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The Recluse is the one to bring the tea this time.
Sage didn't expect it at all, really. Their weekly tea parties had been a mutual way of checking on the other, since neither could agree on the subject of the truth. Sage himself was baked for it, and the Recluse had descended from the Peak of Truth denouncing it. Their clashes since, both verbal and physical, have ended in stalemates, though Sage is convinced he's come out less battered than the other more frequently than not.
Still, the pointless fighting got neither of them anywhere, and this is where they've ended up, in Sage's study debating the truth once more, though this is the first time the Recluse has provided the tea.
"The Lily of Chains and the Golden Queen sent this to me last week, and I know well that anything Golden Cheese makes doesn't have a particularly long shelf life." Recluse mutters, glaring at the canister of tea leaves on the table as if it had personally offended him. "Though, usually Lily includes a little note explaining the strain she cultivated…"
"It's a gift from your friends, I truly doubt there is anything harmful in these leaves." Sage chuckles over the teapot.
"I truly doubt one of them was entirely genuine about this gift, but Lily wouldn't purposefully seek to harm me unless she had a reason."
"You could always just appreciate that your friends sent you a gift for once?" Sage huffs, and the moment the kettle starts to shriek he settles it with a snap of his fingers, pouring it into their two usual mugs.
"For being the Sage of Truth, you're still exceedingly optimistic concerning situations you know nothing about." Recluse hisses, staring down at the streaming mug as it's set before him. "Truly, Sage, have you not heard of them? The Lily who enslaved the Faerie Kingdom? The Ruler of Once-Living Statues?"
"Of course I do!" Sage only smiles, settling down across from him as he brings the mug to his lips. "Sentinel Salt and Radiant Spice aren't exactly quiet about their struggles against their other halves." He takes a sip, humming at the taste. "Mostly mint with an undertone of sweetness I can't quite place. Grown with magic, but it's inert now."
Recluse examines him for a long moment before sighing, lifting his own mug to his lips. "Lily has made something similar to this before, I'm sure."
"See?" Sage grins at him.
"Should we both fall ill, you are taking the blame for it." Recluse glares at him from over the tea cup before shutting his eyes. "Another group of seekers attempted to ascend the peak. Luckily for them, I caught them in time to tear that thought from their minds."
"You just can't let me win, huh?" Sage grins, leaning back as he cradles his tea cup. "I just don't understand, you attack others and generally bear ill-will towards those in the pursuit of knowledge, yet you refuse to let anyone take the same path you yourself took!"
"Those that you sent would only have perished at the peak. You know this."
"And yet, they lost their minds by your hands. Pity."
"The weight of the truth is a burden that will crush all within it's path." Recluse sneers before taking another sip. "You are the only one who was created just for it's purpose. None else will come close."
"And yet!" Sage sets his half-drunken tea down, leaning forward. "You stand as proof against that statement! The living evidence against your own claims!"
Recluse frowns. He sets the tea down as well, not nearly as empty as the Sage's. "I am no exception. I dare not claim I am the same person as the man who climbed it."
"Rebirth is as good a truth as any." Sage shrugs, standing. Something in him has begin to buzz, but he's enjoying this too much to really pay attention to it. To pretend the Recluse didn't interest him at all would be a blatant lie, but he can hide the actual truth with that one. The warmth in his chest is something he can attribute to his interest, and not to the way the Recluse looks when he frowns. "You are the same person who climbed the peak. Then, you climbed down, my perfect, broken other half!"
Recluse stares at him, then looks down at his own hands, grimace curving that beautiful frown further. "Alright, that tea was definitely laced with something."
Sage straightens up, crossing his arms. "That's your takeaway from this? And really, you don't trust that your friends have given you a well-intentioned gift?"
"My friends are currently trying to kill your friends."
"But is there no camaraderie between you?" Sage grabs his cup of tea, paying no mind to how a bit spills over the side as he uses it to point at the Recluse. He's enjoying this too much to care, and he can just magic away the mess later when he gets his thoughts together. He doesn't have the time to considered he isn't thinking as clear as he should be. No, Recluse is right in front of him.
Sage lifts the tea to his lips, downing the rest of it. He dangles it over his lips, showing that not a drop remains inside. "It's good. A lovely gift from your friends. I don't get your apprehension."
