Ashen blinked.
Today was his birthday. He'd completely forgotten.
February 11th… it was also the day he'd arrived on this continent through Lucia's machinations, and the day his life had permanently changed.
One year had passed since then… and his proudest accomplishment in that year was having this woman back in his embrace.
"Thank you," he whispered back, pulling her into a proper hug.
"Mmm…" Alice tucked herself against his chest, hands wrapping around his neck. "How about you use your actions to thank me instead…?"
"..."
Alice lifted her head and found his face colored in awkwardness.
"What's wrong? Did you screw something up?"
"Well, not exactly… hehe." He laughed nervously.
She tightened her hold. "Out with it. Since today is your birthday, I'll be lenient."
"Really?" Ashen got baited by her promise of leniency and spilled the beans. "Well, before separating, Seraphine used a skill of hers on me. It builds a semi-permanent connection, and this connection can transmit sensations…"
Alice's eyes narrowed.
"The sensations need to pass a certain threshold to register in the connection… so most of the time, I receive only one sensation from her…" He swallowed. "It's during the times when she masturbates…"
"...So pleasure." Alice deadpanned.
"...Yep." He nodded stiffly, but Alice wasn't done yet.
"...This connection, you said it was semi-permanent… how so?" She pressed further.
"Uh… It's permanent from my side, but she could cut it off from hers, hence the 'semi' part…" He quickly explained.
"And let me guess, the sensations go both ways…" One hand left his neck to tousle the back of his hair before she grabbed a fistful.
"Yeah… uhm, about that…" Ashen didn't know how to break it to her, but she beat him to it anyway.
"Every time we pleasure each other, that same pleasure is transmitted to that slut of a best friend of mine…" Her voice wasn't even mad. It was completely even, which ironically made Ashen more afraid.
"Answer."
"...! Yes, ma'am."
Caressing his cheek, she murmured, almost amusedly, "You put yourself in so much pain, much more than you receive pleasure… I'm sure the last few days have been hell for her if she had to withstand the pain from your training…"
"...Yet," Her murmur sharpened into almost a hiss, "she didn't cut the connection. What a devoted woman… Or should I say… what a good man I have, to make her fall so deeply that she's willing to accept all that pain just to finally be bestowed pleasure…"
"Alice… the main function of the skill is for me to share physical strength when the connection is active…" Ashen hesitantly interjected, trying to stir her away from the pleasure-sharing part.
"Ah, yes, I'm sure that's why she keeps the connection. It totally has nothing to do with how many orgasms she'll reach when we get to it, right?"
"..." He had nothing to say to that.
But he knew he had to say something to diffuse the volatile situation.
"...It's… uhh… my... birthday?"
'Fuck. Way to go, Ashen, now she'll totally forgive you.' He would have facepalmed if Alice wasn't caressing the very face he was planning to palm.
"..." Alice glanced at him and continued her gentle caress. Her mind was clearly elsewhere, even as she played with his hair and cheeks, but Ashen's mind was getting confused by the mixed signals.
'Is she mad? If so, then show it, damn it… What's with this gentle treatment?! My consciousness can't handle the guilt, goddamn it…!'
"Haah… Alright." Finally, after what felt like hours but was barely a minute, Alice sighed softly.
"Don't worry, dear, I'm not mad."
'She's definitely mad… But I think I'm saved for now.' Ashen automatically translated in his mind.
"...Really?" He gave her a shaky smile.
And she mirrored it with a serene one of her own. "Really."
"We've already talked about this when we reunited. I already know about Seraphine. I also know that you won't give up on her."
"...On the contrary, if you were to abandon her, I'd really be mad. After all, even if she's a slut for seducing my boyfriend, I still consider her my best friend and a sister, understand…?"
"Crystal." He hurriedly nodded. Not like he planned to let Seraphine go anyway, just as Alice said.
"Also… we've already got all the drama out of the way when you confessed about your relationship with her… Don't you think it's redundant to go over that again each time Seraphine is brought up…?"
"Well, it's not about logic, babe, this is about emotions, and they're often irrational…" Ashen said gently.
Inside though… 'Hooray for having a woman who uses her brain first! Seravelle didn't lie when they labeled her as a national treasure, hahaha.'
