Buck was having a good time hanging out with Adagio. He was also having a very difficult time with himself. Buck really, truly enjoyed having Adagio over. She was funny and strange and extra. Kind of like Buck himself, but she had a cutting wit and a strange willingness to indulge his ramblings and explore other people's interests. After their first few dates, Buck hadn't expected Adagio to be the patient type, but she easily slid into the shared dynamic of Buck's friend group and ingratiated herself with Sunburst and Scoots. Hell, Buck was pretty sure Scoots was in love with Adagio, or at least super horny for her. It was hard not to be.

Hard. Buck found himself getting hard every time he looked at Adagio. It took little more than a glance, and it didn't help that Adagio seemed to adamantly refuse the very idea of wearing a bra while at his place. She was getting comfortable with him, and that allowed Buck to sort of let his hair down and open up some. And she hadn't rejected him for that.

On the contrary, she seemed excited to dive into him and share space with him. When was the last time someone he'd dated had treated him this way? It had to be Rara, right? Coloratura was more than a decade ago, though. Ditzy Doo listened to Buck, that was true, but she'd never hit on him or anything like that. Kind of a shame, honestly.

But Adagio, she was something else. She didn't just indulge him; she was thirsty for his attention. She had been remarkably well behaved as well; he'd expected her to try and get all over him, but she wasn't nearly as horny as she'd come off the first couple of nights, and she instead simply palled around.

And she was so fucking hot. Buck couldn't help but notice.

Yes, Buck spent private time thinking about how he could grab just one of her ass cheeks with two hands, how her nipples were cute and puffy, and how when she started talking about the fashion of an anime character or the choreography of a musical number, her eyes would light up. She would start talking with her hands, and she would smile this genuine, radiant smile and fuck...fuck he wanted her so badly, but he had said he wanted to take it slow.

And he had meant it, and this was a good thing, it was! They were getting to know each other, and Buck was getting better at making those Blood Orange Tarts that she liked, and they, like, they hugged a bunch, and she was soft and small and adorable and so, so fucking hot all the time, how can a woman be that fucking attractive and also exist and also also be interested in him? It was unreal.

Buck couldn't believe that she was real, sometimes, when he was trying to sleep. He could believe even fucking less that this was going well. A part of him was still scared of her. Despite Buck's own protestations, she was still a devious little thing who could read him like a book. She noticed everything, it seemed.

Buck saw when Adagio noticed him getting hot under the collar. She would slowly look him over, and that evil little grin would sneak onto her face, or she'd look over her shoulder at him and wink, maybe give the slightest shift of her hips. Buck couldn't tell if this was her teasing or if this was just how she was when she got comfortable. He wanted to be optimistic but didn't know which interpretation was more enticing.

Adagio would sit next to Buck with their hips touching or ask him about something with her arms around his neck while he was sitting down. Instead of asking for a remote or controller, she would lean over Buck to reach for it. She would pass him a cold glass of something, and their fingers would touch, and she would just...just look at him, and he would start falling to pieces, and she knew, she had to know. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was becoming Buck's friend, and it was incredible. It was what he needed.

But it wasn't what Buck wanted. He was obsessed with her. He couldn't be bothered with pornography for a while because Adagio was everything he needed in terms of fantasies. He jerked off to her exclusively, and he felt so fucking guilty about that. They'd had sex already. Why was he going crazy over this?

It was because he wanted more. He wanted to do everything with her and to her. Buck couldn't admit this to himself. He didn't want to think about a woman this way. She was a living, breathing being, and she deserved to be treated with respect and care, and so he tried his best not to let his fantasies on. He didn't want to complicate this.

There would maybe be time for the fuck shit later, but right now, he was determined to take things slow. Slow was good.

Saturday Night Cartoons and Vodka had taken a somewhat odd turn just recently. Adagio had gotten tired of hearing Sunburst and Buck talk about One Piece around her, and so they'd had a screening, and now One Piece was the literal only thing Adagio wanted to watch. I mean, this made sense in Buck's head.

Adagio was a girl for details, and One Piece was a story full of tiny moving pieces and turning gears. Also, it was nautical themed, and Adagio ate that shit up. Buck hadn't pegged her for a pulp adventure lover, and especially not a shonen lover, but something in the show really spoke to her, and she had straight-up jacked his old straw hot jolly roger tank top to wear at these parties, and she had looked too damn cute in it, so that was that.

That had been a couple of weeks ago. Every night when they were wrapping up, Adagio would look at Sunburst, her ride home, like a little kid getting dragged out of a scholastic bookfair, and she would smile sadly at Buck and then leave with trepidation.

Last night, she asked Buck if she could just...just stay up and watch some more and sleepover.
Buck had told her it was fine, just turn the TV down so he could sleep, and he'd set her up on the couch with a blanket and pillow. He didn't think she had the capacity to look so grateful, and it melted his heart when she'd thanked him for that. That was a few hours ago.

Buck awoke in the middle of the night to a distant, quiet sobbing. It was coming from the living room. Oh shit, something had happened. Was she hurt? Had he said something in his sleep to upset her, like really loud? Well, he had to go and check. Buck got up and pulled on his pyjamas and glasses, and he poked his head out into the living room. Adagio was sitting in front of the TV like the little girl from poltergeist. Buck rubbed his eyes.

On the TV, the show had gotten to Enies Lobby; a big turning point both for the story and the party of protagonists. The Straw Hat Pirates, a ragtag crew of misfits and oddballs, were standing in a line across from an intensely powerful group of government assassins who had their crewmate Nico Robin hostage. Nico Robin, a beautiful and intelligent woman who was hated by the world. The Straw Hats were prepared to go to war with the whole world to save her. Adagio sat stock still as Nico Robin wept on screen. Oh fuck.

