Wild Rye Fields i shot the sheriff and i slipped the noose.

Smell like him? Reyes was right again, there wasn't anything wrong with that. Or at least that was the first thought that popped into Askan's mind. It was as though he was slowly coming down, that whatever control she had over him was fading, being scrubbed clean by Reyes' touch. In hindsight he thought that he was a fool, that he allowed that snake to dig her fangs so deep, to corrupt him with her venom. If he had been stronger, more resilient then this wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have broken down like this, shattered into paces. The only saving grace was that Reyes had been willing to take the time to put him back together. That he'd risked cutting his hands on the jagged edges and made Askan whole again.

Askan blinked slowly, a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.

"Yeah I suppose."

There was nothing wrong with Reyes' touch or scent. It was safe and familiar. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't-at the very least- like it by now. At first he'd thrown a hissy fit, even if he wouldn't admit to it as such, but now...Well it was too late to back out. Not that he wanted to, or even that it occurred to him that he possibly could. Staring out at the white field, Askan simply revelled in the feeling of Reyes brushing up against him, touching him in a way that no one had ever before. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, merely a simple touch. But for Askan, a man starved of simple contact- of his own free will- it truly felt like something to marvel at. Something he didn't want anyone else to have, he wanted this all to himself. And so by extension, Reyes.

A huff caught Askan's attention and he blinked again, just opening his eyes in time to see a pink tongue dart out from Reyes' lips. This wasn't the first time Reyes had licked him (no doubt it wouldn't be the last either) but it felt different. He had no idea why but didn't really want to think about it too hard either. He merely squinted and his tail wagged behind him in a slow, but pleased rhythm.

"I think so." He gave Reyes' black nose a fleeting, almost shy, lick for good measure. Just to try it out. He pulled back just as quickly as he'd moved in and hid his tongue away, savouring the taste. "Thanks, I guess."

“Don’t mention it.”

The tip of his nose fizzled, like static, like Askan had set his snout on fire right then and there. It wasn’t a new thing – they’d exchanged licks a few times prior, after all – but this wasn’t the same. This definitely wasn’t the same. His ears flickered forwards and back, his cheeks warm beneath his dark coat, and for a moment, he wondered if it was the lingering heat stink the female had left on his companion’s pelt. But no, that couldn’t be it. He was a loner, not a hermit; he’d run into the other sex this time of year more than once, and never felt this effect. Did it make him want? Oh yes. But it was not slow warmth in the pit of his belly, and it was not a tired squeeze that slowly constricted around his heart.

Before he could think the better of it, Reyes reached out and returned the gesture – before he knew it, one little lick had turned into many, and it was all he could do to pull himself away, ducking his head with a low, rumbling cough. Shit. That feeling was back. The hot-blooded, all-over itch that drove wolves to make bad decisions in the springtime – and here he was, sidling up to Askan and nibbling on his neck, like he might court the guy. That made no sense. He shook his coat out again, and shuffled all the same, pushing his nose against the other wolf’s muzzle.

“We go good together. S’all there is to it, amado.”

In all honesty, Askan wasn't sure how Reyes was going to react. It would've been rather hypocritical for him to make a fuss when-both in this instance and otherwise- he'd licked him first, but this was the first time the Selwyn had ever taken the incentive. For all he knew Reyes had this weird complex where he wanted to be in control, that only he was allowed to do the touching. Or that he was secretly a freaky guy with an obsession with being dominant and had a massive chip on his shoulder. Askan waited for his ire, for the flash of hate in his grey eyes. But none came, and instead Reyes simply moved in close again and licked Askan's nose in return. Just as he had a moment ago.

Once again, his touch was different. For starters, Askan had only risked a quick lick. One and done. Reyes on the other hand seemed to be quite greedy, his appetite seemingly insatiable as he stole lick after lick. It wasn't bad by any meaning of the word, because if it had been Askan would have most certainly stopped him dead in his tracks with a nip. But it was noticeably different than before, more heated, urgent as though Reyes couldn't quite help himself. Once again, the Selwyn's tail began to wag of its own accord and he scrunched up his face in what was supposed to be a sort of content expression. Though really it looked like he had just sucked a lemon.

Tilting his head in confusion, Askan watched Reyes suddenly stiffened up and pulled away, as though burned. He wasn't gone for long, for as soon as he was done clearing his throat he came right back in and began nibbling on Askan's scruff.

Ah, this was something Askan was familiar with, but even so he couldn't help but notice how different this entire situation was. Not bad, he put a heavy emphasis on that, but strange enough that he it as though he was dipping his toes into a body of water he'd never swam in before. Something had changed, he just didn't know what. In fact, he'd go as far to say that he didn't want to know what. Sometimes ignorance was bliss after all.

Still, Reyes wasn't done, as a moment his nose pressed against in snout in some sort of nose boop. As to what it was supposed to mean, he had no idea. He was just rolling with it at this point.

"Yeah, you're right. We're good." Askan didn't take the time to try and decipher what Reyes meant by that. It didn't even occur to him that there was a veiled meaning behind those words. The way he saw it, they did work well together. Ever since they'd met they had proved that time and time again. It seemed natural to just agree. 

"But I was thinking." He began with a frown, not sure on how he should proceed. "Maybe I should leave for a little while, just until everything calms down. And..." He hesitated long and hard. "I was thinking, it'd be best if you came as well. Safety in numbers and all that. If you want, it was just an idea. Or whatever."

It felt good to hear Askan agree. Not just agree, but actually say the words. In that particular moment, it occurred to the delta that wasn’t actually what he wanted to hear. (The words he wanted made his throat tighten in a way he wasn’t sure he liked. The words made his heart hurt. The words made his mind hurt.) But they were good enough for now, and they were better than anything he’d had before. It made him want more – maybe this was why he had never joined a pack before. This unknown danger. This rush into middlescence was unnecessary – and thankfully, the other wolf was their to speak up, and distract him from the long train of thought.

Reyes finally pulled himself together, pulled himself out of Askan’s face, and gave a small noise. Get away? He just got here. But at least the beta wasn’t going to ditch him, right? So he hummed, and nodded, and nodded again, ears flicking. Better than nothing. “Yeah, sure. I’ll come. I wanna.” Rare was it the man ever did something he didn’t actually feel like doing. “Just tell me when.”

Fade.