Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I was the first one who was sceptical about the stories.

A cave appearing only to a selected few? Bringing them from the brink of death, only to vanish in thin air after they leave?

I mean, would you believe in such tales?”

Hmmm. If served by this majestic being who looks as if he was made of light? Yes, Edward would believe.

Edward would entrust him with everything.

“There was this commander who claimed to have found it. Allegedly, he was badly wounded by his own men. He escaped into the forest and got lost. That’s when the Womb appeared for him.

He claims that he got healed in a blink of an eye. That he felt no hunger or thirst while in it. But the moment he left the cave to get warm in the sun, the memory of where it was simply got erased from his mind.

Ancient scripts claim the same. Whoever gets blessed with the powers of the cave, they get robbed of the way back to it. Something either happens to them, making them lose their path, or they simply start walking away and realise they have absolutely no recollection of where it was.

This means that we will forget it too once we leave it.”

Ed would never forget. Well, maybe this place would escape his brain like it has others before him.

But this treat for his eyes? Never.

Stede is sitting on the floor by his side, with his legs folded beneath him, but this time, there’s nothing slumped about him! His back is straight, his shoulders upright. The locks have got dried enough for the past hour to show their dark blond colour. He’s shed enough water of the rest of himself too, leaving trails over his coat here and there.

But his eyes are practically beaming with life, making them huge with wonder. Their hazel attention falls over Edward, as soft and as powerful as a blessing.

“Explorers went on journeys to find it,” Stede commences. “Astrologists tried to calculate the position of it in both time and space. They all claim it exists, that it’s just within reach, on the brink of discovery. But that it evades them with ease.

I thought that it was a simple folk story. Or a political construct, trying to prove that some centaurs are superior to others, and thus chosen to be saved by the Womb.”

Edward can’t really argue with the latter. Of course this creature before him is special, chosen to be healed. Ed didn’t really need a miracle to point such a truth to him, but he's glad someone out there has selected that exact way of proving him right.

“So,” Ed finally speaks, “now that you know it’s the real deal, what do you say? Are you the chosen one?”

The light chuckle sure is melodic. Edward’s been listening, he has, it’s just that he’s always been better at looking.

And there’s so much beauty to look at that Edward has been struggling with dividing his attention into equal portions to be evenly distributed everywhere.

He settles for the smile for the time being. “I certainly don’t wish to be the chosen one,” Stede replies. “Just being chosen... that should suffice for now.”

The hint completely flies over Edward’s enraptured head. He does read a bit of hopeful invitation in the tone though, and it pulls a smile out of him.

Fortunately, he doesn’t ruin things, the idiot. You see, an event of a revolutionary scale must have happened in cosmos, resulting in the most mind-blowing bout of luck that has even befallen the young pirate. Apparently, the centaur has come to an unprecedented decision that he is free to take kisses from Edward’s lips whenever he feels like it!

So excise the poor soul for not having enough brain power to both listen to the centaur with the attention he deserves and anticipate the moment the next kiss would fall from the heights.

Oh, one is incoming now. It requires the centaur to lean on both of his hands so he could land his lips over the human sitting by his side. Edward raises his chin too early, resulting in the corner of his mouth getting the best of the kissing again.

Stede’s happy laughter ricochets off the crystal walls as the pirate jumps to correct the injustice. The stag’s too careless about the situation, if you ask Ed, and he can’t have this done half-assedly.

Not this.

So, the centaur gets pulled into some serious kissing. If he had to, Edward would live of the casual pecks to his lips until the rest of his days. But, since Stede seems convincable to extend the kissing sessions, hell! They’re moving to a more serious level, aka, a bit of tongue.

Pleased voices the centaur is making while exploring this new degree of intimacy ignites the human’s entire soul.

And some parts down south.

It’s a good thing that Edward is nothing if not spontaneous, so he doesn’t question the fact that he is throbbing to this extent over someone who’s not a human. Hell, he’s all strained and possibly wet inside his pants. It’s difficult to tell since the garment itself is still sticky with the rain.

He’s happy to leave it to Stede to call the shots, though. He knows this is all new to the other young male, he gets overwhelmed easily. Thus, Edward choses to take it as a compliment that the stag has to make a break after a while.

Stede does make a pause, but he doesn’t back away. He stops to enjoy this land he’s conquered, but he never leaves it. He bumps their foreheads and cuddles his nose over Edward’s ear, shooting another current of arousal in the other youth.

“Can I have,” he whispers to the human, “a bit of rest?”

Edward scoffs. As if he wouldn’t give everything to the stag, especially something as mundane. “By all means.”

The round eyes flash with mischief, and that’s all the warning the human gets.

In a blink of an eye, the centaur shuffles his huge bulk aside so that his humanoid torso could lie down. As if Edward’s his personal pillow, Stede rests his head over his thighs, facing away. He even tucks his hands between the things with freedom.

With a satisfied sigh he relaxes the entire plethora of his various muscles and casts a content look out of the cave and into the relentless downpour.

It’s very fortunate that the rain hasn’t subdued even for a bit, Stede thinks. It provides him with an excuse to remain inside the little crystal hall, all snuggled up and happy.

Torturing this excitable thing, Edward.

‘The actual fuck, is what passes through Edward’s head. The stag has pressed his head right against his hard-on! Sweet mother of restraint, why is he put in the situation like this? Is the stag aware of what he’s doing? Is it a coincidence? Should Edward fucking say something?

And a lot more along those lines.