Buck remembered that the 'I want to live' speech had destroyed him for a few hours after he saw it back in the day. Buck crept forward a bit, then was caught by a sudden yawn.

"'dagio? Babe? Y'alright? It's like three in the morning." Buck said groggily. Adagio shuddered and turned her head toward him slowly.

She was a mess of red cheeks and rolling tears and a quivering lip.

Oh fuck me, Buck thought to himself. This poor girl. I let this woman come into my house, and I exposed her to anime, and now I've ruined her.

"Are you okay?" Buck said, reaching out. Adagio quickly covered her face, sniffling and trying to clean herself up with the back of her arm.

"I'm okay." She said. Her tone was firm, but her voice was unsteady. She wouldn't look at him.

"You don't sound okay." Buck said. His hand landed gently on Adagio's shoulder, and she scattered away from him in an instant. He could have sworn for a moment that her eyes glowed red, but then she seemed to relax. Her shoulders dropped.

"Buck, you mentioned once that you have a sister. Do you ever talk to her?" Adagio said. She sniffled and scooched over to sit next to him, pulling her knees up to her chest. Her eyes were staring off to a place somewhere beyond the TV.

"My sister? Yeah, o'course. Well, I mean, I forget to call a lot. I'm not super good with schedules or...or picking up the phone, but we talk sometimes, yeah. It's been a lil' while. I oughta call her."

"You should. My sisters never call me." Adagio said flatly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. That's the other Dazzlings, right? I didn't know you were actually, like, related."

"We're...what's the word they say, here?" Adagio said, pointing at the screen.

"In One Piece? Oh, uh, Nakama. Someone closer than family. Like the Straw Hat Pirates."

"That's us. That's what we were."

"You guys were pirates!?" Buck said. Adagio closed her eyes and gave a bitter chuckle.

"Well, yes, but actually no." Adagio said. Don't laugh, Buck thought to himself. Don't you dare fucking laugh at this woman, Purple Prose; she ain't even seen that movie.

"We were privateers, in this world, after...after everything happened. Mercenaries."

"Oh man...that sounds really cool. How've I not shown you the Pirates Trilogy yet? Fuck." Buck mumbled.

"But we were nakama, too. Inseparable." Adagio said.

"...what happened?"

"We got into a fight very recently. Recently for us. It might have been years ago now, who's to say? And Aria left...and then Sonata." Adagio said.

"I'm sorry, Adagio," Buck said. He looked over to her and saw that her hands were clasped over her mouth and her shoulders were hitching. He started to get up to go get some water and a washcloth, thinking she might vomit, but instead, she let out a low, sobbing whine.

"It was my fault...! I was weak, and everything was wrong and I couldn't fix it, Buck! And they left me, and it was all my fault!" Her sentence wavered and fell apart into ugly crying. She fell into Buck's lap, and she held her face in her hands, and she cried, murmuring that she was sorry.

"Hey, hey, it's alright..." Buck soothed. Buck stroked her hair, and they just stayed like that for a little while. He could feel Adagio's tears soaking into his lap.

Eventually, Adagio came back up, a sniffling mess, and Buck was struck by how beautiful she was, even with egg on her face. Adagio blinked and looked at him, confused.

"Do you need some water?" Buck said. Adagio crossed her arms and looked away.

"...yes. I'm still drunk." Adagio said simply.

"Alright, come on." Buck said. He got up to his feet, then offered a hand to Adagio. She looked at his hand like it was a bear trap for a moment, then took it and let Buck haul her to her feet. She was unsteady, but Buck caught her around the waist and guided her to the kitchen. When the light turned on, Adagio hissed and covered her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry! Hang on..." Buck said. He filled a couple of glasses with ice and water, then shut the lights off again. "Here." He passed a cold glass to Adagio. She hadn't let go of his hand.

Buck tugged Adagio along to his desk, and he turned his lamp on, facing it down.

"Just a little light is okay, yeah?" Buck said. Adagio nodded. Buck stood there, holding her hand and staring out the window. He had remembered that she could smell, or taste--whatever it was- -his emotions, and so he tried to suppress them, tried to be empty and comfortable for her. She was hurting, and he didn't want to tell her that he wanted her, that she was beautiful even when she cried, that he was fantasizing about her, but she needed to feel safe right now, not hounded...and then as he banished those thoughts he turned and saw Adagio was staring at him.

Adagio's eyes were gentle now, and she looked at Buck like a surrealist painting; she was confused and perhaps a little bit amused. She seemed to take a moment to consider things; then, she went back to looking straight ahead, taking a sip of her water.

Out past the window, the parking lot was still, save for an epic battle over by the streetside between an alley cat and a raccoon. Buck winced as he saw the cat tear a piece of cheese out of the raccoon's mouth. Buck wondered if a raccoon could throw a decent punch. He was not disappointed. Buck felt Adagio's hand squeeze his ever so slightly.

"Buck...what are we doing here?" There was something very sad in her eyes; still, Buck saw.

"Whaddya mean?" Buck said.

"You know what I mean, Buck. It's been weeks-I can tell that you're not actually stupid." Adagio said.

"Hm. You sure about that?"

"It's been weeks, a wonderful run of weeks, mind you, and in that time I have been watching you dance around me, wanting me and pining for me and holding yourself back, when I'm literally sitting right here next to you. You know that I want you too, and you know that I can take what you dish out. Why are you pretending that we're just friends, Buck?" Adagio said.

