Work Text:
The ale had been warm for at least ten minutes but Vilkas continued to take the occasional drink, paying barely any mind to it's tepid bitterness.
Jorrvaskr had seen more active and happy times and, while the Nord rarely took part in any jokes or casual banter exchanged over mealtimes he did enjoy watching the others and feeling like he was part of a unique family. Since Kodlak had passed there had been few nights of joy and comradery, and his fellow companions tended towards eating alone or in smaller groups with far more sedate conversation than the place had enjoyed in the last few years. Instead he now sat, alone, on a table away from the main area drinking bad ale and already planning the next day’s training when the current one had barely ended. Was this it? Would this be it until he either died in battle or of old age in a bed somewhere?
He glanced across at Aela who was concentrating hard on an ancient, brown leather bound book that had a poison sigil embossed on the cover. Her legs were twisted under her and he realised that no part of him felt compelled to go over and strike up a conversation. He was caught between a stark loneliness and pushing against the effort of actually socialising with another. Even one he considered a good friend.
As he nudged the tankard away and stood to ease himself downstairs to bed, the main doors flung open and the echoing sound of laughter seemed to mock his thoughts about the place feeling barren and lifeless.
Ysla and Farkas dominated the room as they strode in, sharing a loud and apparently hilarious conversation about something. They grinned and stood almost shoulder to shoulder, elbowing each other good naturedly and casually touched one another often with a familiarity that Vilkas envied as they belly laughed together. The familiar bile of jealousy rose in his stomach and, as ever, he didn’t know who it was aimed at. It generally reared its ugly head when he saw the two of them together, familiar and easily having a conversation. Was it at her for making friends so easily when he found it difficult to get close to people? Or was at him for being with her?
Were they fucking?
No, he’d know. But did he want to? Did she? They certainly had the opportunity to do it without anyone knowing. She often chose his brother to accompany her on jobs for the Companions. Did they have an arrangement in that they only slept with one another when journeying?
That was the thing he’d never know. And since he’d never felt the same connection with her that his twin enjoyed, he would probably never know. The two had instantly become close friends....or more....and when he saw them together it made it difficult to make an effort with her. A childish part of him that he didn’t like to admit existed had already decided if she was his then he wouldn't bother trying too hard with her.
But it did bother him.
She shared a comfortable friendship with all of the Companions; even Ria who had initially been very cold and reluctant to like her, smiled when she entered the room. But not Vilkas. With he, her eyes tended to dart when he appeared and she’d make excuses to take another with her on a long job. He’d realised some time ago that there was some issue between them. But, of course, it was more than likely his own standoffish nature had made her attitude to him cooler.
As he headed towards the stairs down to the common quarters he looked back and watched them finish their story to Aela who joined in with their joke.
Even she managed to feel relaxed around the pair. And she didn’t really like any one else either. He envied Ysla making it easy for people to like her with her relaxed nature, keen skill and difficulty taking anything seriously. She was far more like Farkas in that way. As Vilkas edged further down the stairs and watched the pair laugh with one another he saw a look between them that seemed to be more than friendship.
But could anyone really ignore her long, braided dark hair as it danced over her back as she walked? Or forget about the way her nose wrinkled when she was in the middle of telling a joke?
Or did anyone even notice these things?
You’re an idiot Vilkas, he reminded himself.
—
The knocking on the door began softly but as Vilkas pulled himself from underneath the leathers and furs on his bed it became more urgent and he quickened his step. The only person who tended to hammer on his door after the sun had gone down was Farkas after everyone else had gone to bed and he needed someone to continue drinking mead with. Vilkas braced himself for a short and curt conversation.
Instead, behind the door was a confused and frightened looking Ysla.
“Vilkas…I….I think something’s wrong.”
Her chest heaved with every word as she wrung her hands in front of her chest and picked at her fingers. She tried to look away from him but every time she caught his eyes they seemed to be filled with...anger ?
“What is it?”
