Work Text:
“I have a present for you, my Warden.”
Theron looked up from the arrow shaft he was smoothing, quirking an eyebrow up as his lover entered the work room, holding a small box in his hand. He set the unfinished arrow and the knife he was using down on the table and gave Zevran his full attention. “I like presents,” he grinned.
Zevran returned the grin, though it was sly. And a bit wary, if Theron was reading him correctly. Interesting. What could have have possibly gotten that would cause him to look so pleased with himself, yet cautious at the same time. Almost immediately, their collection of...toys sprang to mind. Zevran had introduced them into their sex life carefully, sometimes a little hesitant, wondering if Theron would accept them, but so far his choices had brought the two of them nothing but pleasure. So why would he seem unsure now?
Reaching for the box, Theron took it from Zevran’s hand, set it on the table, and flipped the lid open. For a moment, he simply blinked down at the contents, unsure as to what he was seeing. He looked up at Zevran, but the other elf’s expression was neutral now, a blank mask that gave Theron no hints. He looked back down to study the object.
It was a metal device, quite clearly in the shape of a set of cock and balls, attached to a thick ring. Theron picked it up to inspect it better. Made of burnished silver, it was cool and smooth to his touch. It was also surprisingly light, due to the fact that it was hollow. All the edges were carefully rounded, smoothed so that there was nothing sharp, and there was a small hole at the tip of the penis—so whoever was wearing it could relieve himself, he realized. And as he inspected it, he saw that it wasn’t entirely a single, solid object. The penis and balls were all of one piece, with an opening wide enough that each body part could be slipped in if one was careful, but the ring was a separate piece. It attached on the top and bottom of the device with close fitting hasps that were held together with small locks. He could see clearly how it would be meant to...fit on a person, how it would hold one totally encased and close fitting to the body so there would be no place to touch.
Theron wasn’t exactly sure what his reaction should be. Zevran put cock rings on him fairly frequently, to keep him from coming, and it was something they both enjoyed—Zevran for the control and Theron for the denial. They had even used carefully crafted leather pouches to keep Theron from getting hard at all, though that was more infrequent. What Theron held in his hands would definitely keep him from getting an erection, which he didn’t object to; in fact, he’d asked for it before several times, and it had become one of his default choices when Zevran let him choose for the night. But this...with the metal and the locks....
It seemed very final. He tried not to think about how warmth curled in his stomach at the thought.
He looked up at Zevran. “This is for me?”
“Yes,” Zevran said quietly, nodding.
“Why?”
Zevran was silent for a long time, thinking and choosing his words carefully. “Because you like it,” he finally said, his gaze completely open and honest. “You have always liked it when I have denied you, even when it was in the beginning and I simply made you wait a few extra minutes to come.”
Thoughts of their first days together, of a small, hot tent, Zevran’s hand tight around the base of his cock, murmuring into his ear, “Not yet, my Warden,” flooded Theron’s mind.
“And then later,” Zevran continued, “when I would tell you not to come for a whole day, and then two or three, you enjoyed that, the denial making your release that much sweeter.” Theron could only nod, for it was true. So much responsibility had been on his shoulders for so long that he relished the times when someone he loved and trusted took control, taking the choice away from him. It was freeing. He knew Zevran would never hurt him, would never abuse his trust.
“And when I don’t touch you, when I leave you aching and straining for contact that doesn’t come. I know you liked it when I kept you from even getting hard. The look in your eyes.... You are so blissful like that. You think I did not, but I saw the way you looked at those toys, saw how desperate you were each time you asked to use it. I want to make you happy, and I think this could give you what you truly want,” Zevran finished.
Theron couldn’t deny that. He liked being prevented from coming. As good as it felt in the moment, he strangely found that he enjoyed the denial far more after the fact. And being constricted or bound so that he couldn’t even get an erection.... He shuddered slightly. This, though, seemed to imply a denial far longer than he was used to. He didn’t want to be used, and the thought of doing this with anything except Zevran was horrifying. But for the man he loved, he would do anything, and if this gave himself something he wanted....
“How long?” he finally asked, trusting Zevran to know what he meant.
