Sweet Venom Arc

An intoxicating cocktail of Controller pheromones, as rich and sweet as they were dark, mixed with the scent of fresh vanilla, tender and delightfully chilling. Diego rubbed his hands together, slick with the warm massage oil. He pressed his palms into the small of Plasia's back, hiding his concern underneath a professional persona. This would otherwise be a wonderful way to spend a few hours, but something was bothering him.

Plasia was lying face down on the soft sheets of Seeth's bed, hiding her face in the pillows with nothing on but the blanket draped over her legs. Diego was standing to the side of the bed, wearing only underwear himself, his face hard with focus.

Admittedly, he was surprisingly nervous to be alone with Plasia. She'd been very quiet since returning to the Minitaur and had been avoiding any questions tentatively posed to her about the last few months. On a more selfish note, his relationship with her had a remarkably youthful feel to it, but he worried if that electric spark they felt was still present after being separated for so long... He only hoped she still felt so strongly about him, as she had those months before.

His soft scales slipped up her smooth sapphire skin, sinking slightly into the silky softness before hitting the rock-hard muscle that lined her back. It was a firm, humbling reminder of the raw strength that a Controller had, even under Plasia's cushioned frame. He pushed his hands up her back, pressing deliberately into her muscles. Her skin glistened beautifully under the dim lamplight of the room, like raw gem-dust in his hands. He couldn't help but admire its deep blue hue, so saturated and rich in its alien splendour, but his mind remained focused on the task at hand.

She's carrying a lot of tension in her core, I wonder if I can loosen it...

He pressed deeper with his palms, testing to see what level of discomfort she could handle.

"Let me know if it's too much, hun."

"Okay..." She replied softly, with what sounded like a touch of uncertainty in her voice, muffled by the pillows.

Diego carefully pushed his palms deeper, kneading them back and forth as he loosened the knots in her muscles. Despite the sensual nature of the act he was deep in concentration, his hands feeling through the story of her body. Her pristine skin was as flawless as it always was, but he could feel the scarring, otherwise invisible to the eye. Someone had hurt her. Despite her body having healed, the tension within the cords told him that she was carrying several months' worth of deep agony.

"You're super tense back here, Plas." He placed his hands at the top of her hips, pressing the curve between his thumb and finger up her back. "These muscles are like stone!"

"I-Is that bad? Can you help?" She asked shyly, burying her burning cheeks into the pillow.

"...Yeah. I think I can." Diego replied tenderly. "Just relax, I'll see what I can do."

She didn't want to talk about it. And he understood that, he wasn't intent on pressing her for more information. Her comfort and happiness was most important right now, something she'd had seldom little of recently, by the feeling of her muscles.

They remained in silence as he worked through her lower back. It wasn't exactly awkward... but maybe it was? It was hard to gauge. They'd clearly missed each-other, there was ever lingering question of romance hanging over the room... He was having a hard time figuring out what was going through her head.

Then again... She had literally asked him to give her a massage... He must have made a lasting impression all those months ago in the dungeon. It was entirely possible that he was overthinking this, and it was time to relax and be himself.

He leaned further over her with a deep sigh, rubbing his thumbs deep into her muscles. He absolutely was overthinking this. He knew it. But as he reached over to massage further up her back, it became obvious that he'd need a better position to adequately tend to her. He didn't fancy running from side to side, and his eyes landed on her soft, curvaceous rear.

That would do nicely...

"Are you okay if I sit on you? I'm thinking if i sit on your butt, It'll be easier for me to use my body weight to loosen your muscles and I can work on either side of your back equally." He asked, with a hint of cheekiness. She nodded, more eagerly this time, but continued to keep her face buried.

He climbed up on the bed, watching her closely. But she remained still on her front and silent, shivering ever-so-slightly.

I hope she's okay. He frowned to himself, feeling even more self-doubt than before. Whatever's happened, I'll help you, Plas.

Climbing up onto the bed, he straddled her rear and planted himself on it, with there being plenty of room for him on her bubbly buxom bum to get comfy.

But the second his weight pressed on her, a small, breathy moan escaped her lips and shattered his composure, and Diego slipped straight off her butt. The sheer drop between her butt cheeks and her back gave the lizard far more speed than he could've anticipated, and combined with the massage oil he'd just applied, he slipped off her entirely and face-planted the pillow next to her.