He does, but something about the way the Recluse squirms only makes that warmth in his chest spread.
"The only camaraderie between my old friends and I is the fact that I'm keeping you here, away from your friends." The Recluse stands, looking down upon him. "Sooner or later, you'll discover that Radiant Spice has stopped returning your correspondence, having become a golden statue. Sentinel Salt will one day stop responding as well, either slaughtered or imprisoned by the Lily of Chains. Yet, you linger here with me."
"I'm entranced by you, by the Peak of Truth!" Sage admits, putting his hands on the table when he realizes exactly how his shorter other half can look down on him. It's becoming difficult to keep himself upright. "How could I possibly keep myself away? My friends can handle themselves."
The Recluse swallows, and Sage swears he spots a hint of concern. "Doesn't it concern you how the truth warps so easily?"
Sage blinks up at him, his smile dropping. "Huh?"
"The truth, a double sided sword. A thing that can be used to manipulate the world around you at the cost of your very being." The Recluse tilts his head as he stares down at the Sage. "I knew well that the tea was laced. Lily of Chains has always been smart, always a little too knowledgeable for someone who used to be the bringer of 'Freedom'."
Sage gulps as the Recluse steps around the table, and a hand pulls his head up. Sage nearly melts into it. The hand is warm, oh, so warm, and he is cold. So, so cold. The tea was laced, he admits to himself, but he refuses to say it aloud.
"Though, I was wondering what her goal was…" The Recluse murmurs, closing his eyes as he pulls the Sage closer. Sage scrambles to stay upright as he loses contact with the table, and he ends up with his fists clenched in the Recluse's robes. "She's imprisoned the entire Faerie Kingdom, and now she seeks to take me as well?"
"I should feel bad for her. She likely thought I was the same friend who ventured across the lands with her, searching for truth."
Sage watches as the Recluse lifts his other hand, and a bit of liquid glowing in the Recluse's darkened golden magic slips through the air, being deposited neatly into the now-full tea cup. The Recluse hadn't drunk any of it.
"What I couldn't decipher was what exactly it was laced with." The Recluse mutters, and his other hand grabs at Sage's face as well. "You're warm. Warmer than normal, I assume… aphrodisiac, perhaps? That could explain why you've been more blunt with your obvious obsession with me…"
"Recluse?" Sage murmurs, closing his eyes. "I need more."
"I could give you more… if you denounce every other truth." Recluse looks deep into his eyes, and Sage matches his gaze. The Recluse is an all consuming being, and if Sage were weaker he'd likely agree, likely, pull himself away and try to end this all together.
If Sage were stronger he wouldn't give in. He wouldn't defy the Recluse's expectations by shifting his body weight, pushing the Recluse down and onto the floor.
"My truths, every truth, is what defines me." Sage hisses, breath heavy as he holds down Recluse's shoulders. He slots his hips just above the Recluse's, attempting to ignore the fact that he's given himself a cunt. Damn his ability to shapeshift. "And your rebuttal of it is what fascinates me. Would we really be the same if I were blinded by it like you?"
"Who cares if I am the same?" The Recluse grins up at him, and Sage has to bite his lip as hands grasp at his hips, tight but unmoving. "You're so vulnerable like this, so needy… do you even want this? To force yourself upon me?"
Sage hesitates. His body is a confusing mess of temperatures, his hips won't stop twitching, and yet, the Recluse is the reason he's like this. "I want to see you beg for more. I want you to be the one vulnerable."
"Is that so?" The Recluse tilts his head again, and Sage can't help how his limbs tremble at the sight of it. The Recluse is infuriating. The Recluse is somehow the only thing he can look at.
Even when they where fighting each other, even when both were on the brink of exhaustion, the Recluse was eye-catching.
"The aphrodisiac…" Recluse murmurs, lifting a hand and placing it on Sage's stomach, only skin separating him from the butterflies Sage has kept contained. "Lily likely meant to have me under her control again. How do you feel?"
"Stop talking about her." Sage demands, clenching his other half's collar with a fist and pulling him upward. "It's rude to think of someone else when I'm literally on top of you!"
"How possessive, my Sage." Recluse grins, a bit breathless from the hold. "Would you have been this blatantly jealous if you weren't under the effect of the aphrodisiac?"