“For however long I wish,” Zevran said simply. “There is but one key,” he tugged a simple leather cord out from his shirt, a small, shiny key looped onto it, “and picking locks has never been your specialty.”
“Not very many locks in the the forest,” Theron murmured.
“Very true,” Zevran grinned. “You could cut the locks off, I suppose, but know that you only need to ask and I will release you. The choice to allow me control is always yours.”
Theron looked back down at the device, feeling his face grow hot at the thought of it encasing him, smooth and hard, preventing him from feeling anything, from doing anything. It would always be there, a constant reminder of Zevran, of his love, his dedication. He swallowed hard, feeling himself begin to harden in his pants. He wanted it, badly, but he couldn’t deny the slight tendril of fear at handing over complete control over something so intimate.
Zevran’s hand covered his around the device. “You do not need to make a decision now,” he said gently. “I do not expect you to. Think about it for however long you wish. Neither it, nor I, are going anywhere.” He took it from Theron and placed it back in the box. “I will leave this on the table by our bed. Each night that it stays there—and I promise I will give you time to think about it—I will know that you wish me to use it. If you remove it....” Zevran shrugged. “Then I know you do not and we go on.”
Taking a deep breath, Theron nodded. “How do you plan on getting it on, though?” he asked shakily, gesturing at his lap. “It looks like it’ll be barely big enough when I’m completely flaccid, and if you come anywhere near me with it, I’m not going to stay that way.”
Without a word, Zevran knelt in front of Theron. He reached out and stroked Theron’s cock through the cloth, causing the other elf to buck up into the touch, growing completely hard under his touch. “I had a thought about that,” he said. “But it requires a very great deal of trust on your part.”
“What?”
“You could do it yourself,” Zevran offered. “Choose the right time for you, when you were most in control—” Theron was already shaking his head. If this was to be done, he wanted Zevran there, wanted him to be a part of it. “Or I could simply wait until you were exhausted, unable to get hard for me again.” Zevran held his gaze, bright gold eyes fixed on him. “But that seems unfair to do it to you then. There is, however, another option.” He waited for Theron’s nod to continue, and went back to stroking him as he spoke. “I could give you a sedative, a mild one, in your evening wine. Just enough to put you in a deep sleep. Then I could put it on you while you slept.”
“I would just wake up with it on,” Theron gasped, pressing into Zevran’s hand.
“Yes,” his lover murmured, stroking him harder.
“Would you tell me when?”
“If you wish me to. Or I could make it a surprise.”
Theron gasped at the thought of simply going to sleep one night, unaware, and wake up encased in the device. Zevran worked him harder, his hand moving faster, twisting slightly as he went, his thumb swiping over the tip. Theron was close, he could feel it. His hands gripped the arms of his chair tightly and he groaned. He should be terrified by the thought, of having absolutely all the control about this taken from him, to be drugged and then bound while he was asleep. But this was Zevran. Theron already trusted him with his life, and more importantly his heart. Why not this? The thrill of fear he felt was expectant, a good anticipation of the unknown.
“I will always take care of you, my Warden,” Zevran murmured, leaning up to kiss him. “My Theron. You want this. Let me give it to you. Let go.” Theron came hard with a broken cry, Zevran’s mouth swallowing the sound as warm wetness spread across his groin. Zevran stroked him carefully through the aftershocks, hands delicate upon sensitive flesh. When he finally pulled away, Theron sagged back into his seat.
Zevran got to his feet, and Theron eyed the bulge in his pants. “Do you want me to...?”
The other elf grinned wickedly, but shook his head. “No, for now I just want you to worry about yourself. You have a lot to think about,” he added, with a meaningful nod at the box.
“I do,” Theron agreed. He reached out to close the box and then handed it to Zevran. “If I...if I do decide to use it, I want...I don’t want to know when.”
“All right.” Zevran said no more, just took the box and left the room on silent feet. Theron sat where he was for a moment longer, before getting up with a grimace for the cooling mess in his pants. They were alone in their spacious villa in Antiva—being the Hero of Ferelden had provided a nice reward and the bribes Zevran took to stop slaughtering Crow Masters had swelled their funds to allow them to live a very comfortable life—so Theron merely stripped his soiled pants and then his shirt off, and strolled with them in hand to drop them in the wash basket before going to clean up. When he padded into their bedroom to find a set of clean clothes, the wooden box was resting on the bedside table, looking innocuous with its delightful torture closed inside. He regarded it for a long moment before turning away and finding his clothes before he went back to his fletching.
