Crumbs for the Rat King

Avery/Ed Part 1

Tags: Dragon, two is better than 1, play with paint, anatomy practice, sensual

"If you could sit down, just tilt your head up towards the light." Ed spoke, sitting down on his stool. He positioned his canvas in front of him, angling it so he could see the model. Model was diminishing it, though— he and Avery were lovers, fiancé.

"Like... so?" Avery would tilt his head up with a dramatic flourish, jutting his chin out. His grin was fierce, untamed, handsome. It had been his idea to model, after all. Ed complained to him often about getting more practice in, which was hard to do in such a small town— especially with such a small population of fae willing to be painted.

"A little less dramatic." Ed covered his mouth to laugh. "Come on, be serious. I need the practice." His eyebrows screwed up as he fiddled with his canvas.

"I am serious. Serious-ly funny." Avery stuck his pronged tongue out.

"Hilarious. Haven't heard that from my dad before, or anything." Ed said. Though, Avery soon acquiesced seeing Ed meant it despite his gentle reprimands, getting into a more naturalistic pose. And so the painting commenced. It was hard to keep track of the passage of time as he finished the underpainting, then frowned. Compositionally it looked appropriate, but the anatomy was wrong... something was off. He stood, walked away from the painting, and took another look. His eyebrows had practically become caterpillars scrunched together by the time he returned to sit on his stool, unsatisfied. What was it? "The anatomy is wrong. Something is... wrong." He muttered lowly.

"What is?" Avery's voice was suddenly near.

"You must stop doing that." Ed snapped and looked up to meet Avery's shirt, then looked further up to his face. "And you moved! I need a model, Avery." He threw his hands up, exasperated, only to apologize moments later. "It's just getting away from me. Now is the time to practice, but I'm not getting it."

"What's the problem? It looks fine to me." Avery circled around him, placing both hands on his shoulders as he gazed onto the canvas.

"Of course it does, but you're no artist." Ed stifled his inner voice saying as much— he was antsy. This was his talent, and yet...

"What if we change this up?" Avery suggested. "Another pose, maybe."

"I just think I need to study musculature and anatomy again. Maybe it's the neck... something just isn't right." Ed murmured. His ears pricked as he heard buttons coming unclasped. He looked back at his love unbuttoning his shirt, eyes lingering far longer than was artistic interest.

"Is this enough?" The question was innocent at first, before he caught Ed's eye. His gaze became more predatory. "Or do you need hands on practice? Get that frustration out from you properly, two-for-one, if you will."

Ed's ears reddened. "Can't paint frustrated." He murmured. "Especially when a model like you makes it so..."

"That's a boy." Avery crooned, finger tapping under Ed's chin. "Now then, stand up. Let's get you that practice."

Ed stood, ever obedient. His gaze remained on Avery as he took his hand, and was guided back in front of the canvas and onto the sheets strewn across the floor. How had he seen this afternoon going, again?

"Let's start here." Avery pulled Ed's hand up, pressing it to his pec. "Squeeze. Compare sides. See how muscles connect." His voice lowered. Ed did as he was told, reaching up his other  hand, too. He gave the man a firm squeeze, appreciating how toned he was. The lights weren't the only thing hot in here.

"Mmhm, just like that. Check the muscles off the sides, see how it all slides towards the middle, connects." Ed's fingers drifted across his bare skin, marvelling in it as he did.

"You're beautiful." Ed whispered, eyes moving down, somehow managing to hold back his other instincts as he did. Avery was well built, strong but not overly bulky. His skin was tan, golden like a sun setting across a plateau elsewhere in the world. It fringed on otherworldly, but he was Changeling, not fae, and so that beauty didn't cross the line into uncanny perfection. He could map the small scars from their adventures when they were young.

"Thank you." Avery said, head tilting down close to his ear, and meant it. His own hands moved down then, starting to undo Ed's shirt. "Why don't you compare?"

Ed looked up at him, half-lidded. "Would you like that?"

"I would. And it will help you understand." Avery assured, pulling Ed's shirt down his arms and off. Ed met his eyes and smiled, reaching up to touch himself, fingers ghosting across his slimmer physique. Avery's eyes were hungry— the gold in them was almost liquid, ready to melt and burn. Avery leaned down as Ed's fingers flicked past his own nipples, sharp teeth caressing the shell of his ear before soft, pliable lips sucked his earlobe. Ed stifled a gasp, breaths quickening. "So sensitive. Being around oil paints all day can't be good for you." He purred against the skin of Ed's neck.

"Hey— I ventilate when I should! It's just easier when it's quiet to concentrate."

"Concentrate now then. See how long you can last." Avery leaned up to kiss him, tongue invading Ed's mouth. The two snake-like prongs of his tongue twisted around Ed's tongue, reminding him that easily of how good that felt in bed on a lower part of his body.

Avery pulled away. "Okay." He licked over his lips. "Take my hand, then." He would raise it up to the side. Ed reached over, his delicate fingers pressing from base to tip of Avery's fingers. His were calloused— he worked on a farm after all. It was more manual work than Ed's, callouses there but in different places from holding pens and paintbrushes. Avery's hand curled in on his before pressing their hands together to mirror one another. Ed met his eyes before looking back at their hands, heat blooming across his cheeks as he noted how much longer Avery's were. As if to prove this, Avery curled the top segment around Ed's fingers. Ed gave him a look, and Avery held his gaze. "Feel the difference?" He asked.

"... Yes. Done humiliating me?"

"So you know what it means?" Avery brushed off the sarcasm. "Watch." Ed's eyes tracked back to Avery's hand, moving down as he watched black and orange scales bloom across Avery's skin, bristling upwards to cover his palm and fingers. His fingers extended to at least another segment more than Ed's fingers in length, not including the curled claws. Avery knew his transformations never got old to Ed— his true fae nature was something that he remained only comfortable showing Ed out of any humans here. It made it special in the gentler times they shared, and all the more enticing when their bodies pressed together, separated only by sweat.

"Here's your next choice— shall your muse let you study a limb you don't have," Avery let go of his hand to twirl around on the sheets, "Or shall you compare something else?"