Saruya kept her body relaxed, her mind only half-present as her hand was turned over and over by the one sitting next to her. Despite the fact that she had zoned out, she could barely feel the slight grazes of the pad of Quill’s finger against her skin, the digit tracing and following the edges of the brown marks across her body. There was an almost childish fascination apparent on his face, and she could already tell his brain was likely cycling through hundreds of questions too complex for her to answer. What genes determine the patterns? Or, Are the subdermal layers of skin the same color, or different colors? While she could never know the answer to these, there were at least a few things she knew. No, the markings aren’t present at birth, but they develop within a month. No, the texture of the hair isn’t different over the markings. Yes, sometimes a specific marking can be passed down through generations.

The evening was warm and his body was warmer. Saruya was pressed against his side, her head almost close enough to lean on his shoulder, but a shyness held her back from doing so. The extent of their interactions had certainly shifted since Quill had made the decision to continue his excursions to Sapwood, but they had never fully discussed exactly what that meant. His behavior had shifted, as well, in ways she couldn’t always put a finger on. Perhaps he had finally relaxed? Perhaps she had finally relaxed? It was hard to say.

Their behavior had grown more...affectionate, to say the least. Comfort zones had been left behind, and while the girl’s heritage occasionally nagged her regarding his origins, she tried to push those thoughts to the side in favor of enjoying his company just a little bit longer. Acknowledging his Sordid past only made it hurt, but she wanted to be near him. She wanted to continue receiving his attention--his feather-light tracings over her skin were delicate but exciting in their own right. No one had ever treasured her in such a way before, or been so visibly fascinated by her. Perhaps her history of being lonesome influenced her feelings, but she liked to think she had things under control. She was perfectly capable of doing so, she was sure of it.

Quill’s fingers traced around a mark that crossed just under her palm, his hand hovering over hers for a moment. Her hand was so much smaller than his, and the callouses that crossed them from years of crafting were different from his own. He wrapped his hand around hers, an act which seemingly called the girl back from her trance. Even as she curiously peered up at him, he was more focused his own thumb as it delicately circled the surface of her skin than her inquisitive expression.

“...What are you doing?” She asked after a moment, her voice quiet in the wake of the fading daylight.

He stopped the motion with his finger, glancing back at her. “I apologize, do you not want me to?”

She shook her head. “No, this is fine, just…I’m curious as to your intention.”

“I don’t think I rightly know, myself,” he admitted, his grip still unwavering. “I have not spent much time trying to figure it out.”

“An odd circumstance, considering your habits.”

Quill smirked. “Contrary to popular belief, I do not spend the totality of my time over-thinking details.”

“Just the majority, right?”

He made a noise of acknowledgement before falling silent, the movement of his thumb slowing to a stop. “I admire them, if you must know.”

“Oh?”

He nodded, pulling her halfway atop his chest and pressing his lips against the brown mark that dipped into the middle of her forehead. “Whether or not my mind questions their biology matters less. What is most important is that they are uniquely yours, and that I have the privilege of seeing them.”

“So you were overthinking the details, is what I'm hearing.”

He chuckled, swatting a hand in the air passively. “Not this time, but in the past, certainly. You’ve already answered so many questions of mine.”

“Or attempted to.”

“Or attempted to,” he repeated in confirmation. “With every question you answer, though, it only makes me appreciate you more and more.”

She sighed softly, pulling herself up a bit to place a soft kiss against his lips. She lingered there for a moment, fingers drawing against the slight stubble on his jaw. Despite how few kisses they had shared to date, his technique had quickly improved. Any stiffness in his lips had all but faded away, which Saruya assumed could only be a testament for his skills in pattern recognition. That, or perhaps he had been doing some people-watching, or practicing. Maybe on his hand? The thought entertained her.

Quill’s arms lay across her waist, occasionally rising to rub against her back and splaying out as he felt the curve of her spine and tone of her shoulders. In a moment, though, he changed his mind, bringing his hands to cup the sides of her face. When he pulled away from her kiss, he lightly passed his thumbs over her eyelids, leaving a soft kiss over each one shortly after.

Saruya chuckled, her brow crinkling in subtle confusion. “What are you doing now?”