“You know, Ed,” Stede interrupts innocently, just when the human has started wondering about sizes, “you haven’t been good on your word completely.”

“What do you mean?” Ed breathes, with his thoughts completely derailed whilst his spirit is still up and yearning.

The bloody centaur smiles so widely his pointy ear moves back. “You promised you’d tell me everything about how things are done. You know, between two stags.”

Now Edward has to lean himself back on his hands just to remove his face from the centaur’s peripheral vision.

More silent swearing done, a dozen of questions asked, a litre of sweat spilled and one second later he thinks he’s composed enough to reply.

“Oh, I did, didn’t I?”

“M-hmm,” Stede bites his lip. Accidentally, he also tightens his fingers under one of the human’s knees, playing carelessly with the oddity. “You mentioned teaching me all the best moves. You said you’d make me the most wanted bachelor in my herd.”

“Oh, yeah, I did,” Edward utters, his voice sounding as if coming from a barrel. “Well then, that’s what I’ll do.”

“Oh,” Stede’s head finds a more comfortable position for himself, and a more challenging one for his bed’s intimate parts. “I’m ready.”

Edward’s ready to explode, that’s what he is. What is the centaur’s deal though? Does he really just want to talk, inadvertently toying with Ed’s skillfully masked intentions along the way?

He looks as relaxed as if they’re exchanging recipes.

With inhuman strength, Edward channels his horniness away from his groin and gets ready to invest the frustration into fulfilling his promise – actually talking about sex.

It feels a bit like trying to drive your thirst away by swimming through a clear water lake, but that’s what life is for him right now.

He breaths imaginary composure in and exhales absolutely nothing.

“Alright,” he says and clears his throat. “First, you take his clothes off.”

Stede closes his eyes and chuckles. “Off my clothed stag? Of course.”

“Yes, pay attention,” the human wearing too much clothes chides. “I won’t be repeating the lessons.”

Stede’s eyes are still closed, even though his smile has started showing molars. “Understood. Sorry, sorry,” he chirps.

Edward swallows thickly, throwing his eyes around the unfazed body of his cave companion. If Edward survives this with his good name intact, meaning with his trousers not soaked in his own sperm, he will definitely ask the centaur for a counter-lesson on poise.

“So,” he continues. “You disrobe him. And then you coat him. You coat him with your hands. Learn his shape, the feel of his skin.”

“Oh,” the stag opens his eyes with curiosity. “Where does he like to be touched?”

His nipples, the inner Ed provides, making the said body part tingle, but the outer Ed has still not lost this battle.

“No, no,” he replies with his heart in his throat, daring to hope that they are talking about him. “You touch him where you like. Let your hands roam where you like him the most, show him that. That’s important. You mustn’t fake that.”

Inside his comfortable nest, Stede recalls the human’s naked body working hard to pull him out of the pit. The muscles rolling under the thin skin, increasing all those delicious contrasts between the narrow and broad.

But there is a definite favourite.

“I like his eyes the most,” he can’t but note that. Then he adds, “And his flat stomach, of course. His narrow waist too.”

They could be anyone’s, but ghost sensations raise goose bumps over the named body parts of Ed’s. They do continue down, on their own volition, even though the centaur’s words linger upwards.

“Should I kiss those parts?” Stede wants to know. “Or keep to my hands?”

“Whatever you want,” Edward blurts out. “But you have to enjoy that. Otherwise he would know you’re just doing it ‘cause you think you have to.”

Stede nods after a moment of thinking. “I think I would enjoy kissing him there very, very much. Then what?”

“Then,” Ed’s heart joins the torment, beating at the trail imaginary kisses leave over his front. “Then you can explore lower.” And because all decorum has flown out of the window, he adds. “Be-between his legs.”

It’s not enough that Edward is mentioning the act, Stede has to cuddle against his thigh, kneading on the human’s entire lower body, making things twitch and struggle and want.

“Mmm,” the centaur purrs, shamelessly running his palm over the very sensitive inner thigh beneath himself. “I like my stag’s legs too,” the tease comments. He also buries his nose into Edward’s muscles, the ones that differ so much from his.

Stede would merrily allow his nose to move further, to continue the talk about the place ‘between Edward’s legs’ – which is twitching eagerly against his nape – but that’s where his worries have been waiting for him.

“Edward,” he turns his worried face to look at the human. “What if we’re too different, my stag and I?”

Someone out there has just repaid for everything bad or unsatisfactory that has ever happened in Edward’s life. Stede is talking about him, worrying about their many opposites. Good thing Edward has been doing nothing but drooling over those exact differences.

“Don’t worry.” He dares to give the golden hair a little caress. “He likes that you’re unlike him. I mean, he’d better be, or he’ll be dealing with me.”

It brings a careful smile back on Stede’s face, but he still asks, “But, what if I’m too big? Or clumsy? Edward,” he now asks very seriously, “what if I accidentally hurt my stag?”

Edward drops all pretence to soothe the content of his lap. “You won’t, Stede, don’t worry,” he coos. “The two of you just need to talk about things. Communicate openly. It’s the sexiest thing you can do in bed. Remember that.”

This pacifies the centaur quite well indeed. “Promise?”

For the first time, Edward is the one who initiates kissing. Hell, he practically falls over Stede to seal his own words with a firm kiss to his lips. “I promise.”

“Well, then,” the stag smirks, looking very pleased.

The next moment, he does this remarkable thing Edward wasn’t ready for – he turns his head completely so that he faces Ed’s belly, and the rest of his gorgeous body follows.