He needed to think.
~*~
Theron left the box where it was the first night, and then promptly hid it the next day as he wavered between wanting it and then changing his mind in doubt. Zevran didn’t say a word, not commenting on the box’s disappearance, nor its return a week later. His words about the choice being completely Theron’s were true, and Zevran would do nothing to influence his lover into doing something he didn’t want to. Life continued on as it always had.
Well, in retrospect, there might have been a slight influence, Theron noted some weeks later. Perhaps in anticipation of the long denials ahead of Theron, Zevran seemed determined to give him as many orgasms as was possible. Whether it was with his mouth, or on his fingers and cock, Zevran made him come multiple times each night, enough so that eventually Theron had to beg his lover to stop. He had gotten off more in the last month than he had in the entire six months previous, and it made Theron long for the days when Zevran denied him.
He left the box where it was.
~*~
The moment that Theron awoke, he knew.
He stretched as was his wont when emerging from a good night’s sleep and then immediately froze at the feel of extra weight on his groin. Sitting up, he whipped the sheet off his naked form. There, gleaming in the morning light, sat the device, encasing his cock and balls. With a shaking hand, Theron reached down to touch it. It was warm, the metal heated by the contact with his flesh, and completely smooth, blocking out all sensation except for movement as he shifted it to get a better look.
Now that it was on him, it was easy to see the exquisite craftsmanship. Nothing pinched or pulled or dug in. It followed the natural curve of his cock, so there was no discomfort there, and was just tight enough that he could barely feel it around him without constricting him. Just smooth, warm metal, holding him close. Zevran must have given very specific measurements, he realized, as he pressed his finger to the small hole at the tip, and could just touch the slit of his cock. Even the graze of that small contact was enough to cause his cock to begin to swell, but it didn’t get far. Almost immediately, he felt the constriction, nearly bordering on painful, and he took a deep breath, snatching his hand away and trying to will himself to be calm.
After a minute or two, he was sure he would be fine and eased out of bed. As light as the device had felt in his hands, it felt much heavier on his cock and balls, pulling them down slightly. As he took a few steps, it swayed and bounced, and Theron quickly realized that it was a whole new torture. It would keep him in a near constant state of wanting to get hard without being able to.
Zevran was a genius. An evil genius, and Theron loved him for it. He should probably show him just how much. Not bothering with his clothes, he walked naked through the house looking for his lover, getting accustomed to feel of the device.
He found Zevran sitting on the patio off the kitchen that led out into the spacious garden, shaded from the sun by the balcony of their bedroom above it. He was bare from the waist up, only a leather cord around his neck with the keys to Theron’s locks gracing his torso. The remains of an orange peel sat in a bowl on the table next to him, and he was popping the remaining section of orange into his mouth when Theron walked out. Zevran finished chewing slowly as he looked Theron over, swallowing and smiling widely as he gaze fixed on his lover’s groin.
“How does it fit?” he asked.
“Perfectly,” Theron answered huskily. “Like a glove.”
“Mmm,” Zevran hummed and stood, wiping his hand on his pants before taking hold of Theron’s cock and balls. Theron could feel the pressure and the tug as Zevran moved it around, but no more, and he whimpered. “And how does it feel?”
“Wonderful,” he gasped as Zevran teased his finger over the hole, causing Theron to feel the tightness of the constriction again. “I wanted to...to thank you,” he managed.
“Oh?” Zevran let his hand fall away. “Then by all means.”
Theron went to his knees, nuzzling at Zevran’s groin through his pants, and the thickening cock beneath them. He pushed Zevran all the way back down into his chair and switched went to work on the loose laces that held Zevran’s pants up. His lover was bare underneath and Theron grinned at the sight of the lovely cock rising to greet him, settling his hands on Zevran’s hips. For a moment, he just looked at it and when Zevran made an impatient noise, he leaned forward and swiped his tongue over the tip.