"See, there's the problem, right there. There ain't no 'Just Friends' Adagio. Friendship is a type of love. Platonic affection is real, and it's deep, and it is love, and there's nothing wrong with lovin' someone that way." Buck said. He tried to pull his hand away. Adagio wouldn't let him. Her grip tightened.

"You're dodging the question," Adagio said simply.

"Friendship is valid, s'what I'm saying. S'not lesser than sexual attraction or traditional romance."

"I know that. I've had friends, Buck. I like your friends." Adagio said.

"I hope so, because they're your friends too, now." Buck chuckled.

"I've been trying very hard, Buck. For you. Did you know that? I've been trying to listen to Sunburst and learn a little."

"...yeah?"

"Yes. Sunburst is a very good communicator. It's not so much that he always knows what to say, exactly, but he knows how to make people feel like they can speak openly around him. It's an excellent skill to have." Adagio said, taking another sip.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

"I'm jealous."

"Oh?"

"When you talk to him, I can barely keep up. You're a completely different person with him. You're open and honest and...loud. And funny. And affectionate. I caught myself wondering where all of that came from, and where that passionate man goes when you're talking to me."

"I don't mean to-"

"Why are you holding yourself back, Buck? What are you so afraid of that you can't show yourself to me?" Adagio said. She was looking at him now. He didn't look away.

"I could ask you the same question." Buck said.

"I've already told you what I am, Buck." Adagio said.

"You're not a monster, Adagio." It was then that she looked away. Her brow furrowed.

"...do you think I'm a slut?" She said. Her hand slipped loose of his. "Is that what this is about? Are you ashamed to be around me? Do you think that I think about nothing other than sex, Buck? Are you afraid of that?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"What? No! I'm...I'm an open-minded guy! You can do whatever you want." Buck said.

"Except you. I can do whatever I want except for you. Because you want to take things slow."

"Yes. I do." Buck said. Adagio groaned.

"I'm not...listen, out of the three of us, the Dazzlings, I was always..." The words got stuck in her throat.

"Go on."

"I was never the promiscuous one. I was charming and tantalizing; that's just the role, but unlike Sonata, I didn't have to have sex to get what I wanted. There was no need for it. What was needed from me was control, and care and...peace. I kept the peace, and I ran the numbers and I made sure the whole operation kept moving forward."

"That sounds like a lot of pressure."

"Yes! Yes it was, and I wasn't a sex fiend, like Sonata, I was strong and sturdy and-"

"Reserved?"

"Subtle. I was never a thirsty little sheep, drooling over handsome men and sitting around waiting for them to take me. This isn't what I'm like. It's not just because it's been a while. It's you."

"Listen, I'm not trying to--wait, you think I'm handsome?"

"And here I am, standing in your apartment with my nipples showing, and you're standing there pretending like what we have is platonic!" Adagio's hand had curled into a fist. She placed her drink down on Buck's desk and clasped her hands together. She closed her eyes. "You act like I'm going to melt away like sugar in the rain if you touch me. And you're the one who did this to me, Buck!"

"What?"

"I wasn't like this before! I wasn't...you came into my life, and you-you made me crave you and then you just turn around and start bottling it up like you're ashamed of me!" Adagio pointed a finger at Buck and poked at his chest. Then, she took a breath and pulled her hand. She turned away from him.

"Adagio, I'm sorry, that's not what this is. I'm just afraid that-"

"Of what, Buck!?" Adagio rounded on him again. Her eyes were glowing red, and Buck could see now that she was properly furious with him. He felt his frustration push him forward. Adagio was trying to hide how mad she really was. She looked away, trying to appear aloof.

"I'm afraid that if we just have sex, you're going to get bored and throw me away! You're going to see-no, look at me, Adagio-you're going to see that I'm this...this fucking anxiety-ridden nymphomaniac, and you're going to get tired of me, and you're just going to throw me in the trash like She did! You say you want me, and you say you can take me but you don't know that!" Buck shouted.

There was silence.

Buck walked over to the couch, and he plopped down, and he put his drink aside and his face in his hands. He felt a hot tear roll down his cheek.

You're crying again, you idiot. She's trying to talk to you, and you're crying. Again.

"If it's just sex, if that's all we are, then I'll have to admit that it's all I'm good for."

He felt the couch shift as Adagio sat down next to him. She's going to tell you to calm down. That is isn't that serious. That you're overreacting. Buck cringed as he felt Adagio place a tender hand on his back.

"Who was she?" Adagio said.

"I don't want to talk about that...I'm sorry," Buck said.

"I understand." Adagio said. "Buck? I understand. Look at me, Buck. Don't hide." Adagio pulled Buck's hands away and lifted his chin. She smiled and stared into him. "I know what you're going through." She said.

"You do?"

"You...Buck, are a passionate man. You very obviously love deeply and furiously, and you've been punished for it. You don't want to let that happen again, so instead of being yourself, you live in this world of cardboard, and you feel like if you cut loose, everything will fall to pieces. You shrink yourself down into a convenient shape so people will accept you, but what you don't understand, Buck, is that it never ends. You'll just keep shrinking and hiding until that's all you know how to do. Do you know what they call something tiny and precious that holds things together and makes them work?"

"...a cog in the machine." Buck sighed.

"Yes! And that's not we are, Buck! You're a marvel, and I am sick and tired of seeing you hide from that. I'm tired of seeing you hide from me. I want you to just be here, in these moments without having to stop and fret and wonder if it's right." Adagio said. More tears. Buck's vision swam and went blurry.