Under the gleam of thousands of tiny crystal stars, Stede’s upper torso rolls onto its back. His front legs raise from the floor, bent at the knees. The fur on them is so glossy, the feathering around his hooves sporting those playful curls again.

Next, his underbelly shows, a tender pink barrel no centaur would expose to another person unless currents of absolute trust stream between them.

Finally, the hind legs follow the roll, spread out and bent at the stifle, the thigh muscles in a powerful pile, fetlocks curved with elegance. They finally reveal what they’ve been hiding from Edward’s eyes all along.

Huge black balls making two cushions for the base of absolutely most ginormous erection the young pirate has even seen.

Edward knew they were big, centaur private parts, of course he did. One can’t but notice hefty sheaths bobbing under males’ bellies. And if you’re Edward, you may have had a few vigorous wanks, while imagining what the real thing looked like once out of its pocket of foreskin.

Edward is now presented with the real thing, fully out, fully hard and swaying over Stede’s belly. Ed feels so very, very rich indeed and someone in the cave groans, “Fuck me!”

Stede chuckles and completes the roll, allowing his limbs to fall over the other side. The beautiful cock follows, rocking about, but so deliciously ready it never touches the ground.

It’s actually human-like! Yes, it’s long and muscular, colourful even! It’s base is black, but somewhere in the middle of it, a stretch of pink leads all the way towards the tip. The tip is all round and familiar looking, with a meaty hill around an open cleft.

Edward’s so fucking relieved. The fact that his own dick looks much the same – proportionally – means that Stede wouldn’t lift his nose at what Edward sports in his trousers.

But the situation calls for some serious concentration as Stede now presses his face against the pirate's erection trying to fight off the said trousers.

“Edward,” he coos, looking seductively, as if Edward’s not all shaking and stifling moans through pressed lips. “Since we are talking openly,” his lips move over the twitching muscle, “there’s this thing you should know.”

“Mh-m?”

“My stag is... you.”

“As I was hoping...”

“And,” Stede’s nose blows air through the fabric, “you forgot about smells. They don’t tell much to you humans, do they? But they’re important to centaurs. One should check what their stag’s scent says.”

“True,” Edward struggles to decide if he should concentrate on that hefty cock-head, the plush mouth sending lazy kisses over his dick, or something completely different. “What does it tell you?” he manages.

Readily, Stede digs his nose into Ed’s balls and draws a breath in.

“Male. All male,” he reads with thrill, not paying Edward’s struggle any mind. He continues a steady strip of sniffs following the shaft towards the tip. “Lust. Loads of lust. It’s over-spilling with lust.”

“Aah,” Edward survives spasm over spasm of arousal. Maybe he’s already come, but he just can’t tell as things are glowing. “That all?”

The nose has reached the place at the far end of the garment where Edward’s tip is all bent in its battle for freedom.

“It also likes flowers,” Stede provides with innocence. “Long walks at sunset. Holding hands.”

He does! Edward fucking does like those, it’s just that nobody has ever asked.

“No, wait,” Stede corrects himself, his dark eyelids looking heavy. “That’s me. I like those things.

Anyway. It would like to be freed from this ghastly confinement. Can we do that, please?”

“Yes, like, immediately!”

Edward decides that he’ll completely erase the next few minutes from his memory. They involve a lot of shuffling about, swearing and peeling his boots and trouser legs off with little to no sexiness. Yes, Stede chirps with curiosity upon lying his eyes on Ed’s balls, dick, legs and feet. But, Ed also steps on his own toe and pinches Stede’s hand underneath himself.

So when Edward recalls the magical moments of his first ever sex with Stede, it goes like this: Stede asks to free his cock, Edward does not squeal his approval whatsoever – fast forward to the next instant – he’s bare from waist down and spread out by the centaur’s hands.

Oh, and Stede’s eyes are as big as saucers following the movement of Edward’s dick which is finally free to swing its length about, desperate for attention.

“Ooh, the juicy thing,” Stede mewls.

Edward’s cock is definitely on the larger side for a human. Both of his previous partners were downright bitches about it, too self-conscious about being the smaller party, even though they were the ones topping him in bed.

But not Stede! Not may things could intimate that length, and it expresses its approval by letting off streams of clear fluid.

But, the owner is not done with his pre course. He sticks his nose between the human’s sack and the crease of his thigh and breaths in his fill.

“Ah, yes,” he murmurs into his lover’s intimate skin. If Stede never knew he liked stags, the smell of Edward’s balls alone would be enough for the revelation. “It talks much more clearly now.”

His nostrils and his upper lip start making a trail of fire up Edward’s shaft, making him fist his hands into his shirt.

“It wants me,” Stede continues, finally, fucking finally looking as desperate as Edward has been feeling for the past hours it seems. “It wants me to taste its lust.” His eyes find Edward’s, and somehow Ed knows that the centaur is taking about himself when he says, “It wants that very, very much.”

“Yes, fucking yes!”

Without further ado, the centaur slides his hot mouth over the human’s entire erection and sucks it clean of slick in a single move up. He smacks his lips and groans, looking downright feral.

And he does it again. And again. And again, drunk on the hotness of Edward’s firmness, ravenous for the taste of him, completely crazed about the very notion that the moment of long awaited intimacy has finally arrived.

And Edward? Well, Edward’s lost. Don’t ask about Edward.

Stede indulges like no gentleman has ever done before. The human skin is hot to the touch. His cock is as solid as granite, not as bendy as a centaur’s, but it covers Stede’s palate with sweetness, smelling of pure desire, youth and absolutely no restraint.