She shook her head and pushed the butt of her hands into her eyes. “I feel, like…. I don’t know. My heart is racing and my skin is burning up and I can’t stop….something’s wrong.”
It couldn’t be. But as he watched her step from side to side and bite her lip as she looked at Vilkas like a piece of meat she couldn’t wait to consume, he realised he’d seen these very symptoms before, a long time ago.
“I think I should get Aela.”
He left her with her arms wrapped around herself, jaw shivering as he walked away and pounded on Aela’s door. She appeared a moment later with an even fiercer look than the one he’d been planning on giving Farkas.
“Aela, you need to come.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. “This had better be good Vilkas.”
Aela shuffled behind him, still half asleep, but peered at her shield sister curiously when she saw the sweat beads forming on Ysla’s forehead and the harsh panting that emerged from her pale lips. Even Aela wasn’t afforded a calm demeanor, and the desire of desire she offered to her made Vilkas’ cock twitch ever so slightly.
“Tell her Ysla...”
It was Vilkas’ turn to look uncomfortable now as he realised what was going on and how Ysla was feeling. Her breathing was even more ragged now as she tried to formulate words. “Aela I’m....” Her jaw trembled.
Aela’s expression grew puzzled as her hands rested on her hips. “It cannot be. It’s barely been ten nights since the change. It doesn’t happen this quickly.”
Ysla paced back and forward between Farkas’ and Vilkas’ door and finally bounced on the heels of her feet in the hallway. “Can someone please tell me what is happening to me? I feel as though I’m about to come apart.”
Her friends exchanged a look. “It’s The Heat.” Aela offered gently.
“What’s The Heat?”
“It’s something females experience after the change we’ve gone through. Basically, it’s a mating urge that we experience every moon change. I don’t understand why it’s happening to you now. It normally takes at least two cycles before...”
She shook her head. “How do I stop it?”
The pair stayed silent. Vilkas looked away at the wall, the floor, the table... Anywhere to avoid the longing look of his fellow Companion. His own unresolved feelings began to bubble to the surface as he tried to deflect his own obscene thoughts.
“Tell me!!” Ysla lashed out, smashing the bowl and vase by Vilkas’ door to the ground as he and Aela took a step back. Their shield sister wasn’t known for her violence. In fact, they often joked that a guild for fighters was an odd choice for someone who generally chose to resolve things peacefully and with words. Certainly Vilkas had never seen her temper waver before and despite the fact that she was at least a foot shorter than him and weighed about half his weight there was a moment where he would have been lying if he’d said he wasn’t afraid of her.
The door opposite creaked open and Farkas appeared rubbing his eyes and pulling a bear skin around his otherwise naked body.
That’s not going to help matters, thought Vilkas.
“What’s the matter? Why is everyone in here?” He rumbled.
“It would appear that Ysla is experiencing The Heat prematurely.” Vilkas murmured with a sigh.
Farkas lips curled up slightly and his chest shook gently as he clearly remembered the awkwardness that surrounded Aela’s own Heat emergence. Vilkas fought a simmering anger that his brother would find this amusing when the rest of them were standing so uncomfortably trying to address the problem.
Ysla clearly shared the same frustration. “Farkas this is not the time to laugh! Why did none of you tell me this would happen? I don’t understand why you kept this from me?” Her fingers twisted around her white knuckles as her eyes trailed down Farkas’ stomach to where a smattering of hair gathered in line with his hips. Ysla licked her lips unconsciously.
Aela offered a sympathetic look. “I didn’t intend to. But….it didn’t strike me for at least four cycles after the change. I don’t understand why…”
“I don’t care why. Just tell me how to fix it!”
Ysla’s eyes rested on Vilkas and he felt the burn of her gaze even as he tried to focus on Aela’s words. How hadn’t she already jumped on Farkas when he practically presented himself to her? When Aela’s Heat had begun she tore around like a crazed animal from the first surges of emotion. The restraint Ysla was showing was surprising given the temptation placed in front of her.
