Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ruggie’s whole body hurt, aching and sore. Hurt when he swallowed, like barbed wire being shoved down his throat— the last thing he’d seen— Leona, Leona with his hand wrapped around Ruggie’s neck— Leona telling Ruggie—

Ruggie hacked, forcing his eyes open, there was no sun he could see, just a sandstorm swirling above, shards of rocks flying through the sky, mixed with black streaks of ink. fuck.

Leona was still—

Ruggie coughed again, pain lancing through his body. He gasped, shuddering on the stone he had awoken on. Sucked in a painful breath, before he rolled over to his side, pushing himself off cold stone, before tipping to the side. Something wet and cold caught him, pushed him up, sliding up his arms and legs, holding him as he sat up.

The floor looked weird— crackled and jagged and—

Something wet pulled his hair back, forcing him to look up, meet glowing green eyes.

Leona— Leona who was still wreathed in black and gold, ink dripping from his hands as the storm swirled behind him. Horrible and beautiful like this, looking down at Ruggie.

“Leona..?” He choked out, he could feel tears slipping out of the corners of his eyes, tracking down his face. He was sure he was a mess right now, still half dazed.

“Leona what…? What Happened…?”

Leona smirked down at Ruggie, tail flicking lazily behind him. Emerald eyes glowed as he watched the hyena struggle to comprehend the new world around them.

"Tch. You really can’t remember?" he drawled, leaning forward with a sharp-toothed grin. ink-wrought tendrils coiled tighter around Ruggie's waist, keeping him upright— oh gross they were cold and slimy on his skin. "Look around you."

The sandstorm still swirled faintly at their backs, but Night Raven’s once-fierce school was now little more than a desert ruin—twisted spires of ink and floating shards of stone where buildings once stood. The Spelldrive arena had been transformed into a grand coliseum of Leona’s making, its stands reforged into jagged steps leading up to his ‘throne’— a weird floating platform with a throne far too big for either of them.

"You helped me get here," Leona continued lazily, resting his chin on one hand while the other gestured vaguely toward the devastation beyond them. He leaned closer, voice dropping into something almost teasing despite its edge: "Don’t you remember? Or...Should I jog your memory?”

One tendril slithered up beneath Ruggie's chin and tipped his head back sharply—forcing eye contact as Leona grinned wider.

Ruggie's ears flattened against his head as he choked out a nervous laugh, trying to play it cool despite the way his breath hitched under Leona’s gaze.

"Shyeheehee... nah, I think I’m startin’ to remember now!” He forced a grin even as the tendril tightened slightly around his throat— god his throat hurt. "But hey—can ya blame me for gettin' distracted? You went an' made yourself all… regal-lookin’ while I was out cold."

He gestured weakly with one hand toward the ruined school— a wreck, he could still see some people climbing through the rubble— the mirrors must’ve been destroyed, or they would have run by now. “Real fancy setup you got here!"

A sharp pain lanced through his ribs as another tendril constricted warningly around him—Leona wasn't amused by cheekiness today, huh? Ruggie coughed before hastily adding:

"...Not that I'm complainin'! Just sayin'—coulda at least let me wake up *before* redecoratin’… ha?”

Leona chuckled, the sound almost a growl as the tendril around Ruggie's throat tightened a fraction more. “Getting comfortable? Like this?”

He leaned back on his throne, "But I can't complain. You've always been good at ass-kissing your betters, Ruggie."

The tendril split, gross black ink sliding over Ruggie as he was forced to his feet, then lifted off the ground, held in front of Leona.

“You won’t have to do that anymore,” He began, standing up and floating towards Ruggie, clawed hands cupping his face, wiping away the grime, and likely smearing black ink right over it. “I promised you, didn’t I? We’d turn this whole world on its head, together.”

He had also told Ruggie that was a stupid, foolish dream and that there was no way Ruggie would ever be anything, but whatever, it seemed pretty clear that if Ruggie brought that up, Leona’s hands would not be so… kind.

Even if— even if He wanted to lean into the careful touch and make a fool of himself for Leona to laugh at— he knew better, felt something cold and heavy settle in his stomach. Better not to push his luck with the way Leona looked at him.

