unyieldingmarch | Aefenglom Log Overflow

Corrin didn't realize what Edelgard was doing until the second button, her shirt easy enough to open but tight enough she could feel as the fabric moved. She wanted to return the gesture, but there was something startling distracting about the sensation of someone eagerly undoing her clothing. The only other time that had happened, this desire-filled urgency and need, had been back during the mists. And she had been too lost in the headiness of the mist itself to really remember it.

So rather than try to rush it, she just settled into the kiss, and let her mind focus on the feeling of Edelgard's strong fingers undoing her buttons, the faint brush of her fingers against bits of skin as it was exposed. Beneath it she wore a simple chest wrap that covered her breasts but little else.

She probably would've been a tad self-conscious except that when Edelgard started to undo the buttons along her stomach, the sensation was ticklish enough that she broke the kiss with a startled giggle, stomach retreating in surprise even while her arms tightened a bit around Edelgard's neck to steady herself.

"S-sorry," she murmured, her red eyes opened and sparkling with happy embarrassment. "...I'm kinda ticklish."

The gloves of Edelgard's fingers were thin enough that they made it no more difficult than bare skin, and once the buttons were undone she wasted no time in running velvety hands along Corrin's belly. Her fingers curled, running over ridges and muscles, soft curves and hard planes, uninterrupted even by the giggle.

"It's alright. I don't mind if you laugh a little. This is supposed to be fun, isn't it?" she replied with a laugh of her own.

Pushing her hands forward, letting the gloves splay against pale skin, she gazed into Corrin's face with an expression full of wonder.

What was it like, she was thinking, to let oneself be touched like this? Could she even do it, let Corrin remove her shirt? It was not a thing she'd ever done before. Ever even really thought about before, and a thrum of nervousness pulsed within her.

Corrin nodded, giving a response that was somewhere between 'mmhmm' and 'mm' and even she wasn't sure where one started and the other stopped. And how could she be, feeling Edelgard's gloved hands moving across her skin, the faint tug of flesh against fabric, material that was warm, yet not quite as warm as her bare hands would've been.

Part of her wanted to ask her to take them off, to tell her to take them off, but while this wasn't her first time, she knew it was Edelgard's, and she wanted everything to move at her speed. To be as comfortable as the Emperor needed it to be. Corrin was not great at patience, but in this case, she knew she could be.

Frankly, just seeing that look on Edelgard's face was enough to keep her content, at least for the moment. She leaned back a bit, her arms sliding away until her wrists rested on El's shoulders, letting the other woman look and touch as much as she wanted to. And while Corrin did not have the mess of scars that Edelgard did, years of battle hadn't left her unmarred either. An old pale scar just above her waist on the left side, from a training accident, another one, much newer, along her right ribs from when an enemy had gotten under her guard and Elise had to save her life. A few one her back from when a dodge had gone wrong with a wild animal.

When Edelgard's eyes met hers, she smiled a bit, a small, slightly nervous but encouraging smile, as if to say she could do what she wanted. Or Corrin would do what she asked.

Edelgard's eyes drank in everything about Corrin, each scar and curve of muscle, each freckle and mole, her hands roaming with an almost childlike sense of wonder. She had touched herself before, and she knew what a naked person looked like, but it was entirely different having her hands on someone else. Seeing someone else. There were new ways to look, new little bumps and knots to make a note of, a hundred things that differed between them despite the similar shape.

Her hand found it's way to the cloth wrap and stopped, her voice making a quizzical sound as she considered asking if she could touch, and then decided to simply go for it. If Corrin was trying to be encouraging, it was working out well. She wanted to explore, to learn, to make her Bonded's desires a reality. But she needed to work up the courage, even with the drink settled into her belly

"Okay..." she breathed, more to herself than anything as her hand closed over one breast and gave it a hesitant squeeze through it's covering. "...Okay...this is...okay."

She flicked her gaze up to Corrin's, biting her lip nervously, a deep sadness beginning to fill up the space behind her eyes.