“Showing my admiration.” The response was matter-of-fact. He pressed kisses against her temples where the marks continued, then her cheeks, where two new ones rose from under her jawline.

“Are you going to show your admiration to all of them? You know these marks go to the back of my head under my hair, right?”

He considered it a moment. “I could try.”

She giggled, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t recommend it, my hair will only get in your mouth.”

“A price I am willing to pay.”

“Quilleran.”

He chuckled in response, returning his hands to her waist.

“You couldn’t even kiss them all like this anyway, I’d have to take my clothes off for you to reach some of them.” The words came out without thought of the implications, and she pressed a hand against her mouth a moment later. “Goodness, that was awfully forward of me. I-I’m sorry.”

Through the stunned expression on his face, there was unmistakable intrigue.

A blush quickly spread over her cheeks, her hand moving in an attempt to cover it up.

“...Go on?” He removed her hand from her cheek, pressing his lips against the mark that crossed her wrist. It was the very same mark that had captured his attention minutes earlier.

Saruya sputtered and sat upright, fighting the urge to draw her hand away from him. “I--uh, don’t pay it any mind, I shouldn’t say such a thing without us having prior discussed it, without gauging your interest--”

“Well, clearly, I am interested.”

Her jaw snapped shut, her brain unable to continue her nervous ranting. It was hard to say anything at all, but she soon spoke again in a smaller voice. “It’s quite uncharacteristic of me to suggest.”

“Your hand is shaking, are you uncomfortable?”

“I think unnerved is a better word.”

“I believe that’s fair. The suggestion requires vulnerability of oneself and trust in another to be respectful of such.” He looked over her hand for a moment longer before shifting his gaze to her. “If it is any solace, I don’t think I have ever been quite so vulnerable with anyone as I have with you, either.”

Saruya blinked slowly, giving an understanding nod in response.

“Ultimately, you are the one who made the suggestion, and you have every right to withdraw it if you wish. Though, do know that I would willingly give you a similar level of trust, and that I strive to be courteous and attentive to your level of comfort.”

She took a breath in, her chest rising as she thought over how to formulate her response, finally breathing out, “Okay.” Eloquence was most definitely not her suit, but his.

Quill’s expression was patient as he moved her arm closer. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Saruya felt the faint brush of his lips with each word spoken, alongside the gentle puffs of warm air. The statement was followed by a kiss, pressed softly against the swirl upon her forearm. She watched the pad of his thumb trace over its full length, outlining what was almost a backward letter S, and leave three kisses upon it: one at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom. “Well, I’m sure you’ve trusted me with many things of your own, as well…”

He shrugged. “Not as many, I would think.” Upon reaching her elbow, he couldn’t hide a chuckle, murmuring, “Your sleeves have left quite the tan line here.”

“Oh, hush.”

He smirked, leaving a kiss against the mark that lay there before moving to her bicep. His hands wrapped around her upper arm, fingers gently splaying over the two marks that wrapped around it like cuffs. These were a bit thicker than most of the marks on her body, so he chose to linger a moment and pepper the darker skin with kisses.

Her skin smelled of wood--both that of the surrounding forest and also the cut boards she used for crafting. The scent had quickly become a comfort to him, though he hadn’t quite realized it until now, amidst this opportunity to be so close to her. It reminded him of hours he had already spent watching her carve masterpieces as her stove crackled gently in the background, the only other sound being the emerging calls of crickets and cicadas as night fell.

He let his mind refocus on the situation at hand, propping his chin upon her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist. “How is that?”

She reached over with her free arm, threading her fingers in his hair and brushing through it before letting her hand come to rest at the side of his head. Her cheeks were a bit rosy from embarrassment, unused to this sort of attention. “That was fine.”

Quill removed his arm from the girl’s side, taking the hand at the side of his head and examining it. “Your left arm has fewer markings than your right.”

She nodded. “Save for the mark across my wrist and hand, my forearm is completely bare. Upper arm only has three.”

“Have you counted all of them, then?”

Her voice got quiet. “Thirty-five.” It was hardly much more than a murmur.

He turned her hand around for a moment, his eyes following the mark that nearly circled her thumb. It began at her wrist, as she said, wrapping under her palm and barely peeking between the crook of her thumb and pointer finger before it ended at the back of her hand. He gave a soft shrug before pressing her palm against his face and leaving another kiss against it.

