This is Our Design

To Court a Familiar Part 2

Dedicated to whitebutler0099

Two to three months into the future, James and Damon realize--capitulated--that symptoms of nausea, mood swings, spontaneous hunger pains, and headaches are sure to be an overture to an unavoidable fate during conception.

(Of course, these are only a fraction of what James suffered through.)

Winter green sheets, the same shade of His Owner's eyes, blessedly cool and soft; firm cushioning that mold with him like second skin; blankets of different textures and scents (his favorite material smelling of shaved pine fortifies a thinner sheet soaked in honey) ensuring an impenetrable, controlled environment that James indulges in to mitigate the worst of the worst every few days. Sleep is what he normally catches up on when he lay there, isolated and pressed, sulking through his misery and weak threats toward Robin for refusing to sedate him through the entire four months. She says it would risky, considering that his heat could literally happen at any time; if James happens to be in a coma during his heat, he and Damon could lose their opportunity at impregnation, inevitably further-stalling the clock.

So he bestirs himself daily into cataloging just for the sake of saving his and his Owner's ass in the future. Migraines: inflicting too much sensory input at once. Mood swings: twisting and turning the words from Damon's mouth as they talk about preparations for a proper birthing ceremony, and worrying over the tiniest detail that could possibly lead to miscarriage then death. Nausea: being fed foods stemming from Damon's rich palate. No matter the time of day, no matter what sets him off and retreating back to bed, James can astute his knowledge in predicting what could happen in the future when he eventually becomes pregnant. Ultimately, his Owner buys him a journal for the sake of organization, and insists that he shares his observations to condense them into discernable patterns that they can both memorize.

Toward the end of the third month, well into November, the couple have an easier time navigating catastrophes, dodging the worst of the rockies, as if Daedalus succeeded in saving Icarus each time he got too close to the sun.

As promised (and rightly earned) heavy commendation for their resolve shift like fluid membranes over James' and Damon's heart; you could say absurdism has reached an all-time high.

He goes into heat mid-December, enclosed by Lake Nona's presence, snowflakes kissing the house meditatively; irises blown wide and bursting with every color of the rainbow, spine drawn just a little taller, and shallow breaths falling almost desperately as his body craves to lunge, bite, take.

But James knows who the true dominant is.

Damon stays a respectable distance away from the wolf, leaning against the doorframe of their master bedroom, giving each other time to ease comfortably adrift the atmosphere; being calm, scenting, making eye contact, foreplay that appears to be too simplistic outside of a premature birthing ceremony but in actuality, almost too intense to wade in for too long.

Oh the habits of my heart

I can't say no

It's ripping me apart

You get too close

You make it hard to let you go

Following a sharp intake of breath, Damon is tackling James to the ground, effortlessly pining his wrists above his head all the while keeping his heartrate steady. His Familiar needs to knows how easy, how simple, taking him down is, and that he won't just roller over submissively.

James whips his forehead to contact Damon's, a fruitless attempt at getting the man distracted and disoriented; he desires to place the Mark, to claim his Owner for himself, and trot all over the meat which would bear is prints. Damon is quick to dodge however, and releases one hand from James' wrists to force his forehead back down. The Familiar growls snappishly, obviously frustrated. Damon takes pleasure in squeezing his temples, his wrists, memorizes every shallow pant and prevaricated behavior that only fortifies his need to make James submit. The process will take time, but eventually, both will bear each other's mark--only Damon needs to assert his own first because he always comes first in the bedroom.