"...True, but I'd like to think that I'm better than that. I've already allowed my emotions to interfere once; that's enough, no?"
'Enough! More than enough!!' He screamed in his mind.
Outwardly, though, only compassion showed. "Dear, you have every right to stay emotional. I know how unreasonable I'm being by forcing you into such a relationship…"
"Hmm~ You've already said it though… You're loyal… just a little unfaithful. And I've seen plenty of that loyalty in the History Fragment…" She murmured the end of her sentence.
"In fact, even if I didn't show it… I've been kind of worried about her. With you here, how would she handle her pathway alone? But now that I know the existence of this skill of hers, I'm sure she's been using our pleasure to advance her path…"
"I just hope she's safe…" Ashen said, mind wandering back to that airheaded woman who always found ways to light up the room with her optimism.
"...There is something else I'm mad about though…" The hand caressing the back of his head suddenly pulled him closer, leaving less than an inch between their faces.
'Was this all a trap to lull me into false safety, after all?' Ashen paled.
"How dare you keep this a secret from me? If it were anyone else on the other end of the connection aside from that slut, I would have killed them and maybe your balls alongside them."
Ashen's face paled even further, but his mouth moved as if it had a mind of its own, spouting whatever excuse he could come up with on the fly. His balls were in jeopardy!
"Uhh, Alice, I wanted to say it… But you know how most of our sexy time is spontaneous! I didn't get the chance!"
Alice's stare remained unimpressed.
"Also, this is kinda Seraphine's skill… her privacy… I didn't want to break her trust and divulge it. But now it's infringing on your privacy as well… so I've said it now… Isn't that enough, babe…?"
"...You're telling me the details."
"Okay…"
'Safe!'
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"...So she started sending you pleasure through the link when you were partying with your friends?"
"...Yeah."
"...And you popped a boner right in front of everyone?"
"...Yep."
"...And then they blamed that Lust pathwalker—who had actually nothing to do with it—for riling you up?"
"...Alice, please." Ashen looked at her helplessly as she snuggled further to his side as they reclined on the bed.
"Pfft." She sniggered at his expense, then asked, "So, how did you handle Seraphine's 'enthusiasm' then?"
…And Ashen had to keep true to his promise and answer. "Well, later, I think her skill advanced, so she was able to glean more subtle sensations, so we used a signal to tell each other when we were ready for the other to transmit… It was all Seraphine back on the frontline, though…"
Alice nodded, though laughter still shimmered in her eyes. "Well, I doubt you'd find a place to jerk off when Narkals could strike anytime… Heh."
Ashen felt his lips twitch on their own. "Little minx, seems it's time for some discipline."
With that, Alice suddenly found herself on her back with her legs raised. The thought that she'd overdone it barely passed through her mind in favor of excitement for being 'disciplined'.
"Why would I need to jerk off when I have you, hmm?" His hands snaked to the straps of her dress, lowering them before he moved his hands further down and cupped her now-spilling breasts.
"Oh yeah? Are you going to use me to pleasure that mistress of yours now? Well, go on with it." She shot him a provocative look from below, even as her breathing warmed from getting molested.
Ashen answered by snaking his other hand down to her pussy lips.
"Oh~" Alice wasn't relenting, though, even with the mounting pleasure. "Yes, make her feel how you rock my world… maybe she'll get a hint and look for her own man then… hmm…"
Slap—Slap—
Ashen, with his cock now out and aligned with her entrance, used the heavy head to lightly smack her clitoris before lazily dragging it across her folds, making her squirm.
"Hnngg~"
"By the time I'm done with you, let alone think of other men, she won't even be able to think straight," Ashen smirked.
"Oh yeah? Ahn~ Well, I'm waiting… We're waiting, so go on…" She licked her lips, eyes half-lidded.
"You asked for it." He had some new surprises, and he couldn't wait to see their effect on her.
{Activated Path Skill: Somatic Autonomy}
The skill hummed to life, beginning its subtle adjustments.
Smack—
He thrust in one smooth motion.
"AHH—♡"
The same loud moan echoed somewhere else.
Somewhere distant, a lonely woman finally received her reward after enduring all that pain.
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