"...Can you...would you...help me with my gloves? I know that you want me to touch you. But I've never...outside of..." she said in a faltering voice.

This was hard, because she wanted to please, but making words come out, and accepting that her hands would soon need to touch skin was a difficult thing for her. Her gloves were the first link in her armor, and though the lights in her room were dim, it was still an unfamiliar sensation she was going to feel.

Corrin remained as still as she could as Edelgard explored her body, occasionally eliciting a little shiver or muted giggle when a particularly sensitive or ticklish spot was touched. It was very hard to just let this happen, to not pounce on her and start tearing Edelgard's clothing off, but she knew that would never work. Well, she was pretty sure it wouldn't, anyway, and she didn't want to risk ruining this moment because honestly? It was kind of perfect.

Edelgard's quiet self-reassurances earned her an almost embarrassed grin, one that cut off with a startled little noise when that gloved hand met her wrapped chest. She sucked in a half-breath, her head tilting upwards faintly, instinctively pressing against Edelgard's hand, urging that squeeze a little harder.

And then she had stopped, and Corrin almost missed the words Edelgard said. Glove...take off...Oh! Her eyes went faintly wide, dropping down to look at Edelgard's gloved hands. Right. A first step, at least. Somewhere to start.

"I..." She drew her arms back from Edelgard's neck, moving to settle them lightly on the tops of the emperor's hands. "I want you to touch me," she agreed, her voice a soft, hoarse whisper. "But only if you're sure."

It took all her willpower to add that last bit, even as both her hands moved to Edelgard's right one, her left hand grasping at Edelgard's wrist lightly, while the other moved to her fingers, stroking along the material of her gloves until she reached the tip of her index finger. There she would gently grip the fabric and start to pull...as long as Edelgard let her.

Edelgard stared into Corrin's eyes for a long, pregnant moment. This was a hard thing for her, and not for the first time did she wonder if she was broken in some way. Could she do this? Bare her arms, her hands, all of her scars, for another? The icy hand of doubt clutched at her heart and made her vision blur with unshed tears.

But the patience, the supreme effort of will on Corrin's behalf finally pushed her over the edge. She nodded slowly, blinking and looking down at where her Bonded's fingers had their hold. The gentle motions didn't remove the touch of nerves she had from feeling so vulnerable, but they made her feel that it would be alright. That everything would be fine.

"Yes...I'm sure," she whispered, forcing her gaze to remain on the gloves. "For you, I'll do it."

Corrin felt like she should have said something then, something encouraging or reassuring, but everything that came to mind felt trite in the face of what Edelgard was agreeing to. She knew about her scars, she had felt them when they'd held hands in their bonding ceremony, but that was very different from seeing them. And she knew how El felt about them, too. How self-conscious and uncomfortable they made her.

So just the offer itself, the agreement, was all the reassurance or encouragement Edelgard probably could handle, right then. Corrin's eyes shifted from the gloves to Edelgard's face again, a small, reassuring, faintly excited smile turning up the corners of her lips. Because she couldn't hide her excitement from the bond, really. She did desperately want to see Edelgard, to see the woman behind all this armor and control. To kiss her and touch her and everything else her desire-filled, drink-encouraged brain needed right then. And she knew she couldn't hide of that.

Her fingers were still holding the single glove, and rather than some slow, laborious process, she just gripped the fabric between her fingers and tugged, sliding the smooth material free of Edelgard's skin in one easy motion. Towards the end, she let go of the glove with her left hand, moving her fingers up to trace along the exposed skin, a light touch, tracing a line slowly up along her forearm.

The skin was exactly as it had felt during the ritual. Dozens of small dots, the mark of needles, pockmarked her skin around the wrist. There were several surgical cuts, precise and controlled, the work of surgeons and wicked knives so long ago. Corrin's fingers against her injuries almost, almost, made her flinch, but the excitement blasting at her through the Bond alleviated a great deal of that stress.

