A Walk in the Woods

[mylandmyrules]

Nell reached out to take Gladio's hand and stood up. "I can show you one of my favorite spots," she said. and grinned at him. "Yes, I know, I have a lot of favorite spots."

Comments

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio's returning grin as he let Nell lead him turned into a laugh as her addendum pretty much echoed what he was about to say. "So how do you plan on choosing just the one?"

[[ now why would anything like that happen?? ahem ]]

[mylandmyrules]

She looked up at him with a teasing grin. "Maybe we'll just have to keep visiting them until we find the perfect one."

[sword_chocobro]

"And what," Gladio wondered, "would be the criteria for what'll make it perfect?"

He already had a pretty good idea of what his qualifications would be, but they probably wouldn't count, since they were already meeting those.

[mylandmyrules]

"Today," Nell said. "They would be... shady with a little bit of sun, a good tree or rock to lean up against or sit on, far enough in the woods to be private, and the perfect company. Which I already have."

[sword_chocobro]

"And that's the easy part," Gladio said. "Just lead the way. If anyone could find that perfect spot, it's gonna be you."

[mylandmyrules]

After a leisurely stroll through the woods, hand in hand, they came to a little clearing. "Here," Nell said, pointing to a big oak. "This is one of my favorites. And I put Soulwood soil around it so I feel more connected to home."

She pulled out her old pink blanket and settled it at the bar of the tree and sat down with the leaves casting dappled shadows on her. "Come sit," she said with a smile.

And took her shirt off.

[sword_chocobro]

Nell's removal of her shirt did catch Gladio off guard for a moment, but he didn't really think anyone could blame him for that. His recovery was quick, though, a grin surfacing and disappearing momentarily behind his own shirt being pulled off over his head and tossed onto the blanket before he joined her, leaning in with one bare shoulder against another.

"Now I see why privacy was pretty up there."

[mylandmyrules]

"Mmmmhmmm," Nell said, enjoying the feel of his bare shoulder against her. One day perhaps she'd be brave enough to take her bra off as well, but for now this would do. "Wouldn't want anyone to wander by and bother us. I only want you to bother me. And you can bother me all you want."

[sword_chocobro]

Even this deep in the woods, shedding even that much was pretty bold and brave, Gladio thought. Although she had mentioned she'd had some of her Soulwood soil out here, which meant that she'd probably be able tell if someone was coming, right? Didn't matter. Still pretty brave and admittedly a pretty nice thrill of a surprise for him, too, and bravery like that shouldn't go unrewarded...

And while there was a part of Gladio that still felt reluctant, like maybe this was something he was somehow unintentionally swaying her towards, those words had a certainty in the them that could push that hesitancy aside like nothing.

And so he grinned as he leaned in a little more, lifting a hand to brush a thumb against her cheek. "You sure about that?" he asked. "I'm pretty good at being a bother."

And he was going to prove it now, too, with a very bothersome kiss.

[mylandmyrules]

She'd be able to tell pretty much anywhere in the woods. If she was paying attention. Soulwood soil could interrupt if necessary.

She laughed as he moved in. "Very sure," she assured him and proved it with her kiss.

[sword_chocobro]

It would have to interrupt, really, because if Gladio's kissing back was anything short of distracting, then he was clearly off his game. Hard to imagine that would be the case, though, outside here in the quiet privacy of the woods, where his hands could also start lightly trailing down the warm exposed skin of her arms. Shifting a little so he could better wrap one of his arms around her to pull her closer as he deepened that kiss, his chest against hers as if closer was somehow still not close enough.

[mylandmyrules]

It wasn't close enough. Nothing seemed close enough. And even Soulwood would take some doing to interrupt Nell. She shifted with him easily, wrapping her arms around him, well, one arm, as the other hand was making its way into his hair to hold onto him there.

And when she pulled back a fraction to catch her breath, she murmured, "Could you... my neck, could you kiss my neck?"

[sword_chocobro]

When Nell pulled back, even just that marginal, small distance, Gladio used that moment to catch his own breath, and to steady himself, preparing himself to pull back a little more, rein it in, whatever she needed it if it was too much. So when those soft, whispered words reached his ear, he blinked a little, with pleased surprise, eyes flicking up to catch hers and he smiled.

One more kiss on her lips for good measure, with a little extra push in it, of reassurance, of gratitude, before he pulled away again to duck his head and nuzzle his nose, his lips against her neck. Not quite kissing it, not yet, just gently brushing against the skin there until finally pressing his lips against a spot just below her jawline.

"Like this?" he asked, his voice little more than a low, low rumble, before it was buried again in a series of light, lingering kisses slowly making their way down to her collarbone.

[mylandmyrules]

She caught her breath on a sound of delight. "Yes," she managed. "Oh yes." Her fingers tightened in his hair as she stretched her neck further to give him better access. "Oh, Gladio!"

[sword_chocobro]

With the exception of a brief moment to interrupt the kisses with a smile against Nell's neck, encouraged by her response, Gladio continued, staying the course. Maybe picking up the pace a little, but taking his time as if to make sure every inch of her skin there was covered. Then he traveled back up, to then kiss her softly on, and then going down along the other side.