"...I don't deserve you." Buck murmured.

*SLAP*

Buck's glasses hit the carpet. His cheek stung. He looked at Adagio in shock and saw that she was shaking furiously. Now her tears were back, too.

"Don't you say that. Don't you dare say that to me, Buck...! Don't you DARE act like this is a mistake!" She growled. Buck touched his cheek and winced.

"...I'm sorry, I-"

"STOP APOLOGIZING TO ME!" Adagio shrieked. Buck was silent, then. He wouldn't meet her eye.

"Oh no no no, Buck, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that." Adagio simpered, coming close and touching his cheek.

"Please don't hit me." Buck said, quietly.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Adagio said.

"I know." Buck said. "I can't do this with you. You say you want me to open up, but if I do, you'll take advantage of me. You can't say you want me to be vulnerable just so you can punish me for it."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out, and before, I didn't mean to...do what I did."

"You can't just say you're sorry! You have to be better! If you mean what you say, if you want us to be...to be anything, you have to be better! Otherwise, how am I supposed to trust you?"

Silence. Adagio stared at her own hands as if she were looking over the edge of a cliff. She shuddered and bit her lip. She took a deep breath.

"Can we start again? Please?" Adagio said.

"Mhm." Buck said. Adagio sat up and wiped her eyes. It didn't help. "Go on. You were saying that you're mad at me. For hiding."

"I'm not mad at you, Buck. I'm mad for you, because I can see how frustrated you are. You are so scared of letting yourself be yourself, I still feel like I don't know the first thing about you."

"I'm a lot to handle. You got love drunk just from me hugging and kissing on you."

"I have been feeling you ache for me from across the room for weeks, Buck. I can acclimate."

"I'm over emotional, and I'm horny all the time."

"And those are two things that I like about you. You know I'm horny too, Buck."

"I over-explain things. And, and I walk too fast."

"Buck."

"And I screw up dates and times, and I forget things."

"Buck! Stop. Look at me." Adagio took his face in her hands.

"I'm lookin'. I'm lookin'." Buck said. Adagio's eyes weren't smoldering. Instead, he saw determination there.

"Buck. Tell me you want me. If you want me, then you shall have me. Do you want me, Buck?" She said, slowly. Buck's hand rose to touch Adagio's on his cheek.

"...yes. More than I've ever wanted a woman." Buck said, simply.

"That's better." Adagio smirked. "What do you want to do with me, Buck~?" She purred.

"I...I want to take you to the Aquarium." Buck said, smiling.

"What?" Adagio said. Buck chuckled and took her hands in his and rubbed the backs of them with his thumbs.

"I want to take you to the aquarium. And, I want to go hiking with you, and I want to go to the museum and look at antiques with you, and I want to sing with you and I want you to tell me about your life and I want to just sit here and hold you. I want you to come to Game Night with me. I want you to sample my weird desserts and I want to watch you walk by from the window of Sugar Cube Corner." Buck rambled, excitedly. He saw Adagio's flirty grin turn into one of bemusement and maybe a little bit of confusion.

"And I want to listen to you laugh! Your laugh is so loud and sweet and...kind of evil! I want you to stand in front of me while I make you breakfast again and I want to tell you bad jokes and I want to see you in the other outfits in your closet!" Buck said. He leaned forward. Adagio shrunk away, just a little bit. Amusement was losing the tug-o'-war with confusion.

"And that! I want to watch gears turning in your head! I want to listen to your heart beat."

"Okay...?" Adagio said. She was blushing, now, it was all over her face and down her neck. She didn't pull her hands away. She wasn't running from him.

"And...I want to watch you strut around my apartment in your panties. I want to pin you down and kiss your stomach. I want to sneak up behind you and slide my hands under your shirt. Fuck...I want to catch you around the waist and hold you and press my crotch against your ass. I wanna do fucking EVERYTHING to that ass. I want to kiss your neck and I want to leave a hicky there. I want people to fucking know." He saw Adagio bite her lip.

"Oh? And what else, Buck? What else do you want to do to me?" She said. She scooched closer to him. Buck saw the embers in her eyes.

"I want...I want to spend hours with you pressed up against me while I grope your ass. I want to wake up with my cock in your mouth. I want to look at porn with you and watch you getting hot and bothered. I want to cum in your mouth and your pussy and up your ass. I want to trade fetishes with you, and explore this...whatever this is. With you. I want to fuck you in the shower." Buck growled. He reached down, and Adagio gasped as he grabbed her thigh and squeezed. She leaned in close, sighed in his ear.

"Yes...and what else do you want, Buck?" She said. Her hand landed delicately on his chest. It began to make a slow and torturous descent downward, her nails dragging. It made Buck shudder. He grabbed her wrist. Gently.

"I want to take you to my bed, right now, and treat you right. I don't mean the berserk shit from our first night."

"Ohhh~?"

"I want to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Like a Princess. ...I want to make love to you, Adagio Dazzle." Buck said.

All time in Adagio's world stopped. A princess. He'd called her a princess. A princess was a monarch with magical powers beyond anything else in Equestria. A princess was power incarnate, and beauty and grace. A princess was pampered and adored and beloved. A princess wanted for nothing. Buck had said he wanted to treat Adagio like a princess. Had he been holding back, even when they were having sex? That couldn't be possible. Adagio's cheeks were burning.

"Call me that again." Adagio whispered. Buck's hand squeezed her thigh. He smiled.

"What, your name?" He said. Adagio rolled her eyes.