Her fingers twitched ever so slightly and she giggled at the way his nose flattened against the flat of her hand. “You really are determined, aren’t you?”

“Whenever am I not?” He released her hand, turning her slightly so he could reach her other arm. On the upper half of this arm there were three markings--two wrapped the entire way around. The third simply crossed the inner side of her arm below one of the bands. He let his palm rub over the surface of her skin for a moment before dipping his head down as best he could, pressing his lips against the lowest mark.

“I suppose you’re right,” Saruya responded, trying to move her arm closer to assist him. The chap of his lips passed over each pattern on her skin wherever they could reach, occasionally juxtaposed by the wetness of his inner lip. Her ears perked up as she watched him, taking note of the slight open-mouthed kisses he was trying to be subtle about. “You tend to have some sort of purpose in most things you do.”

“Precisely.” Upon covering each mark on her left arm, he moved upward to her jaw, where the mark on her cheek dipped down before shooting off under her ear and hiding in the back of her head.

“I thought you got that one already.”

“Not all of it.” He gently tilted her head upward, his hands delicate against her head as he held her in place. He returned to his task, his lips slowly travelling the length of her jawline. He breathed a sigh, warm air spilling over her cheek and ear, the latter of which twitched in response. Quill’s attention was caught by the movement, eyes glancing over the three banded marks over the appendage, his mind plotting his next course of action.

Saruya’s blush had grown redder, and she stammered, “Please be gentle, they’re sensitive.”

He nodded, simply placing a kiss at the base of it--not quite close enough to touch, but close enough for her to hear. “Will that suffice instead?”

He was met with a shaky nod. 

Quill paused, taking in her expression. He couldn’t quite tell if she was nervous, embarrassed, or perhaps something else. He gently leaned his forehead against hers, placing a chaste kiss against her lips before speaking. “You can relax, you know.”

She cupped her hands over the sides of his face, returning a couple of pecks. It felt like the least she could do to reciprocate. “I...don’t know what to do with myself. Like where to put my hands.”

He let out a breathy chuckle, relieved that at the very least she wasn’t perturbed by his attention. “You don’t have to think about that, I will move you how I need to.”

“So you know what you’re doing, then?”

“Absolutely not.” He had moved to the other side of her jaw, leaving kisses along its length, but struggling as she began to giggle at his candor.

“Well, you’ve covered my face and arms at this point. What do you intend to do now?”

He sat up straight, looking over her torso. Over her right shoulder was a mark that lead toward her back, and he ran a finger along it. “Find out where that one goes.”

She turned her head over her shoulder to look at it. “That one goes down my shoulder and spine a bit...But you can’t see it very well because I’m dressed.”

He shrugged a bit. “Ah, well, I suppose that’s my loss.”

Saruya shook her head, reaching under her overshirt to tug away the tighter straps of her bodysuit, peeling it down and away from her body. She then laid down across his lap, back partially exposed. “Now you can reach it.”

Quill tentatively brought a hand forward, gently nudging the topmost layer upward to expose her back. There was a swirl that spanned over multiple bumps and curves of her spine, and he pressed his palm against it, fingers gently spreading across her skin. In times like these it was impossible to dodge how infatuated he was with her. He then set about his task once again, leaving soft kisses against the mark he had wanted to pursue. After gently pushing her hair to the side, he followed the trail down her spine before spotting something new and gasping excitedly.

Saruya’s head popped up from where it had been propped against the arm of the sofa. “What? What’s that noise for??”

“You didn’t tell me that the marks on your chin lead back here to the back of your head!”

Saruya giggled. “That’s what’s exciting?”

He nodded vigorously, pressing a kiss on each side. “How could you restrict this information from me?”

“I told you there were some that were kind of in my hair, I just figured you’d find them eventually.”

He looked over her back again with a satisfied chuckle, examining the areas he had not yet reached. One finger traced along a mark on the right side of her ribcage for a moment before stopping. Ah, that one gets rather close to…

Saruya was eyeing him from the corner of one eye, a brow raised. “...I’ll have to flip over again for you to reach that one.”

Was that permission?

Quill could feel his face turn red, or perhaps redder than it was before. In the back of his mind, he cursed the paleness of his skin for giving away his calm demeanor. 