“Aah-aah-aaah,” Edward howls towards the crystal ceiling, completely helpless about the fact that he’s about to come without managing a mere minute inside Stede’s mouth. The gorgeous centaur may be inexperienced, using too much suction and maybe a bit of teeth.

But no human has ever been able to swallow Ed's cock completely! Also, Edward has been too worked up to pride himself with something as outrageous as stamina. He feels too enchanted by this creature to do anything but let the damn break.

Little does he know that stamina is not a prized commodity in centaur society.

So that’s what happens now.

Stede scrapes his hooves over the rocky floor with excitement, detecting a peak in Edward’s pheromones, wanting nothing but to be the one who brings pleasure to this human. His strength comes to life, lifting Edward’s pelvis off the ground so he could shove the entire cock into his mouth to mimic the moment a stag enters his partner to spill his seed deep inside of them.

The entire cave trembles with their voices, as the human cramps and explodes. He has absolutely no control over his body, nor he wishes any. He shakes, he strains, he sees stars, he loses his voice.

He loses his heart.

Edward’s surrender wakes a multitude of things inside the stag.

First of all, pride about his lover’s pleasure. So much pride, in fact, that he can hardly contain it. It makes him swallow the sperm with relish.

Then comes the possessiveness. The need to announce his conquest to the world. It makes him dig his nails into the human’s buttocks to have him put as he sucks the exhausted cock clean. It makes him lick one final strip over it so he could give his own a few urgent strokes.

Pure testosterone strikes next. Stede prances onto his feet, his tail flagged, his cock searching.

The human is lying sprawled on the floor, unafraid, undeterred, his eyes filled with adoration, letting himself be roofed by Stede’s bulk. The centaur is so hyped, so there, at the brink of his own peak. All it takes is for him to fist his hand over his own tip a few times, and then strain his pelvic muscles hard.

The centaur starts coming too, loudly and hotly. The first few jets of sperm land over the human’s exposed belly dancing with heavy breathing. The rest of it gets spilled all over his pliant sex, over his thighs, covering him in irregular patterns.

Placating more built-in instincts Stede has never been aware of.

“Fuck, Stede,” Edward groans with huge eyes, staring at the last rivulets being shaken out of the huge tip.

With triumph of having this invaluable creature so pleased and pliant under him, Stede finally gasps for air.

Ed looks so wrecked, Stede thinks. He too is giddy with thrill, swishing his tail, careful not to step over his lover as his hooves wish to dance.

Oh, so this is why stags posture after mating. He can feel it now – the urge to celebrate a bit, to prance and frolic at his conquest.

Ed’s lean frame is all covered with Stede, and very happy about it. “That was the hottest thing ever,” he slurs, barely in control over his mouth. “But!” he raises his finger but can’t keep it up for as long as he was planning to.

“There’s an important part of the lesson now,” he does manage to add with a huge grin. “You need to hold your stag. Hold him tightly.”

Stede is so in love with this ridiculous thing.

He kneels by the human’s feet and extends his legs to the side, allowing Edward to swing his bare thighs over them. Stede collects as much of his lover he can hold, keeping him up from the frigid floor, making a pillow for him to rest his head.

“Now,” Edward utters, sounding so frail that Stede immediately knows that he would do anything he asks for now. “You need to kiss him. Kiss him a lot. On the lips.

Because he can’t take it anymore.”

***

Pros and cons of being with a centaur.

Pros:

He’s so huge! His hands are so big that he can wrap both of them over your waist and almost touch fingers at your back. And he does that a lot.

Next, his fur feels lovely on your skin. It’s so smooth and soft to the touch. The muscles under it are brimming with power, directing your fingers over one hill to the next.

Ah, and the cock. If you have a few days to spare, Edward would love to describe you all the magic of that fat lengthy thing. Of what it feels like over his tongue, of how tightly he needs to hold it with both of his hands, of all those amazing juices it spills, rivalling the streams forming by the mouth of the cave. He would give you all the details gladly, it’s just that he needs time to regain control over his tongue whenever he thinks about it.

Oh, and the speed to which Stede learns, it’s flabbergasting. Copying what Ed does, adding a few signature moves of his own, building upon it with improvements. The lesson about being the best lover out there is so unnecessary, as Stede’s already got what it takes!

The will to put an effort into becoming one.

Cons:

His centaur instincts to hold onto his mate while he is straddling him with his lower body don’t get soothed during their fuck itself, so it turns into a half an hour of cuddling session afterwards.

Well, alright. That con has just turn into a pro.

Anyway.

Pros and cons of being with a human.

Pros:

Edward talks a lot, which is fascinating given the fact that both of their mouths are filled with one another all the time. It eases Stede’s mind efficiently as the instructions he is given are very straightforward and aiming towards a single goal – to provide as much pleasure as possible, with little to no risk of injury for either of them.

Further more, the temperature of his skin is higher than that of an average centaur, it’s marvellous! It simply calls for Stede’s hands to map and caress that firm body over and over again, especially when it gets all wet with sweat.

Which is deliciously salty!

Next, his body is so compact. The shoulders are broad, the waist is tiny, and when Stede wraps both of his hands around it, it isolates the little pear-shaped arse so deliciously. Stede first had to recall all his princly upbringing so not to foam at the sight of the bouncy pink buttocks. Luckily, he learnt that he doesn’t have to restrain himself in that regard at all. Edward loves having Stede’s erection rub itself to completion there.

Stede’s tongue as well.