“You must mate. The urge will diminish when you do.”
She choked out her own mocking laugh. “That cannot be the only way to get rid of this…feeling.”
The two stared at one another and Vilkas “Perhaps you should be alone…”
Vilkas watched silently as Aela took Ysla’s hand in her own and guided her back to the bedroom. The dark haired woman trembled visibly. Farkas’ chuckle was audible as he shook his head and retreated into his chamber.
As Vilkas closed the door and sat on his bed with his head in his hands he recognised it as pure and simple jealousy. Jealousy that could ultimately spiral out of control as she chose Farkas to mate with.
—
It had taken Aela a few minutes to get her friend calm enough to sit next to her on her bed. The two woman’s shoulders touched and Ysla’s face flushed with arousal and anger. She felt as though her skin was crawling and fought with the carnal images plaguing her mind.
“I know how hard this is. It was not pleasant for me either at first. But the overwhelming hunger will go once you’ve chosen a mate.”
Ysla stared into space. “How do I do that? With just anyone?”
“Well yes. However, you should know that once you choose a mate to sate the thirst you will be connected to them in a way you’ve never been connected to anyone before. And in a way you never will again. I know, right now, you feel a deep connection to myself, Vilkas and Farkas but this is different. You will never desire to mate with another again. But they do not have this same urge and natural fidelity to you and so you must choose wisely. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t discuss this before the compulsion came over you. It would have given you more time to make a choice. To discuss it with your mate.”
Aela stood and walked towards the bookshelf where she ran a delicate finger against the leather spines of the books Kodlak had left his predecessor. Ysla looked up with confused eyes as she tried to regulate her breathing.
“But who did you…..Skjor?”
“Yes. You should also know that when your mate dies you will never desire to be with another again.”
“Aela, I’m sorry.”
“I have done my grieving for Skjor. I admit it has made his passing more difficult than it might otherwise have been but it is the one hindrance in this boon we have been given. But because your mate won’t feel the same compulsion you would do best to choose someone who will be true and loyal to you.”
“So, what do I do now? Can’t I….can I just take care of it?”
Aela raised her eyes and smiled as though the suggestion had been made by her during her own uprising. “Sadly not. Were it that easy.”
“And if I ignore it? What will happen?”
She looked down at her friend with a grave expression and pulled her fur night ware tighter around herself. She evidently wasn’t benefiting from the same heat that Ysla was and padded her bare feet on the stone floor. “You can try. But eventually you will submit to it and by then it may not be with the wisest choice of mate. So while you choose to fight it I would suggest considering if there is….anyone….with whom you may wish to choose this future with. Or who would choose it to be with you.”
Ysla knew what she meant. Her friend had teased her a number of times about her close relationship with Farkas. She’d warned her against leading him on and cited his ‘slightly simple brain’ as evidence that he wasn’t capable of rational decisions when it came to a certain part of his anatomy.
She’d never believed Ysla’s constant assurance that Farkas was a brother to her and nothing more. They’d shared a tent dozens of times while travelling and nothing untoward had happened between the pair. They’d got drunk even more times in random taverns and nothing had happened then either. It had taken a few months to realise that he simply didn’t see her in that way. She was a sister and nothing else and it had come as blessed relief that the pair could be friends without the burden of attraction.
“Aela…” She warned.
“I know. I will leave the decision to you my friend. But I advise you to make it quickly. I remember the feeling well, the burn of desire does not extinguish easily. And you will suffer while you wait.”
She put a reassuring hand against her friend’s shoulder before pulling the chamber door closed with a click and venturing back to the relative safety of her own room.
Ysla sat, her skin burning with desire. All she could think about was sex, fucking and being rammed again and again by every one of her Companion friends and virtually anyone she’d ever met. The scene shifted in her mind constantly as she imagined being pressed up against the wall from behind by Torvar, his mead scented breath panting against her cheek as he grunted while fucking her mercilessly. Or being bent over the dining table by Athis who she could hear spinning a stream of Dunmer profanities as he held onto her hips, his thick cock pounding into her again and again.
