”

Ky tossed one from the couch and hit him in the face, and everyone but Lee giggled about it, but that was alright, because Xaxac had forgotten Lee was there.

“Xac, I’m serious,” Agalon said, and the fact that he called him ‘Xac’ rather than ‘darlin’ or ‘Honey Bunny’ made Xaxac tense, turn, and look at him.

“You can hurt him,” Agalon said, “You’re not actin like you acknowledge that you can hurt him. Use lots of lube and go real slow.”

“Sorry, master,” Xaxac’s shoulders fell, and he thought that it probably was dangerous. Aggy wouldn’t lie to him about it, and Xac had a tendency to do dangerous things without realizing it, and then getting himself punched in the face.

“I don’t reckon I’m that fragile,” Alex said as if he had been insulted and situated the pillow under his head, “And he’s a tiny little thing. And I’m drunk. And pretty clean. We might not even need this. We might can go straight for the dicking.”

“Alex, he’s tryin to teach him,” Ky said, “Just hush.”

“They’re right,” Xac said, speaking each thought as it occurred to him, “we oughta… we probably need somebody to watch us. If we was doin this by ourselves I’d’a hurt you.”

“I ain’t as frail as y’all think I am,” Alex huffed, “but do somethin, you’re killin me.”

“Sorry,” Xac said and shrank into himself.

“Lord,” Alex giggled, sat up on one elbow, and reached up to cradle Xac’s face, “You’re so nervous. Don’t be scared like that. It’s just you and me, alright? Just relax. It’s pretty hard to mess up.”

“Ok,” Xac said, hoping with everything in him Alex was right.

His best hope was probably to try to mimic Agalon, because he actually knew what he was doing and did it well, but it made him nervous because Alex had done this before, a lot, and would know if and when he messed up. But also, he was right, he shouldn’t be nervous, because he was here to learn.

Xac really wanted a drink.

He was afraid he was going to cry again and there was absolutely no reason for it. That darkness that hung around him sometimes seemed to come up more often during sex than any other time, and he hated it. He was begining to think it was part of him, that it would never go away like Alex had said it would, but he absolutely could not cry now because that would be stupid. He never got that feeling when he was drunk. Why the hell did he need to be sober for this? This was a muscle memory thing. He could do it drunk. Just let him drink! Why was it suddenly being rationed? But he had asked and been told ‘no’ twice so he couldn’t keep asking. But they didn’t understand; there was something wrong with him and he needed to be drunk to fix-

Alex silenced the thoughts from his head as he pulled him down on top of him until he was on his back and Xac was over him and he could tug his head with both hands into a kiss. Xaxac knew what a kiss was; he understood this, and he let himself melt into the sensation. Alex knew exactly what he was doing with his tongue, even as drunk as he was, and it felt almost like a massage. The sensation, the pleasure, grounded Xac almost as much as pain did, and he found it easier not to think.

He pulled back to breath, sat back up and said, “Ok, I’m gonna go real slow. You tell me if it hurts, ok?”

“You ain’t gonna hurt me,” Alex rolled his eyes.

“Alright, now what you wanna do,” Agalon dictated, and Xaxac tried to follow his instructions, “Is get him real relaxed. One finger at a time, don’t try to open him up yet, just get him to relax.”

“He seems pretty relaxed,” Xaxac said, because he was, holistically, but also the particular muscles he was pushing past, which stretched easily to accommodate him, because Alex knew what he was doing.

“Yeah,” Alex said, “He’s doin great. Got it in one. Xac, honey, push up for me, try an hit-”

“I know what a prostate is,” Xaxac said, more than a little annoyed that everyone was treating him like an idiot, “I like that word. It sounds smart.”

“If you say so,” Alex giggled, “But you don’t seem to know what it is because you ain’t- nope,” he tensed, arched and Xac giggled as he pressed the bundle he had found, “Nope, you got it, you got it, don’t do that don’t fuckin just…” he seemed to forget how language worked as a series of syllables used as stand-ins for ideas and insead fell back on animalistic hissing noises that Xaxac rather enjoyed.