Something else grew in her too, a heated desire that was beginning to overtake the fear and discomfort. She wanted this too, and as the heartbeats stretched into full seconds without her hammering heart flying from her chest, Edelgard found the courage to open her eyes.

Seeing the marks on her skin was never easy, the self-loathing she felt whenever she looked at her hands and whenever she felt vulnerable threatened to briefly overwhelm her joy at giving Corrin what she wanted. It didn't, because she forced herself to look up into the reddish gaze of her partner.

"I'm sorry that I need all this time," she said in a low voice. "...But your fingers feel nice."

Corrin could feel the uncertainty and reluctant radiating off Edelgard, the way she was right on the edge of retreating. She almost let go of her hand, to give her the space she seemed to need, but Edelgard's words calmed her own worries, and she just smiled, shaking her head slowly.

"You're perfectly fine," she kept her voice quiet, her free hand reaching up to brush some of her errant hair behind her ear as the other kept a loose grip on Edelgard's wrist, her thumb tracing a soft line over one of those surgical scars. She didn't really have the right education or frame of reference to understand what had been done, but she knew it was horrible. But that feeling was directed at the act, not at Edelgard herself.

A few more gentle traces along her wrist before Corrin let go, only long enough to move to her other hand and draw that glove off too. Quicker now, giving in a bit to her own sense of urgency that she was trying but partially failing to rein in.

Edelgard didn't want to retreat, though. She didn't like walling herself off...cutting contact with the world. She didn't want to disappoint Corrin, either. It would have broken something in her to do that, and that was not happening.

Her other hand shook slightly when Corrin exposed it, a spasm of nerves running up her arm, like someone stepping on her grave. It didn't hurt, far from it, but it was still an unfamiliar sensation. The rush of silk against her skin, the warmth of another's fingers touching places she'd kept hidden...

"Would you...could you...kiss my fingers? I've always wondered what that feels like."

Corrin wasn't sure what caused the spasm up Edelgard's arm, was it her? Was it just worry? Was there something about her scars that still hurt? But as she tugged the glove away with one hand, her other moved to trace up the woman's arm in another reassuring, hopefully soothing gesture. She wasn't feeling any kind of pain coming from Edelgard...in fact, she could feel a similar excitement to her own so...so it was probably fine, right?

The words caught her off guard, and a coy little grin appeared on her lips, though it was marred by a giggle.

"I mean," she almost looked embarrassed. "I was...going to do that anyway..." The admission felt silly after Edelgard's earnest request, but she'd wanted to since the moment she'd first drawn her glove off. Her right hand dropped down to take up Edelgard's left hand, gently intertwining their fingers, a familiar gesture and one she did almost every time they went for a walk anymore, but so different without her glove separating them.

With her other hand she drew Edelgard's right up away from her lap, to her face, red eyes flickering from Edelgard's gaze then down to her skin, looking over the scars and small marks where such awful things had been done. Rather than dwell on it though, she brought her lips down to place a soft kiss just the joint of her ring finger. Then up to her knuckle, then the back of her hand, soft, brushing, barely lingering kisses.

When she reached Edelgard's wrist again, Corrin hesitated, giving one more look up at her bondmate before she closed her eyes, place a small kiss on the closest scar on the back of her wrist, then slowly turning her hand over, kissing every inch or so until she reached her pulse, lingering there longer than she probably realized...

"Oh..."

Edelgard wasn't embarrassed, just very out of her depth in this. Very, very out of her depth. She had no idea that people even did that, and it had just sounded nice. With her hands now freed of their gloves, she flexed the scarred digits, instinctively curling them in and around Corrin's, almost clutching. The exposure, even in the privacy of her own room, made her heart pound, the blood rush to her cheeks and face.

When lips touched her skin, Edelgard shuddered, eyes wide with wonder. It felt good. It felt...very good. In ways she hadn't expected it might, it even comforted her. The line of tenderness was so at odds with any expectation she had ever had that the Emperor didn't know what to think or do. So she simply stared, mouth hanging slightly open, eyes locked unblinking onto her Bonded's lips.