[mylandmyrules]

It was all Nell could do not to make hopeless yearning sounds - though one or two might have slipped out. She clung to him, trying to catch her breath. This was more than she'd ever imagined!

[sword_chocobro]

Finding even more encouragement, hand in Nell's hair and the other spreading across her lower back, Gladio felt a moment of boldness and threw in a flick of his tongue on the way back to her mouth, chuckling a little with happiness as he returned to kissing her proper.

And the smile was still there firmly on his face as he pulled back to breathe, eyes closed, resting his forehead against hers.

"Anywhere else?"

[mylandmyrules]

Nell couldn't contain the sound of pure joy and yearning she made when his tongue flicked out to touch her neck and her hands fisted in his hair for a moment. And then she was laughing against him in delight when they paused to catch their breath, eyes half closed. "M'not sure anything could feel much better than that. Can I -? What if I were to sort of... nibble? On your neck? Would you like that?"

She wanted to try, to maybe make him feel half as good as he'd just made her.

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio's grin went a little crooked, eyes still closed to better just soak this all in.

"Only one way to really know for sure, right?" he said, lifting his chin to lightly kiss her forehead, and if that just so happened to expose his neck to make that even easier for her, well, then...

[mylandmyrules]

Nell carefully let one hand trail down his neck, delicately, like a feather. Then she tipped her head and let her lips follow her hand. The taste and feel of his warm, slighty salty skin made her shiver and the scent of him... it was a heady scent at the most innocent of times, but now...

She kissed him as he'd kissed her, though more delicately, tentatively, tasting him. and when she reached a particularly perfect spot she nibbled ever so gently.

[sword_chocobro]

There was a soft sound out of Gladio when Nell started to trail those kisses down his neck, and there was another one, a grunt as light as the nibble itself, when it landed, his fingers curled, in her hair, against her back.

And a small breath of a laugh.

"C'mon'" he said, "I'm a little tougher than that..."

[mylandmyrules]

She laughed against his neck, feeling rather powerful, and bit down a bit harder - then quickly touched the tip of her tongue to what she'd bitten.

[sword_chocobro]

That managed to pull out a much bigger sound out Gladio, a dragging, appreciative groan that drew in sharply at that quick brush of her tongue.

"That's good," he breathed out, grin growing, neck stretching a little more. "That's very good."

[mylandmyrules]

"You like that," she said, pleased and a little awed. And then she smiled against his neck before tilting her own. "Do you think I'd like it?"

[sword_chocobro]

"Only one way to find out," Gladio repeated, this time in a deep, rumbling murmur as he ducked his head forward into her neck again, the only warning she'd get before his lips pressed against it again, as few more kisses to build up to finding a good, tender spot and gently sinking his teeth in, catching her skin between them and giving it a faint pull.

[mylandmyrules]

Nell's breath caught in her throat and she made a soft keening sound. "Gladio - oh! Can you... again...?"

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio was clearly more than happy to oblige, lifting his chin to kiss just a little higher up Nell's neck this time, just a bit above the last spot. Marking it with his lips before nibbling it softly...but slightly, just slightly, harder than the last one.

[mylandmyrules]

How did such a small thing cause so much pleasure? Nell shivered under him, holding on tightly, then slid one hand down to his and tugged at it. "Could you... here?" and urged it towards her breast. "Please...?"

[sword_chocobro]

Nell hadn't even needed to say anything; that guiding hand was all Gladio needed to move his hand to cup her breast. His thumb brushed against as much skin that wasn't covered as it could, while the rest of his hand squeezed gently, as if to compensate for size and roughness.

A the while kissing and biting one more spot higher on her neck before rreturning his lips to hers again.

[mylandmyrules]

Nell can barely breathe for the pleasure, Her hand flexed hard against his back, holding him close. After a very very long time of drugging kisses, she finally pulled back just enough to rest her forehead against his as she tried to catch her breath.

"Good thing we didn't stay at the field, huh?" she said breathily.

[sword_chocobro]

When Nell pulled back, Gladio's hand stilled, all except for that brushing thumb, and he let out a soft, low laugh.

"Good thing," he agreed in a murmur against her lips, and, since it didn't hurt to check in, asked, "you doing alright?'

[mylandmyrules]

"So much better than alright," she murmured, eyes still closed. "I never even imagined anything could feel that amazing. And I'd thought just the kissing was better than anything could ever be."

[sword_chocobro]

"And there's still a lot more after just this and the kissing, too," Gladio said, like a promise, though when he dropped his hand from Nell's breast to her stomach and spread it out there, he paused, fingers curling slightly but just lingering there.

[mylandmyrules]

Her skin felt so sensitized that she shivered as his fingers curled against her bare stomach and she let her head fall back against his shoulder. "Thank you," she murmured softly. "For all of this and what's to come and... for being so patient with me."

[sword_chocobro]

"Always," Gladio promised in a murmured response back; his hand started to drift up again, but seemed to change its mind, sliding back down her stomach to eventually settle on Nell's hip, while the hand on her back moved so that his arm was wrapping around her and pulling her close again. "Whatever you need..."

He kissed her shoulder again, nuzzled his face into her neck, and the next part came rumbling softly into her ear. "Thank you for letting me show you..."