Zevran moaned softly, prompting Theron to repeat the action before sucking the head into his mouth and using his tongue more firmly. With a soft sigh of satisfaction, Zevran rested a hand on the back of Theron’s neck, not forcing, just holding. Through their play, they had learned that Theron didn’t even like the pretense of force. And while Zevran liked it when Theron held his head and just fucked his face, they never attempted the reverse again after the first time.
Not wanting to tease too long, Theron bobbed his head, taking Zevran a little bit deeper each time, until his lips touched the soft skin of Zevran’s belly. This, too, had taken practice, but Theron was nothing if not dedicated and he’d been a willing student under Zevran’s tutelage. As he worked Zevran’s cock, he could feel his own continually trying to get hard, only to be forced back by the device. He moaned around Zevran each time, until his lover was bucking his hips up to meet his bobs, lifting up one final while Theron swallowed his release.
He licked at Zevran softly as he pulled away, as Zevran stroked sweaty strands of hair away from his face. “You are sure it fits fine?” Zevran asked again, sated and slumped back in the chair, Theron having moved up to cuddle on his lap. “There is no pinching or chafing?
“As I said, perfectly. How did you manage that?”
“I know your cock very well,” Zevran smirked. “And I paid a great deal of gold to a man who specializes in this sort of thing.”
Theron leaned back, eyeing himself. “How does it look?”
“Beautiful, amore,” Zevran assured him, reaching down to stroke it. “Your little cage looks lovely on you.”
Beaming, Theron settled against his lover again.
~*~
Zevran kept the cage on for a week before freeing Theron so that he could clean it and his lover both. Theron’s cock immediately strained at the touch of warm water and cloth. This last week had been difficult, getting used to not coming, not even getting a little bit hard no matter what they did. But every time his lover had praised him, murmured how proud he was of him, it made it all worth it.
When he was clean, Zevran coated his hands in oil and reached for Theron. He was amazingly sensitive after a week in the cage, and he bucked up eagerly into Zevran’s touch, moaning like a whore as Zevran stroked him with both hands. His lover was thorough, slipping down to roll Theron’s balls in his hands, squeezing slightly, drifting down a little bit farther to tease at his hole before coming back up to stroke his cock. Theron could feel his release coming over him quickly, and he couldn’t even babble out a warning as he came, his seed spurting over his belly. With a grin, Zevran leaned down to lick off the bit that clung to the head of his cock, Theron bucking and whimpering under the touch.
He lay slumped back on the bed as Zevran cleaned him again, feeling blissful and content, yet strangely dissatisfied with something he couldn’t put his finger on. But when Zevran slid up next to him, he dismissed the unquiet thoughts.
They spent the whole day lounging about the villa, kissing and touching and bringing each other to completion. Throughout the day, Theron continued to feel that odd sense of dissatisfaction, but he tried to ignore it, determined to enjoy himself.
Their evening ended on the balcony, watching the stars and sipping wine. Zevran reached over to touch his arm, holding up the cage. “Do you want this back on tonight?” he asked.
“Yes,” Theron answered, almost before Zevran had finished getting the question out. He blushed, biting his lip, wondering if he had sounded too eager. But Zevran only chuckled gently.
“Of course. One moment.” He stood and padded back into their bedroom. He returned a moment later bearing another goblet of wine, which he held out to Theron. Knowing what it was, and eager for it, Theron reached for it and drank without hesitation. Then he set the empty goblet down on the table, and hold out his hand for Zevran to take, and headed for their bed.
~*~
This pattern continued for a few weeks. Theron adjusted easily to wearing the cage, though he was a bit self conscious the first few times they went into the city, though Zevran assured him it could not be seen. Because he could feel the cage, he felt like everyone could tell he was wearing it. Eventually, that insecurity left as well, and he was perfectly content, until Theron realized why he was unhappy each time the cage came off. He weighed his words, trying to find the right way to ask Zevran for what he wanted. He waited until the night before the cage was scheduled to come off again, and turned to his lover. “Zev?”
“Yes, amore?”
“Tomorrow, when you take the cage off, I don’t want to come.”
Zevran cracked an eye open. “No?”
“No.” Theron shook his head. “I want to go for longer in between coming. After you’re done, I want you to put it back on.”
“Hm, and how long were you thinking?”
“A month?”