Her circle companions weren’t spared from her imaginings either and despite her otherwise innocent feelings towards him, fantasised Farkas splayed beneath her, his jaw tightened with pleasure as she sat on top of him and rode him like a thoroughbred.
Even Aela was imagined crouched between her legs as Ysla lay in bed, her knees to her sides as her shield sister savaged her pussy with her tongue and fingers, only looking up to lock with her eyes and offer a look of ownership.
But the image that stuck with her as she collapsed back onto her covers, shrugged off her cotton slip of night wear and let her fingers drift down to her wet sex, was that of Vilkas on all fours above her, leaning down to capture her mouth in a fierce kiss as the pair moved in unison with one another as she felt him drive in and out of her.
She clung onto that thought as she swept circles around her clit with her fingers, occasionally dipping one inside herself at the thought of him thrusting inside her. She could picture the way he’d throw his head back as he tried not to come too quickly and held out until she felt the pleasure of release first, his skin gleaming with sweat and chest beating with exhaustion. But as she imagined him growling on top of her, his beast form lingering a little too close to the surface, the image broke and she came on her hand, feeling her own climax tingle from the pit of her stomach and spreading to fill her entire body.
She relaxed and panted hard, watching her small breasts bob on top of her chest. The overwhelming feeling of heat and lust had subsided and Ysla felt her skin prickle with the delicious afterglow of orgasm.
Aela had been wrong; the feeling had flushed from her body as quickly as it had begun when she’d come by herself. Perhaps it was because she’d suffered The Heat sooner than Aela? She’d never know. But the decision of who to press into coupling with seemed to have stemmed for the time being.
She threw her legs over the bed and pulled her slip over her shoulders again with a grateful sigh. As she stood to head for the wash basin and clean herself up the now familiar tingle burst in her stomach and moved downwards towards her clit which began to pulse again. She groaned loudly and collapsed back on the bed. She didn’t wait this time, instead moving her still slick hand back downwards and got herself off more quickly than before.
A decision would have to be made. Quickly.
It wouldn’t be fair to approach Farkas. Either he would go ahead with it out of duty, despite no attraction to his friend, or he’d say no and their friendship would suffer a long lasting awkwardness from which it might not recover.
For the first time she admitted to herself she desperately wanted it to be Vilkas. More in that moment than ever before she wished he didn’t hate her and think she was the ‘stupid whelp’ he’d called her when she’d joined the Companions. His feelings towards her had never warmed after that but it hadn’t stopped her thinking about his rolling timbre that make her knees weak or the knowing smile he offered on the rare occasion he’d tell his friends a tale of the Companions. She knew deep down she was beguiled by him but had never even hinted it it, never mind voiced it to anyone. It was probably why she’d allowed the rumours of she and Farkas to go unanswered for so long. It helped keep the literal wolves at bay...
She considered what his reaction would be. Would he at least be polite or would be be openly repulsed at the thought of her fucking him? When she’d felt the first surge of desire earlier in the evening she’d initially thought to speak to Aela but as she’d opened her door, her body unconsciously turned left instead of right and she’d found herself knocking on Vilkas’ door in a panic. He’d been patient with her then, perhaps he would again? And even if he didn’t....well there didn’t seem to be much of a friendship to lose...
—
After three hours, ten orgasms and only a short time before the sun rose in the sky, she found herself knocking on his door for a second time.
The light from the candles in the hallway seeped into his room as he opened the door and looked at her with an expression she couldn’t quite place.
He wore an open tunic and breeches which pooled around his ankles and Ysla gave a fleeting thought as to whether he normally slept naked. The Heat was beginning to rise again and despite washing, all she could smell on herself was her own fluids and the sweat that came from hours of self gratification.
Vilkas stared past her. “Ysla. Are you….did you?” She looked over her shoulder and realised Vilkas assumed she’d chosen his twin as her new mate.
