Subject to Study Extended (Lemon, Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Jyushi

(Updated map with (y/n)'s places of living in each territory.)

Slowly unravelling the last of the gauze around my injured hand, I carefully rotated it until the back of the hand was in view, looking at the remaining scar of the cut that I gave myself almost two weeks ago.

The skin was flush with color, a small raised scab covering what remained of the open cut. As tempted as I was to pick at the scab, I merely lightly rubbed a finger over the hardened bit and felt the rough texture.

"That doesn't look too bad."

I looked towards the naga sitting in front of me, the white and yellow scales catching the sun through the thin canopy as he held some bowl-like object in his hands. Dipping an index finger into the object, I scooped out some prepared herbal paste and squashed it down over the scab before smoothing out the edges of the applied paste.

"It definitely looks better than when we first saw it," Offering a small smile, I rested the pasted hand on top of my leg, "Speaking of getting better..."

Jyushi's smile partially dropped as he focused on me, meeting my colored gaze.

"I heard through the grapevine that you've stopped sending out that warning scent, Jyushi."

"Ah...yeah..." His orange eyes fell from mine, tearing his focus away as he looked towards the shoreline that was close by, the waves barely heard from the boundary of the forest that we were sitting in. I waited for him to explain further, but the silence between us stretched out into minutes, Jyushi making it clear that he didn't want to talk about it voluntarily.

"I'm not mad at you about it, Jyushi," I shifted from my sitting position, kneeling in front of him as I gently cupped his cheeks and lifted his head up to look at me, "We've already talked about this, and you haven't broken your new promise to me, so don't think that I'm mad at you for anything."

"I'm sorry..." He leaned into the uninjured hand, his own lifting up and cupping over my hands against his head, "I know that you're our mate, but it's so frustrating when I hear about how much fun you're having with everyone else."

"That's something we humans call 'jealousy', and it can grow into something that's not healthy. It's why I'm talking to you about it so that it doesn't become worse."

"I'm...jealous of everyone else?"

"That's what I'm picking up from what you've told me," I gently nodded, "If I'm the first person that you love, then it makes sense that you'd hate sharing me with your brothers."

"I don't like it," Jyushi reaffirmed as his tail pressed against my feet and back, encircling both of us as his left hand trialed down my arm and ran his fingers through my unkempt hair, "When that storm hit, I kept your den safe but was upset that Kara was the one to keep you safe."

"He told me that you and Oso weren't extremely happy with where I was for the night."

"I wanted to show you that I could keep you safe."

"You'll get a chance to prove it to me again, Jyushi," I smiled as his fingers lowered from my hair and ghosted over my bottom lip, "With Calmine more than likely upset about me 'stealing' you all from under his nose, he'll probably send someone to try and get you back."

Jyushi's orange eyes hardened as his muscles flexed in response, "I won't let them take me away from you."

"I know you won't."

"(Y/n)..." The fierceness left his eyes as he looked back at me, "I'm scared to mate with you."

My voice caught in my throat, listening to Jyushi's words carefully as he continued.