Zevran nodded slowly. “That sounds fine.”
Sighing in relief, Theron snuggled closer to him. “Thank you.”
Though they both agreed to it, there was a slight problem in carrying their plan out. Whenever Zevran removed the cage, Theron responded. He couldn’t help it. It was fine while Zevran cleaned him and the cage, but it made getting the cage back on difficult. They had to wait until Theron’s cock was limp again, and then Zevran had to move quickly to slip the cage on before his touch excited Theron too much. It sometimes took multiple tries, and they were both growing increasingly frustrated with it.
But they made do. When one month was up, Zevran let him out and they again spent the day devoted to pleasure. When the second month passed, and Zevran reached for him, Theron stopped him.
“I want to go longer,” he confessed in a small voice.
“Two months?” Theron shook his head. “Three?”
“No. Um...maybe...six?”
“You truly wish to remain chaste that long?”
“I’m hardly chaste,” Theron laughed.
“You know what I mean.” Zevran waved the distinction away. “You are sure?”
“Very.”
Zevran nodded. “Then that is what we shall do.”
~*~
It was easier for Theron after that. He knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t have to worry about Zevran making him come when he removed the cage, even if his erections during the process remained a problem. One week, when Theron was clean, Zevran sat by his side, weighing the cage in his hand. “I have another thing to ask of you, my Warden.”
“Yes?” Theron replied.
“Seeing you like this, the way you are so proud of yourself and your chastity, taking you, having you pleasure me, and having all of your own enjoyment come only from my approval has pleased me in a way I had not anticipated.” Theron moaned softly. “I want to keep you like this,” Zevran said lowly. “I want to keep you like this all the time, locked in, unable to get hard, no way for you to have release. The thought of you helpless, needing me for even the barest hints of pleasure...it makes my blood run hot and my cock ache. I want to deny you because you want to be denied.”
The image that created had Theron writhing on the bed. “Do it,” Theron groaned. “By the gods, Zev do it.” Zevran’s words went straight to his cock, ironically, preventing the elf from doing the very thing Theron wanted.
“Ah, but there is a problem.”
“What?” Theron grated out.
“I cannot keep this on you forever. It’s not healthy or clean. A week, yes, but I don’t want to risk harming you. And as you can see, when I remove it, you act accordingly.” He gestured to Theron’s erect and flushed cock. “It has been a problem before, and I know you do not like the temptation.”
“Then what do we do?” Theron asked, near despair.
“You remember how I first put this on you? When I put it back after leaving you out for a day?” Theron nodded. “I would do the same to take care of you.”
Even through the haze of lust, that made Theron hesitate a little and Zevran hastened to reassure him. “I would tell you. It would never be a surprise. But I will not do so without your permission. But this will let me care for you without a risk of you coming, or getting pleasure at a time you don’t want.” Zevran cupped the side of his face. “I love you, Theron. Let me take care of you.”
Theron gazed into the warm golden eyes, seeing nothing but the deepest love and affection. He wanted, gods, he wanted. So he nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “Please.”
Zevran smiled brilliantly and he leaned down and kissed Theron thoroughly, his tongue thrusting into his mouth. “You will not regret this, amore, this I promise you.” He stood then, going to a set of drawers and opening the top one to remove a small, glass vial. He returned to the side of the bed. Theron looked at it almost accusingly.
“You knew I would say yes,” he said, recognizing the familiar liquid of a sleeping draught.
“I know you,” Zevran said simply, shrugging slightly. He held the bottle up. “A swallow will put you under for about an hour, allowing me to put the cage back on.” He waited for Theron’s nod and then set the device down on the bed, uncorked the vial and slid a hand under Theron’s head, lifting it so he could drink. Theron hesitated only a moment, and then opened his mouth a took a single swallow. Zevran pulled the vial away and set about re-corking it and putting it away, while Theron lay back and let the lassitude sweep over him.
~*~
Weeks passed. Zevran set a strict regimen, giving him the draught once a week before bed. Theron would wake in the morning, able to feel the way Zevran had cleaned and oiled him before locking him away again. Sometimes Zevran would use a salve that tingled, causing Theron to squirm and gasp, desperate for any kind of touch as Zevran slowly fucked into him.