Cons:

There is not enough room for all the precome and sperm Stede is able to produce either inside the human’s mouth or over his body. They decidedly don’t want to risk sending Edward to wash himself in the rain, as he would surely lose his way back into the cave. So Stede simply licks him clean.

Hmmm. Which is technically another pro.

Either way, that’s what he’s doing right now.

Stede is lying over his lower back with his hands and tongue over Edward’s smooth little hole, licking the muscles open the way the human loves. He’s also entering the man on the other side, as Ed has made it his task to make Stede’s penis as slippery with his spit as possible.

Edward pops the well-sucked organ out of his mouth.

“I’m ready,” he moans, making Stede all tremble with anticipation.

“Oh,” the stag follows the way the fur-less body repositions itself, making that arse bounce. “Me too.”

With a content sigh, Edward lowers himself over the stag again, but this time with his long legs bracing Stede’s stomach, but most importantly with his lovely face turned fully towards the centaur.

It’s wearing that silly grin again.

Oh, yes, Stede’s heart confirms, Ed was right yet again. This human’s mind is like a beehive with brilliant ideas zooming inside, waiting to be utilised, and Stede is all too happy to oblige. After all, that’s how they’ve found themselves in this position.

True, spending time over his back for longer than a few moments might be an unnatural position for the centaur, but it’s worth any discomfort as Stede is now presented with the full view of this man.

Stede loves the way Ed tosses his hair back, his long lashes looking heavy, his cheeks a bit pink with the previous activity. The black hair over his chest is all mussed up with sweat, but Stede’s come to associate the look with a complete satisfaction from his lover’s side.

Because they’re lovers. Stede is mates with this astonishingly handsome human, this remarkable creature whose restless body and equally restless mind keep coming up with the most delightful ideas of how to make their unusual pairing work.

Stede couldn’t possibly feel more proud of him, of his naked skin, of his debauched state, of his juicy erection swaying about on its own, as Edward’s hand is behind his back, reaching for Stede’s.

“Oh, yes,” Edward moans as Stede’s tip obeys his command and parts the buttocks Stede’s tongue has made all wet.

They’re about to mate. Truly mate. They’ve discussed it in length, if you’ll pardon the expression. That too was so arousing that Edward is now wearing a ring of teeth marks on his shoulder.

Edward’s eyes are blazing with fire and Stede shoots a spill of wetness from that look alone. “Yes, that’s it,” the human chants, “that’ll make it loads of fun.”

Another pro to centaur-human coupling – a centaur is producing gallons of slick when aroused, which human body temperature makes rather oily.

But nothing beats Stede’s most fervent wish to be “fun” for Edward. To make him happy, keep him stimulated. All of his mental powers flail about to read the long-haired, long-limbed, long-lash human. Stede eyes are quick to spot a surge of pleasure when he gets touched here, the need to be held and cuddled there, the wish to learn about the mechanics of centaur body all the time.

All Stede wants to do is give when his lover asks, and anticipate his next demand too. And right now Edward wants to take, so Stede provides.

He pushes in.

The first contact makes them both gasp. Stede’s pelvis jerks but he manages to control his hind legs from bucking. His instincts insist he’s to find strong purchase against the ground with his back hooves, so he could push into his lover.

Oh, he’s such a vision, his lover, feeding Stede’s heart with his excited state, with the way he tightens his muscles around the cock-tip inside of him, the way he leans both of his hands over Stede’s bent pasterns.

Of how his erection spits an undeniable stream at the breach.

“More, push in,” Edward moans feeling greedy over a cock like never before. He even starts sitting over the thing, despite the instructions he’s just given.

Fuck, was this why he was bored with previous lovers? Did he need a good stallion dong all this time? The thing is hot, the thing is generous, the thing is fucking alive.

Perhaps too generous, as he needs to stop impaling himself on it for a bit.

“Fuck,” he breathes with a huge grin, casting a satisfied look at his handsome lover. “You are a challenge, Stede.”

Perhaps Stede would take the compliment without his eyes rolling inside his head, if the pest didn’t accentuate the words by making a sinful figure with his hips. “So tight, Ed,” he mewls. “So good.”

What Ed has learnt about himself in the course of the last few fucks is that being praised is absolutely dangerous for him. He completely loses his presence of mind, not to mention that it calls the edge of an orgasm to rush to him with speed.

Somehow he manages to sound suave when he offers, “I have to say I was planning to shove this big boy in all the way to this black line.” He gives the muscular cock an affectionate pat. “But, I think I’ll keep it this deep,” he adds breathlessly. “It feels so good here.”

Stede is very supportive of the idea, don’t get him wrong, but the words of reassurance get knocked out of his head when Edward starts showing him just how nimble his hips are.

My stars, humans are simply made for sex! No wonder they multiply faster than centaurs can. Surely no doe or stag is able to do what Edward is doing right now – making these silky moves up and down Stede’s erection, sliding himself over it like a glove and bouncing back with relish.

Good thing Stede had a rather exhaustive orgasm not an hour ago, otherwise he would finish two strokes ago. Three. Four. Five...

“Ah, Stede, ah” Edward calls, with all his muscles strained, his eyebrows pinched, his long hair sending waves down his back as he picks up speed. “Feels so good.”

The only thing that is stopping Stede from shooting his load at this very moment is the sheer amount of incredulity which spins his head. Is Stede dreaming this all up, curled up in delirium, imagining that he’s managed the impossible feat of winning the affection of this beautiful pirate?