She pushed herself upright, quickly tugging off the loose tank top and letting it fall to the floor. Her hands busied themselves with fixing her hair, eyes determined to look everywhere but back at Quill. They soon squeezed shut, avoiding any potential judgement.

He would be lying if he said that his eyes weren’t immediately drawn to the newly bared skin, his view jumping from place to place--from the curve of her breast, to the markings that swirled around them, to their peaks, slowly drawing taut from the shifting of her shirt and the sudden exposure to air. He had never seen anything like it, not outside of a book or a painting. But to him, she was art, and if he himself had any sort of talent for craftsmanship, he was sure he’d be quick to depict her. He could only hope that words would do her justice.

It was then, though, that he took note of the stiffness in her posture, her shut eyes, the way she was once again using her arms and body language to hide. It was so habitual for her, he knew, so when he reached out, it was instead to her shoulder, gently grabbing her attention. “Are you alright?”

“I’m not used to other people seeing me like this.” She gave a tense chuckle, shaking her head. “I’m so comfortable with my body on my own, but now? I don’t even know what I’m thinking.”

“Do you want to stop?”

She opened her eyes, looking up at him and shaking her head. “No,” she stammered quickly, though her eyes squeezed shut again moments afterward. “I-I can work past the nerves. I’m sure of it.”

“I understand your bashfulness, but you must tell me if you change your mind. Do not pressure yourself because you think it might please me. Do you understand?”

“I do.”

“Look at me.”

Her eyelids slowly opened, her gaze meeting the sternness of his. “I understand.”

“Good. I want you to see how serious I am.”

Saruya’s form finally relaxed, a small laugh pushing its way out. One hand reached up to poke the lines around his forehead. “Whenever are you not?”

Her cheeky callback caused Quill to relax as well, his expression breaking into a smile. “I suppose you are right.”

Saruya let out her breath, stretching out across the sofa again. “So...where were we?”

He shifted position so he could reach her, pressing a tentative kiss upon the side of her body and smoothing it over with the pad of his thumb. “I believe we were here.”

Her body was warmer under his palm, her tanned skin contrasting against the paleness of his. The skin along her torso was so smooth, much different from the callouses that ran over her hands and feet, much more delicate than the muscles in her slender arms and powerful legs. It was free of the scratches and dirt and clay that decorated her other appendages from running around in the woods all day, and he wanted nothing more than to continue touching it.

Quill’s heart rose into his throat when he saw the path his chosen mark took, gently curling up the underside of her right breast and ending at her sternum. He pressed on, his lower lip dragging over the mark, pursing here and there to leave small kisses along its length. He took a pause upon reaching the center of her chest, murmuring, “Your heart is pounding, I can feel it.”

“I guess I can’t help it.” Her hands threaded into his hair, gently brushing the rusty strands backward and watching them settle back into place.”I guess you just have that effect on me.”

He peeked up at her from his position below, a bashful smile appearing before he moved over to her left shoulder, where another mark curled and sloped near her armpit. “I’m unsure of how to respond to that.”

“Then just accept it,” she responded, pressing a kiss into his scalp where she could reach. “That’s all.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, travelling downward again to cover a mark on the right side of her waist, turning her body again to follow it where it curled around to her back. There was another on her hip, and another on the other side of her, but those disappeared behind what clothing was left and he chose not to pursue them as a result. Not yet, at least.

Her legs came next. He bent each leg how he needed to, pressing small kisses and light touches along the lines that crossed each foot, calf, and thigh. He was soon nearing her hips again, his lips hovering over the mark on her outer right thigh (that looked uncannily similar to the pendant around her neck) when she spoke again.

“You’re really going to get all of them, aren’t you?”

“I said I would.”

“I just--It’s a bit unfair, being that you’re fully dressed, still, and the last ones I have are under my skirt.”

“That can be remedied," he began, with a mild hesitation in his voice, "though I have nothing quite so intriguing under my clothes as you do.”

She pondered a moment. “You have…hair?”

“Spare me. You needn’t attempt a comparison.” He reached back, gripping the fabric at the back of his neck and tugging it over his head.

“But you are intriguing! I mean, you’re an anomaly in yourself, even if you think your physical features are plain.”