Sage freezes, looking down at his hands. He releases Recluse's collar, unable to ignore how he clenches when the man beneath him grunts at the impact. Before he can muster a response, the Recluse pushes himself up, coming dangerously close to Sage's face.
"Are you even okay with this, Sage?"
Sage peers at him with lidded eyes. His body buzzes with anticipation, his insides empty as he considers the Recluse’s words. "Are you seriously asking for consent after you drugged me?"
Recluse sighs, closing his eyes. "I was not aware it was an aphrodisiac until after you started succumbing to it. I had originally thought it was just poison."
"So you intended to poison me?" Sage huffs, leaning back to grind down. It doesn't really have the effect he'd like, but he feels impossibly emptier when he recognizes that Recluse's single hand on his hip is what's stopping him. He never really thought the Recluse to be physically stronger than him, but this doesn't displeased him. No, he's getting even wetter.
"I would have healed you." Recluse snaps back, frowning. "You really think me to be that desperate to win?"
"Yes." Sage whispers.
Recluse sighs, and the hand on Sage's stomach lifts to his shoulder, yet another grip to hold him in place. "Tell me if you really want this, Sage, before you lose your mind."
"I've been thinking…" Sage manages to pull himself forward, pushing the Recluse down once more. "Would you still have broken under the weight of the truth up there if I had been up there to pound it into you?"
The Recluse squirms beneath him, eyes growing wide at the question. "What?"
"I would have held you together as you fell apart, by my hands and my hands alone. I'd be the truth you breathe in, your every exhale…" Sage lets himself murmur. It feels far too good to peel back the layers of his own truths. He's beginning to tremble and he has no idea how to stop it. "Wherever we would have ended up, I'd be the one to teach you the meaning of light in the dark, of my light chasing away the darkness from inside you!"
Recluse grimaces, and once more both hands are on Sage's hips. He doesn't even have time to process it as the world spins, and suddenly the Recluse stares down at him. There's an impossible pulsing between his thighs, a teetering on the edge that certainly shouldn't be here so soon.
"Fool." Recluse mutters, and Sage is gone. He can't even bite his lips to keep the aching wail down, can't do anything to stop the floodwaters of his climax. He's so hazy, he's so cold and his body is so warm.
There's a gentle hand on his face, and Sage sighs into it as the shockwaves dissipate slowly. They don't quite fade completely, lingering beneath his skin. The Recluse’s touch is a balm to his ache, both the warmth to his cold and the cold to the heat.
"Two halves…" Sage forces out between shaky breaths. The pleasure is seeped into his skin, yet he can only crave more. "We are two halves of a whole. Even without the soul jam."
"I…" Recluse leans over him, a sneer on his face. "-am going to unravel every truth you wear. I will systematically peel back every layer, take you apart until you can do nothing but crave me and what I offer you. I will force you to embrace my deceit."
A shaky exhale escapes the Sage. This is one of the Recluse's truths. He knows it. "I'd like to see you try."
"I intend to do more than try." Sage bites his lips as a hand once more trails along his stomach. It shouldn't feel as good as it does. It shouldn’t feel pleasurable at all! His stomach isn't a erogenous zone! "I'll start here, since you seem to be eager already."
That golden tinted hand wanders downward, drifting along the fabric of Sage's bodysuit. Sage has to cover his mouth to fully suppress the sound that escapes him as his thighs are traced. He can recognize the shape of the soul jam of Knowledge regardless of the context, and the fact that the Recluse seems intent on tracing it into his thighs upside-down makes him tremble a little more. "You can do more-"
"If I had things my way, I'd force a tattoo onto you, right here." The Recluse whispers as his hands finally drift to Sage's covered crotch. The upside-down soul jam is once more traced around his cunt, and Sage can't help but roll his hips into it. "Mark you with the image of my soul jam, let anyone who gets this close know that you've already been claimed."
"Recluse-" Sage braces his elbows against the floor, trying to watch. Recluse doesn't let that happen. The other hand meets his chest, pushing him right back down.
"I'd keep you filled. Maybe with something that can move on it's own. Make it vibrate for every lie you tell, every thread of deceit you weave."