"No, Buck. The other thing." Adagio leaned back, held her hand up to her ear like she was deaf. "You want to treat me like...?" She started.

"A princess." Buck finished. He spoke it in a growl so deep and rolling that it almost sounded like a croak. Adagio was surrounded by his adoration, but it was just a small pocket of cool air in a firestorm of lust that she was floating in.

"Mmnn...I think...I like that, Buck." Adagio said. She stifled a giggle. A distant and hollow part of her mind spoke up. She had been getting acclimated to Buck's love from across the room, but she could already feel an uncontrollable affection bubbling up in her. He was poison for her, truly he was. And he called her a princess. It suited her. Perhaps he had the makings of a good minion after all. This was the play. Build him up.

"And what kind of treatment exactly will your princess get, Buck...?" Adagio said. Buck drew closer and started kissing her neck. His hand slowly slid up her thigh.

"Mmm...let's see." He punctuated his words with little nibbles, trailing down. "I think I'll pick you up in my arms and lay you down on the bed...put on some good love makin' music...then show ya exactly what this tongue can do." Buck said. He stroked Adagio's inner thigh. She quivered as he nipped at her collarbone.

"And...then...?" Adagio moaned. Oh, so this was his wheelhouse. Adagio's thoughts were slowly sinking below the surface of her mind as Buck showered her with affection.

"Then, after you came, I would tell you to lay back and let me do the work...I'd tease ya and play with ya while you were still nice and hot and sensitive..." Buck growled against her neck. His fingers had found her lower lips. They were trailing and tracing with featherlight touches against her crotch.

"And...?" Adagio panted. What if she just...let him take control?

"And then I would give you just the tip. Sweet lil' cock kisses right at the entrance..." Buck said. His middle finger slid down and prodded lightly at Adagio's entrance through her panties. Buck's kisses at her clavicle were tender and slow.

"Mnngh...and then what, Buck?" Adagio said. Just for one night, let the man have his way. What harm could that do?

Buck nibbled and suckled gently on the base of Adagio's neck. His prodding and tickling fingers squeezed Adagio's labia up around her clitoris. She shuddered and ran a hand through his hair. A tiny voice rose in her head and spoke up. She had been right about him. He was a devil. Who exactly was corrupting whom, here?

Buck's lips pulled away from Adagio's neck with a little pop, and his tongue gently touched the sensitive spot that was leftover. He had marked her. Buck's golden, burning eyes came to meet Adagio's again. She felt his thumb press at her clitoris through her now-soaked panties. His smile was one that Adagio had seen in the mirror before.

It was trouble. Adagio drew closer, so close that their lips were almost touching.

"...what else, Buck~? What else do you want to do to me?" Adagio said.

"And then I'd, I'd..." Buck threw his head back and yawned.

It went on for a long time. When he finally finished emptying his lungs, Buck blinked slowly and looked at Adagio again. "I think what I want to do right now, is go to bed."

Adagio couldn't quite describe her emotions in that moment. Her best approximation was something like several windows breaking at once. The thoughts she'd had that were burning down in Buck's lust, the thoughts that had soaked her panties and quickened her breath, those thoughts were coming back up to the surface, and they all said the same thing.

"How dare you." Adagio said, breathless. Buck scratched his neck and stood up. Adagio heard something in his hip pop.

"Well, I'm emotionally exhausted and it's like 4am now. I've got an early start tomorrow, so I oughta get some decent shut eye. I'll be up around 10am, I think. Maybe 9." He rolled his neck slowly.

Adagio was seething. He truly was a devil. She saw Buck look askance at her and freeze for a moment.

"Oh. Oh, no, listen, I'm not going to leave you hanging. C'mon." Buck said. He effortlessly pulled Adagio to her feet.

"What? What are you doing?"

"You're sleeping with me tonight. That's what you wanted, yeah?" Buck said. He was already pulling her toward his bedroom. "Look, I'm real sorry, but I do actually need to sleep. But we can still fool around if you like."

"Oh, you're going to owe me for this one, Mr. Purple Prose. A gentleman doesn't leave a lady in a state like this." Adagio hissed. She planted her feet on the carpet and squeezed his hand. When he turned again, he saw her glaring. He grinned.

"Do you see any gentlemen here?" And then the world twisted a bit as Buck slung Adagio over his shoulder. "I said we could still fool around, and I meant it. I'm just as wound up as you." He chuckled.

"Wha!? You...! Put me down, you beast! Just what are you going to do!?" Adagio demanded. Buck closed the door with one hand. Adagio was hanging over his back like a sack of potatoes, dangling helplessly. She yelped as Buck slapped her ass, and then again as he tossed her onto the bed. As she rolled over onto her back to glare at Buck with proper indignity, she saw that he had already taken his pyjama pants off. He was standing at attention and giving her an evil smile.

"Quickie?" He asked.

Adagio couldn't get her own pj's off fast enough. Literally. She frantically wiggled her hips, trying to move the waistband, but Buck roughly hauled it and her panties down her thighs and hiked Adagio's legs up.

"Is that a 'Yes'?" Buck asked with what seemed like practiced glibness. Adagio was at a loss for words. It had been weeks. She had forgotten how Buck behaved when he was in control.