“I suppose that is correct.” He slid from the sofa to the floor, turning her hips so that he now sat at her feet. He propped his chin on her knee, glancing up at her before continuing, “Enough about me, though, how about we get back to you?”

“All we’ve done is focus on me…Though, before you cover the two you skipped, ah, there is another.”

“Oh?”

She nodded, face flushed red all the way to the tips of her ears. “You can’t see it from how I’m sitting, though. I’d have to move.”

“By all means.”

She nudged him back a bit so she could stand, shuffling the skirt and the remainder of her bodysuit from her hips before turning around for him to see. There was another mark indeed, curling around nearly the entirety of her right buttock. “You...don’t have to pursue that one if you don’t wish to.”

“What kind of man would I be if I went against my own word?”

“Alright, alright, I get it."

He pressed his thumb against where the mark began at the small of her back, gradually smoothing it over the surface of her skin and following the path of its tight curl. Following that, he left several small kisses, taking the same path as his finger had previously, keeping each one short and quick if only to ease her embarrassment.

Saruya was having a hard time believing the trajectory of her life had reached this point. She could still feel the chap of his lips, the scrape of his stubble, and the drag of his fingers over every place he had touched her over the past...how much time had even elapsed since this had started? The sensations left her oddly aware of each part of her body; it was all warm in a way that was hard for her to describe with her comparatively limited vocabulary.

He seemingly called her back to reality with a soft pat to her leg. “You can sit down again if you would like.”

Her breath caught a bit as he drew her attention, and she sat down again with a short nod. “I suppose I can.”

Quill assumed his previous position, head and hand propped atop one of her legs. “If I have appropriately kept count, I believe there are only two remaining?” His free hand moved to her waist, casually grazing over the first.

Saruya was unsure whether the question required an answer, but Quill hadn’t seemed to be expecting one. He moved immediately afterward, sitting upright and wrapping his arms around the back of her waist, tugging her toward the edge of the seat where he could reach her.

She sank down into the cushions as he dragged her forward, not having thought to maintain her upright position. Her hair pooled around her, her arms drifted to the sides and against the back of the sofa without direction, though her mind was ever-so aware of Quill’s body between her legs.

And then, his lips returned. Saruya wasn’t sure what it was about it, but something about the warmth of his mouth and the location of the touch caused her abdomen to tighten up and her breathing to shake, just a little. And as Quill began to pause to ensure her comfort, all she could manage was a breathy chuckle followed by, “That tickles.”

Quill breathed a chuckle of his own in both amusement and relief, bringing one hand up and smoothing it against his jaw. “Perhaps I should have shaved?”

“I wouldn’t have wanted you to.”

“Oh?”

She tilted her head down as best as she could to look at him, smiling. “You look more relaxed with it.”

“I am.” He resumed from where he had left off, navigating over the surface of her skin with ease, despite any unintended squirming on her part from the reflexes.

Reflexive was certainly one word for the feeling. Ticklish, maybe. A better word might have been tempting.

Quill moved on to the final marking on the other side of her waist, his lips trailing ever closer to the center of her legs, but then stopping. 

In all fairness, he had done what he had set out to do, but now that he had finished, Saruya realized suddenly that there was so much more she wanted. She glanced down at him, finding him already watching her, lips still pressed against her skin but unmoving. Her own lips parted to speak, though she didn’t know what to say.

Bless the gods, he spoke for her. “Is there anywhere else you would like me to dote on?”

She nodded. “I--could you--Do you know how to--?”

“I’m familiar with the concepts from my various readings. Though no novel could prepare me for the reality of courting someone quite as unique as you are.”

She nodded again. “I-I can show you.” The suggestion was a bit quieter, accompanied by her hand closing over one of his.

“By all means.”

Saruya pulled herself slightly more upright, withdrawing the hand she was holding from around her waist. It took her a moment to figure out how to position either of their hands, though she finally settled in a way where his hand was over hers, able to feel how each of her fingers moved.

Quill’s expression was as intent as ever, frequently glancing between her face and her hand. She could practically see the gears moving in his head as he tried to detect and memorize patterns, paying attention to little details and intricacies and what movement of her finger caused what shift in expression. If he were being truly honest, though, even he had to admit that there were moments in which his focus would lapse. Something about the awareness of what was going on, of just how close he was to her, of just exactly what he was doing to her--all of it seemed to numb his mind into a sort of stunned state. Words to describe the feeling of the pads of his fingers against her inner folds or the look of her face and body failed him.