But Edward returns him into his body when he tightens the grip over Stede’s front hooves and croaks, “Now. Fill me up now!”

Every other though takes the backseat as Stede's got work to do. His body is simply burning with this love that wants to erupt and wants to do it the way Stede’s lover asks. The centaur’s hips do start bouncing, allowing the human to take a break from his strenuous task. His dick gets diamond hard, simply taking over Ed’s weight and everything turns to a blur.

With shallow but fast thrust, Stede spills his orgasm into the human’s tight little arse, making it very slippery, making splashes of cum burst out.

He sees Edward’s chin lifting up, he sees him sucking some air in. He sees one of his hands travelling down to start playing over his own tip. He hears and feels nothing but fire, but he does see the moment Ed reaches his own peak.

And he does so all over Stede’s front.

The centaur laughs, gleeful about this achievement, soaking in every single moment like it’s sustenance.

Edward is only able to groan and keep jerking, but that does nothing to make the scene any less erotic for the Prince. His thighs are trembling as wide spread as they are to straddle the centaur’s bulk. His fist is making his tip disappear and reappear rapidly, staining even his fingers with generous white streaks. Oh, even the way his balls are straining up is so delightful.

For the final few strokes Ed even protrudes his hips just to have every last drop of dense cum squeezed out of himself and between his lover’s front legs.

It’s beyond beautiful.

“Whoa,” Ed finally stops and lets go of himself.

A clear droplet of sweat runs down his temple, and he wipes it off with satisfaction. He even sends Stede a wink, the cheek, before he twists carefully to cast a look at the organ still holding onto its place inside of him.

“Oooh, we did reach a third of your cock, but I can’t be sure. It’s kinda dark all of a sudden.”

Stede generously allows something as unimportant as surroundings to come to his view, just to send a meaningful reply to his mate.

But he finds something odd.

“Ahm,” the centaur clears his throat and points a finger at the skies.

They haven’t changed position per se. Stede is still on his back, with his legs curled, his penis extended and up Edward’s arse. Edward is as gloriously naked as before, all spread out and glossy to make room for the centaur’s belly bellow him and the centaur’s cock inside.

But the ground beneath them is soggy with rain, the air is chilly, the night time is pulling some eerie calls out of the forest residents around.

Stede’s heavy staff falls down as it’s lost its crystal support.

“I think,” Stede makes a sorry face, “that we’ve been evicted.”

***

If there was a spy in the forest – and there is none, Stede’s father swears to God – they would think that what they see is just a couple of drunkards on their way home from an inn.

The two are walking side by side, talking and laughing loudly. Very often they lean one against the other until one of them, the larger one, starts knitting his legs and stumbles aside.

From time to time, the smaller one gets plastered against whatever surface presents itself. The taller one then drops onto his knees and their voices get muffled by kisses and flesh.

Oh, there’s that one time when they came across a thick log. Now that was a wonderful table for Edward to be served over, for Stede to feast on. And what a feast it was! They even reached a bit more of Stede’s length which made Edward so triumphant that he boasted over his own capacity for hours.

But there are these moments, very tender, very domestic ones when their souls simply fuse together in a slow dance.

They light a fire, they make dinner of whatever greens, berries and eggs they find in the forest. The night sets quickly and the two young creatures actually go to sleep, as drained as they are of all the day time activities.

They lie tangled over a bed of leaves and leather bags. Ed finds the best places in Stede’s embrace to snuggle up. It’s especially comfy in there when he swings his legs over Stede’s curled up ones and allows the centaur to warm his cheek with whispers, chuckles and appraisal.

In turn, Edward recalls some overinflated sea adventures of his own for the centaur’s eager ears. Little is to say that centaur folk don’t make good sailors. Their feet don’t fare well over slippery decks or up poles. Not to mention the amount of food one would have to secure for a multiple–months–long voyage to fill stomachs of just a single one.

Thus, centaurs remain short-distance travellers. Well, the extremely rich ones at least, as you need to grease up the crew extensively for them to accept a non-human on-board.

So humans reign the seas, humans hold the trade routes.

And humans turn to pirates.

Stede can’t gulp down enough stories about the Republic of Pirates. His young spirit simply vibrates at all the rugged, tough and violent bits of it Edward doesn’t exclude from his tale. Deprived of everything that is not a sterile marble of a palace, Stede’s mind finds vigour, courage and glory even in the filthiest of thugs Edward has ever fought in an inn.

“I would love to go there one day,” Stede breathes with his eyes glossy with wonder. “How would they react to a centaur?”

Edward scratches the stubble on his chin. “Out of a Truce Moon? I’m not sure. I know a few who would ride your bones.” He narrows his eyes. “Quite a few of them actually. Anyway, I can’t vouch for the rest.”

It’s actually a question of unexpected complexity. One can’t say that even humans are welcome in the Republic of Pirates. Newcomers and residents are looked upon with equal suspicion. They are bloody pirates, ergo not the most trustworthy people.

But a centaur? And the one as handsome as Stede? He might cause both swords and the cheesiest of pickup lines to be drawn out.

Edward doesn't appreciate either.

The truth is many things plague Ed's mind in the rare instances when he’s not being expertly ploughed out of his skull. Edward definitely doesn’t want this to end. All this easy acceptance, this wonderful closeness he feels streaming between him and this stag. In fact, Ed is so accepted that he – and this is unprecedented, mind – feels no need to lie about a thing!