"You..." He croaked, words refusing to take shape.

Leona let out a soft huff of laughter, the warmth of it ghosting over Ruggie’s skin. His thumb once more swiped absently at the streaks of dirt still clinging to Ruggie’s cheek, claws just barely grazing him.

"You what?" Leona murmured, eyes half-lidded with amusement—like he already knew exactly what Ruggie wanted to say and was just waiting for him to fumble through it. "Spit it out."

His tail flicked lazily behind him as he tilted his head, grin sharpening when Ruggie only tensed further under his touch. The tendrils shifted almost playfully around him—one slithering up to curl loosely around Ruggie's wrist in some perverse parody of comfort.

“Do you need another reminder that running your mouth gets you nowhere?" The ink tendrils crept under his shirt, sliding slick over his torso.

Ruggie inhaled sharply as the tendril crept against his stomach, his breath hitching in his throat. Something about the feeling of the ink had him freezing—it was cold, unpleasantly so, he found himself shivering.

He opened his mouth, struggling to form the words—he felt small now, in a way that he'd rarely felt before. "Leona, I..."

“Spit it out already.” Leona snapped, “I’m losing my patience Ruggie, if all you plan on doing is flapping your lips, I can shut you up.”

Ruggie swallowed, blinking at Leona, who had gone from sweet to cruel in seconds— had he ever been sweet? He could feel the ghost of Leona’s palm on his neck, skincracking… it was still sore there, hurt to breathe.

He'd never been scared of Leona before, but he couldn't deny the way his heart pounded in his chest, how fucking vulnerable he felt, trapped in the air with Leona's hand on his chin, ink tendrils sliding over his skin, holding him in place.

His ears tucked back against his head. "...I'm sorry," he forced out, gritting his teeth.

“You should be.” He said curtly, gaze turning to the wreckage of sage’s island, Like he could see through the storm into some bullshit brighter future, somehow.

The tendrils pulsed in tandem with the gusts of wind, sliding against his body, slipping under cloth, he could see it stretching the fabric of his pants as it crept up his leg.

Ruggie sucked in a sharp breath, shivering as the ink continued its slow crawl over him. He was torn between jerking away and melting into the sensation—it wasn’t *painful*, but it was overwhelming, leaving his skin prickling with goosebumps.

Leona’s fingers twitched against his jaw, claws scraping just enough to make Ruggie turn his gaze back to Leona’s face. He wasn’t holding him hard enough to break skin (yet), but the threat lingered in every subtle movement.

The tendril coiled tighter around his thigh, shifting higher until—

Oh.

Ruggie’s tail lashed once before going stiff behind him. His ears flicked back as he shot Leona a wide-eyed look—half-questioning, half-pleading—but all he got in return was a lazy smirk and another idle stroke of claws along his chin.

“L-Leona—” His voice cracked pathetically on the word.

“I was thinking,” Leona began, tendril pulsing around Ruggie, sliding through embarrassingly slick folds and prodding at his entrance, “When you were out— Leaving me to do all the work, I don’t need some stupid sidekick— what would you do for me anyway?”

He laughed, cruel as Ruggie gasped, the bottom of his pants tearing at the seams as more black ink accumulated around the tendrils.

“I mean really, I don’t need an advisor, I’m King, You’d be as useful to me as a music box…”

Ruggie let out a strangled moan, his tail lashing and ears pinning back as the tendril pushed against him. The fabric of his pants were strained, soaked with ink and tearing apart. Not that it mattered, the mass of ink growths swarming his legs, thighs, sliding up his body. He could feel his face turning red—mortification and pleasure twisting together in his gut.

"I— I could still be useful, I—"

He could. There were plenty of ways he could help, he could be good. Leona had said so, he just—he just needed to prove it–

“Shut up.” Leona snapped, growl in his voice. Ruggie blinked back tears— this was dumb, this was so dumb, to be so worked up, he needed to get away— not crying over Leona betraying him a second time.

“Then,” Leona began again, smiling at Ruggie, manic “I realized something— all good kings have a queen… and you fit that perfectly, don’t you?”