He pulled himself up, flustered and confused, only to see Plasia staring at him with a growing grin. Her sapphire orbs were staring at him with nothing but love and adoration. She wasn't upset at all, not with him at least...

"That was really smooth, Diego." She giggled sweetly, twisting onto her side to face him. "Turning my bum into a slip-and-slide so you could get into bed with me."

"Did it work?" He asked, shuffling closer with his own smile.

"Why don't you tell me?" She squeaked happily, throwing her arms around him and pulling him close, snuggling him like an overgrown teddy bear. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, pulling him deep into her cleavage and savouring the warmth of his body.

"Oh yeah, that's a success." They laughed together as he hugged her back, rubbing his smooth scales against her. And just like that, the tension in the air was gone.

"How do you do it? You always seem to land on your feet, or, well, your face I suppose this time." She giggled again, nuzzling against his ears. "But it always seems so... seamless with you. What's your secret?"

"My secret?!" He chirped, seemingly taken off-guard. For a second, Plasia wondered if she'd accidentally asked him something personal. "I-I suppose it might be that I actually don't always land on my feet. Case and point! But I always try to make the best of any situation I'm given, so it kinda looks like I'm landing."

"Hmm... I like that. Always try your best." She smiled warmly, satisfied with the answer for now. They rested now in teasing silence, rubbing their bodies against one another... The cuddling wouldn't last forever, so both were happy to make the most of it before other desires took over.

They settled onto the bed, Diego on his back and Plasia resting her head on his shoulder, a thigh leaned over him and pinning him to the bed. Her fingers danced along chest, idly toying with his scales. Her touch was as electrifying as Seeth's was, so teasing and tender at the same time. Diego meanwhile had his one arm under her, clutched around her shoulders and the other resting on her thigh.

Their shared warmth was ambrosia to the two damaged souls, healing through nothing but their adoration of one another. Diego couldn't explain it, but there was something so powerful about Plasia's affection. It just left him wanting more and more. Despite their relationship being so young and new, they seemed to understand one-another on a deeper level. After how emotionally draining the last day had been for him, Diego was in desperate need of some tender love and care, and Plasia seemed more than willing to provide.

From Plasia's perspective, Diego was nothing shy of her personal saint. Every moment with him was beyond precious, every word spoken a treasure to her. He'd seen her when no one else had, and he'd helped her when she was at her most vulnerable. But he was more than just her rescuer. He was someone to laugh with, someone to heal with, someone to spend her life with. Someone who really saw who she was... She ached to tell him what had happened with the DA, she wanted so badly to tell him everything, just to get it off her chest. But she had two major problems that kept her mouth closed, to the only person she even could feel comfortable telling.

One; when she was with him, the last thing she wanted to do was remember the bad. She wanted to make good of the time they had. If anything, the last year had only emphasized how important it was to make the most of every moment, like Diego had said. But problem number two... Two was harder.

She was deeply concerned that it would change him for the worse.

Diego hadn't shared with her or Seeth what had happened between him, his brother and Jace. But his reaction had been telling enough, he had been devastated, and beyond angry. And she knew how fond he was of her. She'd felt his concern and empathy since they'd reunited. Telling him how badly she'd been treated was likely to bring out something she could feel deep within him... Plasia could feel the darkness swirling in his heart, just like her. There was a beast deep inside him, teeth scraping against the bars he'd caged it in. His kindness was tempered by the scolding cold that echoed through his past, but there was still something in him. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him, but her intuition told her that sharing what the DA had done to her would set him down the wrong path. And so, in spite of her wanting to share everything with Diego, she kept it quiet... and it felt sustainable, for now at least.

Truth be told, she was feeling rather okay about everything, more than she had any right to be. But in a way, that worried her more; she knew that she shouldn't be okay. That pain was buried deep within her, and it wasn't difficult to conclude where it was, or a better way of putting it, who it was with.

She dismissed the thoughts by pushing her face deeper into Diego's warm, muscular neck. Her tongue darted out to taste him, lapping at his scales just a couple of times, sending shivers up and down his body. She loved feeling him vibrate under her touch, it was pure electricity between them at times and it filled her chest with excitement, and her stomach with butterflies. Her fingers continued to dance up and down his chest, when the most unusual sensation caught her attention.