Ed’s not blind either. He knows the centaur returns the admiration full heartedly. He sees it in admiring little glances. He hears it in the melody of Stede’s parade gait. He senses it in the tightness of the centaur’s embrace, feeling as if he is employing all his powers into not crushing his lover with thrill.

Fuck, he feels it in the good ol’ throb that magic cock leaves behind.

But all of that is exactly what’s got Edward worried.

You see, he’s been through first-sex-euphoria before, he knows how misleading such an infatuation can get. And he thinks this is exactly what is going on here.

He’s Stede first ever partner, and a human one at that. What if this is all just the fleeting magic of a fuck for Stede? A pretty fog one’s inexperienced brain choses to reward itself with for a short while?

A siren song leading one’s ship onto rocks?

Edward doesn’t want this to end. But the Truce Moon is nearing its final days, and they are steadily moving towards the border with Stede’s herd territory.

Well, maybe it’s better that way, he persuades himself as Stede sticks his nose into Ed’s hair where he likes to spend the night. Their union is deemed to fail anyway. There is no land that would accept love between the members of the two hostile species.

The good news is that Edward will get left behind before Stede comes to his senses, and absolutely shatters his heart to smithereens by telling him off himself.

So Ed closes his eyes and scoops closely against his sleeping stag while he can. He presses his lips in a thin line and decides to escape the realty just for a moment, hoping that would trick his brain into making some dreams of the way Ed wishes things would turn out.

As Edward doesn’t want this to end.

***

“Here we are,” Stede says through a tense smile.

Where they are is the Final Hill. The little grassy uprising in no-man’s-land which provides an incredible view down into the centaur territory.

Vast field and grasslands have been cultivated left and right for as far as the eye can see. And before them, over the last little outskirts of the forest one gets met with the thick walls of the city-fortress. Behind it, there are roofs of shacks and houses, some packed in neat rows, others scattered about, making the place looking exactly like any human settlement by the sea.

It is not a port as no ship or boat could tame that bit of the ocean to reach that cliff. Precisely such a hostile spot, the one away from humans grabby hands, has been chosen as the right place for the palace to be built.

It’s a huge thing, Edward’s eyes can’t but travel right towards it. Maybe it really looks scary, with its tall stone walls and rooms built to house creatures much taller than humans. But maybe it’s Edward’s own general presumption that he would never be able to set foot in such a place of riches as a commoner.

And a pirate.

And a human.

Hell, this very spot he’s standing on will be out of reach for him as soon as tomorrow, all manned by armed border guards of both species, but that is not one of his concerns right now.

Edward’s entire front cramps with pain as he stares at this place which is about to take Stede back and close its heavy door behind him.

“Alrighty,” he sighs feeling needless prickling under his skin – a typical Edwardian reaction to doing the Right Thing. It’s always felt unnatural. “I’ll walk you off a bit more.”

But Stede’s hand grabs his shoulder tightly. “Wait,” the centaur says. “This is a nice spot, I want to do it here.”

“Do what?” Edward swivels around to look at him, hopeful and shocked about the fact that the reply might be a fuck. They’ve done it only this morning. Even though they just rubbed their dicks together, it still counts.

But Stede’s smile is too broad and his eyes are too filled with his very soul for such an intention. Yes, it’s been just a few days (exactly three) since they’ve started being intimate, but Stede has never initiated the act by cupping Ed’s cheeks with both of his warm palms.

“Edward,” he whispers gently and his face changes angles before the human’s eyes as he’s started kneeling before the pirate.

Ed can feel his heart in his throat, pulsing hard at the undeniable significance of the moment.

“Edward Teach,” Stede utters with all the gentleness in the world. “I love you. I love you deeply, mmph.”

That was Edward throwing himself over Stede’s mouth. “Stede,” he wails and keeps kissing. “’Awe you too, mmm.”

Good thing that an average human isn’t able to tip a centaur over as they would be rolling in the grass right now. An average centaur is able to crush human bones, but luckily Stede is all about restraint.

“But,” Edward manages to come out for air, “what are we... I mean... How are we..?”

“Calm down,” Stede chuckles, looking as the master of situation for some irritating reason. “First things first.”

He takes the bag off his shoulder, never commenting on how hard that is with Edward’s arms still relentlessly wrapped around his neck. He fumbles inside it a bit before pulling his closed hand out.

He holds it against his heart. “Edward,” he says with a giddy grin. “I want you,” and he starts unfolding his fingers to show the content, “to be my husband.”

What sits in his palm is a large precious stone. Deep red in colour and and tear-shaped, made rather flat on one side for its intended purpose – it is waiting to be fashioned into a piece of wedding jewellery for the one you are gifting it to.

“It’s garnet,” Stede explains to Edward gawking at the object. “It’s my heart stone, a very personal thing for a centaur. I guess you humans have different customs but...”

“Wait. I can’t.”

Edward stumbles back, detaching himself out of his lover’s personal space.

Crisis, his brain insists, Crisis! This is not for real. Stede – he is rushing into things. He-he will regret this the very next moon.

This will all be taken away from Ed.

He rubs his own face and wishes to pull his own hair out, but he’s stopped by the centaur’s shocked stare. The poor wide-eyed thing is waiting there with the wedding gift in his hand, and a broken heart all over his face.

“Stede, listen,” he tries to recall sense back into his body. “Are you sure? Completely sure about this?”

Stede blinks hard, but his voice is nothing but firm when he replies, “Of course I’m sure, Edward. I love you,” he reminds his crazy lover.

“But it’s...” Edward tries to voice the noises in his head. Impossible, they insist. You’re making a mistake, they add.