Theron had thought that the beginning would be the hardest, that adjusting to the constant denial would be difficult, but that eventually it would ease. That wasn’t the case. Though the beginning had been a little rocky, he hadn’t truly struggled until nearly two months had passed. He enjoyed it, enjoyed pleasing his lover with his mouth and hands and ass, while all the while denying himself. He liked to give, to let Zevran use him, and not expect anything in return except for warm words of love and affection.
But as time passed, he had moments of doubt. He would lie in bed, one hand cupping the cage, wondering if it was worth it, mourning the loss of touch and release. Zevran still had the key; he wore it always and all Theron had to do was ask and he would be free. But the moments always passed, and when Theron felt the thrill of pleasure at pleasing Zevran again, he wondered why he had doubted to begin with.
There was also one really bad incident, pressed down into their bed, Zevran curled over his back, thrusting deeply, Theron shuddering each time the spot inside of his was brushed over. When he felt Zevran release deep inside of his, the warm rush, he suddenly burst into tears. At that moment, he wanted to come, wanted to feel the ache of desire and release. Zevran had pulled out as quickly as he could, turning Theron over and holding him, kissing at his tears as he tried to calm him. When he noticed his lover clutching at the cage, he nearly ripped the leather cord from his neck, trying to pull Theron’s hands away so he could release him.
Theron pushed him away. “No!” he gasped. “No, I’ll be all right. It just...overwhelmed me for a moment.”
“Are you sure?” Zevran’s face was nearly distraught. “I don’t want to hurt you. If this is too much, we end it. Now.”
“No!” Theron protested, calmer now, though he still shook. “No. Don’t.” He took a ragged breath. “Don’t,” he repeated, softer.
“You are sure?” Zevran looked dubious.
Theron nodded and took the cord from Zevran, dropping it back over his head. Then he settled back, holding his arms open, and held his lover until he fell asleep.
~*~
“Come here, my Warden,” Zevran called from their bed, patting a pillow that had been set in the middle, a towel draped over it. “Lay here, with this under your hips.”
Theron did, grinning, anticipating a night of slow fucking that a set up like this usually led to. He settled down, hips nestled into the soft pillow, his head resting on his folded arms. Without being asked, he spread his legs wide, drawing his knees up to give Zevran better access. “Like this?”
“Perfect.” There were the familiar sounds of Zevran retrieving the bottle of oil they favored and then motion of the bed jostling as he settled between Theron’s legs. Grinning where Zevran couldn’t see it, Theron canted his hips just so in blatant invitation.
“Cheeky,” Zevran chided, swatting him lightly on the ass. Theron chuckled, the sound breaking off abruptly as the other elf slid an oiled finger into him. Then he moaned quickly, feeling the familiar ache of constriction, and pushed back against his lover’s hand.
That didn’t make Zevran move any faster. He just kept sliding the one finger in and out, working it carefully for a long time before drawing in back and adding a second. Theron expected him to begin scissoring his fingers, stretching his entrance in preparation, but Zevran didn’t do that. There was just the continual thrust of two fingers held together.
“Zevran?” he asked, unsure. “What are you doing?”
“Trying something new,” Zevran replied, and at that moment pushed down on the spot inside of Theron that make him go instantly hard. Well, used to. Now it just made him yelp at the sudden ache of his groin. “Easy,” Zevran murmured, his free hand stroking circles on Theron’s back to soothe him.
Then he began rubbing his fingertips over the spot, again and again, a constant pressure that quickly drove Theron near mad with frustration. He bucked and squirmed, trying to both wriggle away from the touch and toward it at the same time. “What are you doing?” he gasped again, his hips thrusting into the pillow below him on instinct.
“Trust me,” his lover murmured, holding Theron’s hip so that he couldn’t move as much.
“Zev, please,” Theron gasped. “I can’t...too much...I—”
He cut himself off with a strangled cry as he suddenly felt something. It was almost as if he were relieving himself, but he knew that wasn’t the case. Nor was he coming the way he always had before, oh but it was close, so close. Instead, he could feel his seed releasing as a single flow, somehow dribbling out of his still-soft cock. Zevran kept the rubbing up, forcing all of Theron’s seed from him until the sweet torture of being kept on edge until gasped out a hoarse, “Please!” and Zevran stopped, gently withdrawing his fingers, and then turning Theron over.