As Leona said that, the tendril forced itself inside Ruggie, thick and cold.

Ruggie choked, claws lashing out into the air uselessly as his back arched—his whole body tensed at the intrusion, thighs trembling. He could feel it pulse, thick and relentless as it worked deeper into him with sickening ease.

Leona stared at Ruggie oh so sweetly, like everything was perfectly normal— even when Ruggie finally found his voice again—a ragged cry that dissolved into shuddering gasps as the tendril twisted inside him, curling just right.

"You—hngh!—y-you can’t just decide that!" he managed between breaths, ears pinned flat against his skull. His tail lashed wildly behind him, fingers scrabbling uselessly in the air and on Leona’s arms, desperate for something to grip onto that wasn't the slick press of ink and Leona's smile.

"Of course I can," Leona purred. Another tendril wound its way around Ruggie’s thigh—coaxing it wider apart with a slow tug like this was all some game to drag out. "I’m your King Ruggie,"

The words sent heat flooding straight to Ruggie's face (and lower). He opened his mouth to snap back but all that came out was a punched-out moan when a second tendril teased at where he was already stretched tight around the first one.

Leona smiled at Ruggie, far too soft given the situation, cupping Ruggie’s face and pressing a kiss to his cheek, wiping away the fat tears that dripped down his face.

“And I know you want it— I see the way you look at me…” He murmured, ink twisting and curling inside Ruggie, drawing desperate gasps from his lips. He was sure by now his pants had been torn off. “And now— Now we can be together, right?”

Ruggie let out a strangled sob, moaning as the tendrils writhed inside him, filling him up in ways that made his vision blur with tears.

He wanted to deny it. Wanted to tell Leona he was insane for thinking Ruggie ever imagined this (he hadn’t—… mostly— … at the very least not like this!) But all that came out was another shaky gasp when one of the tendrils rubbed against something deep inside him that sent sparks shooting up his spine.

His tail curled instinctively, wet and heavy with ink. body trembling as he dug blunt claws into whatever part of the other man he could reach (shoulder? arm? it was hard to focus).

"L-Leona...hah!... th-this isn't f-fair..." His voice cracked pathetically around another sharp thrust of ink.

Leona just pressed another kiss to his temple like they weren’t currently doing something completely unhinged in what used to be their school's stadium.

“Shh—“ he purred, nuzzling Ruggie’s face, “Don’t cry— why are you crying?”

He frowned a little, another kiss pressed to Ruggie’s face, again and again, painfully soft. Ruggie swallowed, shivering as he stared up at Leona through wet lashes, the touch gentle enough to make him want to lean in. He didn't. He wouldn't.

“Stop crying—“ he said, harsher this time.

Ruggie whined, squirming— every little movement just made them *press* deeper inside him. Leona's kisses were soft, but the contrast between that and the unforgiving stretch of ink filling him up was making his head spin.

"I—hnn!—I'm not— " he choked out, voice ragged as tears kept slipping free despite his efforts to blink them away. His claws scrabbled weakly at Leona's shoulders (when had he gotten this close?), unable to decide whether to push or pull.

A particularly sharp thrust wrenched another cry from Ruggie’s throat—high-pitched and embarrassingly desperate as one tendril curled perfectly against that spot inside him again. bit down on his lip hard enough to taste blood, which did nothing to muffle the pathetic noises spilling out of him now.

Leona frowned, pulling Ruggie closer into his arms buried in Leona’s collar-mane-thing. Ink slid slowly up Ruggie’s chest, tickling his skin.

“Stop crying.” Leona said again, Ruggie half thought he was beginning to sound like a broken record, before he felt claws digging into his arms.

“Stop— Stop it—“

Ruggie shuddered, the sharp sting of Leona’s claws anchoring him as he tried—failed—to steady his breathing. The tears weren’t stopping. If anything, they were coming faster now—hot and messy against Leona’s fur collar as Ruggie pressed his face into it with a muffled whimper.

The ink kept moving inside him, relentless even as Leona held him tighter like that would somehow fix the fact that this was—

“I c-can’t just stop!” he hiccuped, nails digging crescents into Leona's back. His thighs twitched where they were spread wide by the tendrils; every little shift sent fresh sparks of pleasure-pain up his spine until he was gasping all over again.