“Don’t just press,” Agalon told him, “massage. Play with him.”

“This ain’t really gonna help if you wanna breed him,” Ky laughed, and Xaxac glanced up at him to see that he had lai out on the couch and taken off the belt he usually wore around his waist and apparently discarded it on the floor. His tunic lay pulled up a little as he rested one hand between his legs. That was interesting.

“I mean it’s not… not helping,” Agalon laughed.

Xaxac followed his advice and Alex shot his hands out in either direction to grab at the rug; his hissing turned to humming.

“Add another finger, real slow,” Agalon told Xaxac, and he obeyed, “and keep playin with him. He likes it.”

“He loves that shit,” Ky added, “he’d stay full, if he could. That’s why he thinks he don’t need to prep. He says he feels ‘empty’. Ain’t that cute?”

“I know what you mean,” Xac whispered, but he wasn’t entirely sure Alex heard him. Alex was the kind of drunk Xac wished he was himself. It didn’t seem fair.

“Does he seem like he’s loosened up?” Agalon asked, “Seem pretty relaxed?”

“He actually seems tighter,” Xac said, in confusion, “But… Alex, you’re doin that on purpose. Quit. Don’t tense-”

Wait. Agalon had said that same thing to him the first time he had done this. He had sounded annoyed and Xaxac hadn’t understood why, but now it made perfect sense.

“Don’t tense up,” Xac said, much more kindly, “I know it’s hard but um… here, I’ll quit pokin ya and you relax, ok.”

“What?” Alex asked, slurring his words, and Xaxac hated how sober he was. It felt weird to be so sober while Alex was so drunk. But Agalon had promised him a drink afterwards. And he knew it felt good to get fucked while you were drunk, so… Alex didn’t have that darkness over him. This was going to be fun for him. Xac wanted this to be fun for him.

“You gotta quit tensin up,” Xac told him, “I’m gonna try to fuck you and I don’t know how and I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Goddamn it, Xac, it ain’t brain surgery, quit actin like you can mess it up and just fuck me!” Alex snapped.

“I don’t know why I’m bein yelled at,” Xaxac pouted.

“Alex!” Ky snapped, “Lay down and hush. You’re drunk and you’re scarin him. You know how goddamn skittish he is. Y’all shouldn’t ‘a got shitfaced. Nobody told you to do that.”

“Sorry, you’re right,” Alex said, “Sorry Xac. I been told I’m needy. But goddamn. It ain’t an ordeal. You’re actin so weird and you need to stop.”

“Alex!” Ky snapped.

“I’m down, I’m layin down,” Alex said, “Sorry Xac. Sorry. I know you’re learnin. I’m drunk. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Xaxac said, though being yelled at about how poorly he was doing did nothing to help the negativity that hung over him.

“You alright, Honey Bunny?” Agalon asked, and Xaxac would not cry. He took a deep breath, willed the tears out of his eyes, and when he turned to answer Agalon, he saw Lee standing behind him, and remembered what he had taught him.

Xaxac smiled and nodded.

“Alright then,” Agalon smiled sweetly, “lube your dick up and do the same thing. Go real slow. Try and hit his prostate, but it’ll take a minute to get used to it. Just go real slow and get all the way inside at first.”

“Ok,” Xac said.

“If he tenses up, just quit for a minute and let him relax,” Ky said, “they do that.”

But Alex didn’t tense. He leaned back so far the pillow was under his neck, rather than his head, and opened himself up so completely he somehow contorted himself until he was nearly folded in half. Xaxac, as soon as he was in far enough not to need his hands, leaned forward and braced himself with his hands on either side of Alex’s head, the way Agalon did to him.

The sensation was amazing.

It felt so much better than it did when Agalon jacked him off.

It was all heat and slickness and a living, moving person, surrounding him on all sides, pressing in on him with the beat of Alex’s heart. He could feel the blood in his veins, feel the movement of his body, the sheer aliveness of him, and it was overpowering, almost orgasmic.

He was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to cum instantly, so he stilled as the panic overtook him.