Sage can only gasp as his bodysuit is ripped, but any complaints he tries to make are drowned out by that gentle fingers tracing the upside-down soul jam around his folds, just narrowly avoiding them. He instinctively clenches his legs together, trying to chase the friction, but the Recluse stops that quickly, shifting to spread his own knees between Sage's keeping them apart.
"Or, I could curse you." Recluse grins above him, and when a finger finally blesses Sage's folds they both moan, Sage's louder than the Recluse's. "When you returned to me, in my tower, you'd be shaking. Trembling, having been kept on edge the entire day. Then I'd fuck you. I'd pound into you, like you wanted to pound into me, and for every truth you told that day you'd have an hour before I even let you feel the pleasure of my cock."
Sage gulps. He'd hate that, but the words are far too filthy for his addled mind. He scrabbles for any purchase along the tiles of the floor of his study as a long finger enters him, then another.
"You can't pretend you don't enjoy that thought, my dear Sage." Recluse face leans a little closer to his, and Sage can feel the breath on his lips, warm and inviting. "Cum on my fingers."
Sage does. It's violent. It's heavenly. It's not enough. He keeps through it, clenching his eyes shut as the Recluse's fingers refuse to still within him. Pleasure courses through his very veins as he sits beneath the waterfall of pleasure, clutching on for dear life.
When the Recluse finally stops with an amused chuckle, he's nearly toppling over another edge. Despite his dissatisfaction as the Recluse pulls his fingers away, he takes a moment to catch his breath. It feels as if there is a weight on his chest, and though he fully breathes in and out, he still feels a little breathless.
"This is your last chance to lie and say you don't want this." Recluse whispers. Sage lifts his head to look down, and finds that the Recluse has shed his lower layer while Sage was distracted. A decently sized cock peeks out from beneath his other half's upper shawl, and something in the back of his mind resigns itself to never thinking the Recluse to be small and weak ever again.
"Tell me you don't want this, Sage." Recluse repeats, almost as breathless as Sage feels. "I don't think I'd be able to stop myself if I start."
"Destroy me." Sage hisses back, bracing his legs as wide as he can. He knows he's clenching around nothing right now, knows he's utterly irresistible to Recluse.
And yet, Recluse doesn't pounce on him immediately. Instead, Sage blinks and finds lips upon his, a tongue exploring his mouth. Recluse tastes like vanilla and heat, of a warmth on stormy nights. Sage reciprocates, anything to ignore the fact that the act nearly has him climaxing once more, far too sensitive for what's left of his sanity to like.
Recluse pulls away, and they both pant. He's still not exactly sure how mortal the Recluse is anymore, yet Sage mourns the loss of those lips against his. The taste of vanilla still lingers on his tongue, and he swallows around it, desperate to retain the memory of the Recluse's lips forever.
"Tell me to stop, Sage. I will."
"Why-" Sage hums, licking his lips. "Why do you taste like vanilla?"
The reaction is immediate. Sage has no time to think as he's filled, as the Recluse's cock finds its home deep into Sage's body. Even Sage's own moan is strangled, a hand that wasn't there moments ago choking the sound before it can get too far. The sensation is too much. Sage's eyes roll back as he's pounded into, used as a toy for the Recluse. It's heavenly, the pleasure coursing through his skin, the pressure against his neck that wavers with the Recluse's anger.
The Recluse shifts him, lifting his hips and forcing Sage to brace himself further against the floor. Only the single rug in his study is his saving grace, providing more friction to keep him from sliding too far.
Strangely, an odd sense of glee accompanies the blinding pleasure. The Recluse spares him no mercy, even as Sage can hardly moan, can hardly cope with it. His body shakes around his other half's member, and it's all because of one little question.
"Vanilla!" Sage breathlessly moans, and rejoices in the fact that it makes those thrusts harsher, that it makes the hand around his neck clench tighter. "Ah, vanilla!" He grins and gasps, his muscles straining as they are forced together. He tries to say it again, but it doesn't work.
Sage climaxes again and again just like this, pounded without mercy and a hand around his neck. If he were mortal, he'd be clawing at the Recluse's hand, gasping for any sort of air, but here he is, brainless and being choked into submission. It's far too addicting, far too good to be brought by his other half's hands, but it is.