"I..." she tried to say...cut off...tried again...

"Corrin..." came out finally, low and reedy, almost a whine. A pair of tears rolled down her cheeks, streaking, falling to the floor, though the bond rippled with barely contained joy. Almost rapture, even. This was something she'd never thought to experience. A level of intimacy that, to her, defied words. To have someone show appreciation for her scars made her feel...different. It made her feel like she was truly loved, or at least truly the object of someone else's desire, in spite of them.

"...Thank you."

Love. Was it that? Corrin gave of herself very freely. She cared about people intensely and immediately, wanting to help everyone, forgive everyone, save everyone. But love...growing up with a father like Garon, there hadn't been a lot of that. It wasn't a word she would have used, at least. But she certainly adored Edelgard, and that was coloring her view of the scars. Was it awful they were there? Yes. But at the same time, they were a part of her bondmate, and rather than detract from her, they were just...a detail.

She felt that wave of joy and somehow knew that Edelgard was crying, but didn't look up from what she was doing right away. She lingered on the scar still on Edelgard's wrist, another soft kiss, a second, a third. She could tell it was the worst in this spot...had they somehow focused on her veins? And it needed the most attention, the most reassurance.

Finally though, she drew Edelgard's hand away from her lips, looking up with that smile still on her face. Rather than respond to the thank you, she just giggled again softly, happiness and excitement growing all the more through the bond.

She was so proud of Edelgard too, coming this far, being able to show part of herself when she knew how much the emperor was afraid to. It felt silly that she was somehow thanking Corrin for it, when Corrin though she was so much stronger just for being able to let her gloves be taken off. But she was also still caught up in the moment of all this.

She kept their other fingers intertwined as she scooted forward a bit more in Edelgard's lap, her feet curling faintly behind her now, as she leaned in until her forehead bumped against her bondmates. There was a coy little smile on her face.

"Want to take something else off me?" She said softly. A whispered, teasing, almost silly offer...but also in a way, a reward for Edelgard having come this far.

It's certainly a degree of love in Edelgard's definition of the word. She hardly has any clue when it comes to romance, true or even fictionalized, and simply being adored is more appreciation than she had ever hoped to feel. There had been precious few people she could consider even opening up enough with to talk about her scars, let alone show them to, and that was as close to love as she knew.

She stared down, fingers numbed and finally ceasing to shake when Corrin slipped up into her lap, and while it was not easy to keep more tears from leaking down her cheeks, she made a valiant effort. It was less difficult than having someone touch her hands, her scars, the cloth that separated their bodies still thick on the Emperor, though it was beginning to grow stiflingly warm.

Shyly, she flicked her gaze to Corrin's face, popping in for a quick kiss after their foreheads met. She was content to let her Bonded lead in some things, but she still liked kissing best of all, out of all of the things she'd done.

"Yes." She said in an eager voice to answer Corrin's query, her free hand immediately going out to the cloth band wrapped around her partner's chest. It might be a two handed job, but she didn't want to uncurl her fingers from their knot around the blonde's, so she would make a valiant effort.

"May I?"

That little kiss earned Edelgard another giggle from Corrin, and when she tugged back, Corrin followed, stealing one of her own. It was only fair, after all, that she get just as many kisses, right? And she really was so giddy from all of this...and probably couldn't even blame the drink anymore. This just felt...right, somehow. Maybe it was the bond, but maybe not. But the bond definitely enhanced everything.

The excitement in Edelgard's words and thoughts actually made Corrin blush softly. There was something embarrassing but wonderful in knowing someone wanted to undress her, to see her. Another small laugh, and another kiss, before she let her weight shift backwards, her free hand moving to Edelgard's knee to keep herself steady, the other still intertwined. To give her bondmate more room to work, and a better view, really.

It was definitely a two-handed job, but she wasn't exactly going to let go of her hand either. She was sure the emperor would find a way, though.