"Please." She squeaked. Her bottoms were left to dangle off one leg as Buck pulled Adagio to the edge of the bed. Her calves were on either side of his head. He kissed her right calf tenderly, then slid his hands up and down, fondling her thighs. He let her right leg go, dropping it to his side as he planted his knees on the bed. Adagio felt his cock flop onto her wet crotch. She looked down from Buck's molten gold eyes and saw him lightly slap his cock against her. "You've...mnngh...you've been staring at me across the living room for weeks...are you going to make up for it all at once...?" Adagio said. Buck was gently rolling his hips, pressing his tip against her clitoris with one thumb while he grinded against it. He felt so hot, Adagio worried silently that she would catch flame like a vampire exposed to sunlight when he penetrated her. Wait, he was saying something.

"Hmm...no...that would take hours, and I really am tired..." Buck said, from somewhere far away. Adagio's nerves tingled as Buck's dark purple cock head peeked out from his foreskin and rubbed against her clitoris. She stifled her moans as Buck coaxed and teased her. Wait.

"...hours!?" She gasped. She looked back up at his face and saw no sign of a japery or bravado. He had simply said it as a fact. Buck frowned and his eyes drifted away for a moment.

"...no, you're right. Days." He said, finally. Then he adjusted himself and pushed inside her. It was slow and torturous, but he hilted himself gradually in her hot, aching cunt, and Adagio felt him fill her once again.

Finally. She felt and heard Buck's breath hitch in his throat.

"Fuck, you're burning up in here..." He mumbled. His hand squeezed her thigh.

"You...you kept me...waiting...!" Adagio panted. Buck was rotating his hips, making tiny micro-adjustments that sent sparks up Adagio's spine. He pulled his cock back slowly, dragging a pathetic whine out of Adagio before she could catch it. Her hand reached out reflexively to clutch at his hip like her whole body was afraid of being hollow.

"Aw. You missed me..." Buck growled. There it was again, that low, alligator roll in his voice. Adagio shivered. Buck stroked her arm with his free hand, then gently took her wrist and held on to it. His hips fell back, sliding his dick halfway out. Adagio suppressed another whine.

"Now, here's the tricky part. We haven't done this position yet, so I gotta find just the right spot...is it here?" Buck said as he brought his hips roughly forward, shoving his cock into Adagio. She let out a yelp.

"No? Okay...how about here...?" He growled. He adjusted his aim and pressed his hard cock in at a lower angle. Adagio squeezed his wrist and gasped.

"No, that's not it either...hang on..." Buck leaned his upper body back a bit. He slid the hand on Adagio's leg up under her knee and pushed it forward toward her chest.

"Is it here?" Buck slammed his cock in at an upward angle. He ground against Adagio's g-spot and rolled his hips back and forth with a viciously slow pace. Adagio moaned loudly at his ministrations, but the sound was cut off by Buck's thumb in her mouth.

"Mmph!?" Adagio squealed around Buck's thumb. He didn't stop his thrusting or even slow his pace. He punctuated a series of long, slow strokes with singular ramming thrusts.

"Shhh...my neighbor is sleeping just past that wall." He said, nodding at the wall behind the bed. He slammed his cock forward again, forcing another muffled yelp out of Adagio. "Can you try and keep the volume down, Princess...?" The word again. Adagio moaned and smiled around his thumb, rolling her tongue against it. She nodded. He slammed into her again.

"Good. Now hold on..." Buck said. Adagio steadied her hand back on Buck's hip as he slid his thumb out of her mouth. Now properly lubricated, Buck reached down and started lightly stroking Adagio's clitoris as he pounded her.

He established a deliberate rhythm, each thrust bringing his hips smacking into Adagio's while he tenderly teased her clit. The difference in the pounding at her root and the caressing at its top made Adagio shudder and groan as her whole body rocked. She clasped her hands over her mouth as Buck worked her over. He was playing her like an instrument. How long had he been practicing this!?

Buck would occasionally gasp or let out a small moan, but he seemed completely unmoved by the desperate squeezing and wringing that Adagio was giving him down below. He just kept slamming his cock into her wet hole, neither slowing down nor letting up on his consistent rhythm. This was a practiced and deliberate assault.

"Mm...mm...mm...there, now, is that good, Princess?" Buck said. Adagio nodded frantically, groaning from behind her hands. "I'd love to treat you like this for a while longer...but it's late...so I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to tie this up..." Buck said. What did he mean by that? Adagio was already getting close, and it had only been a few minutes, ten at most. He wasn't even slowing down. On the contrary; as soon as Buck finished his sentence, he batted Adagio's hand on his hip aside, lifted her other leg, and started rapidly pounding upward into Adagio's g-spot. Adagio's hands fell away and she bit her lip to hold back her frantic cries.

In Adagio's throes of ecstasy, she distantly detected that this pace too was consistent. No ragged, wild thrusts like the first night, but a fast and vicious pistoning into her snatch. Buck's hips slapped loudly against the bottoms of Adagio's thighs. He was taking measured breaths, like a long-distance runner. Adagio saw his eyes closed in concentration. She, on the other hand, couldn't concentrate on anything other than the fireworks going off in her head. Her hands wandered and caught in her hair as she focused all of her mental processes on not screaming Buck's name. Buck let go of her legs, let them squeeze at the sides of his face. He reached down and pinned Adagio's wrists to the bed and started thrusting even harder. Adagio let loose a few small, murmuring whines in time with Buck's cock slamming into her. "Mnn....nnghh...MMM!"

"Yeah? ...tell me some more, Princess..." Buck grunted. He didn't slow down. Every single slap of their hips pushed Adagio closer to the edge.

"So close, Buck...! So...clooooose!" Adagio gasped. She heard Buck's low chuckle. He let go of one of her hands and rolled his thumb over her clit again, then pressed down on it. Adagio's entire body shook.