There was something on his skin.

She sat up a little bit so she could see the surface of his chest and to her surprise, it was bare. There was nothing she could see at all, but she could absolutely feel something, she was sure of it! Her finger tips were drawn almost magnetically to some sort of shape on his skin and gently, she traced the path carefully as the tingling sensation tickled her digits.

"You can feel them, can't you?" Diego whispered. He sounded nervous again.

"Them? There's more? What are they?" Plasia asked sincerely, sitting up more as she ran her hands over his body. There were more on his shoulders and forearms, in different shapes compared to his chest.

"My runes." Diego smiled uneasily, but he pressed on regardless. "Carved onto my body and soul quite some time ago..."

"What do they do?"

"They're enchantments. Some are passive, and some trigger on certain conditions. They're powered by my soul directly and written on my body, making them irreversibly part of me. They drain me every day to sustain their effects."

Plasia's eyes widened with fear at Diego's words and she traced the shapes faster, although she wasn't entirely sure why she was doing it.

"T-They drain you? That sounds dangerous... Does it hurt?"

"No, not at all. I can't feel their drain like that. My soul is strong enough to feed them all, with a bit left over to replenish itself. So I'm fine. But it does mean it takes me much longer to recover my psyonics."

"C-Can't you get rid of them? Like a tattoo?"

Diego laughed genuinely, hugging her closer around the shoulders.

"Ahah, no. It's not like that. There are burn and proof runes. Proof runes can technically be broken, but it's -" For a second, Diego's face hardened. "- Immensely difficult, and very dangerous. Burn runes cannot be broken under any circumstance, only used up. Once used, they have to be re-drawn to affect you again. I... I have both." He gently grabbed one of her hands and guided her over to his forearm, tracing the shape over his skin. Her fingers traced what felt like a cross shape, with a dot in each blank quadrant. "This one for example is a weak rune that boosts how many people I can help with my warcry. Without it, I could maybe do a thousand people at most."

"A thousand?! That's still a lot of people, Diego!"

"Not at the time, it wasn't."

He pressed his fingers on top of hers and pushed the alien's digits into his scales. Something seemed to draw her fingers in deeper despite them not moving and slowly, she pulled her finger tips away, and golden dust rose from his skin, hovering in the space between them.

"Oh wow... look at that!" Plasia buzzed excitedly, her pupils dilating as she watched the glimmering dust in awe. Suddenly then, she snapped back into reality, vibrating with worry. "I-I'm not hurting you am I? Isn't this pulling something out of you?!"

"No, not at all. This is like flicking through the pages of a book. The 'dust' you see is just information that my soul decodes and powers to access the ability inscribed. It's not actually physically present." Diego felt Plasia relax in his grip as he explained.

She pulled her fingers away further and further until the gold dust returned back to his skin, almost like a rubber band springing back to its original shape. Upon touching his skin, it disappeared again like it never existed in the first place. Glancing up at his face, she saw a vulnerability in his eyes. This seemed like it was a sensitive subject.

"W-We don't have to continue, if you don't want to." She smiled, placing a hand tenderly on his cheek. I know there are other things we could be doing... How long has it been...? And yet, he seemed to want to continue. Maybe he needed to talk about this. He broke away from her, swallowing quietly. "I'm here for you, Diego. Always."

"Can you promise that you won't think less of me?" He asked, unable to bring himself to look at her.

"I promise, Diego. There is very little you could do that would make me think less of you." She spoke softly, stroking the back of his fluffy hair. He exhaled deeply and turned back towards her, shyly reaching for her hands again.

"I have runes that... that I would love deeply to get rid of. They've twisted my life in ways that have made keeping people close... difficult. You and Seeth are the only people I trust who are..." He trailed off, his discomfort palpable. "Maybe it's easier if I just explain."

Before he could continue, Plasia leaned in and pressed a soft, long, wet kiss against his nose.

"You tell me as much or as little as you want, Diego."

Diego blushed deeply. He quickly kissed her back, holding her cheek as he pressed his own warm, firm kiss against her lips. As they broke the kiss, he remained purposely close to her, exhaling slowly.