It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. Not how full he felt, not how good, not how gentle those claws became when they carded through Ruggie's hair like he mattered at all in this ruined world except to be here just like this.

"Y-you're such... such an asshole, Leon—aah!" The insult came out watery and weak between hitched breaths—half-hearted even to his own ears before another deep thrust wrenched a moan from him instead.

He could feel the ink beginning to swell thicker inside him now —pulsing in time with whatever sick rhythm pleased its king most—and Ruggie knew that it wouldn't stop until Leona had wrung every last drop of will from his body first.

Leona growled, deep and guttural, animalistic, even. He didn’t sound human— hell he didn’t look it, looked more like some sort of beast, a monster made of Golden teeth, all claws and ink—

Leona’s mouth crushed into Ruggie’s, mean, all consuming, like he really was there to wring Ruggie dry, with or without his magic.

Ruggie's breath hitched sharply when Leona's teeth caught his lip, the sting only made the kiss feel somehow more overwhelming. He couldn’t help but whine against Leona’s mouth—helpless, overwhelmed, every inch of him trembling as the tendrils inside him pulsed in time with the possessive growl rumbling from Leona’s chest.

His hands clutched desperately at Leona’s back, torn between shoving him away and pulling him closer. The ink was still moving, still stretching him obscenely wide—and now all he could taste was sand and something bitter— something that clung to his tongue like tar.

This wasn't how Ruggie had ever imagined their first kiss would go (And oh had he imagined it—). Not with claws pricking his skin and tendrils forcing muffled gasps into Leona's mouth while ink pooled thickly between them both—

The tendrils inside him pulsed in time with each filthy kiss—rewarding every stifled moan with another brutal thrust that left Ruggie seeing stars behind his eyelids. He could feel ink dripping down his thighs now; hear how obscenely wet it sounded when they shifted, even slightly, between ragged kisses.

Some distant part of Ruggie knew he should be furious about this (should be clawing chunks outta Leona’s prideful hide for treating him like some cattoy), but all coherent thought dissolved under relentless pleasure until all that remained was raw want, muffled against sharp canines and bruising fingertips.

Leona smiled at Ruggie’s expression, before pulling Ruggie from his mouth, hand had moved from Ruggie's cheek to the back of his head, gripping his hair in a gentle hold. He pulled Ruggie the rest of the way, until their foreheads were pressed together, somehow more intimate that his mouth on Ruggie’s

"Shhh," he murmured, tail flicking behind them as he studied Ruggie's face, his expression uncharacteristically earnest. "Didn’t you believe me— when I said we would take everything we’re owed from this shithole? I meant it.“

He smiled, and god ruggie wanted it to be real, like Leona wasn't twisted and distorted in his blot, ink dripping down his face—

"B-Believed you—*ah!*—just didn't think... ngh... this was part of the deal," he managed between breathy moans, words slurring as another wave of heat coiled low in his stomach. The ink inside him had warmed now—spreading through every crevice of him, until Ruggie swore he could feel it under his skin, burning like magic.

Leona laughed at that, low and pleased against Ruggie's parted lips before stealing another kiss just to swallow down whatever dumb protest might follow (there wasn't one).

"'Course it was," Leona murmured when they broke apart again—his voice rough. A claw traced possessive circles over Ruggie’s hipbone where ink still dripped between them both— Ruggie couldn’t stop the pathetic whine that bubbled up from his throat, fingers knotting in Leona’s mane, pulling Leona closer, like maybe if he could get close enough he could— win? Convince Leona to stop? What was the paint of that anymore? Settled on kissing Leona instead, dirty and rough, each ragged breath followed by more slick pressure inside him until Ruggie was seeing stars behind his eyelids.

Ruggie melted.

Crumbled into shuddering gasps as Leona's tongue dragged possessively over his, chasing the faint tang of blood from where teeth had split skin earlier. The hyena's claws went slack against Leona’s chest—not pulling, not pushing but clinging, hanging there instead, like he was afraid the other might vanish if he let go.

Maybe it would be better if he did.