She shook her head and swallowed through ragged breaths. “Vilkas this isn’t easy. Aela told me what happens once I’ve chosen someone. The connection between the mates. It’s not a fair thing to ask of someone.”
Shuffling footsteps of an awake Companion came from the common room making Vilkas grab her elbow and pull her into his room. Her skin burned at his touch and she wondered if he had any idea what he was doing to her with his slightly exposed chest and sleep tousled hair.
He closed the doors behind her and stood close enough that she could smell the herbal poultice some of the companions used to bathe. It was too close to be innocent, she mused.
The room was dim apart from a plate of candles which flickered in the corner, casting long and dancing shadows of the pair across the room, making the whole thing seem even more dark and sinister than it really was.
His expression turned grave and he leaned in even closer to her. “You must Ysla. I watched this happen to Aela. You have to....”
She breathed out once and any any desperation she’d been trying to keep from her voice surfaced in that moment. “Vilkas….please?”
She watched him tense his jaw as he closed the distance between the two until their chests practically touched, using a strong hand to lift both of her own above her head and exposing her to him fully.
“Say it.” He growled.
“I need you. Please.”
A moment of uncertainty passed his dark eyes as he flicked them towards his brother’s room again. “I thought you…..you don’t want……?”
“Vilkas I want to be yours. Only yours.”
He moved in closer and their bodies were flush against one another. Her back arched as her hands remained firmly pressed on the wooden door above her and jutting hips felt his own obvious arousal as her slip of a nightgown raised half way up her thighs. “You know what this means for us.” He warned.
“I do.”
A rumble emerged from his chest as he kissed her eagerly with frantic lips. It was a fight, a needy and hungry kiss and he kept her tight against him as he took his fill.
His hardness rested against her further as she squirmed against him, but her hands remained high above her head, unable to reach down to remove his breeches. And, oh, she wanted to. As much as she wanted to be relieved herself she was desperate to hold him in her hands and pleasure him, watching the ecstasy melt his normally sullen demeanour. The torture of being held and not being to touch him was almost as hard as the crushing ache she’d felt the last few hours.
Instead Vilkas used his own free hand and ran it up her thigh, lifting the hem of her nightgown with it and lifting it up towards her breasts. His tongue flicked out to lick her lower lip.
She moaned into his mouth as he cupped her and ran his calloused thumb across an overly sensitive nipple. His touch wasn’t gentle, he was too desperate to feel her and pleasure her to take it easy. His hand drifted downwards and released her arms for just enough time to lift her slip over her head, leaving her naked and bare to him. Quickly his hands raised her compliant arms over her head again and she was pinned in place once more with his cock pressed against her cool skin.
He wasn’t subtle in his drinking in of her body. She could hear his breath catch as he ran his hand down over her milky skin and wide hips, and sighed in appreciation. He stared at her like a starving man would look at a banquet and she wondered how many times he’d imagined how she’d look naked. Dark eyes lingered on scars and marks that years of battle had painted on her body. But instead of feeling embarrassed, Ysla felt even more aroused as he trailed his fingers over them and soaked up every inch of her.
He locked lidded eyes with hers as his hands drifted towards her pussy and ran his fingers through her curls and over her soaking slit. She gasped loudly; hours of her own touch had been nowhere near as satisfying as this mere brush of his own, and she sobbed loudly as he pushed two fingers knuckle deep into her.
He started gently but as she thrust her hips raggedly against him he whispered into her neck. “Do you.....”
“Harder!” She pleaded. And he did. His hand brushed her clit with each thrust and she thought she would come undone right then and there as his fingers pounded into her, teasing moans and sighs from her body. The old wooden door rattled in its frame as he had his way with her.
The temptation to throw her head back in relief was strong but she was pressed so hard against the door that movement wasn’t really an option. Instead when she tiled her head to the side Vilkas lunged in and pressed his sharp teeth against her neck as he fucked her harshly with his fingers. She bucked against him and felt wetness trickle down her thighs as the frenzy began to pool in her abdomen. A strangled groan escaped her throat as her muscles tightened around his still moving fingers and she came on his hand.