"I don't know why I want to tell you this. I haven't told a single soul since... since. But... seeing as we're talking about it... I want you to know." They settled back down into a side-by-side cuddle and he guided her hand down to his stomach, where she felt a new rune across his abs. The shape of this one was harder to make out, but it felt like two 'V's,' one upside down, interlocked with one another. Plasia danced her fingers over it, drawing the gold dust out of his sable scales carefully. The dust appeared to have a shimmering light connecting some of the golden specks, almost like a spider web.

"They're so pretty to look at... What don't you like about it?"

The lizard suddenly went pale.

"That..." Diego cleared his throat again, the words refusing to leave the tip of his tongue. "I-It's my..." He inhaled deeply and looked into Plasia's eyes, trying to summon the confidence to continue. "It's my charisma aura..." He exhaled heavily through pursed lips, as if he'd been holding that in for quite some time. He pushed his head back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. "And it's poisoned everything."

Plasia began to feel a little guilty over her growing curiosity. Diego tensed up in her arms as he continued to speak.

"It... It alters people's perceptions of me. You asked me earlier, how do I always land on my feet? This rune helps with that." Diego explained quietly, as though he were afraid of the universe listening. "It's very hard for psyonics to affect the moods and emotions of others, but the charisma aura makes people a little more endeared towards me than they would otherwise be. It makes them more... suggestable. They're more likely to perceive my actions in a positive light. It's not fool proof, and it isn't any type of mind control. But it's subtle, effective and ever present." He sighed heavily, squeezing Plasia's hand tightly.

"That doesn't sound too awful, you said you hated it?" Plasia asked, scooching closer to Diego again. "Why?"

"I despise it. I never feel like I'm on an even playing field with anyone. I can't trust my relationships are because of me or because of it. I get chances I don't deserve, subtly manipulating everyone around me, endearing them towards me. My mistakes are brushed off and my successes are championed. I can use it for good, Chance knows I've tried to. I've managed to get people to open up to me, so I can help them. I've brought people happiness when they needed it most. But ultimately, I can't help but feel like I'm just... this awful, manipulative person. Almost every time I get romantic with someone, I just can't trust the relationship. It undermines everything. That was...until I met you and Seeth."

Plasia felt tears swell in the corners of her eyes as she listened to Diego beget his curse. So dearly did she want to help him, and she clutched him ever closer.

"What was different about us?" She asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"It felt even. Like we were playing by the same rules. None of you have charisma auras, I'm not sure what you've got. But there's something about you that feels like it can contend with me. I can't tell if you have something that negates my aura, or something that gives you similar properties. But either way, neither of us are taking advantage of the other. Or maybe we're both taking advantage of each-other." Diego laughed lightly. "But either way, it makes it feel far more genuine than anything I've had in a long, long time."

"I'm relieved you feel like that, Diego. Truthfully, I wondered if we were taking advantage of you sometimes... You said you can't get rid of it, though?"

"Not anymore. The ritual required to remove it is far out of my reach, with people who'd kill me on sight for approaching them. Or they'd try anyway. So I have to live with it, slowly poisoning my relationships and ruining my trust in others."

Plasia pressed another kiss against his cheek as she squeezed him.

"Apart from us..."

"Apart from you." Diego repeated, his voice heavy with gratitude. He relaxed in her arms, snuggling closer to her. "You're everything I've been looking for. And I'm so lucky to have found you when I did..."

"Me too, Diego... I don't know what I'd have done without you. I thought I'd lost you..."

Thought I'd killed you.

"We're stronger, together. I know that much... So, my rune didn't freak you out?"

"No! No! Of course not! Don't be silly!" Plasia squawked, seemingly offended that Diego could even suggest such a thing. "Think of the damage someone could do with your strength, Diego! And what do you do? You dive into dungeons to help people you barely know! Y-You put yourself on the line over and over again! I-I remember, when we escaped the dungeon a-and the gunships came, you used the last of your strength to protect us! That could have killed you! It nearly did! That's who you are!" She placed her palm over the rune on his stomach. "This thing... it doesn't define you. Everyone has certain advantages in life, disadvantages too! We're all made different, Diego. But you... you were made for good, I can feel it."