"Is that right...? Just close...? What's the matter? Are you waiting for permission?" Buck said. The pounding stopped. Adagio blinked in a lust-addled daze, feeling Buck's hot, hard cock shift positions inside her. Buck spread her legs open and laid forward in the space between them. He pushed Adagio's body backward, deeper into the bed, and suddenly the tips of their noses were touching. His thumb was still slowly stroking her clitoris.

"Hm...?" Adagio looked at Buck, her eyes searching his face. Why had he stopped? Buck's hips hitched forward and buried his cock completely inside her. It just barely, tenderly touched her cervix.
Adagio gasped as Buck's hand reached up and pulled at a fistful of her hair, right at the roots in her scalp. "Ahhgnn..." She let out a shuddering moan. She didn't know she liked having her hair pulled.

"You need me to tell you, Princess, is that it? Command you?" Buck said. His lips were next to Adagio's ear, now. Adagio's legs wrapped around Buck's waist. Her hands slid up his back and her nails dug into him as he slowly rolled his hips. He was teasing her again. Adagio's moaned were now muffled by Buck's collarbone. She kissed along it, slowly, sweetly. She desperately bucked her hips up against him.

"Pleasepleasepleaseplease...let me cum...Buck." It was hardly even a whisper.

"Cum, Princess." Buck bit down on the hickey he'd left before and his hips became a blur as he savaged Adagio. She squealed against his shoulder as he broke her down, his hand between their pelvises, rubbing her clitoris furiously as his cock pounded her with short strokes. A clever and miserable part of her mind screamed that this was all wrong, it can't be like this, she can't be feeling this. That voice drowned in a sea of fire. Buck's never-ending lust flooded into Adagio and replaced every cogent thought. All Adagio could do was hang on to him while her feet flopped helplessly in the air. It took no time at all. Adagio came, screaming against him with her thighs squeezing him, her pussy desperately trying to wring him out as her whole body shook. Adagio's head went blank and fuzzy as she came harder than she had in weeks.

And then he was off her, laying at her side and gently running a hand through her hair. As Adagio returned to the world, she was immediately hit by the waves of Buck's love that were cradling her. Every edge of her body tingled and she knew she was a hot, wet mess between her thighs. The world she re-entered was a blissful one, with Buck's warm, wandering hands and soft blankets and the light, tingling afterglow.

Wait.

Adagio looked away from Buck's loving gaze and carefully touched her inner folds. She raised her fingers to her eyes and squinted. She frowned.

"Did...did you not cum, Buck?" Adagio said, her eyes narrowing. Buck was currently preoccupied planting tender little kisses on Adagio's forehead.

"Mm...you are so fucking pretty like this..." Buck mumbled. His hand slid down and lightly squeezed Adagio's ass. He turned his head away and yawned.

"Buck? Buck. Look at me, Buck." Adagio said. She grabbed Buck by the chin with her thumb and index finger and pulled his face toward hers.

"Buck." Buck kissed her lightly on the lips. Adagio felt the intoxicating affection surge into her brain. "Buck! Answer me. Did you cum just now?"

"Hm? No, why?" Buck said, groggily. He went in for another kiss. Unbelievable. Adagio put a finger to his lips.

"No." She said simply.

"...no kissies...?" Buck whimpered. Adagio groaned and pawed at his chest and kissed him tenderly.

"Mmmm...but no. I don't accept this." Adagio said, pulling away. Buck scratched the side of his neck.

"Whatchu mean?" Buck asked. He yawned again.

"I refuse to accept that you didn't get to cum when you just ruined me with a 'quickie'. Get your cock out, Buck." Adagio commanded.

"Babe, I-do you like it when I call you babe? Is that okay?" Buck asked. Adagio crossed her arms and pouted.

"I do. It's adorable and it makes me feel admired and precious." She grumbled.

"Okay, good." Buck said, blinking slowly. "Babe, it's okay not to cum during sex, sometimes. It's not a competition..." He said. Adagio sneered at him. "I was trying to do you a solid back there, it wasn't about me, okay? S'not a race or...anything...ahh..." Buck trailed off. Adagio smirked as her fingertips deftly caressed his cock, which was already hardening again.

"Hush." Adagio said.

"Babe, you don't have to-"

"But I will. Call it a point of pride. I'm not going to let you keep upstaging me like this." Adagio said.

"'dagio, I just said-fffff...mm...!" Buck's protests met an untimely end at the tips of Adagio's fingers. They slid over Buck's cock head, back and forth as Adagio's other palm daintily cupped his balls.

"Let me pamper you, Buck. Let me give you a reward for how sweet you've been..." Adagio said. She shuffled down until she was eye level with Buck's instrument. It pulsed and menaced her with its girth. A challenge.

Adagio peeled back Buck's foreskin with one hand, gently fondling his balls with the other. This horrible battering ram of a cock had tried to conquer her again tonight. If Adagio's skills in the bedroom were deft and succinct like a foil, this tool was more akin to a craftsman's hammer. Buck's style seemed to be methodical and practiced, but strong and burly. This fat, slightly curved bitch breaker of his was the perfect tool for that. She gave his frenulum a sweet and longing kiss, and a tender lashing of the tongue. She had missed this stubby invader. Buck hummed softly.

Adagio squeezed Buck's balls as she formed her strategy. Last time, she had tried to strangle Buck's cock with her throat. This was a tried and true plan of attack that had never failed. That was until she tried it on Buck. It seemed that force wasn't the way to break him. A more subtle approach was necessary.