He can't even fully recover from his orgasm. The Recluse finally releases his neck, just to plant his lips on the Sage's once more. All Sage can do is keep his mouth open, letting the Recluse consume him. Then, he's asked a question, one muttered into his mouth.
"Say my name."
Sage swallows, nearly choking when the thrusts suddenly stop. Recluse would have killed a mortal if he'd thrust into them as harshly as he did when Sage had brought up 'vanilla'.
There is a right answer and a wrong answer here, and Sage is too strung along to pick the truth. "Vanilla."
Pain latches onto his neck. Recluse's teeth dig into his skin, not kindly but harshly. Whether he's tear a chunk out of his skin or reward Sage for telling a lie, Sage can't bring himself to care. The pain hurts so good, his cunt flutters around the Recluse's cock once more, the aphrodisiac ensuring that his orgasm is just as intense as the first ten or so. He doesn't even notice when the Recluse stops for what most have been more than a few moments, too distracted by riding the wave of pleasure.
Sage looks up into Recluse's expression when it passes, searching for the reason his other half has stilled above him… is… is the Recluse upset that he lied?
"Recluse?" He wheeze out, lifting a hand to touch the Recluse's face. The Recluse blinks down at him, frowning as he snaps out of whatever though had trapped him.
"You're probably still horny, right?" Recluse's voice is quiet, but nothing like usual.
"Didn't you- didn't you want me to lie?" Sage frowns, his chest aching from the force of his breaths. "I… I tried to indulge you… make you keep going…"
Recluse takes a deep breath in, then slowly works his hips back into Sage's. Sage whines at the sensation, lifting both hands to grasp at the Recluse's shoulders. The harsh pounding was amazing, but if the Recluse starts going this slow he might actual unravel.
"Foolish, foolish Sage." Recluse mumbles, but even as he presses Sage's thighs closer to his face, even as he barely speeds up his pace, Sage can't help but focus on how his other half isn't as into it as he was previously. There's little he can do about it, the ocean of pleasure sweeping him away as the Recluse settles one of his fingers above the hole he's pounding, caressing Sage's clit.
Recluse plays him like a finely tuned instrument. Every unintentional gasp for more is met with another wave of pleasure. Every time his vision nearly fades from the sensation warm lips bring him back to life. Kisses are peppered along the other side of his neck, and even though Sage is no longer in control of the way his body reacts he finds himself longing for the roughness the Recluse had gifted it before. His cunt clenches around that golden cock again and he whines, the pleasure slowly becoming too much in a bad way.
Sage whines his displeasure into the air, and lets out a sigh of relief when the Recluse lets himself be pushed away. Still, as the desperate need fades, he's only aware of one thing, how empty he is when the Recluse pulls his cock out.
Sage swallows. He can't really tell if he's upset or not at the lack of being filled, the lack of being utterly marked by deceit. He stares up at the Recluse with a frown. "You didn't cum."
"This wasn't about me." The Recluse huffs, turning his head as he pushes himself off of Sage, sitting in front of him. He offers a hand to pull Sage up and Sage takes it.
"So you're saying I'm a bad lay." Sage narrows his eyes as he taunts, then hesitates when the Recluse doesn't respond. "Was it the 'vanilla' thing?"
The Recluse glances at him, his displeasure visible on his face. "It's upsetting how deeply truth is ingrained in your very nature. Even when you try to lie, a truth spills out instead." Recluse spits out, closing his eyes.
Sage inhales sharply. Vanilla… meant something to the Recluse more than Sage had realized. Still, he finds himself deeply unsatisfied with how this whole thing ended.
"Recluse…" He mutters, shifting closer. When Recluse fully turns to look at him, Sage forces his aching body to move, and he crawls atop his other half. "Maybe I can't embrace deceit like you wanted just yet, but I could embrace you?"
Maybe it's because Sage is selfish. Maybe it's because he just can't leave the Recluse like this. He doesn't really know which truth is more prevalent at the moment. He straddles the Recluse's hips once more, and though exhausted he lets himself sink down onto the golden cock. They both hiss at the feeling, and Recluse watches him with wide eyes as Sage takes his hand and presses it against his stomach, channeling magic through it.
The etch of the upside-down soul jam traces itself around their fingers. It's essentially just ink, but he brands himself here and now, temporary in case the Recluse finds himself wanting to do the same in the future.