He pulled his head back from her neck and trailed softer kisses down her collarbone as he finally released her from his hold. She almost wished he hadn’t as her body felt limp with satisfaction and leaned forward to rest herself against him to stop herself from crumbling into a heap on the floor.
They breathed in heavy pants together until Ysla felt the surge of lust rise once more. Apparently a more base mating would be required to remove the feeling completely.
Unaware of her realisation Vilkas took a step back, joining fingers with her own and offering her a rare smile. “Was that alright? Do you feel....?”
He didn’t get to answer before seeing the raw desire rise in her expression again and this time it was she who pushed him backwards as the pair toppled onto the fur covered bed.
She kissed him hard as she crawled over him, desperately tugging at his breeches as his hardened cock sprung free. Resting her eyes on it she tore desperate fingers at his tunic and eventually their skin touched everywhere as she finally tossed his clothes over the side of the bed, seized his cock and wrapped her hand around it gratefully.
She barely had enough time to appreciate Vilkas’ hard and muscled body before he tensed at her touch. She ran a considered hand up and down his shaft while she teased his balls with the other. He was everything she’d imagined during her own masturbatory fantasies, of which there had been many. And as she realisation hit her that the man she’d pined months for was finally lying beneath her, willing and ready to fuck her, she decided that it wasn’t worth waiting any longer.
His brow knitted with frustration as she released his cock but it melted into an expression of pleasure as she lined herself up with him and drove herself down onto his cock, feeling him fill her and truly realising this was what her body had been craving for the last day.
“Ysla...” he whined. He allowed her a few rolls against him but, before he could lose himself, lifted his hips and flipped her onto her back. He seemed to keen at her surprised reaction before taking himself in hand and driving into her once more. Evidently he enjoyed being in control, something that pleased his new mate to no end.
He didn’t pin her to the bed this time. He didn’t have to. As Ysla looked up into his dark eyes and saw her own furious hunger reflected in her lovers smile she realised he had been tormented with the same confused feelings she had over the last few months. He had just hid his better.
She whined with every thrust of his hard cock inside her and watched his face as he battled with himself to prolong her pleasure. He might have been a warrior on the battle field but Ysla could see she was undoing him more than she’d realised. She began to lift her hips harder in unison with his own movements and quickly felt herself tense against him and laughed softly as the tight coil of desire began to unravel and the rippling orgasm overtook her.
She opened her eyes to see his own grateful smile which quickly twisted into a pleasured snarl as he finished inside her, filling her with his seed.
He collapsed above her, his arms only barely holding out as he stayed on all fours over her, his softening erection still inside her.
She reached up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck which glistened with sweat. Pulling her into him for a kiss she realised he could still pull away now. The embraces before they had before sex might have just been foreplay in Vilkas’ mind; did he intend now to brush her aside?
Instead he met her kiss with enthusiasm, his eyes sparkling as he pulled away. She whispered a thank you.
“You don’t have to thank me Ysla,” he chuckled as he pulled himself from her and rolled over to lie next to her, determined to keep their skin pressed against one another. “It’s, uh, it’s been on my mind for a while.”
“I could tell.” She smiled with a raised eyebrow. With each breath she expected the feeling to return, to rear its ugly head to signify that perhaps this craving would last longer than she was able to hold off. But instead all she felt was the serene sense of post-sex satisfaction. The Heat had been sated.
She offered him worried eyes as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into him. “I feel as though I’ve trapped you. You should have had more time to consider if this is what you really want.”
She felt his head shake. “No love.” He seemed to pause at the implications of the word but sighed gently. “I do love you Ysla. Perhaps if I’d been less dour and gruff you might not have had to go through the fever you did last night.”
“I rather enjoy the dour and gruff you know, my love.” She laughed.
Nothing more was said. Instead she gripped him in tighter to him and fell into a sleep sounder than she’d ever known in her life.