“Stop studying me.”

He laughed again, the tone of his voice unintentionally husky but oh-so enticing. “I can’t promise that.”

“Stop making that face, then! I can feel your scrutiny.”

Quill pushed himself up to give her a quick kiss on the lips. “Any scrutiny is only to better understand, I assure you.”

“Studying!” she insisted.

He shushed her with further kisses and a nudge of his finger, causing her instead to take a shaky breath in through her nose.

Her own fingers soon left the spot between her legs, leaving him on his own. Her hand followed the length of his arm, giving a quick squeeze to his bicep, then another farther up on his shoulder, before cupping his jaw.

Being touched in such an intimate way by someone other than herself was enthralling--any shyness that still laid under the surface of her awareness was momentarily hushed as she left control in his hands. She almost couldn’t keep up with him, the different sensation mentally throwing her off from her own touch she had long grown accustomed to. And, embarrassing as it was to make the comparison, well...his fingers were larger than her own. It made a difference.

His other hand was gentle by comparison, his thumb easing over her the mark on her cheek. It occasionally trailed lower, dragging over the peak of her breast, the hard curve of her hip bone, back up her waist.

Her heart felt fit to burst. She didn’t know if it was from the intimacy and vulnerability of the situation, or the overwhelming introduction to this experience, or some emotion she hadn’t been aware of, but she loved this man. She could only try not to think about how dangerous that was for the both of them.

For once, it was easy to put out of her mind.

She was enveloped in the comfort of his affection, in the steadily climbing tension in her abdomen, in the second digit that slid between her folds and curled, pressing against her inner walls in a such a delightful manner that it left her crooning for him in a pitch that surprised even herself.

It seemed to catch him off guard, as he hesitated a moment to ensure that she was alright. The furrow in her brow certainly wasn’t helping him draw any conclusions. But she opened her eyes soon after the pause, catching the concern in his expression and stuttering out a quick, “It’s okay, keep going.”

Her skin was flushed almost everywhere Quill looked, and a thin coating of sweat shone under the reddish-gold glow shining from her stove on the other side of the room, the reflected light shifting as she sank into a comfier position. He leaned over her now, getting a better look at her torso as it moved up and down with each shake of her breath. He’d never seen her looking quite like this before, not even after a full day of running about in the woods. (Days such as those left her considerably more dirty, but no less adorable in her own right.) It was a look he was sure he could grow accustomed to, if he should be provided the opportunity again. She was radiant, and warm, and invigorating.

His focus was broken a moment later when Saruya’s breath caught in her throat and her grip tightened, her voice peaking again as her breath pushed itself back out in the form of words that weren’t quite discernible. In its own erotic way, the sound felt almost poetic. And then, with another rush of her breath, her body settled.

“Are you alright?” The words emerged again without thinking, the movements of Quill’s hands slowing to a stop.

She nodded quickly, watching him through her eyelashes. “Much better than doing it alone.”

He reached his clean hand upward momentarily, brushing the pad of one finger over her eyelid as he had before. “Thank you again for trusting me with this.”

Saruya gave another slower nod and took a slow breath. “You’re worthy of it. I’d trust you again.”

He smiled softly. “There are not many who give me any trust at all. It makes me glad that you see me fit for so much of yours.”

She craned her head forward, leaving a quick peck over his lips. “There are many who would call me naive for doing so.”

“They matter little.”

“I suppose that is true.” Her hand ran gently and absentmindedly over his scalp. “You’ll stay for a little while longer, won’t you? I know it’s getting dark.”

“I know the way by now. A little darkness won’t deter me.”

“Do be careful, though. You have to be alive to be able to come back to me.”

“That is, indeed, an important prerequisite.”

Saruya smiled softly, pressing a kiss to Quill’s forehead. “Maybe next time I’ll leave kisses over all those freckles of yours that have started showing up.”

“They only started appearing since you began taking me outdoors more often, I doubt they’re worthy of such praise.”

“That’s not for you to determine.”

He shook his head with a resigned sigh and a smile. “Very well.”