It was definitely the drink that was giving Edelgard the courage to speak up and to act. Once this evening is out of the way though, the road is paved for more romantic interludes. For now, though, she's half drunk of Corrin's giddiness and the bond's power, and the rest of the way drunk on the drink she'd imbibed.

She wanted more, and wanted nothing so much as to see Corrin's smile continue to light up like that. So, she did the best thing that she could do and reached for the cloth band with one trepidatious hand. It closed around the hem of it, gently pulling up. It might be easier to do more elegantly with two hands, but given how energized she felt...it was simply easier to force it.

Which...unfortunately...meant tearing it.

"oh! Oh dear!"

Corrin's eyes followed Edelgard's hand, feeling goosebumps forming wherever fingers brushed against her skin. Even with the fumbling, one-handed way El was trying to undress her, it still felt distracting enough that she was starting to let her eyes close under the sensation...

At least until she heard that soft tearing noise. Either Edelgard was stronger than she looked (probably) or Corrin's wrap wasn't as sturdy as she thought (also probably, to be honest). Ah well.

She glanced down at where the rip shifted through the fabric, exposing a bit more of her skin, and then back up at Edelgard, unsure if that 'oh dear' was genuine or silly. But at this point, did it matter?

"...Keep tearing," she said softly. It was just a wrap, she could always get more, and right now it was very much in the way.

It was unfortunately a very genuine oh dear. She hadn't intended to do that. She was still getting used to the vampiric strength she had, and she was also excited. Even if she wasn't sure if she should be, she definitely was.

"If...you are sure," she murmured.

And then the garment was in two halves, as if torn apart with the strength of Edelgard's own desire. It fell away with a ripping sound, and she tossed both halves aside

"I'll just have to give you one of mine, when we are finished."

There was something in that aggressive motion, in the sound of her wrap tearing in half under Edelgard's fingers, that sent a new thrill of excitement rippling through her. A shiver ran up her spine, and she was sure she couldn't blame it on the rush of cooler air that ran across her chest as it was exposed.

"As long as you don't make a habit of it, I think I can afford to replace the occasional wrap," she said a bit breathlessly, the words mingled with something of an excited, nervous giggle. She still had her unbuttoned shirt hanging from her shoulders, but with the wrap gone there wasn't anything actually covering her breasts, her small, dark nipples hardening up in the chill of the air and under Edelgard's eyes.

Only a handful of people had seen her naked in her life, and almost all of those were her servants. And here she was, topless, sitting in her bonded's lap. It was...she didn't know what it was. She could feel Edelgard's excitement and desire still, and that combined with her exposed chest was enough to make her flush, her head tilting down slightly, and she had to resist the urge to bring her free arm up to cover herself.

Edelgard wasn't sure if Corrin was joking or not, but it didn't matter. She was just happy to earn a smile like that. The younger woman was breathtaking, and it was impossible for the Emperor not to stare, just a bit. Her breath caught and she ran a bare hand gently over the warm mound of one breast, her palm just a bit cooler than a normal person's hand.

"You're beautiful," she said in a low, enraptured voice, finally tearing her gaze away from the other's chest.

"I never imagined...doing this with another, but I'm glad to be able to touch you."

Leaning closer, she buried her face in the mane of Corrin's hair, nose and lips snuffling a bit against the mass of blonde to get closer to her ear. She pitched her voice low, hoping to sound like a character in a romance novel, her only real connection to this sort of thing.

"You're breathtaking. Truly...amazing."

Corrin's nervous breath caught halfway between her lips when Edelgard's cool hand settled on her chest, goosebumps forming on soft skin, partially from the temperature but mostly from the touch itself. She wanted to say something back, something clever, but the barrage of feelings from Edelgard and those words, it was enough to completely throw any coherent thoughts out the window.

It wasn't until Edelgard's face was slipping into her ear, and her words and breath rushed over Corrin's ear like a wave, that she managed to center herself a bit. But all that came out, at least at first, was a soft noise somewhere in her throat that was nearly a purr. Having the empress pressed up against her, combined with those compliments, it was...wonderful.