“What was that?” Theron asked when he got his breath back. “You know I don’t want to come.”
Zevran shook his head faintly. “You don’t want to orgasm, and do you feel you have?” He lifted an eyebrow, nodding where Theron looked up at him in confusion. “You want to be denied, and I denied you the pleasure of coming while still making you do so.”
“I suppose....” Theron said uncertainly.
“I will not do it again if you don’t want me to,” Zevran assured him. “But I thought it might be something you might like.”
“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. “Perhaps again? In another month or two?”
Zevran smiled. “All right.”
~*~
They tried again the next month, and then again before Theron finally decided he liked it as long as it wasn’t too often. They settled for every three months, the halfway point between the times when Theron got to come for real.
“Tomorrow makes another six months, doesn’t it?” Theron asked one day as they sat watching the sunset from the balcony, sprawled out on the couch together, naked and shameless.
“Yes.” Zevran eyed his crotch. “Anticipating something, eh?”
“Actually....” Theron squirmed away, pulling himself up to sit and looking at Zevran carefully. He’d been thinking about this a lot lately, ever since the last time Zevran had let him out to play, as it were. He was fairly sure that Zevran would be fine with it, as he had for the more than three years now that they’d been doing this. But it was a big step and Theron wanted to be sure.
A raised eyebrow was Zevran’s only prompt for more information, and Theron reached out to grab his hand, wanting the contact to ground him. “About tomorrow. I.... I don’t want you to.”
“You don’t want me to?” Zevran repeated, brows furrowing in puzzlement then lifting as realization dawns. “But that would mean—”
“I know what it would mean,” Theron interrupted. “I know what I’m asking for.”
“You would not get to come,” Zevran said slowly, “for another six months.” Theron said nothing and his lover’s eyes went wide. “Longer?” he asked, almost in disbelief. Theron nodded slowly. “How long, then?”
“If it were possible, I’d tell you to fill the lock or throw away the key, but...” he whispered, “how does the next twenty-five or so years sound?”
Zevran sucked in a sharp breath. “My Warden,” he breathed, clearly shocked. Sitting up himself and turning to face Theron, he cupped the other elf’s jaw in his hand. “You are telling me...never again? Are you quite serious?”
Theron nodded jerkily. “Leading up to each time you take it off, I get...anxious,” he mumbled. “Nervous, shaky. I know it’s coming, but not the exact moment or how and....” He broke off, frustrated with himself for not being able to clearly articulate what he was feeling.
Zevran slid his hand from Theron’s jaw to the back of his neck, his thumb rubbing soft circles along his hairline. “Take your time, amore,” he murmured. “I am here. I will listen.”
Taking another steadying breath, Theron tried to collect his thoughts. “I like coming,” he admitted. “I like you making me come, you know that. But I like this more. When you take it off and we make love and I come, of course it feels good, but I feel bad after, like I did something in the moment that I didn’t really want to do and I wished I hadn’t.”
“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Zevran assured him.
“I know.” Theron met his lover’s eyes. “I know, but I don’t feel right about it. And when I know it’s coming, that it’s going to happen, the anticipation makes it worse. And then after we’re done and it’s back, it takes me awhile to feel right again. I don’t want that. I want to just...be.”
He frowned again. “I don’t want to be a slave. I enjoy being your equal, when we fight and work together. I like talking with you, living with you, loving you. I don’t want you to control what I do and what I say. But I do want this. Does that make sense?”
Zevran looked troubled. “In a way, yes.” He opened his mouth and then closed it again, thinking hard. “I have agreed to what we’ve done so far because it makes you happy, and I want you to be happy. But, Theron...you know I like making you come, right? That I like to give you the ecstasy of release?”
“I know, yes,” Theron agreed quietly, feeling his heart sink.
“To ask me to give that up....” Zevran trailed off, shaking his head faintly.