You’ll regret having anything to do with me.

“Look, Stede,” Edward presses his palms together, which stops them from shaking, but otherwise doesn’t help. “I love you, I do.”

“I know.”

“But I think you haven’t thought this through,” he insists. “What if you wake up one day and realise that I am not a centaur.”

This makes Stede shake his head with disbelief. “I know you’re not a centaur, Ed. It’s kind of obvious,” he makes a nervous smile.

“Not like that,” Edward searches for words with frustration.

How come things are so clear when he shouts them to himself inside his head, and yet it’s so hard to put them into meaningful sentences?

The answer is that his notions are unreasonable, but in order for one to see that they need to be mature.

And not Edward.

“You know, I think,” he finally decides, “that you need to let things settle, yes. And then!” he shakes his finger towards Stede as if threatening him with the rest of the sentence. “Only then decide if you want to marry me.”

Stede’s eyebrows get drawn close. The gem disappears into his fist again and he lifts himself up from the ground. It’s his turn to impersonate his old aunt with the posture. “Edward,” he chides. “Is this one of your elaborate schemes you get rid of your lovers with? You know, you can just dignify the bloke by...”

“No,” Edward practically screams at the thought that he’s fucked things up to such an extent.

He rushes back to the centaur, but he can only embrace him around the waist as Stede’s completely, well, erect.

“I don’t want to get rid of you, Stede,” he utters with panic, his chin pressed against the centaur’s belly. “Fuck, I want to marry you, like this fucking moment. But,” his eyes start wondering about. “I need to know. I need to be sure that you won’t change your mind in, like, six months.”

Thank fuck, this returns Stede to his previous position so Edward can grab him around the shoulders again.

“I don’t want you,” he continues, “to realise that humans are not doing it for you anymore. That you need someone of your own kind and just discard me like an old sock.”

“I won’t change my mind, you silly man.” Stede reassures him, wondering what a sock is. Still, even Edward’s stubble doesn’t burn that much now that Stede’s got his reply. “I love you, Edward, and I like that you are human.”

He manages to unglue the man’s prickly cheek so he can look at his face. What he finds there is so much dismay, and so little peace.

Edward is an unsettled creature, that much is clear to Stede. Perpetually moving, never resting, creating chaos, but at the end of the day – creating. That magic of the opposites is one of the forces drawing them to one another, making Stede responsive to those exact features. Stede’s stability, his trustworthiness, his way of nurturing until things start to bloom, they attract the young pirate in turn.

And now he’s in need of understanding Stede can provide.

“I’m planning a very long marriage with you, Ed,” Stede runs his hand through the long grey hair. “But I don't want you to keep doubting me the entire time. What can I do to reassure you once and for all?”

“Donno,” Edward responds, tightening his grip. “Maybe if you take some time to think?”

“Think if I want to be with you?”

“Yes, that,” the human returns, sounding a tad more hopeful. “I need to know that you’re not doing this at the spur of the moment. After some time, you might decide that you were wrong, that you want someone of your own species. Don’t fret, let me finish. And, when the time passes, and you still choose me, then...” a relived smile starts spreading over his darling face. “Then I’ll believe that this is forever.”

“But, darling,” Stede warns, “that means we’ll see each other again in a year. The borders are closing tomorrow, we will have to wait until the next Truce Moon if we part now.”

“Yeah,” Edward says, thinking. “Well, if you give this a year, eleven months to be more precise,” his eyes find Stede’s. “Then I’ll truly believe that you won’t replace me with a centaur once you come to your bloody senses.”

Stede sighs.

The Prince had Big Plans, you see. They may or may not involve telling his father that he’ll fuck whoever he wants to fuck and such.

They may or may not include denouncing the throne.

They may or may not lead to Stede becoming a pirate. The world’s first ever centaur pirate!

But there are things more urgent than that, it seems. The most important one is looking at him with huge insecure eyes, asking for support, asking for reassurance.

Stede sighs with fondness. What else can he do than give the love of his life this one token of his devotion?

“I hate being separated from you,” the centaur makes sure this is clear. “But if this will put a stop to your nonsense, and make you marry me afterwards...”

“It will, it certainly will!”

“Then I’ll hold onto this,” he returns the gem into its fortress of leather. “To offer it to you again.”

“Aww, you're keeping that... Well, alright.”

“At this same place.”

“Yes.”

“In eleven months, on the first day of the Truce Moon.”

Edward nods with his chest filled with ease. Fuck, it’s going to be hard, so hard to endure all that time without Stede, without his solid presence, anchoring Edward to now and here.

That’ll be a challenge, he tells himself. But the one worth enduring if the prize at the end of the deadline is Stede – completely, irrevocably his Stede who won’t regret his choice.

“I’ll be here,” Ed promises with his entire soul. “I’ll be waiting for you here, Stede. Fuck, I’d set up a camp at this spot to wait it out, if that wouldn’t get me stacked with border guards’ arrows in a heartbeat.”

Stede chuckles. “No, my dear. This needs to be fair,” he offers gallantly. “You’ll go home and think as well. Think if living with a centaur won’t become too much for you one day.” He makes a kind smile. "You might realise that it's better to stick to humans."

“Oh, don't worry. I’m not going back to humans,” Edward laughs. “Believe me.”

A knowing smile lights Stede’s features, “Oh, I’ll make sure you won’t.”

Right there, on the Final Hill where the two realms collide, Stede applies all his training, step by step, completely ruining Edward for anyone else.

Oh, and they reach the black markings on this go.