"Mm," another slow, nervous breath, and then another little giggle. "Thank you." It was all she could manage, really. At least verbally. Between then though, Edelgard would feel Corrin's free hand settle against her side then slowly travel up along the outside of her shirt, until it slid between them to brush across the emperor's chest, a soft, uncertain touch. Partially because she wanted to touch Edelgard just as much as she wanted to be touched by Edelgard, and partly because some part of her was curious how she'd react...

Edelgard very briefly stiffened at the contact, the unfamiliar hands brushing against her chest. It wasn't that she didn't want to be touched, far from it, she was just uncertain of how that would go, and her nervousness likely showed through the bond. However, she managed to clamp down on that impulse fairly quickly, relaxing against Corrin and exhaling slowly.

"Sorry...that's another thing I'll have to take slowly," Edelgard explained.

It couldn't be any other way. Not as far as she was concerned. Though, now that something had brought her out of the moment, just for a second, she had the opportunity to consider the situation.

"...I would...like to continue this on the bed. If you don't mind? I can carry you."

It seemed more proper that way.

Corrin's hand froze as that wave of uncertainty nervousness hit her, her body tensing right along with Edelgard's. She knew Edelgard was going to be nervous, she knew they had a lot of walls to push through. Was this the limit, for now? Getting her to show just her hands had been such an effort, and...

And then Edelgard relaxed against her and the emotions faded, and Corrin let out a soft sigh of relief. She would stop, the second Edelgard needed her to, but that wasn't the same as wanting to. Still, her hand remained where it was, pressing in gently again, less a squeeze so much as just a caress through her shirt.

But the talk of picking her up derailed her worry, and she tilted her head so it fell against Edelgard's, her cheek scrunched up against the emperor's hair.

"Mm...well, I can walk, but..."

She leaned back a bit, and her hand slid away from Edelgard's chest then to hook loosely around her neck. The legs stretched out behind the emperor curled in around her, ankles crossing.

"Who am I to resist a request from an emperor, hm?" She said, her voice a teasing whisper, red eyes sparkling with excitement. Bed! Okay. This was a good sign again.

"I think it a reward for your patience."

Edelgard shifted herself, gathered her arms under Corrin despite being unhappy to stop fondling her, and lifted the pair of them up in one fluid motion. Corrin, for all her muscle, felt light as a feather in her hands, and lifting her was simple enough. She stared down into those glittering red eyes with a sharp toothed grin, and then solid legs carried her forward towards the bedding.

Her bed was not an ostentatious affair, but it was large, easily fit for someone that tossed and turned in her sleep. Muscles taut, she moved quickly and laid Corrin down with great care. Then, she climbed up and flopped down beside her Bonded, head lolling over to keep meeting Corrin's gaze.

"That's more fitting. I...some level of propriety does feel important for one's first, I think."

Corrin was expecting this, and yet still gripped more tightly onto Edelgard with a surprised little noise when the shorter woman stood up and carried her like she was nothing. Corrin wasn't heavy but she was muscular enough that she wasn't light either. She had expected...a little strain, maybe? Edelgard was clearly stronger than she thought.

She relaxed her grip only when she felt her back hit the bed, uncurling from around Edelgard to settle into the soft blanket, lifting her arms over her head and giving a long, slow stretch, back slightly arched, before she dropped back down, her arms curling into the pillow above her. Okay. This was nice.

"One's first, hm..." She echoed the words before rolling over onto her and propping herself up on her elbow, her head resting on her hand, some of her hair falling over her shoulders to half-hide her chest as she looked down at Edelgard.

"Now I feel a bit pressured," she said, voice quiet, mostly joking and yet there was still that nervousness there. Edelgard was putting so much faith in her...what if she disappointed her?

As she spoke though, her other hand came out to settle on the center of Edelgard's stomach, fingertips tracing slowly along the buttons of her high-neck shirt, from waist to the base of her breasts and back, as if trying to build up the courage to start undoing them.

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warning for scars

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