"My truth is that I crave you more than I could stand to admit." Sage whispers, beginning to bounce. His legs ache from the exertion, and though it feels good it's far too sensitive to be entirely pleasurable.
The Recluse's cock twitches within him. The man moans beneath him, burying his face into Sage's shoulder to muffle it. Sage lets him, and when the Recluse's hips twitch up into him, when the Recluse's hands grap his waist and hold him in place, he lets out a sigh.
Being filled is heavenly, even if he can't get close to having another orgasm without crying from the pain.
If that unraveling the Recluse had offered to him included being held and filled just like this, he might have to take the chance. Hands drift along his skin, and Sage nearly flinches when the harsh bite from before is gently caressed. He never expected healing magic from the other, but he melts into it.
He's still sticky and aching, and after a few moments the Recluse lifts him by his hips. They both wince when Recluse cock slips out of Sage, but they know it's necessary.
The Recluse's spend drips out of his cunt, and some small part of him mourns the loss. He's not quite sure how the Recluse lifts him while standing up himself, but he doesn't complain. Exhaustion tugs at his limbs. "I think I know how she meant to control you."
"Don't mention her." Recluse mutters beneath his breath, steady footsteps heading for the door. "Where is your bathroom?"
"Attached to my room, down the hallway and to the left." Sage lets his head rest against the Recluse's shoulders as he thinks. Vanilla… why vanilla?
There is surely a future where one of them fully kneels to the other. It is unlikely for a coin to balance on it's edge for it's entire life. It usually settles on one side or the other, regardless of which side is heads or tails.
There is surely a future where the Recluse gives in. Where 'Vanilla' is allowed to be free, is allowed to speak his truths and cope with them in Sage's arms.
Yet, Sage also know the opposite is also true. A future exists where he is the one who gives up, who unravels before the Truthless Recluse and embraces deceit.
Truth comes in accepting that both futures exist at once, the coin in his hands and the chance between them.
Sage blinks his eyes back open as the sound of water meets his ears. He hadn't realized he closed them, though he doubts the Recluse would have told him before lowering him in the water. At the very least, his other half lowers him gently before sliding right behind him, his warmth overpowered by the heat of the water. It's a bit too hot for him, but Recluse doesn't seem to pay it any mind, and Sage knows it won't stay this warm for long.
The Recluse washes him off silently, efficient in his motions yet careful when he gets to Sage's cunt. Before the man can try, however, Sage just snaps his fingers, pulling the mess out of himself with his magic. "Too sensitive." He murmurs as an explanation, and Recluse huffs beneath him.
"You weren't too sensitive when you sat back on my cock five minutes ago." He murmurs, and Sage sighs, rolling his head back.
"You are insufferable when you think you've won, you know that?"
"Perhaps I enjoy seeing you suffer."
"So says the one gently cleaning me after sex."
"Be quiet."
Sage relaxes into the Recluse's chest. The water is warm, and this close he can still smell it. Vanilla. Or, maybe the taste of it still lingers on his tongue. He's too relaxed to really care. The cloth traces his stomach with an ease that makes him sigh, though he can't quite help the frown when he watches the ink marking of the Recluse's soul jam upon his skin melt into the water. He could have very easily made it permanent. The Recluse could have, too. one small little spell, and Sage would have been marked as the Recluse's for the rest of his life.
"Sit up, move forward. I'll wash your hair for you, too." It's stated like it's a chore and not something the Recluse is offering. He could stop at anytime, could leave Sage here in the bathtub and he wouldn't complain. Still, Sage does as requested, biting his lip to muffle the grunt of moving his limbs.
Thinking back, the Recluse did nearly fold him in half. Maybe he wouldn't be satisfied if the Recluse left early.
Still… "For being the one who drugged me, you're being awfully caring right now."
"Mention it again and I'll leave right now." Recluse retorts, but it's bite doesn't quite hit. It's softer than it should be.
"Recluse?"
"Hm?"
"I don't need your truth. I want you to stay."
Recluse's hands pause in his hair. Sage is well aware he's being far too vulnerable for the Recluse's tastes, but he can't help it. His truth is a selfish one.
"Just… just for tonight." The Recluse finally sighs, guiding him down to rinse the suds out of the soapy locks. "I only owe that much to you."