Theron swallowed back his disappointment. He knew it was asking a lot. He could live with six month intervals, if this was too much for Zevran. As much as he wanted this, he didn’t want it at the cost of Zevran’s own happiness. “I-It’s all right,” he stammered. “It’s a lot. I-I know that. So if you can’t—”
“Hush, my Warden, hush,” Zevran murmured, looking pensive. “Let me think for a moment.” He pulled Theron closer, absently brushing back his hair, frowning slightly as he studied his face and thought. “I cannot pretend to truly understand this.” His hand crept down to stroke over the cage. “To some extent, yes, but while I know you enjoy, even prefer it—and I accept that you do—I don’t think it’s ever something I can understand because it’s so different from what I enjoy.”
Zevran sighed again, deeply. “This makes you happy? Gives you pleasure? More than anything else?”
“Yes,” Theron replied, firmly and decisively, trying to show Zevran beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is what he wanted.
After a long pause, Zevran nodded decisively. “Then you shall have it.”
Sighing with relief, Theron sagged into Zevran’s arms. “Thank you,” he murmured, “for understanding.”
“I do not entirely understand,” his lover corrected gently, “but I do love you, and that is enough.”
~*~
The cord with the key disappeared from around Zevran’s neck by the next morning. Seeing that—and waking with the cage still in place—made Theron’s day that much better. He felt relaxed, at ease, and he showed Zevran by lazily sucking him off before they even got out of bed. Zevran threaded his fingers through Theron’s dark hair, cradling his skull and moaning quietly as Theron swallowed him down. Theron grinned as much as a mouth stuffed full of cock would allow, and set back to work, using every trick he knew until Zevran was pulsing down his throat.
When Theron finally pulled off with an obscenely wet sound, he laid his head on Zevran’s hip, eyes closed and smiling. Soft fingertips gently brushed his cheek. “You really are happy like this,” Zevran said, almost in wonder.
Theron nodded without lifting his head. “I am,” he breathed, feeling Zevran twitch beneath him as Theron’s breath ghosted across his still damp, sensitive cock.
“Then we shall have to make sure you stay that way.”
~*~
Zevran didn’t give Theron cause to question himself. He never asked Theron if he had changed his mind, or hinted that he wanted the cage to come off. They just...went about their lives. Zevran made love to him nearly every night, stretching him open with loving fingers before taking him, sometimes soft and slow, sometimes hard and fast. Other nights he would hand Theron a toy and lay back while his lover used it on him. They made in every way it was possible for them to still make love, and Theron thought his heart would nearly burst with the joy of it.
And while Theron denied himself one particular pleasure, Zevran gave him others, from deep massages to simply brushing his hair. Theron still felt desire, his cock still hardened within the cage as much as the unforgiving metal would allow, but he loved that he didn’t get more than that. Zevran no longer used any of the salve that tingled either. Theron had said he didn’t want any sensation, and temptation, so that’s what he got. And every few months, Zevran would carefully milk him, forcing his seed from him in the closest thing he would ever have to an orgasm again. It was near agony, almost tortuous, but afterward Theron would lay there panting, heart hammering in his chest, the ache of denial raging, but the sweet ecstasy of it soothing him.
Zevran did, however, celebrate their milestones, congratulating Theron and breaking out a rare and expensive with each anniversary that passed. First it was a year that Theron had gone without release. And then two.
Five.
Ten.
By the time that year rolled around, celebrated with a bottle of Antivan brandy in year Theron hadn’t thought existed anymore, he couldn’t imagine ever going back. The metal around his cock and balls was like a second skin now. He couldn’t envision removing it anymore than he could his real skin or the vallasin on his face. The feel of it surrounding him, the weight of it were now a part of him, never to be traded for anything.
He looked down at the cage, Zevran’s hand resting possessively over it. It wasn’t the same one they had begun with. To celebrate five years, Zevran had purchased a new one, still of polished silver, but this time chased with gold inlay, set with tiny jewels, etched with delicate elven script that read “love” and “faith” and “trust.” It was truly a work of art, and a sign of Zevran’s commitment as much as the earring Theron wore was a sign of his.
Lazily, Zevran ran a finger down his metal cock, his finger teasing the hole at the tip in a gesture as familiar between them as a kiss. “No regrets?” he asked seriously from where his head was pillowed on Theron’s shoulder.
Theron turned Zevran’s face up to his. “None,” he murmured before claiming his lips in a kiss.