“Oh god,” he explained, “it feels too good. Aggie? Aggie I’m gonna cum, I can’t-”

“Yeah you can, Honey Bunny, just take a second to calm down,” Agalon said in his most soothing voice, “I believe in you.”

“Fuck’s sake, Xac, it’s been like eight seconds,” Alex said, “Have some consideration.”

“I’m sorry,” Xac said, and he couldn’t hold back the tears, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“What the fuck?” Alex asked, staring up at him in genuine concern. All at once it seemed as if some sort of light flickered in his drunken stupor and awakened his buried empathy. “Aw, hell… I did this. Xac, Xac, honey, don’t cry. Don’t cry, it’s your first time, it’s alright. I know I’m amazin but that ain’t what this is. You just gotta get used to it. Breath. Relax. Ain’t no reason to cry. You ain’t doin a bad job. I’m sorry I hollered at you, ok?”

He wrapped his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist and squirmed, humming.

“You’re doin real good for a first time,” he said and gently kissed away the tears leaking down his cheek, “I shouldn’t ‘a rushed ya. Just take your time, ok, darlin? I’ll be here.”

“I’m sorry,” Xac said again, and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “It’s back that… that heavy thing I told you about.”

“Ain’t no reason to have that,” Alex said, “we’re friends. We’re just havin fun. You’re doin fine. When you feel like you wanna move, move. I’m fine. I’ll be here all night.”

“That feels ok?” Xac asked after he dried his eyes on his forearm.

Alex made an affirmative humming noise and laid his head back on the pillow.

“Oh yeah,” he said, “Doin good. Tryin real hard not to squeeze around ya. Just move, whenever you’re ready.”

The crying had done enough to push down the arousal that he thought he probably was ready, but he looked over his shoulder at Agalon for further instruction, to learn what to do.

“What is it, Honey Bunny?” Agalon asked sympathetically, “You alright?”

“What do I do now?” Xac asked.

“Fuck him,” Agalon said, not unkindly, as if he was doing his best not to make Xaxac feel stupid, “Slowly. Don’t pull out a whole whole lot, just rock, real gentle, ‘til you get a feel for it.”

“Been a while since I got a slow, lazy fuck,” Alex said contentedly.

“I ain’t tryin to be lazy,” Xac promised, sounding much more desperate than he felt as he tried to obey Agalon, moving exactly as he had been told.

“That wouldn’t an insult, honey,” Alex said, “I like it. It’s sweet. Like you. Do try to angle up just a little bit though- yup, like that,” he stopped speaking to hum, almost as if he had to, then continued, “yeah, just get a rhythm goin like that. Hit me every time, fuck me deeper than that, pull out a little bit more, yeah, you got it.” He leaned up to kiss Xac’s neck, “yeah, you got it, mmmm, just like that darlin, that spot right there, god I hope you got stamina- I mean, I hope-”

Xaxac was realizing that the act of fucking like this was a surprizingly good workout. He could feel the muscles in his abs and thighs as if he had been working. Was that why Agalon stayed in such good shape? Xac never saw him exercise. Was this exercise? It certainly seemed to be. But he did actually have fairly good stamina, though he rarely used it. He was more often praised for his speed, which was not an asset in this situation. How long did this usually last? How long did Agalon usually fuck him?

He hadn’t realized he had sped up, and forced himself to slow down.

“What? Don’t stop!” Alex demanded, “Do that again! Don’t stop!”

“But I’ll cum,” Xaxac implored.

“Yeah, me too, dumbass, that’s the point!” Alex said in the same needy voice.

“Don’t yell at me!” Xaxac whined, and thought this would have, perhaps, gone better had Alex not been drunk, and that he should, perhaps, not envy him after all.

“I’m sorry, but just fuck me,” Alex stared up, into his eyes, “Please, Xac? I ain’t gonna break. Just go as hard and as fast as you can until you cum inside me.”

Xac really, really wanted to do that.

He reached between them with the hand he had used to stretch Alex open, the one that was still slippery, and wrapped it around Alex’s dick, then braced himself on the other arm and obeyed him.