Adagio mimicked the tiny little pecks that Buck had given her on their second date. She planted affectionate kisses down his shaft then started licking small circles right at the base. She stroked his tip slowly with a gentle grip. She felt Buck's cock tensing in her hand. He was still wet with her essence. Adagio took a small sense of pride in that. After weeks of waiting, her scent was finally on him again. Buck groaned softly as she tended to him. His voice sounded breathy and delicate. Almost shaky.

"Mm? Are you...are you serious?" Adagio mumbled, around Buck's sack. She stopped kissing and suckling for a moment and began rapidly, roughly sliding her hand up and down Buck's shaft. She watched his expression. Buck bit his lip and grunted, but his cock stopped tensing.

"...really now, Buck? Is that all? That's what you like down here?" Adagio murmured. She slowed her pumping and dragged her tongue back up to Buck's cock head and then licked it slowly, dipping down a bit to lick the back of the head. She lightly caressed Buck's balls as she did so. Buck shivered and gave a closed-mouth whine. Buck nodded frantically.

"Gentle edging gives me a hair trigger, alright?" Buck admitted. Adagio giggled softly with her lips wrapped around Buck's cock. Excellent.

Buck moaned softly as Adagio suckled tenderly on his cock head. She loved his taste. Like spicy, salty chocolate. His burning lust rolled along her tongue with his precum and Adagio slurped at it slowly and hungrily. So Buck's true weakness was being treated tenderly? An extreme gap in the Bard's defenses that she would be certain to exploit. Adagio could feel herself growing wet again.

"I'm close, Adagio...! Sss...nnnggh...!" Buck groaned. Adagio popped his cock out of her mouth and began stroking him quickly and gently. Her other hand traced her index finger right at the very tip of his cock head, swirling it around in slow, feathery circles. She felt Buck trembling and watched him gasp and grunt. Buck began to lightly pump his hips along to Adagio's stroking rhythm.

"Ooooh, look at you...!" Adagio said. "Are you going to cum, Buck?" She purred. Buck nodded his head frantically. "Mmm...Buck, look at me." Adagio said.

Buck looked down to get caught in Adagio's devilish stare. She opened her mouth and let her tongue loll out, then she jerked Buck off swiftly while the underside of his cock was rubbed against her tongue. "Mnnnaaahhh..." Adagio sighed.

Buck came instantly, and he came all over Adagio's face and in her mouth. It was not a shout or a grunt but a delicate gasp as his body shuddered. Buck covered his mouth as his cock shot thick ropey strands onto Adagio. She closed her lips around his head and suckled gently, milking Buck of every last drop. Adagio juggled her fingers around his balls and savored every pump that she felt coming from them. "Mmmmm...." Adagio swallowed.

Adagio slid back up next to Buck, stroking his thigh. There. Now both of them had won a round and there was no need for competition, she thought. She smirked with earned pride and accomplishment as Buck's jizz dribbled down her chin.

Buck, a panting mess, reached over and produced a tissue from a box next to his bed. Adagio imagined that box was always full. She graciously wiped her face, then tossed the tissue back to Buck who winced at it and dropped it in the wastebasket. He was still catching his breath.

Adagio laid her head in that perfect spot under his shoulder and lightly pet Buck's stomach and chest. She slid a leg up and cuddled up against him. "That was incredible." Buck said with a lazy, astonished drawl. He yawned loudly and stared at the ceiling. Adagio hummed and traced her finger through his chest hair.

"Mhm. Now, isn't it nice to just cut loose, Buck? Don't you feel better?" She said.

"Pretty sure I'm gon' sleep real well." Buck murmured. His hand was squeezing Adagio's shoulder. He pulled the blankets over them.

"What are you doing tomorrow, Buck?" Adagio asked.

"Well I was gonna-" Buck began, but his sentence turned into a laborious, muttering yawn then trailed away into the ether.

"Go to sleep, Buck." Adagio said. She closed her eyes.

He could be conquered, she simply had to treat him a certain way in bed, and she could make him fall to pieces. He was a talent to be sure, and Adagio decided that if his performance on a "quickie" was like that, she was going to have ample fun with him. She felt a lingering sense of light shame for that thought. He was changing her. Adagio's smile turned into a tight, pressed frown.

But no, Adagio Dazzle was no one's whore. Adagio Dazzle did what and whom she pleased. Buck was not going to break her, she was here to break Buck, and so she decided then that if she truly wanted to keep him as a minion, she would have to attack him on his terms, make him see the person that Adagio saw him as. A sublime but moldable man that could keep her fed through his pitifully short life. Buck truly was precisely what she needed.

Adagio quickly formed a diabolical plan for tomorrow morning that would ingratiate herself to Buck. Now that they were on intimate terms again, it was time to leverage that privilege.

Sunday would belong to Adagio, and with that thought in her head, she drifted off to a night of blissful sleep.

Author's Note

Song Review: It has never been confirmed, but I'm about 80% certain I was conceived to this song. Sexual Healing is about unwinding and letting off steam in a sweet, sensual way. After mending the fences of their relationship, it becomes evident that reconnecting physically is what our protagonists need.
One of the things I'm trying to convey is layers of trauma. People carry a laundry list of hangups around with them that can act as a barrier to intimacy, and our main characters are no exception.
The healing can't come until both of them do a bit of opening up, but once that barrier is broken, the tension starts bleeding out of their relationship, allowing them to get a bit more comfortable with each other. Getting intimate is an act of healing and strengthening their emotional bond. It's physical honesty, to a certain degree.
In addition, Adagio Dazzle narrating a 4am bloj like a Jojo character in a stand battle might be one of the funniest fucking things that I've ever written one-handed.